A/N: Here's the next chapter... enjoy! Thanks to the one person who
reviewed!
Aragorn paced around in the hallway outside the girl's quarters, trying to judge how long Elrond had been with her. Had she already passed on and he had simply not been told? Well, for the time, there was nothing he could do but wait. Elrond had already refused his offer to help, saying that he was already too involved. Sighing, he pushed himself up against the cool wall and slid down to the floor, resting his hands on the top of his knees.
Just as he sat down, the door opened only a fraction of an inch. Elrond poked his head out into the corridor, not at all surprised to see Aragorn still sitting there. Aragorn immediately jumped to his feet and leaned up, hopeful that his father brought good news.
"She will live, Estel. But I do not know what we will do now, for she doesn't know where she came from or even so much as her name. And we both know she cannot stay here." Elrond whispered to him, worry etched into his face. Aragorn allowed himself to sigh as he thought of the burden he had just brought upon his own father.
"Until she is better, I strongly want for her to remain here. We do not know who was out to hurt her, but I feel that if we send her off right away she will have no place to go..." Aragorn said thoughtfully, hoping that Elrond would be able to see his side of the story. Elrond simply nodded, then opened the door a little more.
"Do you want to see her?" He asked Aragorn, opening the door wide enough for him to see the small girl sleeping soundly for the first time since he had stumbled upon her. Tentatively, Aragorn takes a small step into the room, trying to be as quiet as possible. Smiling, Elrond leaves the room and closes the door behind him with a gentle click.
Trying to be as quiet as possible, Aragorn makes his way over to a chair beside the girl's bedside. After sitting down, he leans a little closer to get a better look at the mysterious girl. He is shocked to see that her face and hair have been cleaned, and that she does hold a silent beauty of her own, something he never thought possible when he first saw her.
Aragorn lazily leaned back in the chair, allowing himself to doze off for the first time in what felt like days. Yet one eye was always kept cautiously cracked as he watched the girl breathe in and out, comforted by even the slightest movement.
///\\\
I awoke this time to find a strange man sitting in a chair not far from my bed, sprawled out in such a way that I knew he was sleeping. Grunting a little, I managed to drag my rather uncooperative body into a sitting position, so that now I could get a better view of the room that I had been lying in.
Small, white flowers adorn most of the room, giving off a rather heavenly scent which I gladly breathe in. There is a window just to my right from which light spills into the room, softly touching upon my face. As I turn to examine the headboard on the bed that I am lying in, the man sitting next to me begins to stir.
"'Quel amrun. Lle quena i'lambe tel' Eldalie?" The man says to me. The words are familiar yet alien at the same time, but I do not know how to answer him. Shrugging, I wiggle down further into the plush sheets, trying not to stare at him.
I was sure that this was a man. Yet if he was a man, then why does he not try to hurt me? And why does he speak so strangely? Questions flood my mind as I look at the stranger with a curious glance. Just to be safe, I reach for the dagger that I had stolen from the humans less than a few days ago.
To my extreme surprise, it is not there. A cry that is a mix of rage and anguish rises up in my throat as I desperately search my whole body for it. The man rapidly jumps to his feet and gently grabs my shoulders, forcing me to lie still in the bed. Tears of fear pool in my eyes as I cringe and wait for the blows that are surely to come.
"I won't hurt you, but you might hurt yourself if you keep straining yourself like that." The man says to me as he takes his hands off my shoulders without even letting a hint of anger creep into his voice. Shocked, I lay still and silent for a few moments as he returns to sitting in the chair.
"Why did you not beat me?" I asked him, looking upon him with a rather critical eye. Perhaps he is only trying to trick me, and later on I shall feel the real pain for my actions. But this place feels very different from the human village. I cannot feel death on the air anymore.
"Why would I?" The man answers. Now he begins to look at me like I was going crazy. I was actually beginning to think that I might be. Or, maybe that this was all a dream, that the man and the elf were just dream- people and would fade as soon as I opened my eyes.
"I...do not know." I answer cautiously, not wanting this stranger to know everything about me at once. The man is silent for a few moments before he rises up from the chair and instead comes to sit down on the edge of the bed. Just to be safe, I edge a little bit away from him.
"What is your name, child?" He asks, looking me right in the eyes with a look that I had never seen before. His eyes were a very powerful brown color and they had a kind look about them, instead of rage. I was greatly surprised that he even cared.
"I do not have a name." I whispered back, causing him to draw back a little in shock. Clearly, I had said something that was wrong or bad. After all, I did not know the customs of this place. Perhaps I would be tossed out of here, maybe taken back to the humans...
"Well, then you need one. Do you like the name Kaurea?" The man questioned me. I was surprised. This man was being nice, way too nice. Nicer than what was normal for a human, at least from my point of view. I waited a moment or two for him to withdraw his question, but he did not.
"It is fine." I said to him, making sure that I was being respectful just as I had been taught. A small chuckle escapes from the man's mouth as he looks at me, smile lines creasing his face that was not yet very old. I could not help but crack a smile.
"My name is Estel, at least around here." He said to me with a nod. "Kaurea means 'timid one' in Quenya, the language of the elves." I smiled. Now I had a name, and a new place to stay. What more could I ever wish for? This was like all of my dreams combined.
"I must go and inform Lord Elrond that you have woken again. He has been caring for you the past few days." Estel said to me as he rose from the chair in one smooth motion. I nodded, curling back upon into the covers, content to stay and rest until he returned.
Translations:
Quel amrun. Lle quena i'lambe tel' Eldalie? - Good morning. Do you speak elvish?
Coming Soon:
More about Kaurea's life in the human villages.
Elladan and Elrohir return from Lothlorien.
=Maybe= an appearance by Arwen.
Aragorn paced around in the hallway outside the girl's quarters, trying to judge how long Elrond had been with her. Had she already passed on and he had simply not been told? Well, for the time, there was nothing he could do but wait. Elrond had already refused his offer to help, saying that he was already too involved. Sighing, he pushed himself up against the cool wall and slid down to the floor, resting his hands on the top of his knees.
Just as he sat down, the door opened only a fraction of an inch. Elrond poked his head out into the corridor, not at all surprised to see Aragorn still sitting there. Aragorn immediately jumped to his feet and leaned up, hopeful that his father brought good news.
"She will live, Estel. But I do not know what we will do now, for she doesn't know where she came from or even so much as her name. And we both know she cannot stay here." Elrond whispered to him, worry etched into his face. Aragorn allowed himself to sigh as he thought of the burden he had just brought upon his own father.
"Until she is better, I strongly want for her to remain here. We do not know who was out to hurt her, but I feel that if we send her off right away she will have no place to go..." Aragorn said thoughtfully, hoping that Elrond would be able to see his side of the story. Elrond simply nodded, then opened the door a little more.
"Do you want to see her?" He asked Aragorn, opening the door wide enough for him to see the small girl sleeping soundly for the first time since he had stumbled upon her. Tentatively, Aragorn takes a small step into the room, trying to be as quiet as possible. Smiling, Elrond leaves the room and closes the door behind him with a gentle click.
Trying to be as quiet as possible, Aragorn makes his way over to a chair beside the girl's bedside. After sitting down, he leans a little closer to get a better look at the mysterious girl. He is shocked to see that her face and hair have been cleaned, and that she does hold a silent beauty of her own, something he never thought possible when he first saw her.
Aragorn lazily leaned back in the chair, allowing himself to doze off for the first time in what felt like days. Yet one eye was always kept cautiously cracked as he watched the girl breathe in and out, comforted by even the slightest movement.
///\\\
I awoke this time to find a strange man sitting in a chair not far from my bed, sprawled out in such a way that I knew he was sleeping. Grunting a little, I managed to drag my rather uncooperative body into a sitting position, so that now I could get a better view of the room that I had been lying in.
Small, white flowers adorn most of the room, giving off a rather heavenly scent which I gladly breathe in. There is a window just to my right from which light spills into the room, softly touching upon my face. As I turn to examine the headboard on the bed that I am lying in, the man sitting next to me begins to stir.
"'Quel amrun. Lle quena i'lambe tel' Eldalie?" The man says to me. The words are familiar yet alien at the same time, but I do not know how to answer him. Shrugging, I wiggle down further into the plush sheets, trying not to stare at him.
I was sure that this was a man. Yet if he was a man, then why does he not try to hurt me? And why does he speak so strangely? Questions flood my mind as I look at the stranger with a curious glance. Just to be safe, I reach for the dagger that I had stolen from the humans less than a few days ago.
To my extreme surprise, it is not there. A cry that is a mix of rage and anguish rises up in my throat as I desperately search my whole body for it. The man rapidly jumps to his feet and gently grabs my shoulders, forcing me to lie still in the bed. Tears of fear pool in my eyes as I cringe and wait for the blows that are surely to come.
"I won't hurt you, but you might hurt yourself if you keep straining yourself like that." The man says to me as he takes his hands off my shoulders without even letting a hint of anger creep into his voice. Shocked, I lay still and silent for a few moments as he returns to sitting in the chair.
"Why did you not beat me?" I asked him, looking upon him with a rather critical eye. Perhaps he is only trying to trick me, and later on I shall feel the real pain for my actions. But this place feels very different from the human village. I cannot feel death on the air anymore.
"Why would I?" The man answers. Now he begins to look at me like I was going crazy. I was actually beginning to think that I might be. Or, maybe that this was all a dream, that the man and the elf were just dream- people and would fade as soon as I opened my eyes.
"I...do not know." I answer cautiously, not wanting this stranger to know everything about me at once. The man is silent for a few moments before he rises up from the chair and instead comes to sit down on the edge of the bed. Just to be safe, I edge a little bit away from him.
"What is your name, child?" He asks, looking me right in the eyes with a look that I had never seen before. His eyes were a very powerful brown color and they had a kind look about them, instead of rage. I was greatly surprised that he even cared.
"I do not have a name." I whispered back, causing him to draw back a little in shock. Clearly, I had said something that was wrong or bad. After all, I did not know the customs of this place. Perhaps I would be tossed out of here, maybe taken back to the humans...
"Well, then you need one. Do you like the name Kaurea?" The man questioned me. I was surprised. This man was being nice, way too nice. Nicer than what was normal for a human, at least from my point of view. I waited a moment or two for him to withdraw his question, but he did not.
"It is fine." I said to him, making sure that I was being respectful just as I had been taught. A small chuckle escapes from the man's mouth as he looks at me, smile lines creasing his face that was not yet very old. I could not help but crack a smile.
"My name is Estel, at least around here." He said to me with a nod. "Kaurea means 'timid one' in Quenya, the language of the elves." I smiled. Now I had a name, and a new place to stay. What more could I ever wish for? This was like all of my dreams combined.
"I must go and inform Lord Elrond that you have woken again. He has been caring for you the past few days." Estel said to me as he rose from the chair in one smooth motion. I nodded, curling back upon into the covers, content to stay and rest until he returned.
Translations:
Quel amrun. Lle quena i'lambe tel' Eldalie? - Good morning. Do you speak elvish?
Coming Soon:
More about Kaurea's life in the human villages.
Elladan and Elrohir return from Lothlorien.
=Maybe= an appearance by Arwen.