The interpretation of the hand signals used before the battle will be in italics and inside parenthesis. (Interpretation)
Thoughts will be in italics inside quotation marks. "thoughts"
Chapter 9
Warrior and Healer
Elrond stood on the balcony of his chambers looking out over the deep cleft that was home to the Elven realm of Imladris. The Noldor Lord was deep in thought, considering the events of the near past while trying to also see and consider the near future, for that worried him also. Absently, he moved Vilya around on his finger until, finally noticing what he was doing, he paused and frowned.
At first he had been somewhat disturbed by the fact that the old woman had known about Vilya, for Maia or not, he had not known of any elf, human or Maiar, outside of a chosen few who had known exactly who the keepers of the three Elven Rings of Power were. However, after his initial panic had worn off, and he could once more think clearly, he relaxed, for he could sense no evil intent coming from the elderly Maia. He was, however, curious as to what part she, as well as her granddaughter, would play in the upcoming events. He smiled and continued to stare out over the gorge.
8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
Deep in the heart of Lórien, in Caras Galadhon, the Lady of the Golden Wood, Galadriel, was standing by her mirror with her husband and love, Lord Celeborn, standing beside her. The Lórien Lord knew that his wife was troubled about something and stood, patiently waiting for her to speak and tell him what it was that she had seen in the still water. Finally, she turned to him.
"We are all in great peril!"
"What have you foreseen my wife?"
"I have foreseen the fall of Valinor!"
8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
The ground passed swiftly beneath the hooves of the tireless horses as the group traveled away from the borders of Imladris. It was not long before the midnight hour when they encountered their first trouble in a form they were all too familiar with.
Anayah held up a closed fist. (Stop.) First she pointed to her eyes, then her ears, then drew a circle in the air with her index finger. (Do you see or hear anything anywhere around us?)
The four elves traveling with her closely scanned the surrounding area for any sound or sign of movement then shook their heads. (No, we do not see or hear anything!)
Rahan held out his hand, palm Up. (What do you want to do?)
Slowly and quietly, Anayah loosened her sword in the scabbard and the others did the same.
"That is the problem." Anayah thought to herself. "It is far too quiet."
The group proceeded at a much slower rate, hands on their swords, senses alert for any sound or movement that might indicate an enemy in hiding.
When they entered a small glade surrounded by forest and boulders, Elias suddenly started to get nervous. His ears began to flick back and forth and he began to dance in place, a prearranged signal between he and his Lady that meant great trouble was approaching them.
Anayah pointed to her horse's ears as she and the other five elves advanced farther into the glade. (He sees something we do not.) Then, again catching Rahan's attention, she pointed to her nose and made a circle in the air. (I smell something. Do you?) Rahan nodded then signaled the other three to get ready.
Sound exploded in the small glade as Orcs began to pour out of the forest and from behind boulders, quickly turning the once quiet and serene little glade into a battle ground. The five elves, knowing that their horses could well take care of themselves, drew their swords then dismounted, prepared to meet the enemy.
Saeros and Súrion started picking off Orcs with their bows while Rahan, Anayah and Semoro engaged the Orcs with their swords, effectively protecting their archers as they did so.
Ducking beneath a blow from an Orc scimitar, then switching her sword from left hand to right, Anayah spun to her left and with the momentum gained by the move, severed an Orc's leg at the knee. Continuing with the natural momentum of the spin she slammed her sword into the back of another Orc, breaking his spine.
Watching her as he battled his own share of Orcs, Rahan nodded in approval. Though each of the four elves had had the chance to spar with her in the safety of Imladris, none of them had had the chance to fight with her in actual combat. He had retained some initial reservations about her abilities to be effective because of her size, but after seeing her in battle, what reservations he had soon disappeared.
Anayah was suitably impressed at how silent the four guards were as they fought. For being elves of such large stature, they were amazingly quick as well as deadly and fought with great power, using their considerable skills for inflicting the maximum amount of damage in the least amount of time - and by whatever means necessary.
Rahan attempted to keep as close to his young charge as possible during the fight. A diagonal slash from his sword cut deeply into an Orc that was trying to approach her from behind killing it instantly. Immediately after the killing blow was delivered, the Captain effortlessly removed his sword from the dead body, denoting only a small measure of the big elf's actual, great strength.
When an Orc came too close for Semoro to use his sword on, the elf buried the tip of the sword in the soil then took the Orc's head between his hands and with a sudden twist to the back and side, snapped its neck, killing it instantly after which he dropped the body as if it was nothing more than a piece of refuse. When he saw an Orc trying to stab Súrion from behind, he grabbed the creature, spun it around, head-butted it then drove his dagger deep into its stomach, jerking the blade upwards, effectively gutting the now dead Orc.
It had to be the only spiked club in the whole Orc group that caused the only injury of the battle. Having engaged two other creatures which took him all of 30 seconds to kill, Rahan did not see the approach of the Orc with the club until it was too late and the club was completing its downward arc. Though he heard the audible crack as the club hit and broke his wrist, causing him to drop his sword, and though his vision exploded with white stars because of the pain, still he managed to reach out with his good hand and grabbing the Orc by the throat, crushed the thing's windpipe, causing the creature to drown in his own blood.
Semoro had resheathed his sword and had switched to his long knives and after killing the Orc standing in front of him, reversed his knives, and without turning, drove both blades deep into the belly of the Orc coming at him from behind.
The four elves froze for they saw that there was only one Orc left, it was on the other side of the glade and it had both hands on Anayah's braid, using it to pull her toward him. There was nothing any of them could do for they were too far away and though Semoro grabbed his boot dagger and flipped it, blade to palm, getting ready to throw it, he doubted the knife would be effective from where he stood. He soon discovered, however, that he would not need to throw it.
As the Orc drug the she-elf toward him, she dropped her sword and drew her dagger from its sheath and when she felt the Orc release her braid then with both hands turned her to face him, she used all her strength to drive the blade into the one place that would teach the Orc that some females did not like Orcs to touch their hair. With a high-pitched cry, the Orc released her, grabbed himself one last time, then pitched face first onto the ground - very much dead. She turned the dead Orc onto his back then removed her dagger and cleaned it on the grass.
Finally, sensing the silence and also sensing that she was being watched, Anayah raised her head to see all four of her guards standing still and watching her with grimaces on their faces.
"What?" She said as she looked at the four male elves.
"Ow?" It was all Súrion could think of to say as he shook his head and shuddered involuntarily.
They all laughed. The battle was over and they were all very much glad to be alive.
8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
The five elves walked once around the battlefield checking to make sure that all the Orcs were dead and after this task had been completed, Anayah called her Captain to her.
"I want to check your wrist and treat it." She held out her hand to him.
He complied and offered his hand to her which he had been holding gingerly to his chest.
Gently she took his wrist and examined it carefully. She could see a black substance on the edges of the wound where the spike from the Orc's club had pierced his wrist. Closing her eyes, she gently ran her fingers over the lacerated and freely bleeding wound, feeling for the broken edges of the bone and when her searching fingers told her that the broken edges of the bone were smooth and had not been displaced, she looked up at Rahan and smiled.
"Lady Anayah, I am sure I will be fine, however, I must advise you that we need to leave this place before scavengers or other Orcs come. All I need to do at this moment is to pack this wound with athelas and bind it temporarily. After that, we must all leave."
"I agree with you that we must leave this place, but I will be the one to see to your treatment. Have I made myself clear on this matter, Captain?"
The two elves locked eyes for a moment then Rahan raised an eyebrow at her but otherwise remained silent.
Anayah got her healer's pack off her horse's saddle and returned to where Rahan sat. First, she gently cleaned the spike's entrance point, then took a few leaves of athelas, chewed them carefully and packed them into the wound. After this, she took one of the arrows from her quiver and breaking off the tip as well as the end with the fletchings, she broke what was left into two equal pieces and using these pieces, made a splint which she then bound firmly with clean bandages.
"That should hold until I can do a better job." She gave Rahan's arm a gentle pat, signifying that she was finished for the moment.
"Now, let us take leave of this place for it unnerves me. Besides, the spike of the club that broke your wrist was poisoned and I want to get you to a place where you can rest comfortably and so I can treat the effects of the poison."
When the elf looked as if he were about to speak, Anayah raised her hand.
"I do not wish for you to argue with me about this, Rahan. I am a healer and I understand these matters."
He nodded his head. "As you wish." He smiled, thinking to himself that he was glad the young she-elf could and would stand her ground when she needed to.
Anayah reached down and taking her Captain's good arm, helped him rise then steadied him as he swayed and almost fell.
The wound was not life threatening, and so Rahan was surprised at the dizziness he felt when he rose.
Seeing the elf weave unsteadily, Anayah reached up and placed her hand on his forehead, her expression serious as she felt the beginnings of a fever. She did not speak, only led him to where the others were waiting by their horses then helped him mount after which the five of them left the glade and went in search of a suitable place to make their camp for the night.
8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
The most suitable place for a camp, one that had a stream nearby and good grazing for their horses, was found not more than a mile and a half from where the battle had taken place. Once the elves arrived, it was not long before the camp was fully set up, a fire started and the horses fed and groomed.
Anayah set out her healing supplies and had Rahan sit by the fire so she could take another look at his wrist. She felt that she had been correct in her first assessment that the fracture was not displaced though she was dissatisfied with how the open wound from the spike was still seeping blood. She suspected that an anticoagulant had been on the spike as well as the usual Orc poison.
When he flexed his fingers, she could detect no severed tendons, ligaments or muscles and was pleased by this, knowing that his wrist would heal quickly and well.
Holding on to his wrist above the break with one hand, she had him rest his palm and fingers in her other hand.
"Flex your wrist, slowly and carefully in different directions and tell me if it hurts."
Rahan complied. "There is no pain."
Sighing, she glanced around at the others who were standing and watching as she tended to their captain.
"Ok, guys. This will be Lesson Number One on how to tell if someone is BS'ing you when you ask them if something hurts and they say no. See where my left hand is?"
"Yes," the three elves replied.
"When I asked Captain Rahan if flexing his wrist caused him pain and he said no, I could feel the muscles beneath my hand move in a certain way which told me that our good Captain was, in fact, lying! While he may not have flinched, the muscles in his wrist did, and therefore spoke more truly than did their bearer. Now the moral of this sad little scenario is this - do NOT, under any circumstances, try to BS the healer. Tell her the truth as I truly believe that honesty does not, in any way, indicate weakness and will, therefore, help me to help you better. I do not want to have an injured elf guarding my back as you do not either, I am sure. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
"Yes, my Lady."
She looked at the four guards and saw that they were looking at her with big smiles on their faces. She winked at them and when she looked back at Rahan, she could see the twinkle in his eyes as well.
"I pray to Ilúvatar that I never get on your bad side!"
Anayah smiled back.
8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
Rahan assigned the watches to the elves, with Saeros taking the first watch of the night but when he assigned himself the second watched, Anayah protested.
"I do not think so, big guy. I want you to rest for the remainder of this night. I will take your watch."
"But ..."
"No buts. There was Orc poison on the spike of that club and as a precaution, I want you to do nothing more than rest, so I will take your watch. You can give your elves orders if you want, but you will not move from this spot you are in until I give you my permission to do so."
She laid the back of her fingers on his forehead, noting the increase of his fever.
"Do I need to repeat myself?" She raised an eyebrow at her patient. When he remained silent, she patted him on the head.
"Now get some rest."
8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
It was after she had completed her watch that she noticed that her Captain was not only sleeping with his eyes closed but was also becoming quite restless and when she felt his forehead with the back of her fingers, his skin felt hot and dry. Taking a bowl, she filled it with hot water from the kettle simmering over the fire then after setting it down close to Rahan's head, took two athelas leaves in her hand, crushed them, blew on them then placed the leaves in the hot water. Immediately the air around the injured elf was freshened and he soon calmed down and was still once more.
After this task was completed, she prepared a tea with special herbs in it that would not only help ease his pain but would also help him sleep easier. She got him to wake up enough to drink the tea and after he did so, carefully eased his head back down then pulled his blanket up around his shoulders. Taking a piece of clean linen, she dipped it in the bowl where the athelas leaves were steeping, fanned the cloth in the air to cool it and proceeded to bathe his face as well as his wounded arm.
Anayah felt someone watching her and when she looked up, saw Semoro watching her closely. She smiled at him, trying to put him at ease about his brother.
Quietly, the elf came and sat by his brother and affectionately caressed his head smoothing the sweat dampened hair off his forehead.
"I want to thank you for taking such good care of him."
"Semoro, I am a healer and that is what a healer is supposed to do. Besides, he is not such a bad elf once you get to know him."
"Lady Anayah, you are much more than just a healer. We were all told that you were good at healing others." He paused and frowned slightly as he carefully considered his next words.
"To tell you the truth, when we first learned of our assignment, we thought that we would be doing nothing more than babysitting a royal brat."
Anayah raised her head and glanced sharply at the elf.
"I am sorry if that offends you."
She nodded in acknowledgment of his apology before he continued.
"You surprised all of us from the very beginning and tonight, after we saw how you handled yourself, all of our preconceived notions just disappeared. I must admit that, in battle, you have got to be the meanest, toughest, most dirty fighting she-elf I have ever met in my long life. Then just when we think we have you all figured out, we see you turn yourself around and moments later become a kind and gentle healer - I can truly say that I am impressed. And I must admit that it takes a lot to impress me. I just hope you can forgive all of us for doubting you."
She reached across the sleeping Rahan and gently patted his brother's arm.
"There is nothing to forgive, Semoro. I have grown accustomed to humans and elves underestimating me - it's something that has been happening all my life. I just do not let it bother me anymore - much, anyway. Now as a healer, I am ordering you to go get some sleep."
"Thank you again." After nodding his head in appreciation, he returned to his bedroll and immediately dropped into the land of elvish dreams.
TBC
FunkyFries: Welcome and thank you for your review. I hope you continue to enjoy my story.
DesolateAznVamp: Hope you like the action in this one!
Thoughts will be in italics inside quotation marks. "thoughts"
Chapter 9
Warrior and Healer
Elrond stood on the balcony of his chambers looking out over the deep cleft that was home to the Elven realm of Imladris. The Noldor Lord was deep in thought, considering the events of the near past while trying to also see and consider the near future, for that worried him also. Absently, he moved Vilya around on his finger until, finally noticing what he was doing, he paused and frowned.
At first he had been somewhat disturbed by the fact that the old woman had known about Vilya, for Maia or not, he had not known of any elf, human or Maiar, outside of a chosen few who had known exactly who the keepers of the three Elven Rings of Power were. However, after his initial panic had worn off, and he could once more think clearly, he relaxed, for he could sense no evil intent coming from the elderly Maia. He was, however, curious as to what part she, as well as her granddaughter, would play in the upcoming events. He smiled and continued to stare out over the gorge.
8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
Deep in the heart of Lórien, in Caras Galadhon, the Lady of the Golden Wood, Galadriel, was standing by her mirror with her husband and love, Lord Celeborn, standing beside her. The Lórien Lord knew that his wife was troubled about something and stood, patiently waiting for her to speak and tell him what it was that she had seen in the still water. Finally, she turned to him.
"We are all in great peril!"
"What have you foreseen my wife?"
"I have foreseen the fall of Valinor!"
8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
The ground passed swiftly beneath the hooves of the tireless horses as the group traveled away from the borders of Imladris. It was not long before the midnight hour when they encountered their first trouble in a form they were all too familiar with.
Anayah held up a closed fist. (Stop.) First she pointed to her eyes, then her ears, then drew a circle in the air with her index finger. (Do you see or hear anything anywhere around us?)
The four elves traveling with her closely scanned the surrounding area for any sound or sign of movement then shook their heads. (No, we do not see or hear anything!)
Rahan held out his hand, palm Up. (What do you want to do?)
Slowly and quietly, Anayah loosened her sword in the scabbard and the others did the same.
"That is the problem." Anayah thought to herself. "It is far too quiet."
The group proceeded at a much slower rate, hands on their swords, senses alert for any sound or movement that might indicate an enemy in hiding.
When they entered a small glade surrounded by forest and boulders, Elias suddenly started to get nervous. His ears began to flick back and forth and he began to dance in place, a prearranged signal between he and his Lady that meant great trouble was approaching them.
Anayah pointed to her horse's ears as she and the other five elves advanced farther into the glade. (He sees something we do not.) Then, again catching Rahan's attention, she pointed to her nose and made a circle in the air. (I smell something. Do you?) Rahan nodded then signaled the other three to get ready.
Sound exploded in the small glade as Orcs began to pour out of the forest and from behind boulders, quickly turning the once quiet and serene little glade into a battle ground. The five elves, knowing that their horses could well take care of themselves, drew their swords then dismounted, prepared to meet the enemy.
Saeros and Súrion started picking off Orcs with their bows while Rahan, Anayah and Semoro engaged the Orcs with their swords, effectively protecting their archers as they did so.
Ducking beneath a blow from an Orc scimitar, then switching her sword from left hand to right, Anayah spun to her left and with the momentum gained by the move, severed an Orc's leg at the knee. Continuing with the natural momentum of the spin she slammed her sword into the back of another Orc, breaking his spine.
Watching her as he battled his own share of Orcs, Rahan nodded in approval. Though each of the four elves had had the chance to spar with her in the safety of Imladris, none of them had had the chance to fight with her in actual combat. He had retained some initial reservations about her abilities to be effective because of her size, but after seeing her in battle, what reservations he had soon disappeared.
Anayah was suitably impressed at how silent the four guards were as they fought. For being elves of such large stature, they were amazingly quick as well as deadly and fought with great power, using their considerable skills for inflicting the maximum amount of damage in the least amount of time - and by whatever means necessary.
Rahan attempted to keep as close to his young charge as possible during the fight. A diagonal slash from his sword cut deeply into an Orc that was trying to approach her from behind killing it instantly. Immediately after the killing blow was delivered, the Captain effortlessly removed his sword from the dead body, denoting only a small measure of the big elf's actual, great strength.
When an Orc came too close for Semoro to use his sword on, the elf buried the tip of the sword in the soil then took the Orc's head between his hands and with a sudden twist to the back and side, snapped its neck, killing it instantly after which he dropped the body as if it was nothing more than a piece of refuse. When he saw an Orc trying to stab Súrion from behind, he grabbed the creature, spun it around, head-butted it then drove his dagger deep into its stomach, jerking the blade upwards, effectively gutting the now dead Orc.
It had to be the only spiked club in the whole Orc group that caused the only injury of the battle. Having engaged two other creatures which took him all of 30 seconds to kill, Rahan did not see the approach of the Orc with the club until it was too late and the club was completing its downward arc. Though he heard the audible crack as the club hit and broke his wrist, causing him to drop his sword, and though his vision exploded with white stars because of the pain, still he managed to reach out with his good hand and grabbing the Orc by the throat, crushed the thing's windpipe, causing the creature to drown in his own blood.
Semoro had resheathed his sword and had switched to his long knives and after killing the Orc standing in front of him, reversed his knives, and without turning, drove both blades deep into the belly of the Orc coming at him from behind.
The four elves froze for they saw that there was only one Orc left, it was on the other side of the glade and it had both hands on Anayah's braid, using it to pull her toward him. There was nothing any of them could do for they were too far away and though Semoro grabbed his boot dagger and flipped it, blade to palm, getting ready to throw it, he doubted the knife would be effective from where he stood. He soon discovered, however, that he would not need to throw it.
As the Orc drug the she-elf toward him, she dropped her sword and drew her dagger from its sheath and when she felt the Orc release her braid then with both hands turned her to face him, she used all her strength to drive the blade into the one place that would teach the Orc that some females did not like Orcs to touch their hair. With a high-pitched cry, the Orc released her, grabbed himself one last time, then pitched face first onto the ground - very much dead. She turned the dead Orc onto his back then removed her dagger and cleaned it on the grass.
Finally, sensing the silence and also sensing that she was being watched, Anayah raised her head to see all four of her guards standing still and watching her with grimaces on their faces.
"What?" She said as she looked at the four male elves.
"Ow?" It was all Súrion could think of to say as he shook his head and shuddered involuntarily.
They all laughed. The battle was over and they were all very much glad to be alive.
8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
The five elves walked once around the battlefield checking to make sure that all the Orcs were dead and after this task had been completed, Anayah called her Captain to her.
"I want to check your wrist and treat it." She held out her hand to him.
He complied and offered his hand to her which he had been holding gingerly to his chest.
Gently she took his wrist and examined it carefully. She could see a black substance on the edges of the wound where the spike from the Orc's club had pierced his wrist. Closing her eyes, she gently ran her fingers over the lacerated and freely bleeding wound, feeling for the broken edges of the bone and when her searching fingers told her that the broken edges of the bone were smooth and had not been displaced, she looked up at Rahan and smiled.
"Lady Anayah, I am sure I will be fine, however, I must advise you that we need to leave this place before scavengers or other Orcs come. All I need to do at this moment is to pack this wound with athelas and bind it temporarily. After that, we must all leave."
"I agree with you that we must leave this place, but I will be the one to see to your treatment. Have I made myself clear on this matter, Captain?"
The two elves locked eyes for a moment then Rahan raised an eyebrow at her but otherwise remained silent.
Anayah got her healer's pack off her horse's saddle and returned to where Rahan sat. First, she gently cleaned the spike's entrance point, then took a few leaves of athelas, chewed them carefully and packed them into the wound. After this, she took one of the arrows from her quiver and breaking off the tip as well as the end with the fletchings, she broke what was left into two equal pieces and using these pieces, made a splint which she then bound firmly with clean bandages.
"That should hold until I can do a better job." She gave Rahan's arm a gentle pat, signifying that she was finished for the moment.
"Now, let us take leave of this place for it unnerves me. Besides, the spike of the club that broke your wrist was poisoned and I want to get you to a place where you can rest comfortably and so I can treat the effects of the poison."
When the elf looked as if he were about to speak, Anayah raised her hand.
"I do not wish for you to argue with me about this, Rahan. I am a healer and I understand these matters."
He nodded his head. "As you wish." He smiled, thinking to himself that he was glad the young she-elf could and would stand her ground when she needed to.
Anayah reached down and taking her Captain's good arm, helped him rise then steadied him as he swayed and almost fell.
The wound was not life threatening, and so Rahan was surprised at the dizziness he felt when he rose.
Seeing the elf weave unsteadily, Anayah reached up and placed her hand on his forehead, her expression serious as she felt the beginnings of a fever. She did not speak, only led him to where the others were waiting by their horses then helped him mount after which the five of them left the glade and went in search of a suitable place to make their camp for the night.
8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
The most suitable place for a camp, one that had a stream nearby and good grazing for their horses, was found not more than a mile and a half from where the battle had taken place. Once the elves arrived, it was not long before the camp was fully set up, a fire started and the horses fed and groomed.
Anayah set out her healing supplies and had Rahan sit by the fire so she could take another look at his wrist. She felt that she had been correct in her first assessment that the fracture was not displaced though she was dissatisfied with how the open wound from the spike was still seeping blood. She suspected that an anticoagulant had been on the spike as well as the usual Orc poison.
When he flexed his fingers, she could detect no severed tendons, ligaments or muscles and was pleased by this, knowing that his wrist would heal quickly and well.
Holding on to his wrist above the break with one hand, she had him rest his palm and fingers in her other hand.
"Flex your wrist, slowly and carefully in different directions and tell me if it hurts."
Rahan complied. "There is no pain."
Sighing, she glanced around at the others who were standing and watching as she tended to their captain.
"Ok, guys. This will be Lesson Number One on how to tell if someone is BS'ing you when you ask them if something hurts and they say no. See where my left hand is?"
"Yes," the three elves replied.
"When I asked Captain Rahan if flexing his wrist caused him pain and he said no, I could feel the muscles beneath my hand move in a certain way which told me that our good Captain was, in fact, lying! While he may not have flinched, the muscles in his wrist did, and therefore spoke more truly than did their bearer. Now the moral of this sad little scenario is this - do NOT, under any circumstances, try to BS the healer. Tell her the truth as I truly believe that honesty does not, in any way, indicate weakness and will, therefore, help me to help you better. I do not want to have an injured elf guarding my back as you do not either, I am sure. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"
"Yes, my Lady."
She looked at the four guards and saw that they were looking at her with big smiles on their faces. She winked at them and when she looked back at Rahan, she could see the twinkle in his eyes as well.
"I pray to Ilúvatar that I never get on your bad side!"
Anayah smiled back.
8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
Rahan assigned the watches to the elves, with Saeros taking the first watch of the night but when he assigned himself the second watched, Anayah protested.
"I do not think so, big guy. I want you to rest for the remainder of this night. I will take your watch."
"But ..."
"No buts. There was Orc poison on the spike of that club and as a precaution, I want you to do nothing more than rest, so I will take your watch. You can give your elves orders if you want, but you will not move from this spot you are in until I give you my permission to do so."
She laid the back of her fingers on his forehead, noting the increase of his fever.
"Do I need to repeat myself?" She raised an eyebrow at her patient. When he remained silent, she patted him on the head.
"Now get some rest."
8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)
It was after she had completed her watch that she noticed that her Captain was not only sleeping with his eyes closed but was also becoming quite restless and when she felt his forehead with the back of her fingers, his skin felt hot and dry. Taking a bowl, she filled it with hot water from the kettle simmering over the fire then after setting it down close to Rahan's head, took two athelas leaves in her hand, crushed them, blew on them then placed the leaves in the hot water. Immediately the air around the injured elf was freshened and he soon calmed down and was still once more.
After this task was completed, she prepared a tea with special herbs in it that would not only help ease his pain but would also help him sleep easier. She got him to wake up enough to drink the tea and after he did so, carefully eased his head back down then pulled his blanket up around his shoulders. Taking a piece of clean linen, she dipped it in the bowl where the athelas leaves were steeping, fanned the cloth in the air to cool it and proceeded to bathe his face as well as his wounded arm.
Anayah felt someone watching her and when she looked up, saw Semoro watching her closely. She smiled at him, trying to put him at ease about his brother.
Quietly, the elf came and sat by his brother and affectionately caressed his head smoothing the sweat dampened hair off his forehead.
"I want to thank you for taking such good care of him."
"Semoro, I am a healer and that is what a healer is supposed to do. Besides, he is not such a bad elf once you get to know him."
"Lady Anayah, you are much more than just a healer. We were all told that you were good at healing others." He paused and frowned slightly as he carefully considered his next words.
"To tell you the truth, when we first learned of our assignment, we thought that we would be doing nothing more than babysitting a royal brat."
Anayah raised her head and glanced sharply at the elf.
"I am sorry if that offends you."
She nodded in acknowledgment of his apology before he continued.
"You surprised all of us from the very beginning and tonight, after we saw how you handled yourself, all of our preconceived notions just disappeared. I must admit that, in battle, you have got to be the meanest, toughest, most dirty fighting she-elf I have ever met in my long life. Then just when we think we have you all figured out, we see you turn yourself around and moments later become a kind and gentle healer - I can truly say that I am impressed. And I must admit that it takes a lot to impress me. I just hope you can forgive all of us for doubting you."
She reached across the sleeping Rahan and gently patted his brother's arm.
"There is nothing to forgive, Semoro. I have grown accustomed to humans and elves underestimating me - it's something that has been happening all my life. I just do not let it bother me anymore - much, anyway. Now as a healer, I am ordering you to go get some sleep."
"Thank you again." After nodding his head in appreciation, he returned to his bedroll and immediately dropped into the land of elvish dreams.
TBC
FunkyFries: Welcome and thank you for your review. I hope you continue to enjoy my story.
DesolateAznVamp: Hope you like the action in this one!