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"I know my fate. One day my name will be associated with the memory of something tremendous--a crisis without equal on earth, the most profound collision of conscience, a decision that was conjured up against everything that had been believed, demanded, hallowed so far. I am no man, I am dynamite."
-- Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900), German philosopher
Chapter 41
Seeing the Sunset
The next two weeks were a blur to Anayah. By the fourth day after the creature's attack, she felt well enough to begin riding again; on the fifth day, she and her Guards spent the day on the archery range, shooting quiver after quiver of arrows; and by the end of the first week she was beginning her endurance training again.
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Anayah had never pulled rank on anyone, feeling that no elf or other being should ever be made to feel inferior. Perhaps that was why Lord Elrond was surprised when an extremely flustered Stable Master softly knocked on the door of his study and when Elladan answered, quietly asked for an audience with his Lord.
"My Lord," the elf said seriously, "Lady Anayah came to the stables and requested that we all leave so she could clean the whole building herself. When I replied that it would be unseemly for one of her position and gender to be doing that type of work, she told me that as a Lady of Imladris, she had the right to order me out of the building if she so chose and that she so chose to do so at that time."
Elrond had to use every bit of self-control, learned over the many millennia of his life, to keep from bursting out in uncontrolled laughter. His sons and the Mirkwood Prince, however, did not exercise any control whatsoever and were soon laughing at the situation with the Stable Master who was shooting them glares as they did. Lord Elrond cleared his throat and put a comforting hand on the Stable Master's shoulder.
"I can assure you that my foster daughter has meant no offense to you. However, I might caution you that in future dealings with her, if the issue of gender ever comes up, pass it by quickly, for it is a topic that has a tendency to make her less than happy. Other than that, just let her do as she pleases for she is using the stable cleaning as a means of building endurance."
As he escorted the elf to the door, the Noldor Lord told him that he would walk down to the stables later and have a talk with his daughter. Seemingly satisfied, the Stable Master left, feeling satisfied that his problem had been dealt with.
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When Elrond, his sons and Legolas walked to the stables and stepped through door, shortly before the dinner hour, they were amazed at all the work that had been accomplished that day. All 50 stalls were spotless, the walkways were clear of unused equipment and discarded supplies, the dirt floor was well groomed, and all tack and equipment had been neatly placed in their proper places. Even the air smelled fresh, like new straw and well-oiled leather. They did not, however, see Anayah anywhere in the barn.
They were not too startled when Súrion lowered himself from where he had been sitting, unseen, in the rafters above the stalls.
"My Lords." He bowed to them politely.
"Have you seen my daughter?" Lord Elrond was still looking around, hoping to see her in one of the stalls.
"She is in the stall with her horse."
As the group began to walk toward the far end of the stables to where the stallion's stall was located, the silver-haired elf stopped them.
"One moment please. Before you go down there, I must warn you that she has fallen asleep and might be embarrassed if you find her in such a condition. I was going to wake her myself to go to dinner in another few minutes."
"Thank you for the warning, Súrion. We will be as discrete as possible."
The group walked to the stallion's stall only to find Anayah busily grooming her large friend. Elrond and the others paused.
"It is almost the dinner hour Anayah. May we escort you to the house?"
She looked at the five of them for a moment then shook her head.
"That is about the lamest excuse I could have ever expected from any of you!" She smiled at the group standing before her.
They all knew that they had not been able to fool her but it was Elladan who tried to salvage the otherwise embarrassing situation.
"Sister, I am hurt to my heart. You think wrongly of us for we did truly want to walk you back to house and to the wonderful meal that Elurin has prepared for us."
"Yeah, yeah, right and of course. Like you did not want to see what I have been up to all day! Besides, I know it does not take five beings to escort me to dinner." She smiled at the chagrined looks on their faces. "Nevertheless, I still love you all! Now, let us go see what Elurin had prepared for us for I am starving!"
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Anayah was sitting quietly on her balcony, looking up at the full yellow moon. She was almost relieved when she felt a gentle breeze stir her hair and swirl about on the balcony like a dancing elfling. The slight vibration of the lounging bench, however, was the only other sign that she had a visitor. The two were so comfortable with each other's presence that she did not even have to turn to him to extend the obligatory courtesies.
"So, tonight is the night."
"Yes, tonight is the night that I begin my journey to try and finally end this thing." She looked over at her guest and gave his arm a gentle squeeze. "I am glad you came though. You have this uncanny ability to be able to calm all my uncertainties and give me the will to travel a path even when I know it will be a most difficult one."
"Is that not what friends are for?" He smiled gently but when she did not answer, he scooted closer to her on the bench and put an arm around her. "Do you know what you are supposed to do?"
She glanced at her friend and he saw the tears in her eyes.
"I am supposed to die, that is what I am supposed to do." She sighed. "I am sorry for sounding so morose, but to answer your question, yes, I know what I am supposed to do."
She absently fingered the amulet that lay on the outside of her tunic.
"I have to touch that foul thing with the amulet and then when he is trapped, I must voluntarily give up my life's grace so that he has no other body to jump to. Then, if I am strong enough, I have to come back – I have to call my self back from the brink of death - hooray for the Númenorean blood!"
As she covered her eyes with her hands and began to cry, her friend drew her into his arms and held her close to himself.
"You must be very frightened Anayah, knowing how many beings are depending on your ability to do this and I am positive that knowing the responsibility is yours alone, can seem overwhelming. But I know that you can do this thing, for I truly know your heart, and I know that it will never give up until the job is done. You are a strong elf, my young friend, and I am positive that you will get through this."
She glanced up at the being sitting beside her.
"So now, along with all your other talents, you have the gift of foresight?"
"No, Anayah, I do not have the gift of foresight, just a good, strong, healthy dose of faith - I have faith in you." He hugged her hard for a moment. "There is great courage inside you and it is that courage that will help you through what is going to happen."
She sighed again and for a moment pressed the palms of her hands against her eyes then stood up and took a deep breath.
"Thank you, my friend for knowledge of your faith in me gives me courage. Now get out of here so I can get ready to leave!" She leaned over and gave him a kiss on his forehead.
"I will keep you in my heart, Anayah. The best of luck to you and young Amrûn."
She did not have to turn around to know that he had gone.
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Amrûn woke to find Anayah standing over her shaking her gently by the shoulder.
"Come, Amrûn, it is time."
As the young girl began to climb out of bed, Anayah turned to her.
"Amrûn, I am going to go take my leave of my father. Please prepare yourself and be ready when I return for you in 30 minutes."
Amrûn nodded her head and immediately set about dressing while Anayah turned and exited the room.
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The first thing Anayah did was find Saeros. The blond-haired elf smiled at her as she approached him.
"Greetings Lady Anayah. I think I can guess by the expression on your face that the time has come?"
"Yes my friend, the time has indeed come. I would like for you to wake Rahan and let him know that I have gone and that he is to give me a two hour head start before the four of you follow Amrûn and I to Osp."
Saeros looked at her for a moment, noting her nervousness.
"Anayah."
She looked up at the elf, for seldom did any of her guards call her by her first name.
"Young one, you will be fine."
Saying no more, the elf turned and walked away towards the guards' quarters.
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She knocked softly on the door of her father's chamber but when there was still no answer after the second time she knocked, she peeked her head inside the door and discovered that her father was not there. She found the elder elf in the Sitting Room, sitting in front of a cozy fire, staring absently into the flames. When she reached his side, he patted the seat beside him and after she sat the two spent some moments in silence gathering their thoughts.
"Its time, Ada."
Elrond frowned then answered his foster daughter.
"Anayah, you have been through much over the last few months. Are you sure that the time is now right or do you think that maybe the wiser choice would be for you to wait a little while longer?"
"No, Ada, the time is right, for if I do not leave now, my courage may fail me altogether." She glanced at her foster father nervously.
"Then is there anything that I can do for you that might make your task easier?" He took her hand in his and just sat, holding it, while he looked into both her eyes and her heart.
"I want you to know how much it has meant to me to have you in my life and that all of you have allowed me to be a part of yours and that never, in my whole life, have I felt more complete than I do at this moment. I have brothers, Legolas included, to fight with – and for, and I have an Ada that I can come to with any problem and receive the perfect counsel every time. I love each and every one of you with every bit of my heart, and with every fiber of my being. This family cares about me as an elf and not just as a warrior and none of you have any idea how good that makes me feel inside. But, I must go now, and do something and I may not have a chance to return after I have finished. I want all of you to know that I have accepted that fact. So, Ada, I must take my leave of you and ask that you tell the others good-bye for me, for if I have to say goodbye to them myself, I might lose my courage to do what I know I must. Will you do this for me?"
Elrond hugged her closely to him and kissed the top of her head.
"Aye, daughter, you know that I will."
He gently pushed her away from him so that he could gaze into her eyes.
"Then please, Ada, give me your blessing so that I may leave."
"You shall have it Anayah. May the blessings of the Valar and all the free peoples of Middle Earth go with you on your journey."
With no more words being exchanged, Anayah got up and left the room. After the door had closed quietly behind her, Elladan stepped out of the shadows of the balcony and after receiving a nod from his father, he too left the room.
TBC
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COMING NEXT: Confrontation: Anayah was totally focused on getting to the wizard and was somewhat inattentive to her surroundings, and the error almost proved fatal. As the young she-elf stepped away from the shadows of a building that had been providing her with cover while observing the movements of the white wizard, she did not detect the presence of something else that had been watching the wizard also. Stepping out from her cover, she suddenly found herself face to face with the demon.
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Soccer-Bitch: Thanks for the review. Soccer pictures? I bet you look cute. BR BR
kahui( ): She is really young for this kind of responsibility but has found a wonderful support system in her adopted family and her Thurin Tirith Guards. And you are right... predestiny is not always well defined although it is not something that can be ignored. It is truly a statement of her character that she has gone through what she has and has managed to come out with her mind, courage and sense of duty intact. Here's the next chapter – enjoy!