Hey I'm back! Ok just to clear things up in my story, I'm not going to have elves fall asleep with their eyes open. I know that is not how Tolkien has it in his books, but I'm writing it that way. And also, I am not sure if elves can die of exhaustion (ex not enough food or water/no rest what so ever) but that's how it's going to be in this fanfic. If you don't like it, then don't read it. This fic is a little AU, but not much. So without further ado..chapter two everybody! Xoxo, Sammie
I'mela en'i'ilfirin:
The Love of the Immortal
Chapter 2: Luma'cormie (Heavy Hearts)
Nieninque POVThe world was on it's side when she opened her eyes and it took her a few moments to realize that she was laying on the ground next to a small camp fire. She heard rustling to her left and sprung up into a sitting position on impulse. Turning frantically to where the noise came from, she saw three elves come out of the woods.
"Good you're awake," One said. He had dark brown hair and astonishingly green eyes. He pulled a vial out of his horse's saddlebag. Walking over to her, he took off the cork in one fluid motion and handed her the concoction. "Drink this. It will help with your exhaustion."
Without thinking, she took it and swallowed the little amount in the glass in one gulp.
"What is your name?" another of the elves asked. This one also had green eyes, but his hair shone blond when the firelight flickered against the strands. The elf next to him, tending to the flame with kindling, had the same rich brown hair of the first, but it was his grey eyes that easily reflected the light.
She paused her scrutiny of her fellow kinsmen when she heard the question. "My name is Nieninque Elothinal, but am referred to as Nien by friends and family. What are your names?"
The elf that had given her the exhaustion potion spoke up first. "I am called Selfern and these are my companions Cerulion and Falnuin. We are part of the royal guard," he stated alternately pointing to the blond and brunette over his shoulder.
Falnuin looked up from tending the fire and gazed curiously at Nieninque. "What were you doing venturing into Eryn Lasgalen without any sort of protection?"
With a sudden flood of urgency she jumped to her feet and nearly shouted, "I have to see the King as soon as possible! Do you think that you could point me in the right direction?" She was now rushing around the small camp, collecting her worn shoes and somewhat tattered cloak.
Stilling her movement, Selfern laughed softly. "Then don't worry, that's where we are taking you today. You slept through the night. For a while we thought you might not make it you were so deprived of food and water. What kept you from nourishing yourself for so long?"
"Yrch," Nien muttered as she pulled on her shoes. From the corner of her eye, she saw all three tense up and Falnuin even snapped the twig in half he was feeding to the steadily growing flame.
"We must set out now then," Cerulion announced and immediately began packing the camp. Falnuin and Selfern followed suit and began readying their saddlebags with the supplies that they had taken out.
Quickly, Nien began clearing the little space and put out the fire.
In amazingly short time, all three elves that had rescued her were back on their horses and ready to go. Nien suddenly realized that she hand no horse to ride upon and thought for a split second that they were going to leave her.
As if reading her mind, Selfern extended his hand. Hesitantly, she grasped it and allowed herself to be pulled onto the dappled horse.
Through an unspoken command, the horse began cantering gracefully through the trees, and Nien had to quickly latch onto the elf's waist in order to prevent herself falling at the sudden thrust forward.
"How far are we from the palace?" she heard Cerulion call over the hoof beats.
"About a days hard ride," Selfern announced. "We should arrive there around noon tomorrow if we ride through the night."
"We shouldn't risk it with her in the condition she's in," Falnuin stated from his own black horse.
Nien felt Selfern's sigh more than she heard it and knew that he had just realized that thought. "We'll break camp at eleven tonight. Until then, Nien," he said and handed the elleth something over his shoulder, "drink this. It will give you some rest and nourishment until you can properly eat. It'll also help sleep come easily despite the unevenness of the horses' steps."
Compliantly taking the vial out of his hand, she grasped the cork top with her teeth and opened it. She noticed it was filled with a deep purple liquid, and scrunched her nose at the smell. Without a second thought, she drank all that was contained and immediately felt the effects. Her head began to get heavy and she finally let it rest on Selfern's shoulder, giving in to the depths of sleep probing at the back of her eyelids.
Awakening to the smell of sausage cooking was a familiar occurrence and Nieninque briefly wondered if she was at home. Any thoughts of family, though, disappeared as soon as she laid eyes on the three, practically strange, elves around the fire; two of which were asleep.
Selfern looked up and smiled warmly at the somewhat confused elleth. He silently placed a couple of the freshly cooked meats on a dish and handed them to her.
"Thank you," Nien stated hungrily as she quickly dug into the food.
The only response she got was a slight chuckle as he also handed her a jug filled with water; which she eagerly drank. "What time is it?"
Glancing up to the canopy above, Selfern let out a frustrated sigh. "One cannot be sure without the stars in view, but I'm going to venture and say about 1:30. You slept the whole ride, and let me tell you, it was no simple task getting you off that horse without waking you."
Nien nodded silently smiling, while she swallowed the last bit of nourishment she had with the help of the water. There was a moment's comfortable silence as she gazed into the fire dancing against the forest backdrop. After the meat, she felt slightly filled, yet not full and was too self-conscious to ask for more. "Thank you for saving me from the forest the other day," she finally whispered over the crackle of the fire.
With a wave of his hand, Selfern stated modestly, "It was nothing, I assure you. We couldn't let a pretty little elleth, such as yourself, die now could we?"
Letting herself form a ghost of a smile, Nien replied, "No I suppose not. But I still wouldn't have felt right if I hadn't thanked at least one of you."
He just chuckled again and finished putting away his cooking supplies. Pulling over one of his blankets, Selfern told the obviously still tired elleth to sleep. "We're leaving again at dawn in order to reach the palace by eleven tomorrow night." With that said, he closed his eyes and was instantly asleep.
Although tired, it was a while before Nieninque actually felt her eyelids droop. She was too buys reliving the events of the past few days to let rest come. A silent tear drifted down her cheek as she unknowingly drifted into a troubled abyss.
Legolas POV
Legolas was up and pacing his room around 1:45 that night. His long blond hair was free from any restraints and fell to frame his narrow face. His lips were pursed into a line and his startling blue eyes were fixed on the floor he was traveling on.
For reasons he couldn't place, Legolas's heart was troubled. It had been so for the past few days, but tonight it was different, as if it was remembering the other days' pains and was growing worse.
Letting out a frustrated groan, he opened the doors leading to a balcony built onto his room. He leaned heavily on the railing and glanced at the ground below him. The breeze teased his face lightly and blew a few golden stands of hair out of place.
When he finally placed the emotion he was feeling, Legolas was even more troubled. He felt as if this was the calm before the storm. Like he would soon encounter something that would change his life forever, something that would bring forth his reasoning for being on Middle Earth.
He scoffed at the thought and wondered, could there possibly be anything more important in his life than his taking place in the fellowship? Or inheriting the realm of Mirkwood for that matter? Still, it felt as if he was there for more and his heart was trying to warn him.
Then suddenly, most of the pain was lifted, there was still a small weight there but not as noticeable. 'At least enough to let me sleep,' he thought. With one last look at the sparkling stars, Legolas turned his back to the forest and allowed himself to sink into the comforts of his bed. End of Chapter
So, what do you guys think? Please leave a review. This one is defiantly longer than the first chapter, but still not as long as I was hoping for. O well, please say what you think! And I'm sorry..but as of now, I don't know how to insert breaks, so different points of view and ending of chapters will be old school
Xoxo,
Sammie