Chapter Twenty: The Eye of the Beholder

The Steward stared over Elrond's shoulder at his sons. "Boromir, inform the guards that our beacon is to be lit immediately, and make sure that it is. Faramir, rally the soldiers. I want every man able to wield a sword to be sent to the armoury. Hurry!"

Both of Denethor's sons bowed and left. Elrond smiled, and I shivered with anticipation. I was finally going to fight on the right side of the battle. I would be an orc-soldier no more.

Denethor seemed to have read my mind. He smiled and said solemnly, "Isilden, I would gladly accept you in my army as a soldier, or even a ranking officer. Would you fight for me?"

I stared up at him, a fierce light in my eyes. "I'd fight to the death!"

"Very well," the Steward nodded. "But let's hope it doesn't come to that."

----

I knelt on the cool stone floor of Denethor's throne room, my head bowed, my body facing the throne where the Steward sat. Elrond, Gandalf, Merry, Pippin, Grima and Denethor's two sons watched as I took the oath.

"Here I so swear fealty and service to Gondor; in peace or war, in living or dying. From this hour henceforth, until my lord release me, or death take me." I sighed silently as I finished the pledge, leaning forward to kiss the ring on the man's outstretched hand.

Denethor smiled and spoke to me. "And I shall not forget it," he said, "nor fail to reward that which is given. Valour with honour, fealty with love… disloyalty with vengeance."

I stared up at the Steward, whose eyes were calm and kind. I could read his mind like a book: But you won't fail me, I know.

I wouldn't fail. I would serve Gondor with all my strength, as long as I breathed. No matter how my spirit was put to the test, I vowed I would overcome.

I stood up slowly, a smile lighting up my face. Now I was truly a soldier of the White City. Gazing around at my companions, I saw that they were all smiling as well. Boromir seemed the most pleased; he came forward and shook my hand, saying, "Well done."

"Thank you," I replied, swelling with pride. I could feel a blush creeping up to my cheeks, and wondered what sort of strange hue my green skin was turning.

All at once I felt an odd itching sensation in my eyes, as if they were being gently pricked with tiny needles; my eyesight was slightly hazy. I blinked several times, trying to clear my vision, frowning in confusion.

"What in the world…?" I muttered.

"What is it?" Boromir asked in concern.

"I don't know…" I stared blearily up at him. "Something's wrong with my eyes. You've gone blurry."

"Let me take a look," Elrond volunteered, striding toward me. "Look at me…" He bent down so our faces were level, and stared intently into my eyes; our noses were almost touching. He frowned, his brow creasing. "Well, I don't see anything lodged there… try to move your eyes."

I swivelled my gaze left, right, up and down as the elf instructed. Elrond's own eyes narrowed slightly, but he said nothing. I wondered uneasily what was wrong.

"Your eyes seem fine, at least from the outside," he concluded after a moment. "There's nothing wrong that I can see. But we'd better not take chances. Close your eyes," he ordered, and I did.

A sudden flash of light blazed through my eyelids, but the itchiness did not subside. Looking up, I saw Elrond still frowning.

"Well?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I can see you fine now, but it still hurts."

"Very odd," the elf murmured. "That has never happened before; with some extremely rare exceptions, what I heal gets healed immediately."

"Well, maybe it will go away if I wait long enough," I suggested.

"Maybe," Elrond nodded. He frowned at me for a few seconds more, and I noticed his eyes widen a little. He didn't say a word, but I knew something had troubled him.

"What's wrong?" I inquired.

Elrond shook his head dismissively. "Nothing… it's nothing. A trick of the light, that's all."

"What is?"

"I thought I saw your eyes change color for a moment," the elf answered. "But it can't have been."

"Right," I agreed, nodding. "If they didn't change color when I was transformed, they probably wouldn't now."

But deep down in my heart I wasn't so sure.

----

That night I lay between consciousness and dreams for what seemed like hours. I was only half-aware of my surroundings: the soft linen of my blanket, the scent of lavender in my pillow, the lullaby whispers of the wind in my ears. Thankfully, in this floating state, my stinging eyes evaded sensation.

My eyes. What had caused them to hurt so badly? And why now? This was undoubtedly the strangest thing I had ever experienced. I was sure nothing like this had ever happened before.

To take my mind off of the pain, which was starting to return now that I had remembered it, I let my mind free to wander. It roved hither and thither, sending me glimpses of my past, flittering around like a bee over meadow flowers.

A voice drifted unbidden into my head. The voice of a young girl, timid and pleading, that brought tears to my already stinging eyes. "Tell my brother I love him." It was Elennar's voice.

I began to cry softly, still semiconscious. "She loves you. She loves you, Isilden. Oh, Elennar, I love you, too… I'll never forget. Please remember me." Tears poured down my face and soaked my pillow.

I barely noticed how the itch in my eyes faded, leaving only the huge ache in my heart.

----

I woke early the next morning feeling refreshed and eager to begin my first day as an official soldier of Gondor. I proudly donned a blue tunic over a chainmail shirt, smiling at the glittering silver threads that shaped the White Tree. I was also glad to notice that my eyes no longer hurt.

Humming cheerily to myself as I headed for the dining hall, I was hailed by Boromir and Elrond. Both gazed at my new tunic with pleased expressions.

"Ready for your first day as an official Gondorian?" the Steward's son asked.

"Ready as ever," I replied, smiling. "Do you think it suits me?" I gestured to my tunic.

"The blue really brings out your eyes," the elf told me. "And speaking of your eyes, how are they? Do they hurt anymore?"

"No," I answered happily. "The pain went away sometime last night."

"Good," Elrond smiled. "And hopefully it won't come back."

I nodded. "Shall we get some breakfast?"

The three of us entered the dining hall together, and made our way to the High Table that overlooked the others. Denethor smiled as we approached and sat down.

"Good morning," he greeted me. "You look splendid. How are your eyes?"

"They don't hurt anymore, I'm glad to say," I replied.

"Excellent," the Steward said with a nod and a smile. "So, which area of the guard do you think you'd like to join? There are many to choose from."

I pondered this answered, "I think I'd like to serve under one of your sons, but I can't decide which."

"Hmmm." Denethor nodded. "Well, that would leave you with… Isilden? Isilden, are you listening?"

I wasn't, for my eyes had suddenly begun to sting painfully for the second time. "Oh, not again," I moaned.

Elrond turned to me, saying, "Your eyes?"

I nodded, wincing in pain and shutting my eyes tightly. "It's worse than it was before. Last time it was just prickly; now it's – ow!" I cried. "Now it's like someone flicking hot coals into my eyes! Argh!"

"Painful," Elrond agreed, nodding. "Let me…" He placed his fingers gently against my closed eyelids, saying, "Could you please try to relax a bit? It's hard to heal someone when they're so tense."

I nodded, doing my best to obey him. This time there was no brief flash of light, but a steady flow instead. The burning didn't abate in the least.

"It's not working," I growled through teeth that were firmly clenched against the pain.

"You're not relaxing," Elrond told me calmly. "Help me out, all right? Don't think about the pain."

I imagined that I was a great eagle, gliding over mountains, with the sun on my back and the wind beneath my wings. Free to soar wherever I wanted. It seemed to work; the burning diminished after a while. I gave a sigh of relief as I opened my eyes.

Elrond was panting slightly for breath; his eyes were closed, and beads of sweat trickled down his face. He wiped his brow with his sleeve as he looked up.

"Well, that's about all I can do for now," he gasped. "Did it work?"

"It did," I noted gratefully. "Thank you." The pain in my eyes had receded, leaving nothing in its place.

But was it nothing? I frowned slightly, for instead of burning, my eyes now felt oddly numb. Elrond glanced at me in concern, saying, "Tell me it hasn't started up again. Look at me."

I did so, not knowing what to expect. But the elf's reaction was frightening; his eyes widened in horror, and he let out a yell that echoed around the hall, causing everyone to look up in alarm.

"Merciful Valar!"