Chapter 17: Welcome to Minas Tirith

The light shining through the window seemed unnaturally sharp, even despite the thick curtains covering the finely made glass. It was a side effect of having been unconscious, he knew, along with the strange pain it was just to emerge from those blissful depths and embrace life around him. His back was throbbing, although the subdued ache told him that he had been slipped some type of numbing concoction while unconscious. Forcing his eyes open, blinking a few times to let them adjust to the light, the dark elf found that he had been placed in a small, yet cosy chamber not quite unlike what he had stayed in while in King Thranduil's realm.

"Good to see you've decided to stay with us, Mel," King Elessar's voice came to him, although a gentle hand on his shoulder prevented him from trying to move from his current position on his side.

The King smiled down at him and sat at the edge of the bed.

"I was slightly worried that the potion the healers gave you to keep the pains dulled was too strong," the King said. "So I'm pleased to see you awake after so relatively short time. And you have my full gratitude for having saved my wife from that bear. She told me everything that had happened when you all were brought back."

"She well?" the dark elf asked, his mind clearing more by the moment.

"She's fine. Which is only because of your timely appearance – even despite her being an elf, I fear that Imladris has not had its share of natural dangers for her to learn to see the signs of wild animals moving around nearby," King Elessar replied with a smile and placed a hand on the dark elf's forehead to check for fever – one of the signs that the wounds could have been infected. It made sense, of course. The potion he had been fed would naturally kill any pain an infection would cause, and thus it would require someone else to determine it.

"Takes time to learn," came the elf's reply and, to his surprise, found he had to suppress a yawn.

"Still tired?" the kind King asked, his smile fading just the lightest. "You lost a lot of blood. I would suggest you try and rest as much as you can in the next couple of days, both to let your body regenerate the blood, and to let your back heal. The cuts were not deep, but they can leave nasty scars if they are stretched too much."

The dark elf snorted: "I've had worse," although he did not further argue.

With a pat to his shoulder, the King rose to his feet and, telling the dark elf he should get all the rest he could, left the chamber.

The dark elf moved slightly, placing himself more comfortably, although he took care not to disturb the wounds on his back, and gave a brief glance around the room – or at least what he could see of it from the bed. It was a fairly simple chamber, obviously designed for housing temporary guests, and contained little more than a bed, a chair and a closet. The door to the closet was half open, and allowed a glimpse inside. Someone had apparently unpacked most of his belongings and had placed them there – which he did not mind. It was not as if he carried around a terrible lot, not to mention anything that he preferred to keep private.

As if these northern people would understand the purpose of half of them, he thought to himself with a light smile. Reaching up with a hand, he gingerly ran his fingertips over the medallion still hanging around his neck and felts its comforting warmth. He could not help but feel the now usual twinge of guilt, knowing that he had given Leglas a half-lie when their roads had parted. But could he have told anything, and not be banished or killed for it?

With a sigh, once more reminded of how little he actually knew of the customs in these parts, even despite having spent nearly two years here, the dark elf turned his gaze to the window and wondered how the view over the city might be. He had wavered between consciousness and unconsciousness on the road here, and he could recall a few flashes as the guards had, in full gallop, brought him and the three women to the central palace. Once his back had healed, perhaps he could go and see it…

A light increase in the warmth from his medallion came as a reply, and a light smile crossed his face. She would like to see the city, too…

A/N: Who is "she"? What is it that Mel has not told about? Review, and you will find out...