(A/N-Again, words in italics are Elvish speech)

Chapter Twenty Five-Need A Paddle?

At the beginning of February I had finally run out of toothpaste, and had to find something to replace my dental hygiene routine. I had some Oral-B fluoride mouthwash left in a travel bottle, and I had been hoarding that for emergencies. I didn't want to use that up, so I consulted Arwen as to what I could use to keep my breath fresh and keep new cavities from forming. My toothbrush was a little worse for wear, but was better than what humans used around here. Arwen obtained a small jar of baking soda from the kitchens for me and gave me a slim silver toothpick. I had some floss in my pack, but decided I needed to use that judiciously as the Oral-B wash. I had no idea how long I'd be here, but I didn't want to get a mouthful of cavities or develop peridontitis. I hoped I could avoid serious dental issues with the baking soda, but being a fluoride baby, I wasn't terribly confident.

Things seemed to have cooled off a bit with the evil Bobbsey twins, but it felt like an artificial peace. I had the strongest impression that the proverbial shit was going to hit the fan, and soon. I warned all my allies of the possibility of insurgency. They didn't seem to be convinced, but I couldn't shake the feeling; and as I've said before, I listen to those feelings. Glorfindel felt he should still say something, but Arwen, the twins and Elrond felt he'd be best served to just support me visibly and if he heard anything to quietly take the offender aside and advise them of their error.

Life in Imladris continued with its easy flow. I pressed on with my work shifts and kept planning fun social events with Arwen. My Sindarin had improved to the point I could carry on a decent conversation without mucking up grammar or vocabulary too much. By 'too much', I mean I'd have the occasional flub, but everyone got the gist. I was doing better than the Japanese exchange students back home, which is pretty darned good. Erestor was pleased about this and other things of a more intimate nature. I was happy for Melima, as she'd confided that Erestor had been spending more time with her and the relationship was progressing to the next level. Arwen and I pulled off the Valentine's Day party with success. The Elves that attended enjoyed themselves and the party poopers stayed away, trying to convince others not to attend, with little benefit. Glorfindel spent every moment of spare time with me, but he didn't try to stay over in my bedroom again. I was grateful for that, as I didn't want anybody to get any ammunition against me. We would get through this if it killed me.

One afternoon, at the beginning of March, Glorfindel approached me, a serious look on his face. "Melleth nîn, I have some news for you," he said, taking my hand in his, "Please sit down."

My heart started to pound, this had to be bad news. I brushed off the snow on a stone bench in the garden and sat down. The nearest elf was a ways away. I didn't think they'd eavesdrop, but I hoped they couldn't hear us from this distance.

Glorfindel sat down beside me, facing me and holding my hand tightly. "We have had news from Lórien," he looked into my eyes, "Lord Boromir has fallen in a surprise attack. The Lady Galadriel has informed Lord Elrond."

My stomach fell out of my body and my heart lodged itself in my throat. "What? This is confirmed?" I looked at Glorfindel, who nodded, "Oh my god." I shuddered and felt very cold. Glorfindel shared his cloak with me. I couldn't cry, I was so shocked.

Glorfindel rubbed my arms, "Melleth nîn please talk to me. What are you thinking?"

I leaned my head on his shoulder, "I can't believe this actually happened. I mean I had the feeling I wasn't ever going to see him again, but this is so permanent. I…"

I couldn't go on. I was remembering an incident that had occurred near the end of February. A spirit had come to the foot of my bed and shook it until I woke up. I felt their confused presence. I chalked it up to someone trying to figure out they were dead and left it at that. I now wondered if that was Boromir. I've had lots of visitations, but usually they leave when I ask them to. This one didn't. He or she stuck around until morning, and then slipped away. Good thing too, or I was going to look pretty foolish when I yelled at a wall to get the hell out of my room. Sometimes you have to be blunt with spirits. They forget that sleep is important to keep people from getting grumpy.

Glorfindel whispered, "What? What are you thinking?"

"I don't know. I had a visitation from some spirit at the end of February, but I didn't think much of it. I got a lot of them at home, and when I asked them to leave, they did. This one didn't, they stayed until morning and then left," I explained.

Glorfindel looked concerned, "Have they come back?"

"No. That's why I'm not sure if it was Lord Boromir or not. I just thought of it now and wondered," I said.

"Perhaps it was him. I am sorry. I know you were friendly with Lord Boromir. How can I help you deal with his loss?" Glorfindel was being wonderful, especially considering how Boromir was trying to get me to go to Minas Tirith.

"You're being wonderful already. I just think I need to absorb what happened and make it more real. It's kinda hard to believe we've lost another one," I said, hugging Glorfindel.

"This is a dangerous and difficult journey for every one of them. Pray the ones left make it through safely," he kissed the top of my head, "I do not wish to leave you alone, but I must speak to Lord Elrond about some defence issues."

"That's okay. I'll be fine. I'll just take a walk in the gardens and then get ready for dinner," I pulled away from Glorfindel to look in his eyes.

"Please do not stay outside for too long. I do not wish for you to become ill, and it is too cold for you to tolerate an extended period out here," Glorfindel brought my hand to his lips and kissed it gently.

"I won't. I promise. See you at supper?" I asked softly.

"Of course. I will come for you and we can go together," Glorfindel bowed his head and got up off the bench, "Until then, melleth nîn."

"Yeah, see you then," I got up too and waved goodbye to Glorfindel's retreating form. I don't know why we do that. Wave to people who can't even see the wave because they're facing the wrong way. It's not like they can appreciate the fact we're waving, cuz they're not even looking. Do we wave because it makes us feel better, or some such nonsense? I haven't the foggiest notion, all I know is I keep doing it even though I know I look like an utter jackass.

I turned and walked down the path deeper into the garden. Walking amongst the trees, a cold wind blew my hair around my face as it twisted beneath the boughs. Dry snow dropped off branches and the sound of my footsteps crunching in the crisp fallen snow was the only sound I heard besides the wind. While I was chewing on the Boromir situation, how I felt and what it meant to me, I didn't realize I had wandered out of the garden and into the woods. I picked my way along a thin path, and figured I should probably head back soon, as I was wet and cold and wanted to get a bath in before dinner so I could warm up.

As I turned to make my way back, a hand covered my mouth and an arm encircled my waist, pulling me towards someone. I struggled, trying to wriggle free. A blindfold was tied over my eyes and my wrists were brought behind my back and tied up. I was dragged deeper into the forest. The path became bumpy and I tripped over tree roots and twisted my ankle in a hole on the path. I could see the bottoms of feet and noted there were two people dragging me off into the woods. I screamed as loud as I could, and a fist connected with my jaw.

"Shut your mouth whore. No one will come for you,"a masculine voice hissed in my ear.

I was jerked over a fallen log and fell to the ground in a hard thud, "Fuck you, you shits!" I yelled.

A foot kicked me in my gut, temporarily winding me.

"We will be rid of your kind once and for all. You pollute the earth like a parasitical disease," a female voice spat.

I tried to roll away from the sound, and was stopped by a foot catching my head.

"No, you are not getting away that easily whore," the masculine voice said.

Then the hitting began. Feet kicked every inch of my body and fists hit my face and neck. I was gasping for breath and wriggled around, trying to avoid the blows. I cried out and a rag was stuffed into my mouth to keep the noise from alerting anyone. The beating continued and soon my strength failed me. Sure, I kicked and rolled around, but not being able to see your target and I couldn't hear them either, made it impossible to make a dent in my defence. I did manage to get a handful of hair when I was rolled onto my stomach, and I tugged for all I was worth. I was shoved back onto my back, but not before I managed to tear a hank of hair out. I grasped the hair in my freezing cold hands and panted as more blows were handed out. My will to survive and my rage at being assaulted kept me conscious. I groaned and tried to spit out the rag, but they had shoved in too far. It seemed like an eternity, but the onslaught continued until my vision failed and I blacked out. As I fell into unconsciousness, I hear one of the attackers laugh and start singing one of the folk tales I had heard sung at Christmas.

I felt a sharp prickling sensation and I cried out as my body screamed in pain. I realized my hands were no longer bound and the blindfold and gag had been removed. I opened my eyes and couldn't get the right eye to open at all. The left eye was able to open a sliver. I saw lantern light, and felt a soft bed beneath my aching frame. A face came into focus before me. Elrond leaned over me and smiled.

"You are awake. That is good to see. A certain elf has been pacing the floor outside the healing rooms, wearing quite a trail into the floor," Elrond patted my left hand, "You were found deep in the forest badly wounded. Your right arm was broken, shoulder dislocated, you sustained a bad sprain to your left foot and you had some internal injuries. You have been unconscious for the last five days. I was not sure my healing abilities would sustain you."

"The hair," I croaked. My voice came out as a faint whisper.

"Yes, you were holding some dark hair when we found you," Elrond confirmed.

'DNA analysis," I whispered. My throat was feeling like I swallowed sharp glass.

"I am sorry, but I have no idea what you are asking," Elrond said.

"The perpetrators left hair. The evidence. Rope, gag, blindfold," I gasped.

"Yes, we still have those things. However I do not understand what you mean," Elrond was a bit confused.

"We can find out who hurt me," my throat burned, "Water," I gasped.

"Of course," Elrond held a glass of water to my mouth and I tried to swallow, "Easy. Your throat was damaged and you have to drink slowly."

I sipped the water carefully, "Where is Lord Glorfindel?" I asked, wanting to be reassured of his presence.

"He is right here, just a moment," Elrond disappeared from my line of vision.

Glorfindel's head came into view, "Thank Eru you are awake!" He looked quite relieved, "I was very worried. Lords Elladan and Elrohir helped me find you. I felt something was wrong when I came to your room a half hour before supper and you were not there. After what has been happening I could not help but be worried for your safety, so I enlisted them to assist me in finding you. You were deep in the forest, lying bleeding and unconscious on the ground and snow was covering you. We had to get a stretcher to get you out, you were so badly injured. I have not slept, I was so worried you would die."

I smiled a cracked lopsided smile, "Well you found me and now I'll be all right with you nearby. Melleth nîn, the evidence that was on me. Can you use it to find the perps?"

"The rope was taken from the stables and the cloth used for your blindfold and gag was from the seamstress's rooms. We cannot pinpoint who did this to you though."

"I can recognize the voices. There was a female and a male involved. The female sang a folk tune I heard at Christmas. It was the same person who sang the tune then, who sang it during my assault," I whispered.

"Do you remember the tune?" Glorfindel asked.

I sang a portion of the tune, my voice scraping out a hoarse sound, and Glorfindel nodded.

"I remember that. I know who sang that. We will bring her in for questioning," Glorfindel grimaced, "Whoever hurt you will pay dearly for their audacity."

"Did anyone leave Imladris is the last few days? Anyone who had business outside the realm?" I wanted to see if anyone got nervous and fled.

"No. Wait, yes. Cylleruion left the day after we found you. He said he had business in Mirkwood," Glorfindel's eyes narrowed, "He and Túviluiel were the instigators of the action against our relationship. Do you think he would be so foolish to try and injure you while you are under my protection?"

"He may've organized the assault," I whispered, "Who sang the song?"

"Túviluiel did," Glorfindel's brow creased, "They cannot have been so unthinking. Did they not realize we would suspect them?"

"My lord, you didn't. Cylleruion left without incident, did he not?" I croaked.

Glorfindel nodded, "We will send a party to fetch him. This must not be allowed to be excused."

"They said some xenophobic things to me," I whispered, "They said I was a whore and that they could not allow me to pollute the earth like a parasitical disease."

"You are not a whore," Glorfindel said adamantly, "You are a gift and I am lucky to have you in my life."

"Thank you," Glorfindel started to move out of my line of vision, "Don't leave me," I cried out, "I need you here."

Glorfindel moved back into my line of sight, "I am not going anywhere. I am just walking over to the door to give instructions for the apprehension of the offenders. I will not leave you. Not ever again."

"Okay," I whispered.

Glorfindel moved out of range of my working eye and I heard low voices at the foot of my bed. I couldn't quite make out what they were saying but I caught the words apprehend and trial. I wondered if that meant the perps were going to get their just desserts. Part of me wanted them punished in a totally heinous way, but then a part of me said no, they just needed re-education and compassion. I figured I was best with a middle-ground approach and chose internment and education programs with a good dose of therapy. I didn't know how open the Elves were to that, but time would tell.

Glorfindel moved back into view. "I have made all the arrangements. The two will be brought before Elrond to explain themselves and we will find suitable penance."

"Thank you," I didn't know what else to say, "Stay with me?"

"Yes. Get some rest. Your body needs to heal and you will not heal as quickly if you wear yourself out," he pulled the covers up over my body and pulled a chair up beside my bed, staying in my line of sight.

I yawned and then groaned as more pain hit me, "Okay, but the pain is getting worse."

Elrond came into view, bent down, and put a cup to my mouth, "Sip slowly. This will relieve your pain and help you sleep."

I sipped the hot beverage carefully and put my head back against the pillows. Glorfindel stroked my face as my eyes grew heavy with sleep. The sounds of Sindarin being whispered near my ear made me feel drowsy and my eyes dropped shut.

I fell asleep with the sounds of low talking and Glorfindel running his hand through my hair.

Melleth nîn-my love