Chapter 12
BY THE MORNING of the third day Erin was getting used to the army schedule: up at dawn, ride all day, camp at dusk. So far she and Adrienne hadn't been asked to stand watch; the thought made Erin cringe. She hadn't the faintest idea how the army commanders determined who stood watch; perhaps if she and Adrienne slept with a different company each night they could avoid it.
The army was no longer riding towards the Mountains of Shadow; it had turned north, so that Mordor and the Ephel Duath were an ever present darkness upon the army's right flank. The proximity of such a powerful evil seemed to invite doubts and indecision.
Erin was not immune to this. She found herself questioning her decision to come with Adrienne almost constantly, the pain a perpetual reminder of her foolishness. The justification of coming along to keep Adrienne out of trouble that she used in their playful banter at night was not enough to completely convince herself.
But at the same time, it all felt so right. She loved the feel of the horse beneath her, the sword resting with a comfortable weight at her hip. Yet most of all she enjoyed the feeling that she was part of something good, something important; even if all she did was kill a few Orcs, she would be there making a difference.
And however painful it felt, her wound was healing. She had to admit that there were advantages, as well. The bandages cushioned her skin from the scratchy mail and helped to hide her distinctly feminine build. Adrienne hadn't had that luxury, but her clothes were shapeless enough that she looked like a thin, perhaps rather young boy. So far they hadn't drawn any scrutiny. Erin just prayed to the Valar it stayed that way.
KAVILA WOKE on the morning of the fourth day more discouraged than ever. Even with Hervan's help she hadn't been able to find Erin and Adrienne. Hervan hadn't lost his optimism, but Kavila was beginning to doubt. After all, they had managed to search most of the cavalry in two days' worth of slow riding, and there had been no sign of her friends. Kavila was worried that even if she and Hervan found and exposed Erin and Adrienne, they would be too far away from Minas Tirith to return. At that point, it really didn't matter what Gandalf or anyone else said; Erin and Adrienne would get their way.
And Kavila had the feeling they were either nearing or past that point. Four days' ride from Minas Tirith, the land was getting darker and more forbidding, with fewer trees and browning grass. The wildflowers that had been present the first couple of days had since disappeared, and there had been few sightings of wildlife except for the occasional bird. The mountains to the East made her shiver every time she looked at them, with shadow clinging to their peaks like black clouds. Mordor lay beyond—even she could figure that much out.
Suddenly a man several columns ahead raised his arm, and the men behind him came to an abrupt stop. He spoke briefly with a messenger who had come hurriedly up moments before. After the messenger left he waited, as the army continued to march by with curious looks. When they had finally passed, he stood up in his stirrups and spoke.
"We have received word of an ambush ahead, and have been sent to destroy them. We must move swiftly." With that he returned to his saddle, raised his hand once more, and brought it down in a quick motion, spurring his horse forward as his company surged to life behind him.
Kavila's horse followed instinctively, which was just as well, because the mare wasn't getting any direction from her rider. Kavila fought down a hysterical laugh, frozen with fear. Who would have thought this could happen? Who might have had the faintest idea? Here she was, in the middle of an army headed for battle (the mere thought of which terrified Kavila to her core) against Orcs (who were not supposed to exist) masquerading as a man (which went against every tenet of her religion).
Hervan nudged his mount closer to her and grasped her shoulder briefly, drawing her partially out of her shock. "Stay close to me." Kavila didn't have to be told twice. The horses moved swiftly through the trees, not quite at a gallop; the commander didn't want to attack with tired horses.
A few hours later, after making a wide turn that brought the company into position behind the enemy forces, they emerged onto the road. Kavila's heart pounded, and she touched the hilt of her sword briefly, withdrawing her hand as if stung when it came into contact with the cold metal.
Then the commander once again raised his fist into the air, and the company halted behind him. "We must move quietly now. We are near," he said. He split the company into two halves and sent one into the forest on the left side of the road, and the other into the right. Kavila and Hervan went with the soldiers on the right.
They continued on at a gentle walk for several minutes. Then Kavila began to catch glimpses of a hill ahead, which the road cut through in a man-made canyon. The land they rode over began to rise steadily as the company turned to face the road; Kavila realized they were climbing the hill. Was this the site of the ambush?
Her question was soon answered. Snarling cries erupted from the bushes ahead of them, as the shadows suddenly discharged the twisted forms of several dozen Orcs. The commander howled a battle cry and dug his heels into his charger's sides, and the company followed.
Kavila was frozen in terror as the men began to sweep around her, her mind screaming at her to run. The hideous faces of the Orcs swarmed across her vision, and their foul cries filled her ears. Just as she was about to turn and flee, Heravn tore the reins from her hands and tied them quickly to his saddle horn. When he spurred his horse forward, Sarwen automatically followed, much to Kavila's dismay. "Draw your sword!" he called back as he pulled forth his own with a resounding ring.
Kavila froze for a few more moments, then obeyed with violently shaking hands; if she was charging toward a snarling band of Orcs, she wanted to have something at hand to defend herself. And it didn't look like she had much choice about which direction she was going in.
The two companies clashed with sounds of grating metal and screams. Kavila tried not to watch the men and Orcs around her as they fought; she really didn't think she could handle watching someone get decapitated. Hervan, riding to the left and slightly ahead of her, swung his sword with a controlled ferocity that was fearsome in itself.
An Orc loomed up on her right side, grinning savagely to see her fear. Hervan was too far away to help her, she realized. She held her sword in her right hand; she had only to break this paralysis of fear, to swing, and the Orc would no longer threaten her. She heard Vilad's voice in her mind, as he had spoken during a practice: "Do not let the fear control you. The enemy will show you no pity because you are frightened. If you wish to live, you must fight."
That was all very easy for him to say, Kavila thought as the Orc raised its wicked-looking weapon. But doing it was completely different. To take a life, even such a despicable and evil one, was utterly beyond her. She brought the sword up, the blade visibly shaking in her grip. If I don't kill this Orc, it will kill other good people like Hervan, she thought. I can stop it now, by killing it. Yet still she wavered with indecision. The Orc blade began its descent.
Suddenly there was a whistling sound near her ear. A knife appeared in the Orc's throat, and it collapsed with a gurgle. Kavila screamed and leaned away from the corpse, nearly falling from her horse. A steadying hand on her back kept her in the saddle, and she turned to see Hervan behind her. He gave her an encouraging smile, saying "Next time, swing!"
Kavila was about to tell him that that wasn't as easy as he made it sound, that it went against everything she had ever been taught, when she saw the Orc approaching him from behind. She instinctively knew Hervan would not be able to turn in time to block its blow. But she was close enough to do something, if she acted soon.
Hervan had been kind to her, and she could not bear the thought of seeing him hurt or even killed right here in front of her. The Orc brought its blade up to strike, grinning at Hervan's back. Kavila's eyes widened impossibly. Hervan noticed and started to turn, but he was too slow, too slow!
With a strange sense of detachment Kavila saw her sword appear in the path of the Orc blade, barely blocking it. She vaguely felt the strain on her arms as the momentum of the blade forced her sword down, down toward Hervan's neck. But by now Hervan had caught sight of the creature and, changing his grip on the blade, he thrust it back into the Orc's chest. With a savage twist he withdrew it, and the Orc slumped to the ground.
When Hervan turned back, he was beaming with pride for her. "We'll make a warrior of you yet!"
Kavila was about to deny this vehemently when the voice of the commander echoed over the now-quiet battlefield. "We have victory!"
The men cheered, and Hervan shared a smile with her. But Kavila was in no mood to smile. The once peaceful hillside was littered with twisted corpses, though Kavila was relieved to note that she saw no men among them. A few of the men were nursing wounds, and Kavila fought down the urge to help them. She had to keep her identity hidden, and that would be difficult if she were that close to them. Her slim, womanly hands would have given her away as well.
With a little laugh Hervan untied her reins from his saddle horn and handed them back to her. "I wouldn't have been able to defend you if you ran off and lost yourself in the forest!" he cut off the protest she had been about to make. She shut her mouth after that comment; he was probably right about her getting lost.
The commander called to them, and they descended the hill to the road, where they waited for the rest of the army to join them. Hervan gave her a reassuring look. "You did well."
"I did not!" Kavila retorted softly, aware that her voice was distinctly feminine and would give her away in a moment. "You had to save me!"
"You were frightened, but you faced your fear. Were it not for you, I would most likely be dead." Hervan answered.
Kavila glared in response.
It didn't take long for the rest of the army to reach the site of the ambush. Kavila smiled to see Megan and Sarah riding at the head of the column with the Lords…and with Legolas. His golden hair flew free in the slight wind, and he smiled as he talked with his companions.
"What are you staring at?" Hervan asked her softly. She whirled indignantly to face him.
"N-nothing!" she said, ignoring his knowing smile.
Nonetheless he said no more on the subject, instead asking a different question. "Are the two girls who ride with the Lords also your friends?" At Kavila's nod he continued his questioning. "Why do they ride openly with the army?"
"They were invited to come," Kavila answered a little sourly. "Erin and Adrienne weren't." Hervan nodded, turning away for a moment to stare intently at the soldiers in their company.
Then the army moved out, and Kavila's thoughts turned to other topics. The images of those Orcs, with their savage expressions and yellow animal eyes, were seared into her memory. Kavila knew she would have nightmares tonight.
In an attempt to distract herself, Kavila tried to keep up the search for her friends, looking for any distinctive characteristics that might give them away. But by the end of the day Kavila had nearly given up hope. Erin and Adrienne must have disguised themselves well. Kavila continued to glance over the soldiers around her out of tired habit, but she no longer believed the effort would yield anything.
Suddenly Hervan touched her shoulder softly to gain her attention. She followed him as he guided his horse through the maze of men. Finally he stopped, catching Kavila's eye and nodding forward. Kavila followed his gaze to two particularly slim soldiers, one slightly bulkier than the other. They did not speak to each other, but as Kavila concluded after several minutes of quiet observation, they were obviously friends; they shared many looks.
Hervan leaned close. "I have been watching them since the battle. They are not as comfortable on their horses or with their swords as others," he whispered so softly Kavila could barely hear him. "The one on the right may have bandages on his chest; he is favoring his left side. The other has a bulkier left boot than right, and may have bandages as well."
Kavila nodded as Hervan leaned away again, trying not to allow the swell of hope that wanted to surface. They had been through this drill several times: find likely candidates, watch them until something disproved them, then move on. Always something happened that crushed Kavila's hopes, be it a quick exchange of words in a deep voice, the removal of a helm, or some other action that made it clear their suspects were truly soldiers.
But this time something seemed different. Kavila couldn't explain it, but the more she watched the two soldiers ahead of her, the more she became convinced that she and Hervan had found their quarry.
ERIN AND ADRIENNE normally spoke as little as possible in the tent after sundown. Then the camp was silent, and their voices could carry; the next tent was not particularly far away. Usually they tended their injuries, ate, and slept.
But not this night. Both were still caught up in the excitement of the day's battle, still trying to believe it had actually happened.
"Did you see that one Orc?" Erin whispered, grinning, while Adrienne began to undress her wound. "It tried to hurt Greda, but I got it!" She and Adrienne giggled.
"Did you see the Orc with the helm that had an Eye on the front? Not just painted, but actually sculpted into the metal? I think he was their leader," Adrienne said. "The commander guy just rode right up and killed him."
Erin grimaced as Adrienne pulled the bandage free, afraid to look down and find a newly opened wound, but to her relief it had stayed closed. She had tried to avoid any swings or quick movements during the battle that might have torn it open. Her efforts, it seemed, had not been in vain.
"Caelef scared me for a moment during the charge. He stumbled a little, and I thought he was going to go down. But he was all right," Adrienne stated with a fond smile as she finished retying the bandage. She and Erin had both grown very attached to their horses during this journey.
Suddenly the tent flap was torn aside. Erin and Adrienne looked up in shock, belatedly realizing that their helms lay in a corner of the tent, their feminine features and long hair clear. A soldier's head appeared in the entrance, and Erin's heart rate climbed even higher. This was it; the charade was over. They would be sent home at first light like errant children.
"You two are coming with me," the soldier said in a voice that sounded very, very familiar.
Erin peered closer. In the dim light she could see that, yes, the soldier before her was definitely dark-skinned. "Kavila? Don't scare me like that!"
"Get out here now, Warford!" Kavila's voice was clipped.
Erin grinned to herself. Yep, definitely Kavila, she thought as she reached for her helm. Just as she grasped it Kavila took hold of her sleeve and yanked her roughly into the open air. "I said now, Warford!"
"Okay, okay, I'm coming," Erin chuckled as she put her helm on, watching as Adrienne ducked out of the tent behind her.
"That's right, you're coming with me. Right now." Kavila said. Then she turned to another figure standing in the shadows. "All right, where's the command tent?"
"This way," the soldier said in a definitely masculine voice. Erin walked next to Kavila, throwing her searching glances every few seconds. As far as they had known, Kavila was back at Minas Tirith, but now it seemed she had followed them. Kavila wouldn't have known the first thing about blending into an army camp, but she appeared to have made a friend—a male friend, which amused Erin to no end. Oh, what Kavila's parents would say if they could see her now. Then again, Erin mused, what would her own parents say?
"You ought to be able to figure out why I'm here," Kavila said, breaking into Erin's thoughts. Her voice was slightly more high-pitched than normal, and Erin decided to let her vent. "If it hadn't been for you, I'd be in Minas Tirith right now, tending to the three of you, safe and sound and very far away from Orcs and battles."
Erin realized Kavila must have seen the battle earlier that day. "What happened to Vilad?" she asked, reminded of him by Kavila's mention of three patients.
"Don't you dare change the subject!" Kavila retorted, and Erin raised her hands in an expression of harmlessness. Kavila softened her voice slightly. "Raliwen's taking care of him, I left her a note. But you two couldn't be that nice, could you?" Her voice rose again as she returned to her venting. "Oh no, just run off without any notice whatsoever! Do you know who told me you two had escaped?"
Erin just mutely shook her head. She was beginning to get the idea that any smart remarks now would probably endanger her life.
"Merry told me! A hobbit told me!" Kavila said.
"Hobbits are very observant people," Adrienne remarked in a carefully neutral voice, her first comment since they had left the tent. Privately she had been attempting to stifle snickers at Kavila's behavior (not very successfully).
Kavila whirled on her. "Chutka!" (Shut up!). Erin tried to silently advise Adrienne to comply; she knew that when Kavila started speaking in Hindi, it was time to be nice. Kavila realized what had happened, and translated. "That's shut up in Hindi." She returned her attention to Erin. "That goes for you too, Warford!"
"Halt!" a voice suddenly commanded. A soldier stepped into their path, and Hervan bowed low to him.
"We would speak with the Lord Gandalf, sir."
"What is your business, soldier?"
"We need to talk to him. He knows us," Kavila said, stepping up next to Hervan.
The guard froze for a moment, staring at Kavila. She held his gaze, glaring him into submission. She was going to get in there and talk to Gandalf; she would end this misguided charade now. No uncooperative guards were going to get in her way.
The guard nodded briefly and said, "I shall bring him here. If he knows you, you may speak with him."
Erin tried to quell the bad feeling in her stomach as the guard left to fetch Gandalf. Kavila was going to bring down their charade; they would get sent home after all they had done to get this far. And they were going to get a dressing-down from Gandalf they probably wouldn't forget for the rest of their lives.
All too soon they heard the wizard's voice in the distance. "One of them a girl?" Then he came around a tent and reached the girls, his bushy eyebrows meeting over his eyes, which flashed over them the moment they came into his view.
Kavila reached up and removed her helm, and Gandalf's eyebrows shot up. "Kavila?" he said. Erin suppressed a laugh; Kavila was probably the last person Gandalf expected to sneak into the army. She nodded shortly and then grabbed Erin and Adrienne, pushing them roughly toward Gandalf and ignoring the twin glares they sent her way.
"Go on, take off your helmet-thingies!" Kavila prodded.
With a sigh Erin removed her helm, and Adrienne did the same. Gandalf's expression became stony, and she could only guess at the wizard's thoughts. "I thought I forbade you to join the army," he said icily.
"We can explain, my lord," Erin said before Adrienne could retort.
"You had better." Gandalf replied, turning on his heel. "Come, let us discuss this within the shelter of a tent." They followed him dutifully as he led them away from the wide-eyed guard to a large tent within which candles flickered and men talked. Erin exchanged a single worried look with Adrienne before they passed into the tent. A dozen pairs of eyes looked up, at first with vague interest and then with undisguised shock as they realized there were three more girls with Gandalf. Megan and Sarah jumped up from their seat in the corner. "Erin, Adrienne, what are you doing here! I thought Gandalf forbid you to come!" Sarah exclaimed.
"I did." Gandalf growled. Erin tried to meet his gaze, but her face was burning with embarrassment. A dressing down from Gandalf was bad enough, but in front of an audience? And not just any audience—Erin saw Aragorn, Prince Imrahil, Eomer, Legolas, Gimli…and were those other two elves Elladan and Elrohir, the twin sons of Elrond! She suppressed a groan.
"We are sorry, my lord, we did not—" Erin began.
Adrienne cut her off. "Speak for yourself, Erin! I'm not sorry!" Exclamations of shock reverberated through the tent, and Gandalf's frown deepened. "You should have known you couldn't keep us away from battle. Just because we're girls doesn't mean we're helpless!"
Gandalf's gaze flicked to Kavila. "What have you to say? Were you not charged with their care?"
"I came back from walking Sarah and Megan down to the stables, and they were gone, which made no sense. I had given them their medication before I left, and figured they would drink it and go to sleep. I didn't expect to come back and find their beds empty!" Kavila ended.
"But how did you get here?" Erin asked. She would never have thought Kavila had it in her to follow them into the army, and was very curious how the girl had managed it.
"Merry told me you had left saying something about cavalry. I didn't catch you in the armory, so I ran to the stables, but you guys were already riding off down the street. I raced into the stables, since I knew I wouldn't catch you on foot, even though I had never ridden a horse before. The stableboys helped me get a horse ready and get supplies and stuff—they were so cute and helpful, the sweetest little kids you ever saw! Then I went down to the army, and right when I got down there you guys left! So there I was, no clue what I was doing, on a horse I didn't know how to ride, dressed up as a soldier with a sword and armor and…" she shuddered.
"Did you get to see the battle today?" Adrienne asked, smirking.
Kavila's glare grew in intensity. "Don't even get me started."
"How did you meet up with him?" Erin asked, nodding toward Hervan, who stood just inside the tent.
Hervan was smiling as Kavila replied. "He found me when I was having a panic attack after the army stopped, and I didn't have a tent and didn't have any clue what to do. He let me stay with him in his tent and helped me find you two."
"In his tent?" Adrienne asked, her tone teasing.
"Shut up, oh my god shut up…" Kavila said, her tone warning as she realized Adrienne's implications. Erin and Adrienne collapsed in fits of laughter.
"We understand, Kavila." Erin said as soon as she had sobered, resting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "So, did he help you in the battle?"
Kavila's gaze turned icy again. "Well, I wouldn't exactly say help. He grabbed my reins and dragged me into the battle, which almost got us both killed, since there was this Orc that almost got me, and another one that almost killed him."
Hervan stepped in. "Almost. She saved my life, blocking an Orc strike. She was most brave."
Kavila snorted. "I wouldn't say that. If you hadn't tied my reins to your saddle I would have been riding in the other direction as fast as my horse could go," she glared at Hervan, then transferred her glower to Erin and Adrienne. "But I wouldn't have been in that position at all if you two hadn't decided to sneak off like that. Do you know how many years I've probably lost off my life because of all that stress? Do you have any idea how freaking scary it is to come that close to getting killed by an Orc? And speaking of health, do you have any concept of self-preservation whatsoever! You were both wounded!"
"Care to lower your voice a little, Kavila? I do believe the entire camp has had the privilege of listening to you rant." Erin smirked. Kavila sputtered into silence, words no longer enough to express her exasperation with her friend.
Gandalf broke in, lips twitching with the effort of holding back a smile. "Kavila is correct. Indeed, it was because of your wounds that I forbade you to come. I think now it would probably be wisest to send both of you directly to the healers' tent." Gandalf said, his voice softened by concern.
"I don't think that will be necessary," Adrienne countered. "Erin's wound is closing nicely, and mine gets less painful every day."
"Did you two rob the Healing Houses as well as the armory and stables?" Kavila exclaimed.
Adrienne managed to look a little sheepish. "I took a few herbs, yes…I've been paying attention to how Megan and you took care of my ankle; Megan explained the whole process very well, so I knew exactly what I needed to take care of myself and Erin."
"You were in on this?" Kavila said, turning to Megan, who raised her hands in defense. "I didn't know a thing!" she exclaimed.
"I asked her to explain it, supposedly out of sheer curiosity," Adrienne said with a smirk. "I'd been saving my pain medicine in a waterskin, and when Erin added her last dose in, we had enough to last us to the Black Gates."
Kavila just stared incredulously. "You really had this planned out, didn't you?"
"Adrienne did," Erin said. "I had no idea she was doing any of it until she told me we were leaving."
"And then you left, just like that," Kavila was shaking her head. "You two are hopeless."
"Well, not 'just like that'," Erin said. "I took a little convincing, and then we had to get all our supplies."
Kavila rolled her eyes. Gandalf broke in. "Tomorrow, the three of you shall leave for Minas Tirith. No matter how well your wounds are healing, I do not think it wise to tempt fate by sending you into a second battle." Kavila sent Erin and Adrienne triumphant looks.
Aragorn stepped up beside the wizard. "The roads are too dangerous to send three inexperienced riders alone. They shall be safer here among the army." Now it was Erin and Adrienne throwing triumphant looks at Kavila, who glowered.
"Don't worry Kavila, we'll protect you!" Erin said. "We won't let any mean Orcs almost kill you." Kavila glared more menacingly; she hadn't exactly enjoyed her single experience of being protected. Erin and Adrienne just laughed harder.
The other occupants of the room were regarding the girls with a kind of fascinated shock. Dressed in men's armor, with swords at their side—and joking about battle, which they had obviously experienced—the girls challenged every convention of proper women's behavior. They had had the courage to come on this suicidal mission, and had defied Gandalf's will to do it.
Finally Eomer spoke. "So these are the other three girls you have spoken of, Gandalf?"
"Yes, they are," Gandalf replied with a sigh, introducing each of the girls.
"They remind me of my sister Eowyn," Eomer said with a smile. Erin and Adrienne shared a grin at the mention of Eowyn, remembering how Adrienne had convinced Erin to go along with her plot. "But tell me, how might five young ladies have come to gain such familiarity with Gandalf?"
The girls all looked at each other, uncertain how to reply. Gandalf spoke for them. "That, I think, is a tale for another night when the hour is not so late." he said. "Perhaps another evening we may speak of this. For now it is time to retire, I think."
"Um…Gandalf?" Erin asked hesitantly. "Are we going to stay with the common soldiers?"
"If you wish," the wizard replied. Erin glanced at Adrienne, who was nodding.
"Yes, I think we will, my lord." Adrienne said.
"What about me!" Kavila burst out. She sent Hervan an apologetic glance. "Not that you weren't really nice and all that, but I'd like to get out of this armor and stuff. Too many sharp things…it freaks me out."
"You might join the healers," Gandalf suggested. "I am sure they could find you some more comfortable garments. Armor may be a necessity of war, but it is certainly not comfortable!" he laughed.
Kavila's eyes narrowed. "How come you don't wear any armor, Gandalf? And you never get hurt!"
Erin laughed, ushering Kavila toward the door. "Oh, but he does get hurt! He broke his arm at the Battle of Five Armies."
Gandalf gave Erin a curious look. "And how, pray tell, do you know that?"
Erin grinned. "That, I think, is a tale for another night." she replied, and Gandalf chuckled.
"Very well. Get you gone, then," the wizard said.
"Wait!" Kavila exclaimed as she was nudged insistently through the door, "I don't know how to get to the healers' tent!"
Legolas rose immediately from his seat, where he had been watching the girls with mingled amusement and worry. "I shall escort her, if we are finished here, my lords?" he raised an eyebrow in question, and Aragorn nodded to him with a small smirk, ignoring Kavila's panicked expression. "Then farewell," Legolas said, bowing before he followed the girls out the door.
Aragorn shook his head and chuckled, receiving quizzical looks from the other members of the council. "We have discussed all we may tonight. Now 'tis time to seek our beds," he said, and the others filed out slowly. Finally they were gone, and the ranger sank into a chair at the head of the table, his weariness apparent in the lines of his face. In moments his eyes had closed and he wandered in dreams far from worry.
LEGOLAS QUICKLY fell into step with Kavila, who was trying hard to hide her panic. Retarded Aragorn, she thought. Yes, of course the meeting is over. Go, Legolas. Go torment foolish girls who are utterly infatuated with you. And who will be staying with the army until we get to the Black Gates because it's "not safe" on the road. Not that it will be any safer in the middle of a battlefield.
"'Tis a beautiful night," Legolas remarked in a strange tone, startling Kavila out of her musings.
Kavila looked up at the dark clouds that obscured the stars. "I guess. A little cold, though."
Legolas shrugged. "We Elves do not feel the cold."
"You don't?" Kavila was genuinely surprised. "But why…how?" She wondered if it had to do with their nerve system. Maybe their nerves were unresponsive to temperature change. What an interesting study that would make, Kavila thought.
"I know not. 'Tis our way…we are different from your kind." he replied. Kavila didn't reply. 'Your kind,' he had said. It sounded almost derisive. But of course he looked down on men; he had better eyesight, he was faster, he lived longer. The litany of differences only served to underscore the fact that her infatuation was foolish. Why would he ever like her enough to marry her?
Why am I thinking like this! Kavila chided herself. Of course we're not going to marry, my parents would disown me! And why the heck am I thinking about marriage when it's just a silly obsession!
"Lady Kavila?" Legolas spoke, sounding concerned. "Whence do your thoughts wander? You seem troubled."
Kavila kept herself from freezing in place only with great force of will. "I…I was…thinking about the battle," she replied, hoping that would pacify him.
"Fear not, my lady. You have many friends who shall protect you, I among them," Legolas said reassuringly.
A friend? He had called himself her friend! Yes, and just a friend. Nothing more, you retarded girl, Kavila told herself. See, he's not interested in you either.
Suddenly Legolas stopped beside her, turning to face a rather large, green tent, which Kavila recognized as the healers' tent. She glanced behind her quickly, where Erin, Adrienne, and Hervan had been walking. They weren't there.
Legolas saw her backward glance. "Our ways parted some minutes ago," he said. "Did you not hear them bid you farewell?"
"Yes…yes, of course." Kavila stammered, trying to cover up her inattentiveness. "I was just checking to see if there was anyone around here to see us."
Legolas gave her a skeptical glance, and then he called softly, "Are there any healers here?"
Kavila heard movement within the tent, and then the tent flap was drawn back to reveal a familiar white-haired head. "Lindir?" she gasped.
The man looked up. "Ah, yes. Megan's friend, are you not? I am afraid I do not recall your name—my mind is not what it used to be…"
"She is called Kavila," Legolas said, and Kavila threw him a glare. She knew her own name, and could have answered that question perfectly well by herself. "She wishes to join the healers." He turned to her. "It seems you shall be in good hands. I must bid you farewell this evening, my lady, and return to my tent. If luck is with me then perhaps it will not have been felled by that dwarf's incessant snoring." He bowed to her, then turned and strode back down the row of tents. Kavila's gaze lingered after him until he rounded a corner and passed out of sight.
Lindir chuckled a little, and Kavila turned sharply to face him, embarrassed at her lack of self-restraint. "Well then, let us get you into some proper clothing, hm? Then you may tell your tale." He ducked inside the tent, and Kavila had little choice but to follow.