Author's Note: Important!!: For those of you who read chapter 5 of this story before February 9th/2008, I strongly suggest you return and read the ending (the last 4-5 paragraphs) again. I have changed the ending due to my noticing a terrible mistake in the time line of Middle-Earth in my story. There is no longer a man serving Melina drinks at the dinner table the night prior, the reason being that this man is not suppose to be in Imladris at that point in the cannon story.
Thank you to all my reviewers, I love all of you for taking the time to tell me your opinion of my piece of fanfiction.
And a gazillion thanks to Lisa for reading this over and taking care of my stupid spelling mistakes. All hail Lisa.
Chapter 6
"To the soul, there is hardly anything more healing than friendship."
-Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852)
Why was it so cold? Where was the forest, the flowers, the light, the sun? It was so dark here, her eyes were useless. She was naked again, she could feel the cold, rutheless winds sting her flesh and the frozen stone below seemed to suck the air out of her. In the distance she heard howls and strange noises, and rumbles that seemed to shake the earth itself. Suddenly she knew where she was; the Devil's Tower. That accursed place on top of which she had been sent after meeting the man in gr...Gandalf. Yes, that was his name; how did she know that? Her mind was confused, things were out of place, why could she not see? She tired to move, but her body refused the command. A sob of frustration escaped her dry lips and Melina could not help calling out.
"Gandalf!" she yelled to the top of her lungs, "Gandalf, Gandalf, where have you gone!"
And suddenly he was there, and she could see. He picked her up in his strong arms and held her close. And though she knew for certain that this was Gandalf, he looked different. Gone was the beard and the grey clothes, gone was the grey in his hair and his wrinkle; in fact, gone was his body entirely. Melina saw him as a figure of light, bright and warm and strong. Only his piercing blue eyes remained visible, as well as his long white hair. On his brow she now saw a silver crown; how beautiful he was. Slowly he leaned down, gripped her hair with his fingers of light, and whispered in her ears. The meaning of the words were lost on her, but somewhere in Melina's mind a memory stirred, she knew these words. She had heard them when...
She was on her knees now, the dirt on the ground was stainning her dress, but she had eyes only for Gandalf. He stirred his horse away and turned his back to her, and then he was gone. Her chest tightened, her heart pounded...
Screams…someone was screaming…so much pain, she was screaming in pain…
Melina awoke brutally, screaming and kicking; her eyes filled with tears and her chest burning. She breathed heavily and looked around quickly; it took her another moment to realize where she was: Safe and sound in a room, the room she had been given in the lovely house. The house in which lived angels...Elrond, Glorfindel...Slowly she felt her heartbeat slow down and her mind calmed.
Scenes of her dreams revisited her as she sat in the semi-darkness; Gandalf. She felt her eyes sting with tears at the thought of the old man. Melina rubbed her face roughly, drying the tears with her sleeve before they could even fall, she was sick of crying. An uncomfortable sensation in her stomach suddenly indicated to her that she was also sick in another fashion. She barely made it to the chamber pot in the bathroom before she emptied the content of her stomach. Nothing much in there really so late after her meal, but she felt slightly better nonetheless.
She sat on the cold floor for a moment, recollecting the memories of the night before. She remembered leaving the dinner hall, and being guided back by the maiden. She had changed into a night gown and had fallen asleep as soon as her head had hit the soft pillow.
Melina closed her eyes tightly and groaned as a piercing headache began to throb behind her eyes, no doubt caused by her restless sleep as was her upset stomach.
Melina doubted they would have Advil or any other such painkillers around here and so she opted for the next best thing...a hot bath. Trusting her legs not to falter and her stomach to behave, Melina approached the tub slowly. It was full of freezing water. Since she had taken a hot bath the day prior, she decided that the means to heat it must be somewhere around her bedchamber. The water source was easy to find; behind the thick curtains of the bathroom, behind which she had imagined to be a window, she found instead an opening through which she could easily reach a small stream of fresh water; two cauldrons sat patiently against the exterior wall.
It took her a little longer to realize that there was a fireplace in her bedroom. It had not been lit when she awoke the previous day, and had somehow escaped her view until now. It lay at the foot of her bed, under the painting depicting the House in Spring. Searien must have lit it after she fell asleep for there were still a few hot coals underneath the first layer of ashes. Under her bed, just right of the fireplace, Melina found a box filled with burning material. A few dry things, she could not quite figure out what they were exactly, helped to build an initial flame; and a few large coals, there was no wood to burn, were enough to create a healthy flame.
Melina then attempted to boil water. Having only used an electric stove in her life, her first attempt resulted in her night gown being drenched, her flame exinguished three times, and a whole lot of time wasted. It was not until she had been sitting idly in front of the fire for a long while that she realized her mistake: the water was not for boiling.
Groaning in exasperation at her own stupidity, Melina brought the two cauldrons outside and discarded them by the stream. She then returned to the fireplace and re-kindled a fire. This time she reached for the large holders that had been leaning against the wall next to her bed, as well as the five large stones which she had not paid attention to earlier.
When the coals were burning hot enough, Melina placed two of the stones into the fire and waited for a while, until she was sure they were hot. She then picked one up with the pincers and brought it into the bathroom, dropping it in the cold water. The stone gave a satisfying sizzle as it hit the liquid. Now encouraged, Melina returned to the fireplace quickly, and repeated the process. When all five stones had been heated and put into her bath, the water felt delicious.
But before she plunged in, Melina retrieved the stones with her hands and carried them back to her room.
The sun had risen a few notches by them time she slipped in the tub, and if she listened very carefully, she could hear the sound of the House waking up. The water did indeed do wonders on her body, and her headache. Melina closed her eyes in pleasure and relaxed. It seemed to her at that moment that she could lay there for all eternity and be the happiest woman in the world.
Unfortunatly, eternity had other plans and the sound of footsteps jerked her out of her peace.
Adrenaline filled her blood faster than lightning and she was ready to sprint out of the tub if need be; but the sight of the maiden she had met yesterday halted the sprinting plan, though Melina remained on the qui vive. Her hands were still firmly gripped on each side of the tub when the maiden, seemingly oblivious to Melina's fright, deposited a fresh towel on the oil table. She then picked up one of the oil bottles and, giving Melina one of her wonderful smiles, slowly stepped behind the bath.
Melina relaxed her hands for a second in order to turn and see what the woman was doing, but before she could see anything, two soft hands gripped her shoulders tightly. The feeling of terror and the need to run away gripped Melina's body again, but the maiden's fingers began to move and she found herself unable to do anything. The fingers pushed, and dug and rubbed; massageing Melina's tense back with care and expertise.
The maiden's hands went from her back, to her neck, arms, hands, feet and calfs. To her credit, she never came near Melina's abdomen or thighs, something Melina had dreaded for a moment. It felt strangely peaceful to relax undersomeone's touch. Melina wondered if the maiden being a woman made a difference in her ability to trust her, but it was impossible to say.
Immediately after being helped out of the bath, Melina decided it was long past time that she ask the maiden for her name. It seemed strange to always refer to her as "the woman", Melina was begining to grow quite fond of her and she supposed that a name was a required basis for friendship.
After she finished drying and was being helped into her undergarments, Melina attempted to ask her question. Unsure of how to go about it, she simply tapped her chest and said "Melina", then pointed the hand towards the other woman. The maiden stopped her work for a moment and smiled broadly. It seemed she had immediately understood Melina, for she tapped her own chest and slowly repeated her name a few times.
-"Searien." said Melina carefully, the name rolling easily on her tongue. A beautiful name for a beautiful woman.
Searien nodded chearfully and spoke a few sentences. Melina shook her head to indicate she did not understand, but Searien waved her hand in the air dissmissively and continued speaking. This small action, though might be seen as insignificant by any other, touched Melina's heart.
As they both continued dressing her up in another beautiful dress, Melina happily listened to Searien's musical voice as she spoke of uncomprehensible things. It seemed Searien also had quite the sense of humour, or at least believed herself to be funny. More then once while they sat on the bed to braid Melina's hair, the maiden broke into full blown laughter at what had to be her own jokes. Even after they left the bedchamber together and walked towards what seemed to be the dinning hall, Searien continued speaking.
They walked arm in arm and sometimes she would lean over and whisper into Melina's ear, as if confiding secrets to her; which happened most often when they crossed other people. Though she did not understand, Melina smiled; enjoyed these confidences the most. Other times, Searien would point at a specific item, be it a plant or a construction, and say it's name slowly. Melina repeated each one as best she could, but doubted she could remember most of them by the time breakfast had begun; but even if she only remembered two, it was more than she knew at the moment.
The hall was indeed their final destination, and though Melina recognized it from her meal the night prior, it looked quite different in the morning light. For one thing, there were not as many people sitting inside. Only a few groups sat at random intervals with no visible order. It seemed that this meal was not quite as formal as last night's dinner.
If she had been alone, Melina might have turned on her heels and left the hall immediately. Quite a few pair of eyes turned from their table mates to stare at her and just as many conversations stopped, creating an eerie silence in the large room.
But as her blood ran cold and her fears took over, Melina felt a tug at her arm and she remembered Searien. The woman, with a bold yet calm footing, pulled Melina along deeper amongst the tables. Unable to resist her firm grip, Melina forced herself to calm down and even dared to close her eyes for a few moments, trusting herself to Searien.
When she opened her eyes again, they had stopped. The table in front of them was occupied by three gorgeous men and one stunning woman. Two seats remained empty. Searien spoke a few soft words to the group and she curtised them and a gentle laughter errupted from each of the occupants. Melina's breath caught in her throat as she lisened to the impossibly pure and melodious sound of their laughter; it was more than enough to make any man shed a tear.
Before said tear could fall though, Searien promptly sat on one of the available seats and tugged at Melina's tunic so she would do the same. Melina, realizing she had been lost in thoughts, gave a weak apologetic smile, bowed slightly and slumped deep into the chair.
For a few minutes, she dared not move, afraid to find out that the rest of the hall was staring at her, even though the people at her table were again engrossed in conversations and foods. It was not until the man to her right cleared his throat and spoke her name that she stirred.
She turned to the angelic being with a questioning look, and noticed that he was holding a jug in front of the glass that had been set for her. Hoping that it was not alcohol, Melina nodded. A clear, ordorless liquid poured down; water. Smiling her thanks, Melina cupped the now cool glass and sipped the soothing liquid.
A memory suddenly flashed in front of her eyes; somewhere darker and uglier, she had relished a drink in the early morning, much like now...coffee. Melina shook herself mentally, the coffee might be worthwhile reminiscing, but the living situation in which she had the said coffee was not. She returned to the present time with a sigh of relief and began inspecting the content of the large food platter in the middle of the table.
Fruits, bread and nuts seemed to be the main servings today. Melina took a particularly shiny apple, inspected it for a moment before sinking her teeth into its green skin. The sour juices of its interior flowed onto her tongue and she recoiled immediately; pursing her lips and closing her eyes shut to try and fight the sensation. The worst of it passed, Melina opened her eyes to a grinning crowd of four; she blushed furiously which triggered Searien's joyous laughter.
The others joined soon after, though their chuckles were slightly more polite than her friend's. Riddiculed, though by no other means than her own stupidity, Melina smiled and slumped a little further into her chair; her apple held in front of her face.
Breakfast lasted for what she guessed was an hour or two, after which Searien and Melina left the dinning hall together.
The angelic woman guided Melina around the house slowly, naming things as she went. The lesson was too fast to be efficient though, and Melina's mind wandered instead of paying attention to the words being said.
She thought of the past. What else was there for her to think about really? This was her second day in this house, second conscious day at least. She wondered how long she had been asleep after the blackout on the horse with Glorfindel. It was difficult to say. Enough for her to have healed sufficiently, she supposed. But between her seperation from Gandalf, and today, how many days had passed? How long had the man in grey been away for? Melina felt the strange pain of loss returning as she thought of him. She remembered their first meeting so vivdly; he had been the first person in this world who had been decent to her, even caring. How she had pained to see the look in his eyes when the Devil had brought her to him. And then they had been sent away, to die she presumed. She could still feel the cold, hard stone against her skin and though she was dressed warmly, Melina shivered violently.
Searien stopped walking and turned to her, concern carved on her angelic features. She spoke, asked a few questions, even cupped Melina's cheek and rubbed away a tear that had fallen. The warmth emenating from her fingers soothed Melina immediately. She felt her fears and sorrows fade away as if they had never been there. She took a deep breath, and the air that filled her lungs felt freasher and sweeter than ever before. Surprised, Melina gasped and felt herself slump as her body relaxed.
Searien smiled and took her hand away after a second or two. Melina moaned in protest over the lost warmth, but caught herself and blushed. Searien only chuckled.
They had arrived at a small garden, complete with two stone benches and a mosaic stoned floor which seemed to depict some sort of tree. The enclosure formed a large, perfect circle, and around it stood large, beautiful trees and one white statue to her left. Melina stepped in front of the life sized monument and examined its soft features. She imagine it represented a historical figure of some kind, a woman she guessed from the clothes depicted. The statue's face showed a very solemn expression, her eyes were turned towards the sky and her hands were joined together as if in prayer. If the statue was any indication, the woman must have been a most gorgeous of creatures, beyond anything Melina could begin to imagine. She wondered what the woman might have been looking for, amongst the clouds, or maybe in the stars.
"Luthien." Searien's soft voice reached her ears.
"Luthien." Melina repeated carefully. These people certainly knew how pick names.
After a long moment, Melina finally turned away from the statue and noticed that Searien was not behind her anymore. Instead, the woman was sitting on one of the benches, her eyes starring directly at Melina. They looked at each other for a second, before Melina lowered her gaze and walked around the garden. There was writing on the slabs of stone which formed the mozaic she walked on; very elegant letters which probably told a story, or maybe it was a quote.
Her feet finally guided her to the second bench and she decided to sit down for a bit. Searien was still looking at her with those piercing eyes and Melina cocked up head with a questioning look. The other woman smiled sweetly and seemed to be about to say something, but she looked away suddenly. Melina wondered what was wrong, but a figure then glided into the garden from behind.
The figure, brown haired man with golden robes, stopped walking and greeted both woman with a bowed head. Searien returned the greeting, and Melina decided to imitate her companion. The man than spoke a few sentences, to which Searien replied with a simple nod before she stood. The man turned and left the garden, back the way he had come, and Searien began to follow him.
Melina stood up, confused, but Searien shook her head slightly, clearly indicating that she was not to accompany her this time. Frustrated, but seeing no other choice, Melina sat down again and watched the two figures dissapear behind the trees.
Alone again, with no guide and absolutely nothing to do, Melina began to think. It was bothering her that she had lost sense of time since dying the first time. Not only had she lost control over every other aspect of her life, but she could not even hold on to time.
"Two days in this place..." she mumbled to herself, "How long did we ride for, Glorfindel and I? Three days, perhaps even longer?" she began to count on her fingers, "Gandalf and I rode for about 4 days out of the horse city, so that was at least 2 weeks in this world." But it was impossible to say how long she had been held captive in the Devil's tower, "Anything from a week, to a year." she groaned.
Melina grabbed her head in frustration. Thinking about all of this did not make her feel better at all. Deciding against staying in the garden like an abandoned puppy waiting his its master to return, Melina stood and began to walk. She had no destination in mind, but she needed to wander; needed to do something by herself and for herself, to make her feel in control. Like the bath this morning; she had been happy to be able to provide that one thing for herself, without any help.
The house seemed endless. Not even figure of speech endless, but truly without an end. It was in such perfect sync with the nature around it, that Melina was not certain when the wild forest started, and when the orderly construction began. She had been following what seemed to be a fairly normal corridor, when suddenly she was surround by tall trees, wild grass and no sign of civilization. Surprised, Melina looked over her shoulder to make sure she could still see the house and, reasured, she thread on.
It was peaceful to be alone for once, alone by choice. She headed down a well laid path until she began to hear the sound of a flowing stream. It was a common noise in this area, the house seemed to be criss-crossed by hundreds of streams which all flowed into the larger river at the bottom of the valley. Many waterfalls as well.
She walked for a few more minutes until she saw the stream, as well as a convieniently placed bench under a large willow tree. Cheered by the sight, Melina began to head towards the bench when she noticed that it was already occupied. From her vantage point, Melina could only see the person's back. She deduced it was a child, from its height, and probably a little boy. She hesitated, not wanting to disturb the stranger, but just as she was about to turn on her heels and leave, the small figure waved a hand in a forward motion. Melina looked around her and, since she was alone, concluded that she was the recipient of the invitation.
She aproached the bench slowly and only when she was close enough to look over the child's shoulder did she realize that he was not a child at all. It was a man, an old one at that. Now stunned in place, Melina starred in shock as the man turned towards her and smiled. His face was riddled with wrinkles, his hair pure white, and his feet dangled over the bench jovially. What manner of a creature was this!?
The small man hopped off the bench, after putting away the large book that had been lying on his lap, and bowed to her. Melina closed her gapping mouth and bowed her head slightly. In all manner, the man looked human, except for his height, and his strange, hairy, shoeless feet. After his greeting, her extended a tiny hand in her direction and spoke. Melina took the hand, but remained silent and confused.
The little man frowned for a moment, before he seemed to remember something and he began to nod violently, mumbling under his breath. He then proceeded to walk back and forth for a few seconds, one hand behind his back and one hand against his chin, before he stopped short and looked up. Once, Melina might have found the whole scene impossible and she would have surely ran away; but today, today she only found it amusing.
"Bilbo." the tiny figure said finally, one small finger pointed directly at his chest.
"Bilbo." Melina repeated, feeling more secure now that she was on familiar ground. "Melina." she said in return.
The small figure nodded vigourously again; he probably had heard of her by now. With a few more words that escaped her, Bilbo returned to his bench, picked up his book again, and patted the now empty place besides him.
Melina, having absolutely nothing better to do and nothing planned, decided to oblige the old man. She circled the bench from behind and sat beside Bilbo.
For a moment, he remained silent. Melina watched as he scribbled down a few sentences in his book, which seemed quite extensive already, before he put everything away in a small satchel. He then turned to her and starred at her face for a long moment.
Melina, all too aware of her many scars, turned away from the man and instead looked at the stream. She felt Bilbo shift besides her, and jerked away in surprise when she felt his small hand pat her right thigh. She was half way up when she noticed that Bilbo was looking terrified and red-faced, both his hands held up high in sign of peace.
Realizing that she had overreacted, Melina settled down again. Bilbo seemed to have been more terrified than herself for he stared at her with wide eyes for a long time before speaking again. When he did speak though, it was to mumble to himself for minutes while rubbing his chin and dangling his feet back and forth.
Melina starred at the stream while he spoke, his soft voice soothing her into a sort of trance. Her mind wandered, not into dark memories, but into nothingness. She felt asleep, though she was wide awake and wondered if mediation was perhaps similar to this. Besides her, she felt Bilbo stir and he suddenly appeared in her line of vision. Shaking herself out of her reverie, Melina concentrated on the comical little man in front of her, who now seemed to have a goal in mind.
She watched, interested, as he walked to the willow tree, tapped its bark and repeated a word slowly. Melina hesitated, unsure if she had the energy to engage in a language lesson at the moment, but since she was unable to politely decline Bilbo's generous offer, she decided to avoid insulting him and repeated the word dutifully.
Bilbo seemed endlessly pleased and he nodded a few times as he walked over by the brook. There he dipped his hand in the water while repeating another word. After Melina repeated this new word, Bilbo made a movement with his arm which probably indicated the stream as a whole, and repeated another word three times. Melina decided that she liked Bilbo's lesson much more than Searien, the small man was a better professor to be certain.
They kept up the class for what Melina guessed to be an hour or two. She doubted that she would remember more than a word or two the next morning, but maybe if she could have a lesson from Bilbo everyday, she would be able to communicate with these people within a year.
A year...Melina had trouble thinking about the future, even more trouble than thinking about her past. She had trouble finding anything to live for, that was the main problem. Most people had goals in life, work, marriage, children, all those sorts of things. But Melina could not really think of any goal she wanted to achieve...except now, learning these people's language. It was a start, after all...a good start. Taking things slowly was the best course of action in her situation, she knew this, but she had never been the most patient of person. Perhaps this second chance at life was a good oportunity to refine certain qualities that had been missing from her repertoire before.
The lesson was over, Melina knew this because Bilbo was gathering his things and waiting for her to follow him back. She obliged him, having no better idea of what to do at the moment, and together they returned to the house, at which point Melina realized she was hungry. Luckily for her, Bilbo seemed to be heading to the dinning hall, which she never would have found otherwise.
Once inside, she sat with the small man at a table occupied by two other men who barely noticed their arrival, nor Melina's subsequent departure when she finished her meal. She was tired. More tired than she should be considering her lazy morning, but she really needed to lie down. Having now been up and down from her room three or four times, Melina was able to find her chambers without much difficulty. It was empty when she arrived, though her bed sheets seemed to have been changed and the mess from her fire-experiment cleared.
She hoped that nobody would worry too much if she disappeared into her blankets for an hour, but could not find the energy to find Searien and tell her. Instead Melina pulled out her blankets and lay down, falling alseep almost immediately.
When she woke up again, Melina was lost and confused. She groaned and turned around, ready to fall asleep again, but a hand gripped her shoulder and shook her gently. Now wide awake and terrified, she screamed, kicked, and back away against the back of her bed, sitting up as she did so. Memories of rough awakenings in a dark, cold, wet cell errupted in her memory, accompanied by intense pains throughout her body. She could see the hand of the Torturer reaching out for her and she screamed louder, flailing her arms to try and stop him.
Then she heard a voice. A soft, soothing voice in a language she did not understand. But though the words meant nothing to her, she felt their power run down her spine, calming her tense nerves as they did so. Safety, she was safe and her eyes began to clear. The darkness faded, giving way to a light brighter than any she had seen before. Melina saw the face of a young woman, she was calling out to her, reaching for her face with a hand that seemed to glow with an unnatural light.
"Searien..."Melina mumbled, and immediately everything returned to normal.
She was in her bedroom, inside the House she had awoken in three, no two, days ago. It was only afternoon, she had taken a nap. She looked around the chambers slowly, saw that Searien was already dressed for dinner and concluded that the woman had come to help her prepare.
Still slightly disgruntled, Melina pushed her blankets away and stood up. She stretched and rubbed her face awake, before she headed to the bathroom to relieve herself. She noticed Searien opening the wardrobe and picking out a dress from it, which she brought into the bathroom.
It took less time than before to get ready; for one she did not need to take a bath, and she also felt more comfortable while being helped in and out of a dress by someone else.
When she was finally ready, a few minutes later, the two women headed down for dinner. Searien began her usual chatter, though she seemed less incline to humour than earlier.
The hall was again in order, everyone was wearing their best robes, looking glorious and glowing, and again the seat beside Glorfindel was empty. Still more inclined to follow Searien than to walk alone to the seat at the high table, Melina needed a shove from the maiden in order to start walking in the right direction.
While walking, she looked around for Bilbo, but did not see him. Perhaps he prefered some quiet for dinner, or maybe he went to bed early. She remembered how tired she used to get at night before she arrived here...when she had looked like Bilbo, full of wrinkles and white hair. The thought made her shudder and she hurried to her warm, comfortable seat, which Glorfindel politely pulled for her when she arrived.
She inclined her head as a greeting and a thanks, before she sat down. The lord of the house greeted her in his language and Melina smiled to him, as well as her neighbours. It hurt slighlty to see them all smile, with their perfect features and the beauty they emenated without effort, but she also found it difficult to look away. She decided to compromise and stare at Glorfindel, since there was less chance to appear impolite if she looked at someone she was at least semi-aquainted with.
He did not appear to notice her stare at first, but when the food began to be served he turned to her knowingly and starred right into her eyes. Feeling like a deer caught in the headlights, Melina was unable to move for a long moment. His eyes were amazing. Sometimes silver, sometimes blue, and they even hinted green. She knew that she was long passed impolite and was now approaching the voyeur category, but she could not find the will power to look away.
It was him, in the end, who turned, after mumbling a few words which seemed to have been meant for her only, though she did not understand. He returned to his plate, where food had been served moments ago. A few seconds later, Melina also turned away and began to eat, though she paid little attention to what she was putting in her mouth. It all tasted equally delicious. She was busy commiting Glorfindel's words to memory, along with the words Gandalf had whispered in her ear before he left, a week ago...or two weeks ago? One day she promised herself that she would understand what these men had been trying to tell her.
Dinner wore on, much like the night before. Everyone ate, talked, laughed and when the plates were taken away, the crowd began to move about. Though she had just awoken from a nap, Melina admited defeat not long after the signing and dancing began. She would have loved to stay longer, but she felt herself nodding in and out of consciousness a few times.
She rose to leave, but felt a hand on her elbow as she did so. Glorfindel had returned from his tour around the hall and was now standing very close to her. Melina stumbled back in an attempt to create space between them, and his hand stabilized her before she could fall onto the table. She blushed and thanked him but when he began to pull her towards the dance floor, Melina resisted.
"No...please." she mumbled, "I am very tired." she pointed to the exit to try and clear things out.
Glorfindel seemed to understand and instead began to head for the exit with her. Melina wondered if he was going to take her back to her room himself, which would be slighlty innapropriate, but he stopped short at the doors and bowed to her. Melina curtised akwardly, blushed when he kissed the back of her hand, and left the room which had become impossibly hot.
The air outside cooled her immediately and she shivered. Deciding it was best not to linger too long in the fresh night, Melina headed directly for her bedroom. She picked out a thick nightgown from her wardrobe, considered making a fire, but decided she was too tired, and sank back into her soft mattress. She relaxed under the thick covers and slowly drifted off, with memories of food, laughter and silver eyes in her mind.
Melina awoke in the middle of night, screaming and hurting. She reached down to her inner thighs and when she felt nothing but healed flesh, she began to cry silently. Why could they not leave her alone? She had suffered enough! Angry and scared, Melina pushed away her blankets and stood up, deciding to take a stroll in order to clear out her mind.
Her bare feet echoed eerily against the floor. She wondered if anyone else was awake in the building, but she could hear nothing. Her steps led her to the garden she had discovered during the day with Searien and she sat on the same bench.
The night was quiet and peaceful; the only sound she could hear were the wind in the remaining leaves and the waterfalls in the distance. Here, alone in this makeshift paradise, Melina knew she was safe…and yet her memories would not rest. She tried not to think about the nightmare that had awoken her, but the more she tried to push it away, the more powerful it became.
She felt the hand of the Torturer brutally fumble her right breast and she winced at the imagined, yet all too real, pain. Melina's hand unconsciously came up to feel her right breast, where she felt nothing but the warm material of her gown. Hot tears began to flow down her cheeks as she struggled to stay in control of her own mind. But he was there, with her in this beautiful place, violating her with his dirty and putrid hands. She screamed and shot up to her feet; but the movement caught her head off guard and a wave of dizziness came over her.
She fell heavily on her knees, but she barely felt the pain…the Torturer was laughing at her pain as he plunged the blade in the soft skin of her abdomen; not deep enough to hit any organ, but enough to hurt. She brought both hands to her mid-section and began sobbing uncontrollably. She was so alone…no one was there to save her…no one was there to take the pain away.
But then she felt her body being pulled into a warm embrace; strong, soft arms wrapped themselves around her frail body and soft words were spoken in her ear. Melina struggled for a moment, surprised and scarred, but the hold on her body was too strong. The Torturer was gone, but she could still see him in the back of his mind…he was only temporarily subdued, she could see him waiting for his chance to strike back at her.
Melina shook her head furiously to try and shake away the feeling. The arms around her tightened and, very slowly, she began to calm down. Soon her sobs diminished to small hiccups and she was able to breathe normally. Her body was on the verge of exhaustion; she could feel her mind shutting down, her eyelids were heavy…and she was so comfortable. The soft voice was still whispering in her ear when she fell asleep.
Thanks for reading!