Chapter 11: Aftermath

When I saw my son, my heart almost gave out. He was muddy, his clothes were torn, there was blood on his hands and knees, and he was leaning heavily on the guard as if weak or seriously disoriented. I hugged him close, noticing as I did so that he smelled foul. I didn't care. He was unsteady on his feet, so I supported him carefully. I was furious. How dared anyone treat my son like this?

Earwen told the the guards to search all the houses within a five minute run since he could not have come very far. They were to look for a woman with dark hair tied back in a single braid, wearing a dark green tunic and gray trousers with patches at the knees, possibly carrying a frying pan. The picture of her was still very vivid in his mind so Earwen and I had no trouble picking it up.

The guard spread out to search, while Earwen and I took our son back to the palace. It was slow going, but he was too big to carry.

Finally, we reached the palace where we found both Olwe and Ingwe waiting for us. Ingwe looked appalled, while Olwe looked rather pale. We ignored them both, and took him into the suite where the Noldor delegation was staying. Earwen called for a healer while I helped him to a couch where he could lie down. "Why the terrible headache?" I asked.

"Concussion, drugs, songs of power," he replied.

"There's a healer coming, so just lie still," said Earwen. "You don't have to do anything."

He asked for water so I went and got him some, which he drank. We waited, and the healer came. He examined Findarato, then sang him into sleep and washed the cuts on hands, knees and elbows. He assured me that Findarato would be fine, but that he should rest a good deal over the next few days and on no account was he to do anything magical. If the headaches persisted mild pain killers or sleep song were acceptable, but if they became as bad as they were today or if they persisted for over a week he was to see a healer. The healer left, and Earwen and I looked at each other.

"I'll stay with him," Earwen said. "You should probably go talk to Olwe and Ingwe and let them know how Findarato is." I nodded, and went to find Olwe and Ingwe.

They were both standing outside the door to the suite. "How is he?" Ingwe asked.

"The guards just came back," Olwe added. "They escorted a women who matches the description Earwen gave them. They are certain it was her because they searched the dwelling. In it they found broken cord and a silver circlet."

"You have caught her. Good. Findarato is asleep. He has a concussion, cuts, bruises, and is suffering from the aftermath of been drugged and using songs of power to escape. He needs to rest and will probably have headaches frequently for the next week or so, but he should make a complete recovery, no thanks to his assailant."

They both relaxed visibly. "He looked in terrible shape when you brought him in."

"He was and he is," I answered. "You two are going to have to run the trial; I am far too angry to judge fairly."

"You'd be a witness anyway," Ingwe replied, "given your link to your son."

I nodded. "That makes sense. What have the guards done with her?"

"She is in the palace under guard," said Olwe. "We have asked her no questions as yet."

"I think that should be done in public so that her guilt can be seen by all and we don't get any rumors," Ingwe added. "We're going to need Findarato to be there, so it will have to wait until he is well enough to attend."

"While we're doing that, I would like to see an end to the unjustified taunting and accusations I saw during the negotiations," I said. "I want it made obvious that it was not his fault that somebody else decided to kidnap him."

"Nobody has accused him of causing his own kidnapping," Olwe said.

"Oh, somebody will if they haven't done so already," I answered.

"Actually, I have heard rumors to exactly that effect," said Ingwe. "It is not logical, but people do not want to blame their own. As the first Returned Exile these people have seen, Findarato is far too easy a target."

"I thought Returning early was supposed to be a reward," Olwe said. "This seems almost more like a punishment. What did he do to be Returned so early, anyway?"

"Apparently, he volunteered," I answered. "I haven't dared ask him some of the details about his life in Middle-earth. I know he died horribly and I don't want stir the memories. Lord Namo did tell me that I should be proud of him, that he died to save another and strove to do good in the time that he had. He has told me about some of the things that he did there. It sounds like he spent an inordinate amount of his time trying to prevent the Sindar and the Noldor from fighting each other instead of Morgoth, teaching the Hildor and generally try to calm people down."

"That sounds awfully familiar," Ingwe said with a slight smile. "I wonder where he learned that."

Olwe laughed. "So he leaves home and parents behind him in rebellion, and then proceeds to act like his father in the land of his exile. How very ironic."

I blushed. "Not exactly like me if I had continued," I said. "I can't imagine getting into some of the situations he described. Walking alone into the camp of an entirely unknown people... I am shy enough dealing with my own."

"I wasn't saying that he was was the same as you, but that he seems to have acquired some of your better qualities," Olwe said. "Not a position I envy, thinking about some of the Noldor he left with."

"Nor I," I answered.

I did some organization for the coming trial and the currently sidelined negotiations with Ingwe and Olwe, and then I went to bed. Findarato had not woken, and Earwen told me that she intended to sit up and keep an eye on him. "Not that I do not trust the healer, but I worry so it isn't as if I'll be able to sleep anyway."