I

A single, whisper of a pulse beats deep within the girl's chest. At first it is unsteady and weak, but with every beat it grows stronger, forcing out the ice of death. Life begins coursing through her, flooding her veins like liquid sunshine. Stronger and stronger the girl's heart grows, until finally her eyes fly open. Her chest heaves upwards, gasping desperately for air as she remembers how to breathe.

Two keen, blue eyes peer down at her; a mixture of shock and disbelief is veiled behind a guarded exterior. Long, wet strands of hair curtain a handsome face. She jerks her head side to side, trying to make sense of her surroundings. The stranger raises his hands in an attempt to calm the now frightened girl. No words escape her lips as she desperately drags herself away.

Visions of battle flash through her mind like a lightening storm as she fades in and out of reality.

Blood.

So much blood.

Faces twisted in agony and horrendous monsters snarl and rip at throats. The sky is black, littered with arrows hissing overhead like an angry swarm of bees.

Bodies fall from a great black wall like leaves from trees.

Her eyes flit around as the battle plays out before her. The girl thrashes about, dodging blades that cannot cut her. Panicked cries escape her lips and tears flood her eyes.

The girl crumples into the arms of the stranger. He clutches her against his chest, unsure of what to do. Eventually her racing heart calms and she cries quietly into his drenched shirt. The man grasps her shoulders and holds the girl out to get a better look.

"What happened?" she questions sadly. The man cocks his head to the side but does not respond. "Where am I?" The stranger's eyes widen and his heavy brows crease into a look of distrust, "you are Westerner. You speak Common tongue." Suddenly he stands and retrieves a curved knife from his belt. The frightened girl shrieks, seeing not the blue-eyed stranger, but a hideous, dagger-toothed monster in his stead. The stranger reluctantly drops his knife, realizing the pitiful girl is no threat, "I am sorry, please… no fear."

Seeing the stranger's return she whimpers, "What happened to me?" He kneels next to her and points to the darkening sky, "Sky. You fall from the sky. I swim and pull you from the sea." The girl nods slowly, noting his thick accent and for the first time, truly looks at her savior. She reaches out and lightly brushes a pointed ear protruding from his wet hair, "You're an elf."

She looks around slowly, taking in the foreign surroundings. As far as her eye could see was the whitest sand, framed by sea and rock that protruded on either ends, forming a small bay. The elf watches curiously as the girl rises to her feet and gazes at the night sky. A single tear falls from her eye as she reaches above towards the glimmering white lights. "I was there… with the stars," she murmurs.

Visions of battle return. She sees blades swinging and arrows flying and in the background she hears someone calling to her. She curls forward and shrieks as she sees a rusted blade protruding from her abdomen. Trembling hands touch the nonexistent wound and return covered in blood. She peers up at the confused elf and breathes out two words before collapsing unconscious into his arms.

"I died."

-x-

One and a half days passed before the girl awoke again. The first thing she noticed was the flickering of warm, orange candlelight against a stone ceiling and the smell of sea salt in the air. She swung her legs over the side of the bed she rested on and stood. Her white dress had been washed and dried, as well as her hair, which fell loose to her waist.

Her room was made of rock, with large openings in the sides that overlooked a city of sand colored stone below. In the distance she could see a harbor filled with small boats and fishing vessels. The city glowed orange in the luminance of its torches, casting dancing shadows over everything the light did not touch. Red banners lined in gold whipped in the cool nighttime breeze.

She pads across her room to the wooden door and peeks into an empty hall. "Hello?" she calls, but there is no answer. She ventures further, looking for any signs of life. Suddenly a shout erupts behind her. She whips around to find two guards running at her, dressed in loose black shirts with curved, short blades strapped to their sides.

She takes off down the hallway as fast as her legs can carry her. The guards pursue her with inhuman speed and soon one snags her by the arm. She cries in pain as he yanks her to the ground and then throws her up against the wall. She desperately struggles against his tightening hold, kicking and screaming for him to let her go. Suddenly, a voice roars a command from behind the two guards and both are sent flying to the ground. The girl never hits the ground as she is once again in the arms of another. She punches at his chest but he restrains her.

"Stop, you must stop," he says. She ceases her fighting and finds a familiar face shouting at the two guards who are now engaged in a heated argument. One guard rips out his blade and points it towards the girl, making her clutch her rescuer's shirt. With one final command, the guards stand down, scowling at the girl before pacing away. Without a word, he swiftly returns her to the room in which she awoke. "I am sorry. My people…" he pauses, trying to find the right words, "our manners are not the best."

"Where am I?" she questions sternly. "The city of Caleri," he replies, his accent heavy as the foreign name rolls off his tongue. She shakes her head, "I don't know this place."

"Your name?" he questions. She sits for a moment, her eyes darken. It is the first time she had thought of what she was called. "No name?" he continues.

"No… no I think it was… Lilia, Lily for short. Yes, that sounds familiar… My mother said when I first opened my eyes they were as green as the stems of Calla Lilies…" she drifts off, deep in thought, "it is familiar to me, yet it doesn't seem quite right…"

She peers up at the elf sitting to her right. He looked different now that he wasn't soaked in seawater. His hair was long and black as night. He was dressed in a loose, dark red shirt and black leggings that were tucked into matching black boots. There was something wild about him. Perhaps it was his electric blue eyes, or the sharp angles of his face. He was handsome, but by no means tame. "What is your name?"

"Aeari, like the sea."

"Where are you from?" he asks, his gaze boring holes into her. She closes her eyes, seeing golden plains expand as far as the eye could see. Broken images of horses and people flicker in and out of focus. "There were horses… many, many horses… and men and women," she pauses, "and also a village in the woods…" He thinks on this for a moment, "the horse men of the West… I hear tales when I was young. Why an elf among men?"

She eyes him, "an elf? I am not an elf."

He reaches out and carefully pushes her dark locks from the side of her face. She slowly raises a hand and brushes her fingertips over the edge of a pointed ear. She covers her mouth, strangling out a scream. Tears of disbelief flood her eyes as she shakes her head. Aeari jumps and watches in shock as she begins hyperventilating. "What… I was mortal- No… I know I was mortal! What is happening to me!" she cries. He casts a glance over his shoulder as a guard rushes to the door. Aeari barks an order for the guard to stand down and grasps the confused girl by the sides of her face, "You must be calm. My people… not as kind like Western kin."

She nods her head frantically, attempting to control herself. "I died… I was of the race of men… My name was Lilia… I think… I was brought back, why?!" The elf wishes desperately to have an answer for the young girl, but can only do his best to calm her. "I can hardly remember a thing."

Guide them home.

The last words she heard echoed in the back of her mind.

"The Valar," she breathes. This does something to Aeari. His posture straightens, his eyes become hard. "It had to have been them!" she gasps, "but I was of mankind… I was not important! Why me?" Aeari stands and paces away, "Do not speak that name in this city."

She stands and draws near the disturbed elf, "But it had to have been!" she cries, "there is no other explanation – they sent back Glorfindel the Balrog Slayer and Gandalf the White! The Valar brought me back!" Aeari roughly places his hand over her mouth and peers out the door before slamming it shut. "Stupid girl! I tell you before, those words bring danger here," he hisses, "do not get banished after two days!"

"But you're an elf, they are your divinities are they not?"

Aeari scoffs and leans against the far wall, his overwhelming presence casting a gigantic shadow stretching to her feet, "You know little of elvish kind. We are the Avari. Elves of Eastern lands. The Refusers."

"Eastern lands?" the girl darts across the room and gazes outside at the waves crashing upon the bay. She surveys the barren, stony mountains the city is built into. She looks back to Aeari who has not moved from his position, noting his strange style of clothing. She had seen drawings before of the Corsairs of the East. She faintly remembered tales of the dangerous folk that lived beyond the Lonely Mountain, beyond the Iron Hills, beyond the land of fire. She breathes out in disbelief, "this is Rhun."