Disclaimer: Refer to Chapter 1
A/N: I tried to post a few days ago, but this chapter seems to have disappeared. I'm giving it another go, wish me luck!
Chapter 9: The Darkest Night
Orophin bit back a groan, tipping his head back against the cloth of the litter as it clattered over a large rock. He would swear before Manwë that Silraen was steering his horse toward every rock on the trail. He pursed his lips, regretting the thought. He should not be angry with Silraen, she was only trying to help him. She could just as easily have left his sorry, crippled hide on the side of the road. Orophin's eyes slipped shut, a frown marring the proud lines of his face. He did not deserve Silraen's care, he had been a fool to allow himself to be injured. He had known his mistake the moment he had made it. He had just driven his sword into the neck of an orc and spun gracefully, drawing it across the side of another. He had been pleased with himself, silently congratulating himself, and his concentration had wavered. He had become arrogant, and that was when he was cut down. It was pathetic, the sort of thing a raw youngster would do. The sort of thing his brother, Captain Haldir, would never do.
"Silraen?" Orophin yelled, "Do you want me to hold Danuriel for a while?"
Anything was better than laying here feeling sorry for himself with only the unbearable pain of his leg for company. His adorable niece would surely lift his spirits. He realized the horse had stopped, but Silraen did not answer. He craned his neck around, his vision partially obscured by the swishing tail of the horse. They had reached the crest of a hill, and Silraen stared across the distant forest with narrowed eyes. She lifted her chin a notch, sniffing the thick afternoon air. "Silraen?" Orophin asked, his senses now heightened too as he saw the concern on her face.
She turned to him, drawing the sleeping child out of the sling. "It is going to storm," Silraen said quietly as she kneeled. "I had hoped it would move off to the south, but we are not going to be so lucky. This will not make for an easy first night."
"What are we going to do?" he asked as he took Danuriel from Silraen. He had never seen Silraen's eyes so hard, so cold with contemplation. He knew he should be comforted by the seriousness with which she was approaching her task, but instead he felt sad. The past days had left so much in ruins, but never had he imagined such a change to come over Silraen. She hadn't smiled all day.
"I'm going to try and get us to the edge of the forest, hopefully we will find some shelter in the hills."
"In less than a day, with this many people?" Orophin asked, unable to camouflage the doubt in his voice.
"We can do it," she said firmly, "But your ride might be even more bumpy when I speed us up."
Orophin caught the small smile that crept across her lips. "You were steering me toward those bumps, weren't you?" he accused.
"No," she said, her smile growing, "I was trying to steer around them, but I think I just ran you into bigger ones in doing so."
Orophin grinned reluctantly, "I appreciate the effort," he admitted.
Silraen reached down, brushing her hand over Danuriel's pale hair, but Orophin could tell it was more for her own comfort than the child's. "Silraen, are you all right?"
Her eyes took on a haunted gleam as she said, "It has only been part of a day, but I miss Haldir so much already. I don't know if I can do this."
Orophin looked away, studying a tree trunk with sudden interest. Silraen's devotion to his brother had always been obvious, but never had it made him feel more lonely than it did right now. If he had been left in the city, there would be no one to miss him. There had never been anyone to fear for him when he went into battle, or show joy at his safe return. There had been no one to rush to his side when he was carried half dead into Caras Galadhon the day before.
Orophin dredged up his most encouraging smile and said, "You are going to be fine. You will see him again soon. That much I know." The smile never reached his eyes, and Silraen noticed this. She searched his face for a long moment, wondering what had brought a sudden darkness to his expression. Deciding it was surely pain from his leg, she resolved to be more careful in leading the horse. She rose, her sharp gaze darting through the trees. "If you need anything, yell," she ordered in a distracted tone, then went back to take the reins.
Danuriel was awake now, and Orophin sat her up on his chest, sticking out his tongue. She giggled wildly, the fog of sleep leaving her eyes. She reached forward, curling her chubby arms around his neck and settling in against him in complete trust. Orophin smiled, and even as he was thrown into the air by a particularly large stone, the smile did not fade. Whatever else he thought was lacking in his life, his family still cared for him. It was funny how one's perspective changed as they held a child, Orophin realized, and kissed Danuriel's crown, silently thanking her for reminding him of what was important.
"Mama, mama!" Taurnan cried, scampering up the line to his mother's side. She dropped to one knee, her face anxious.
"What is it, is something wrong?" Miradhel had offered to keep the older children with her so that Silraen could scout ahead as she needed. Silraen thought immediately of Halnorel and wondered if a bad episode had taken her again.
"Mama, Grandmother said we must slow down. Linaya is not keeping up and some others are beginning to fall behind." Silraen frowned, meeting Orophin's gaze where he looked back at her. She saw then that Danuriel had fallen asleep again, tucked with great care against his shoulder. But, Orophin looked wan and pale. Silraen bit her lip, finally saying to her son, "Run back to Grandmother and tell her we will take a short break. Tell her to spread word at the back of the line." Taurnan nodded quickly, a look of great seriousness in his wide blue eyes at this important task. In that instant, he looked so much like his father that Silraen knew not whether to laugh or sob. He dashed away, and Silraen felt grateful for his endless energy. If only he could share it with others in their party.
Silraen urged the horse off the path and into the shade. The day had grown unusually humid, and she untied a canteen from the heavy-laden horse. She went to Orophin, urging him to drink. "I should check your wounds. Tomorrow morning I will change your bandages."
Orophin nodded, drawing his wrist across his mouth and wiping away the stray droplets of water. Just lifting his arm seemed to drain him. He felt so weak that all he wanted to do was sleep. "You may have to take the baby back," he whispered, "I am not feeling well and I don't want to drop her."
Silraen studied his face carefully, seeing that his eyes seemed distant and unfocused. She moved down to his leg, and began to unlace the side of his pant leg. Linaya had done a quick clothing alteration before their departure, slitting Orophin's pant leg and lacing it up with a thin strand of leather to make it easier to get at his wound. Silraen untied the simple splint that ran the length of his leg and unwrapped the bandage, finding that despite all the tousling he had endured on the rough path, the stitches had held. She moved to the wound on his side, folding the edges of his shirt up and helping him to sit up just enough so she could unwrap the bandage from around his waist. She pressed her fingers carefully into the puffy sides of the wound, feeling along the skin of his stomach. A small groan escaped Orophin's lips, and she froze. "Don't," he ordered gruffly.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," Silraen apologized quickly.
"It didn't hurt just...just leave it be for now, it is fine."
Silraen replaced the bandage and fixed his pant leg. She crawled to his side to retrieve Danuriel. Orophin would not meet her eyes, looking anywhere but at her, not at all like his usual directness. She frowned at his strange behavior, but Danuriel woke and began to fuss, so Silraen thought no more of it. She walked in a circle, bouncing the infant in her arms and singing softly. Ten more minutes...she thought, I'll give them ten more minutes...
The leaves whipped over Silraen's head with a sharp snap as she dragged on the reins. The horse was reluctant, tossing his head in defiance. The storm had fallen upon them with startling speed, and they were still far from the plains. Silraen had hoped to find shelter among the boulders scattered along that expanse and camp as a group, but she was going to have to change her tactic. They were going to have to wait it out here.
Silraen was about to turn, to send word back along the line that they could go no further, when a clap of thunder shook the earth beneath her. She felt the reins pull from her hand, the edges of the leather burning her palm as the horse reared. He charged forward from his hind legs, his eyes wild with fear. Silraen gasped Orophin's name, struggling out of the cloth sling and pushing her child into the arms of the nearest elf. Silraen sprinted after the horse, nearly slipping on the slick forest floor in her haste. The horse was hindered by the fallen limbs and roots and even in its panic could not outrun Silraen. She gripped the horse's mane and launched onto his back. She groped around for the reins, nearly thrown to the side from her awkward perch on top of a sack provisions. Finally, she had them, and pulled back firmly, speaking in her most soothing tone to the animal. As he drew to a halt, his chest heaving, Silraen wrenched around, looking for Orophin. To her horror, she found the litter empty.
No, she realized, it was good that he had the sense to roll off of it as soon as the horse spooked. She could only hope he had not been injured in the process. She leapt from the horse and drew him around, calling out with only a hint of panic, "Orophin! Can you hear me?"
Only the screaming of the wind and the loud patter of raindrops answered her. She began running back the way they had come, dragging on the reins with a loud curse.
"Silraen?" The weak yell drew her to a halt, and then she saw him. Orophin was sprawled on his stomach in a patch of ferns. Silraen dropped to her knees beside him.
"Are you all right, are you hurt? I'm so sorry, I should have--."
Orophin looked up, wet leaves sticking to his face, his lips twisted into an almost child-like pout. Silraen burst into sudden laughter at his dejected state, but clapped her hand over her mouth and sobered quickly. Orophin smiled, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter as he imagined how he must look. Silraen dropped the reins and reached down, helping him turn onto his back and drawing his arm over her shoulders.
Miradhel was rushing to them, weaving awkwardly around fallen branches with the children trailing behind.
"Orophin, darling, what happened?" she called.
"It was my fault," Silraen said gruffly, struggling to keep Orophin upright, "I was careless. Could you bring the horse?"
Miradhel took the reins as Silraen steered Orophin back to the group. Silraen could see a cluster of elves huddled together, shivering beneath their cloaks with looks of uncertainty and fear. "Make camp," Silraen said in her most commanding tone, "We will make it no further tonight."
The rain was coming down in earnest now, the treetops swaying wildly in the brutal wind. Silraen helped Orophin sit beside a fallen tree, and quickly assembled a rough tent over him with a square of canvas.
"I have to go help the others," she said quietly, "I don't think they know what to do."
Orophin gave her a tired smile. "I'm fine. Go ahead." His head was tilted back against the mossy bark, the dark wood in sharp contrast to his pale hair. Silraen reached up and brushed a bit of leaf from his cheek. He lifted his head a little, watching her with a slight frown, but she jumped to her feet and was gone.
The silver flashes of lightning burst in the sky, each illuminating dejected clusters of elves scattered among the trees. Some huddled by the mounds of dirt and splayed roots left by fallen trees, others simply cowered beneath their cloaks and wished they were back in their homes. They silently cursed Silraen, orcs, the Valar, anyone who they might blame for bringing them out into this miserable night. The storm should have moved off by now, but it seemed content to loom above them and hurl sheets of rain and merciless lightning down at them all night.
Silraen pulled Taurnan tighter to her chest as a great clap of thunder drew a whimper from the boy. The children were wrapped up within her cloak, but it had long since soaked through. Danuriel's clammy hand was pressed to Silraen's throat and she felt a sudden shiver run through the baby's tiny body. Silraen bit her lip so hard she nearly broke the skin, curling her body further over her children. She looked up for a moment at the starless sky, and jerked as a cold raindrop fell into her eye. Tomorrow will be better...Tomorrow has to be better.
Thanks always to my reviewers: Puxinette, Tigerlily, and moonbunny77!!