isclaimer: See previous chapter
"If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven."
- The Soldier – Rupert Brooke
Chapter 60 – Healing and Punishment
The Forest of Dean circa 2007
Alun
Alun Davies was having a dream.
It wasn't a bad dream as dreams go, it certainly wasn't as bad as most of the dreams he had been having since his return from another time dimension as his wife could readily bear witness. Many a time she had sat in the window seat during the night and watched anxiously, gnawing at her nails as he struggled with whatever demons were torturing him. Many a time she had pleaded with him to go and see the doctor only for him to reply, as he always did, that he didn't think the doctor could do anything for him.
Instead she and their children watched him staggering off to work with dark shadows blooming under his eyes. He had lost weight and his temper was uncertain, although his family knew that he restrained himself with them. Sometimes his weariness bubbled over into his dealings with them and he seemed on the edge of a kind of insanity. Those were the times when he quietly left the house and wandered down the paths of nearby Forest. It was the only place he felt at peace, among the trees and nature, the only place he felt safe.
Safe? Where had that come from? He was in England, still one of the safest countries in the world to live, there was really nothing to threaten him, yet in his dreams he was threatened and when the worst of the dreams happened to him it seemed to his wife as though all the life was being leached out of him, leaving him grey and indeterminate, a mere hollow shadow of himself.
However this night, even his wife could see that the dream he was having was not an unpleasant one. The dark fear that was usually cast across his sleeping features was absent, instead he looked bewildered and a little bemused. The crease between his eyes seemed to be questioning something.
She sat, like a sentinel, and watched him as he slept and dreamed. She watched until the first light of dawn streaked through the night skies.
"Mum?" The boy, her son, whispered quite close to her and she jumped nervously. Had she been asleep? She swung her legs off the window seat and glanced over at the sleeping form of her husband in alarm. In doing so she dislodged the warm travel rug that someone had placed over her.
She blinked at her son and realised that he was holding a gently steaming mug in his hand. "Is he...?" She dared not say anything else or put her fears into words.
"He's fine, he's asleep, has been for a couple of hours now." Her son handed her the mug and she took it gratefully. "I went to let the cat in and I saw you sitting in the window seat so I guessed Dad was having one of those dreams so I came up. You were asleep and so was Dad so I put the rug over you and stayed." He gestured at the armchair in the corner of the bedroom.
"You're a good boy." His mother reached out and tenderly straightened that stray lock of dark hair which had never lain flat, not since he was a toddler. "But you should have woken me, you have to get off to work soon."
The lad smiled at her and sat down on the window seat beside his mother. "It's not a problem. I wish you would wake me and we could take turns watching over him. You try to do too much. It's wearing you out."
She sighed. "I honestly don't think he can take much more of this. I don't even know what's actually wrong with him, but sometimes when he is sleeping I can see a black cloud hovering over him and I know it's from that thing..." Her voice filled with fear and distaste. "That thing that tried to take us all. Wherever he was taken to, he has not come back whole. Even the doctor doesn't know what to do with him, all he can do is suggest anti-depressants. Flipping doctors, they're about as much use as a chocolate teapot! All I know is that my husband is fading away in front of my eyes and I can't do a damn thing to stop it."
"Well at least whatever he is dreaming about this time seems happy. He's smiling." Her son pointed out and her gaze followed his.
Alun was indeed smiling and it was as if the dark clouds that constantly hovered around him had thinned and the sun had broken through.
As if on cue, the weak early morning sun did break through the trees outside the window and a shaft of watery sunlight struck the bed right across Alun's face. He frowned and awoke to find his wife and son standing at the foot of the bed staring anxiously at him.
"Morning all!" He smiled at them. "What time is it?"
The boy glanced at his watch. "It's 6 am."
"Ah." Alun sat up and reached for the dressing gown on the bottom of the bed. "I guess it's time to get up then. I think I might take the dog for a walk in the forest before I head out. Must point Percy at the porcelain and jump into the shower quickly. Any chance of some breakfast love? I am famished." He slipped into the dressing gown and kissed his wife on the top of her head before padding into the bathroom.
She and the lad gaped at him. When was the last time he had got up in the morning and suggested doing anything other than sit quietly at the table sipping his tea and pushing his breakfast around the plate?
The lad grinned. "He should have more of those dreams. Maybe it's the beginning of him getting better. Shall I put the kettle on?"
"Eh?" His mother stared at him blankly. "Oh, yes, please and could you give your sister a shout. She takes such a long time getting ready these days. Anyone would think she was glamming up for a club, not going to school."
"Not before I get in the bathroom. If she gets in first I'll never get to work." He left the bedroom whistling cheerfully and all she felt was relief as the atmosphere in the house lightened. Something, or someone, had chased those dark shadows away and whilst they were still hovering in the background, they were being kept at bay.
It had indeed been a good, if a little confusing, dream. Alun let the hot water steam over him and luxuriated in the warmth that was pervading his body and making runnels in the foam from the shower gel he had slathered all over himself.
How long had it been since he had felt this warm? Not since that awful time that he had awoken in Morgoth's fortress in Angband and seen the dark form of Sauron waiting for him. He had felt some warmth again in the presence of the Elves and the Maia during his time in Middle Earth, their light had at least kept the shadows at a distance and especially that of the dynamic warmth of the two Feanorian brothers, Maglor and Maedhros.
Their fire was not so easily quenched by the dark and fell presence of Morgoth and his followers. They had fought against him for too long. He knew of their fate of course, Maedhros had died, as he had lived, jumping from the frying pan into the fire, quite literally in fact. Maglor had wandered Middle Earth for many millennia always staying on the very fringes of the most western point of any continent, his gaze hungrily ever watching the West. Yet something told Alun that he was no longer doing that. He hoped with all his heart that the elf was home with his family, but something else told him that it would not be quite as easy as that for him.
Lady Varda Elentari, the Star Kindler, had come to him in his dream last night. She had not spoken of the Herald or any of the others. She seemed currently unconcerned with any of the events that had taken place in lost Beleriand, now long since sunken into the sea. Her concern had obviously been for him and, like that waking dream so long ago, she had taken him to that sea of quiet safety that was called the Blessed Realm and there the Valar of dreams, Irmo, had shown him that he needed to go into the forest to the place where the rift in the fabric of time had been when he awoke. That it was, in fact, imperative that he do so.
He started to ask why, but she had just smiled at him and stepped back. Then he had become aware of Lady Este, a quiet lady dressed in grey, coming to his side and calming the shadows. He'd wanted to stay awake and see the calm wise faces of the Valar surrounding him, but Lady Varda had merely laughed that starry tinkling laugh of hers, placed a slender hand on his forehead and bade him to sleep.
"All in good time my brave mortal." She said softly. "All in good time. But until then you must do our bidding. Go to the place where the portal stood, there you will find the answers you are seeking."
Then Este had placed her hand also on his forehead. His heavy eyelids grew heavier still and he sank into the first restful sleep he had experienced since that awful evening when he had been taken from his world and placed in a world where he did not belong.
In the Forest – Maedhros circa 2007
The dog was having a whale of a time. This was an unexpected bonus, this foray into the dark green, loamy depths of the Forest where each bush beckoned with tantalising smells of small animals and other delights to be rooted out and there were plenty of trees, enough to make any dog feel it was in seventh heaven. In addition, the human had not put him on the leash.
So he heedlessly dashed and scrambled here there and everywhere, scuffling and snuffling at exciting hidden things. He rooted out a hedgehog from under a bush and tried to play with it as it desperately tried to scramble out of the way to safety. He barked sharply when it rolled itself into a protective ball and after a while of trying to nose at it and getting his nose prickled by the spines in the bargain he gave up and rushed off in another direction entirely chasing yet another tantalising scent.
He was not called to heel by his master and therefore was the first of them to find another creature sitting quietly on a fallen log whittling away at a piece of wood with a knife and singing to itself.
The dog was immediately aware that this was not a normal human. A faint glow spilled out from under the hood the creature wore and it gave no indication that it had seen the animal, but the dog knew it had been seen. He dropped to his haunches and cocked one disreputable silky brown ear, the ear that had been split by the long raking claws of the family cat when he had been too boisterous as a puppy. He hadn't made that mistake again for sure!
He whined as the figure continued to take no notice of him and crept forward a couple of feet. The figure did not move, but just continued the whittling. However the hooded head was now raised and watching the animal as it crept closer. The dog whined again and then gave a sharp imperative bark as if demanding that the figure identify itself.
"You, my furry friend, are disturbing the peace." The voice was light, musical and held no threat. "I am thinking that you are not alone though, so where is your master?"
The dog sat up and gave a short bark, then he stretched and yawned and flopped down beside the stranger. His long pink tongue lolled out of his mouth while he panted slightly and he rested his chin and drooled slightly on the stranger's booted foot.
"Ah, I see." The stranger looked up and around at the trees. "The trees tell me he is not far away and indeed I can hear him crashing through the undergrowth. He is looking for you." His tone was severe as he looked down at the dog, but the animal could also hear amusement in it. "You are probably in terrible trouble, but I suspect that this is not an unusual situation for you. Just look at the state of my boot!"
The dog showed how much he cared about being in trouble by yawning widely again and closing his eyes firmly.
A sharp whistle sounded in the forest probably only a few yards away at the most. The only recognition the dog displayed was by twitching one silky ear. The hooded stranger smiled to himself. "And here he comes..."
"Coco? For god's sake, you stupid bloody animal, where have you hidden yourself?" The voice sounded exasperated, but not angry. "What on earth possessed us to allow the kids to name the dog? Coco, what kind of bloody silly name is that?"
The hooded figure chuckled softly and glanced down as the chocolate brown shiny coat and feathered tail. "Coco is it? I can see where they got your name from my friend."
Alun stopped dead in his tracks. The first thing he registered was that this was the place they had emerged from the Portal. Even in the few months since that had happened Mother Nature had already begun to repair the ravages left by scientists, military boots and the detritus of humans, yet still it was recognisable.
The second thing he registered was the presence of the object of his ire, but the dog was not alone. A tall slender hooded man sat on a fallen log. He whittled a piece of wood with a sharp knife and did not glance up at the newcomer.
Alun stared suspiciously at the man, but no threat emanated from the casual figure and the dog didn't seem to be unhappy. "So there you are." He said softy and the dog's tail thumped gently on the forest floor. " Good morning. Nice morning for a walk."
The stranger looked up at that, his features were not evident inside the darkened hood but Alun could see the gleam of bright eyes. "Indeed it is my friend. Your dog has been keeping me company."
A vague feeling of recognition tugged at the back of Alun's mind. "Yes, I can see that. I'm sorry if he bothered you."
"He did not." Came the soft reply.
Alun shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. The figure didn't make him feel unsafe or afraid, but that peculiar sense that he knew him from somewhere persisted. He was also vaguely aware that he had spent more time walking the dog through the forest than he should have.
"I should be heading back." He said awkwardly and whistled softly to Coco. The dog ignored him and looked up at the figure instead. The thumping tail became more enthusiastic.
The stranger seemed amused. "Coco does not seem to agree with you Detective Chief Inspector Davies." He said mildly.
Now a thread of concern sifted across Alun's brain. Surely an agent of Sauron would seem more foul somehow, but one couldn't be too careful what with his dreams and all.
"I am not an agent of Sauron or Morgoth Alun." The voice was soft but still pleasant.
"Well you know my name it seems." Alun kept his voice calm with great effort. "May I know whom I have the pleasure of addressing?
The man laughed, light silvery laughter which Alun recognised. "You wound me Alun. Could you have forgotten so soon?" He stood up and Alun took a defensive step backwards, however the man made no gesture more threatening than reaching up to push back the hood which had, so far, concealed his features. The dog looked up at him in adoration and the tail-wagging reached new heights of ecstasy.
Long shining red hair fell free across a pale slender face in which bright green eyes shone like jewels.
Alun took a step forward this time. "Lord Maedhros?" He exclaimed incredulously. "What in the name of heaven are you doing here? You're supposed to be dead and in the Halls of Mandos!"
Maedhros chuckled. "Er...yes... well I was there, and now I am here."
"I can see that, but why are you here." He stared intently at the red-haired Elf Lord. "And you have both of your hands!"
Maedhros stared down at his hands thoughtfully. "Yes, I do don't I? I can assure you no one was more shocked than I was, but apparently they don't re-embody the Eldar without all of their limbs intact it seems, or so I was informed by Lord Namo."
"I must admit that I'm surprised to see you re-embodied at all!"
Again the chuckle. "Yes, it would seem that my meditating on my many heinous crimes is to take place in incarnate form instead of wandering aimlessly in the Halls."
Alun gave a disbelieving bark of laughter. "So they sent you here to the hell that is modern earth? Now that's what I call cruel and unusual, yet wholly appropriate, punishment!"
Maedhros was silent for a moment and a strange expression flitted across his handsome features. "Yes indeed it is. It seems that a sojourn in the very place where my crimes were committed is to be my immediate fate and punishment. But, be that as it may, I come with many messages from the Valar, messages that your good lady and your family need to hear. Decisions need to be made." He smiled at Alun. "Shall we repair to your home?"
Alun nodded speechlessly. "What messages, what decisions?"
Maedhros lifted his finger and the dog immediately sprang to his feet and ran a little way along the forest path. "As to that my friend, it will be better if we speak when we reach your home. This forest is old and friendly, yet its eaves can still give shelter to things that are not so friendly. The earth is old and there are still many dark places and things hidden in it."
The policeman shivered and looked around him. At the Elf's words a cloud had appeared across the sun and what little sunlight that was filtering through the trees was momentarily obliterated.
"You're right. Let's head back. " He could only vaguely imagine his wife's reaction to him bringing a seven foot tall beautiful Elf back with him. The cloud drifted away on a soft warm breeze and sunlight sifted through the blanket of green leaves once more.