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She walked down the hall slowly, Galadra in tow. The Elf had told her that some of the nerves had been torn when she had been whipped thirty years prior. They hadn't healed during her twenty years in the dungeons because no one had been administering to them. They were halfway healed now, after ten years of Galadra's attention. Feywen was now able to walk short distances. Longer distances were possible, but they left her so drained that her guard had to carry her back to her rooms. She hadn't seen much of Morgoth or Lithwen in the time since Lord Celebrant, her grandfather, had visited her. Her strength was beginning to return, as was her control over the elements. Alu and Vilya said nothing about the two dark years she had spent trying to heal.
"My Lady, we should be returning to your rooms now." Galadra said when they stopped to look out a window. It pointed to the west, to where her heart truly lived.
"Not yet, Galadra. We have to get outside. I have to see if it still shines." Feywen began walking again. Galadra followed without a word. Their guard remained silent as well. Feywen tried to push herself, using the fire inside her to give her strength. But it was not enough. The sun was quickly fading and the stars would soon come out. She wanted to be there when it did. She had to see it. For thirty years, she had been unable to see the sky. She needed to see if it shone.
They reached the door to the castle walls an hour and a half later after stopping for two more breaks. Galadra again insisted that they should go back to Feywen's rooms so that the bandages could be changed and the healing checked. But Feywen didn't care about her back at the moment. There was only one thing she cared about. She started up the stone steps, but was stopped by the guard. "The servant is right. You aren't even allowed to be out here."
"Please, I have to see and I can't see it from the ground." The guard looked at her, concerned about the look in her eyes. He had never seen it before. He had only ever seen fire in them. He sighed.
"Alright, but we go back in when I say."
"Alright." She hurried up the steps and to the tallest parapet she could find. The sky was clear, something she was grateful for. The weather was warm for it being the middle of winter, but she was farther south than she had been on this day many years ago. She looked into the sky where she knew it would be. The three Elves, Light and Dark, watched and waited as the faint sun began to set. She held her breathe as the sky darkened. Galadra was curious about what her lady was waiting for. Feywen's smile was enough to tell her as a certain star shone in the sky. Its light was bright, as if it had been waiting for her to return to the open air.
"What is the matter, Lady Feywen?" The Dark Elf asked. Feywen had closed her eyes and was letting the star's light wash over her.
"On this day, many years ago, I made the best decision of my life." Was all that she said and Galadra and their guard left it at that. After a few more minutes, the guard picked up the exhausted Feywen and carried her back inside.
He laid in the grass and searched for Eärendil. The star had been missing from the sky for the past thirty years. It had been that long since Lithwen had left and betrayed them to Morgoth. Since then, he had been worried about his wife. They had made their marriage vows beneath that star on this day over two thousand years ago. It was a night he remembered fondly. He had finally gotten to hold the woman he loved close to him and show her just how much he loved her. In his heart, he knew they were still bound to each other and bound by oaths spoken from the heart and not at knife point. But he worried. Eärendil had not shown himself since Lithwen had left and he took it as a bad omen, an omen that something far worse than he could have imagined had happened to her. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The star wasn't going to shine tonight. He stood and looked at the house he and Feywen had shared. He stayed in it on this night every year. It was the only way he was able to feel close to her.
He took the mithril bracelet from his pocket and looked at it. He imagined how it had looked on her wrist. He had placed it there the first night they were able to share their bed. It had glowed in the star's light and it had lit up her face. He sighed, letting the glow fill his vision. He frowned as Kemen jerked him from his memory with a sharp jerk of the earth beneath him. "What was that for? Can't you let me have some peace?" He mentally yelled at her.
"Look at the sky." Is all she said to him. He opened his eyes and looked to the sky. In the area he had been staring at for the past hour shone the star he had been looking for. It was as bright as the day he and Feywen had gotten married. The sight gave him comfort and hope. She was alive and well. She was fighting back.
"She was born under Eärendil's light. He only shines this bright on this day and the day he was placed in the sky on his vessel, on the day she was conceived. She is alive. I will see her again."
She looked at the weapons she was allowed to choose from. Hers were no doubt in Rivendell by now, with Glorfindel. She wished she had kept them with her, but she didn't want to risk Morogth destroying them because her grandparents had used them to seal him beneath the mountain. But the ones she was being offered were just as good. She was surprised that Morgoth had agreed to her learning to use her weapons again. But she had a feeling as to why. He was preparing for whatever he had planned. She guessed that he wanted her to fight with his armies. She smirked as the idea ran across her mind. If she marched into battle, it would be to destroy his armies and him along with them.
She chose a long sword and a knife of middling length. She also took a small dagger which she placed inside her boot. With the dagger in her boot, she would never be defenseless. Lithwen had been needling at her again with words about Glorfindel and how the two of them had spent wonderful nights together. She had started doing it more when she had seen her, Galadra, and their guard on the wall a few weeks ago. But Feywen was determined not to let the bitch get to her. "She'll die anyway. It's only a matter of when."
The ball of mud flew from the air in front of her and hit the target that had been set up a few yards away. It had taken another ten years, but her back was now fully healed. The evidence of the trauma she had endured forty years ago had vanished and her strength had returned. For the past couple of years, she had been working on her magical abilities as well as with the weapons she had taken from the armory. She was aware that many of the Dark Elves watched her and were amazed by the way she moved. She did not move like the Elves they had seen and captured. The grace with which she moved was both Mortal and Immortal, Elf and Man. She lowered her arm and turned to her spectators.
She mainly sparred with her guard who never minded since he was always getting the better of her. He was standing next to Galadra. Next to the frowning Elf stood Lithwen. She had been training as well. Feywen could see the anger in her eyes and knew that it was not of jealousy. The two women had hated each other since they had first seen each other in Rivendell right before the War of the Ring. Lithwen was jealous that Feywen had Glorfindel who was far older than she was. In Lithwen's mind, she and Glorfindel were a better match for each other than he and Feywen. But Feywen had unknowingly stolen Glorfindel's heart anyway. Feywen knew that she was nowhere near as beautiful as Lithwen back then, but Glorfindel had seen something in her that he had not seen in Lithwen. That alone had put them together. In Feywen's mind, she and Glorfindel had met by fate and not design.
Feywen turned back to the targets and smirked. Only Galadra and their guard were unafraid of her fire, but the rest, including Lithwen, feared it. Though her skin had yet to turn to ash like the others, Feywen knew Lithwen had turned into a Dark Elf. "But the stupid bitch has yet to realize what has happened to her." Feywen looked at the sword she had been given two years ago. The moment she had claimed it as hers, the hilt had turned from black to gold and the blade shone brightly. Alu and Vilya had told her it was because she embodied the purest magic in the dark land. Feywen didn't argue. She had no clue as to the strange things that happened with magic. She was focused on getting stronger and regaining her lost strength. "I just want to be left alone in peace." She sighed and began to walk off the field. She was tired and thoughts of Glorfindel were making her sad. Lithwen took that moment to try and embarrass her. Galadra and Ether, the guard, caught her before she could hit the ground. Lithwen huffed and walked away. Feywen stopped her with a simple mud wall. "You are not going anywhere."
"And who's going to stop me? You? You are still healing from what happened forty years ago. There is no way you can stop me."
"Coward." Feywen said clearly. The others drew away from the two of them. Lithwen turned to face her.
"What did you call me?" She hissed.
"I called you a coward. You would rather use trickery to embarrass me instead of facing me yourself. What I do not understand is why you are so jealous of me."
"You don't understand?" Lithwen laughed. Feywen didn't take her eyes from her. "Of course you don't. You're too young to understand what you did."
"What did I do?" Before anyone could stop her, Lithwen drew her blade and rushed the younger woman. Feywen drew her sword and blocked the attack, not moving.
"You took him from me." Lithwen hissed and attacked again, aiming for Feywen's legs. Feywen said nothing and continued to block. Lithwen had issued this challenge, but she would not be the winner. Feywen would see to that. This was training for her. She wanted to see how much her strength had grown in the twenty years she had allowed herself to heal. She knew that twenty years was a long time and she had spent half of those years broken. It had taken a visit from her dead grandfather to knock some sense into her.
Lithwen raised her sword to attack again. Feywen darted beneath the other woman and kicked her legs out from under her. Lithwen fell, swinging her blade at Feywen as she did so. Feywen blocked the blade and attacked. Lithwen rolled out of the way and jumped to her feet. Feywen didn't hesitate and attacked again. Lithwen blocked, but lost ground. The two women pushed against each other, trying to gain the upper hand. Lithwen kneed Feywen in the stomach. Feywen hunched over in reflex and Lithwen gained the advantage. Lithwen raised her sword in triumph, a crazy gleam in her eyes, and brought it down. Feywen jumped out of the way, keeping her sword raised in defense. Lithwen ran forward and didn't see the shining blade pointed at her. Everything was quiet. The dark light in Lithwen's eyes faded as she slumped to the ground. Feywen removed her bloody sword and looked at the body and stood.
"He chose." She said before she fainted from exhaustion.
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