Athrana (Wandering Shadow)
Chapter 24- Confrontation
TA3019, February
Athrana stood watching the three figures as they approached. With every step closer her panic grew. She wasn't ready, not yet, not yet please. She ran back into her rooms and collapsed onto the bed. She was terrified, actually terrified to see them. What would they think? How would she explain where she had been all these years, why she had stayed away so long? How could she explain why she had come back now? Especially when she didn't even know the answer to that question. Every doubt she had ever had out in the wild came crashing back. Yes Erestor and Glorfindel had accepted her without question, but they had to. She was Erestor's sister and he loved her no matter what. The twins didn't have to accept her. She didn't think she would be able to bare it if they rejected her, saw the monster she was and cast her out.
Two figures ran through the halls as fast as they could. It couldn't be true. It wasn't possible. Athriel was dead. They stopped in front of her door for several seconds before either of them got up the courage to knock. They didn't even know what they were going to say, they just knew they had to see her. After all these years they had to see her.
Erestor looked at the door blankly when he heard the knock. He had been sitting in Athriel's living room with Glorfindel worrying about his sister. She wasn't right, she wouldn't be right for a long time. But at least she was home. She would get better over time; at least she had taken the first step. Glorfindel stood up and went to the door. He opened it a crack at first and then seeing it was the twins he opened it fully. When Erestor saw them he jumped up. It was them; they had gone off with her that day and left her behind. They had let him believe she was dead when they knew there was a chance. Maybe if a rescue party had been mounted she could have been found. She could have been saved from her torment; she could have been here all this time.
Elladan stepped into the room first followed by his brother. "Is it true?" he asked. They were frantic; their eyes darting about the room, finally landing on the bedroom door open a jar. "Is she here?" Elrohir asked.
Athrana crept over to the slightly open door when she heard the voices. They were here. She couldn't put it off any more. She would have to see them and she would have to see them now. She peered through the gap and watched as Erestor strode up to them furious. As he slapped first one and then the other she gasped.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Erestor yelled and behind the door Athrana flinched. "You let me believe she was dead!" Glorfindel pulled his mate back and restrained him with a hand on each shoulder. This conversation was not going anywhere good. "We thought she was dead!" Elladan yelled as his hand moved to his cheek, surprised that Erestor had actually struck him. "This is as big a shock to us as it is to you Erestor" Elrohir continued. Although his actions mirrored his brothers, his words were much softer, almost a whisper. Shrugging Glorfindel's hands away Erestor stepped forward again. "But you knew there was a chance"
There it was out in the open. The truth they had tried to hide all these years, the point that had been a constant debate within them. Elrohir tried to stay calm knowing that Elladan had already lost that battle. "What did you want us to say?" he asked. How could they have told him? How could they have made his grief worse? Elladan instead turned to sarcasm. "Sorry Erestor, but we didn't hang around to watch your sister die, there's every chance they took her away and tortured her" As his voice got louder Elrohir's hand found his shoulder. "Dan, please this isn't helping" Elladan nodded and tried to continue in a calmer voice. "To be honest we didn't want to think about it ourselves."
Everyone spun around when they heard a voice from the now open bedroom door. "You weren't the only ones." Glorfindel, not so subtly pulled Erestor through to their own rooms, leaving the twins alone with their oldest friend. She just stood there looking at them, not sure what she could possibly say. How could she explain?
The twins looked at her their minds blank. It was too much to take in. It was definitely Athriel; it couldn't possibly be anyone else. She stood there in a long black dress, its sides split all the way up both sides with leggings underneath. But she was so different. The arms that poked out of her sleeves where covered in scars. Dark blue veins stood out against her too pale skin. The marks covered her face and neck and her hair was cropped short close to her scalp. This couldn't be right; this couldn't be Athriel, not their Athriel. She moved forward a couple of steps but didn't come any closer.
""Athriel?"" They asked together, their voices cracking. She just nodded. As she moved her head slightly to the side Elrohir noticed that the tip of her left ear had been removed. Elladan didn't notice, he was too angry. Now that she was actually here, he couldn't believe what she had put them through. All the years of grief and mourning, all the years of hiding out in the wild pretending to be dead. Suddenly he was furious. Why hadn't she come home? Why hadn't she let them know she was alive? Nearly 3000 years they had been friends and she hadn't even bothered to let them know she was alive. She had seen their sister and she had waited until they had left to see her brother and come home. If Arwen hadn't decided against sailing they still wouldn't know that she was ok. "How could you do this to us?" he asked but he didn't wait for an answer. He stormed out of the room and ran to his own.
Elrohir stood for a heartbeat, his eyes drawn to Athriel's blunted left ear. When her hand moved to cover the missing tip he snapped out of it and without a word followed his brother. They were one after all and despite their different reactions, they had one mind and his thoughts had been the same. As Elrohir closed the door behind him with a soft click Athriel slumped down onto the ground and cried.