Athrana (Wandering Shadow)
Chapter 27- Trouble Sleeping
TA3019, February
Athrana opened the door to her rooms and sat down with a sigh. It had been a very trying day. Eventually she stood and lit the fire. There was something cleansing about sitting and staring into the flames. She ran her hands over the flickering tongues, just to check whether she could still feel the heat. As if all the pain she had felt in her life could have robbed her of all feeling. For a long time she watched the flickering warmth. She turned to look out towards the sky. It was getting dark and she hadn't heard any movement from next door since she had returned.
Quietly she crept to the connecting door and peered through it. Erestor was asleep on the sofa, but there was no sign of Glorfindel. Picking up another blanket Athrana draped it around her brother. She didn't want to wake him.
As she made her way back to her own room. She could feel something pulling on her mind. That old familiar feeling. "Yrch" she spat to herself. She hadn't felt them since she had returned, but she could feel it now. It had been days since she had last been hunting, and tonight she needed it. She knew she wouldn't sleep tonight. Removing her heavy cloak from the balcony Athrana strode purposely towards the balcony doors. Just once more. Nobody would even know. It was her duty as a warrior to protect the valley. She couldn't leave a threat unchallenged. Opening the balcony door wide she jumped down onto the ground and ran off into the trees with a grin on her face.
A few hours later Erestor awoke to a dark empty room. For a moment he forgot everything that had happened that day. "Fin? Glorfindel?" But there was no answer. Then he remembered. Glorfindel was gone, he had thrown him out. It was just him and Athriel now. He listened from a moment. There was no movement coming from his sisters rooms. She was probably asleep. She was probably exhausted from her conversation with the twins. It had been a long day, for both of them.
Slowly Erestor and made his way through to their bedroom. No it was his bedroom. He looked at the bed. It seemed so big now and the air was cold. He lay down on his side of the bed and looked over at the empty space beside him. He wanted so badly to go and find Glorfindel, to bring him back here and tell him he was sorry. But he couldn't. He had lied to him, the one thing they had promised one another they would never do. Worse still he had lied to him about Athriel, the only family Erestor had left on Arda. He turned around to face the wall. That didn't work; he could still feel the empty space behind him. His eyes caught the golden ring on his finger so he closed his eyes tight. With his eyes still closed he removed the offending article from his finger and threw it across the room.
After long minutes of tossing and turning Erestor stood up. He couldn't sleep, not like this. The room was too cold and he felt empty. After a frantic search he found the ring and slipped it back onto his finger. His mind calmed slightly. Seeing Glorfindel's thick night robe hanging on the back of the bathroom door the councillor ran his fingers over the fabric. Sighing he took it down and wrapped it tightly around himself. He lay back down again and finally he slept.