Just a Friend- Chapter 3
Hi there! I only realised after someone pointed it out in reviewing that the previous chapter was pretty much all dialogue- so much for my editing skills! Sorry about that- have made some changes to this chapter and will be going through yet again to check. Just gotten back into exams after a weeks holiday, so my brain is slightly scattered.
Disclaimer: see Chapter 1
By the time he had finished Cat had started to fall asleep. Telan slipped from the mattress and was about to change when he heard hushed voices from the other room. He crept to the door and watched silently.
Alya was sitting by the elf again, who was twisting in the bed. She adjusted the cloth on his forehead and sighed. Henric was sitting in the other chair opposite the fire. Eventually he coughed.
Alya looked up. "I know what you are going to say, and the answer is I don't know."
Henric frowned. "You don't know if he will die or not."
"I don't know what is wrong with him," said Alya softly. "There is a wound, but it is small. If there is poison, it is far beyond my skills. I can treat the fever, keep giving him water and herbs, and that might be enough, but I don't know."
Henric sighed. "What are we meant to do then? He is an elf. By the looks of his clothing," he said, pointing at the clothes, now washed and drying over the fire, "he is more than just an elf. That tunic is fancy."
"There were elves in Minas Tirith in the War," said Alya slowly. "The Queen herself is an elf. Maybe if we sent a message…"
"Aye, and have half the town down on us," said Henric. "The only way we could send a message would be through the town, and then if they found out… We would have unwanted visitors knocking at our door. Those men from the town will blame anything but themselves for things that are their own fault. Elves especially. You heard them muttering when the news came of the Queen in Gondor." He sighed and shook his head. "Some people just don't need a reason to be cruel."
Alya sighed. "I know," she murmured. "I will do my best, but…"
"All you can do is your best," said Henric kindly. He stood up and made his way to Alya. Stooping, he kissed her softly on the head. "We can't do anything else."
He moved towards the door and Telan shrank back, quietly making his way back to the mattress. He slid the blanket back and lay down, but for a long time sleep didn't come. From time to time the elf would whisper for Estel again, or else twist and moan as his fever rose. The hushed voices of Alya and Henric occasionally made themselves heard.
Telan found eventually that he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer, and they slid shut. He fell into sleep and dreamed of elves and Minas Tirith.
0-o-0-o-0
Telan woke up to a thumping noise. He rolled over and slid off the mattress onto the cold hard floor of the cottage. He groaned and opened his eyes.
It was still dark, but getting lighter. He knew the sun would rise soon enough. The thumping noise continued and he pulled himself to his feet, rubbing his eyes. In the other room he could hear his mother and father getting up. He didn't know if they had slept at all.
Telan made his way into the other room. "Who is it?" he murmured, still half asleep.
Henric shushed him, and made his way to the door. Alya was standing up in front of the bed where the elf lay, her face pale. Telan felt a flicker of worry stir within him.
Henric cracked open the door slightly. Outside the wind was blowing fiercely. Telan watched as Henric looked outside. "Can I help?" he asked gruffly.
"I am looking for an elf," said a low rough voice. Telan edged around until he could see out of the crack in the door. A cloaked man stood at the door of their cottage. He was tall, taller than Henric, and his face was shadowed, though Telan could just make out the gleam of grey eyes under the hood.
"An elf?" said Henric, feigning surprise. At his words Telan glanced around at the bed where the elf lay. Alya was standing in front of it, trying to shield the elf as best she could, just in case the door swung open.
Telan wasn't sure what to think. Surely the man could help? He wasn't one of the men from the town that he had seen before. But then again, Telan hardly knew anyone in the town. A sudden worry came over him and he found himself wishing that the elf would remain silent, would not try and call out for Estel whilst this man was at the door.
"There hasn't been an elf in these parts for years," said Henric. "We certainly haven't seen one."
"Are you sure?" The man delved into a pocket and produced a silver coin. "Will this help your memory?" To Telan's ears, his voice sounded almost pleading, and Telan became confused again. He half found himself wishing now the elf would cry out, only if it meant that things would be taken out of their hands, one way or another. But as soon as he thought that he felt guilty and stopped, concentrating hard on the man at the door instead.
"I won't take your coin," said Henric. "There has been no elf around here that I know of."
The man's shoulders seemed to slump slightly. "Thank you," he said softly. "Is there anywhere nearby to stay? I have come a long way and am weary."
Henric hesitated. "There's an inn in the town," he said. "Might be you can get a room there."
"I am grateful." The man turned to go, his cloak flapping around him. Telan caught a glimpse of a long sword in a sheath by his side, before his father shut the door and bolted it.
"That was close," he said, turning back to Alya. "He didn't look like one of those men from the town, but if he asks around, those men might come knocking."
"He had a sword, Da, didn't you see?" asked Telan. "And a horse behind him." He made to go and look out of the door again, to see if the man was still in sight, but Henric shook his head and he sat down instead.
"Aye, I saw," said Henric, sighing and sitting down by the fire. He stoked it with the end of his old sword. "He was a peculiar man, that's for sure. Haven't seen the likes of him around here before."
"Do you think he was looking for him?" asked Alya, now seated beside the elf. She rewetted the cloth on his forehead.
"Aye, might be," said Henric. "But it's too late to ask now. He was a strange man, and I was not going to tell him we had an elf in our home. Who knows why he is looking for an elf. It can't be a good reason."
"What do you mean, Da?" asked Telan. "Maybe he's just searching for the elf to take him home."
"Aye, and maybe he's just going to-" Henric stopped abruptly and shook his head. "Best we deal with the elf on our own. I don't want to attract any men here. That man is gone now, and he ain't coming back." He shifted closer to the fire. "You need more hot water, love?"
"Aye," said Alya. "Put these herbs in it." She took a handful from a small box by the bed and passed them over. "Hopefully they will bring the fever down."
As she turned back to the elf, he twisted in the bed, restless and feverish. "Estel," he murmured. "Estel, mellon-nin. Estel!"
Telan jumped at the cry and Alya hurried to try and soothe the elf. He moaned again and tossed his head to one side, before falling silent. Alya sighed.
"Is he getting worse, Ma?" asked Telan.
"Aye," murmured Alya. "He is."
0-o-0-o-0
Telan groaned as he rolled his shoulders to try and rid them of the aches. Due to his father's insistence that they keep the elf as secret as possible, he had gone and worked in the fields with Henric. It had been a long day, and tedious, and Telan was looking forwards to getting home.
At least he was until he remembered the elf. He wondered how he was, whether he had woken, or was getting worse. He turned to his father as they walked down the path.
"Da, do you think the elf is awake?" he asked hesitantly.
"Shush Telan!" said Henric, glancing around them. "The land has ears, son. You never know who is listening."
"Sorry Da," said Telan.
Henric chuckled and ruffled his hair. "I forget sometimes that you are just a boy. There is no fighting to make you grow up as fast as I had to." He grinned. "Now let's get home quickly. It'll be dark soon."
Telan nodded, and the two of them quickened their pace as they neared the cottage. Henric pulled open the door. "Love?" he asked, walking into the house.
Alya was sat again by the bed where the elf lay. One look at him confirmed Telan's worries. The elf was deathly pale, sweat covering his face and making his clothes stick to him. As Telan watched he moaned and writhed on the bed.
Alya sighed and rewetted the cloth over his forehead. She picked up a cup and tried to get him to drink.
"He's worse, ain't he?" asked Henric.
"Aye," said Alya shortly. Henric sighed.
"How long do you think?"
"A few days, maybe. He is burning up, and his shoulder has turned black where the wound was." Alya gently touched the bandages, easing them back over the elf's shoulder as she looked at the wound. It was small, a gash only, yet turning black. Telan's nose wrinkled at the sight of it.
"Poison?"
"Almost definitely." Alya sighed. "Don't worry. It looks like the kind of orc poison that I used to see in Minas Tirith. It won't hurt any of us."
Henric frowned. "Hasn't been any sign of that man who came last night?"
"None at all," said Alya with a small smile. "And nobody from town either." She gently rubbed some sort of salve onto the elf's shoulder, and even the lightest touch of her fingers made him twist away from her, a faint moan escaping his lips.
"Good," Henric grunted. He sighed. "It's getting late. Dinner?"
"The leftover ham is now a stew," said Alya. "And there's a bit of bread left."
Telan hauled the pot out the fire and dumped it on the table. The smell wafted out and Cat stuck her head around the door. "Food?" she asked hopefully.
"Aye," said Telan with a grin. "Ma, do you want any for the elf?"
Alya shook her head. "You boys finish it. I don't think the elf will be able to eat stew." She watched her children. Somehow she doubted that they had grasped the seriousness of the situation that they had right now. She looked up at Henric, and saw her own doubts reflected in his eyes.
Cat, of course, wouldn't really understand any of it. She was only six. To her, elves were a fairy tale told before bed. Telan was older, but Alya remembered her brothers at that age, and Telan was the same, not quite old enough to understand. Or if he was old enough, thought Alya with a sigh, then he was trying not to understand. Sometimes it was easier that way.
"Besides," said Cat, not noticing Alya's lapse of attention. "He's an elf. He doesn't eat meat."
"Oh really?" asked Telan. "Says who?"
Cat pouted. "None of the stories say they do," she said.
"Aye, but none of the stories tell you half the stuff heroes get up to. Do you think heroes don't have to-?"
"Telan!" Alya looked over at him sharply, now fully back in the room. She looked up at Henric again, who shook his head slightly with a sigh, before turning her gaze back to the elf. She rewetted the cloth on his forehead, catching a bead of sweat as it rolled down his temple.
"Sorry Ma." Telan grinned and passed a bowl of stew to Cat. "There you go kitten. More you eat, bigger you grow."
Cat made a face at Telan, but proceeded to wolf down the stew anyway. The wind picked up outside and the shutters on the window rattled. The elf moaned in his feverish sleep.
To Be Continued...
Sorry if the ending is a bit abrupt, but in order to get it worked out well next chapter, I had to cut it off there.
Next one will be up in two days- a Thursday for me. Reviewing would really make me very happy!