As the hours continued to pass, the darkness of night vanished and sunlight and birdsong reigned supreme in the valley once more. The elves took in turns to leave the room in order to bathe, change and break their fast; though Elrond had to resort to a direct order to get the twins to do likewise. They did so grudgingly, and returned at once.
After everyone had had their turn of this, Elrond requested that Arwen, Legolas and Haldir remained in the Healing Rooms with the twins; for he and the other elders were going to have to discuss what was to be done with the humans, and he did not want the elflings exposed to that. They needed barely any persuasion to stay and obediently fetched a few toys and books with which to keep themselves occupied.
As for Faelwen, she had lain unmoving all through the night, and was still as lifeless as a doll on the bed where Elrond had placed her. Her eyes remained tightly shut – a sign of the severity of the situation for an elf – and her face was far too pale.
"Elrohir, is Faelwen ever going to get better?" asked Legoas sadly, later in the afternoon, as he and Haldir sat on the floor, playing quietly with a set of wooden warriors.
"I hope so, Legolas," answered the younger twin quietly. "I hope so." As he spoke, he reached out to touch Faelwen's small hand. "Ai! She is so cold! We need to warm her up."
Elrohir took the small hand between both his larger ones and began to gently rub some warmth into it. On Faelwen's other side, Elladan had taken hold of her second hand and was mimicking his twin's actions. Arwen, meanwhile, leapt up on to the bed; snuggling up beside Faelwen and hugging her close, being ever careful of her back.
"They are going to have to cut her hair off again," said Haldir sadly, gesturing at the singed gold mess at the back of her neck, as he and Legolas stood at the bottom of the bed. "It was only just starting to get long too!"
"I hope they hang those humans!" said Elladan vehemently, speaking through gritted teeth. "Or else lock them in a room with Glorfindel for an hour! That would certainly make them pay!"
"Please wake up, Faelwen!" begged Arwen desperately. "Please just open your eyes! Please!"
"We love you, gwaleth-nin," whispered Elrohir in her ear. "Please fight it. Please come back."
"NO!" The shriek took them by surprise, bursting from Faelwen's hoarse throat as she began to struggle violently on the bed. "No Alyan! No, stop! No more! Please! Please!"
Her eyes were still shut, but she was thrashing on the bed so fiercely that Elladan was sure her wounds would re-open. He reached to take her hand again, but she shrank away from him, continuing to scream. Arwen had to leap off the bed, for fear of being struck by her flailing limbs. Elrohir got to his feet, face pale with alarm.
"Try to hold her steady," he instructed sharply. "I will fetch Ada!"
Elrohir ran out of the room, while Elladan, hating what he had to do, tried to gently pin Faelwen down on her bed. He used as little force as possible, feeling like a monster, but knowing that it was for her own good – if she kept struggling the way she was, she would do herself some serious harm!
"Faelwen, please wake up!" begged Arwen, desperately. "It is all right, the humans are not here and your brothers cannot find you!"
Still she did not wake.
Elrond burst into the room with Elladan and hurried to his foster-daughter's bedside. He knew exactly what to do to calm her and, in but a few seconds, Faelwen relaxed, panting, on the bed. Anxiously, Elrond knelt down and placed a hand on her forehead. She was a little warm, but thankfully not feverish. This had been the first sign of life she had shown since they had brought her back last night.
"Here my voice, little one," he called softly, using Vilya's power to strengthen his words. "Come back to us. You do not belong in the shadowland."
As if in answer to his command, Faelwen's green eyes slowly flickered open. They immediately filled with tears as they registered the astounding pain in her body.
"Ada…" she groaned in a hoarse whisper, then she began to cry quietly.
"Sssssh." whispered Elrond gently, running a gentle hand over her singed hair. He hated that he could not pick her up or hold her, but he knew that touching her would only cause the child sheer agony. "It is all right, penneth. It is going to be all right. You are back home now."
Back at home…safe…suddenly the memories of the night before overwhelmed her and she burst into hysterical sobs.
Instantly, the twins were at their father's side, but when they tried to comfort her, she turned away and hid her face in the pillow.
"No!" she wailed. "You cannot love me anymore! Not after what I did!" The twins looked gobsmacked, while Elrond nodded understandingly.
"Penneth, nothing you could do could make me love you less," whispered Elrond, gently guiding her chin so that she was looking into his eyes once more. "Now tell me what you did that was so terrible."
"I…I…I called him 'master'!" she sobbed wretchedly. "I said…I said…"
"I know what you said," Elrond hushed her, continuing to rhythmically stroke her hair. "And I could not be more proud of you."
"Proud?" Faelwen hiccupped, dazed with pain and confusion.
"Yes, very proud," answered Elrond warmly, moving to mix a pain-killing elixir. "Though you feared that man more than anything in the world, you were able to say what he demanded in order to prevent him from committing another terrible act. You are very brave." This made Faelwen cry even harder.
"He…he saved me! He…stopped…him! Fael-Faelurinc killed…him! And…and I do not…even…know…his…name!" She cried like her heart was breaking, not understanding why everyone was still there. She had betrayed them all, by cowardly giving into Faelurinc. How could they possibly still love her?
Elrond gently eased her up, keeping her back off the bed, and held the mug so that she could drink the pain-killer he had brewed. It took her a moment to swallow it all, choking on sobs as she was, but eventually she managed to empty to mug. When she had, Elrond placed her back on her stomach on the soft mattress. As he did so, Elladan sat down on the edge of the bed so that he could hold her hand.
"I know that you are sore, little one, but you need to stay with us," he told her firmly. "Because we do love you, Faelwen! And that man isn't going to harm you ever again!"
"And that is the truth," said Elrohir, standing behind Elladan. "They are in custody, with Glorfindel and the guards watching them. They will be punished for doing what they did to you, and we will make sure that he is never able to harm any elfling ever again."
Eyes widening, Faelwen looked to Elrond for confirmation. He nodded reassuringly. "He is going to be sent to a place where he will never touch you again," the Elven lord said comfortingly, pleased to see the stark agony fading from his daughter's green eyes. It seemed that the potion had at least numbed her pain. He smiled to himself as he watched Elrohir lie flat on the bed and snuggle close to her.
"She is going to be all right now, isn't she?" asked Legolas anxiously, tugging on his Elrond's sleeve. Elrond cast him a reassuring smile and ruffled his hair affectionately.
"I think that she will be, little one." he said. "Her own healing energy should begin to battle the wounds in a couple of days, when she gets some of her strength back. But in the meantime, she needs to stay in bed as much as is possible. If she tries to walk or rise, she will tear the scars again. Do you think you could keep her company for the moment?"
"Of course, we'll stay with her," answered the twins simultaneously, while the other occupants of the room nodded fervently.
Elrond was glad that they had agreed, for he did not want any of them, least of all the twins, close by while the humans' fate was decided on. The young ones would be unnerved, while Elladan and Elrohir would be furious. He did not want them to hear any more disturbing comments from the men. He knelt beside the bed again, feeling Faelwen's forehead once more.
"Is there anything you need before I go, iel-nin?" he quizzed gently, seeing the fear and worry in her emerald eyes start to calm a little.
"Could I have Diel please, Ada?" she asked hesitantly. Elrond smiled.
"Of course," he replied with a smile, leaving the room. He returned a few minutes later, bearing the toy rabbit that had helped to keep Faelwen's nightmares at bay all those months ago.
"Here you are, little one," he said gently, tucking it up beside her. He smiled sadly as he saw the way she clutched the toy fiercely to her chest. "Now you must stay in bed as much as you can, Faelwen, and try not to move. The wounds are deep and you might tear them. If you need to use the wash chamber, one of your brothers will help you."
A faint blush tinged Faelwen's pallid cheeks, but she nodded obediently. Elladan shifted up the bed and got onto it properly, so that he could sit beside her; her other side occupied by Elrohir. Arwen made herself comfortable on the chair closest by, while Legolas and Haldir were perched at the bottom of the bed. This small show of love and loyalty was enough to touch even the coldest of hearts.
"Take things nice and gentle," instructed Elrond softly, squeezing Elladan's shoulder. "I will return in the evening." And with that, Elrond quietly left the room, hearing Elladan's voice float after him.
"Now, who wants to hear about the time Elrohir and I decided to use Glorfindel's shield as a toboggan?"
"Look, like I say: we didn't know we were trespassing!" protested Faelurinc angrily. "And I stand by my claim! I paid for the brat fair and square; fifty silver pieces! You have no right to take her!" He looked as though he would dearly like to lash out, but his hands were bound too tightly together. Aside from that, the guard captain – Findel or something they'd called him – looked to be just waiting for the opportunity to attack him.
"No right?" quizzed Galadriel with deceptive calm, eyes glittering like blue ice. "And what, may I ask, gave you the right to viscously abuse that child and beat her half to death?"
"She was sold to me!" snarled Faelurinc defensively.
"Not by her mother and not by her father, but by five children blinded grief!" said Celeborn coldly, with an expression in his eyes that Thranduil recognised as dangerous.
"Well, officially you are in Glorfindel's custody. If he is inclined, he may sell all of you to us," said Elrond sharply. It would never happen, but he needed to get his point across. "In which case, you would be my property!"
Faelurinc simply gaped at him open-mouthed. There was no answer to that; not one that did not condemn him anyway.
"I did not think you would agree," said Elrond, eyebrows arched in what the twins called 'the Death-Glare'. "And whatever your intentions, you knowingly broke the laws of the free-peoples of Middle Earth by taking a child of any race as your slave!"
"Were we humans, you would be hung!" snarled Glorfindel. Those words seemed to strike a chord with the men, who blanched as a group.
"But, unlike you, we have no desire to kill in cold blood!" said Thranduil. "Even revolting thugs like you! Instead you will be made to suffer in the same way you made that child suffer!"
"What do you mean?" demanded Faelurinc at once. "You really mean to keep us as slaves?"
"No!" said Elrond icily. "I never want Faelwen to have to set eyes on you and your men ever again. You will be sent as far away as possible to make sure your paths will never again cross ours in your lifetime!"
"The Haradrim are ever on the lookout for servants," said Celeborn. "You will be escorted to Gondor, where you will be handed over to their representatives and taken to their realms to live out the rest of your mortal lives."
"What?" Faelurinc began to curse fluently in Westron and struggled in the bonds that held his hands behind his back. Quick as lightening, Glorfindel placed a sword tip at the thug's throat.
"Either that, or I can strike you down here and now," the balrog-slayer spoke with icy venom. "The choice is yours."
OOO
So it came to pass that the men who had terrorised Faelwen's life for so many years finally had justice served upon them. Before the summer festival came to an end, they were handed over to the custody of the rangers of the north, with whom Elrond often communicated, and they were taken away from the valley of Imladris to where they could do no more harm.
A few months later, Elrond learned from the leader of the rangers that upon reaching Gondor, Faelurinc had attempted to escape and had been struck down by three arrows. And so his filthy presence had been cleansed from Middle Earth for good.
Luckily, most of the damage he did was gradually undone, through love, care and familial affection. Physically, Faelwen slowly recovered with Elrond's aid, the scars fading and vanishing completely. Her confidence soon returned in the company of her foster-family and she once again began to live the life that a child should live; happy and carefree.
As time passed, Faelwen grew in confidence and courage, showing a generous heart, a gentle nature and expressing a desire to follow in Elrond's footsteps and become a healer; her own unusual healing energy giving her a great deal of help in that area. She was able to interact among other elves as well as any other of her age; her past almost entirely forgotten.
She soon ceased to be regarded as Elrond's foster child – in fact she became as much one of the family as the twins and Arwen. She pushed any image of her blood relations out of her mind; as far as she was concerned, Elrond was her father. She adored the twins with all her heart and had great affection for both Haldir and Legolas also; always grateful for the way they had helped her through the most difficult time in her life.
However, despite all these happy developments, there was always one shadow that she could not quite release – her fear of humans could not be banished. Despite knowing that Faelurinc no longer walked Middle Earth, Faelwen could not quell the fear inside her that burst out at the sight of any human man.
Elrond had many dealings with the Dunedain, his distant kin, and very often a couple of them would journey to Imladris carrying reports and letters for the lord's attention, and often coming to seek his council.
Faelwen knew these men were not like the men who had abused her and she knew that they could only have the noblest of characteristics if her father had dealings with them, but nonetheless she could not even find it in herself to be in the same room as them; the old terror making her heart pound and her legs turn to jelly.
As soon as she saw the humans enter the valley, she would flee from the house and take refuge in the highest tree in the garden until they had left again; and nothing could get her to come down until she knew that they were gone.
Elrond never reprimanded her for her actions, as he knew they stemmed from genuine terror. And besides, with his gift of foresight, he knew that a young human was going to change everyone's lives for good…in the distant future.