Chapter 2.
Nelyafinwe woke up with his body hot and sore. Generally that wouldn't have been a problem since he had grown up next to his father's forges and trained in combat since he could walk, muscle pain and heat were not unknown to him. What was unknown was that strange nauseating feeling under his skin, with cold perspiration and shaking bones.
For a few moments he thought that his body would be reduced to ashes and disappear in the wind as had happened with his father, but that did not happen. The feeling of the wet fabric on his forehead told him that someone was taking care of him. Whether Eldar or Edain, his hands were soft and cold, much to the red-haired prince's relief.
It was in that moment of physical contact that he was able to realize other things. He was on a small bed and wrapped in sheets, still naked. Despite his pain, there were no bandages on his body nor the familiar smell of blood from the tents where the healers performed his duty. He then concluded that the person responsible for helping him had taken him to his house.
The stranger walked away with silent steps, apparently worried about waking him up. Nelyafinwe then opened his heavy eyelids and looked into the chambers where they had left him. They were simple in appearance and very small, probably not suitable for more than two people since the bed took up a lot of space, and there was only a small table on the side, outside of that and the window with white curtains, the room was empty of any furniture or decor. The prince wouldn't complain, he had been in much worse places…
His father then sat on the edge of the bed and placed his palm against the redhead's forehead.
"It seems your fever is gone, your recklessness almost cost you too much." With a gesture of his gaze he indicated to his son to focus on the woman who was almost leaving the room. She was dressed in brown clothes with some gold ornaments that matched the olive tone of her skin and the dark brown of her hair, which was cropped to her shoulders. Nelyafinwe tried to greet her but her throat was too dry and she was only able to cough.
A short gasp of surprise left the Edain woman's lips as the elf's cough alerted her that he was now awake. She turned and allowed him to see her face for the first time. For a moment Nelyafinwe forgot that he was devoid of all belongings and reached for a non-existent sword near his hip.
He had thought that the men of darkness, the people of Ulfang, disappeared with almost all of Beleriand, that the vanyar of Valinor had massacred them all upon their arrival on the continent. But here she was, an Oriental with amber eyes, looking out for her. Was she planning to hand him over to one of her defeated masters? Or perhaps to Sauron?
The woman then spoke in a strange tongue, which he could not understand at first, as it did not match any of the languages of Beleriand.
Amber didn't expect the stranger to wake up so quickly, not a day had passed since she found him. Her aunt insisted on washing him outside the house before she let him in, naked, covered in grimm fluid and scars, did not bode well for the older woman. Amber had to clean it with a hose and buckets outdoors, since she did not want her brother to go through this experience at such a young age, she did it all herself.
She was surprised when the redhead didn't wake up with the cold water against his skin, Amber was grateful for that actually, the situation was already very uncomfortable for her. Taking him to the guest room was not that troublesome since as a Huntsmen, even if she was young, her strength was greater than that of an average person.
Her brother had already prepared the room when Amber arrived carrying the 7 foot tall stranger in a bridal position. It was awkward to get through the door, and after four attempts he managed to do it without hitting the poor man's head.
"He's a pretty heavy sleeper."
Sometimes the universe seems to conspire against her.
There he is awake, although he looked almost dazed. Amber noticed how her eyes scanned the entire room, inspecting every detail minutely. When their eyes met, the stranger tensed and for a few brief moments Amber saw something similar to hatred in her eyes and then it disappeared.
"Are you awake!". He didn't seem to understand what he said from the way the stranger frowned and tilted his head slightly. She raised her hands slightly leaving them exposed and walked slowly towards the bed, she didn't want the stranger to think she was hostile, she was as unarmed as a Huntsmen could be.
Only when he lay down on the bed was he able to better appreciate the stranger, which had not been possible before due to the dirt and the fact that he did not want to see him naked.
"Wow." To say he was handsome was a big understatement. Amber had seen many attractive people in her life. There were pretty girls and handsome men all over Okay, she was used to it, and she liked to think that she was also very pretty, maybe not as pretty as Glynda, but she would make a good impression. The man in front of her was not handsome, he was beautiful.
a pale face with fine, sharp features, red lips and beautiful silver pearls for eyes. Her copper-red hair fell like a waterfall of fire over her melancholy countenance, her face perfectly symmetrical as if someone had carved a sculpture with the greatest possible precision and delicacy. but that beauty was mitigated by the scars that stood out as the only imperfection in him. Not only on his face but they spread throughout his body, almost surgically but there was no medical intention in the patterns, but rather the idea of inflicting pain.
The stranger noticed his gaze and covered his body with the sheets. Amber then felt guilt and shame, she knew very well what kind of world was out there and how cruel people could be. Not wanting the atmosphere to be filled with awkwardness, the young woman set about trying to communicate.
"Amber," she said, pointing to his chest with light taps. Such an act gave results because her redhead imitated the action and with her only hand pointed to her chest in the same way.
"NelyaFinwe." It was a strange name if she had ever heard one, it didn't seem to have roots in any of the four languages she knew, she wondered internally if like her name his would refer to a color.
"Hello Nelyafinwe, I'm Amber." She gave him a look that highlighted doubt and uncertainty, as if something wasn't right. She again pointed to her chest with her left hand and recited words she could not understand.
"Nelyafinwe, Russandol, Maedhros…" It seemed as if he expected those words to cause a reaction in her. She could only respond by shaking her head at what he understood. She then brought her hand to her auburn hair and swept a strand back revealing her ear.
"Pointy ears?". Sure enough, her ears were shaped like a leaf, although they weren't particularly striking and Amber thought they would go unnoticed by anyone without good eyes.
"Are you a Faunus?" perhaps some type of very distant ancestry, it was well known that animal traits were diluted if the line continued with humans. Amber then reached out her hand and gently touched her redhead's chest.
"Faunus?" She brought her hand back to his own chest. "Human".
The stranger repeated his movements once more and pointed to himself.
"Noldor, Eldar" More words she couldn't identify. "Edain."
"This will take a while."
"This will take a while."
The woman had been quite hospitable despite the temporary language barrier. Her concern for the elf's well-being seemed to be genuine without any agenda, and it felt strange to be treated that way after everything she had done.
"Everything I have done…" For a brief moment images of horrible things flooded her head, things that were orchestrated by his one hand. Images of blood and fire flashed before his eyes but he composed himself quickly with only a slight migraine, and he stroked his temples to ease the pain.
He didn't need to look up to know that the young woman had been concerned by his brief reaction. She spoke a few words and briefly left the room, and when she returned she brought a pair of clothes with her. Nelyo doubted that these clothes were suitable for him since they were made for a man significantly smaller, but still tall by Edain standards.
Then Amber, that was her name, came out a second time. She didn't look like she was going to be back anytime soon and Nelyo was a little glad for that, she needed to be alone. Although he appreciated the young woman's gesture, there were still doubts in the prince, doubts that he would not get answers for a long time, not that he could discover on his own.
"What am I supposed to do now?"
"You took an oath, my son, and once made it cannot be broken." Father had been silent for a while, but now they were alone and he could speak freely.
"Eternal darkness was supposed to be my destiny and yet here I am."
"You kept your oath, the silmaril was in your hand, but you lost it."
The gem's whereabouts were uncertain. Had it been taken by the Valar? Or was it buried in the heart of the earth? He didn't know, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't intrigued.
"If we continue on what remains of your brother's land, you only need to return to the place where in your desperation you tried to bury yourself with him."
Images of fire and the burning of his hand returned to Nelyo's mind. And with it the faces of those guards he killed, and Eonwe's eyes judging him like the gem that burned his only hand.
"I am not worthy to touch that gem, nor any good thing in this world."
His father seemed fed up with his thoughts, Nelyo just looked at him with her dead eyes, eyes that had not shone with joy since that defeat after the battle of the sudden flame.
"What right could I have to claim a Silmaril when it rejects me with so many just reasons?"
"The right of birth, as the legitimate king and heir of his father, the third in the succession. The right that you earned with your own sweat and blood…".
"The blood of innocents, the blood of my brothers and my own people."
"Your brothers were willing to take risks, you know that. There was no doubt in his actions, only the conviction that his sacrifices would be worth it."
He had risen then, standing as the mightiest of Eru's sons. Casting a huge shadow over his son, he spoke with a voice that could shake mountains.
"How innocent was Dior!?, that he claimed someone knowing the danger and refused to return what belongs to you, sacrificing his people for it. How innocent was Elwing!?, the one who preferred to throw herself into the sea rather than give up a Silmaril for the life of her children!
"And I have done worse than them, mine are the actions that condemned Doriath and Sirion, not theirs or those of the enemy."
"You are not responsible for the greed and envy of the Sindar, they made their decisions, they cut all the paths and left only one forward."
So that was it, returning to the same quest that had only brought suffering to the Children of Eru.
"You just need to reunite with your brother, he has the other Silmaril and now that Eonwe has set them free, no one will be there to oppose you."
Yes, that was it. With Kano out there with his own Silmaril, they could meet again and begin the search without any problems. No one knew where Nelyo had thrown himself…
"I'm back!".
The oriental maiden had returned with a tray of food in her hands. The smells gave away, vegetable soup, bread and from what she saw, a simple but quite well made glass cup.
Reading the intentions of her mind, Nelyo understood that she expected him to eat, regain her strength, and especially get dressed. She seemed very nervous to see him as she placed the tray on the small cabinet next to the bed. The Edain were always strange when it came to displaying their bodies, but she did not want to disrespect their customs, especially the one who had given her shelter.
"hantanyë lyen."
Although the maiden did not understand the meaning of those words, she could understand the intention.
"You're welcome, it's my job to help people." She said with a smile.
Amber left the room with a happy face, satisfied with the small progress they had managed to make. Nelyafinwe didn't seem to be very talkative, even with the language barrier. He was prone to long pauses while they spoke and seemed to deeply contemplate his own thoughts for each sentence.
The hunter would have gone to report the guest's condition but it seemed that her aunt had had the same plans as her.
"So, tell me how is our sleeping beauty?"
She had squealed in fright, in a way that made her almost sound like a frightened mouse. Her aunt was there leaning against the door to her room with her arms crossed and a mischievous look on her face.
"Don't scare me like that!" She exclaimed with a hand on her chest.
"I thought that a few years in those schools for the insane would make these situations not happen." He had moved away from the door and was now facing Amber.
"I thought about it too, it seems like some things will never change." She said with a wistful smile. The aunt's face then lost its sarcastic joy to one of bewilderment as she looked back from her niece's shoulders.
"How is he?"
"I don't think he's from here."
"Be a little clearer girl, it's not exactly specific here." Her aunt joked.
"He doesn't speak our language, and he doesn't seem to be from Mistral or Solitas. Maybe Vacuo? That place still has its languages unfiled."
"So, a very handsome guy completely naked shows up in the woods surrounded by dead grimms and he shouldn't call the authorities why…"
Amber was scared for a moment, but seeing the mischievous look on her aunt she sighed with relief.
"He's just a little confused, he's not from here and doesn't know our language, give him some time, it's too early to judge him."
"Okay, okay. and I thought you would never bring things from the forest to the house again." She joked as she lightly punched her shoulder.
"But seriously, if he does anything suspicious I will call the authorities."
"If he does anything suspicious I will take care of him myself."
Her aunt smiled at her as she shook her head, then she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around her. Amber reciprocated her hug and rested her head against the older woman's shoulder and they stayed like that for a few seconds until they separated. Her aunt broke the silence.
"You should see your brother, and quickly! "You have a lot to explain to him."
Amber's eyes widened.
"Oh shit, Oscar!"
"Language!".
Mae Govannen Eruhini~✨
Salutations!~✨
I am very sorry for my delay. I thought I could balance my writing with university life, but as you can see I overestimated my abilities. I think it would be correct for me to clarify that I am not going to have a consistent rhythm. The chapters may take a while to come out.
Anyway, I hope you haven't given up your hopes on this story. Any criticism is welcome.
Namárië!~✨