Back to 1st person POV now! Candaith and Elladan have been whisked off for healing. What will they think when they see where they ended up? Read on to find out!

Chapter 81

Candaith's POV

As suddenly as we disappeared, we arrived in a beautiful glade. The ground was covered in soft grass, and beautiful music was coming from somewhere. I blinked rapidly, trying to correct my blurry vision. The face of a woman was gazing down at me, with a kind smile. "Who are you?" I asked bluntly, a little less polite than I normally would have been because of my injuries and bewilderment.

Instead of being offended, she laughed lightly, and the sound was pleasant. "My name is Arrasiel. I am a spirit of the forest, and I was tending the trees when I came across you."

"My lady Arrasiel, it is an honor," Elladan mumbled, but his eyes were glazed and he seemed feverish.

Her eyes, which had been sparkling with joyfulness, grew worried. "I am sorry for dallying with introductions. Let me get you to Lavaneth; she is the most learned in healing among us."

Sure enough, a moment later, another beautiful woman approached. I quickly flicked my gaze back and forth and noted the pointed ears. Were they Elleth?

"As my sister said, I am Lavaneth," the second woman said softly. She assessed us briefly before a determined look formed on her face. "Arrasiel, let us get them to the healing chamber."

With that, I made a noise of surprise when each of them picked up Elladan and I as if we weighed nothing, and carried us down a grass-covered path and into a stone building. It was well-lit with plenty of skylights, and the sun was shining brightly. Carefully they set us down on beds with crisp, white sheets. I could already smell athelas somewhere, but was too exhausted to investigate too closely.

"Now," Lavaneth said warmly. "Arrasiel will tend to…what is his name?" She looked a little embarrassed. "I did not have the opportunity to ask."

I held in an amused smile and replied, "His name is Elladan, and I am Candaith."

Lavaneth nodded in understanding. "Now, I will help you remove your shirt so I can more clearly see your wound."

It was painful and slow, but eventually the shirt was off. Lavaneth kept her face carefully blank as she assessed me. I hissed as she gently prodded the sword injury, and she softly apologized but continued. "It was made by an odd sort of blade. May I ask what type of enemy you were fighting?"

I chuckled humorlessly, "They are called Oath-breakers; men who are dead but cursed to linger until they fulfill their oath."

"Hmm." Lavaneth looked curious. "What kind of oath?"

I hesitated. I knew next to nothing about these 'women'; could they be trusted?

As if she could read my thoughts, she said, "I promise I will keep your words to myself."

With that, I reluctantly told her about who the traitors were and why we had attempted to parley with them. "When it was clear they did not intend to answer the call, our leader shouted for us to run for it. Unfortunately, their own leader ran me through with his sword before racing off to join the fray." I sighed. "I wish I could have done more to protect my brethren, as several of them did not survive. Only by Elladan's bravery and skill do either of us live."

Lavaneth nodded, looking intrigued. "You say Elladan managed to drive away the Oath-breakers with magic?"

I shrugged, "It seems that way. My vision was blurry at times, but it was clear Elladan was using words of power, and his sword was wreathed with what looked like white flame as he battled. I have never seen anything like it."

"How interesting," Lavaneth muttered, her brow furrowed as she considered my account. "Well, I am certainly surprised both of you survived to tell this tale!"

I chuckled but winced at the searing pain in my chest, "I am as surprised as you are, if not more."

After my account, the 'Elleth' got down to business. She cleaned my wound and put some sort of healing salve over it; I could smell athelas, but something else was also present; I did not have the energy to ask. She then placed a hand over the wound and sang something in an unfamiliar language. I felt a moment of warmth over the injury before she covered it in a linen bandage. "I believe you will recover well," she said softly, and with a smile. "You are lucky Arrasiel found you when she did; I do not know if you would have survived without our aid."

I almost shuddered at the truth of it; we had been far from camp, and from Elvish medicine. Only Elrohir perhaps could have saved us, but it was likely we would have died before reaching him. I turned my gaze to Elladan, who was resting comfortably after Arrasiel patched him up. She smiled brilliantly, and it almost took my breath away. Her hair was a dark blonde, and I had the urge to run my fingers through it.

What are you thinking you idiot? Yes, Arrasiel was beautiful, but she was no Gwin, although she did remind me of her. Arrasiel gave me a knowing look before winking and heading out of the healing hall. I sighed and attempted to put her out of my head. It was not difficult, as Lavaneth had me drink a tea which made me drowsy.

Before I fell into a dreamless sleep, I conjured a vision of Gwin's sparkling green eyes, full of laughter. It made me smile.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

When I woke up, I felt improved but still weak. Glancing over at Elladan, I noted he was still sleeping, and his eyes were closed. I knew that if an Elf was sleeping with their eyes closed, it was usually due to extreme exhaustion or because they were in a 'healing sleep'. Likely it was a combination of both for my friend.

I smiled a little when Lavaneth settled herself on the side of my bed. "How do you feel?"

I took a moment to assess myself by moving around a bit; thankfully the pain was much less. "Better than I was," I replied. "I still have some discomfort, but it is much improved from when we arrived."

Lavaneth grinned, clearly pleased. "I am glad of it. It will take some time for the poison of the blade to leave you, so rest is imperative to your recovery." There was some sternness to her tone, and I knew she was not one to be trifled with, as kind as she was. "I will change the dressing and see how things are looking, if you agree."

I nodded, and let her do her assessment. The spidery black veins had disappeared, but it was still a little cool to the touch according to Lavaneth. "This salve will continue the healing process; the iciness of the area will dissipate over the next several hours."

"What time is it?" I asked curiously. The sun was still shining, but I had assumed it would have set by now.

Lavaneth smiled in a cryptic way. "Time is different here, penneth." With this strange response, she rose and left with a small wave.

I had not been called a child since…well, when I was a child. I thought it would bother me, but rather found it brought me some comfort.

On the bedside table, I noticed my pack, where I found a familiar book of poetry. I smiled fondly as I remembered reading "The Garden" to Gwin back in the Lone Lands as she recovered in the Forsaken Inn. It was a bittersweet memory, but was special to me. It was one of the first moments where I felt something more than just friendship for her, even though I did not know it at the time. Or perhaps I did know it, but rather refused to acknowledge it. Saeradan had gone and ruined my assumptions of my feelings in our conversation outside her door that day, and despite my attempts to push it aside, I had a sneaking suspicion there was some truth to his 'accusations'.

I sighed as I considered the snail's pace my relationship with Gwin had taken. If only we had admitted our feelings to one another sooner! We let our doubts and insecurities get in the way of our happiness. Perhaps we could have been married longer than just a couple of days before this disaster happened. Why did things have to be so confusing?

If I was honest, it was my own fault it took so long. I was too afraid of her dying because of me to let myself be happy with her. In my conversation at the base of the mountain in Thror's Coomb with the twins, they had, perhaps unintentionally, made me fear this even more. I thought if I let her go, perhaps I would guarantee her an immortal life. Yet it was the hardest thing I had ever done to try and end our relationship to save her life. It did not work of course, for Gwin is stubborn and in love with me, and I was glad of it. The words had tasted like ash as I spoke them…

"I have heard it said that when an Elf loves someone, and they die, that the Elf also will die, but in a horrible way."

"I would not have you die because of me."

"The lives of men are merely a moment in the lives of your people; you…you should find someone who will love you for eternity, who you can spend forever loving in return."

Thankfully, what came after was much more pleasant. Once she told me she loved me, I could hold back no longer. It had ignited something in my soul that was just waiting to catch fire, and I couldn't get enough of her.

I sighed, realizing the sooner I recovered, the sooner I could return to her. My eyes found Elladan again, and noticed him looking at me with a puzzled expression. Feeling a little self-conscious, I asked, "Are you feeling better, mellon nin?"

Elladan nodded with a slight smile, but it did not reach his eyes. I wondered what he was thinking.

Seeing he was not going to respond, I tried to reassure him. "We will be well enough to leave soon, I expect. Then we can be reunited with those we love." I hoped I sound as encouraging as I meant to sound.

The Ellon looked down at his hands, and when his eyes found mine, I was startled to see tears in them, "Keeping my soul disconnected from Elrohir is painful. It feels…wrong. Unnatural." It was true; I had hoped the healing process would have restored our bonds, but as of yet, the barriers were still in place.

Unsure how to respond, I rose with a slight groan and shuffled over to sit next to him. We sat together for a little while, but the silence was companionable, and I found it made me feel a little better. I hoped it was the same for Elladan.

Finally he took my hand and squeezed it tightly, and I was curious if he knew what he was doing, for he was staring at the wall blankly. I continued to be quietly supportive, and waited to see if he wished to speak.

We had been friendly with one another over the months we had spent together, and of course because of our relationships with Gwin, but I felt we were getting closer over this ordeal. It is quite a bonding experience when you save each other's lives. I knew we needed to lean on each other during this time in order to get through this. It was nice to have a friend here, in this unfamiliar place.

Our contemplative solitude was interrupted by the arrival of another who dwelt here, and she was one I did not recognize. Elladan squeezed my hand briefly before releasing it, and we turned our attention to this new person. "Suilad," Elladan said softly.

She grinned as she approached, and pulled up a stool in front of us. "Mae Govannen! I did not have the opportunity to welcome you when you arrived, although you were not in much of a fit state to have any sort of lengthy introduction to everyone. My name is Gwenaewen." She gently gave each of us a warrior's clasp on the shoulder, and I wondered if she had seen battle.

Her face became a little grimmer, "Yes, I have needed to fight, but it was long ago." I realized I must have spoken my question aloud, and blushed a little. Her countenance brightened as she seemed to force herself out of her melancholy thoughts. "Now, I have gone hunting and have some food prepared. Are you both hungry?"

We nodded, and she rose to bring us some trays of food. "I made it myself you know!"

I huffed a laugh at her joviality; it reminded me a little of Lothrandir when he would proudly present us with his newest culinary creation. Hopefully she was as skilled as he was.

Sure enough, the venison stew and dark, fresh bread was delicious. She had escorted us to a small wooden table on the other side of the hall. Walking was a little painful, but I knew moving around (carefully) hastened the healing process. Elladan was rapidly improving, and I knew he would mend faster than I. A little frustrating perhaps, but I did not hold it against him.

After we finished our last bites and swigs of tea, Gwenaewen took our trays away and whisked them off to be washed somewhere before returning with clean clothes. "You'll want to look your best before meeting our chieftain," she said insistently.

I felt a shiver of apprehension at her tone, but did not comment on it. We would be meeting this person whether we wished to or not, and I wanted to make a good impression as we thanked him for his aid. "Hannon le," I replied softly and with a nod of thanks.

She grinned again, "Not a problem. Arrasiel will come retrieve you in a little while and help escort you."

Luckily, they are on the mend, and will be meeting the Huntsman in the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and leave a review!