Daughter of Flame

A Secret Revealed

"Orophin!!" A frightened voice broke the silence in the burning house in Lake town. She called out for her eldest brother but no answer came to her. "Orophin!" She cried out again hoping for any sign of him but she remembered.... Orophin had left the day before... "Amaline!" She gasped seeing her other brother, his dishevelled brown hair full of ash as he lay unmoving on the floor. Amalia took hold of his arm trying to pull him out of the rubble. Tears ran down her face leaving streaks in the smokey dirt that had caked onto her face. "Please, Amaline, get up." Amalia whined as if he were pretending. Her small hands couldn't quite grasp the boys arm fully and she hadn't the strength to lift him.
Amalia screamed when she pulled her hands away and saw blood on her fingers. Out of fear she crawled away into a corner until a burning board came down before her.

She shook the memory away feeling tears of sympathy in her eyes. Who are you Orophin? These people she had seen for centuries were almost known to her, this girl Amalia was not young and not old. A curiosity of all curiosities.

She thought from beside Gandalf while still watching the stubborn dwarf, whom she had known was Thorin Oakenshield, argue about letting Elrond read a map. Gandalf made the argument that Thorin was standing in front of one of the few people in middle earth who could read it. She could rightly assume then that the map must be written in one of the ancient languages.

Finding the conversation not hers to listen to she once again tuned them out only catching mentions of Durin's day and something about the moon. Until she was too focused on the view to listen any longer. From the edge of the cliff she had wandered to she could see the crystalline waters running down the rocks. It sparkled and glimmered brightly in the silver moonlight casting majestic sapphire shadows.

She was careful to avoid the falling water as she knew what would happen if it touched her. She listened to the roaring sound of water crashing down to the dark pool below.

"Beautiful, isn't it." Amalia moved not, nor was she surprised at the speaker who now stood behind her. Elrond stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his silver eyes gleaming as they scanned the view. He seemed at peace here. She looked away, shaking her head slightly to clear her thoughts.

"Quite." She whispered realizing that Gandalf and Elrond were the only others in the cave-like room now.

"Tell me," Gandalf began, pausing as he approached. She hummed in question and turned her back to the cliffside. Now came the questions she knew they wanted to ask. "why were you following my company?"

"It is answers I seek, Mithrandir." She looked not down but finally turned to face the grey wizard. She needed to find the one figure that was not dead in any of her visions. Dead or alive as he may be now she needed to know. The closure would give her peace. Or so she hoped.

"Answers?" Gandalf leaned on his staff and she could hear Lord Elrond behind her but she cared not who was present. She had waited years for an answer, her patience growing thin. Yet the answer she was seeking always evaded her and everyone she asked never knew the name of the one she was seeking.

"You know him who I seek, the one called Orophin." She spoke knowing he would understand what it was she spoke of. "I will find him." The expression on Gandalf's face was of pure depression.

"What you seek will give you no peace." He spoke more sternly to her than she anticipated. She knew that he knew. Many of her visions showed the figure of Mithrandir after the chaos ended, or subsided.

"It is true then?" The wizard shuffled slightly, "Gandalf." She pressed when there came no reply to her question.

"I will not speak of the matter." Gandalf stated with finality before turning his back to exit. Amalia's fury grew, she would not be denied again. This was all she lived for. She needed to find this Orophin. With swift motions she drew a dagger before Elrond could even move and threw it. The silver blade masterfully embedded itself into Mithrandir's staff causing the wizard to turn in suprise. A firm hand grasped her shoulder holding her back before she could approach Gandalf. The elven lord feared she would hurt Mithrandir then, he was right to think such.