If he knew what awaited for him in the Middle Earth, he would have returned sooner.
Halbrand is a man with a dark past, but where will his choices lead him?
He starts to crave for light in his life when he finds the peace in the eyes of a mysterious...
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Early in the morning, Luthien already wore her armor and joined the departing group by the stables. Griff shot her a disapproving look. Rhys was asked to stay in the city.
"What are you doing here?" Halbrand asked her with a confused frown. "I'm joining the company. The survivors need any help we can offer. And if there are orcs hiding in the woods..." she picked a lance and lunged. "Don't start a fight" Griff warned without looking at them "Women can be so stubborn". "Our commander is a woman. It's nonsense to deny a woman to join us". Luthien thanked Isildur with a smile and allowed him to help her up on her horse. She had other worries to place before the usual dislike of men for women joining their war expeditions.
The ride was a taste of freedom, until she smelled and then saw signs of the battles. The tower was destroyed as most of the villages. It was like entering a different world. But signs of the strong people standing up were already visible. The villagers who weren't badly wounded were already cleaning the roads, burning what couldn't be saved and burying their dead. Luthien felt ashamed that in her city there were celebration. While not so far there was so much desolation.
"You shouldn't have come" Halbrand hissed to her when she turned her head with disgust from the pile of burning orcs. He didn't speak to her for the whole travel and he seemed unable to accept that she joined the group. She recalled how close they were just few hours earlier, when she sang for him. She wasn't ready to feel that cold distance. But she made that choice and she didn't want to regret it just to please him. "I should have come earlier if I knew that things are so bad here" she replied rigidly and turned to Griff "There are no healers in this village?". "The healer was badly wounded. That's why we had to go back home and ask some of ours to come" he was instructing the rest of the company on what to do. "Can't we...?". "No" he said sharply, guessing her suggestion "Our Stewart has to decide on the matter. And these people are too tired to survive the journey". "Got it" she said surrendering and moved to help the peasants who were struggling to carry some water to the injured ones. There was so much to do that Luthien wished for the daytime hours to last longer. She was talking to the villagers when Halbrand abruptly intervened.
"You need some rest too before you pass out" he hissed pulling her away from the people. "I'm fine" she protested trying to free her arm from his grip "Where are you taking me?". "Wouldn't you like to sit by the river?". She looked back at the village they were leaving behind "It's quite far". "Far enough so you won't be tempted to throw yourself at work again". "I don't like seeing people suffering" she justified. "It doesn't mean you have to save them all. What you're already doing is to be praised, but you have limits too". "If I had magic, I'd use it to help them all, with a snap of my fingers". "You'd deserve it more than anyone else. You have a rare good heart". She looked at him, surprised by his softening tone. "Why are you so upset that I'm here? You know I can take care of myself. Why keeping me away?". He looked at the flowing water of the river. "I just want to protect you from all the horrors these lands have seen. And I don't feel this place is safe enough for you. No matter how skilled you are with weapons". She watched him feeling conflicted. "I appreciate that you want to protect me". "There are more things I want to protect you from. People might call us heroes now, but if they knew of my past..." his voice faded. "What about it?". The look he gave her was heartbreaking. "It would repel you too. And I'm scared of seeing you leaving me because of that". She grabbed his hand, wishing to pull him out of that solitude i which he was banishing himself. "I don't judge you because of your past. We all have shadows in our life. But I also see light in you. You're not evil. You never gave me reasons to think I should stay away from you". He stared at her with an intensity that warmed her fully. She felt like melting under his eyes. Suddenly he stiffened and she wondered if her touch bothered him. She wanted that moment to last forever, but sharply he turned his head. "What was that?". "What?" she asked, too dizzy to wake up and realise what was happening around them. He grabbed her hand and walked to try to see beyond the trees surrounding them, then focused on the ground under their feet. "A tremor" he murmured. She froze "Did something happen to the village? And explosion?". "No. It's like underground".
