The Exile's Daughter

The Consequence of Fear

"At least you could fight them." Raina said quietly. I almost laughed, shaking my head.

"My father would never have let me touch a sword, let alone fight with one."

Raina was so surprised that she forgot to look upset. She turned, eyes wide, and spoke. "But you're an elf! You can do what you want!"

I laughed again. "It doesn't work like that, I'm afraid. My parents treated us as yours do you. We had to cook, clean, darn, and, when he was old enough, my brother defended our home with my father, much like Mallor does now."

"Were you scared?" Raina asked quietly, going back to her work to avoid my eye. I sighed and wrapped an arm around her, allowing her dark head to rest on my shoulder.

"My parents were lucky. We had a cottage, so it was easier to shield us from it all, at least when we were younger. But once I was old enough to understand a little more of the world then yes, I was, very scared. I still am, Raina. There's no shame in it."

"I suppose not." She decided after a moment. "I worry about da and uncle Halbarad. They're too reckless."

"Sometimes it is a necessary evil." Raina looked around as Halbarad sat on her other side, balancing three steaming mugs in his large hands. "Now, Raina. What have we told you about worry?"

"It doesn't help anyone." Raina replied tonelessly.

"It does not. We are all guilty of it", Halbarad glanced sternly at me, "but this is a harsh world. There is no option but to cope."

"I know", Raina whispered. Halbarad sighed to see her sadness, his stern exterior crumbling in a second, as it always did where his beloved niece was concerned. "You're so like your mother." He smiled. "She hides it better, but she's just as bad. We fight so you can be safe."

"We're not safe though, are we?"

"One group alone cannot stem the tide." Halbarad said quietly. "But others will follow, someday soon."

"Raina Tarondoriel, if you think your uncle and father and I are going to let you get a single scratch, you are mistaken." I shook off my heavy heart and smiled broadly at the girl. "I cannot pretend that it is going to be easy. I won't lie and say I am not afraid, but bravery is in spite of fear, not in its absence."

Raina smiled unwillingly and nodded.

At that moment, however, there was an inhuman screech from the east side of the camp, perilously close to the huts. Halbarad and I sprung to our feet, dropping our half-full mugs onto the ground. "Stay here!" Halbarad called back to Raina, gesturing for me to follow him.

There was no time to find horses. We ran, Halbarad's sword bared and my bow strung, to the source of the sounds. Another orc screeched, but it was cut short. Such was my speed that  Halbarad was already falling behind. I could hear his footsteps pounding on the grass behind me. "Go left!" He called out, panting. Unthinkingly I obeyed him.

There were about thirty orcs remaining. The other members of the pack were slain, in a great circle, around three fighters. Legolas there was, his arrows spent and his long white knife in his steady hand. Beriadan stood nearby, cutting through the creatures with his face twisted into an expression I had never seen from the mild-mannered young man. Aragorn was furthest from them both. He was almost surrounded, and the others could not reach him.

I leapt up onto a large rock, set into the hillside, and nocked an arrow, shooting steadily into the midst of Aragorn's assailants. One fell, then another, then another. Aragorn turned to cut a grey throat and saw me, outlined against the grey sky, fury in my face. He turned again, confidence returning to his proud posture, and stabbed the creatures nearest, while I finished off those he could not reach.