A hand, scarred and bloodied, reached through bars of iron toward the stars in the sky. Moonlight turned the skin silver and the blood black. A voice, soft yet desperate, spoke his name.
Illeandir.
§§§
Illeandir froze when the vision filled his sight. As soon as it appeared it vanished leaving him reeling in shock. How soon would the dreams find him this time?
"Are you well?" Nara asked, lightly touching his arm with the tips of her fingers.
"I am weary," Illeandir replied. He was indeed, traveling with hardly a rest for days had taken its toll on him. Had he continued as he had been it eventually would have killed him. He looked ahead to the white throne and the figure sitting upon it. He was speaking with a small boy who clutched several scrolls of paper to his chest. The king looked up when the doors shut, sending a resounding boom throughout the corridor. Illeandir flinched at the noise. He was not used to such sounds.
Eldarion stood from his throne peering at the figure who walked beside his daughter, they were tall and lithe and still bore weapons. They had dark hair and green eyes that shone with an inner light. Joy lit Eldarion's face as he ran, stumbling, down the steps from the dias.
"Illeandir!" he cried as he rushed to meet his old friend. Illeandir laughed and stopped walking, letting Eldarion come the rest of the way. The man didn't seem to care as he gripped his forearm and pulled him into a tight embrace laughing with joy. "It is good to see you my friend!"
"And you as well," Illeandir studied his friend's face. He looked so much like his father but his eyes were that of his mother's. Growing age showed in the lines around his eyes and forehead but his eyes still shone. "You have changed, mellon nin," he said, feigning concern. Eldarion threw his back and laughed loudly.
"And you have not. At least not that can be seen. Long are the years of the Eldest."
"Aye, 'tis a gift and a curse," Illeandir said. Nara watched in puzzlement as sorrow filled the elf's eyes but quickly vanished. Her father seemed not to notice as he gestured for Illeandir to follow him.
"Come! The servants have laid out a meal and it is more than I alone can eat." He turned to the boy. "Send word to the council I am not to be disturbed until evening." The boy nodded vigorously and trotted off. Eldarion led Illeandir down a long hallway that branched off into various rooms of all sizes. He stopped in front of a dark oak door that stood slightly ajar.
"Hmm, thought I closed that," Eldarion mused to himself. Illeandir heard him and smirked.
"You grow forgetful in your old age."
"Old!" Eldarion exclaimed. "You call me old when you are more than twice my age!" He paused, seeming to think for a moment. "I forget how old you are."
Illeandir laughed. "I believe in a matter of days five-hundred ninety." Nara looked at him sideways. He was younger than he seemed, barely a full-fledged elf. If she were to compare his age to hers he would be younger than she. She had passed her thirtieth birthday two months ago though she was young still, having been granted the longevity of the Dunedain. She was brought from her thoughts by her father speaking to her.
"Nara, would you?" he asked giving her a look that she knew meant he wished to be alone. She dipped her head.
"Yes, father." She turned and left the two friends alone. Eldarion pushed the door open revealing a table laden on one end with an abundance of food. Illeandir swallowed hard, his stomach threatened to leap from where it rested inside him. Eldarion smiled knowingly as they sat down.
"Eat what you will. You look as if you need it. You're thinner than I remember," he said. Illeandir needed no further encouragement. He ate for a quarter of an hour without speaking. Eldarion hardly touched anything, only eating a little at a time.
"Why do you not eat?" Illeandir paused long enough to ask. Sadness clouded Eldarion's features.
"I find I have little appetite since my wife passed away this spring," he said. Illeandir set down the knife he had been using and closed his eyes.
"She was a fine woman."
"Aye. I couldn't ask for more," Eldarion said, voice thick with emotion. Illeandir continued eating, though more slowly.
He had known Narliana well. When Eldarion had come of age his father, Aragorn, had sent him into the west to the Dunedain in search of a wife. Illeandir had accompanied him along with another friend. The three had taken a detour through the Misty Mountains and ran into no end of trouble from orcs to trolls to mountain giants and goblins.
Eventually they found themselves trapped between three dozen goblins, a mountain giant, and the face of a cliff. Suddenly dozens of black feathered arrows rained from the sky, felling the goblins. More arrows struck the giant's hide and stuck there. The beast roared and charged at the three stuck against the cliff but before it reached them a small figure darted in front of its path, slicing deep gouges into its skin. They repeated the move several times before the giant, confused and disoriented, tripped over his feet and crashed to the ground. Their rescuer immediately jumped on to the creature's chest and stabbed their sword into its neck before leaping off and out of the way of its thrashing arms. They stopped to glare at Eldarion and his companions.
That was when the three discovered their rescuer was a young woman who was traveling with a company of thirty Dunedain. They were welcomed into the company with open arms, mostly. Narliana, the woman who killed the giant, avoided Eldarion at all costs. He had instantly fallen for her and spent every waking hour trying to persue her with often hilarious results that left him red in the face as Illeandir and his friend laughed at him. Many of the other Dunedain also saw Eldarion's efforts and shook their heads. Narliana was fiercely independent and despised any man who sought her hand, and they were many.
Eventually she sought Illeandir out, for what reason he would never realize until years later when it woke him in the middle of the night. She would often find him practicing with his new sword, fumbling over the moves. Eldarion had taken to teaching him the practice, Illeandir suspected it was so the man could amuse himself by beating him over and over again. Narliana had seen Illeandir and helped him. After that first day she came every day after and their friendship grew quickly along with Illeandir's swordmanship.
It was during one of their bouts after Narliana had knocked Illeandir off his feet that Eldarion discovered them. He had stumbled upon them while searching for Narliana and saw her helping Illeandir to his feet. He immediately took it the wrong way, failing to notice the swords they both held instead only seeing Narliana smiling and laughing. He wouldn't speak to Illeandir for a week and didn't give him a chance to explain.
Finally Illeandir couldn't stand it anymore. He grabbed his sword and marched over to Eldarion and cornered him slapping a glove across his face in a challenge. Eldarion's face registered surprise then anger. The men around them muttered nervously.
"If you're not going to let me explain then I will prove it!" Illeandir shouted. The challenge could not be ignored. Livid, Eldarion accepted and drew his sword, slashing at Illeandir's stomach. Illeandir backpedaled furiously as Eldarion ran after him shouting wordlessly. A small crowd gathered around them with Narliana in the front to watch. Eldarion swung wildly, Illeandir sidestepped and his sword missed completely. Illeandir countered with a strike to his head and he blocked it easily. Back and forth they went. The longer they went the calmer Eldarion seemed. At last Ileandir saw he had calmed down enough and with a flurry of precise blows unarmed Eldarion and kicked him in the chest. Hard enough to knock him over but not break anything. Eldarion lay on his back gasping and laughing at the same time. Illeandir looked expectantly at him.
"I'm a fool," Eldarion said.
"Indeed you are, El," Illeandir said helping the prince up. The next day they made plans to leave for Gondor. On the day they were to leave Narliana approached Eldarion cautiously.
"I would like to see the White City," she said. Eldarion looked at her with none of his former desire, though he still loved her he knew he could not win her.
"Of course. My father would welcome one of his own people," he said. Narliana had never returned West. Toward the end of their journey home she and Eldarion would often ride together leaving Illeandir and his friend to lead the way and make sure they didn't ride off a cliff while they stared at each other.
"I can't help but notice you travel alone," Eldarion said. Illeandir pulled himself from memory. "Where is he?"
An immense weight crashed on Illeandir's shoulders and he pushed his plate away, hunger suddenly gone.
"Zaharias is no longer among the living."
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And I will leave you with that for a few days.
#cliffhangers as MonsterCupcake says. ;)