X. What’s Best
It did not look as though the ceremony had even begun by the time the guard and I came upon the scene. A few of the Elves were startled, accompanied by guards to settle them down. It looked as though the worst had happened as the guard and I were galloping to their aid. Whatever décor had been set up was torn down. We had just missed the action. It was a pity too; I was ready to test how well I could swing a sword around with no experience.
Lady Galadriel was with Nikita, talking to her in whispers. I wondered where Legolas was right now. Was he with the other guards still, trying to track down the Wild Men?
It was still hard to believe that they were so persistent, so insistent to reclaim me that they would go through all this trouble to find me. They destroyed what would have been a lovely union between two Elves, all because of me. I felt burdened with them, like they were a disease I could not shake.
If Legolas had not offered to take me home, the wedding would have gone on as planned. It would not have been ruined by an ambush by Wild Men. Had they intended on coming just for me, or were they planning to kidnap others? I blanched at the thought. No Elf, whether male or female, deserved to be in their vile hands.
The guard slipped off of Thalias, walking briskly to Lady Galadriel and Nikita. I could only observe in horror. So many Elves looked stunned, some more frightened. I knotted my fingers in Thalias’ mane, hearing my pulse thump in my ears. This is all my fault. The ceremony did not happen because of me. I am responsible.
“What are you doing with that?”
I jumped, seeing Legolas stand beside me on my left. He was in different attire, more formal attire. He had been preparing before this chaos erupted. I could not deny that he did look dashing.
Focus. Remember the question. My thoughts refocused. Legolas was talking about the sword I held limply at my side.
“It was in case something happened,” I said quietly. I nodded towards the guard with Galadriel and Nikita. “He lent it to me.”
“You with a weapon is a little strange, Nimalia.” He gently pried the weapon out of my hands. I frowned. “The danger has passed; there is no need to have it on you.”
“Did you get into trouble?”
“A little bit, but you would never know it.”
“No, I would not,” I agreed. I nodded towards Nikita. “Go to her, she may want you there with her.”
“Are you sure? You look as though you have seen a ghost.”
“In a way, I did.” I swallowed. “But do not worry about me. Go to her. Besides, I have Thalias to watch over me.”
“You gave him a name?”
“I will tell you the story behind it when I can.”
Legolas handed me back the sword and lingered another moment more before going to his betrothed and Lady Galadriel. I sat in silence atop Thalias, listening. Since I was very bad with my Elvish, all I heard was beautiful words in the air. I could understand nothing, which infuriated me. Damn the Wild Men to the fiery pits of hell for taking that away from me.
When a few pairs of eyes fell onto me, I felt a weight crushing me. I would have been surprised if not everyone knew about me by now, I had been here for months. Some of the stares were accusatory, which was understandable. They saw who invaded Lórien, and they knew why the Wild Men had come. There was no way that anyone could be confused about the Men’s motives.
Feeling very uncomfortable, I sat the sword in my lap before spinning Thalias around. I trotted off away from the Elves, feeling tears prick at the corners of my eyes. If I had Galadriel’s gift to read thoughts, I knew what some would say. They were here for her. She is the reason all this happened. She should have never left them. I could think of many more harsh things, these were mild.
* * *
Thalias and I spent the day together away from all the commotion following the ambush. I messed with the guard’s sword a little, getting a feel for its weight and how I could handle it. I felt a rush of power through my blood when I messed with the weapon. I did not feel helpless or vulnerable, I felt confident. Though I felt confident, my skills did not show it. Thalias lazily grazed, eating, reminding me that at some point I had to eat something as well. My stomach rumbled enough times to tell me that if I did not eat, I would starve.
I was used to starving; I could endure it again if I wished to do so.
When I spun around with the sword, I yelped in fright as I came face to face with Legolas. He stepped back, throwing his hands up cautiously.
“Easy with that,” he scolded me. “Someone as unskilled as you could hurt someone.”
“Thank you for that vote of confidence,” I snapped. I lightly dug the tip of the weapon into the ground, leaning on it slightly. “How are things?”
“A little on edge still.” He paced slowly. “Some fear that another attack may come. More guards have been placed at the borders as a safety measure.” I inhaled deeply. “But I did not come here to update you, Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn have asked for you.”
“Oh no, the Lord is involved now too?” I whimpered. “This is not good.”
“They just want to talk with you, that is all.”
“No one else, just me?”
“I am afraid so.”
Well, my time in Lórien is finished. There is no way the Lord and Lady will want me around, not after our home was just attacked. I guess it is better if I leave anyway, that way I do not bring harm to anyone. These Wild Men were still ruining my life, even after I had escaped them. They were not going away.
“I guess I cannot avoid them, that would be rude,” I sighed. “I should probably head there now, huh?”
“It would be wise to, yes. Oh, and, Nimalia, you might want to give that back to its owner.”
“Can you? You may see him before I do.” I held the sword out for Legolas to take.
“Do not worry.” He took the sword from me. He put an encouraging hand on my shoulder before we parted ways.
Along the way to meet with the Lord and Lady, I passed a few Elves. Some stared at me, some looked away, and some even quickened their pace to get farther away from me. I sighed. I should have expected to get such negative reaction in response to the ambush earlier today.
Once I was up in the trees, I had to ask for directions. Let me tell you, that was not easy. No one was willing to lead me to the Lord and Lady, not until I found Nikita. She had changed out of her wedding gown when I had spotted her. She was more than eager to escort me to them. I thanked her graciously.
“Did they attempt to abduct anyone?” I asked hesitantly as we walked.
“No. They did grab a few of us and tried to look for you, to see if anyone they grabbed matched you. None did. They would have threatened us had the guards not stepped in and forced them to flee.”
“I am truly sorry about today, Nikita. You should have tried to go through with the ceremony.”
“With everyone in fear and shock? No. We all need time to recover, the wedding can be delayed. It is not an issue to do so.”
I swallowed. “I blame myself for this.”
“Nimalia, no one—”
“Do not lie to me, Nikita. I know what some think of me.”
“Well, they are just beyond there. This is where I leave you.” Nikita gave me an awkward embrace—a random gesture on her part—before she departed from me. She gave an encouraging wave and smile, but neither really helped me.
I straightened myself out. Putting on a brave façade, I rounded a way to come upon the Lord and Lady. I swallowed, realizing this was the first time I had seen the Lord of Lórien. He matched his wife with the silver attire, his pale blond hair which was straight unlike hers, and his blue eyes. I could not forget his tall stature either.
“My lord, my lady,” I said politely, dipping down to bow. “You asked for me?”
“You do not need to be afraid, child,” the Lord spoke. His voice was just as lovely as his wife’s. “We did not call you to punish you. But we did call you here to discuss today’s…events.”
“I understand.”
“Galadriel told me what had happened, and the reason why they came.”
I nodded mutely.
“We asked you here so we could discuss your protection,” Galadriel butted in.
“My protection?”
“It is clear you will not be safe unless these Men are taken care of. We will not banish you from Lórien despite what you believe.” She smiled thinly. “You do not deserve any punishment. We can offer you as much protection as we can here.”
“But, my lady, with all due respect, if these Men are persistent, they will not rest until they have me. I will not allow these Men to continue to attack my home just because they come for me,” I said strongly. “I am not willing to put innocents in danger.”
“You do not want to stay here?”
I shook my head. “No. I would rather travel and lead them away.”
“No matter where you go, if these Men are good trackers, they will find you no matter where you will go.”
“Then she will need an escort.”
I turned to see Legolas come into the conversation. He would be the one to suggest such an idea, I thought. I could see the sword I had borrowed from the guard was not with him, so he must have delivered it.
“Do not try and say that you will be fine on your own,” he told me before I could get a word in. “Lady Arwen told me that you were near death when a Man found you just outside of Minas Tirith. If you go by yourself, you will most likely end up dead. Besides, where would you go? Do you have any idea as to where you would want to disappear to?”
“No…”
“See, you do not have a plan. You were just going to run off in hopes that you would outrun the Men and find a good place to settle down in.” He folded his arms across his chest. He looked to the Lord and Lady. “I am not asking you for permission, as she is not your child, but I do implore you to consider it.”
The Lord and Lady looked at each other for a few moments. I threw a stormy look at Legolas. How could he be willing to be my travel partner when he still had to get married? How could he leave Nikita behind like that? Does he even have a plan? I wondered.
“If you do not wish to remain here, Nimalia,” Galadriel said slowly, “then perhaps it is best if he goes with you on your venture. I would not refuse him offering his services.”
“But what about Nikita?” I directed the question at Legolas. “You cannot just leave her for me.” I knew that came out differently than what I had intended, but I knew everyone knew what I meant.
“I will discuss that with her,” he assured me. “If it is decided, then Nimalia and I shall leave to discuss travel plans.”
The Lord and Lady bowed their heads in dismissal. I gave Legolas a dark look as the meeting ended.
This was going to be interesting to discuss.
**Hmm, hmm, hmm. What to say here? It looks like the Men aren't disappearing from our story entirely.**