The Music in My Heart
folder
Lord of the Rings Movies › Slash - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
75
Views:
3,776
Reviews:
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Currently Reading:
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Category:
Lord of the Rings Movies › Slash - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
75
Views:
3,776
Reviews:
11
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own the Lord of the Rings book series and movie series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Chapter 24 Guilt
Title: The Music in My Heart, Chapter 24
Author: Sorsha
Fandom/Pairing: Elrond/OFC, Glorfindel/Haldir, Elladan/OFC, Elrohir/Legolas, others implied
Rating:.NC-17 for future chapters
Warning: AU (Story set 770 years after ROTK); Slash and het.
Feedback: This is my first fanfic, so constructive feedback appreciated.
Archive:
Acknowledgements: Many thanks to Alex Cat for her help in betaing this fic.
Disclaimer: Any of the residents of Middle-earth and Aman that you recognize belong to Prof. Tolkien’s estate. The same is true about Middle-earth and Aman. I’m only visiting and admiring the “views”.
Summary: Sauron may be gone, but his legacy of evil still lingers. As Middle-earth faces the threat of another dark lord, a party of elves departs Aman on a mission for the Valar, a mission of mercy long delayed.
Chapter 24 --- Guilt
“They whose guilt within their bosom lies, imagine every eye beholds their blame.”
William Shakespeare.
*****
Elrond settled into the comfort of his bed with a contented sigh. After waking in the Healing House earlier in the day, he was happy to be back in his own rooms. The healers had poked and prodded him assuring themselves that he would recover. By mid-afternoon, he had reached his limit and demanded he be assisted to his chambers. His sons were familiar with the tone of his voice and moved quickly to help relocate the testy elf lord to the privacy of his rooms.
Now they were sitting on opposite sides of him, watching him with relieved expressions on their faces. Elrohir had asked how he and Seere had been injured and Elrond was sorting through his jumbled memories, trying to piece together the chain of events. His only clear memory was falling asleep with her held tightly in his arms.
“As I assume you already know, Erestor and I split up to begin searching the gardens. I went to search the area along the riverside and around the falls. I had a feeling she was near flowing water and it compelled me to look there.” Looking up, he met his eldest son’s eyes and saw the unasked question in his eyes. “There is a grotto behind Brilthor Ure that Gil-Galad found many years ago that appeared to me in a vision. I had not been there since his death so it took me a few minutes to find the entrance as it is well hidden.” (large waterfall)
“Very well hidden as I have never found it, nor heard mention of it in all the years I have lived in the valley,” Elladan observed.
Nodding, his father continued. “There is a secluded ledge that can be accessed through an opening on the opposite side of the cave. It cannot be seen from below and is often veiled by the flow of the falls themselves. Seere was on the ledge where she had fallen asleep. It appeared she had been crying from the trails of tears on her face.”
As he recounted the events of that evening, a mental image of the panicked expression that had appeared on her face for a few seconds after he woke her came to his mind. /Why was she afraid? There was more to her reaction than being disoriented from sleep./
“When it rains as it did last night, the falls widen and its waters actually flow across the ledge. Because the ledge cants back toward the cliff wall… the reason is cannot be seen from below, the grotto can flood in a heavy rain. That is the reason I thought it best to attempt to return to the house, rather than wait the storm out there.” Elrond shuttered as he remembered how close they came to losing Seere had he not found her before the flooding rains began.
“Ada! She would have been swept away by the falls if you had not found her!” Elrohir exclaimed.
“Aye, she would have.” Elrond agreed, his heart clinching as his son repeated his fear.
“I wanted to get back to the house as quickly as possible so we could get the others in from the search. We were running down the slope by the falls when the rain started to fall in a driving downpour. The wind was lashing us and it had grown dark once the rain began. Half the way down, a deer ran in front of us. I lost my footing on the wet ground and fell forward taking Seere with me.” Guilty at being the cause of her injury, he stopped to take a deep breath before he continued. “I had taken her hand to keep us together as the storm got worse and ended up getting her injured by pulling her down with me.”
“I do not remember anything more except waking briefly during the night from Seere shaking me and begging Námo not to take me.”
Elladan shuttered as his father recounted the last. “It was a near thing it would seem, Ada. You have a severe head wound, several broken ribs, a dislocated knee, and a deep cut on your forehead that bled a good deal. If Seere had not bandaged it… Given your exposure to the storm, you were likely in shock and must have seemed very cold indeed to her.”
“Fear not, Elladan. I assure you I did not seek Mandos last night. I must have been simply feeling the cold.” Elrond assured.
“Ada, it was not last night. You were unconscious for three days after we found you!”
*****
“Three days? I did not realize! How badly hurt was Seere? I have asked several times and you have avoided answering me!” the shocked elf lord demanded.
Elrohir and Elladan traded uneasy looks, before Elladan sighed and answered his ada’s question. “She is still unconscious, Ada. She received blows to both the front and side of her head as well as a severe injury to her right ankle and foot.”
Distressed by this news, Elrond made a move to leave his bed to go back to the Healing House to see her for himself. A jolt of pain took his breath away and forced him back onto his pillows. Elrohir, who had reached for his father as he saw him try to rise, grasped his shoulders and scolded the half-elf for his impulsive behavior.
“Ada, you must rest until your ribs have set. There is nothing you can do for Seere that is not already being done. You must recover from your own injures if you are to be of assistance to anyone. I know you feel responsible for your family, but trust us to care for her. Erestor and Azeriel are sitting with her so she is not alone.” Looking into the rebellious eyes of his father, he concluded “Ada, I promise to keep you apprised of her progress and to consult with you if need be.”
“She has blows to both the front and side of her head? What could have caused that?” he demanded.
“We are not sure, Ada … she rolled down the hill perhaps striking both wounds in the process. Nor do we understand how the damage to her foot and ankle occurred. We will have to wait for her to wake to tell us.” Elladan offered.
Elrond met his son’s eyes as he stated, “If she is not awake by morning, I will be taken to see her. In fact, I will be taken to see her in any case. I will accept no argument, ion nîn. She is hurt because of me and I will see to her.”
/I should have let her hand go once I felt myself begin to fall. Tis my fault she is injured so badly./
“Ada, you are not to blame. You saved her life! The fall was an accident. Please do not distress yourself over something that is not your fault. Seere would not want that.” Elrohir exclaimed responding to the pain and guilt evident in his father’s voice.
/Of course I am. I pulled her down the hill with me and now she is injured, unconscious because of me. Seere, please do not leave us! Do not leave me!/
Turning his head away from his sons so they could not see the grief in his eyes, Elrond soon fell into a troubled sleep as his body demanded time to heal its own injures.
*****
Morning had come and she was not yet awake from the deep sleep she had occupied since Celeborn had carried her to the healing hall. Elrond sat at her bedside, studying her with the discerning eye of a healer. As Elrohir had warned, her sleep was not peaceful. She shifted restlessly and whispered urgent messages to the unseen companions that populated her dreams and a periodic moan or fearful cry slipped from her lips. Her eyes were fully closed as this was not normal elven sleep and she showed no signs of waking.
Elrohir had helped his father to the private room Seere occupied and had moved a chair for his use near her head on her right side, placing an ottoman under his injured knee. Alone for the moment, he whispered her name, trying to call her back from the troubled visions that were haunting her. Elrond took her small hand into his large one and began to rub the skin at her wrist in a soothing caress.
At his touch, Seere’s restless movements stilled and she grew calm. “Seere, please hear me and wake. Your Ada is quite worried about you, as are we all. I am so sorry, pen vuil, that I caused you to be hurt. I should have dropped your hand as I fell. Please forgive me. Seere, please wake.”
“It is not your fault she is hurt, Elrond.”
Elrond turned to find Erestor had entered the room without his hearing him. He moved to the opposite side of the bed and stood gazing down at his daughter. “You saved her life, for she would have died had you not found her when you did and I thank you. You had no choice but to try to return to the house for that cave is not a safe place in a storm. I had forgotten it was even there, so you were the only one that could have saved her.”
Seeing his friend’s surprise at this, he added, “Elrohir shared with me your conversation. It was not your fault she was hurt, Elrond, and she will yet awake. We must believe that, mellon nin. She seems calmer than she has since we found her. Perhaps this is a sign she will wake soon… that she is healing.”
“Let us pray to the Valar that it is. She responds to having her hand held and seems to be calmed by it.” Elrond responded.
“This is an improvement then as she showed no response to touch before.” Erestor exclaimed taking her other hand. “Seere? Can you hear me, sellath nîn?” (my daughter)
“What is an improvement, my Lord Erestor?” Azeriel entered the room and, hearing there was improvement in her patient’s condition, hurried over to the bedside.
“She has calmed and is responding to touch. This is improvement is it not?”
“Aye, it means she is more aware of us and her sleep is not as deep as it was.” Moving closer so she could study Seere, the golden-haired healer asked “Would you please step back for a moment and let me check her vital signs.”
As the two elves let go of her hands to make room for Azeriel, Seere began to shift about in an agitated manner once again. “Ada! Elrond?”
“It does seem she is more aware this morning!”
*****
Seere had still not regained consciousness by the next morning. The healers had quickly found that her improvement only lasted as long as either her father or Elrond was holding her hand. Left alone, she returned to her restless, agitated state. Elrond had insisted that two chaises be moved into her room and placed by her bed so they could be near to comfort Seere.
It was the middle of the night. Her broken whispered words had disturbed his sleep. Convinced her muttered conversation might hold clues to her state, Elrond forced himself to let her talk when he wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and sooth her fears. /What is she saying? What haunts you so that you remain locked in this state, Seere?/
/It seems she is talking to Ermehtar, but it does not make sense. Why does she keep saying no repeatedly and then apologizing? And what does Roitar have to do with this? She seems to think she owes him an apology as well./
Shock over took him as he finally began to piece together the disjointed threads of her rambling monolog. /Elbereth, help us! How did this happen and why did no one know?/
/I understand why she feels guilty for Roitar’s death, though she is not to blame. I can well imagine what kept her quiet. I wonder who assigned him to Elrohir’s guard? Ermehtar may well have had additional reasons for wanting him to die. I must find out. It makes his murder even more tragic, as we were deeply in his debt and did not know it./
Taking her hand, Elrond leaned down close to the ear to whisper, “Seere, please come back to us. I know now what happened and I want to help. You are not to blame for Roitar’s death or for what Ermehtar did and for the choices he made. Come back to us, to me, without fear of this. I can help you find some peace in this, pen vuil, but first you must wake. Your Ada grieves, we all grieve to see you thus.”
*****
Seere struggled under the weight pinning her to the ground, pinning her in her dreams. Her arms were trapped and her lungs labored to breathe as the crushing form blanketing her body was pressing the air from her body. Fear and guilt held her trapped.
A gentle, loving voice called her. His words offered some comfort to her tattered emotions. /I am not to blame? Nay, but I am! I failed Roitar and I let my past fondness for Ermehtar blind me./
A warm, strong hand took hers and a tantalizing caress began again along the delicate skin of her wrist. /Ah, Elrond! You are still with me! I was so afraid you were dying! Blessings be to the Valar!/
/What is he saying? He knows! But how? He cannot forgive me if he knows… he says Roitar’s death is not my fault! That cannot be true… I must be! If I had…/
/Wait… Ada grieves! Ai!, Ada! Elrond! I can not hide from my guilt and pain if it brings pain to him, to you./
Pushing with all of her remaining strength, she managed to shift the weight pressing down on her chest aside enough to take a deep breath. Summoning her reserves, she began to climb out of the dark pit she in which she was trapped, moving toward a light she could not yet see. But instinct told her the light was waiting with the gentle voice that called to her, the giver of the tantalizing touch that stirred her senses.
*****
Erestor opened his eyes and felt the grief of his beloved daughter’s condition wash across him. /Seere, please hear me and wake. I can not face the day knowing you are trapped in a private torment from which I can not save you./
Sighing, he turned his head to study his child. /She has not been a child in hundreds of years. Yet, I still see a sweet tempered toddler with her arms outstretched wanting a hug from her father or begging for me to tell her a story. Seere I cannot lose you too!/
He noted she looked older than she had only a week earlier before the grief of betrayal, loss, and pain took their toll. She seemed more agitated than she had last night. This was disquieting observation as he could see Elrond had fallen asleep holding her other hand.
/Ai! It seems you no longer gain comfort from his touch. I am afraid to take your other hand for I do not know what more I can do if our touch no longer reaches you!/
Getting up from the chaise where he had slept, he moved to sit on the edge of her bed. Sighing, he took her hand in his and leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. “Seere, alasse' nîn? You are not alone. I am here. Please pen vuil, hear me and wake.” (my joy)
Sighing, he let his head rest against hers as tears filled his eyes. “Elbereth, please help her. I can not bear losing her too!”
“Ada, please do not cry. I hear you and I will not leave you,” a soft, weak voice whispered.
*****
Author: Sorsha
Fandom/Pairing: Elrond/OFC, Glorfindel/Haldir, Elladan/OFC, Elrohir/Legolas, others implied
Rating:.NC-17 for future chapters
Warning: AU (Story set 770 years after ROTK); Slash and het.
Feedback: This is my first fanfic, so constructive feedback appreciated.
Archive:
Acknowledgements: Many thanks to Alex Cat for her help in betaing this fic.
Disclaimer: Any of the residents of Middle-earth and Aman that you recognize belong to Prof. Tolkien’s estate. The same is true about Middle-earth and Aman. I’m only visiting and admiring the “views”.
Summary: Sauron may be gone, but his legacy of evil still lingers. As Middle-earth faces the threat of another dark lord, a party of elves departs Aman on a mission for the Valar, a mission of mercy long delayed.
Chapter 24 --- Guilt
“They whose guilt within their bosom lies, imagine every eye beholds their blame.”
William Shakespeare.
*****
Elrond settled into the comfort of his bed with a contented sigh. After waking in the Healing House earlier in the day, he was happy to be back in his own rooms. The healers had poked and prodded him assuring themselves that he would recover. By mid-afternoon, he had reached his limit and demanded he be assisted to his chambers. His sons were familiar with the tone of his voice and moved quickly to help relocate the testy elf lord to the privacy of his rooms.
Now they were sitting on opposite sides of him, watching him with relieved expressions on their faces. Elrohir had asked how he and Seere had been injured and Elrond was sorting through his jumbled memories, trying to piece together the chain of events. His only clear memory was falling asleep with her held tightly in his arms.
“As I assume you already know, Erestor and I split up to begin searching the gardens. I went to search the area along the riverside and around the falls. I had a feeling she was near flowing water and it compelled me to look there.” Looking up, he met his eldest son’s eyes and saw the unasked question in his eyes. “There is a grotto behind Brilthor Ure that Gil-Galad found many years ago that appeared to me in a vision. I had not been there since his death so it took me a few minutes to find the entrance as it is well hidden.” (large waterfall)
“Very well hidden as I have never found it, nor heard mention of it in all the years I have lived in the valley,” Elladan observed.
Nodding, his father continued. “There is a secluded ledge that can be accessed through an opening on the opposite side of the cave. It cannot be seen from below and is often veiled by the flow of the falls themselves. Seere was on the ledge where she had fallen asleep. It appeared she had been crying from the trails of tears on her face.”
As he recounted the events of that evening, a mental image of the panicked expression that had appeared on her face for a few seconds after he woke her came to his mind. /Why was she afraid? There was more to her reaction than being disoriented from sleep./
“When it rains as it did last night, the falls widen and its waters actually flow across the ledge. Because the ledge cants back toward the cliff wall… the reason is cannot be seen from below, the grotto can flood in a heavy rain. That is the reason I thought it best to attempt to return to the house, rather than wait the storm out there.” Elrond shuttered as he remembered how close they came to losing Seere had he not found her before the flooding rains began.
“Ada! She would have been swept away by the falls if you had not found her!” Elrohir exclaimed.
“Aye, she would have.” Elrond agreed, his heart clinching as his son repeated his fear.
“I wanted to get back to the house as quickly as possible so we could get the others in from the search. We were running down the slope by the falls when the rain started to fall in a driving downpour. The wind was lashing us and it had grown dark once the rain began. Half the way down, a deer ran in front of us. I lost my footing on the wet ground and fell forward taking Seere with me.” Guilty at being the cause of her injury, he stopped to take a deep breath before he continued. “I had taken her hand to keep us together as the storm got worse and ended up getting her injured by pulling her down with me.”
“I do not remember anything more except waking briefly during the night from Seere shaking me and begging Námo not to take me.”
Elladan shuttered as his father recounted the last. “It was a near thing it would seem, Ada. You have a severe head wound, several broken ribs, a dislocated knee, and a deep cut on your forehead that bled a good deal. If Seere had not bandaged it… Given your exposure to the storm, you were likely in shock and must have seemed very cold indeed to her.”
“Fear not, Elladan. I assure you I did not seek Mandos last night. I must have been simply feeling the cold.” Elrond assured.
“Ada, it was not last night. You were unconscious for three days after we found you!”
*****
“Three days? I did not realize! How badly hurt was Seere? I have asked several times and you have avoided answering me!” the shocked elf lord demanded.
Elrohir and Elladan traded uneasy looks, before Elladan sighed and answered his ada’s question. “She is still unconscious, Ada. She received blows to both the front and side of her head as well as a severe injury to her right ankle and foot.”
Distressed by this news, Elrond made a move to leave his bed to go back to the Healing House to see her for himself. A jolt of pain took his breath away and forced him back onto his pillows. Elrohir, who had reached for his father as he saw him try to rise, grasped his shoulders and scolded the half-elf for his impulsive behavior.
“Ada, you must rest until your ribs have set. There is nothing you can do for Seere that is not already being done. You must recover from your own injures if you are to be of assistance to anyone. I know you feel responsible for your family, but trust us to care for her. Erestor and Azeriel are sitting with her so she is not alone.” Looking into the rebellious eyes of his father, he concluded “Ada, I promise to keep you apprised of her progress and to consult with you if need be.”
“She has blows to both the front and side of her head? What could have caused that?” he demanded.
“We are not sure, Ada … she rolled down the hill perhaps striking both wounds in the process. Nor do we understand how the damage to her foot and ankle occurred. We will have to wait for her to wake to tell us.” Elladan offered.
Elrond met his son’s eyes as he stated, “If she is not awake by morning, I will be taken to see her. In fact, I will be taken to see her in any case. I will accept no argument, ion nîn. She is hurt because of me and I will see to her.”
/I should have let her hand go once I felt myself begin to fall. Tis my fault she is injured so badly./
“Ada, you are not to blame. You saved her life! The fall was an accident. Please do not distress yourself over something that is not your fault. Seere would not want that.” Elrohir exclaimed responding to the pain and guilt evident in his father’s voice.
/Of course I am. I pulled her down the hill with me and now she is injured, unconscious because of me. Seere, please do not leave us! Do not leave me!/
Turning his head away from his sons so they could not see the grief in his eyes, Elrond soon fell into a troubled sleep as his body demanded time to heal its own injures.
*****
Morning had come and she was not yet awake from the deep sleep she had occupied since Celeborn had carried her to the healing hall. Elrond sat at her bedside, studying her with the discerning eye of a healer. As Elrohir had warned, her sleep was not peaceful. She shifted restlessly and whispered urgent messages to the unseen companions that populated her dreams and a periodic moan or fearful cry slipped from her lips. Her eyes were fully closed as this was not normal elven sleep and she showed no signs of waking.
Elrohir had helped his father to the private room Seere occupied and had moved a chair for his use near her head on her right side, placing an ottoman under his injured knee. Alone for the moment, he whispered her name, trying to call her back from the troubled visions that were haunting her. Elrond took her small hand into his large one and began to rub the skin at her wrist in a soothing caress.
At his touch, Seere’s restless movements stilled and she grew calm. “Seere, please hear me and wake. Your Ada is quite worried about you, as are we all. I am so sorry, pen vuil, that I caused you to be hurt. I should have dropped your hand as I fell. Please forgive me. Seere, please wake.”
“It is not your fault she is hurt, Elrond.”
Elrond turned to find Erestor had entered the room without his hearing him. He moved to the opposite side of the bed and stood gazing down at his daughter. “You saved her life, for she would have died had you not found her when you did and I thank you. You had no choice but to try to return to the house for that cave is not a safe place in a storm. I had forgotten it was even there, so you were the only one that could have saved her.”
Seeing his friend’s surprise at this, he added, “Elrohir shared with me your conversation. It was not your fault she was hurt, Elrond, and she will yet awake. We must believe that, mellon nin. She seems calmer than she has since we found her. Perhaps this is a sign she will wake soon… that she is healing.”
“Let us pray to the Valar that it is. She responds to having her hand held and seems to be calmed by it.” Elrond responded.
“This is an improvement then as she showed no response to touch before.” Erestor exclaimed taking her other hand. “Seere? Can you hear me, sellath nîn?” (my daughter)
“What is an improvement, my Lord Erestor?” Azeriel entered the room and, hearing there was improvement in her patient’s condition, hurried over to the bedside.
“She has calmed and is responding to touch. This is improvement is it not?”
“Aye, it means she is more aware of us and her sleep is not as deep as it was.” Moving closer so she could study Seere, the golden-haired healer asked “Would you please step back for a moment and let me check her vital signs.”
As the two elves let go of her hands to make room for Azeriel, Seere began to shift about in an agitated manner once again. “Ada! Elrond?”
“It does seem she is more aware this morning!”
*****
Seere had still not regained consciousness by the next morning. The healers had quickly found that her improvement only lasted as long as either her father or Elrond was holding her hand. Left alone, she returned to her restless, agitated state. Elrond had insisted that two chaises be moved into her room and placed by her bed so they could be near to comfort Seere.
It was the middle of the night. Her broken whispered words had disturbed his sleep. Convinced her muttered conversation might hold clues to her state, Elrond forced himself to let her talk when he wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and sooth her fears. /What is she saying? What haunts you so that you remain locked in this state, Seere?/
/It seems she is talking to Ermehtar, but it does not make sense. Why does she keep saying no repeatedly and then apologizing? And what does Roitar have to do with this? She seems to think she owes him an apology as well./
Shock over took him as he finally began to piece together the disjointed threads of her rambling monolog. /Elbereth, help us! How did this happen and why did no one know?/
/I understand why she feels guilty for Roitar’s death, though she is not to blame. I can well imagine what kept her quiet. I wonder who assigned him to Elrohir’s guard? Ermehtar may well have had additional reasons for wanting him to die. I must find out. It makes his murder even more tragic, as we were deeply in his debt and did not know it./
Taking her hand, Elrond leaned down close to the ear to whisper, “Seere, please come back to us. I know now what happened and I want to help. You are not to blame for Roitar’s death or for what Ermehtar did and for the choices he made. Come back to us, to me, without fear of this. I can help you find some peace in this, pen vuil, but first you must wake. Your Ada grieves, we all grieve to see you thus.”
*****
Seere struggled under the weight pinning her to the ground, pinning her in her dreams. Her arms were trapped and her lungs labored to breathe as the crushing form blanketing her body was pressing the air from her body. Fear and guilt held her trapped.
A gentle, loving voice called her. His words offered some comfort to her tattered emotions. /I am not to blame? Nay, but I am! I failed Roitar and I let my past fondness for Ermehtar blind me./
A warm, strong hand took hers and a tantalizing caress began again along the delicate skin of her wrist. /Ah, Elrond! You are still with me! I was so afraid you were dying! Blessings be to the Valar!/
/What is he saying? He knows! But how? He cannot forgive me if he knows… he says Roitar’s death is not my fault! That cannot be true… I must be! If I had…/
/Wait… Ada grieves! Ai!, Ada! Elrond! I can not hide from my guilt and pain if it brings pain to him, to you./
Pushing with all of her remaining strength, she managed to shift the weight pressing down on her chest aside enough to take a deep breath. Summoning her reserves, she began to climb out of the dark pit she in which she was trapped, moving toward a light she could not yet see. But instinct told her the light was waiting with the gentle voice that called to her, the giver of the tantalizing touch that stirred her senses.
*****
Erestor opened his eyes and felt the grief of his beloved daughter’s condition wash across him. /Seere, please hear me and wake. I can not face the day knowing you are trapped in a private torment from which I can not save you./
Sighing, he turned his head to study his child. /She has not been a child in hundreds of years. Yet, I still see a sweet tempered toddler with her arms outstretched wanting a hug from her father or begging for me to tell her a story. Seere I cannot lose you too!/
He noted she looked older than she had only a week earlier before the grief of betrayal, loss, and pain took their toll. She seemed more agitated than she had last night. This was disquieting observation as he could see Elrond had fallen asleep holding her other hand.
/Ai! It seems you no longer gain comfort from his touch. I am afraid to take your other hand for I do not know what more I can do if our touch no longer reaches you!/
Getting up from the chaise where he had slept, he moved to sit on the edge of her bed. Sighing, he took her hand in his and leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. “Seere, alasse' nîn? You are not alone. I am here. Please pen vuil, hear me and wake.” (my joy)
Sighing, he let his head rest against hers as tears filled his eyes. “Elbereth, please help her. I can not bear losing her too!”
“Ada, please do not cry. I hear you and I will not leave you,” a soft, weak voice whispered.
*****