For lack of another title... LOL.
Eru slept fitfully, tossing, turning, and moaning. Gladdy rolled over and looked at her friend in concern. This was the third night in a row that Eru had been sleeping feverishly. Sometimes she muttered in her sleep. Gladdy had never seen Eru like this. Gladdy whispered to Eru,
"What's wrong, Eru?"
No answer. Glad turned and gently shook Frodo awake. Eru had invited Glad, Frodo, Glad's brother Merry, their cousin Pippin, and Sam Gamgee to her home in the Old Forest for the week. "Frodo!" she hissed.
"Hmm. Wha?" he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Gladdy! What's goi-"
"Shh!" she pointed at Eru. "She's having fits again. I've never seen her like this. Ever."
Frodo sat up and looked at Eru, who was still turning, muttering, and generally looking miserable. Frodo sighed. Being fifteen years older than Gladriel, he could remember a night much like this one, when he and Merry had been very young and camped out with Eru in Bywater. They had woken her, to which she yelled,
"Daeron!"
When they asked her what was wrong, she said it was a bad dream, go back to sleep.
"Will you talk to her?" Gladdy's whisper broke through his reverie.
"Huh? Yeah, yeah, I will." he determined to get the truth out of Eru this week, if he had to take her to Elbereth to do it. He quietly, as only a Hobbit can, crossed over to Eru's messy pallet and gently shook her. "Er-u? Are you ok?"
"What? No! I surrender!" she blinked and looked at Frodo. "Frodo?"
"Eru, you were having a nightmare. Again. What happened? The same thing as..." he trailed off, knowing she knew what he meant. Eru, I know you aren't having "nightmares." Something else, more serious is bothering you.
Eru sighed. You're right, as always. I should have known you would figure it out. Figure what out? That these aren't nightmares. I think I should show you once and for all... she glanced at Gladdy. "I'm sorry I can't share this with you, too, sweetie. I don't think you could handle it... Frodo can tell you what he thinks best after- After I-" her voice broke, and she started crying.
"Eru, your crying," Gladdy said blankly.
She never was the brightest, was she? Eru asked Frodo mentally, trying to be lighthearted and failing miserably. Frodo nodded, playing along.
"You were saying? I mean, thinking?"
Eru nodded, and continued. My past is very dark, Frodo. You know you lost your parents? Of course you do. What am I thinking. Well, anyway, do you remember Bilbo telling you anything about Morgoth? The enemy of all free people?
Frodo nodded again. Glad was looking, rapt with interest. She could see how hard their minds were ticking. Eru was telepathic, and she could read minds. She was the last of her kind, save Galadriel.
Well, I fought against him when I was just a youngling. I was 22 mortal years old. I had not even been a third of a yen when I went to my first battle. I... I was engaged at the time, to the best Elf on Ea, not even saving those like Gil-Galad, Elrond, or those around the legends and the past weave their dance. His name was... Daeron. I loved him so much. He- Even her mental voice cracked at this. Maybe I should just show you. She took Frodo's hand, stared into his deep blue eyes, and took a deep breath. Brace yourself.
Images flashed through Frodo's mind, faster than the speed of light. They took his breath away. He saw things he did not recognize, things that looked ages and ages older than anything he had even imagined. He saw glimpses of Hobbits he knew. He saw a young Bilbo, before he set out on his Adventure. He saw Glad and Merry's mother, round with a child. He even saw his own face, when he still lived in Brandy Hall. He realized he was in Eru's mind. One particular image cleared, widened, and began to move.
The scene opened on a battlefield in full swing, taking place on geography that would be entirely unknown to all but the oldest Elves. Eru's memory view focuses on a young Elf in the centre of the battle, about 20 years old or so old. At a closer look, Frodo saw that it's a very young Eru, free of all the worries and hurts the years had put on her before he knew her. She's battling 3 Orcs at once, and having a great time of it. By her actions and carefree, almost giddy manner, he could tell that she has not yet seen many battles, and is thoroughly enjoying this one. She takes down two of the her opponents, then we see a hard look of concentration pass across her face before the last Orc in front of her double over backwards and snap in half. Eru laughs,
"There's some real mind-bending for you!"
Then she takes off, continuing the onslaught, fighting ferociously as only a youngling can. She is battling another, larger Orc when suddenly a new, different thought passes through her mind, and the voice is familiar.
I wish I could have seen her... One last time... I love her. Always will.
Eru whirls around, and instantly locates the owner of the thought. Another young Elf is desperately fighting a huge Uruk-troll breed, and it's obvious to all he can't last much longer. He's been singled out and is being brought down.
"DAERON!!!! NOOOOOOO!!!" Eru screams.
Suddenly a flash of fire and red appears behind her, and she turns again to see a flaming red Elf throw fire in her direction, which completely consumes the Orc behind her, which was about to decapitate her.
"Bree!" Eru shrieks, "Forget me! Save Daeron!!!!!! SAVE DAERON!!!!" her eyes look desperate. "Please, Bree! Hurry!" Daeron, hold on! Hold on! I love you! Bree is coming, and so am I. Hold on, you'll make it! Eru starts running, but her legs don't seem to work properly, and it's like she's swimming through murky water instead of racing through the air.
Bree finally makes it close enough to Daeron to wield her flames, but it's too late. The troll had managed to almost completely sever his spinal cord and left him on the field to die. Bree, in her wrath, hurled her flaming self in one-on-one combat against the Troll and her fury and fire quickly made him a pile of ash.
Meanwhile, Eru had screamed and dropped to Daeron's side.
"Daeron... Hold on, Thingol can save you! Or Melian can! Please, Daeron! Don't... don't leave me. I can't live without you..." she whispered.
"I-- have to go, Eru. I have to. There's-- nothing left for-- me-- to hang on-to... I--- can't. My grip-- is- slipping... I-- love-- you so-" and he... was gone.
"Noooooooooo!" Eru screams again, and throws herself sobbing against his still chest.
The scene changes and Frodo saw a funeral procession, as one of a powerful and noble Elf. A young Elf, Eru again, sang a dirge, when her voice cracked and a tear slid down her cheek. As the last shovelful of dirt hit the top of the grave, she broke down and started sobbing. She was desperate, and you could her the agony in her heart-wrenching cries. She pulls out a knife from her boot, and in her grief begins cutting her arms.
"I can't stand it! Why'd you have to go, Daeron? Why? I miss you! Come baaaack!"
Two strong young Elf men restrained her and gently led her away, and Frodo saw her pass out in their arms from loss of blood and strain of emotions.
Eru reeled back and covered her mouth, tears clouding her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. She wrenched her hand from Frodo's before he saw any other memories she wished to keep to herself. I can't go any farther... She started to sob silently, grieving again. Secretly, though, in her mind, the memories rolled on, and she relives the years of deep depression, the times she tried to kill herself various ways, like jumping off a cliff, drowning, or walking around near well-known Orc abodes. She sees Daeron's face as he comforts her in a dream, and Thingol's face as he nearly blows a blood vessel yelling at her. She relives countless injuries to her heart as well-meaning, ignorant young Elves attempt to propose to her, and other, not so well-meaning older Elves tell her she needs to get over it. She finally sees herself run to Fangorn one day and has a long long talk with Treebeard, when Gladdy shakes her and pulls her out of the reverie and back to the present.
"Eru... You're crying. More."
Eru brusquely cried, "I don't care!" before she bit her lip and held back a sob. "Y'all need to go to sleep now." She turned over, her mind tormenting her, and she dozed off to the soft sound of Frodo relaying the generalities of what he had seen.
_________________ <center>
Maybe it's true I can't live without you Maybe two is better than one -Boys Like Girls
 </center>
|