Post by Alena6970 on Jun 28, 2004 11:24:10 GMT -5
C H A P T E R 2
A DREAM COME TRUE
Arwen was pacing the floor, which she had been doing for the past hour. There had been no developments since Areleni had been brought back. This was the saddest moment in her life… the loss of her own child.
“Where is she?” she whined with an impatient tone. Suddenly, horses’ hooves could be heard on the streets outside. This sound brought hope back into Arwen’s heart. Aragorn ran out of the room towards the front gate to investigate the situation. What he found outside would greatly impact his life. A man’s voice was yelling:
“I found her, but no one was around; she was abandoned.”
In his arms was a small figure wrapped tightly in white cloth. The man pulled back the fabric to reveal a sight that would never be forgotten. A pale, lifeless face was shown. The clothes on the young girl were torn and small spots of blood could be found on the palm of her hand. The only peculiar thing was that the blood was in the shape of a star, which was quickly dismissed. It was their daughter, but in a condition that they never wanted to see her in.
“Take her to the Houses of Healing immediately!” Aragorn demanded. Arwen rushed towards him.
“What has happened?” she asked sympathetically.
“Areleni has been found and taken to be healed.”
“Is she hurt; is she in danger?” There were tons of questions, but only one that she dreaded to ask. “Is she alive?” Tears started to fill her eyes.
“I am not sure.” This was the worst thing next to death that could have happened to two of them.
Aragorn and Arwen slowly walked towards where their daughter was being held. She was lying on a huge bed draped with white blankets and concealed with curtains. The old wives of the house could be seen rushing back and forth tending to Areleni. One of them came up to Arwen.
“You should be very grateful to whomever found her. Within an hour…” her voice trailed off.
“Will she be okay?” Arwen asked.
“She is still alive if that is what you mean, but when we call her name she does not answer. She does not even move. We have never seen anything like this before,” answered the woman.
“Does she have a fever?”
“No. Surprisingly, she is very cold. Just touching her can give you a chill. No matter how many blankets or warm cloths we give her, she still feels like ice. It is as if her body does not want to respond to anything we do.”
“Do you know how to heal her?”
“No. The herb-master does not know of a precise medicine. Nothing he tries seems to be strong enough, not even the athelas. Again, King Elessar and Queen Arwen, you are very fortunate.” She walked away and sat on the bed next to Areleni and put another blanket over her.
“Who was the gracious person that found our daughter? I would like to thank him.” Arwen said to her husband.
The two of them walked back in the direction of the place where their daughter was returned to them. There they found a tall figure clad in bright white-colored robes. He was surrounded by almost the entire population of Gondor.
“Thank you for finding my daughter. How can I ever repay you?”
“Nonsense, for it was a reward it itself to have helped you in your time of need,” he replied.
“Then may I at least know the name of the man I am grateful to?” The stranger remained silent and hoisted himself upon his horse.
“You will know in time.” Then he and his horse sped off and out of the Gate of the City.
It had been about two days since Areleni had been brought back to Minas Tirith. Her conditioned had not improved, but one major thing had been frequently occurring. The wounds on her hand had not fully healed. In fact, the star-shaped cuts seemed to be faintly glowing. They were giving off a black-looking light! The herb-master was puzzled. Regardless of how many healing herbs or bandages he applied, the wound refused to heal. Aragorn and Arwen stayed with their daughter as long as they were possibly able to and did everything in their power that they could do to help.
“It is as if the wound does not want to be healed. The more bandages that are applied, the brighter and stronger the light!”
Arwen was lying next to her daughter on the bedside.
“I want to find out who did this to Areleni, to my daughter! I am leaving tonight to find out who did this, even if it is the last thing I do.”
That night Arwen and a group of women set out on the mission of finding and avenging Areleni.
“I do not like the thought of my wife traveling without a guard to protect her,” Aragorn said, pleading with his wife.
“Are you trying to tell me, Estel, that the women and I are incapable of protecting ourselves?”
Aragorn remained silent and looked at Arwen, ashamed that he had spoken. Arwen, repulsed by the remark from her husband, took off down the citadel. As she walked the other women filed in behind her, all of them with a determined look in their eyes.
“Arwen! Arwen!” Aragorn shouted while running after her, “I know you can take care of yourself…”
“I will, I promise. I vow on my own life, I will return to you.”
Then King Elessar kissed Arwen on her forehead. At that moment, to all the other men and women around, he was revealed as Aragorn. Not as a king, but a man full of love and compassion, as one of them. He did not seem superior, but represented everything that a man should be.
Arwen and the others had been gone for almost a day. They had made their way out of the city, following the Great River, headed for South Gondor. They figured this would be a more suitable place to search since it was mostly uninhabited. Aragorn was even more stressed out since his wife had left. Some strange things had been taking place at the Houses of Healing. The doors to the room where Areleni was being held were closed and locked every night. Though, in the morning, the doors had always been tampered with.
“Luckily, no one has broken in…yet,” Aragorn muttered to himself. He was staring at the doors with a puzzled look on his face. “I do not understand it,” he said, “Who would want to secretly break into Areleni’s room?” One of the Chief of Guards was walking passed Aragorn, “I want you to stay outside this room tonight,” he said, abruptly stopping the guard. The man nodded and continued on his way.
Aragorn went to bed that night feeling secure about the safety of his daughter. The guard stationed himself outside Areleni’s bedroom, as ordered. Hours had passed by without any disturbances. Then the guard thought he heard the shuffling of feet. Since he could not see anyone or anything around him, he thought it was just his mind deceiving him. He was wrong. The handles of the stone doors made a groaning sound; they had been unlocked. Then the doors started to open…further and further.
Aragorn was tossing and turning in his sleep; he was having a nightmare. In his dream it was almost entirely dark, except for one thing. He thought he could make out what looked like a pale face coming towards him. Aragorn tried to wake up and scream, but nothing happened. He saw Saruman’s face, the man whom he thought was dead. Then the face began to speak.
“Hello King Elessar! Do you remember me?” Aragorn could not speak. “Haven’t you realized that you are losing control of your own kingdom? You do not know what is happening this very moment do you,” the face gave Aragorn a huge smile, “why the doors have been unlocked?”
Aragorn jumped out of bed and started running towards Areleni’s room. There he found the doors wide open and the guard passed out on the floor. He looked inside the room and found that Areleni was gone, and he also found a piece of black cloth with a white hand on it. This was the last trademark ever used by Saruman.
“This is impossible… Saruman was killed…”
A DREAM COME TRUE
Arwen was pacing the floor, which she had been doing for the past hour. There had been no developments since Areleni had been brought back. This was the saddest moment in her life… the loss of her own child.
“Where is she?” she whined with an impatient tone. Suddenly, horses’ hooves could be heard on the streets outside. This sound brought hope back into Arwen’s heart. Aragorn ran out of the room towards the front gate to investigate the situation. What he found outside would greatly impact his life. A man’s voice was yelling:
“I found her, but no one was around; she was abandoned.”
In his arms was a small figure wrapped tightly in white cloth. The man pulled back the fabric to reveal a sight that would never be forgotten. A pale, lifeless face was shown. The clothes on the young girl were torn and small spots of blood could be found on the palm of her hand. The only peculiar thing was that the blood was in the shape of a star, which was quickly dismissed. It was their daughter, but in a condition that they never wanted to see her in.
“Take her to the Houses of Healing immediately!” Aragorn demanded. Arwen rushed towards him.
“What has happened?” she asked sympathetically.
“Areleni has been found and taken to be healed.”
“Is she hurt; is she in danger?” There were tons of questions, but only one that she dreaded to ask. “Is she alive?” Tears started to fill her eyes.
“I am not sure.” This was the worst thing next to death that could have happened to two of them.
Aragorn and Arwen slowly walked towards where their daughter was being held. She was lying on a huge bed draped with white blankets and concealed with curtains. The old wives of the house could be seen rushing back and forth tending to Areleni. One of them came up to Arwen.
“You should be very grateful to whomever found her. Within an hour…” her voice trailed off.
“Will she be okay?” Arwen asked.
“She is still alive if that is what you mean, but when we call her name she does not answer. She does not even move. We have never seen anything like this before,” answered the woman.
“Does she have a fever?”
“No. Surprisingly, she is very cold. Just touching her can give you a chill. No matter how many blankets or warm cloths we give her, she still feels like ice. It is as if her body does not want to respond to anything we do.”
“Do you know how to heal her?”
“No. The herb-master does not know of a precise medicine. Nothing he tries seems to be strong enough, not even the athelas. Again, King Elessar and Queen Arwen, you are very fortunate.” She walked away and sat on the bed next to Areleni and put another blanket over her.
“Who was the gracious person that found our daughter? I would like to thank him.” Arwen said to her husband.
The two of them walked back in the direction of the place where their daughter was returned to them. There they found a tall figure clad in bright white-colored robes. He was surrounded by almost the entire population of Gondor.
“Thank you for finding my daughter. How can I ever repay you?”
“Nonsense, for it was a reward it itself to have helped you in your time of need,” he replied.
“Then may I at least know the name of the man I am grateful to?” The stranger remained silent and hoisted himself upon his horse.
“You will know in time.” Then he and his horse sped off and out of the Gate of the City.
It had been about two days since Areleni had been brought back to Minas Tirith. Her conditioned had not improved, but one major thing had been frequently occurring. The wounds on her hand had not fully healed. In fact, the star-shaped cuts seemed to be faintly glowing. They were giving off a black-looking light! The herb-master was puzzled. Regardless of how many healing herbs or bandages he applied, the wound refused to heal. Aragorn and Arwen stayed with their daughter as long as they were possibly able to and did everything in their power that they could do to help.
“It is as if the wound does not want to be healed. The more bandages that are applied, the brighter and stronger the light!”
Arwen was lying next to her daughter on the bedside.
“I want to find out who did this to Areleni, to my daughter! I am leaving tonight to find out who did this, even if it is the last thing I do.”
That night Arwen and a group of women set out on the mission of finding and avenging Areleni.
“I do not like the thought of my wife traveling without a guard to protect her,” Aragorn said, pleading with his wife.
“Are you trying to tell me, Estel, that the women and I are incapable of protecting ourselves?”
Aragorn remained silent and looked at Arwen, ashamed that he had spoken. Arwen, repulsed by the remark from her husband, took off down the citadel. As she walked the other women filed in behind her, all of them with a determined look in their eyes.
“Arwen! Arwen!” Aragorn shouted while running after her, “I know you can take care of yourself…”
“I will, I promise. I vow on my own life, I will return to you.”
Then King Elessar kissed Arwen on her forehead. At that moment, to all the other men and women around, he was revealed as Aragorn. Not as a king, but a man full of love and compassion, as one of them. He did not seem superior, but represented everything that a man should be.
Arwen and the others had been gone for almost a day. They had made their way out of the city, following the Great River, headed for South Gondor. They figured this would be a more suitable place to search since it was mostly uninhabited. Aragorn was even more stressed out since his wife had left. Some strange things had been taking place at the Houses of Healing. The doors to the room where Areleni was being held were closed and locked every night. Though, in the morning, the doors had always been tampered with.
“Luckily, no one has broken in…yet,” Aragorn muttered to himself. He was staring at the doors with a puzzled look on his face. “I do not understand it,” he said, “Who would want to secretly break into Areleni’s room?” One of the Chief of Guards was walking passed Aragorn, “I want you to stay outside this room tonight,” he said, abruptly stopping the guard. The man nodded and continued on his way.
Aragorn went to bed that night feeling secure about the safety of his daughter. The guard stationed himself outside Areleni’s bedroom, as ordered. Hours had passed by without any disturbances. Then the guard thought he heard the shuffling of feet. Since he could not see anyone or anything around him, he thought it was just his mind deceiving him. He was wrong. The handles of the stone doors made a groaning sound; they had been unlocked. Then the doors started to open…further and further.
Aragorn was tossing and turning in his sleep; he was having a nightmare. In his dream it was almost entirely dark, except for one thing. He thought he could make out what looked like a pale face coming towards him. Aragorn tried to wake up and scream, but nothing happened. He saw Saruman’s face, the man whom he thought was dead. Then the face began to speak.
“Hello King Elessar! Do you remember me?” Aragorn could not speak. “Haven’t you realized that you are losing control of your own kingdom? You do not know what is happening this very moment do you,” the face gave Aragorn a huge smile, “why the doors have been unlocked?”
Aragorn jumped out of bed and started running towards Areleni’s room. There he found the doors wide open and the guard passed out on the floor. He looked inside the room and found that Areleni was gone, and he also found a piece of black cloth with a white hand on it. This was the last trademark ever used by Saruman.
“This is impossible… Saruman was killed…”
