Shadow of Light (Uruk-Hai x She-Elf)

Utgal

Her eyes slowly opened as the early morning rays of light filled the silent room. She wasn't exactly sure what time it was, but as tired as she was, she could have just slept straight through one day and into the next. She carefully propped herself up, drowsily passing her hand over the sheets beside her. She found nothing. Instantly, the fog of sleep left her brain as she frantically searched about herself, tossing sheets and pillows, but nothing; the child was gone. "Dani?" she questioned looking up, but Dani was nowhere to be seen. "Dani!?"

She quickly stood from the bed, but as the pain hit her, she lost her balance and had to catch herself on the bed. "Dani!!" she yelled, clambering her way to the door, but before she could reach it, the door opened, and a confused Dani stepped in.

"My lady? My lady! What are you doing!? You can't be out of bed, you are not well!!" she exclaimed, running to Elayin and supporting her.

"Where is he!?" she demanded.

"My lady, please, you'll hurt yourself!" she reasoned.

"Tell me where he is!!" she barked. Dani was quiet for a moment, staring at her with a look of concern before she calmly walked out of the room, and came back carrying the small bundle. Elayin quickly took him, holding him close as she heaved a sigh of relief.

"You were sleeping, so I took him into another room so he wouldn't wake you and you wouldn't roll over on him in your sleep." she explained, taken aback by the harshness of Elayin's tone. Elayin slowly sat back down on the bed cradling the little creature, looking curiously at his surroundings, trying to work out why he'd been moved. Taking a moment to calm down, she looked back to Dani.

"Sorry, Dani. I just..." she trailed off, not sure what to say.

Dani nodded. "I understand." she said as she closed the door. "Now, please lie down." she said as she lead her back to bed. Elayin sat at the headboard, resting the child in her lap.

"Dani," Began Elayin. Dani looked to her patiently. "can you promise me that, for the time being, you will tell no one about this?" Dani opened her mouth, then closed it and simply nodded.

"Of course, my lady."

"Thank you." she said softly. Dani sat on the edge of the bed, looking at her in mingled curiosity and worry. She was quiet, looking as though she wanted to ask a thousand questions, but she said nothing for a long time.

Then, she finally asked, "What is his name?" His name? Oh... Right... She'd never stopped to think about it in all the journeying. But he couldn't just be 'the child' forever. So what should his name be? Traditionally, the father would give the first name, and the mother would give another, but Ghash was hardly there to contribute. Well, she supposed she could switch the order and give him her name first. But what? Usually, the first name is based on the father's, but she wasn't certain how to go about that with an Uruk name. She'd have to think for a while. 

"I don't know..." she muttered, a little embarassed at the admission, but Dani didn't press her. She looked up to her. "Do you understand now why I had to leave?" she asked.

"I... I believe so." answered Dani. "What will you do?" she asked.

Elayin was quiet for a moment before saying, "Im not sure... I guess it depends on what happens next. But I knew this isn't what Mother would have expected, and certainly not what she would have wanted." she murmured. "And I suppose you." she added.

Dani thought for a moment before standing from the bed. "It's not my place. My duty is to help Lady Elena's daughter, and by proxy, her grandson." she said before stepping away. It was then that it hit her. This was her mother's grandchild. Elena was officially the grandmother of an Uruk child. She wasn't sure how to feel about it. She could only imagine what her mother would say. Or do... "Now, please, you need more rest." she urged. Elayin didn't feel like arguing. This time, she agreed with Dani. So she leaned back against the pillows, gently rocking the nodding babe as they both drifted to a light rest...

... "Reform the line!!" yelled the voice as the ground shook. Screams mingled harshly with the war horns, cracking the sky. "Make safe the city!!" The smell of blood: man, orc, and Uruk, filled the air. A strange stinging sensation. Then the fall. And he could hear it... "But so do you"...

His eyes suddenly shot open as he sat bolt upright. Where was he!? What was going on!? Where was the enemy!? Where was the king!? "Slow down, take it easy." said a calm voice. Following it back to a table at the foot of his bed, and beside a door, he saw Erengår, who sat on the edge of the small table, his leg propped, puffing on a mostly empty pipe. "You're a hard bastard to kill." he said with a light chuckle. Ghash quickly glanced about himself, realizing that he was sitting on a cot in the middle of the Gondorian ward, bandaged, and very much not dead.

"What happened?" he questioned, his voice coarse and gruff. "What happened to the Haradrem?"

"Gone, they're all gone. Just relax." said Erengår dismissively.

"And the king?" at this question, the man's head fell and he was quiet for a time.

"Fallen..." was the one word he spoke.

"Oh." said Ghash thoughtfully. "Who leads us now?" he asked.

"Well, I suppose Lord Eomer shall inherit the throne of Rohan. Lord Aragorn shall be king of Gondor once he is coronated. In the meantime, he is leading the armies of Gondor against Mordor." he explained.

"Mordor!? When do they leave?" he questioned.

"They already did, about four days ago. Today's the 21st." said the man.

"Damn it..." hissed Ghash as he tossed away the blanket and attempted to rise but had to catch himself on a table, which tensed his shoulder muscles, sending a sharp pain through his neck. "Skai!" he spat under his breath.

"I'd lie back down. You've been out for roughly five to six days. The lady was insistent that you eat and drink when you got up." said Eringår in a ton of disinterest. "You're lucky. Everyone else would have just left you out there, but the woman who tended to you has a good heart. Oh yeah, and me. Damn, you're heavy." he said with a chuckle. Ghash looked over his various bandages, pulling them off and examining his wounds. Dark and pale scars were scattered across his body; gnarled and broad, but healed. Even the one on his shoulder was mostly healed, even if it still needed time to heal underneath. Less than a week? Fast for human medicine. Hmm...

He slowly sat back on the cot and Erengår went back to his pipe. Ghash heaved a sigh, passing his hand over his eyes. Then he stopped. Only then did he notice that something was on his arm. A fine, pale chain with a slim, gleaming jewel hung wrapped around his wrist in stark contrast to his dark skin. He knew what this was. He knew this necklace... "If you wanted to eat, I doubt this place has any scrap meat or anything. Probably just porridge. Better hope you can survive with just that." muttered the man in amusement, but Ghash wasn't listening.

"This woman who healed me. Who is she?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh, right. Um, don't know to be honest. I think some of the others recognized her, but I never heard her name. There were two of them, two elven maidens." he answered.

"Did she say anything?" he pressed.

"Um... No, not particularly. I asked her why she decided to help you, but all she said was-"

"Pity..." interrupted Ghash with an amused smirk as he faced away from the man.

"Um... Yes, actually... Anyway, they're usually here, but I guess she wasn't feeling very well. She'll probably be back to boss the men about later." said the man casually.

"I have no doubt." muttered Ghash. Well go figure she'd figure out that he was still alive. She was a clever woman, if foolhardy. He had half a mind to ask where she was staying, but he didn't figure they would appreciate an Uruk asking the whereabouts of a young, elven women. Even without such questions, he doubted they would want him wandering about freely, regardless of his intentions. The only thing he could really do was wait till she returned to the ward, and if that failed, he would figure something out. For now, he had to wait, and hope they didn't send him to the dungeon before then. He didn't know how the war was fairing, and he didn't know what more he could do. So for now, it wasn't up to him, all he had to do, all he could do, was wait.