The Exile's Daughter

The Growing Shadow

I thumped to the ground yet again with a gasp, drawing my limbs into my chest as Glorfindel had taught me and rolling away. The horse above me snorted and he jumped down to soothe him. "Stretch if you can, check for anything that hurts, then sit up slowly", He called out to me, turning and speaking softly to the horse I had so ungracefully and unintentionally dismounted.

Elrond's captain had been helping me for the past few days, since Aragorn had left Rivendell for a while to aid the sons of Elrond. Legolas had elected to stay in Rivendell with me, after making sure Aragorn had all the help he needed. He was protective of his mortal friend, and I knew them to be as close as brothers. However, in that moment he was dismounting and rushing over to me, all thoughts of Aragorn's mission driven from his mind. "Are you alright?"

"Fine" I answered, half a groan in my voice when my bruised upper arm gave an awkward twinge. Legolas brushed his fingertips against it, and I tried not to wince.

"Is anything else hurting? That was a much worse fall than the others."

"I think it's just my arm" I muttered, wishing that he wouldn't pay quite so much attention to my injury. It was smarting enough to bring tears to my eyes. Legolas' kindness only served to increase the urge to let them spill.

Willing myself to feel nothing, I sat up slowly. Legolas put a hand on my back to steady me slightly. He looked me over, noting the patch of mud on my left thigh and the smear on my cheek.

We'd moved on, a few weeks previously, to using real blades, which was nerve-wracking at first. Seeing that sharp steel rushing towards me even made me freeze sometimes, as the old wound in my leg seemed to smart once again. Every time this happened, Legolas and Aragorn would drop their weapons immediately and reassure me with words and gentle touches that I was in no real danger yet. Legolas had even questioned once or twice whether I would be able to cope in a situation where I really was in danger given what I'd been through, but I brushed him off, saying that I would get used to it, even though I did not truly believe my own words. As it happened, however, I was right, and I grew accustomed to the sight of sharp swords coming towards me, and learned how to parry their blows, using my fear to defend against those blades that assailed me.

Once I mastered this, I had thought that learning to fight on horseback would be no harder than the gruelling few months that had gone by. However, the last two days were proving me very wrong. The strength it took to strike a good blow while controlling a living, breathing animal at the same time was proving harder than anything else I had trained in. Falling, too, was more dangerous and painful on horseback.

Furthermore, I had insisted on learning to ride elf-fashion; a decision I heartily regretted. Elves rarely rode with a  saddle or bridle, so I thought it would serve me best if ever I was caught unawares and needed to mount up for battle quickly. Legolas had spent days endlessly attempting to persuade me I was doing well, and I would get used to it with time. Though his unfaltering support was a comfort, I could not see that he would be proved right.

I knew still that I must fight alongside men, pay the heavy debt my father had set, but I had no idea just how difficult it was going to be. I was exhausted and constantly aching. Having confided in Legolas, he had said that this was normal and would go away after a while but learning all of these things was certainly a challenge.

However, it did distract me from the terrible weight of grief, which I thought now would never really fade. I still felt, in the deep darkness of night, that sharp pain in my lungs, and I could barely breathe from the agony of it, but in the mornings, I would get up and fight, and it would melt away for a while.

I looked up as Glorfindel came towards us. He pushed down firmly on my thigh, then my cheek. "Does that hurt?" he asked. I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak as my arm throbbed. He moved his long-fingered hand towards it, and I gritted my teeth, having barely a second to collect myself before he pushed on the exact spot where I had fallen just a moment before.