Broken Souls

A Meeting

Quiet sniffles and a shaky breath filled the silent room as Kiera curled together on her bed, clutching her sketchbook as she cried. It had been so long since she last had felt so betrayed and disrespected. She was hurt that Thranduil could keep up his façade of lies, he had taken her book without her consent and had not even told her the truth before she confronted him about the missing item. If she had not come on her own, what then? Had he simply continued to keep his little secret and study all her drawings further?

An embarrassed blush coated her cheeks as she hid her face in her pillow, aware that he had seen the many drawings she had made of him. There were too many times where she had snuck around in the shaded corners while she admired him, drawing every detail of him to the last hair strand. What now would he think of her, 'stalking' him so intensely that she could draw so detailed? She hoped he didn't think worse of her, although something else told her he most likely was.

It wasn't exactly wise of her to curse at him with such an attitude when he was the King himself, and she felt obliged to let the ground swallow her whole. Surely she would be sent away by now, kicked out of the palace never to return, and it broke her to think about. Kiera didn't know what it was, but over the time she had spent in the Woodland Realm, despite the many quarrels they had shared and the frustration she had had towards him ever since she arrived, she enjoyed spending time with him. She couldn't help but admire his beauty and she could feel her protective walls that she put around herself was very slowly crumbling away for him. She had felt it in the library.

It scared her. She didn't want to be vulnerable, and the more times she looked into those ice blue eyes, she wanted to step a little closer and gaze a little further into them and see what was hidden behind them. She sighed amidst her sniffling, pushing away all the emotions she couldn't understand and reminded herself again what he had done. Still, she knew she had to apologize for what she had said, otherwise it was clear she wouldn't be there to enjoy the halls much longer.

It felt so surreal to be a part of Middle Earth, to experience the Elvenking and his home in person, and something inside her questioned the whole ideal. She had grown up with the stories of the elves, dwarves, orcs, and many other races, of how a mere hobbit could have the most important impact on a whole world and the wars fought in it. Was it all a dream, or was she truly dead like she believed, sent here by her wish?

Her inner debate was suddenly jolted out of course when she felt a swiftly building pressure on her chest, crushing her torso as if her lungs had stopped working. "Not again-", Kiera choked out, grimacing as the pain stabbed at her insides and she squeezed her eyes shut. Quick and unsteady breaths escaped her lips, but every inhale left her in more pain, and she whimpered with strain.

It was so unexpected and sudden, she crumbled together, and she hated that she recognized the agony. It was far from the first time that this had happened, and it stemmed from Earth. She remembered it, vaguely, a sensation around the last phase in her time there, but it was far from this severe. She recalled only a twinkling feeling, a push or clench that lasted for a few seconds. But this, this was double the pain.

Kiera coughed as the pressure finally ebbed away again, sitting up to have better breathing space. She needed to figure out what this was, and how she would find these answers, and she needed them now. She frustratingly wiped away the tears soaking her skin and stumbled off the bed. Who or what could give her the understanding she needed?

Only one came to mind.

How is someone going to contact a god from a different world, she thought. She knew she had tried before, a ritual she had created during her time on Earth, although she had never succeeded despite her attempts. Yet it was her only idea and if anyone could answer the many questions she had about herself, it was the one being who supposedly brought her here. She could try and perhaps get to speak with Him, or she could fail in the attempt again and be left to figure it out on her own, if she ever would.