The soft breeze rustled the leaves off the tall trees in the small village of Arrowhaven, the grass waving in its gentle wake. The stone walk way had been freshly swept it seemed, not a speck of dirt on its surface.
The hunter walked across the pathway, his boots quietly thumping across the stone. His gait was swift as he cradled the quiver of arrows he had plucked from the goblin corpses. He carefully reached for the knob and gave it a twist, opening the door and walking inside with pause.
He smiled as he walked in, the mix of aroma's filling his nostrils as entered the halls, hers among them. Pausing for a moment, he looked around in the main hall, his eyes slowly looking about the room. She was not in this room, but she was near, he could feel it. The hunter paused and looked into the small hallway, noting the faint crackle of a fire, slowly making his way towards the source.
There she sat, staring quietly into the fire. She was quiet and seemed deep in thought, he wondered for a moment if she even heard him come in.
"So I come to deliver a package, and this time it is I who catches you off guard?"
He smiled widely as he watched her stand quickly, looking to him with a lowered head.
"They say say that is one of the many perils of memory; getting lost in the vastness of its halls."
The smile grew on his face, he understood how deep the halls of both the mind and memory were. "What were you thinking of that pulled you so deep?"
Her cheeks turned pink as her gaze turned elsewhere.
"Loved ones..."
The hunter laughed as he turned and leaned down to set the bundle of arrows beside the door frame and taking a few steps towards her, his eyes looking over her face and arms, making sure she was healing okay. "I'm sure Dwimmer missed you, as did the Lady. How are your arms?" He asked, trying to hide the fact that he had missed her greatly as well. Her eyes held a light they had not borne before, they were full of emotion as always, but there were emotions there that had not been seen before. He felt his lips pull back in a wide smile. "I brought you the arrows we left behind, I know they are precious to you."
Fairlain looked to him with a smile, then to her arrows. "That was very kind of you. I did not properly thank you for returning me to the Inn, I am grateful, you have my thanks." She spoke as she bowed, to him. Cynraede paused for a moment, unsure of what to do. No one had ever bowed to him before, he felt he was never worthy of such. He simply bowed in return to her, then returned to his full stature.
For a moment, the hunter tilted his head and looked to her face, something was different about her but he could not place it. Something about her had changed, something about her was different since the last time they truly met, and he saw her ride away to the vast forests of Lorien. It was her hair, it was shorter than last they met, though it still maintained its lush beauty.
"Your hair, it is shorter since last we met."
Fairlain looked to him with a curious gaze, those deep sapphire blue eyes meeting his. He feared for a moment as she gripped the arrows tighter and took a step back, her eyes were as a deer who had just realized that she had been spotted, and he wondered if she would dart away as such. She spoke softly, yet in a curious tone.
'My hair?"
"Yes, it's different since I saw you last..." He looked her over carefully, seeing if anything else had changed. She still bore the scratches and cuts upon her arms from the goblins, but nothing serious. Perhaps he would pay their encampment a visit one day soon. He suppressed a smile, remembering the bodies she left behind. Perhaps he would not have to go visit them, after all, a field filled with their dead is message enough not to mess with a she-elf.
Her eyes drifted for a moment, filling with memory yet again. Though he could see plainly, what memories were swimming through her head. For but a moment, the shrills and cries from the plain of the dead filled his head once more, screaming and howling into the bleak nothingness that could only be described evil incarnate. It was pushed away by a beam of light as he looked to her eyes once more and felt the deep blue eyes peering back to him. "I did not realize you remembered that..." She spoke softly.
"In Rivendell, before you you continued on your journey."
She shot him a look, one he had seen several times before from his princess. "I remember the journey well, and crossing the Bruinen ...and feeling more of its waters than I would have liked." The hunter laughed, looking to her with a warm gaze. "You had much on your mind, and I wished to take you're mind from it for but a few moments." He spoke softly as he started to smile widely.
Fairlain gave a gentle snort and raised a brow. "One does not choose what burdens the heart, I do not see how you planned on washing it away with water!" The cross look he had seen many, many times before she took her trip to Lorien was still upon her face. He knew it was futile to continue, and he was more intelligent than to continue digging himself into his own grave. He raised his hands, palms facing her with a gentle smile. "You win." The jovial look from his face disapearing quickly as his expressions became serious and calm.
"I have not forgotten the cave in Eregion, and though my memory plays pieces over in my mind, I do not remember it all. I was in the midst of death, fear and darkness itself." He spoke softly with his head lowered as he reached into his tunic, pulling the stone from under his armor and holding it in his hand. "I woke from what I can only describe as what felt like death, to find this around my neck." Her eyes shone as she stared at the stone with beaming smile. "Dwimmer fashioned that stone."
The woman looked down, her cheeks rosy red as she pulled the arrows to her tightly as she continued. "You were so far away from us, you did not seem to be in this world. Nothing we said would shake whatever you were under, I did not know what else to do, I thought it might help..."
Cynraede shut his eyes as he remembered the darkness inside the cave, the chill running down his spine as if someone had put a piece of ice down his tunic. He remembered the cave far better than he wished to, but the nightmares had stopped. "I heard one voice, calling me. I felt as if I was here, but somewhere else. Somewhere dark, and evil. I heard you, but when I called out, you did not answer. My mind was not my own, I beg your forgiveness."
Fairlains eyes began to shimmer as tears slowly crept from her eyes as she spoke quietly. "There is nothing to forgive... I am glad the darkness did not take you..." The hunter smiled and tilted his head, his eyes meeting hers. "Twice, you have saved me from darkness."
Fairlain looked down for a moment and pondered quietly for a moment before raising her head and meeting his gaze once more. "Twice?" She asked curiously, her mind wondering, returning her attention to him as he spoke up.
"Before If found you, I was sent by the Lady herself to dispatch someone." Fairlain nodded as she continued to listen to him speak, holding the quiver tightly, almost hugging it. "He claimed he owned you, he wished to take you back. I do not regret taking his live, nor will I ever." He finished as his features grew dark and grim, remembering the fight as if it had just happened. Fairlain just looked to him quietly, after a moment she whispered, "There is only One who could ever claim to own me...and he is beyond any man. The one you sought was eaten by his own pride and he was cruel but he was no more than that...."
Cynraede tried to force a reassuring smile as he replied. "You do not have to fear anymore, Alkawen has his head." She stood there, hugging the arrows to her as she smiled sadly, he was unsure as to why. He smiled as a thought came to mind, looking to her with a cheery grin. "Interestingly enough, I received a letter from a very good friend of mine." The woman's eyes glinted with curiosity as she asked him, "Who is your friend?" Cynraede felt a mischievous grin across his face. "I could tell you dear, but it is far more entertaining watching you wonder." There was the cross look again, those raised brows and deep blue eyes staring at him, even when she was upset, she was beautiful.
"I only jest. His name is Adunabel, and he spoke highly of you, it seems you left quite the impression on him." Fairlain nodded once and looked to him as her voice once more graced the room. "The white lady feared for him, he is well then? I do not know why I would have left such an impression on him..." Cynraede nodded in reply as he folded his arms across his chest and smiled. "He is well, yes. We do not forget the lights that save us from the dark."
The hunter looked down for a moment, whispering and hoping she did not hear him. "Courage, tell her..." Fairlain watched him quietly as she rested her cheek upon the bundle of arrows. "I spoke to someone, who gave me sound advice..." Fairlain raised a brow, and listened quietly.
Cynraede knelt before her, his head lowered as he spoke. Fairlain's eyes widening to that of dinner plates as she took several steps back, hugging the quiver even tighter, he was glad it was not a small woodland creature, lest it surely would have suffocated.
"Forgive me, and I pray you bear with me..." He told her quietly as he fought for his voice. He carefully pronounced the words, trying his best to say them correctly. "Gi mellin, Fairlain."
Tears filled her eyes as she dropped the arrows where he had originally placed them, dropping to her knees and placing her arms around him tightly as he placed his around hers, they sat in a loving embrace. She whispered softly, so only he could hear her words. "I love you too."
Cynraede smiled and held her tightly, whispering his reply. "You're the light that guided me through the darkness. You're the voice I heard, calling me home." Fairlain hugged him tightly, half laughing and half crying. She pulled away and leaned back, looking into his sea-colored eyes and whispering. "And now it is this sea that calls me home." She leaned forward slowly, and placed a loving, tender kiss upon his lips.
