When Fate Strikes

Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

I spent the rest of the day in the company of my brother, catching up on lost time and getting to know him, while he got to know me. I was fascinated to find out more about my long lost twin. When I asked him about himself he told me that he had grown up with adoptive parents until the age of 100, when he was taken into military training and taught to be a warrior by the very best. I could tell by the way that he talked that he had gone through life with an acceptance of his premeditated fate without being overly cocky or confident – maintaining a quiet modesty which drew people to him easily.

I was introduced to countless warriors, friends and suitors – it appeared that many of the young Elleths of Lorien would count themselves lucky to even make acquaintance with my handsome brother, although he was quite oblivious of his popularity among the Elleths. I, in turn, introduced Nathianeel to all the members of The Fellowship and told him of my friends back home in Rivendell. Eryn had joined in at that point of our conversation, and I was happy to see that any apparent distortion of his character had gone.

I was sitting with Eryn now, after last night sleeping with the rest of The Fellowship, gathering and preparing my things for the journey tomorrow. Suddenly in my medicine bag I came upon the small envelope that Seth had given me, all that time ago. Gasping slightly I reached for it and clasped it in my hand. I can't believe that I forgot about it! I felt a small, circular object in the envelope, and unable to stop my curiosity I tore into the envelope. Inside was a small, circular, silver token with a beautiful engraving of the word Faith in Sindarin Elvish calligraphy. I examined it under the light of the sun, and admired the elegance that was incorporated in the small object.

"That's beautiful." Eryn's voice startled me out of my speculation. I turned to look at him, and saw him pointing down at the discarded envelope. "There's a letter in there. I'll let you read it alone, I've got things that need attending."

I nodded once, before taking the parchment from the envelope. Just before I opened it, I frowned as the shadow of Eryn didn't move away. I looked up to see him still standing there, frowning in turn at me.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked. He startled as he realized he had been staring.

"Well no, it's just that, um. I don't know what to say to you anymore." My frown deepened.

"What do you mean, Eryn. I haven't changed." Frustrated, Eryn sat down in front of me again. He paused before he started talking again.

"Well, you kind of have changed. Maybe not in character but in, eh" He hesitated and I urged him to continue with a wave of my hand. He sighed. "In rank. You've changed in rank." He saw that I was about to interrupt and he hurried to say what was on his mind. "And I don't know what I'm expected to say or do or what I should be doing. I'm sorry Ireth, I know you haven't changed – I just need to know. How do I treat you now?"   

I sighed. I was afraid that the group would treat me different, but things seemed fine until now. The two men treated me no different, the new information they had gathered made no difference to how they saw me. Boromir still saw me as an inconvenience, well as much as I knew. And Aragorn, having his own high rank, didn't change – probably understanding of how annoying it would be for people to treat a seemingly normal Man, or Elf in my case, royal.