𝔏𝔬𝔯𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔩𝔳𝔢𝔰

ℭ𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔗𝔴𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔶-𝔒𝔫𝔢

I don't know why I thought cold water would clear my head. I shoot out of the water. I pull my arms over my head. How am I supposed to deal with this? My father has never told me I had an older brother. Looking at what he had become, will I become like that? Twisted and condemned to the darkness? It's a fate worse than death. I splash the cold water onto my face.

It isn't helping as much as I had hoped it would. I pull my hair back as it sticks to my body from the water gripping it. My breath feels like a violent storm. My heart was pounding far more than I had ever felt. I need to pull myself together. I dunk the back of my head into the water. I see the clouds up above. The light of the sun. But I still feel the shadow. I hear a noise. A sniffle of some sort. 

I turn my head.  A fawn alone in the world.  Is it waiting for its mother? I know that feeling. My mother died when I was young. A young warrior waiting for my mother's return. Days went by. Days turned to weeks. Weaks turned to month. After three years I lost hope of seeing her fare madden hair and her rosy, white cheeks. Later I learned she was slaughtered by orcs who have probably tortured her beyond belief. It looks so small. It was all curled up. It lifts its head slightly and looks at me. His eyes were young and black. I just stare at it. It turns his head slightly and curls up tighter. I let out a breath.

"Can I join you?" Aragorn asks coming up from behind the rocks.