The Forbidden Child

A Sad Parting

Eve stared at the ceiling as she thought of her decision. She could not possibly leave Broadacres. True, going with Strider, her father, would make all of her dreams come true and abolish her nightmares.

Her father? By the Valar, her father?

If she left, her mother would be heartbroken and would have to pick up the labor that Eve would usually do.

Her main concern was the loneliness. She could not leave Gwyndolyn, the woman who raised her, and person she still considered her mother, for the stranger Strider, father though he may be, who had done no parenting.

If Eve left knowing her mother was in such an unhappy state, she would never forgive herself.

At the crack of dawn, Eve woke and got out of bed to wake her mother. To her surprise, Eve looked for Gwyndolyn in an empty bed. She quickly shoved the crumpled letter from Strider under her straw mattress before she went outside.

Gwyn would sometimes go out in the wee hours of the morning and weed the garden she so loved.

When Eve opened the door, she practically stumbled over her mother who sat on the stoop, hair let down, with silent tears streaming down her face.

Eve knelt at her mother's feet and took her hand and kissed it. "Mother, why do you cry? All is well."

"But all is not well, Daughter. Are you not angry with me, after all I have kept from you?" Gwyndolyn inquired quietly.

Eve hesitated as she thought of her reply. "How did all of this come about?" she asked hoarsely, wrapping her shawl tighter around herself. The sky was a pale pink as the world arose from its midnight sleep.

"I was getting old, my time to bear children was running out, and one night a man showed up at my door. Ed spoke to the man that came. I was in such a depressed, unwell state that I was in bed for many weeks. The man that came was a Ranger too, like Strider. He had an infant with him, you, and told us he had been traveling such a long distance to find a suitable home for this little baby girl. I remember-" Gwyndolyn covered her mouth, obviously struggling through this.

She withdrew her hand, composing herself. "I remember getting out of bed or the first time in numbered days and taking you in my arms. I looked down at you and felt as though you were mine in that single instant.

"It was not until later when I thought of where you came from and of your mother and of your father and worried that maybe one day they would come and take you away."

Eve's mother seemed to slip into the distance, looking into the vast, pale sky.

Suddenly, she snapped back into it, looking at her fair and beautiful daughter. She put a loving hand on her daughter's cheek. "Oh, Eve. My gorgeous little girl Evie, I love you so much. I have always loved you as though I birthed you myself."

There was a long, thoughtful pause before Gwyndolyn finally announced, "My child, I know your real desires and you must not extinguish them on my account. The world awaits you and an old widow such as me has no right to hold you back from that. Go."

"Oh, Mother, I could never," Eve replied instantly.

"No, you want to go. You do not want to hurt me but if you live the rest of your life in misery it will kill me."

Eve knew there were more pressing matters to be addressed but the one that was on her mind could not be ignored any longer. It was a few moments before she asked, "Why did you not tell me?"

Gwyn squeezed her daughter's hand and whispered, "I did not want to lose you."

"You would not have lost me then and you will not lose me now," Eve replied, pulling her old mother in a warm embrace.

Gwyndolyn refused to cry anymore but let herself hold her daughter, remembering how small she used to be.

That moment could not have lasted long enough, even if it was hours long. It shattered Gwyndolyn's heart when she pushed her daughter away, murmuring the word, "Go."

Eve froze, still reluctant to leave.

Gwyndolyn pressed her daughter's hand. "Go! Go or else I will die of a broken heart, I swear it. You must learn who you are. You have disobeyed and rebelled against me your whole life so by now you should know you cannot win a fight against this old crow."

Eve gulped, eyes burning, and so she turned away from her mother to go back into the house and pack whatever she could find as well as change into suitable attire. She moved slowly.

Gwyn softly grabbed Eve by the wrist and looked into her daughter's grey eyes, offering her a weak smile. "And Eve, be safe."

Eve wet her lips nervously. "Of course, Mother. I will come and visit."

It was a lie that neither one of them believed.

-

Strider was buttoning his tunic when a knock came to his door. He was in an unpleasant mood after his encounter with Eve and Gwyndolyn the night before.

At first, he was furious. He had spent years trying to find Eve and her adopted mother would not hear a single word he had to say. Even though she was his daughter.

Then, later, he realized that neither of the two really had a reason to listen to a word he said. Father though he may be, Strider was a complete stranger to them both. The burning love he had for Eve was only one directional. She had no reason to return it.

So, when a knock came on the door for the second time in the early hours of the morning, Strider stamped to the door, roaring, "I told you I need no assistance today, good sir!" He threw it open and was surprised to see Eve standing there, shouldering a pack, with her grim expression matching his own.

Astonished, Strider stuttered out the obvious, "You came."

"And not on your account," Eve added snottily, shoving her bag into Strider's chest and tearing into his room. She took her stance standing beside his bedside, arms folded over her chest. "Now, where are we going?"

Strider blinked. "Well, I figured we could go back to my home, to begin your training."

Eve arched her eyebrow. "Training?"

"You have Dunedain blood in your veins, so yes, training."

"Understood," Eve said slowly. She did not seem to be as upset as she had been just barely a few minutes ago. Her words were sharp but her tone was soft as she told him, "I am here to discover who I am. I am not your daughter, my mother is Gwyndolyn Cavary and that makes me Eve Cavary. She is the one who sent me here."

"Did you not read my letter?" Strider inquired.

Eve did not open her mouth.

"Then you would know that your future was out of your mother and I's hands. Regardless of your choice at this point, your life will be a harsh one. You need not make it harder by pretending I abandoned you. I fought like hell for you and it took me sixteen years to track you down here. Your ultimate choice here is not really whether you stay or go. Rather, it is if you accept your true identity or keep living your faulty life here."

Eve was silent.

Strider softened, dropping his defensive stance as he considered this terrified, trembling young woman in front of him. "Eve, you have a mother who loves you out there. I love you. All I want for you is to be who you truly are. You need not be afraid. I understand the circumstances are rather odd but I find myself hoping you will consider me a true father to you one day."

Eve sniffed, dragging a grubby sleeve across her face. "I will meet you in the stables," she said tersely. She exited the room, slamming the door behind her.

Strider, though, was not winded. Eve may be upset but she had made the decision to come with him and so he had hope that one day they would be on very good terms.