I stayed in Rivendell for a long while. I held no bitterness towards the elves of Rivendell. The only grudge I held was towards the elves of Mirkwood. Especially Thranduil. Gandalf would come and go as he pleased. He was always stopping in to check on me. The reason for my stay in Rivendell was I simply was not ready to return to my life. It was so full of pain and destruction. I needed time to heal, both mentally and physically. I was not completely stable. And though my wound was healed, I had grown quite weak. I was not as strong as I once was. I needed to become stronger, faster and more alert before I even thought of leaving. Everyone thought me dead anyway, so what harm could my absence cause now? I would return... in time. I thought to myself. But, for now, I needed to focus on building myself back up.
The elves trained me. I pushed myself as hard as I could. I caught on to their style of fighting rather quickly. Although, I still kept my dwarvish movements and combat style, the elves taught me to be quicker and more alert. I learned to sense everything around me. In order to do so, you have to take in everything around you. Everything you see and everything you do not. I learned to focus on my other senses as well. "You must learn to see without eyes." Golondir said to me. "Let your other sense take control. You must learn to feel the energy of your opponent. Once you can see without eyes, you will be ready." Golondir was my trainer. We eventually developed a friendship and I trusted him. We trained hard, day and night. Much to my advantage, elves do not sleep. So if I was awake, we were training. One day, we were training by a little river hidden deep within the forest. Golondir had vanished from my sight. He was hiding, training me for a surprise attack. I wanted to be prepared if something like that were to happen...again.
I looked all around me. I could not see him anywhere. See without eyes. His words echoed in my head. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I focused on the sounds that surrounded me. To my left I heard the water of the little river flowing over the rocks. I heard the birds singing in the trees above. I heard two squirrels chasing one another up and down a tree. I could picture it clearly in my mind. The wind blew and the leaves rustled and began to fall back to the ground. I heard each leaf touch the earth. I saw a little red leaf fall and land in my hair, then I felt it. I was doing it! I was envisioning my world around me without actually seeing it! Just then I heard the faintest breath from behind me and I ducked and spun myself gracefully into a crouched stance. Golondir swung his sword as if to behead me and I reached for the knife in my boot and kicked his legs from beneath him. Before he could blink, my knife was at his throat. He was breathing heavily and I was not even out of breath. He smiled at me and I smirked. "You have mastered the sword, but can you do the same with a bow?" We repeated the previous exercise, he hid and I meditated. Before I opened my eyes again, I took a step back and spun to my left and released an arrow. I heard it hit something, so I opened my eyes. Golondir was standing in front of a tree with his eyes wide and mouth hung open. My arrow had stuck in the tree, less than an inch from his throat. It pinned some his reddish brown hair into the bark of the tree. When he removed the arrow, some hair remained embedded in the bark. "You are ready." We retreated back to Rivendell where Golondir told Elrond of my progress.
"I'm glad you are returning to your previous glory, Roslina." He smiled at me.
"Thank you, my lord." I smiled. "Though I do wish I had my sais with me. I do not feel one hundred percent myself without them."
"Sais?" He repeated.
"Yes, my lord. They are my weapons. The are light, yet wield so much power. The are delicate, yet dangerous."
"I believe Gandalf brought them along when he brought you here. I assumed you would inquire about them if they held meaning. I will show you where to find them." He led me to his study and took a wooden case from one of his shelves and handed it to me. I opened it and was mesmerized. My sais were resting securely in a soft bed of green velvet cloth. They had been cleaned and polished. The white etchings stood out against the silver blades. They looked as beautiful as ever.
