All Who Wander Are Not Lost

Chapter 18

T.A. 2941-April

She walked the halls of her father's house like a fantom, nodding to those who passed her, but not paying attention to any comments that were made to her. Her eyes were distant, searching, glazed over and glassy. Her mind was focused on places far away, looking for a certain figure, one which she had not heard from in many years time. She had spent many nights sitting in her room before her window, eyes closed, a copper glow surrounding her like pixie dust in the moon light. But the person did not seem to want to be found, or they were dead. She had only begun to have an inkling of worry when the letters or notes stopped coming, but assuming that they had just gotten lost, or were still making their way to her, she had let it slide. Nothing had ever come. In her heart she knew that once she had stopped receiving the missives that she should have been worried. It had been too long, and the worry had started to eat at her. Mariam had never been like this.

Turning the corner, she found herself face to face with her two brothers. Nearly toppling over, she caught on to Elrohir's sleeve in attempts to keep her balance. Righting herself, she looked up into their faces wondering where they had come from.

"What is this?" Elladan asked, helping her steady herself.

"Our warrior sister unaware of her surroundings?"

Smoothing her tunic, then dusting off the nonexistent dust, she replied,"No, just distracted."

"By whom?" An Ellon?" Elladan teased giddily.

"No," she shook her head, rolling her eyes,"I-

"Because if it was, I'm going to have to go have a talk with him," Elrohir stated seriously, crossing his arms and looking around and glaring at the ellons within the hallway sternly. No one would be getting anywhere close to his sister while he still lived and breathed.

"Its not an ellon, so get a grip! I'm just worried about Mariam," she growled testily.

"Why? She's a big girl, she can take care of herself without you looking over her shoulder all the time."

"I haven't heard from her in over five years, there's been no letters, notes, or messages through the birds from her. I can't even feel or see her fea!"

"She was always good at hiding, why wouldn't she be good at hiding her fea from you? Maybe she wants some time on her own, learning things through experience?"

"I know she's good at hiding, which worries me, because I don't know if she's hiding or if she's dead. What if she's been hurt? Captured? or taken advantage of?" she began to panic, the worry consuming her,"I would never know, I would never know! What if I could have done something? saved her? protected her?"

"Stop worrying about the 'what if's'. It serves you no purpose staying up at night and worrying, which I know you have been, and stressing over things you have absolutely no control over."

"She's practically my daughter, even if I did not beget her, I can't seem to help it!"

"Sometimes the best thing that you can do is not think, not wonder, not imagine, not obsess. Just breathe, and have a little faith that everything will turn out right, Thennil. You did teach her many of the things that she knows, she'll be fine," Elrohir stressed, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly.

"She's a fighter, have some faith in her skills," Elladan chuckled,"I don't think that if she went down, she'd go down easy."

"Aye, you're right," she laughed forcibly,"I just tend to overthink things when it comes to her."

Her brother's hugged her, watching as a smile came to her face, the worry slipping away from her features, but not from her eyes. It saddened them that she couldn't take her mind off of the young woman out wandering the wild somewhere. It did not age her body, but it could be seen in her brilliant sapphire eyes. The followed her form down the hall with their eyes, seeing her come to a stop looking over the mountains to the west, eyes squinting at the paths that led down into the valley.