Almarëa

Eye of the Storm

Evertyhing happened so fast, she could not fully comprehend what was happening around her. It was as if something had taken complete possession of her body, her senses suddenly sharper than ever before. The arrow flew through the cold night air, and she could hear the wind's sharp cry as the arrow cut bitterly through it. She could hear the loud wind, screeching, burning through her veins as if her eyes could almost see it parting to make space for the arrow. It called her with a strength she could not fight, ringing inside her head.

She could feel the air around her as she never had before, in that split of a second, it suddenly became incredibly clear, like thin transparent lines filling the entirety of the hallway. Its loud cries bounced inside her head, threatening to split her skull in half, and in that split second she succumbed to the call, feeling a strange force take control of her entire body. She never knew what happened exactly, but at that moment it felt so obvious, so clear, so natural. She had never seen anything as clear as she could see the cold wind at that moment, suddenly reachable to her, tactile and visual. The transparent lines of the wind suddenly shifted, opening a new path for the cutting arrow, deviating it.

As quickly as the cries had reached her ears, burning through her, they were gone, the transparent lines she had seen before her eyes suddenly vanished. A hollow sound echoed in the cold stone walls as the arrow grazed Tadion's side, landing flatly some distance behind them. Nobody moved. All she could hear was her trembling, shocked breathing, her heart drumming loudly, attempting to jump out of her chest. Tadion's eyes were wide, disbelieved clear blue irises staring at the trembling dark haired elf in front of him. But there was something else in his shocked, wide eyes. Confusion. The dying echo of Lossenel's cry bounced on the stone walls, a high-pitched ghost petrifying every single elf to their place. The smell of fresh crimson blood reached her nostrils instantly, making her stomach feel tight and sick, her entire body frozen.

Amrudir did not move, his slender body still shaking visibly, sick mad eyes as wide and irrational as before, burning with fear and incomprehension. The long wooden bow trembled in his unsteady grip, still held in upright position, although he made no attempt to reach for a second arrow. And yet his face was as shocked as all of theirs, crazed eyes staring at Tadion with a sickening combination of madness and disbelief. Not even he could believe he had shot.

Her brother's pale hand travelled to his side, where the arrow had cut a long gash through his skin. She saw him lifting his bloodied palm to his eyes, the crimson liquid staining his fingers as his eyes stared at it distantly, attempting to conjure reality. Then, his eyes lifted in the direction of the elf in front of him.

"You missed."

Tadion's voice was calmed, detached, as if he were commenting on the weather, his eyes still shocked, paralyzed. He stood there, unmoving, one bloodied hand floating in the air before his eyes, giving no hint that he could even feel the bleeding wound on his right side. The loudening echo of approaching footsteps bounced on the cold solid stone, and yet no one moved. Amrudir remained facing Tadion, shaking violently, eyes wide. Then, without warning the elf let go of the bow, the weapon dropping unceremoniously to the floor, Amrudir's eyes staring at it as if it had burnt his hands.

For the first time she noticed that both Legolas and Arahaelon had jumped out of their hiding place, bow in hand, each pointing an arrow in the crazed elf's direction. But Amrudir did not seem to have noticed them yet. The footsteps were coming closer now, almost over them, and she caught sight of Elrohir shifting impatiently in front of Lossenel. Elladan was standing firmly in front of her, silver eyes staring directly at the front, attentive, and for the first time she became aware of his hand tightly gripping her forearm behind him, as if ready to pull her with him at any sudden necessity.