Forget me not

Chapter 20

I watched with delight as the days passed. There was something happening to our beloved Merewen. She was getting stronger again. She seemed to glow a little brighter every day, though some days she would fade more. We had returned to Lothlorien, though I wondered if she knew it. She would be happy to know we were safe with our kin and would not have to worry about pain or danger for a while.

Apparently, Legolas and his company destroyed the spiders’ nest and killed the queen. This was a cause for great joy among the people of Lorien. I rejoiced only a little, knowing that this was nothing if my friend left this world forever. I could not bear the thought of riding through the trees with the wind in my hair, if she was not trying to show me up by riding faster. I did not want to spend the night staring at the stars in the sky if she was not also looking. I knew that this was selfish. I knew that I should let her grieve, but I could not let her go. Neither could Haldir or Legolas.

This surprised me. Haldir knew her somewhat, but Legolas she had only just met. It seemed that his spending time with her, in her quarters, in the gardens, anywhere, was increasing his love to be with her. He enjoyed brushing her hair and feeding her. He did not bathe her unless someone else watched because he was frightened that if she awakened and found him there with her indecently clothed, that she would panic and fall farther into her coma than previously, but he did enjoy the little smiles she made as he cleaned her.

I watched from a distance. He was bonding with her, and no one could interrupt now, for it would be fatal. If he were to be ripped from her, or she from him, there would be nothing for her to live for. Legolas had to become her world. She had to trust him and love him entirely. She had to be with him and depend on him and he had to do what needed to be done to keep her alive. Until she could do anything on her own, he was her life support. If he was taken away, she would die.

I was uncertain if this would work. I hoped that it would. I hoped that Legolas could create a bond with Merewen so strong that she could come back, little by little and be happy again to be alive. Though there was little chance, I hoped.

No elf had returned from fading before. I had not heard of anything happening like this, but it was remarkable. Merewen was getting stronger, her skin more energized and less grey, and her light emitted from her became more intense. Things were looking up.

Days passed and my time was spent less with Haldir and more watching my friends, Legolas and Merewen, as they sat alone in the gardens. If they were alone in a bedchamber I did not spy, but I remained close so someone could contact me in case of… well, anything. Haldir saw this change in me, and I knew he worried that I worried too much. I could not comfort him, not let him disengage me from this activity because I was too wrapped up in matters with my friend.

I sighed now, as I watched Legolas with Merewen. She was pale again today, and I knew that this was one of the only times I would get in the next while to talk to Legolas. I had Haldir go and take his place with Merewen, talking to her, insisting that Legolas was close but was dealing with other matters as quickly as possible.

He approached me, and I smiled at him. I felt too old. I felt wiser than my age. I felt like I had been around for far too long and seen far too much. Legolas spoke first. “You wanted to see me.”

I was essentially the healer around here because no one else knew of something so serious as fading, where Elrond taught us a very little in the time we had studied with him. I nodded my head. “I have to talk to you about Merewen.”

We walked away from my love and my friend into the solitude of the garden. “I have not been totally honest with you. There is something else you must do to help Merewen recover. I realize it was unfair of me to ask this of you, but I hope you understand that I needed Merewen back. I was selfish, and I could not do this on my own. You were there; you could help. But more importantly, there was something I saw, a glow, a spark perhaps, that lay within you. There was something there that told me you were the only one who could help.”