Disclaimer: Except for a few characters such as Lorwen, Hélas, Isáviel and
some more to come in following chapters I own nothing of Middle Earth or any
of Tolkien's worlds or characters. I have no permission to use these
characters. This story was written this for enjoyment only.
Note: Any spelling errors or character errors are my mistakes. I do not know
everything of Middle Earth. So please forgive any mistakes that you might
find.
A Father's Tragedy
Chapter 1
"Look Ada, look at what I can do!" a little blonde girl's voice rang out, tearing the long blonde elf from his thoughts. He looked at the child and smiled to her, still not watching her with all his attention.
"Be careful now Lorwen," he said, as he watched her notching her bow and aim for a mark a few yards away. She was only a small child, not old enough to learn how to shoot arrows, so he didn't believe she would actually release it. She had showed him time after time that she was ready to, but he kept on telling her she was too young.
Haldir had taken the day off from work that today. In his more than a thousand years as a March Warden of Lorien he had hardly done that in the past, but ever since he took care of a little elven girl, he had taken several days, so he could spend time with her. Nobody did mind though. He always used to spend every day working, never having much time for anything else.
Sinking back into his thoughts, he didn't notice that Lorwen had released the arrow this time.
She never even found out if she had hit the mark she was aiming for, because the bowstring slammed into her left wrist. Tears sprang to her eyes but she made no sound. Ada had told her not to release the arrow many times before, and now she knew why. She kept her hand over the wound and ran back to her father, leaving the bow next to him as she ran towards the forest.
Tears were stinging in her eyes, and she wiped them away angrily. Her arm was hurting, but she did not want to go back to Ada and tell him what had happened. He would be angry again, she feared.
"It was my fault," Lorwen sobbed, "I should not have let the arrow go.".
She sat beneath a big willow tree and looked at her arm. The bowstring had cut her arm making the wound look like a half-cirlce. Luckily she hadn't used Garand's bow. Her bow was just a toy for young boys who liked to pretend they could shoot arrows. If she had used his bow, she might have cut a piece of her skin right off.
Garand was a boy that was old enough to learn with a real bow and he had promised to tell her everything he had learned. But he never let her use his bow. "To dangerous," he always said.
"Oh great, there's blood everywhere," she muttered. "Now he'll be mad at me for sure," Lorwen sobbed. She bound her handkerchief over the wound and huddled up into a ball, fearing what might come next. Still sobbing, the little girl fell asleep.
***********
Haldir stayed the whole afternoon seated in his chair on the porch of his flet. He liked the new accommodations he had received since Lorwen had come into his life. Before, he had lived much higher up in the golden tree, and it had only three rooms: a bathroom, a bedroom and a dining room with a small cookery. The Lady of the Wood had insisted that he take a larger one. Now he had two bedrooms, a living room, and a porch. The flets on the lowest branches had them and he most enjoyed it.
He used to sit on the porch in his stuffed chair overlooking the beautiful forest he had protected for most of his life. He loved watching the golden trees of Lorien. The silent rustling of their leaves seemed to calm him after a long and hard day of work. Being a March Warden sure was hard and exhausting, but over the years his body had adjusted to the hardships of his work.
Although Lorwen had changed much in his life, he still could not forget his work. When he came home, at all hours off the day, he kept thinking about his duties for the remainder of the day. Sometimes he lost track of time, and everything that happened around him, because of it.
***********
Lorwen had learned early that her father was easily distracted by his work and never pushed him. She had become quite good at keeping herself busy. She had asked him if she could go to school with the other children way before she was of age. And it appeared she did well, too. She was a smart girl and was always eager to learn, but she didn't stay with books alone.
One day Haldir had taken her with him when he went to work because he hadn't found anybody willing or capable of watching over her. It had been an easy day, mostly practising archery and fencing. She had become interested in it, and kept on asking if he would teach her. Unfortunately, for her, she was only 10 years of age, and that was even too young to go to school, so he would have nothing of it. He brought her home a toy bow and some arrows instead. That was all he wanted to do about it, for now.
***********
Suddenly he jolted from his thoughts as Isáviel placed her hand on his shoulder. She was a servant of the Lady and she brought the March Warden's and his daughter their meals as she did every night.
"My Lord, your dinner is served," she said with a smile. She almost always found him sitting there lost in his thoughts.
Haldir was shocked that the sky had already darkened. He had been sitting there all afternoon.
"Have you seen Lorwen?" he asked her.
"No I haven't my Lord," she answered.
"She'll be here soon," Haldir murmured and went inside, Isáviel following him.
"Thank you Isáviel," he said, as she walked for the door.
He walked to the table where the food was and looked at it, Lorwen's favorite. The food was getting cold, and Lorwen still hadn't arrived.
"Where is she? She has never stayed out his late before." Haldir mumbled to himself and paced up and down the dining room. The food was getting cold on the table and it was getting pretty dark outside.
"This is all because I didn't pay her any attention to her this afternoon. My one day off I get I must spend it thinking about how things are going without me," he went on. "She had looked so forward to this day, wanting to spend it all with me, and all I did was sit there and not even look at her." The more he paced, the angrier he got with himself.
He went outside looking for her, but even with his elven eyes he could not see her anywhere. Trying to decide what to do, he sat back down in the chair that he had been sitting in all afternoon. Suddenly, he noticed her bow and something else.
Picking up the bow, he saw that there was blood clinging to it. He stood up so quickly he thrusted his chair against the wall. He climbed down and hurried towards the barracks on the lowest level to his men. They all looked up at him in surprise at the way he had stormed into the room.
"You've got to help me," he said with a desperate look in his eyes. He showed them the bow he held in his hand. They all recognized the little bow and they also noticed saw the blood on it.
"She didn't come home this evening," Haldir stated with a worried voice. "She has never stayed out this late before. Something must have happened to her."
"You were off-duty this afternoon," his second in command, Hélas, told him. "Have you seen her leaving?
Haldir only shook his head. He had no idea where Lorwen might have gone. He was not paying attention to her at all and he felt another wave of sorrow come over him. He had neglected her.
Hélas put his hand his shoulder, and pinched it softly smiling at him.
"We'll find her," he said reassuringly. They all stood up and looked at him, silently waiting until he gave them his orders.
He quickly told him where he thought she might have gone and they set out to look for the young girl. Hélas and Haldir both went in the same direction, splitting up after a few minutes.
Haldir inwardly hoped nothing bad had happened to her, but seeing the blood on her bow really scared him. He then realised that he wasn't far from where she had been target practicing and decided to go there and see if he'd find anything there that might lead him towards her.
His eyes widened as he approached the target she had been aiming for. An arrow was still protruding from it.
"She really did release the arrow this time," he mumbled to himself. "That's why there was blood on her bow. Poor thing, it must have hurt really bad." He just hoped that the wound wasn't too bad, but where was she? What had happened? She should have come to him when she had hurt herself. Why did she not come to him?
He kept on asking himself questions he had no answers to until his eye fell on the arrow again. Despite of the worried feeling, he had to smile. She had hit the bull's eye of the mark. He couldn't help but feel proud. Now he was determined to teach her more about shooting arrows when he found her, that is.
some more to come in following chapters I own nothing of Middle Earth or any
of Tolkien's worlds or characters. I have no permission to use these
characters. This story was written this for enjoyment only.
Note: Any spelling errors or character errors are my mistakes. I do not know
everything of Middle Earth. So please forgive any mistakes that you might
find.
A Father's Tragedy
Chapter 1
"Look Ada, look at what I can do!" a little blonde girl's voice rang out, tearing the long blonde elf from his thoughts. He looked at the child and smiled to her, still not watching her with all his attention.
"Be careful now Lorwen," he said, as he watched her notching her bow and aim for a mark a few yards away. She was only a small child, not old enough to learn how to shoot arrows, so he didn't believe she would actually release it. She had showed him time after time that she was ready to, but he kept on telling her she was too young.
Haldir had taken the day off from work that today. In his more than a thousand years as a March Warden of Lorien he had hardly done that in the past, but ever since he took care of a little elven girl, he had taken several days, so he could spend time with her. Nobody did mind though. He always used to spend every day working, never having much time for anything else.
Sinking back into his thoughts, he didn't notice that Lorwen had released the arrow this time.
She never even found out if she had hit the mark she was aiming for, because the bowstring slammed into her left wrist. Tears sprang to her eyes but she made no sound. Ada had told her not to release the arrow many times before, and now she knew why. She kept her hand over the wound and ran back to her father, leaving the bow next to him as she ran towards the forest.
Tears were stinging in her eyes, and she wiped them away angrily. Her arm was hurting, but she did not want to go back to Ada and tell him what had happened. He would be angry again, she feared.
"It was my fault," Lorwen sobbed, "I should not have let the arrow go.".
She sat beneath a big willow tree and looked at her arm. The bowstring had cut her arm making the wound look like a half-cirlce. Luckily she hadn't used Garand's bow. Her bow was just a toy for young boys who liked to pretend they could shoot arrows. If she had used his bow, she might have cut a piece of her skin right off.
Garand was a boy that was old enough to learn with a real bow and he had promised to tell her everything he had learned. But he never let her use his bow. "To dangerous," he always said.
"Oh great, there's blood everywhere," she muttered. "Now he'll be mad at me for sure," Lorwen sobbed. She bound her handkerchief over the wound and huddled up into a ball, fearing what might come next. Still sobbing, the little girl fell asleep.
***********
Haldir stayed the whole afternoon seated in his chair on the porch of his flet. He liked the new accommodations he had received since Lorwen had come into his life. Before, he had lived much higher up in the golden tree, and it had only three rooms: a bathroom, a bedroom and a dining room with a small cookery. The Lady of the Wood had insisted that he take a larger one. Now he had two bedrooms, a living room, and a porch. The flets on the lowest branches had them and he most enjoyed it.
He used to sit on the porch in his stuffed chair overlooking the beautiful forest he had protected for most of his life. He loved watching the golden trees of Lorien. The silent rustling of their leaves seemed to calm him after a long and hard day of work. Being a March Warden sure was hard and exhausting, but over the years his body had adjusted to the hardships of his work.
Although Lorwen had changed much in his life, he still could not forget his work. When he came home, at all hours off the day, he kept thinking about his duties for the remainder of the day. Sometimes he lost track of time, and everything that happened around him, because of it.
***********
Lorwen had learned early that her father was easily distracted by his work and never pushed him. She had become quite good at keeping herself busy. She had asked him if she could go to school with the other children way before she was of age. And it appeared she did well, too. She was a smart girl and was always eager to learn, but she didn't stay with books alone.
One day Haldir had taken her with him when he went to work because he hadn't found anybody willing or capable of watching over her. It had been an easy day, mostly practising archery and fencing. She had become interested in it, and kept on asking if he would teach her. Unfortunately, for her, she was only 10 years of age, and that was even too young to go to school, so he would have nothing of it. He brought her home a toy bow and some arrows instead. That was all he wanted to do about it, for now.
***********
Suddenly he jolted from his thoughts as Isáviel placed her hand on his shoulder. She was a servant of the Lady and she brought the March Warden's and his daughter their meals as she did every night.
"My Lord, your dinner is served," she said with a smile. She almost always found him sitting there lost in his thoughts.
Haldir was shocked that the sky had already darkened. He had been sitting there all afternoon.
"Have you seen Lorwen?" he asked her.
"No I haven't my Lord," she answered.
"She'll be here soon," Haldir murmured and went inside, Isáviel following him.
"Thank you Isáviel," he said, as she walked for the door.
He walked to the table where the food was and looked at it, Lorwen's favorite. The food was getting cold, and Lorwen still hadn't arrived.
"Where is she? She has never stayed out his late before." Haldir mumbled to himself and paced up and down the dining room. The food was getting cold on the table and it was getting pretty dark outside.
"This is all because I didn't pay her any attention to her this afternoon. My one day off I get I must spend it thinking about how things are going without me," he went on. "She had looked so forward to this day, wanting to spend it all with me, and all I did was sit there and not even look at her." The more he paced, the angrier he got with himself.
He went outside looking for her, but even with his elven eyes he could not see her anywhere. Trying to decide what to do, he sat back down in the chair that he had been sitting in all afternoon. Suddenly, he noticed her bow and something else.
Picking up the bow, he saw that there was blood clinging to it. He stood up so quickly he thrusted his chair against the wall. He climbed down and hurried towards the barracks on the lowest level to his men. They all looked up at him in surprise at the way he had stormed into the room.
"You've got to help me," he said with a desperate look in his eyes. He showed them the bow he held in his hand. They all recognized the little bow and they also noticed saw the blood on it.
"She didn't come home this evening," Haldir stated with a worried voice. "She has never stayed out this late before. Something must have happened to her."
"You were off-duty this afternoon," his second in command, Hélas, told him. "Have you seen her leaving?
Haldir only shook his head. He had no idea where Lorwen might have gone. He was not paying attention to her at all and he felt another wave of sorrow come over him. He had neglected her.
Hélas put his hand his shoulder, and pinched it softly smiling at him.
"We'll find her," he said reassuringly. They all stood up and looked at him, silently waiting until he gave them his orders.
He quickly told him where he thought she might have gone and they set out to look for the young girl. Hélas and Haldir both went in the same direction, splitting up after a few minutes.
Haldir inwardly hoped nothing bad had happened to her, but seeing the blood on her bow really scared him. He then realised that he wasn't far from where she had been target practicing and decided to go there and see if he'd find anything there that might lead him towards her.
His eyes widened as he approached the target she had been aiming for. An arrow was still protruding from it.
"She really did release the arrow this time," he mumbled to himself. "That's why there was blood on her bow. Poor thing, it must have hurt really bad." He just hoped that the wound wasn't too bad, but where was she? What had happened? She should have come to him when she had hurt herself. Why did she not come to him?
He kept on asking himself questions he had no answers to until his eye fell on the arrow again. Despite of the worried feeling, he had to smile. She had hit the bull's eye of the mark. He couldn't help but feel proud. Now he was determined to teach her more about shooting arrows when he found her, that is.