Taralphiel wandered through the forest undergrowth. She had been wandering for months, and had gotten used to the pace of it. She had learned to hunt and forage, and had taught herself not to be disgusted by the sight of dead animals. She had learned how to skin rabbits and the like, but this had all taken her a while. She looked at where she was now. It was a dense forest, some parts where thick and dark, almost choking, others were more green and pleasant. But she preferred the dark parts of this forest, it allowed her to hide.
She didn’t know where she was. All she knew was that she was far from home and she wanted it that way. She would never go back.
It had begun to grow dark and the pale moon began to show in slithers through the trees. She picked a tree close to the roadside and climbed it. There she nestled herself against the stump. Looking around, she wondered if this place had a name, or if it was of importance. She had to keep herself steady, she was still not very good at climbing trees, or much else.
It was at these times that she thought about home. She came from the town Calambel, between Gondor and Rohan. She remembered it with both bitter and sweet thoughts. She thought of the hills of Minrimmon, and Calenhad- blue and beautiful in the morning. She also remembered squinting to see the white towers of Minas Tirith over the plains. There were few forests, and so much smaller than this one. She remembered her mother telling her about elves being in a huge forest, but she dismissed that. Her mother had a preoccupation with elves. She always told her that she had elven heritage, and that was why she was given that name. She wished she had been given a more normal name when she was younger, but she didn’t care now. Someone loved her name. He loved her name.
That was when she tried to sleep but couldn’t. She would not sleep all night, and began to talk to herself. “You’ll find him Don’t worry” she whispered. But it had been a long time, and she hadn’t found him. It had been far too long.
That was the reason she had left. Her mother didn’t want her to marry him but she had, and then he left. He was ordered to leave. He said he would find her. So she left too. That was what had happened. But Taralphiel felt no shame. She needed to leave that place. Her story was beyond her home, she knew that much.
And so she sat in that tree and eventually dozed off. In the morning she was woken by a small beam of sunlight that had shone through the trees onto her face. She got up and managed to ease herself out of the tree. She then went to collect firewood to keep her warm. She spotted a large felled branch and went towards it.
Making her way forward, she tripped over a tree root. Cursing under her breath, she heard voices.
“Defeating dark lords? Hmm…better lay quiet”
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