[Rinfanawen]

Diera stomped her way through the mushy, wet snow towards where they had made camp. Her feet were soaked. Her hands had shriveled long before, even though she had gloves on, and the sleeves of her overcoat and shirt were soaked from her wrists to above her elbows. Her hat had managed to dry some from before, but it froze under the icy conditions of the air. Nevertheless, she managed to easily find camp.

She found her shelter was quite comforting, though sadly it did not keep out the frigid cold. Any wind, however, was blocked quite nicely from getting inside. She sat atop a blanket on the icy, cold ground while she wrapped another, thicker blanket tightly around herself. The snow-stained clothes she wore pressed firmly against her skin, making her even colder. She shivered tremendously. The cold air and icy ground made her think about only one thing...how much she hated the land. She thought back on the terrible accident long ago.

Diera was young at the time. She was only around six years old then, but she remembered it well. It was the only memory she recovered after the event. She closed her eyes tightly as horrific scenes flashed through her mind. She saw her mother’s face. Her mother had been cooking for a long time. Her face was blackened with soot and ash from the fire. Diera remembered sitting at the table singing a quiet song to herself while she watched her mother. She remembered her mother’s expression as she came closer to the table and began to sing as well. Her mother was so happy. Both of them were...and her father!

She smiled as she remembered her father coming home that day. He rode in on horse. She remembered running to the door in pure ecstasy. She ran out to meet his smiling face that very moment. As she ran from the house, she remembered hearing a loud crash and a sudden warm temperature against her neck and back. She turned quickly to see that her house had caught fire. It was blazing in flames that seemed as high as mountains. Her childish fears made her halt in shock. She remembered her father running into the house to try and recover her mother from the flames, but neither of her parents ever exited the house. The last thing she remembered seeing of that location was the sight of the roof collapsing into the midst of the flames. She remembered running. She ran faster and faster until she found herself falling to the ground, fainting due to running so far. She remembered nothing else until she awoke on her uncle’s ship at the harbor two days later.

Diera was almost in tears as she broke from her memories. Why she had let herself remember that time, she did not know. So long it was that she had endured without remembering the event, and she wished she had not at this moment. She figured it was the cold. The cold made her do things unknown to her usual life. She found herself singing, and to add to that, she was singing the exact song she sang as a child. She stopped her voice suddenly. Why do I remember that? she thought. I’ve never sang that song...not since then, at least. She tried to force herself away from the thoughts, but they were too strong to let go.

Suddenly she heard the sounds of feet trampling through snow nearby. A familiar face quickly peered in at her own.

“What is it?” Diera said harshly to Doyal.

Doyal paused for a moment. “Nothing, I...were you singing?”

“No,” said Diera abruptly.

“Oh,” replied Doyal. “Alright, then.” He stood at the entrance of her shelter for a few moments longer.

“Is that all?” she asked him.

Doyal nodded his head and answered, “Um, I was told to remind everyone to keep their weapons in close range. We never know exactly when the Elves are to arrive.”

“Thank you for the warning,” said Diera as she watched Doyal walk away. She remained seated on the ice for quite some time wrapped warmly in her blanket. Her thoughts eventually broke away from her forgotten past, but the song remained in her heart for days to come.