|
Adranel sat silently on a fallen log with Beluf, wondering if this all was some kind of joke. Some cruel, terrible joke fate was playing solely on her. These Gondorians - there were perhaps seventy of them, and that was being generous - expected to get rid of the Orcs? She had seen them, had watched them destroy her village. Though not large, her village must have had at least the number of people here, and those Orcs had overrun them like a pack of wolves would take down a deer. Granted, these were trained soldiers, but what did they expect to do against so many? Did they see any hope in this mission? She suspected that the vast majority of the men there were older than herself, but she wondered if she wasn’t the wiser.
Hearing the foolish words of the general - Uther, was it? - and seeing this small force had brought back the flood of memories she had fought to lock up. The too-familiar lump had risen in her throat again, but she fought it down. For a moment, she considered confiding in Beluf. His village had been destroyed, too, hadn’t it? Had not he lost everything dear to him? So why didn’t he seem to suffer as she did? She banished the thought. He was a still a stranger to her, really, though there was a familiarity about him. What did she need to confide in him for? She was strong. She didn’t need him - or anyone. Why, oh why, hadn’t she just continued on her way alone? Relationships with people brought nothing but pain and sorrow. Once more, she drove back the memories and locked them away, but this time they were nearer the surface, though certainly not by her own choosing. The slightly vacant look returned to her eyes, and the hope she had felt earlier that morning vanished.
A darted glance showed her that Sjorging and Gelding were still speaking with the general. She wondered what was going to happen, and Beluf appeared to be thinking the same thing. She realized then that he was almost as much an outsider to the two old friends as she was.
“What do you think is going to happen? I mean, your whole purpose was to tell King Brand of the Orcs ravaging the area, wasn’t it? But now... these troops have come,” she commented. More quietly, she added, “Not that I can see what good so few will do against so many.”
“Yes... I see what you mean,” Beluf mused. “I’m not sure what they’ll decide. It might be that they choose to join the Gondorians.” Adranel nodded. What would she do then? She had no place with a military unit. She had difficulty calling it an army - it simply wasn’t big enough. Would she go on alone to Dale? What then? She did not know anyone in Dale, and in fact had only been there once. She imagined that she would end up going with Sjorging and Gelding’s decision. At least she knew them.
So many unanswered questions. Only a few days ago, she had been sure of her future. Everything she had known to be true had been shaken off its foundation, leaving her in a desperate state of unsureness. They sat in silence again, neither sure what the future held in store.
|