B2ME Day 27 - Following a Dream by Erulisse

Chapter 1

Walking Away from Chaos

When she had time to think back on it, all she could remember was chaos.  She saw her uncle Fëanáro pushing King Olwë down onto the dock, then forcing his way past him to get to the ships.  She remembered her father grasping her wrist so hard as he dragged her along behind him that her wrist bones ground together and the bruising didn’t fade for many days.  She recalled the cries of the other Noldo following her uncle, and the chilling sounds of steel swords and daggers being unsheathed and, finally, used against their fellow elves. 

Over all of the other sounds, she remembered screams.  Only many days later did she realize that the screams had been her own.  The nightmares of that night of death took a very long time to leave her. 

Her father was clutching her left wrist tightly, attempting to drag her onto a Teleri ship, when he was accosted by a young Teleri sailor holding a boat hook to bar the way.  He looked very young, barely into his majority, and except for the boat hook, he was unarmed.  Her father had tried to switch to holding her with his other hand so that he could pull out his sword.  She took advantage of a momentary decrease in pressure around her wrist to twist away from him and run back down the dock towards the town.  She could hear the ring of steel behind her and turned, slightly, in time to see her father slice down at the young ellon, slicing through his shoulder into his torso, causing his sword to wedge into part of a bone and requiring him to push the dead youth away from him with his other arm.  She turned, ran, and hid, shaking like a leaf in a storm and vomiting until there was nothing left in her but bile.

Turukáno and Laurefindel found her hiding behind a barrel that held fish, sobbing hysterically and holding her wrist against her, rocking in pain.  Her pack with her tools and some supplies was still with her, and she had her cloak, but any additional clothing or luggage was missing.  Elenwë insisted that she be allowed to come with them, and Idril immediately began trying to calm her down, eventually getting her to focus on what was around her, not what she had been seeing on the docks.  Meanwhile, Turukáno and Laurefindel made sure that none who were allied with them involved themselves in the slaughter that was occurring on the shores of Alqualondë. 

It was the beginning of a long, hard, and frightening journey towards a new life.  The five of them bonded together as a small family, sharing cloaks and clothing, food and drink, hardships and the occasional wonders of that deadly crossing.  After Elenwë was lost in the ice-filled sea, Helyanwë promised Idril that she would stay with her and help her as an older sister would.  To formalize this, she pledged her fealty to her cousin, Turukáno, while ribbons of light rippled above them in the dark, freezing night.  When he spirited his people away from Vinyamar, she went with her new family to set up her studio and begin a new life in Gondolin. 

Chapter End Notes

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