Syah's Tears

Syah kept four or five feet between Legolas and herself. Trust was a major issue with her, and while he wouldn’t hurt her she still didn’t know any of them. She looked at Legolas briefly and as she looked away a small breeze followed. Just enough for her to catch sight of what Hathol’s ears looked like.

She looked away swiftly and thought of what to do. Where was she!? Pointed ears? Think, she told herself.

What has pointed ears in your world?

Elves.

Bet Santa never saw the likes of these three, she smiled to herself.

Legolas caught her fleeting smile and looked at her curiously. It was obvious he wanted to know what made her smile. But how was she to relate this? They spoke different languages.

Syah stopped for a moment and tucked loose strains of her hair behind her ear. She wiggled her ear then pointed towards Hathol. “Elves.”

The three elves looked at each other and smiled briefly themselves. They nodded at her, knowing she now knew what they were.

They continued to walk through the dark forest. Syah was told by all of her guardians that she had a spirit born of the forest. That she was put on this earth to protect them, to show other people the magic that they could bring. But her aunt had once told her about an incident when she was fifteen that Syah never forgot.

-1989-

They were sitting on the porch of Bane’s cabin. A full moon lit the night sky. A gentle breeze blew through the air.

“You know something, Syah?”

“What aunt Grace?”

“When you were ten, Bane and I took you for a walk through these woods. We let you stay ahead of us but kept you in our view. Then, when we stopped for a few minutes so I could tie my shoe laces, we saw you standing in front of a tree. It was one of the oldest in the forest.”

“I like to walk through the oldest part of the forest. I feel connected to it somehow.”

“I know you do, Sy.”

A few moments passed before Grace continued.

“We got close enough to hear you speaking to it. You were speaking a language we couldn’t understand. And we barely heard you because you were talking so softly to it. Then something strange happened.”

“What?”

“The tree seemed to...moan. Softly, but it did seem to moan. That’s when we realized it was talking back to you. Does that happen often, Syah?”

“All the time. I can’t explain it. It’s a connection, like somewhere inside of me knows something of the distant past. That something inside of me is a part of the forest.”

“That’s because your spirit was born of the forest, Syah. You belong surrounded by them. It will help heal you someday.”

-Mirkwood-

Syah was so lost in thought that the loud warning startled her. When she came to her senses, the three elves were staring at her in awe and wonderment. Almost like they were not sure what she was.

She gave a confused look but then realized what had happened.

She was standing beside a tree. She had almost walked straight into it. The warning...?

The tree must of warned me to watch where I was going.

She looked back at the elves and gave them a ‘sorry, it sometimes happens’ expression and gesture. She looked away, feeling almost guilty she had startled them.

Someone touched her face. She picked her head up and saw Legolas looking at her with concern and understanding. Her eyes were locked with his for a moment, until he gestured for her to walk again. He stopped in mid step.

Syah began to worry when they pulled their bows and arrows out. She looked around for danger. A tall, wide, shadow crawled towards them. And out of the dark came the biggest, ugliest spider Syah had ever seen. Heartbeats passed before she finally screamed. All she felt were leaves around her and a whoosh of arrows, then all went black.