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Year 2418 TA
Rivendell
Anael lost track of how long she had watched the door. Seconds, minutes, hours, days… to an Elf, they were a barely noticeable flicker in a life where time was endless. For all she knew, the storm had been only a night ago. But waiting made it seem much longer. Her thoughts were too preoccupied with other things to be attentive to the passing of time, namely questions of how long she would have to wait for her parents to come back. She had been so frightened during the storm, and they had fled the room so suddenly. Perhaps they had gone to Lord Elrond for help in calming her and they would return any moment now.
She wondered if she should change into a clean dress. She had been wearing the same one since the night of the storm, however long ago that had been. Maybe she ought to try to braid her hair, just like her mother had taught her, to look nicer for when they would return. Her mother would be so impressed with how quickly she had learned how to braid her hair, having only been shown two times. She thought her father would be proud of her, too.
Her mother would embrace her tightly, and her father would press a kiss to her brow. They would do that even when she had not done something worthy of praise. Sometimes, her mother would envelop her in her arms, and Anael could feel the slight trembling of her body and smell the salt from her unshed tears; Anael would ask her mother why she was sad, but she could never give her an answer and would only hug her tighter and not let go for several minutes. Her father would pick her up and give her a kiss whenever he left to ride out with Lord Elrond’s twin sons, Elladan and Elrohir, to patrol the borders of Rivendell, and he would greet her in the same manner upon his return, sometimes after being away for several days. She remembered how the Sun would shine upon his golden hair and make him appear to have a cloak of light wrapped around his shoulders. When her mother held her close, her dark hair would tumble past her shoulders and drape itself around Anael’s head like a veil made of the night sky, her silver-gray eyes sparkling like two bright stars.
How much longer would she have to wait? When would her parents come home? She wondered if they had lost their way somehow. Maybe if she looked for them, they would find each other. She could then show them how to get back home. She knew the way.
Anael found a pale blue dress that was a favorite of her mother’s, and she plaited the front sections of her hair, letting the rest fall loosely down her back. She stepped out into the sunlight, still smelling the dampness from the recent rainstorm. She detected the soft footsteps and shortened breaths of her neighbors, but none of them came out to greet her. Perhaps one of them had seen her parents. But if she went door-to-door, she might miss the chance to meet her parents.
As she descended the stairs, she spotted several Elves taking a leisurely walk. Some of them came to a stop and turned away, while others changed directions abruptly and seemed to hurry away as though they had remembered they were meant to be doing something else of greater importance.
“I should pick some apples. I am sure Ada and Nana will be hungry. We can eat them together.”
She skipped down the hill that led to the apple orchard, relishing in the lush grass beneath her feet. The soil was still a little damp and soft from the rain, but she did not mind, because it meant that flowers would bloom where the raindrops had fallen.
Anael started to hum a made-up tune, and when she neared the orchard, she changed the song to match what the birds were trilling. Her father had taught her how to whistle. She could whistle a little bit, but not nearly as good as him. Nobody could whistle like her father. She pursed her lips and made a soft noise that was more air than any particular note. A bird sang and she mimicked it.
“I will keep practicing,” she said. “And one day I will be able to sing just as beautifully as you.”
Her eyes were drawn to a bird that had flown away from its nest. She could hear the shrill squawking of young chicks. Anael went to the foot of the tree and pulled herself up onto the nearest branch. There were plenty of fresh apples within reach, since it was the middle of the season. She regretted not bringing a basket to put them all in. Maybe if she carefully dropped them to the ground, they would not become too bruised.
After dropping nearly a dozen apples in the grass, she looked up at the nest, a few branches away. The babies had not ceased their chirping. Anael placed her foot on a nearby branch then climbed up to the one above it. She stood on her tiptoes and peered into the nest.
“Oh, are you all alone? Did both of your parents go to find food?” She looked around at the neighboring trees and in the branches above her. “Do not worry, your parents will come back. I can stay here with you until then.”
Anael carefully climbed down before dropping to the ground. She sat cross-legged in the grass and gathered all of the apples she had picked, collecting them in her dress. She wiped off one of them and ate it while she waited. A few minutes later, an adult bird flew into the nest, carrying something in its beak. The baby birds grew more excited.
“See? Your Ada or Nana came back. Now, I should go home and wait for mine.”
She got to her feet and slowly walked back the way she had come, trying not to lose any of the apples. The tower was silent as she climbed the winding stairs, and when she arrived at the quarters she shared with her parents, she found that no one had come by.
Anael found a basket and put all of the apples in it. Then, she climbed up onto the bed and placed the basket next to her and waited.
More indistinguishable time passed, and the light of day gave way to night. Anael lied down on her side, still facing the door so she would be able to watch for anyone entering.
Whenever she started to get hungry, she ate one of the apples in the basket. More than once, she changed into a different dress and redid her braids. She ate a few more apples as the days stretched on.
At some point, she had to eat the rest of the apples because they were beginning to get soft. All that remained were the cores, which had turned various shades of brown from being exposed to the air. When she finished them all, she returned to the orchard, with basket in hand, and gathered more apples. One day, the air grew colder and the grass became coated in frost, and the apple orchard ceased to bear anymore fruit until the return of Spring.
Anael still waited, but not once did the door open.