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Vanwe
Vanwe continued to help Léspheria tend the wounded of Imladris and with each new patient, she came to realise the extent of her mothers wrongness, as she came to think of it. Did she really have no regard at all for the life of others… of her own kin? A little guilt settled on her own heart as she wondered if there had been anything, she could have done to prevent this travesty. Her mother had insisted that the elves had abandoned them both, adding fuel to her own fears and doubts, but now among her kin she could not see it. The elves of Imladris showed her nothing but kindness and compassion and unlike the race of men, they had not turned her away after realising that she was not Naiore. Instead, they had welcomed her into their home and she had the strong feeling that if her mother came to reclaim her they would stand and protect her, her father and Léspheria at the forefront. Her guilt fuelled her need to undo some of her mother’s wrongs and she helped the healers as best she could, listening and following their gentle instructions.
With each new instruction, she grew in confidence with her ability, but was careful not to let it go to her head. It felt right to be using her gift to help others and no one here seemed to fear what she was doing and instead of the punishments she received at the hands of the Haradrim, she received only gentle praise and encouragement. The patients and the assistants showed her the same respect as they did the Lady Léspheria, which in truth puzzled her slightly as she was no where near as confident and self possessed, as the lady Léspheria appeared to be. There were of course those who regarded her with suspicion and looked on her with hateful eyes and she could only assume that her mothers hand was again somehow involved, but she would not press the matter and hurried past those who regarded her so.
She watched as Léspheria tended the last of the wounded elven warriors, dark lines now graced the elven woman’s soft and gentle features and the strong and confident demeanour of the woman’s frame was now marked with exhaustion and weariness. She too could feel the physical demands exacted by the use of their gift, it drained their strength and left them tired and weak, but on several occasions she had witnesses more in Léspheria, notably when they worked on the more seriously wounded. Pain etched her face as she worked, a pain that seemed to mirror that of the wound on which they worked to heal. She recalled the ranger Amandur telling her that Léspheria was sensitive to the emotions of others, back at the inn when the elf had taken a fall from her horse and she also remembered that when she had re-awakened she had told the ranger that her brother was in danger. But was this not what her mother did, sense the emotions of others and manipulated them to her own purpose? Was this not what they did when they manipulated damaged bones and flesh into repairing itself? A cold shiver ran through her as she thought that she too could one day be capable of the things her mother was accused.
“No!” she whispered, defiantly shaking her head. She was not her mother and she would not become her, She was Vanwe just Vanwe. She knew that she would never fully escape her mothers lingering shadow but at least here, she had her father and kin who seemed to accept and welcome her into their community.
However as she continued to watch Léspheria new questions entered her mind, had her first meeting with Léspheria been coincidental? Why then had the elf defended her against the bounty hunter? Her father had told her that Naiore had killed Léspheria’s mother, so was she out for revenge? Vanwe knew that these questions and many others would have to be answered if she was to find peace here among her own kind.
Vanwe purposefully walked over to were Léspheria was now washing her hands, then placing her own blood stained hands into a second bowl of warm water, she stared as the clear water turned a dirty pinkie red. “What is your part and why do you help the rangers?” she asked, reaching for the soap and purposely avoiding the other elf’s gaze.
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