Childhood Dreams
Laying beneath the warm downy blankets, Amala began to tremble in fear as the images played out inside her mind and projected behind her closed eyelids. She was in the strange halls of the Spider King waiting upon her father and her teacher Star Dome to return from battle and take her back home. Only, instead of them returning to do that, her father and teacher were brought into the great hall of the Spider King on planks of wood bore by two elves in dented and blood stained elvish armor. Neither her beloved father nor her teacher were alive. Both had armor bent and broken by weapons not of their people. The blood upon their bent armor was a mix of the foul creatures they fought and their own. For what she saw made her fall to her knees in tears as there was a hole in her father’s chest and her teacher’s head was cloven in half. What frightened her the most were the words that she heard one of the warriors that bore her father’s lifeless form speak.
“My Lord Thranduil the fighting was unbearable. Many of our people and those of the human company that joined us fell, but the victory is ours. Only, by the time we were able to get to them, we found a foul beast at work. It tore from the High King his heart and devoured it before our eyes. If not for his lower jaw being unscathed, the Herald would have his head evenly falling to the sides and all would see what the creator put inside his head. As such, we have none to take care of the child the High King left behind so she shall forever be in your halls,” he said unmoving. “What shall we do with the remains of the High King and the Herald?”
“Take them from my sight and feed them to the spiders,” came the cold emotionless answer.
Trying to prevent them from being fed to the foul beasts that darkened the canopy of the once beautiful trees, Amala kicked, punched and tried to trip the ones that bore their bodies and was picked up by the Spider King.
“Since you do not wish the hospitality of my halls then you too shall join them,” he said throwing her out the door on top of the roughly thrown bodies of her loved ones.
Looking up, all she could see was the light being blackened out by the huge spider descending from the heights above to claim them as its next meal. As the spider got closer, she woke and sat up tembling in tears with fear.
As she looked around the familiar room, she saw that the darkness she saw was from the fire in the hearth having died out and the candles extinguished from the blowing wind outside that accompanied the storm that raged beyond the walls of her home. Yet, despite the comfort of knowing that she was safe, Amala still trembled and she yearned for the added comfort provided by her father’s strong and loving embrace. So, silently, she crept from her bed and made her way to his deep set wing backed chair and placed her trembling hand upon what she thought was his arm. Only when the figure leaned forward, it was not her father, but Star Dome her beloved teacher.
“Teacher,” she said confused “where is my father?”
“He is still in council,” his kind voice said as he furrowed his brows in concern. “He asked me to come and stay with you until he returns. However, I must ask what has you so frightened that you are not still in your bed sleeping soundly? Are you afraid of the storm?”
“No Master Star Dome,” she said with a sigh. “The storm does not frighten me. What I saw in my dreams did. It is something that I have seen for three nights now and when I spoke of it with my father he would get a grim look on his face and would tell me to dismiss it. Only, my heart does not believe it is only a dream. I just do not know why.”
“Come and sit on my lap Amala and tell me of your dream. Maybe I can help you understand it,” he said picking her up and holding her gently.
“I see myself in the halls of the Spider King as ada and yourself with the warriors have gone to battle. I am to wait there until both of you return and take me home with you. Only when the two of you return, it not alive. You both are on boards carried by two warriors. Ada’s armor is bent and bloody from the enemy and his own as is yours. Only the warrior speaking to the Spider King says that ada’s heart was torn from his chest and they saw a foul beast devour it before his eyes and your head was cut in half and that if it were not for your lower jaw remaining unharmed all could see what the creator put into your head. The soldier then said that with both of you dead, there was none to care for me so I was to remain in the Spider King’s halls and when the warrior asked what was to be done with your remains and ada’s he said to get both of you out of his sight and feed you both to the spiders. I tried to fight them from doing that only to be tossed out onto your remains as a living meal for the spider that was coming down from the trees,” she said as hot tears began to flow once more from her fear filled eyes.
“That is a grim dream child,” Star Dome said with a sigh. “Have you heard any speaking of what is going on in the outside world beyond the boundries of Imladris?”
“Some of the warriors as they pass me by have spoken of a shadow growing that may lead our people and the humans into a war against the foul beasts controled by one that dare not speak the name of, but that ada is trying to find another way besides all out war to handle the situation even though it is almost certain that war will be upon us,” Amala said shakily.
“Those rumors are correct. War is upon us Amala and the council your father is in will determine whether our people face this battle alone or if the race of men will come to our aid and fight by our side against this dark threat,” Star Dome said holding her close to him in an effort to try and comfort her.
“The warrior in my dream said many men and elves died but the victory was ours,” she said starting to calm down. “Only, what of the rest of it? Are you and ada going to die? Are we going to be fed to the spiders?”
“Amala,” he said softly “I cannot say as I have had not foreseen anything of the battle. What I can say to you this night is that there is another that has spoken a desire that should anything happen to either your father or myself that he would like to take you under his care as a guardian and teacher. That is my apprentice and dear friend Erestor. If we need to go to war, your father and I will do everything we can to come out of it alive and return for you. If the Valar decide it is our fate to travel to the Halls of Mandos there will be another that will claim you and see that you have a chance to learn, grow and have the kind of life you were meant to have. Do not let your heart and mind be troubled by the burdens of those that must bear them. There will be plenty of time to do so when you are much older.”
Kissing her tenderly upon the forehead, he began to softly hum an old elvish lullaby. As he did so, she began to relax and once more drifted off to sleep.