She nodded and walked away from the humans, refusing to let them see her stumble again. In the middle of the battlefield, next to the deceased Captains, laid her fathers body. Cithien went over to him and fell to her knees, unable to hide the pain she felt at her peoples lost...or her own, any longer. The Elves that accompanied her exchanged looks, but said nothing for a long time. They knew that she needed to mourn him, that she needed to cleanse herself of the pain.
After several long minutes they gently pulled her to her feet and guided her back to her fathers tent. It would be hers now. She would take his place, and that was something she needed to realize sooner, rather then later. The woman practically collapsed in her fathers cot overcome with her grief, she barely noticed the healers that were tending to her wounds again. Had she been any one else she would likely have died, but Cithien was strong. It wouldn't be the first time she survived something that should have been fatal.
When they finally left her she fell into a fitful sleep that was a combination of what likely happened to her father, and the battle she'd had earlier. If she had only been next to him, he would not have died. She awoke in a cold sweat, her cheeks soaked with tears from the memory. Humans had taken everything from her, and she couldn't let that stand. She had to do something about it.
Cithien tried to stand from her cot, but exhaustion and weakness wouldn't allow it. She slumped back with a few frustrated curses, but did not try again. Eventually, when she fell asleep again, it was to a peaceful dream. The lake was always so soothing, but there was something else. Someone she couldn't place, or even really see. At first she thought it must have been her father, but that couldn't be. He was dead.
Whoever it was, she had to find out one way or another. The sound of his voice, though she couldn't understand what he was saying, and the feeling of his nearness brought on a peace to her that she had never before known. It was not something she wanted to let go.
---
The soft glow of the lake, after it's change was complete, gave the forest around it an eerie appearance. The way shadows danced, and the animals that were drawn to the lake, made it seem as though ghosts had taken over the forest. It was beautiful, and quiet, for the time being at least.