Authoress Chat: When writing this, I thought of the current situation in America and how we claim to be so advanced but little things still hold us back. Even advanced races can be primitive. Bear this in mind whilst reading this, please. Happy reading.

Darkness and Light

She grasped the hand of her beloved even tighter than before; giving thought to her safety and to the successful departure from the forces that plagued them. Their eyes locked and they realized that they would most like not be gazing into the depths of the others soul for too much longer. She held her hand with the will of a lion and ran with all the power in her body. How could it be ending like this? Oh yes…that was how it had started. A race to finalize the initial scurry that had led them into each other's arms.

/ / / / /

"Well, what is your answer?"

The elleth was seized from her thoughts. She was glad that he had roused her from her stagnant mindset. She was drowning in the pool of emotions and questions that had burst forth from his questioning. He was expecting an answer and it was probably best to give him one. But his resuscitation had wiped her mind lean. Why had she been thinking so hard?

"I apologize. What was the question?" she asked as sweetly as she could manage.

"Would you do me the honor of becoming my wedded bride?"

Her eyes betrayed none of her emotions. In fact, her stare was vapid, drawing all of the brightness out of her blue eyes. She had a small smile on her face, but it was fading quickly as she realized just why she had been so lost in thought. This should be a happy time for her. A definitive 'yes' should have shot out of her mouth upon the final syllable of his question. But her joy withered with his proposal. For all his kindness, he could provide no everlasting joy. Gaeliel… was unhappy.

She looked down at the roses that Fuinion had brought to her and, as if she were watching it happen from outside of herself, the bouquet fell out of her hands. Her eyes shut tightly, her mind berating itself like a parent scolding a child. Her tongue was glued to her palate. Even so, she managed to get the two separated from each other and give a response.

"Forgive me, Fuinion, but I cannot marry you," she said with a genuine sadness.

The darkling elf was devastated by her refusal. Her choice of words had been meticulously chosen. It's not that she would not, but she could not. In his mind, he thought what would soon prove to be strikingly close to the truth. Gaeliel was in love with someone else. It was clear to him, even though she did not dare to say it. As he ran his hands through his ebony hair, Gaeliel stroked her bright blonde locks. Finally, she could take no more of the dreadful silence and decided upon leaving. She ran from him, her tears falling like rain.

How unfortunate; there was no way that she would be able to profess love for this other elf. How could she hope to do something like that when their love was forbidden? 'I am a fool, like no other.' She had not recognized where she was going. Her feet were leading her ahead with unprecedented speed, so quickly that her mind couldn't keep up with trivial things like destination. She ran until she was face to face with a towering mallorn tree. Gaeliel's eyes wandered up into the flora and stared blankly into a solemn flet. Though the abode was somewhat lacking in the typical elven sheer, her heart was still gladdened to be at the threshold. Fortune may well have been on her side. She called up to the resident.

"Fuindes! It is I, Gaeliel! Please, send down your ladder! I have news that must be shared!"

Another dark elf poked its head out of a dusty window. Her grey eyes twinkled with happiness as she confirmed that her visitor was indeed the fair Gaeliel. She extended an arm out of the window to show her friend an extended finger. Prompting the shining elf to wait for a moment, Fuindes threw her down a ladder and excitedly motioned for her to join her in her humble abode.

Gaeliel climbed the extension eagerly and once she had reached the top, she was greeted by Fuindes. The two embraced one another, golden locks becoming lost in black ones. Gaeliel kissed her friend on the cheek and showed herself in, followed by the dark one.

Fuindes motioned for her to sit, while she walked over to the kiln in the midst of her flet and removed a teapot from the flames. Laying down a cloth underneath the pot, she fetched two cups from the cupboard and a box of tea leaves. She sat down at the table with her friend and placed two leaves in each cup, along with a spoonful of sugar cane and poured the water into the cups to let the leaves steep. She reached over to the side for a piece of parchment and a quill. In her free hand, and her eyes gave permission for her friend to speak.

"Thank you for meeting with me. I know how busy you usually are," Gaeliel spoke with evident relief.

Fuindes, being as mute as she was, began to scribble on the parchment.

'It is nothing for me to set aside time for you. You are my dearest friend. Besides, all that I had as agenda for today was to clean my flet. And as you can see, I was barely concerning myself with that goal. I enjoy talking to you, Gaeliel.'

She pushed the note towards Gaeliel, who had already begun to sip from the piping-hot cup of tea. She placed it down gently to read what her friend had written to her. Fuindes' note made her smile.

"I am glad that you feel this way about me. I have a confession to make to you." She rested her head on her free hand. "Your brother, Fuinion, plighted his troth to me not more than an hour before I arrived before you. I told him no."

Fuindes' eyes had held worry and happiness when she heard that her brother wished to marry her best friend. However, the worry was cast away when she was told that the answer was no. A bright smile spread across her face as Fuindes realized the irony of what had happened in the past twenty-four hours. Her hands found their way to her mouth to stifle a silent giggle that wracked her entire body. As the bout of laughter died, Fuindes picked up the quill and began to write, fast and with excitement.

'How ironic; your own brother, Galadir, proposed our marriage as well. I also gave him a negative response, along with showing him out of my flet. Why do you think that no candles are lit? I could not risk him coming back to me the way he did when plighted with me earlier. You should have seen it! He came with lyres and harps and flutes and I was so embarrassed. He left significantly quieter than when he arrived… Does this offend you?'

Gaeliel snatched the note and read it with suspicion. When she read it, she was saddened but quickly found that giggles of her own were fighting for freedom. She was a fool and so was Fuindes. They were fools for each other. She smiled and reached out for Fuindes' hand again, kissing it gently.

"We are imbeciles, you know that? To think that our siblings will stand for this refusal… They are not blind, nor are they unintelligent. I could tell from his silence that Fuinion knew that my heart was spoken for. Honestly, how much further can we go in this game? The other ellyn are not fools, my dearest. They will soon know that we have engaged in a forbidden love."

Fuindes shook her head with a smile and kissed Gaeliel's hand as well. She traced the words over Gaeliel's delicate and, frankly, sensitive collarbone.

'I do not care if they know. It is not as if we may marry in any case. Perhaps it is time to do what we proposed to do a while ago. We must leave these shores. For all the beauty of this coast, if I have to enjoy it whilst abstaining from you, I will forsake it all and gladly! Let us sail away together. There, the Valar will pity our doomed love and they will have mercy on our union.'

Gaeliel kissed the mute elleth on her quiet lips and smiled. Fuindes was right. She was always right. They should leave for the fairer world and leave behind the coast that forbade their love, as if it were some form of disease. Fuindes nodded over her shoulder towards a bag of her belongings. She had already packed! Gaeliel gave her an off-kilter look, as she realized that her friend had already known that she would agree to leave. It was infuriating, as far as gestures go, but also amazingly sweet. Fuindes took a sip of her tea and crossed her arms, arrogantly waiting for a response.

"I would be honored to join you, Fuindes. Allow me to pack my things for departure."

/ / / / /

Gaeliel looked hard into Fuindes' eyes and both were fraught with sorrow. 'How unfortunate those things had to end this way.' She thought as the mob finally caught up with them. Galadir's arms caught hold of Fuindes' waist and snaked around her neck. Fuindes screamed but no sound but no sound came out. Her nails dug into his arm as she struggled to break free. Even though the difference in strength was not so drastic, his rage made it difficult to fight him off. Handling her like a beast, he forced her to look at his sister, who had been caught in the same manner by Fuinion.

"Look her in the eye, you silent monster! Look at how you have marred the beauty of my sister! How could you do such a thing?"

Fuindes was running out of oxygen but she did as commanded. She looked at her lover and could see no imperfection. They were both dirty and exhausted, their faces and arms smudged with soil and their clothes rended while in flight. But beneath that, Fuindes could see the light of her blonde mate and feel the sweetness of her aching fëa. Fuindes cried but no words would escape her mouth to tell them what she saw or how she felt about her bride.

As her brain began to shut down from the deprivation, she and Gaeliel reached out for one another but were yanked apart viciously by their brothers and the mob. They both passed out and fell to the ground with a thud.

/ / / / /

Gaeliel walked back to her flet with a heightened sense of urgency. She and her brother lived in the same flet and gathering her belongings to leave would probably not smooth over well. Galadir was impatient and waiting for her to decide on leaving anyways, she thought. He'd probably be irate that she had decided not through his coercion but through Fuindes'. The two siblings had been friends with each other for many years, but Galadir was not wholly satisfied with the extent of their closeness and made no attempts to hide it from them. He sensed something dangerous and… off… about their natures.

Gaeliel had left the ladder down upon her departure, so when she saw that it was drawn up, she winced. Valar forbid, Galadir had arrived home first and had just been rejected by a life-long friend. She prayed to herself quickly before announcing her presence to him. He saw his lovely sister and smiled at her. Fetching the ladder with expedience, he let her inside the flet with just as much speed.

Gaeliel smiled at her brother before realizing that Fuinion had joined them in their flet as well. She nodded towards him, gave her brother a hug and then went into her room. He was not welcome there but he would give her a reason to leave. She packed several cloths, dresses and family heirlooms and keepsakes into a backpack and tool in a sharp breath. This would be the hardest lie she ever had to tell. But if she wanted out, this was her window of opportunity. And, Eru-be-damned, Gaeliel was jumping headfirst!

She walked out of the room quickly, grasping her backpack in a death grip and made a beeline for the ladder. Galadir and Fuinion ceased conversing immediately, as they saw her and shot out of their chairs with a simultaneous, "Where are you going?"

Gaeliel voided her eyes of any emotion which her brother could read to decipher the truth and gave as general a response as she could manage.

"I can't stay. Not whilst he is here. If he has joined you, then you both surely know the reason for my departure. It is what I must do. Understand it and do not question."

She then raced for the door but Galadir took her by the arms. He turned her around, looking her in the eyes and was appalled by the dullness and disinterest he saw. She was purposely shutting him out and he needed to know why.

"I know what happened today, between you and Fuinion," he admitted. "I also suffered refusal at the hands of your friend, Fuindes. He came to me with hurt in his heart but I need you. I eagerly awaited your arrival not convince you of error but to lean on you. And now you tell me you must go! For what purpose? Who is it that you run to? Where will you go? Will you not stay for me?"

Gaeliel shed a tear for her brother. He couldn't know of her choices until she was safe in Aman. He couldn't know! He had no entitlement to know! He was not in a position to happily accept her choices. No elf was, really. She had to do this!

"I have to do this! One day I will be able to explain everything! But not now. Goodbye, dearest brother." She looked over his shoulder at Fuinion, who was just as bewildered as her brother. "Farewell."

And she raced down the ladder with as much caution as she could manage in her haste. She was near the bottom when she was knocked off balance and fell flat on her butt. Rubbing her abused rear end as she looked up at the trees, she saw Fuinion sauntering away. What a childish thing. She picked herself up and raced off as she had done when she refused his proposal. And with that attitude, she felt no despair over her refusal. What an unbecoming way to treat a Lady.

'Sore loser!' she jeered, with mirth, in her mind.

Galadir and Fuinion watched from the window as she took off to the place that they just knew she was going. Fuinion frowned deeply.

"She was in a rush. And she was very vague as to where or why she was going. She's headed for my sister's house."

Galadir laid himself lazily across the rest couch. He was pretty certain that his sister was talked into staying with the dark elf as well. But Gaeliel had confided deeply in his friend. There were things that he was sure to know that she would never tell a brother. If he had come to the same conclusion, the assumption was probably very correct: How frustrating.

"Even so, we have to let her go. If I tried to forbid her to leave, she would only have wanted to flee even more. Besides, they are even closer friends than you or I. Admittedly; it is hard to keep my jealousy in check, where Fuindes is concerned."

Fuinion was still staring out the window as he gave his rebuttal.

"It goes deeper than that. Quite honestly, it is not natural. We approached them both today, with honest intent and a will to unite our two closely knit families. They both turned us down and then run into each other's arms. She said not that she would not marry me but that she could not. Her heart is spoken for. And I can see now in certainty that it is my sister who has led her astray."

Galadir shifted uncomfortably, looking at his friend's back, which was rigged with tough emotion. The thought of two ellith together made him squirm in his skin. His sister was above falling to such base depths. They were not like Men! Their race was above such abnormality. She was clearly being negatively influenced by Fuindes. Perhaps he should go after his sister and try to convince her to stay.

"Mayhap it is not what we suspect. I will talk to her on the morrow and attempt to induce a fair amount of sense in her."

/ / / / /

Gaeliel's eyes flickered open as she slowly regained consciousness. The pain was intense. The mob had been less than gentle with her body. She looked over to the woman who could not speak. She would have been whimpering, were it that her body could produce sounds. But instead, she was shaking as confoundedly as she could. Fuindes had a dark bruise around her jaw. Gaeliel was terrified and also embarrassed. Upon their ousting from the shadows, her brother had lost all Elven grace. She sorely wished that her brother had not been the one to strike a Lady. Her head felt as if it were splitting open. Her body was heavy, causing her head to sink back to the floor. Her blue orbs were bloodshot and struggled to take in her current location.

She was nearly blinded by the light there. She saw many candles. Her body felt elevated. She took in the sweet smell of the leaves and sighed blood. She was in a mallorn tree. But not just any mallorn tree. She knew this one only by the brightness of the dwelling. This was Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel's House. They were new leaders but she had been glad to embrace them. They were fierce but kind and fair. Surely, they would know how to set the crowd at ease. Coughing up more blood, Gaeliel struggled to get herself up on bended knee to bow to her Masters.

"My Lord… My Lady," she greeted with a great rasping in voice.

Out of the periphery of her vision, Gaeliel could see that her brother, Fuinion and five elder Elves were waiting to the see the results of judgment. Still, she looked up into the blinding light and waited for her rulers to come to her. The two of them were dressed in white and silver and shone like the flames of Arnor. Celeborn and Galadriel seemed to tower over the elleth and this intimidated her. Her gaze slowly drifted to her wife. Fuindes had managed to overcome her terror and bow her head low. Her body still shook, so she was likely too hurt to show much more respect. Gaeliel sighed inwardly. She couldn't shake the feeling that Galadir was the one who had caused her such injury. Her eyes were fixed on her bleeding bride when a powerful voice caught her attention.

"Focus yourself, elfling! It is the least you could do when you are the cause of such commotion," Celeborn spoke harshly.

Galadriel's hand found its way to her husband's shoulder to steady him.

"Look at us, child. Her injuries lay in mind, not in body. What have you to say about this transgression that you commit against all of Elf-kind? It is not every day that we receive such a report."

Gaeliel swallowed whatever blood might fall from her lips and tried to answer with as much dignity as possible. She was doing this for her love and to spite those who had dishonored their union.

"It was not the outcome I envisioned as an elfling; that much is certain. But I have never loved any ellyn that may have pursued me. She is my heart and I am hers. That cannot be helped any more than your loving our Lord Celeborn. Can you truly say that you can help such a thing, my Lady?" the defiance showed in the hanging question and at the ends of every word.

Galadriel's eyes narrowed as Celeborn tossed his head in scorn. Fuinion moved in to strike his refuter and possibly Fuindes but Galadriel's eyes darted over to him, silently letting him know that if he did such a thing, he would wish that he had not.

"You presume to think that our unions are as equal in the eyes of Eru? How dare you. Your union is barely natural; a direct betrayal to the model of your bodies. You have been made for male companionship. I have not seen such depravity since the days of Eöl," Celeborn snapped.

Gaeliel winced at the acidity of his words. So that was how it would be? Fairness and justice would be thrown to the night in exchange for cruelty and rigid ideals? The old laws were biting her in the rear end. She could taste bile at the thought of the outcome that was most likely.

"How, I wonder, were you even able to consummate such a union?" Galadriel asked with wonder. "With no ellon to claim your maidenhood, how is it that you were able to bind to each other?" Her eyes wandered over Gaeliel's eyes and her ears drank in the minute traces of her broken voices that still lingered in the air. It was definitely there; the mark of marriage.

"I do not know."

/ / / / /

Gaeliel jumped into Fuindes' arms and heaved a sigh of relief she hadn't expected to make it out of her front door alive. It was an old custom to annihilate such scourges to the Elven race where they stood. Luckily, Fuinion had been there to play out his part I a last minute production and she had been able to steal away all that she would need to make it onto the Straight Road. They had agreed to leave in the morning. Fuindes was mute but dangerously strong. They could both make it safely enough on their own. In this, they showed their optimism.

Fuindes' eyes stared deeply into Gaeliel's and a sly smile crept over her face. She giggles, silently as usual and moved closer to kiss her dearest. They kissed deeply and with fervor and once spent, found their way in front of the bright and warm kiln. They laid down on the assorted furs and gazed into the winding branches that acted as a roof. Gaeliel pointed up to a lone niphredil that had burst into bloom overtop of them. She placed that finger on Fuindes' lips and found her lips again.

A heat outside of the flames erupted in the flet, prompting a slow removal of clothing. Delicate hands exchanged turns untying bodice strings and exchanging kisses on more private area. It was hot and humid in the home for a great portion of the night. When they were truly done and tired, their hands found each other's and they fell asleep together, entwined, reminiscing the silent ecstasy that had erupted. A different warmth kissed their skin as the sunlight poured down into the canopy and announced the breaking of day. Gaeliel was the first to wake, nudging Fuindes playfully. She made a face that suggested she had groaned before she sat up. Fuindes' eyes were still glazed over in sleep but Gaeliel could not help but smile.

How could such an unkempt appearance be so attractive? 'This is your wife now,' her mind prompted her. Oh yes… They had engaged in intercourse. Strangely enough, it did not feel like an act of lust. This was love; the love that eluded her in the favor of all the ellyn who had come and gone since reaching her majority. The two kissed gingerly as they lazily attempted to get dressed before midday.

"Gaeliel!"

She jumped in her skin as she recognized the voice as her brother's. She wasn't decent and he wasn't patient. He would demand her appearance and soon and her indecency would give her away. Looking about, she looked to the basin for dishes. Taking the filthy water in her hands, she held her breath and sucked in her lips. Fuindes looked at her curiously before giggling madly in silence when Gaeliel doused herself in dirty dish water. The frazzled blonde ran to the window, careful to hide the majority of her nakedness from her sibling. Her gaze was cold as it had been before.

"What do you need, brother?"

His ears caught a change in the current of her voice. Something in the Elven melody of Sindarin had changed. He looked to her cold face. Even while her emotions were ushered into the back of her eyes, there was a sparkle he had never noticed before. The two elements joined together and smacked him in the face. Slighly, just to retest his hypothesis, he engaged her in conversation once more.

"I wished to know where you had gone. Fuinion had been looking for you and Fuindes for the great majority of the night but you evaded him."

"So that we might reconsider? I think not, dear brother. Is that all?"

Galadir was almost certain.

"No. Is Fuindes with you? May we speak?"

Gaeliel looked over her shoulder for Fuindes' response. Gaeliel's stalling had bought Fuindes the time that she needed to throw most of her dress on. Her bodice was undone and her hair was messy, but she was in a better condition than Gaeliel. Fuindes smiled as she poked her head out of the window. Galadir's eyes locked in on hers like a hawk. Upon seeing the same twinkle in Fuindes' eyes, he backed away in a well-disguised horror and ran off towards his flet, where Fuinion had stayed the night.

Laughs erupted from the females as Fuindes took hold of Gaeliel's hand and shoved her playfully into the bathroom to bathe away the grime she had thrown on herself. They thought that they had the time to do this, eat and leave. They were so wrong.

/ / / / /

"Did you have sex with this elleth?" Galadriel asked before the crowd that had gathered in the courtroom.

"I have," Gaeliel admitted, as bravely as she could.

Her hands had been bound by rope. Shifting them slightly in her lap, as nerves overtook her, Gaeliel knew that this was hithlain. There was no escape. Across from her, sat a bleary-eyed Fuindes. Her raven hair was hanging lifelessly in her face and the bruises had only multiplied Gaeliel shed a solitary tear as Fuindes shuddered in pain from the lashing she had received. Both Galadir and Fuinion had singled her out as the instigator of such depravity and she had paid the price for their betrayal. Gaeliel, the fairer of the two, had been held in high esteem, having more thoroughly hidden her 'abnormality'. She wished it had been her.

"And have you had sex with this elleth?" Celeborn asked Fuindes.

She managed to give a solid nod before shifting weight listlessly to the side. She saw that Gaeliel had escaped a good deal of punishment. She smiled at her wife, happy she could spare the weaker female the pain of the whip. Her lifeless eyes drifted to the stands and directly at her brother and Galadir. Her head hung with the weight of destiny pressing down on it. But still she stared at them with a look that said all that she could not express with words. Fuindes hated them and their ignorant followers. She wasn't going to be separated from her wife. All in due time…

"In accordance with the old laws, for your consummation of unnatural union, you must both feed each other hemlock until your bodies cease functioning."

/ / / / /

"Are you ready to go?" Gaeliel asked, grasping the shoulder straps tighter.

Fuindes nodded with passion, reaching for her wife's hand. The two held each other tightly and truly, marching proudly towards the Straight Road. They were together until the breaking of the world.

/ / / / /

Fuindes reached forward and traced the words into Gaeliel's palm as she stuffed another poisonous leaf into her mouth.

'I'm sorry. I tried to protect you and I failed. I am ready to leave this prison. Aren't you?'

Gaeliel nodded with a smile, pushing a leaf into Fuindes' mouth as well. She and Fuindes fed the fatal leaf to each other simultaneously and with a grin. They succumbed to the breaking hearts they had tried to mend before the poison really hit them. They had no reason to stay further. At least in Mandos' Halls, they would be free… Free and together.