The Story of Haldir and Nírithil
Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize as belonging to Tolkien or his estate.
Chapter 1
I woke suddenly, panting, willing my racing heart to calm. 'It was only a dream, Nírithil' I chided myself. But it had seemed so real. The rain pounded against my roof, singing its own rhythmic song, as I watched the starlight create dancing shadows throughout my flet. It was dark, sometime in the early morning hours. Lothlórien was still asleep.
My anxiousness would not allow me to drift back into elvish sleep, so quietly, I swung my sweat slicked feet to the floor, tiptoeing out of my flet. I treaded the familiar spiral staircase that wound around my tree, until I reached the wet ground. I tried to remember my dream; to relate feelings or images to something, but it was already slipping away. I remember that fear was highly present in it, and that there were eyes that held such horrified emotion that I couldn't imagine what could have made them so scared. Lost in my thoughts, I let instinct guide my feet, while I held my night skirts high enough to tread the soft autumn earth without dirtying them.
Until I stumbled into a pool, splashing mud all over my nightclothes, I had nearly forgotten the rain. Now it provoked a restless feeling in me, and I continued walking aimlessly until I realized I had lost myself.
It was not often that I came upon a place I had not visited in Lórien. After all, I had lived here nearly thirty years. Sucking in my breath with excitement, I made to take in my surroundings, but before I really did, I felt some kind of premonition-like anticipation. My being here would change my destiny. Something in this place was entwined with it, changing my life forever.
It was just the way I was. I often sensed things before they happened. Some elves were good seamstresses, or blacksmiths. I was a prophesier, in a way. It's not that I could see the future, but I could sense emotions, especially the stronger ones…. Hate, fear, lust. Something here – or about to be here – was entwined with my destiny, and I had a terrible premonition about it. And yet…. I was curious.
Suddenly I spied a bowl with contents so glorious it drew me in. Some kind of liquid was reflecting the starlight so brightly, it looked as if it itself was made of light. As if someone had taken a piece of the moon and trapped it in a bowl. The rain splashed it, making the light dance. Coming closer, I saw it was water. All of a sudden I realized where I was. This was Galadriel's secret place.
Throughout the wood it was spoken of that the Lady Galadriel had some kind of 'mirror' that allowed her to prophesize the things to come. The bad feeling from the premonition I had grew in my gut, and I knew that there was something fated in my future. Something that I couldn't, and shouldn't see. My curiosity won over my gut emotion, and I stepped up so that I was directly in front of the 'mirror.' Before really looking into it, I felt a prickle in my spine. Someone was watching me. Glancing behind me, I made eye contact with the most piercingly blue gaze I had ever seen.
"Who are you…?" I asked, a mite breathlessly, suddenly ashamed to be caught in my nightclothes somewhere I shouldn't be.
"…………….Haldir," replied the voice, still gazing intensely at me.
Suddenly, the restless feeling I had gotten from the rain welled up inside of me; lifting my night skirts a little, I ran as hard as I could, not caring where I was going. Now I knew my destiny was going to change. The premonition-like feeling I had was so strong, that all I could do was run until I had reached my flet. Stripping off my wet clothes, I collapsed on my bed and pulled the covers over my head, drifting into restless sleep.