Disclaimer: As always, I am not Tolkien, nor do I obtain any remuneration from his work, other than the gratification that it has imparted to this reader over the years.
Rating: PG for disturbing suggestions of violence.
Dedication: To Bryn for graciously permitting me to refer to her fascinating "Notes from the Field", for encouraging me to publish, and especially for inspiring me with her delightful sense of humor. Thank you, Bryn!
Special thanks go to Tanaqui, Mari Dole, AfterEver, Súlriel, Enros, Lindorien, Arquen, Marnie and some anonymous reviewers at HASA, who read my story and gave me feedback. Your help means so much to me!
This is an exploration of perception: how an individual can interpret the same event in extremes, either positively or negatively, depending upon relatively subtle shifts in context or understanding. It is also a work of irony.
The story consists of two related vignettes, set several years apart, both narrated in the first person by an original female character. It is not an alternate universe; regrettably, Tolkien wrote so little about Haldir, Rúmil, and Orophin that there's hardly any canon to violate. The story line originates strictly from the book -- a pox on PJ for killing Haldir in the movie! [1]
Because these are merely short vignettes, I did not attempt to fill in the timeline. You'll have to supply your own imagination about how and why the transitional events occurred. Further, the story does not address any deep philosophical issues, such as the acculturation of a mortal into an Elven society [2], or the consequences of close relationships between mortals and immortals. [3]
For you action/adventure fans: because this story occurs almost entirely in the mind of the narrator, there is very little action -- and much of that is merely implied. If you prefer tales of heroic deeds, you may wish to look elsewhere. [4]
Any constructive criticism or other feedback that you care to share with this first-time author would be most humbly appreciated.
One final appeal to the deities who smile upon talented fiction writers -- all of whom I adore and worship faithfully: Please forgive me for writing a classic Mary Sue. [5] My devil of a Muse is, at this very moment, sipping my Dorwinion red wine and chortling gleefully as I do penance for my mortification.
Note: in this story, single quotes (') indicate the narrator's real-time thoughts, whereas double quotes ("), as usual, indicate speech.
Footnotes
All these stories may be found on the Stories of Arda (dot-com), Henneth-Annun (dot-net), or FanFiction (dot-net) web sites.
[1]
See "The Revenge of the Wood Elf (Telerius galadh)", by Orophins Dottir.
[2]
See "The Heir Apparent", by Mirkwoodmaiden,
or "Last Hope", by AfterEver.
[3]
See "The Twilight", by Aerlinnel,
or "Namárië, Elessar", by Joanna (AKA Joannawrites),
or "The Last Grey Ship", by ErinRua,
or "A Word of Caution Regarding Hobbits", by Baylor.
[4]
See "Battle of the Golden Wood", by Marnie,
or "History Lessons", by Nilmandra,
or "Land of Light and Shadows", by Thundera Tiger.
[5]
See "Notes from the Field", by B. Bnw (pseudonym: Bryn), "Chapter 2: Of Mating, Courtship, and the Mary Sue Effect". It is surmised that the protagonist of "Fortune's Paradox", by E. Tiriel, exemplifies an Aggregated Mary Sue per the definition in Bnw's treatise (specifically, a composite of the Tattered Unconscious and Orphaned, but not Beaten nor Amnesiac, Mary Sues. Strictly speaking, the Tattered status is a matter of conjecture; nevertheless, it may reasonably be inferred from the context despite the author's failure to present relevant empirical data.) This example does not, however, provide evidence either proving or disproving the hypothesis that the Aggregated Mary Sue is a separate biological species: The state of the protagonist's breeding capacity is undetermined at the time of this writing, but artificial intervention appears to have invalidated the experimental result. Refer to the section on "Enchanted Bedcovers" in "The Influence of Magical Belief Systems on the Mating and Fertility Practices of T. galadh: A Statistical Analysis of Reproductive Outcomes", by M. A. Johnson et al, in the "Annals of Middle Earth Biological Sciences", vol. 3, issue 14, pp. 159-265, ASIN 3589793238,
or "The Mary Sue Litmus Test", by M. Wilson, on which the protagonist of this story scored 15 out of a possible 170, placing her at the bottom of the "Borderline Character" (potential Mary Sue) category. The web address for this scholarly work and the following one may be found by doing a Google search on the keywords "Mary Sue",
or "Essay: Self-Insertion and Mary-Sue-ism". For the record, the author of this story disclaims any likeness to the protagonist, except for being "scared [witless] by orcs". However, under threat of prolonged interrogation and especially food deprivation, the author concedes one other similarity: a susceptibility to aviatocremnophobia. [6]
[6]
Aviatocremnophobia: a profound fear of flying off precipices.