"The scribes are all occupied with copying these transcribes…I do not think we can burden them anymore with new history and established cultures and the like."
All she heard was a hum in response.
Tathardes stared at her friend who was sitting contently by the window, the moonlight beaming through the glass and giving Erestor an ethereal look. A brief image crossed her mind of him being the rugged, vine-grass wearing green-elf he was at the start of the Second Age, now adapted to be a fitting and rather convincing elf lord of the Noldor in Lindon. If people did not look at his odd colored eyes, and were he not so smart-tongued and quick in almost everything he does, he would pass for one of the Exiles.
It had been three centuries since the start of the new age…And Tathardes herself being laiquendë, although not a fully fleshed one due to the mass of drastic changes that had affected her and her family tremendously, they had gotten along very, very well.
They knew how each one worked too.
And Tathardes knew Erestor would have said a lot more to her…update. The simple hum threw her off completely.
"Then we should take advantage of that spare time while they are busy, shall we?" The elf-man said pleasantly as he stood up.
"What about-"
"I have everything two months ahead of schedule."
Something must be up. Getting two weeks ahead could be quite challenging, but two months?
Erestor tilted his head and spread an arm out to the side, "Please, walk with me and enjoy the evening with me, my friend."
Tathardes raised a brow, but smiled regardless and took the offered arm.
"Ai! No, do not use the trees to your advantage!"
"They would be too slow to help anyway!"
Whack!
Tathardes started laughing at the shocked look on Erestor's features after a tree clearly made his statement void by slapping a branch in front of his face.
"Sorry." The elf-man whispered apologetically, and the tree shivered in acceptance, though a bit moody still after what would be considered an insult to treedom.
"That means I win." The elf-maid said breathlessly.
"If I did not let my words slip then I may have won." Erestor murmured regretfully.
Tathardes smirked, "Again, then?"
She jumped as Erestor was suddenly behind her, "No…perhaps something else?"
Tathardes snickered and started running again.
After a few moments of compromise tag and hiding behind trees, and much laughter later, when Erestor reached for her wrist, is when the air suddenly turned a bit more serious. The hold was gentle, but firm, and a signal went up to Tathardes. She stared at the elf-man intently.
"Tathardes, mellhíril," Erestor began in a very low quiet voice, and if Tathardes heard right he sounded apprehensive, "You have been a friend to me for many years by mortal reckoning; your presence is a source of joy and comfort to me whenever you are in or when you enter a room." He let go of her hand, and Tathardes almost by instinct held her hand near to her chest.
Erestor turned away and began walking, stopping, and turning, before walking again before her, "You know me better than I may know myself, and I you…How many secrets have we exchanged; things that we only can share with each other?" He stopped his random-based pacing and stood to face her, "They may think me odd for being unwed at my age...yet time to find the most compatible person to bind myself to is far more worth it than to wed in haste and unknowing, then regretting it forever as long as the world lasts, for marriage indeed lasts forever while under vows to the All-father."
Tathardes' heart could have stopped at this admission, and her eyes she felt widen slightly.
Erestor's voice was slipping, however he did not lose himself to all the passionate feelings one may have in confessions; he stayed mature in that regard. He got closer before kneeling before her, "This world of those supposedly enlightened is still strange and frustrating at times…and All-father knows what will come to be in these future days. Ai, Tathardes, of all fair maids I have met and have made acquaintance with, you are the one that is akin to a mirror reflection of myself…" It seems that comparison made him a bit embarrassed given the slight flush to his cheeks.
Erestor exhaled audibly and looked at nothing, "Yet I am not worthy. All to my name I have is just a mind full of knowledge of things that people pay no mind to and inheritance that is little compared to the Exiles."
Tathardes did not realize she was holding her breath. When Erestor had finished, her heart fluttered slightly. She reached down and pulled the elf-man to his feet, "Dear Erestor, all you say is true: truth of the matter between us, and I do not care about what "little" you have."
Erestor's eyes lit up.
Tathardes gave him a small smile, "Indeed you also fill a void…we share similar minds, and of similar history, what with our groups having departed to Eru knows where and we not joined them…" They both seemed to become sober at that thought at the same time, "We do not have to be alone anymore."
"Will you then, accept this rite?" Erestor asked, as he withdrew something wrapped in oilskin.
It was the bone knife.
They would spend a week away from each other, before seeing each other again and seeing how much the other is willing to sacrifice for another. And if they wished to proceed…then their blood will be mingled.
The elf-lady took the oil-skin, her fingers trembled a little bit as she held the knife. The two elves shared looks with each other, love from a relationship built over many long years and experiences shone in their eyes.
And soon, respecting the rite, would be bound for eternity.
When Tathardes came to the appointed glade, she could not help but shake her head with a smile at Erestor's messy hair and lack of hygiene. He had given much over the last two weeks to her: in the form of gifts, and honor and respect greatly beyond what he had given to her prior to his confession.
"If only to prove my honesty and devotion to you." He had said. He had meant what he had said completely, and more.
Tathardes in turn gave respect and honor in greater quantity to her now betrothed. She was a bit uncertain at the start the day after receiving the knife, but now, she was fully committed to this; to Erestor, and would be for the rest of time.
When they stood before each other, the elf-maid withdrew the knife. And she stared at it. She could tell Erestor was anxious: that small thought of being rejected still present, no matter how much someone might convince another that they will not be.
She unfolded the oil skin and took the bone knife by the handle. After a moment of stillness, she took Erestor's left hand; palm facing upward. Tathardes then gently laid the sharp edge against the skin.
"From here onward to the End and beyond, in Eru Ilúvatar, the All-father's name, I claim Erestor to be my husband. Bless me, All-father, bless our joined flesh. Bless our union everlasting."
And she cut a diagonal line across the palm.
Erestor's fingers briefly flinched at the stinging pain, but he made no sound. When Tathardes looked up, Erestor was beaming and his eyes glistened. She could not help but feel tears also fill her eyes. Those few words…that meant so much.
She let Erestor take the knife before he held her right hand, palm facing upward again. He took longer this time to place the edge of the knife against her skin.
'You can do this, dear Erestor.' She encouraged in her thoughts.
"From here onward to the End and beyond, in Eru Ilúvatar, the All-father's name, I claim Tathardes to be my wife. Bless me, All-father, bless our joined flesh…Bless our union everlasting."
And the skin was split, but instead of letting go, Erestor pressed his cut palm against hers, clasping hands together and mingling their blood.
The trees were the only ones to witness the union as their auras glowed golden, and those in the Timeless Halls above, as the two elves embraced each other and shod their tears of joy.
A/N Normal Disclaimer. But at the bottom! Am I special? Tathardes is mine. Erestor being a green-elf is my older sister's idea, with adaptations to fit my universe.
Tathardes and Erestor's families have wandered off to who knows where at this stage...so they could not really contact them or have them be there for the wedding. Friends in Lindon? Yes, and were informed, even got an official document maybe to make them happy, but they wanted to do the marriage according to their people's culture, and felt more comfortable doing it in privacy and not being watched by others that do it in a different, more elaborate way. They got a party after they emerged from the forest.