Other Songs : Lady Of The Horns
By Rob Morris
Their Fellowship had been broken, and their smallish companions for the moment lost. So it was that a hidden king, a slightly rogue prince, and a dwarf of great lineage found a cave and sat near a fire carefully positioned to not give themselves away, with an entrance hard to block and almost impossible to approach unheard, even with mystic means.
Gimli checked the entrance yet again and nodded.
"One good thing about having brazen enemies who think they're on the verge of eternal triumph-stealth is not their constant companion."
Aragorn, ever and always Strider when called to, shook his head.
"Boredom will also need no stealth. Unless we want to end up doing each other in and saving our foes that time, we'd best be about passing the time well."
Legolas nodded.
"I have an old Elf Song from the Morikwolf Okamotkanbe Region. It is about an outcast queen named Luciel."
Gimli winced.
"Like for their singers, Elf Songs go on basically forever. How many verses are we talking?"
Legolas did some internal math.
"One-hundred-eight. One hundred-nine, if we include a bawdy tale, which is likely a dream had by one of the characters."
The time was indeed being passed, though Aragorn felt it was on an overly familiar path they were running through yet again.
"Feh! Dwarven Songs take at most 13 or 14 verses, and are heard by the eyes and seen by the ears. But sing your song, by all means, my prince. As Strider says, we need to pass the time. I myself may pass something else in the meantime."
Since the cave had been checked against easy listening and bird-songs in the forest would drown anything they put out, Legolas began.
"Laid out in a field, unknown babe, she was, naked in the Maple's shade; Marked off to be mocked, her heart grew cold, though one bark could make it warm…"
Gimli tried to feign indifference, but too many verses drew him in, especially when that 'warm bark' was brutally silenced, and by turns, Maple/Luciel grew colder and darker.
*All for a small pair of horns? I think they would look fetching on a girl.*
Oddly, Legolas saw his dwarf foil smile at some point, but took it as an effort to unnerve him and kept on while Aragorn kept right on listening.
Legolas neared the end of his song, but Aragorn interrupted.
"Finish the present verse. But the rest of it will have to wait. There are two hours left before daybreak, and I suggest we use it to make haste."
Legolas nodded and made note of where he left off, one of the very saddest parts of a sad story.
"Kaota, I cry pardon, I beg to see, the warmth in your eyes once more. Kaota spoke out, no pardon to thee, in the spray of my sister's blood. Your claims of voices unheard are spurned, for voices are only that. Yet when it was Quarama's sword struck true, twas not Luciel but Kaota who bled. Luciel did rage, I'll end all Arda, and even Melkor will shake."
Aragorn, despite his words, was slowest to gather his gear.
"I hate leaving songs unfinished. I'll hold you to the final verses of that one, be sure."
But another mystery, Legolas would not wait to cipher.
"Alright, Dwarf. Just why did you start smiling?"
Gimli was now sporting a full grin, something Aragorn found odd.
"Yes, why did you? That story had bright spots, but they were precious and few."
Gimli shrugged.
"Because it is so rare to find actual Elven plagiarism, my Prince. You see, I realized that in fact I had heard your story somewhere before. Because in fact-Queen Luciel was a Dwarf!"
Aragorn knew he would have to act fast, or see an argument no cave could hide. So he made a statement bound to distract them both.
"You know-I rather liked Eukiel."