Disclaimer. I do not own anything but the characters and the events which are obviously not Tolkien's.
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Throughout this distant woodland rang the sound of a clear feminine voice. It combined with the sound of the birdsong and the rustling of the leaves to make a beautiful concert for the ears of no one.
Or so it would first appear. There was one person listening though. An ellon, who had long been lonely, had come to these woods, far away from most elfin settlements, for peace and quiet. He had wanted to get away from all the sickeningly happy couples over his side of Valinor.
Alright, he felt good that all the recently returned group of Elves were happy and particularly that the water-god who had watched over Arda when all the other Vala had forsaken it had now found a bride and happiness, but all the same, he was alone and he was lonely.
Quietly, he crept through the woodland, not wanting to disturb the singer lest she stop. He wanted to find out who she was, the lady with the ethereal voice that touched his soul and lightened the pains of loneliness that he felt. Who was this siren?
It did not take long for him to come across a clearing with a little brook in it that bubbled gently adding another layer to the natural accompaniment of her song.
She was not singing any words, just a tune which the ellon had never heard before. As she sang, she danced round the clearing, hair and dress flowing round her.
It did not take a genius to tell she was a Vanyarian Elf, with that shade of gold-blonde hair. She was tall and slender with pale skin, though when she was moving, he could not see what colour her eyes were. The gown she was wearing was a rich wine colour and made of some light fabric which allowed the skirt to float up round her as she danced.
The ellon stood stock still at the edge of the clearing, captivated by the elleth in front of him.
Suddenly, she stumbled and without conscious thought, the ellon moved forward and caught her. Once sure she was okay, he looked around to see if he could find the cause of her fall. He saw it almost immediately. She had strayed too close to the trees and the flowing skirt that had spun around her had caught on a low branch.
He helped her unhook the fabric, hoping that it had not been damaged.
It hadn't.
Once they were sure about the wellbeing of the dress, they finally actually looked at each other. She looked up at his face shyly, blushing slightly. It was at that point he noticed he was still holding her to him.
She either hadn't noticed or didn't mind so he decided to keep on holding her until she tried to free herself.
Neither spoke, apparently at a loss for words. As the ellon was trying to think up something sensible to say, she finally spoke,
"Thank you, sir..." she trailed off, clearly not sure what to say next, and looked down at the ground.
He raised a hand to her cheek and cupped it gently, raising her face to look at his again.
"You are more than welcome..." he left the sentence hanging, with a slight questioning tone. She got the hint.
"Lirinandië," she uttered softly.
XXX
He bounced home that day.
Lirinandië – song in the woodland. What an appropriate name for her. They had talked for a little while, the conversation slightly awkward. Then she had claimed she had to get home else her family would worry, but before she left, she gave him a kiss on the cheek.
He could still feel the light touch of her lips of his cheek and couldn't help touching his hand to his cheek every so often. As he got closer to his own home he became aware he was acting like a love-struck fool.
He had only just met the girl for crying out loud! How did he know she might like him like that? He had simply stopped her from falling over and she had only kissed his cheek, it was hardly great romance. He might never see her again.
He was still lost in his own thoughts when he came in to the house and only snapped out of it at his parents teasing him about his apparent preoccupation. He had a suspicion he wouldn't live it down for a long time, especially if they found out the cause.
XXX
Lirinandië rushed home, beating herself up for having been so clumsy. Why oh why did she have to fall and then, just to compound the mistake, she hadn't managed to even make sensible, let alone witty, conversation with that handsome Elf who had caught her.
He was probably laughing at her or worse, thought she was a kid!
Lúciel was always the graceful one; she could always come up with witty comments when necessary and would never have done something so ungraceful as fall over. She would have stopped elegantly and 'noticed' him there, made some intelligent comment and then ran off, leaving him to chase her or something like that. For goodness sake, the girl had snared Glorfindel! Why couldn't her little sister be able to do something like that?
Apparently her parents had given every bit of attractiveness possible to her older sister and she got what was left over.
XXX
Several months later, there was a celebration for the birth of Ulmö and Valyaceulë's child.
Anyone of any real significance in Valinor had been invited to celebrate the first child ever born to one of the Valar.
Lirinandië was there, mostly to help look after her sister's child more than any other reason.
As it turned out, there was not a lot of need. A sort of crèche had been set up for the copious number of children born in the last few months and all she really had to do was help watch the little monsters.
As she finished cleaning off one of the children who had found something sticky to cover themselves in she looked up. Coming towards her was that ellon who had caught her in the woods a few months back!
Flushing with embarrassment, she quickly made her excuses and ran off, hoping to avoid the Elf and therefore, further embarrassment.
After a few minutes, she could no longer see the Elf and leant back against a convenient tree and closed her eyes in relief. Just as she was getting her breath back, she felt two arms either side of her, pinning her to the tree.
Lirinandië opened her eyes to see who it was and her jaw slackened slightly when she saw it was him!
"Surely my presence does not have such negative connotations, wood nymph?" he asked softly.
"Wood nymph?" She queried, once again cursing the fact she suddenly seemed unable to make intelligent conversation.
"An appropriate affectionate name for you, for that is what you remind me of." She nodded mutely; at least he didn't seem to think of her as a child. He then leant down slowly, eyes asking if she minded what he was going to do next. She shook her head lightly at him and leant in to his lips.
He kissed her lightly before pulling back slightly then dived in for a proper kiss. Just as they were getting into it, a name was called.
He pulled back from her with a sigh,
"Don't you just love family?" He sighed again, then picked up her hand and kissed the fingers gently. "I will come find you, my wood nymph, I will find you and we will finish this properly, but for now..." He leant down and brushed another light kiss across her lips.
Lirinandië watched him go in some amazement, so he didn't think her a child then. She suddenly felt the urge to sing and dance, as she hadn't since that day some months before. She decided against it. She had never liked dancing with an audience and now she would save that for him only, he was the only Elf she would dance for.
That evening, as she was leaving the celebration slightly disappointed that she had not seen him again and still did not know his name, she heard a soft voice calling her name.
She looked around for its source and saw him standing in the shadow of the trees around them, barely visible. He beckoned to her to follow him. She looked at her family, they would not notice if she had gone for a little while. Deciding it was fine, she followed him.
He lead her to a moonlit little garden created by the famous Dawnstar and her best friend once in the time intervening between coming to Valinor and leaving to go to collect the latecomers.
Lirinandië was a bit nervous going into the garden, but he assured her it was fine, really and when in there she gasped. In the middle of the garden was a small lake with an island in the middle and several delicate little bridges between the island and the mainland. The entire surface of the water was covered with water lilies which practically glowed in the light of the full moon that was out. (AN: think of Monet's paintings called water lilies, that is what it is based on, though if you want photo's of the garden this is based on, I shall put instructions in my profile)
He lead her up onto a bridge over the water and simply held her for a short while before leaning in and kissing her gently.
They kissed for a while before pulling back.
Lirinandië looked up at him, noting his hair shimmering in the moonlight and his eyes glitter. The moonlight bleached the colour out of everything and she felt quite overawed by the Elf that was showing interest in her. She knew now, from his position in the festival earlier, that he was a very high ranking Elf. Judging by his familiarity with Ulmö's bride, he was probably one of the royal Elves who were sent back to Arda to collect the Elves who had not returned.
"You are truly beautiful, my little wood nymph, I almost don't want to let you near my family for fear one of the single males left behind will try taking you from me." Lirinandië was slightly surprised at the possessive tone of voice he used. Did he really care so much for her?
"You feel so strongly about me? I don't even know you name!" she whispered. He laughed softly.
"I'm sorry; it never even occurred to me that you wouldn't know. I am Mánasairon, son of Elrohir and Miriel." Oh yes, a half-Sindar, half-Noldor prince, who happened to be a talented sorcerer, seer and one of the fifteen champions of the Valar. Strangely enough, he didn't seem to have his giant cat with him.
Lirinandië looked down at the wooden slats on the bridge, suddenly feeling rather inferior. What right did she have to flirt with such a distinguished Elf? Her sister had managed to rise up well, having married the Balrog-slayer, but she was just a commoner, she should not be going for one of the highest ranking Elves in the land.
He raised her chin up and looked into her eyes.
"Why does my rank scare you so? I am as much a person as you, my birth means nothing to me and it should not to you either. To you I am simply an Elf who has fallen in love with you and was absolutely taken from the moment he heard you sing and saw you dance." Was he serious? Without thinking she flung her arms around him and kissed him soundly.
When she let go, he paused to catch his breath then laughed.
"That is more like it, wood nymph!" He laughed before kissing her again.
XXX
They had been secretly courting for over a year now. They would each sneak off when they could and go somewhere quiet together. Several times she had danced and sang for him, each time gaining more confidence.
Today they were sitting on a cliff edge watching the see a little way from the harbour.
Mána was telling stories of Earth as it was now called. Lirinandië had lived in Valinor all her life and was absolutely fascinated by the stories.
"... and while we were waiting for the terrible pair to come back from what must have been the most uncomfortable talk in history, my charming aunt, not to mention mother and a few others, were having a serious laugh over Great Uncle Adindel's passionate greeting of Ginny. I remember Aunt Ellie saying 'I hope Adindel won't act like such a dweeb this time, he was pratt-extraordinaire last time.'" They both laughed at that.
"Mána, what is a 'dweeb'?" He laughed.
"Still no idea, though judging from the way Great Uncle Adindel managed to keep Ginny in bed for an entire four weeks even though they were not supposed to be binding for ages, it is something he was not this time round." They both laughed.
Suddenly they both felt an arm on each of their shoulders.
"So this is what kept you so occupied, then?" Behind them stood Ainicánë, Mána's twin brother, grinning like a complete nut.
"Yes," Mána sighed, "This is Lirinandië, who I am courting, now if you wouldn't mind telling me what you are here for then buggering off?" He did not sound impressed by the interruption.
"Oh, but I would mind! You've been keeping secrets from us, brother mine. How long, how did you meet, why bother keeping it a secret? There are so many questions to ask!"
"The answer to the last question is because I knew that the moment I let slip there was someone I was interested in, then I would have the inquisition on my tale!" He pulled Lirinandië up, "Shall we go somewhere more peaceful, wood nymph?" She nodded wondering, how they would get away from his brother, having walked here when Ainicánë had ridden here.
As they walked past the horse, Mána lifted her up onto the front of the horse and swung up himself then pushed the horse into a gallop, leave his brother standing there in shock.
"As soon as he gets home, he is going to tell my parents. Would you mind meeting them now? I'd rather be the one to tell them, it is probably safer." Mána asked after having rode for a while.
"Meet them? Now? I can't meet them dressed like this!" Lirinandië was virtually on the verge of panic, rather scared of meeting two members of the elfin royalty even more illustrious than her beau.
"They won't care what you are wearing, my mother is a likely to be in leggings and tunic as I am, and they are not exactly the most formal of people. You are talking about two people who, by preference, used to live with the northern Dunedan, and from what I have heard, that is not a life of royal luxury."
Lirinandië eventually agreed to be introduced to his parents, slightly reluctantly though still very nervously.
Much to her surprise, when they arrived, her sister was also present.
Glorfindel and Prince Elrohir were over one side of the garden talking about something while Princess Miriel and Lúciel were sitting, playing with the baby in the middle of the lawn.
At the sound of hooves, all four looked their way. Mána stopped the horse and helped Lirinandië off.
"Lirinandië! What are you doing here?" Lúciel called when she saw her next to the Prince. Mána answered for her,
"I wanted to introduce her to my parents, Lady Lúciel. I was unaware that you two were acquainted however." Lirinandië looked down at the ground.
"Lúciel is my older sister."
"Well, that explains that!" He said as if it explained everything in the world. At the multiple curious looks he elaborated. "Anyone beautiful enough to snare Lord Glorfindel must be related to you, especially since you are of the same race."
"He's smooth, I'll give him that," her sister laughed.
Mána then led her over to his parents, his father and Lord Glorfindel having joined Miriel during the conversation.
"Ada, Naneth, may I introduce Lirinandië, who I am courting." Lúciel went into an extended coughing fit and while the rest of the group just looked mildly stunned.
"When did this start? I would have thought I would have heard of it from my parents-in-law as soon as there was a hint of romance. They are usually busy trying to find you an ellon." Glorfindel asked.
"It started at the festival for the birth of Airontur, Ulmö and Valya's son, though we had met before that."
XXX
She need not have worried, both of them were lovely, and her own parents were so over the moon that she had not only found a guy, but such a high ranking Elf that her Ada even forgot to say either be careful to her or to threaten Mánasairon.
It was only another year and a half before he asked her to bind with him.
"Wouldn't people comment on how short our courtship has been?" she asked worriedly.
"Glorfindel and Lúciel, need I say more? It is not like they are the only example recently either and we have practically been taking our time compared with Great Uncle Adindel and Ginny, or Gil-galad and Charlotte."
Lirinandië laughed, he did have a point.
Her parents seemed to be the only people even slightly bothered with how short the courtship was, the rest took it in their stride and, as Mána had suggested, even considered it long, comparatively speaking.
In light of the missed opportunities for parties to celebrate betrothals or marriages in the case of her older sister and a few other notable Elves, the Valar decided to throw particularly huge ones for the happy pair.
The binding of the happy pair of course resulted in the last two unmarried royals (the adult ones, at least) being teased terribly about getting a move on in finding themselves girls, much to the amusement of everyone else.
Fairly late into the evening, the happy pair snuck away before their friends and family could 'escort' them to the door of their wedding suite, with dirty jokes abound.
In the room, Mána held her close before kissing her deeply. When he drew beck he smiled at her,
"You know, I loved you from the moment I heard you sing. I had gone to that forest for quiet because I was lonely, yet when I got there I found the one thing that would ensure I would never be lonely again." He leant down and kissed her again. "I love you, my beautiful song in the woods."
The end.