Notes and Disclaimer: Rangers are Tolkien's, not mine. And no, that's not a nymph he sees. On Rangers Through The Winter Months and Chapter 2 of First Kills could give you a better idea of what's going on, though this is set many years later and could even be completely unrelated. Reviews greatly appreciated.
If you have ever seen a woman from a distance, you will know that it is not an honest sight. She could be a bedraggled wraith straight from the throes of of a mud-slung tavern brawl, yet at the right moment, one could find her stunning. The light plays tricks on you; the trees, the same again.
The Ranger men tell stories of the nymphs they've spotted in the older forests. Some of them may even tell the truth. Usually they'll laugh and finish up in bed with some pockmarked farmer's daughter, but once in a while we will wonder.
And so I saw my Paelin in a clearing, silver beech trees tall beside her, and with yellow scales of autumn leaves clinging to her hair. And in one moment, she knew everything about me, and pale gray eyes could shout it back with that unnerving candor.
Fear and hurt and pain and memories all reconciled into one terrible inevitability.
And despite the world's history, there she was, just begging me to love her. And that is why I'm forced to kill her.