Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings or any characters and/or places
thereof
*****
Celebrían turned her pleading-eyed face to her mother. Sometimes that fair- haired little girl looked more like a Man than an Elf, Galadriel thought, with her loose braid and floppy hat. "Please, Nana?" the girl besought her mother, "please?"
"Yes, please, Nana?" Celeborn added, smiling at his wife.
Galadriel shook her head. "I do not want my child atop some creature one hundred times her own weight and uncertain in control. Perhaps in a few years--"
"But Nana, I will be an old lady by then!" Celebrían interrupted.
Celeborn lifted his daughter onto his lap and reminded her, speaking into her hair, "Darling, do not interrupt, it's rude." She crossed her arms and pouted.
"I will take good care of her, Galadriel. She's my daughter, too." Celeborn spoke Westron, a tongue Celebrían had only recently started to learn. She caught only a few of her father's words, and could not piece together his entire sentences.
Galadriel sighed. "If any harm comes to that child..."
"I do not doubt that you will castrate me." Celeborn smiled. "Let her try it. She may not even like riding. We may have to persuade her into trying it again in later years."
This worst-case scenario earned only the slightest of smiles at the corner of Galadriel's lips. She spoke again in Sindarin to include her daughter. "Go on then, children. Celebrían?" Galadriel lifted her daughter into a hug and kissed her cheek. "Look after your father for me." Celebrían felt good in her mother's arms, and to Galadriel there was no feeling quite so reassuring as that of the warm weight of her young daughter in her arms.
"I will, Nana," Celebrían promised. As soon as her mother set her on the ground, Celebrían dashed out of the room, singing joyously. Her father moved to follow.
"Celeborn." At Galadriel's motion Celeborn approached her and she slid her arms around his neck. "Take good care of that little girl."
Celeborn nodded and held his wife tightly. "You need not worry, love. Celebrían is safe with me."
Galadriel pushed him away. "Yes, and she is currently alone. Go on!" And with one quickly stolen kiss Celeborn followed hi daughter out of the room. Galadriel, arms folded, smiled. "My two silver jewels," she said to herself, "there is no greater happiness than you."
Two hours later, as Galadriel walked beneath the trees of Lothlorien, she fought thoughts of what terrible fates might have befallen her dear child. She refused to imagine her darling Celebrían trampled beneath the hooves of a displeased horse. Such a thing, she chided herself, was mere flight of worriting fancy and had no place in destroying the mood of her peaceful stroll.
Wondering what could be taking them so long and deeming the time right, she made her way towards the stables just in time to see Celeborn lift an unhappy-looking Celebrían from her seat atop a particularly short and docile white mare. Celebrían, with complete disregard for her clothing, plopped down into the snow without sign of moving. Celeborn accepted this and, seeing Galadriel nearby, led the horse on, leaving the mother to tend her daughter.
Galadriel crouched low to be on an equal level with her scowling child. "Not as easy as it looks, is it?" she asked sympathetically.
"I hate horses!" Celebrían announced meaningfully. "And I do not like Ada very much, either!"
"Now, Celebrían, you do not mean--"
"Yes I -do-, Nana!" the child insisted. "I do mean it. They are mean!"
"Child..." Galadriel shifted to a seated position and Celebrían at once climbed onto her mother's lap and clung to her as though for life itself. Though the cold hardly bothered her Galadriel preferred not to have numb skin in certain regions, and so lifted her daughter and carried her into the stables, where Celeborn brushed out the coat of the white mare.
"What happened to her, Celeborn?" Galadriel asked.
"I tried to teach her to post," Celeborn answered, earning him a severe exclamation from Galadriel. "That did not go well, though she tried very hard."
Celebrían chose this very moment to recover her spirits, and so released her mother from a vice grip and, standing proudly if shortly, announced, "And tomorrow I am going to try again!"
And that was precisely what she did.
*
Many years later, Galadriel smiled at the memory. "I will," she resolved, "remember my daughter riding her horse. I will remember her laughter and her tales. I will remember her happiness."
She looked to the black-topped head by her side, her granddaughter sitting in the grass, and to the green field dotted with spring flowers of violet and white. Celebrían enjoyed spring flowers, and such pleasant things. She resolved to remember her happy, carefree daughter, the girl she hoped the Blessed Realms had the power to restore. "Celebrían would have wanted that."
*****
The end
*****
Celebrían turned her pleading-eyed face to her mother. Sometimes that fair- haired little girl looked more like a Man than an Elf, Galadriel thought, with her loose braid and floppy hat. "Please, Nana?" the girl besought her mother, "please?"
"Yes, please, Nana?" Celeborn added, smiling at his wife.
Galadriel shook her head. "I do not want my child atop some creature one hundred times her own weight and uncertain in control. Perhaps in a few years--"
"But Nana, I will be an old lady by then!" Celebrían interrupted.
Celeborn lifted his daughter onto his lap and reminded her, speaking into her hair, "Darling, do not interrupt, it's rude." She crossed her arms and pouted.
"I will take good care of her, Galadriel. She's my daughter, too." Celeborn spoke Westron, a tongue Celebrían had only recently started to learn. She caught only a few of her father's words, and could not piece together his entire sentences.
Galadriel sighed. "If any harm comes to that child..."
"I do not doubt that you will castrate me." Celeborn smiled. "Let her try it. She may not even like riding. We may have to persuade her into trying it again in later years."
This worst-case scenario earned only the slightest of smiles at the corner of Galadriel's lips. She spoke again in Sindarin to include her daughter. "Go on then, children. Celebrían?" Galadriel lifted her daughter into a hug and kissed her cheek. "Look after your father for me." Celebrían felt good in her mother's arms, and to Galadriel there was no feeling quite so reassuring as that of the warm weight of her young daughter in her arms.
"I will, Nana," Celebrían promised. As soon as her mother set her on the ground, Celebrían dashed out of the room, singing joyously. Her father moved to follow.
"Celeborn." At Galadriel's motion Celeborn approached her and she slid her arms around his neck. "Take good care of that little girl."
Celeborn nodded and held his wife tightly. "You need not worry, love. Celebrían is safe with me."
Galadriel pushed him away. "Yes, and she is currently alone. Go on!" And with one quickly stolen kiss Celeborn followed hi daughter out of the room. Galadriel, arms folded, smiled. "My two silver jewels," she said to herself, "there is no greater happiness than you."
Two hours later, as Galadriel walked beneath the trees of Lothlorien, she fought thoughts of what terrible fates might have befallen her dear child. She refused to imagine her darling Celebrían trampled beneath the hooves of a displeased horse. Such a thing, she chided herself, was mere flight of worriting fancy and had no place in destroying the mood of her peaceful stroll.
Wondering what could be taking them so long and deeming the time right, she made her way towards the stables just in time to see Celeborn lift an unhappy-looking Celebrían from her seat atop a particularly short and docile white mare. Celebrían, with complete disregard for her clothing, plopped down into the snow without sign of moving. Celeborn accepted this and, seeing Galadriel nearby, led the horse on, leaving the mother to tend her daughter.
Galadriel crouched low to be on an equal level with her scowling child. "Not as easy as it looks, is it?" she asked sympathetically.
"I hate horses!" Celebrían announced meaningfully. "And I do not like Ada very much, either!"
"Now, Celebrían, you do not mean--"
"Yes I -do-, Nana!" the child insisted. "I do mean it. They are mean!"
"Child..." Galadriel shifted to a seated position and Celebrían at once climbed onto her mother's lap and clung to her as though for life itself. Though the cold hardly bothered her Galadriel preferred not to have numb skin in certain regions, and so lifted her daughter and carried her into the stables, where Celeborn brushed out the coat of the white mare.
"What happened to her, Celeborn?" Galadriel asked.
"I tried to teach her to post," Celeborn answered, earning him a severe exclamation from Galadriel. "That did not go well, though she tried very hard."
Celebrían chose this very moment to recover her spirits, and so released her mother from a vice grip and, standing proudly if shortly, announced, "And tomorrow I am going to try again!"
And that was precisely what she did.
*
Many years later, Galadriel smiled at the memory. "I will," she resolved, "remember my daughter riding her horse. I will remember her laughter and her tales. I will remember her happiness."
She looked to the black-topped head by her side, her granddaughter sitting in the grass, and to the green field dotted with spring flowers of violet and white. Celebrían enjoyed spring flowers, and such pleasant things. She resolved to remember her happy, carefree daughter, the girl she hoped the Blessed Realms had the power to restore. "Celebrían would have wanted that."
*****
The end