Little Bright Star

by Earonn

Curtsy: to you, Eldrond, for being the best beta-Balrog in the whole of Arda; to you, Gild-Galad, for being a fantastic mini-Balrog and to you, Fym, for giving them such a cosy home:)

Dedicated: to Jaschenka with a huuuuge birthday-hug!

A/N
For those who haven't read my other story 'Narn Gil Galad' before: I'm following Tolkien's decision published in volume 12 of the 'History of Middle Earth' after which Gil Galad is the son of Orodreth and 'a Lady from the North', while Orodreth in turn is the son instead of brother of Angrod. The name of Gil Galad's mother isn't known, 'Helegethir' ('Ice on a River's Estuary') is my own invention.

This story is quite old, my muse first dictated it to me last summer. From the very beginning I found it perfect for you, Jaschenka, as it's about a young couple becoming parents for the first time.
...
Could I make my point clear any clearer:p

Big hugs and may we celebrate many more of your begetting days!

Beleriand had peace. It was the peace of the Great Watch, when Angband's power was constricted by the patrols of Maedhros, Angrod's and Aegnor' Elven cavalry on the plain of Ard-Galen and Fingolfin's warriors in Hithlum, led by his son Fingon. And by the power of Nargothrond, the mighty realm of Finrod Felagund.

Soon the peace would be disturbed. It was less than a year before Glaurung the Dragon appeared for the first time. But the Elves who lived in Felagund's hidden fortress did not know about the future. They enjoyed the safety Nargothrond offered its inhabitants.

One of the people who were responsible for this safety was Orodreth son of Angrod, grand-nephew of the king. As Finrod's steward he held the tower Minas Tirith on Tol Sirion, the small island in the mighty river Sirion where it flowed between the western Crissaegrim and the Ered Wethrin. This fortress was one of the main defences against Morgoth's power.

Yet today the elflord allowed himself a brief respite from the worries and labours of his position. All he wanted to be at the moment was Orodreth, husband of Helegethir daughter of Laerion of the Sindar, the most wonderful woman in the whole of Eä. His wife.

Many people smiled and greeted politely as they saw them strolling leisurely through rooms and hallways of the tower. The lord and the lady of Tol Sirion were well loved among their people, Orodreth for his friendliness and modest demeanour, and his lady for her down-to-earth nature and wisdom.

The two Elves went out into the warm late summer evening. The sky was clear and they could hear the Sirion whisper and sing his endless song.
With a smile Orodreth took Helegethir's hand. The danger was forgotten, and for a short time he just felt love and the happiness his marriage gave him.

They followed the western shore of Tol Sirion until they reached its southern end. Here the island ended in a small peak with the river's waters on both sides. This place was used as an orchard and the smell of ripe apples filled the air. Somewhere in the distance a dog barked joyfully.
When they found a small clearing with soft grass they sat down, holding each other's hands.
"I'm happy, you know," Helegethir said. "More than I ever could hope to be."
Orodreth didn't answer with words, instead he leaned forward and kissed his wife. They were married for almost two hundred years of the sun by now, and some things didn't need to be told by the voice of the mouth any more.
'Although,' he thought with a chuckle, 'one could claim that I do answer with a voice of the mouth...'

The kiss became deeper and more intense. Finally they lowered themselves down on the smooth bed beneath them.
After a while they parted, still feeling nothing but affection and happiness. Lying side by side, Orodreth and Helegethir looked up to the sky. The sun had vanished behind the mountains already and the first stars appeared. They lay and talked without words, using nothing but their hands holding each other and the constant stream of thoughts and feelings between their fëar.

When the sky was black, Helegethir began to count the stars as she had done in her childhood. She never could stop doing this, and even for one of the Eldar her love for Elbereth's lights was unusually strong.
"Look," she said, "this star right above us, shining so bright and clear. Isn't it wonderful?"
"Oh yes, it is," Orodreth answered, a dream expression on his fair face.
She turned her head. "You could at least look up and pretend to watch it."
Her voice betrayed the smile she hid so successfully. How could she be offended, after all, with her husband gazing at her that way?
With a soft touch on her cheek, Orodreth brought Helegethir's head back into its former position. "Please don't move. I do see the star, I see it mirrored in your eyes. And you are right, it is beautiful, almost as beautiful as the mirror itself."
He leaned forward and kissed her brow. Then he hovered over her, a little beside her head so he could see again how Elbereth's starlight shone in his wife's eyes.

To have her beloved so close was a little too much for Helegethir to withstand. She laid a hand on his neck ever so softly and pulled him down to her. Their kiss was tender at first, and it remained that way for a long time. But finally passion overwhelmed the young couple and they enjoyed a delicious love-making. Fulfilling as any love could be, taking hroa and fëa alike, with the song of the river nearby and the smell of apples in the air.
Morning touched the horizon when they finally found their fulfilment and lay in each other's arms, their eyes again facing the stars.

Helegethir searched for the bright star she had seen before. And indeed, by mere chance she could still see it through a gap in the otherwise closely interwoven branches of two trees and above a lower pass between high peaks of the Ered Wethrin.
"It is still there," she murmured.
A kiss brushed her temple and a content, warm voice asked, "What?"
"Our star." She pointed to the small light and Orodreth followed her gesture.
"Thank you, light of the Valar," he whispered, "for this wonderful night."

He turned around to take Helegethir into his arms until her head rested on his shoulder. Caressing her softly, he lay there content and listened to what the Sirion had to tell. Helegethir nestled into his embrace, leisurely playing with a strand of his silky hair. Such they remained until the sun appeared and the night's magic was over.

o-°-o-°-o-°-o-°-o-°-o-°-o-°-o-°

That in this night, for the first time during their marriage, it had been different than before, the two Elves could not know. But Helegethir remembered when she felt the new life, the touch of its fëa, faint yet patient and confident, she remembered the night, the smell, the grass and the river. And Elbereth's star that had witnessed the moment when her son – and it would be a son, she knew this as sure as she knew her own name – was brought into this world.
"My little bright star," she said and rested her hand on her belly.