Drabble 2

Lord Glorfindel and Renny walked together along the marble corridor, hung with beautiful woven tapestries. .

The Elf lord had promised Renny that he would show her Lord Elrond's library, which was almost always closed.

Renny loved literature and knew countless tales and stories and no one had the ability to tell them like her. Lord Elrond the Wise himself had appeared interested when Renny had told them the tale of King Arthur and Morgana.

She had seemed to get into the story she was telling, something Glorfindel deeply admired, though he was not a poor story-teller himself.

The Peredhel family had listened with great attention and admired her descriptions of Avalon, Camelot and the Round Table, but Glorfindel was amazed that a female human had that ability, and it was added to by the fact that Renny's face was highly expressive and had a mental agility and innate joy, as well as a disciplined mind. The Elf Lord knew that there was no maiden, not even among the fairer ellith, like her . The Elf had not yet begun to think seriously about what caused his heart to beat faster and more sweetly when she was near or with him, or to think that she was so different, or that her long, disheveled red hair as the fire was fascinating. The truth was that he enjoyed it and many times he had found himself longing have time to be with her and to hear her cheerful laughter, to see her bright blue eyes, her rebellious hair, her frank smile, her strange ideas and her stories and everything she told about that place called 'Earth'.

They had made a deal, Renny told him ancient legends from different parts of her world, and in return, he would show Lord Elrond's library. It was for that reason that they going down the long passage.

Glorfindel was running side glances his friend who looked around. And can you talk in the library?" She asked suddenly.

The Elf lord raised a surprised eyebrow at the question. "I'm sorry, but ... I do not understand what you mean."

"Well ... you see ... in the libraries of the Earth you cannot talk."

"And why not?"

"Because you interrupt people who are reading or are studying."

"Did you study there too?"

"Yes, but I preferred to study sitting in a tree. It was more comfortable and nobody kept telling me I couldn't talk or eat or move."

"Did you eat while you read?" He asked in surprise.

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "I used to be eating chocolate. You see ..it was to help my little brain understand what I was reading." Renny paused, "You know? It is a shame that you do not know chocolate here, you do not know what you are missing!"

Lord Glorfindel smiled. "I do not know what this choclèt is, but I am sure it is wonderful."

Renny nodded. "It is!"

He laughed as he swung open the door, and heard Renny gasped. Great pillars and statues were put in tasteful decoration, many ferns and flowers grew there, opening to the bright light that streamed through the windows. The sunlight that illuminated everything perfectly and which, at the same time, gave an air of mysticism and tranquility to the place. There was a complete silence, but it was neither a grave nor uncomfortable silence, it was a welcoming and friendly silence, where the reader could gather to the solitude and enjoy the reading.

"I cannot believe it!" Renny said in a hushed voice, "Not even the most beautiful libraries in Europe are so wonderful!"

She looked at the bookcases where the scrolls and books were all perfectly arranged.

"How many books does this library have?" She asked softly.

"We have too many to count." answered Lord Glorfindel truthfully. "But you could ask Lord Erestor. He seems to spend far too much time in here than is good for his mental health…as you may have noticed. And why are you talking so softly?"

"Because we are in a library. You have to be respectful." she added, waving her hand to emphasize what she had just said.

Lord Glorfindel nodded. "There is no one here apart from us at the moment, so there is no need to speak softly though. Come, you wanted to see one of the scrolls?"

"May I?" Renny said as her eyes shone with reverence. "May I? May l?"

Lord Glorfindel nodded, smiling as Renny darted to the shelf.

"Where can I read it?" She asked, taking it as carefully as if it were a crystal object

"Here, you can put it here," he pointed out, showing her a table

Renny set the scroll with such care that it astonished Glorfindel and, at the same time, pleased him. It was obvious that even without knowing exactly what it was, the girl gave it an incalculable importance and value.

Renny unwound the scroll slowly.

"What is this?" She asked, pointing to the strange characters that were written in flowing script.

"It is Sindarin." Glorfindel replied.

"Yes, but what does it say?"

Lord Glorfindel leaned over and read the title. "It's the 'Song of Nimrodel.'"

Renny took the scroll unrolled and placed it in front of him on the table.

"You read it to me, please, please, please?" she begged. "Please, Glorfindel, you read it to me, pleeeeaaase?"

The Elf lord smiled, amused. "This is a song, Renny."

"Then will you sing to me? Come on Glorfindel, say yes! Go on, say yes, do not be mean! You sing to me, please."

Lord Glorfindel could not help but chuckle

When Lord Glorfindel had finished singing, he stared at her for a moment. Renny's eyes were closed and a slight smile was drawn on her thin lips, her breathing was calm and she seemed to be in complete peace.

Lord Glorfindel had been watching her as he sang the 'Song of Nimrodel' and he had seen the change in Renny's gesture: from one full of joyous expectation to one of tranquility.

In those seconds, the Elf lord took the liberty of observing the face of his dear friend with attention. The big eyes, slightly upturned nose, thin pink lips, eyebrows the same color as her hair, all enclosed in a girlish face.

Suddenly Renny opened her eyes and said. "Your voice is beautiful, Glorfindel. It truly is. Just like the minstrels, it took me away. It took me to the Falls of the Nimrodel, and I saw Nimrodel dancing, and I saw Amroth's pain. What happened to them?"

Glorfindel smiled. "I thank you. No one knows for certain what happened to them. Nimrodel was lost in the mountains, and it is thought that Amroth son of Amdìr drowned."

Renny's face fell. "Oh." After a while she looked up. "So, these are your books?"

"Yes."

"Well ... scrolls and books. They are so different from the ones we use."

"How so?" asked Glorfindel, interested.

Renny frowned as if thinking how to explain herself. "Well ..." she began to say

Suddenly, her face lit up. "Wait here! I'll be back!"

Renny dashed into her room, rummaging through her belongings. Finally she pulled a book from her pack and a pen.

About ten minutes later, Lord Glorfindel's keen ear heard the rapid footsteps of someone running fast.

"Renny," he thought, smiling at himself.

As he guessed, a couple of minutes later Renny came in, her hair flying across her face.

"Here I am" she said panting slightly. "Look. This one of our books."

Lord Glorfindel carefully took the object that extended her. It was very different from anything he had ever seen in either of his two lives. The pages were almost of the same material of the Elvish books, but the paper was not so fine, and instead of leather covers there was something else, but they were cut into a much smaller rectangular shape..

The front cover had the illustration of what looked like a knight riding a brown horse. But what struck him was that the armor. It was crafted poorly he thought. On the back cover was a text he did not understand, opening the book, he saw that it was written in two languages, one of which he guessed to be Westron, though in some places Renny's handwriting was hard to decipher.

Renny approached. "This is Castilian of 1200, that is, at least about 800 years before I was born." she said. "This one here is English, it is the language that I speak, or used too." Lord Glorfindel looked up from the book and handed it to her.

"Please tell me, what does it say?" He asked gently.

Renny smiled. "Well, I'll start by saying that this work is known as 'The Song of Mío Cid' and tells the story of a Castilian knight and all his adventures. Since the king unjustly banished him until he died after having defeated King Albúcar of Morocco."

Lord Glorfindel raised his eyebrows in surprise. Apparently on Earth there were also stories of knights and wars.

"I will add that at the time this song was written, it was not read in silence, it was not even read aloud but ... it was sung. So, my lord, you will have the privilege of hearing me sing in Castilian." she added.

Lord Glorfindel smiled.

No doubt the music and feeling of both works were very different. For Lord Glorfindel to listen to Renny was to have felt transported to that place called Castile and to see to the called Don Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar followed by his army, moving away of his lands and leaving to his family by the unjust order of the king Don Alfonso.

Obviously Renny had not sung all the song, she had only sung until the time when the Cid had assembled a large army to defeat Garci Ordoñez.

When she finished singing, Renny stared at the Elf lord who seemed to be in a state of trance. At that moment, he had his expressive blue eyes fixed on the blue sky of hers and they shone in a very particular and different way ... it was a mixture of sweetness, tenderness and amazement. Renny, much to her dismay, blushed at the realization that she had impressed the Elf, but as for the strange light which she had lately noticed that shone more and more frequently in his eyes, she chose to ignore it. Why become illusions of something that would never be true? Most likely she was just seeing visions.

"That's all 'The Song of Mío Cid?'" asked Glorfindel.

Renny laughed. "No, it's much longer." she replied "But that's what you are going to find out"

Lord Glorfindel frowned slightly. What did she mean?

"Look," Renny continued, handing him the written pages "All these months, before bed, I've been translating it into what we're talking about ... Westron. It is not in verses as it is in the original, but the story is faithfully translated. You can read it here." She paused. " Perhaps you do not understand, but you can give an idea by the names that are written equal, and even, here you have the English translation."

"You really like this song, do not you?" He asked.

Renny nodded at once with a smile. "It's my favorite book." she said.

Lord Glorfindel smiled back at her. "I'll give it back to you as soon as I finish reading it," he said.

Renny shook her head. "No." she said "I give it to you, now it's yours."

The Elf stared at her. "I ... I ... do not ..."

"Oh come on!" said Renny, "Please take it. I want you to have it, it's my favorite book for my best friend, the best friend I've ever had in my life "

Lord Glorfindel looked up sharply. For a brief moment, it seemed to him that there was something else behind that bright gaze of joy that always illuminated her eyes, and her voice ... had a very slight tint of something different.

The Elf wondered if she would feel anything more than friendship for him. If so, he had for certain that, he would be the happiest Elf on Middle-Earth and even if he had to stay forever in Middle-Earth and lose his powers and immortality, he would be happy with her. But his illusion crumbled because almost immediately, Renny added:

"Also, imagine Glorfindel, my friend! You would be the only one in whooole Middle-Earth who would own a book in English!" She stared at him for a moment with a mischievous look. "I assure you that even Lord Elrond would be envious that you have this book, the only one of its kind in all of Middle-Earth"

Lord Glorfindel only smiled, but could not say anything because in a matter of a second the rising illusion that had been born in his heart had ... disappeared. If Renny realized, she did not seem to show it, for almost immediately she added:

"And ... ah! It takes something very, very important: a dedication "

Before the Elf had thought of saying or doing anything, Renny had taken the book from his hands and opened it on the first page, had drawn her pen and balanced on one leg, and placing the book on the other, began writing quickly.

Lord Glorfindel came over to support her.

"Thank you." said Renny, "Here you have it: a dedication for your book. You see, it is a custom on Earth that when you give a book, the person who gives it to you writes a dedication, so ... here is yours with your dedication "

The Elf lord took the book and read: 'To the best friend and Elf ever. With affection of your friend Renny.'

Glorfindel smiled and looked at her gratefully and tenderly, but there was also sadness, but almost immediately he managed to hide it. The same happened. If Renny realized, she did not seem to react to it at least in the moment because a second later, a slight wrinkle on her brow appeared.

"Did not you like it?" She asked, surprised and at the same time with a certain tone of sadness.

"No, no." Glorfindel was quick to reply "It's the best gift I've ever received in my-" he chuckled slight. "In my two lives."

Renny looked at him uncertainly and searched the truth in his eyes. "It's true, Renny, you made me very happy giving me this book." he said taking her hand and caressing it tenderly.

"So…? Why…?"

"Do not worry, Renny. Believe me, you have made me very happy and I am greatly privileged by the fact that you have given me a book and not any book, but your favorite book. Be assured that this is my most precious treasure." He kissed her hand. " Please forget whatever it is that has worried you, elvellon."

Renny looked at him for a moment, then smiled. "I will."

Lord Glorfindel smiled back.

But if both had been able to see inside the one and the other, they would have realized that they both cried.

So in case of doubt, I'll say that 'The Song of Mío Cid' or 'El Cantar de Mío Cid' is a medieval epic poem written around the year 1200 by a man known as Per Abbat. It's one of the greatest medieval work in Spain. The hero, don Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar also known as 'Mío Cid', was real. It is believed that he lived around the year 1000, but unlike what the epic poem describes him, the Cid was in real a mercenary.

The epic poem talks about the unfair exile of the Cid, the affront that the Infants of Carrión makes to the Cid's daughters, the payment of the Infants of Carrión to the Cid and the greatest battle of the hero against the powerful king Albúcar of Morocco.

Another interesting data: 'Mío Cid' means in arab 'my lord'. It comes from the arabian words 'mi sayid'.