Hello :) I'm really sorry I took so long to update :( ...I honestly do try to get them in as fast as possible; it's very hard with school and everything. I promise it won't be so long before the next chapter! :D
Also, thank you to all of the people who reviewed! I appreciate it very much :D
Oh yes! Here's this:
As requested by GloryBee, I'll here are translations of each of the Elvish names I created:
Fёawen- Spirited Maiden
Fёa-spirit, (g)wen-maiden
Gildereth- Wanderer of the Stars. Unfortunately, when I chose this one, I didn't do any research, so while der or dir is the masculine form of "wanderer," "eth" is a feminine suffix...oops… :P
Gil-star, der or dir-wanderer (masculine), eth-feminine suffix
Erethas- Lone Rune
Er-lone, Certhas—rune (can be shortened in names)
And from now on, when I introduce a new character, I'll give the translation of their name. :)
Well, anyway, here's the chapter! I hope you like it :D
It was one of Legolas' few days to himself, free of meetings, dry political lunches, or long dusty hours among the stacks of books that made up the ship's "library". (which included, as well as many books from Mirkwood, about a third of Elrond's library. The great Elf's collection was so large that books had begun to spill into the food stock houses of Elrond's ship before the captain put his foot down, leaving a substantial number on shore.
The look Legolas gave Gimli would have withered even the strongest of Elves' self-confidence for a moment, but it did little to the Dwarf.
"Friend," he said, emphasizing the word and making it clear that while he said "friend," it would take very little to change it to "mortal enemy," "I think you are mistaken. I will not budge in such a matter. What is your obsession with finding me a maiden? I will not seek love. If I am meant to have it, love with find me." Gimli sighed. The Elf was a shameless romantic.
"I am only joking, Legolas! What in Arda is the matter with you today?" The Elf shook his head as if to clear it.
"Sorry, Gimli, I am simply tired," he replied, giving his friend a strained smile. He pushed the door open as they came to it. When they were inside, he shut it quickly and breathed a sigh of relief. Elf maidens never came up to him when he was with Gimli, but his friendship with the Dwarf did not save him from the sickening glances. Gimli made no comment as they sat in their usual chairs.
"So, friend, what do you want for lunch?" asked Legolas. Gimli shuddered visibly at the thought. He was finally relatively steady on his legs, but whenever the waves were rough, he had difficulty keeping food down. Since the seas had generally been calm, this didn't matter much, but today the water was rather wild.
"I think I'll wait for a calm spot, but thank you anyway," he replied. "Look at the waves, though. It looks like a storm's coming." Legolas glanced out a window at the grey-blue sea and cloudy skies.
"I agree. It looks as though it will be quite strong, too. I only hope it doesn't last too long, or we'll have to keep your food down for you," he laughed. Gimli narrowed his eyes.
"Speaking of keeping food down, I was just remembering the first time you tried cram," he said, laughing at the expression on the Elf's face.
"What would it take to put in just the slightest amount of something other than flour, salt, and water? I've never tasted anything so disgusting in my life. Can you honestly say you have?"
"But of course," said Gimli, chuckling darkly. "It's a Dwarvish variation of cram. We mine salt with ease, but flour we must buy, so it has about twice as much salt and half as much flour! The way Men make it was refreshing." Legolas grimaced.
"Perish the thought! I am only glad I'll never have to taste another piece. It is well that we arrived at Lothlorien when we did. I don't believe I'd have been able to live on that "bread" much longer."
"No, of course, your highly refined palate was indeed unable to cope with the flavor," said Gimli in mock sympathy. "You learned what everyone who tries the stuff does: it takes practice to eat."
"Why eat something so repulsive when you could easily make something twice as appetizing and equally able to be preserved?" he persisted, laughing. Gimli chuckled before turning serious again.
"It's probably so simple and cheap that they don't want to change their recipe. There's also tradition, I suppose. It's always been what Men made when their food had to survive a long journey," he said.
"In other words, pure idiocy," said Legolas, grinning. Gimli laughed.
Legolas joined in, and soon they were both laughing uncontrollably for completely unknown reasons, clutching their sides and gasping for breath.
Amidst their light-hearted laughter, there came a knock on the door. Gimli was oblivious, but Legolas heard it and quieted at once, assuming his usual controlled countenance. Anyone who wasn't very close to the Prince would have thought the expression and posture natural, but those who were knew it only as a mask, completely hiding any emotion he had beneath it. He calmly waited for Gimli's laughter to subside before answering. "Come in," he said. The door opened, revealing a raven-haired she-Elf with exotic blue eyes. Legolas's entire demeanor relaxed visibly, and a soft smile graced his lips. He stood up to greet the newcomer with a kiss on her pale cheek. "Niёlin! How are you? I wondered when I'd see you! And where is Eäros?" he said happily, pulling back. She laughed gently at his enthusiasm.
"In our rooms, of course. I have come to invite you to lunch, my lord. I believe Eäros wishes to see you as well. It has been a long time," she said. Legolas smiled.
"I'm afraid I will have to accept, my lady. Surely Gimli may come as well?" he said. He turned to the bewildered Dwarf behind him. Gimli thought very highly of Elvish beauty, and while this Elf was no Galadriel, she was clearly quite beautiful.
"You needn't eat anything, but I do want you to meet Eäros, too. He and his sister Niёlin are old friends of mine who used to reside in Lothlorien," he said, ignoring the Dwarf's confusion. "Perhaps you remember them? I believe I introduced you when we passed through there, but we had little time to talk, and you were very anti-Elf at the time." He (only half-correctly) took the Dwarf's confusion to mean that he didn't. "Well, this is Niёlin." She smiled kindly at him. "And this, as you know, Niёlin, is Gimli son of Gloin."
"A pleasure to meet you, my lady," he said gruffly.
"And you as well, Gimli son of Gloin. I have heard much about you in the Prince's letters. I would love to speak with you in person, as will, I think, Eäros."
"Thank you very much for the invitation, my lady. I would be honored to join you and your brother," said Gimli, glancing up at the beautiful she-Elf in front of him. Legolas smiled gratefully. He had been worried the Dwarf would refuse, since his attitude toward unknown Elves had deteriorated a bit since Erathas's ridicule and the pitching of the boat.
"Excellent. May we come now, lady, or shall we wait and come at an appointed time?" he asked, turning to Niёlin. She laughed softly.
"You shall come now, of course! Don't be silly, Prince," she said, still smiling. She turned and gracefully walked to the door. "Follow me."
Turning to Gimli, he motioned the Dwarf to follow. "I thank you, lady. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't seen you and Eäros before we moved into our respective kingdoms. Then it would have been weeks to our next meeting."
Gimli blinked and started forward. He was used to Legolas keeping secrets, but a maiden? Especially considering the topic of their conversation earlier that day. He didn't know whether to be irritated or chuckle. Instead, he rolled his eyes, trailing after Legolas and Niёlin. The two Elves talked animatedly, their conversation flowing back and forth quickly between odd subjects and often making references to past events of which he had no knowledge.
He stopped trying to decode the numerous confusing comments by the time the emerged onto the deck. Turning his attention from the Elves in front of him, he instead focused on the many goings on around him. The sun had come out since he and Legolas had predicted the storm, and sunlight glittered on the sapphire waves and in the eyes of the numerous Elves that surrounded him.
He had never seen Elves so happy in Middle Earth. No, happy was not the right word. Elves were perfect, graceful, and beautiful creatures, but here, now, they simply shone. The only other place he had ever seen anything like that gleam was in the eyes of Samwise Gamgee when he and the rest of the hobbits turned their faces toward the Shire. Merry and Pippin enjoyed the adventure too much to be overjoyed, and it was quite a long time before there was any light at all in poor Frodo's eyes, but what Sam felt at that moment was unable to be put into words. Not for the first time, Gimli pondered what Valinor could possibly be like, what wonders inspired such emotion in the Eldar. Remembering stories Legolas had told him of the original Noldor and Teleri Kingdoms, and of the Vanyar and the Maiar, he anticipated travelling to the kingdom of the Noldor the most. He sighed as he thought of the Silmarils, wishing he had seen them when they had existed.*
There was a shriek and a crash as an Elf maiden with golden hair collided with Gimli and fell fluidly to the ground. Elves have a peculiar way of looking as though they meant to fall, if they ever do fall (which is rare). The Dwarf, with his low center of gravity and rock-like build and character, only stumbled a bit and caught himself. He turned to help the Elf up, apologizing gruffly, but she gathered herself to her feet with as much dignity as she could muster, nodded to him curtly before shooting a glowering look at Niёlin and stalking off. Niёlin, who had turned to find the source of the scream, looked sideways at Legolas in a manner that spoke clearly of teasing. Legolas resolutely ignored her.
"Are you alright, Gimli, since the lady wasn't kind enough to ask?" he asked, motioning in the direction that the Elf maiden had gone.
"'Course. I didn't beat you in our last orc-hunting competition by getting bruised by the smallest blow, did I?" the Dwarf replied.** Legolas grinned, admitting defeat, then resumed his conversation with Niёlin. Gimli was more careful of his surrounding as they proceeded toward the back of the ship. He shook his head. He was becoming almost as dreamy and impractical as the Elves.
Now that he looked around, he noticed several more Elf-maidens shooting Niёlin dark looks. He grinned mischievously and made a mental note to tell Legolas afterwards. He followed the Elves as Niёlin led them up three flights of steps and onto a section of the ship Gimli had never seen before. They appeared to be on an upper deck. They turned right and continued toward the back of the ship. Another level of rooms rose to his left. Finally Niёlin turned and led them through a door that opened onto a long hallway. This hallway, however, was different than any of those below. Here, the lighting was different, more natural. Gimli glanced upward and gasped. Instead of being lit by torches, these halls were illuminated by the sun. The entire ceiling was made of such pristine glass that he could see a seagull feather as it blew in the wind above them. The sheets of glass were put together in complex patterns that seemed never to repeat. Once again, Gimli was struck, if grudgingly so, by how beautiful Elvish architecture was. However, it didn't seem like a terribly good idea, making a ceiling out of glass.
"Isn't it in danger of breaking in a storm?" said Gimli incredulously. Niёlin laughed.
"No, of course not. It is cut from the finest quartz, and assembled in such a way that is stronger than the hardest of woods." Gimli's jaw dropped. Quartz. It was not glass, but quartz.
"It is beautiful," he said reluctantly.
"I am sure the ceiling's craftsmen would appreciate your compliments, lord. Would you like to meet them after lunch? I'm sure they would love to talk to you. Their rooms are down the hall," said Niёlin. Gimli looked taken aback.
"Er…sure, my lady," he replied. "Thank you."
"Excellent. I will inquire further after lunch then," she said, smiling. "We are almost to our rooms. Eäros and I share a sitting room, though we have separate sleeping quarters." Legolas nodded, evidently trying not to comment about Gimli's attitude toward the Elvish artwork. Almost immediately, she stopped, knocked on one of the doors, and opened it without waiting for a response.
*For those who haven't read the Silmarillion, (I don't blame you; it's a bit dry...) the Noldor, the Teleri, and the Vanyar are the three clans of the Eldar. The Vanyar are the highest, fairest, and most noble of the three. The Noldor are most skilled in the mining and craftsmanship of precious stones and metals. One of the Noldor's most skilled artists, Fёanor, created the Silmarils, three brilliant jewels made from the light of the Elvish gods. The Teleri are the most musical, and they are skilled in seafaring and the art of creating things made of wood. The Maiar are the next highest beings, above the Eldar. Gandalf, or Mithrandir is one of the Maiar.
**After the Ring was destroyed, Sauron's dark creatures continued to breed, and Elf, Dwarf, and Man alike hunted them until they fled into the darkest crevices of the deepest caves. Even now they live there, increasing their numbers. Occasionally some venture out into the light, but they are slaughtered almost immediately.
Well, that's that. Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it. Please, please review! :D
Sorry about the references to the Silmarillion, those of you who haven't read it, but the Lord of the Rings doesn't talk much about Valinor.
As promised, here are the translations of Niёlin and Eäros:
Niёlin- Song of Tears
Nië-tear, lin—song
Eäros- Sea Foam
Eä-sea, ros-foam
Thanks very much for reading! :)