A/N: The song is an adaptation of "The Wild Rover ", a traditional folk song.
Pineapple Fetish and roxasrules: The key to getting these chapters up ridiculously fast is already having them written. I only put up a few at a time so as not to overwhelm you. You two. The two of you who read my stories. You... two. God, I love you guys!
No, Nay, Never, No More
Aragorn had climbed to the top of the cliffs that overlooked Rivendell. Nellas, the Elf-maiden, had told him a great herd of ponies was grazing there. Normally, Aragorn would hardly trust Nellas for she had a great love of tricks and laughter like all of the Green-Elves. But something in Nellas's eyes had been different, in them the ranger saw not laughter, but rather admiration. She admired the horses.
The starlight was bright, so bright that Aragorn could see as though it were day. Everything was coated in silver and blue, for moonlight drains the world of the fire of day. As Aragorn stepped from the cliff's steep path he saw them.
A great herd of ponies, at least a hundred all told, ranging in color from black to fiery red to white. The silent night was filled with the sound of their soft breathing, their hushed neighs, and their muffled stampings.
All of them had long, shaggy manes and short, sturdy legs. They were wild ponies, and Aragorn could see that they had been bred for colder climates.
One of them, a mare, stood nearer to Aragorn than the others. She had a golden coat that gleamed softly in the starlight and her mane and tail were as white as daisy petals. A bright white star, nearly hidden beneath her forelock, was in the middle of her forehead. Soft brown eyes peered out at Aragorn from beneath her thick mane.
Those eyes... sparrows taking flight, acorns in the autumn, a fawn learning to walk, dark rich soil being plowed.
Aragorn blinked. Never had he seen so much intelligence in the eyes of any animal. The mare looked calmly back at him, expectant. Slowly the ranger extended his hand before him. The mare looked at him patiently. He took a tentative step forward, one more and his hand would be resting on that bright star...
"What are you doing?" an angry voice interrupted him. Abruptly Aragorn turned and dropped his hand. Whickers greeted this newcomer, the blue-eyed stranger Elrond had called his thel'ion.
"Are these your ponies?" Aragorn asked. The stranger was holding a blanket and glaring at the ranger suspiciously.
"They don't belong to anyone," he replied. "But I am their drover."
"Are they for sale?" Aragorn inquired.
"No," came the short answer. "Especially not that one." The stranger crossed and went to stand by the golden mare's head. She gave him an affectionate nuzzle and sniffed his pocket for treats. The young man did not stop her as she burrowed her nose into his coat pocket and licked up sugar cubes.
"And the other ones bite," the man added, continuing to glare at Aragorn. The other ponies had come closer, softly whinnying for treats. They surrounded the young man, rubbing up against him as though he were a long lost foal.
"We leave early in the morning," Aragorn said, watching the ponies carefully in case they really did bite. "You should get some sleep."
"I don't sleep inside," the boy replied scornfully. "But I will be ready come morning." Aragorn bowed and turned to descend the slope.
"You are too harsh on him, Falenor," the mare scolded in the horse-tongue. It is a language no Man can understand, and the Elves can barely grasp. But Falenor had been raised in the footsteps of Calenor and when he spoke in the Sindarin tongue the horses and ponies understood. "He is a good man. I saw it in his heart."
"Ho in Dunedain," (He is of the Dunedain) Falenor said. "Caristas man carho manka gul ai im?" (Do you know what he would do if he knew who I am?)
"Maybe he would not be as quick to judge as you."
"Manka amin estel inhon, amin alalag pain in idhrinn," (If I believed that, I would not have been running all these years) he sighed. The mare knelt and lay upon the ground. Falenor sat beside her and leaned back against her side.
"Your father ran, too," the mare said softly. "Maybe the time has come to stop running, my little one."
"Man caristas carim?" (What do you think I am doing?)
"A bridle is not such a bad thing if the rider is gentle."
"Nan'ennas sal nag," (But there is still the bit) Falenor argued, pulling the blanket over himself and gazing up at the stars. "Penrodo, lle alui hamma lath." (Besides, you've never worn a bridle). The mare laughed softly and laid her head down in the man's lap.
"Sleep well, my drover."
Nellas and her sister Caleyn listened to the silent exchange. They were Green-Elves, and had been Lathien's handmaidens before she went beyond the Sea. They had acted as nursemaids and playmates for Falenor when he was still a child. The sisters sat in the trees and sang softly, as they had done so many times before for Falenor and his mother.
"I've been a wild drover for many a year
I spent all my money on whiskey and beer,
And now I'm returning with gold in great store
And I never will play the wild drover no more.
And it's no, nay, never,
No nay never no more,
Will I play the wild drover
No never no more.
I went to an ale-house I used to frequent
And I told the landlady my money was spent.
I asked her for credit, she answered me, "Nay
Such custom as yours I could have any day."
And it's no, nay, never,
No nay never no more,
Will I play the wild drover
No never no more.
I took from my pocket ten sovereigns bright
The landlady's eyes opened wide with delight.
She said, "I have whiskey and wines of the best
And the words that spoke sure were only in jest."
And it's no, nay, never,
No nay never no more,
Will I play the wild drover
No never no more.
I'll go home to my parents, confess what I've done
And I'll ask them to pardon their prodigal son.
And if they forgive me as ofttimes before
Sure I never will play the wild drover no more.
And it's no, nay, never,
No nay never no more,
Will I play the wild drover
No never no more."
The Elf-maids finished singing and it seemed that Falenor had fallen asleep when suddenly he called out, "I don't drink!" The Green-Elves giggled and leapt away through the trees and back down into Rivendell.
