Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings however sad it may be. I only hope to represent Tolkien's work with an OC of my own. What you do not recognize from the books or movies or appendices or anything else of Tolkien's belongs to me.
"Not all those who wander are lost." ~J.R.R. Tolkien
Wow, alrighty. I am so ashamed of myself for taking almost an entire year to get back into this story. I suppose that's one of the downs of writing, but I feel terrible! This chapter was basically just to get back into writing and setting the pace for future events, not to mention to give some sustenance to all my fans (if they're even still here and haven't given up on me!) Please enjoy chapter ten!
10.
It had been weeks since the coronation, though celebrations still occurred almost every night. Now that the rightful heir sat on the throne, many men and women could hardly remember how it'd been while Lord Denethor, the late Steward had let Gondor fall to near ruin. Those that could remember didn't want to.
One particularly bright morning, Erynell awoke to bells ringing in the towers and many people situated on the streets. She sat up, wondering when she had fallen asleep and why she'd been so tired lately; usually she only slept maybe four hours a week, but she'd slept completely through the past two nights. Erynell shook her head to rid herself of the grogginess and looked through the window at the courtyard below.
Four small figures, no larger than children, were standing beside four brown ponies. In front of them was Aragorn, or King Elessar as people began to call him. Erynell widened her eyes and threw on her clothes, mentally berating herself for forgetting.
The hobbits! The saviors of Arda were to start their return journey to the Shire today! They could not go without saying goodbye! Erynell thought to herself as she exited the room.
The elf ended up racing through the many corridors and down the numerous stairs to get to the courtyard. Of course, the halls were all empty. No one would sleep in as she did and miss their departure! Erynell kept from slipping on the stairs and became anxious.
What if I saw their final goodbyes and they're already gone! I won't be able to push through the crowds!
Erynell wasn't breathing heavily due to her physical exertion, but due to the thought of her never seeing her friends again, and not even saying goodbye. However, as she rounded another corridor, she tried to tell herself how unrealistic she was being. She had promised to visit them in the shire, after all.
It was with this thought that she turned ahead and saw blue. Realizing what it was at the last moment, Erynell tried to slow to a stop. Instead, their bodies collided and Erynell found herself staring at that damned tunic from a centimeter away.
"Mê g'ovannen, Lord Legolas." Well met. Erynell risked looking up at his face and saw he was looking down at her with something akin to….relief?
"Erynell! Thank the Valar, the hobbits are asking to say goodbye to you? Come!" He spoke quickly in Elvish and Erynell followed as he let her go and turned away. "What were you doing to be so late?"
Erynell sighed, "I'm afraid I slept this morning past my due. I awoke to the bells and hurriedly dressed for farewell." At her words, Legolas frowned, once again looking over to her, but still walking quickly.
"You slept the last night, did you not?" Legolas asked. When Erynell met his gaze, she realized it wasn't a frown of annoyance on the Elven-Prince's face, but concern.
"Yes, my lord, and the night before that." Her words became quiet, so much so that it was hard for Legolas' elven ears to hear them. He didn't stop walking, but he shook his head.
"What ails you, Erynell? Are you sick?" Even she could hear the disbelief in his voice; elves don't simply get sick on a whim.
"No, Lord Legolas, I do not feel ill. Simply….tired." Erynell shook her head. Legolas appeared as if he were about to speak again, but they arrived in the courtyard.
"Erynell!" Four small voices squeaked. Two made their ways over to her, forgetting about the ponies and even walking past the King and Queen. Erynell laughed and walked over to meet them by their ponies.
"My lords! Has the day already come that you will remove yourselves from our presence?" Erynell knelt down to be at eye level with them all.
"Yes, my lady!" Merry answered. Pippin nodded his head victory and stood a little closer to her.
"You know what I'm doing as soon as I return to the Shire?" He asked her, almost daring her to guess.
"What would that be, Sir Took?" Erynell asked.
Pippin put his hands in the air. "I'm going to eat three breakfasts! And another meal every hour until I cannot eat anymore!" He exclaimed.
"You'll never stop, Pip, probably just burst in the end." Merry frowned, speaking seriously. Erynell just laughed.
"We have enough food for fifty hobbits already!" Sam said, gesturing to the ponies and their saddlebags. "It's a shame I don't still have my cooking gear, we'd dine like noble hobbits!" Sam was probably lamenting the pots and pans he'd spoken to Erynell about one time. In order to lighten their load up the side of Mount Doom, he'd had to throw them off the incline.
"Sam, you're already a master with food, I'm sure you of all hobbits can figure something out." Sam started to blush at Erynell's words, and he looked at his huge, hairy feet while she smiled.
Finally, she turned to Frodo and put a hand on his shoulder. "I wish you the best of luck out there, Frodo Baggins, and I refuse to allow this to be our final farewell."
Frodo placed his hand on top of hers and grinned, "Come visit in Bag-end. You're probably too tall for the ceiling but tea is at four o'clock sharply and you're welcome any time."
"I might just take you up on that offer." Erynell smiled and stood. It seemed as if they'd just met yesterday, but they'd become fast friends.
Erynell realized as her eyes became cloudy that in her memory, she'd never had to say a goodbye such as this. She kept reminding herself that they'd see each other again, but it was one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do.
"Goodbye, my friends! You're the best hobbits I've ever known." Erynell grinned down at each of them. Pippin looked up, confused.
"We're the only hobbits you've ever known!" His tone held accusation, but she just leant down and whispered in his ear.
"And you're the best hobbits I ever will know, I'm sure." She smiled. They shared a last hug, then Erynell stepped back to let the rest of the company of the ring say their goodbyes.
By the time the hobbits had actually mounted their ponies and made their way through the rings of the white city, the time was high noon. Erynell watched them go and then retreated into Minas Anor with the rest of her friends.
She ate in the hall at the King's table, as she had been doing every day for the past few weeks. To her left sat Legolas and to her right was some advisor to the king she hadn't met before. Erynell only knew that the man drank too much. Across from her sat Gandalf, whose eyes she could not meet, and beside him Queen Arwen Ûndomiel. Gimli was off to find an ale somewhere in the hall and at the head of the table was Aragorn himself.
At first they were eating in silence, but Erynell had to ask a question that had been plaguing her mind. Finally, she looked up to Gandalf.
"How did Frodo get the ring, Mithrandir?" Since they argued last, she had taken to calling him his Elvish name. The table all looked at her, and she almost wished she hadn't asked, but there was no better time.
"It was given to him by his uncle Bilbo. Bilbo found it in a mine in the possession of the creature Gollum, then went on in his quest to slay a dragon." Gandalf summarized this quickly and Erynell ignored the last part. So the Bagginses were prone to adventure.
"How did it find its way to Imladris?" She asked him. The table stopped eating.
"The Nazgûl were searching for the ring after being given information by the creature Gollum. He had to flee to Bree and then went with Aragorn to Imladris." Aragorn put down his goblet at his mention.
"I went only partway. Arwen rescued Frodo from the darkness of a Morgul blade and saved his life, in the end." Aragorn put his hand over his wife's and chuckled. Erynell still couldn't believe how he looked so well groomed, out of his leather, and without the blood on his hands all the time.
"In any case," Gandalf picked up and sputtered a bit, "the ring had to be destroyed. So the company of nine, the Fellowship of the Ring, that is, had to set out and destroy it. And here we are." Erynell believed that he left out a few key details, but didn't say anything. It was that number, nine, that she had to wrap her mind around.
"Alas, Mithrandir, I only know of eight. What of the final member of your company?" Erynell did the mental calculations and asked before she realized anything was amiss.
The table grew silent, and while no one was staring at her any longer, they were all staring at their food. Even she lost her appetite of the roast chicken before her.
Finally, Legolas answered slowly, "Boromir of Gondor, son of Denethor the Steward, was an honorable man. He was pierced by three arrows of the Uruk-hai after defending the hobbits from capture. He fell in battle."
"Denethor…" Erynell thought for a moment, "Faramir's brother!" Her cheeks now burned from asking. Could elves even blush?
"Sauron the Deciever attempted to use Boromir as a way to get him the ring. His heart almost fell into darkness, but he prevailed in the end." Aragorn picke dup his fork once again and resumed eating at his words. Gimli then returned to the table, and after a loud belch on behalf of the dwarf, conversation resumed to more positive topics.
Erynell stood half an hour later, wanting to retreat into her room. She found she could barely stand, she was so exhausted. Legolas looked up and stood as well.
"My lady, allow me to escort you." Legolas held out his arm and Erynell took it. She had hoped to simply slip away but now the entire table was bidding her goodnight. She nodded to them all and started walking.
"I apologize, Lord Legolas. I did not mean for such a sadness to fall upon the dinner table." Erynell sighed and trudged up the stairs.
"You were in no wrong. Boromir needs to be remembered, in any way possible." After a few moments of silence when Erynell did not respond, Legolas added, "And why must you call me Lord Legolas, you did not before we came to Gondor."
"Well, I thought that was customary…did I do something wrong?" Erynell was genuinely confused, she had to learn about titles as she went on.
"Nothing you have done is amiss, Erynell, but I would think of us as equals and as friends. Such formalities go beyond what we've been through." Legolas shook his head and kept walking up another stair.
"Thank you, Legolas, but you are a Prince after all." Erynell was blushing again, so she looked down.
"Are you so sure you're not a Princess?" Legolas asked her. His face was completely serious. Erynell simply rolled her eyes. He stopped them from walking any further and looked at her face. Erynell tried to laugh it off.
"I am not sure of anything, you know this." Erynell answered. Legolas shrugged. It then appeared he was about to say more when Erynell yawned. The Elven Prince turned her completely to face him.
"What is this, why are you so tired?" Legolas said. Erynell was taken aback by his seriousness.
"I cannot possibly know the answer to that, all I know is that I find relief in sleep. I would like to go to bed now, actually." Erynell frowned.
"Please, Erynell, do not go to sleep tonight, do anything you can to stay awake." Legolas was almost pleading with her. How could she not sleep? The more she thought about it, drifting off in her warm bed, the more she wanted to curl up right then and there.
"I'm just tired, Legolas." Erynell started walking away but Legolas continued holding her shoulders.
"Erynell…" He started.
"By the Valar! I will not be lost if I simply sleep a bit more." The way Legolas was reacting to this, Erynell didn't even sound sure.
"What have you even done today to make you this way? When is the last time you even went outside the walls of the courtyard?" Legolas asked. Erynell concentrated but couldn't think.
"I don't remember!" Then, she paused. Her memory… "Maybe I'm tired of not remembering who I am! Of where my home is! Of how to address royalty in its simplest form!"
"Erynell, that's not-" Legolas started, he mostly simply looked confused. She didn't like how he was looking down at her.
"You said it yourself! I wouldn't be able to remember if I was a princess, I couldn't remember my own name! I have to have a wizard poking around in my own head to find anything I might be able to grasp as my own, and even then I don't remember anything!" Erynell had pulled away and backed into a wall. Legolas was standing straighter, and not saying anything, only looking down at her with what looked like pity.
"Please, Legolas, don't look at me like that. I'm tired and this is exactly what it's about." Erynell looked him in the eye as he masked his expression. Somehow, he could communicate his thoughts with a simple look.
"When have you ever woken up in a forest with no memories, only to be taken captive by men on enormous beasts simply staring at you, and then being rescued but having the symbol of the enemy of Arda blazing in your head, having a wizard promise you that it'll all come back, and then fighting in a war you don't even know the origins of!" Erynell was almost to hysterics. She didn't know why she kept going, or why she was having this conversation with Legolas of all people, but her cool façade was cracking.
"Every lead is a dead end! Every time I get hope, it's crushed, and every time I try to ignore the feelings or push them away, they return tenfold! I can't just ignore what's happened, or what I can't even remember has happened! I'm pretending to be okay and it's crushing me!" Erynell finished and looked away.
Again, Legolas said nothing, but he took a few steps toward her and brushed the hair out of her face. Erynell was afraid he'd say something again, but he simply grasped her hand, threaded it through his arm, and continued walking with her towards her room.
At the door, Erynell turned to him, forcing herself to look up.
"I am sorry for how I acted, it was-" Erynell stopped when Legolas started shaking his head.
"Stop apologizing, Erynell. Goodnight." Legolas turned away and walked back the way he'd come. The collar of his tunic was slightly skewed, Erynell noticed, but turned away and walked into her room before the Elven Prince glanced behind him again in concern.
She leant against the door and looked at the bed. Oh, how she wanted to envelop herself in the warmth of the blankets and rest on the feather-pillows. But she couldn't move an inch.
'Please, Erynell, do not go to sleep tonight, do anything you can to stay awake.' Legolas seemed concerned, and she couldn't bring herself to strip down and climb in to fall asleep.
'anything you can to stay awake…'
The elf buried her head in her hands and thought for a moment.
'stay awake…'
Erynell made up her mind and abruptly walked over to the wardrobe on the other side of the room. Her mind at the moment was somehow clear, probably from all the embarrassment she caused herself tonight. Throwing on the original outfit of leggings and overcoat that was given to her by Eowyn of Rohan, Erynell resolved to go for a ride.
'When is the last time you even went outside the walls of the courtyard?' Legolas had asked her. He was right, it had been a few weeks since she last went to the stables, and even longer since actually getting onto Léod.
Erynell managed to sneak away without anyone noticing her absence. It helped that elves were especially light-of-foot, even if Erynell was a pretty sad excuse of an elf. Just for good measure, she grabbed an apple out of a basket in a random corridor, knowing Léod would more than likely try to ignore her when she went into his stall.
She was right.
After going through a few of the city's rings to get to the stables, she was ready to go out for a ride on her horse. However, the stallion simply raised his head a bit and perked his ears forward as she entered. He then proceeded to turn around so only his rear end was showing.
Erynell sighed. She had expected this, after all. So, she kept calling his name softly, held the apple aloft and entered his stall. Léod sniffed the air and glanced at the apple, but simply raised his head causing Erynell to back off a bit.
"Oh, come on." She spoke in Sindarin. Not knowing what else to do, Erynell slowly brought the apple up to her own mouth and took a good-sized bite. A small bit of juice dribbled down to her chin and Léod smelled the air again.
"I'm not trying to taunt you, Léod." She held the apple out again and allowed him to step towards her a bit. "I'm sorry for not seeing you in forever, I have no excuse, but I can't go to sleep so we," she paused as he started to eat the apple, "are going out for a little midnight ride."
Sure enough, Léod was saddled and ready to go no more than half an hour later. Erynell laughed as he started to get a bit agitated, definitely ready to get out of the confines of his stall. The stable hands would have exercised him, surely, but this was much more personal.
In no time, the two had flown through the remaining rings of the white city and arrived at the gate. They had no problem with the guard in letting them out, though he was certainly surprised to see a rider this late at night. Erynell and Léod galloped out into the expanse of night before them, taking in the freedom of horse and rider long into the dawn.
Erynell had been managing to stay awake during the nights as long as she went out with Léod. In the daytime, it was more difficult for her since she was under constant scrutiny due to the severe lack of horses in Minas Tirith. Then again, there was also a severe lack of Elves in the white city as well. Around Minas Anor, she felt like a burden, there was no cause for her to feel this way but the thoughts always plagued her mind as she wandered the grand halls. Anyone she talked to always reassured her that she would be welcome for as long as she decided to stay and if she would ever visit again when she left.
But, that was it. There was always talk of her leaving. Erynell didn't know where she'd go, maybe Imladris or Lothlórien to overstay her welcomes there as well, but all in all she was a homeless elf. Homeless and hopeless.
Every time she went into her room to bathe or change her clothes, Erynell would have to stop and think. Her small amount of possessions weren't substantial enough to make this room her own. She merely took up space. Erynell almost felt like a fraud, or an intruder in her own skin.
This isn't me, I don't know who I am. I do not belong here and I'm so drastically unimportant. You say I saved your king from an orc. I tripped! When will you finally realize that I don't belong?
The Elvish circlet sitting beside her bed, too, mocked her. She would spend time holding it or studying its make, though could not bring herself to put it on. The mysterious gift was probably causing her more grief than was intended, but Erynell could not push the thoughts aside.
The days blurred together, and Erynell almost actively avoided seeing anyone in the corridors when she traversed them. One day at Dawn, Erynell was returning from her nightly ride with Léod when she came upon a very strange sight.
"Legolas!" She called before being able to stop herself. The Elf turned around towards the sound of her voice and simply nodded. He was out of the tunic, and dressed once again in the garb of the days before they arrived in Minas Tirith. His travel clothes fit him well, and he looked out of place with the rucksack on his back around a quiver full of arrows.
"Erynell, good day to you." He said, slightly hesitantly.
"Are you going somewhere?" Erynell asked, eyes once again landing on his rucksack. The farewells to the hobbits were difficult enough, now she would dismiss her own kin.
"I made a promise to a friend to explore some glittering caves with him." Legolas looked behind him as Gimli practically tripped out of the King's Tower. He, too, was dressed to travel with a newly-sharpened battle ax at the ready. Erynell shivered slightly at the mention of underground, though she knew not why.
"You failed to mention this." Erynell didn't want it to sound as if she was scolding Legolas, but that is what occurred. Legolas smiled slightly and simply apologized.
"What will you do by our leave?" Legolas asked. Gimli walked up and looked at the two of them. Erynell decided to switch to the tongue of Westron, just to include the dwarf in conversation. However, Legolas' question caught up with her. Erynell racked her brain and made a split second decision.
"I will set off for Lothlórien in two days time." She forced a smile on her face. Legolas, however, was instantly concerned.
"Is that wise? Do you know the way? Have you the knowledge to travel?" Legolas said. Erynell was slightly annoyed but kept the smile upon her lips.
"I shall hire a guide. Do not worry, I will fare well and will not travel unprepared. I thank you for your concern." Erynell spoke, hiding the bit of insult she felt at his words.
"Then I bid thee farewell, Lady Erynell, for my companion and I were to set out at dawn." Legolas suppressed his concern well and turned to Gimli.
"Goodbye, lass, good luck out there." The dwarf patted her on the arm and huffed into his beard before turning away. Erynell started to turn her back on the pair as well. In a moment, she felt a warm hand inside of her own and looked back. Legolas held her hand up and bowed down, placing it on his lips before striding away as well without another word.
Erynell simply huffed and made way to her room. She had some packing to do.
Reviews:
Kurosaki girl 0890: I'm so glad I could make your day, even if it was almost eleven months ago. I hope you enjoy this most recent chapter as well, I must say I'm slightly disappointed in it, but I simply have to get back into the swing of things.
jdsnape: Thanks a bunch! I definitely didn't rush for this chapter, haha, but I'm glad you like the hobbits so much! I do my best with all the characters to make sure they're not basically like my own OOCs, and I promise this isn't the end of the halflings.
The-Right-Girl: I just really don't know what to say to you, you're so amazing! I'm extremely pleased you like my writing, and I'll try to reveal more about Erynell's past later on!
heroherondaletotherescue: Aaaawwwwww your comment made me blush thanks so much!
horseyyay: wow so many smilies haha! Thanks, I hope this update wasn't too not-soon enough for you? Sorry for the wait!
Stella: Thanks a bunch! I hope I kind of covered the whole freaking-out thing in this chapter, your comment made me smile so much, thank you!