21. sunset
.
'When we first arrived in Middle-Earth, it was lit by stars alone.'
'Day and night?'
'There was no day and night. Only the starlit sky.'
'You saw the first sunrise?'
'Yes.'
Maglor did not elaborate, and something in his voice stopped them from asking.
(The last fruit of Laurelin, flaming in the sky, its light shining on the blue and silver banners in the distance, the sound of horns, the heavy chain forged from guilt and desperate pride and the weight of the unwanted crown-)
'Then, for some time, the Sun would not set at all,' he said at length. 'It would meet the Moon midway its voyage through the sky, and their lights would mix.'
'There was no sunset?'
'No sunset and no sunrise, nor could we see the stars. But only for a short time.'
'The sunset is beautiful.'
'It is.'
And it was, even if to Maglor's eyes it appeared slightly too similar to fire, a blazing halo disappearing slowly beneath the horizon, and too unlike the dwindling of the Golden Tree's light; he had long learnt to put such thoughts aside, and so it was only a little absent-mindedly that he complied to Elrond's insistence to be picked up for a better view.
'Hmm? Why, you will have to wait for your turn, Elros, or perhaps ask Maedhros? Unless you are scared of heights, of course.'