Of Mirilendilme and Legolas




Melwen, with her mother who was of Greenwood and whose father was King Malgalad that died alongside King Oropher at the assault on Mordor, was welcomed into the royal court by Oropher's heir, Thranduil. Here she raised her daughter Mirilendilme under the thick eaves of Greenwood the Great. Now young Mirilendilme, though she had some of the reservation of her mother's demeanor, bore more likeness to her father. The fire of her forefathers was manifested in her black hair and eyes pale as ice. She had some of the ambition and pride of the Noldor, and delighted in works of craft. And ever she felt a longing in her heart to return to the roads that ran over Middle-Earth, and also to find the Sea and thence find the West. And though her sire and his father had rebelled against the legacy of their forefather, Feanor, the curse of the Noldor that had rendered its destruction in ages past had haunted them, as some suspected it had also followed her.

Of the traditional Silvan Elves under the governance of Thranduil, many had their personal judgments against the Eldar, and disapproved of young Mirilendilme. But she was accepted well by the children of the royal court, who would delight in the gifts of craft she would make for them. Since she had no metal to wrought as her father once had, with the wood of the forest she would make for them harps to play during the frequent festivities; and weapons, stronger than they were accustomed to, that they would practice with.

Now well before Melwen and had come to the realm of Thranduil, his son Prince Legolas was born. Mirilendilme had long reached full height, and though she was still considered a youth by the standard of Elves, she built up a mind to go forth from the hidden seclusion of Thranduil's realm. But then she beheld the child prince, and even from the first she was so touched by his beauty, and the gentleness she could see in his heart, that for a long while she forsook her desire to leave. And thus she stayed while he swiftly grew. Often he would be left in her care, but she had no complaint; reveling in the honor of protecting the treasure of the King and his people.

Now like his people young Legolas was fun-loving and high-hearted and light in spirit, but unlike many he was one of few Dark Elves of Greenwood who had love for the Sun. He delighted greatly when Mirilendilme, of a like mind toward the Sun, would take him out to venture through the woods by day, when they could behold the sunlight sparkling green through the high leaves of the trees. And though like his people he was less ambitious and content with his home, he was delighted also by the stories she told of the Eldar legends from ages past. Constantly as a child he would ask her questions of her forefathers and of the Elves of the West - question after question until he fully understood the answer; for he was ever fascinated by the light of the West that shined in the Eldar as it did in her. So much like her mother, she thought, who had similarly been so captivated by her father the Noldo.

The long years of the Third Age rolled by, and the children of Greenwood went out into the woods less and less as the Shadow of Dol Guldur grew thick over the Forest, which had long earned the nickname Mirkwood by the neighboring settlements of Mortal Men. The King had withdrawn his kingdom far to the northeastern corner of the great wood, and had built underground halls of stone for his people to protect from the ever-growing threat of Enemies (Mirilendilme had been present when the company of Dwarves were imprisoned, though at the time she could give no council to the King). But a few years after the Quest for Erebor, they began to receive more frequently the grim news of the rising power of the Dark Lord affecting the neighboring kingdoms. Finally when the prisoner of Aragorn escaped during the attacks of the Orcs, Thranduil appointed his son as ambassador to Imladris.

At this Mirilendilme grieved, and feared for her dear friend. She had been as a guardian over the prince for so long, and could hardly bear the thought of not going with him (especially considering the dubious condition of the Misty Mountians), and offered to at least join his escort to the Eastern Slopes until he and his small company finally parted over the High Pass. But at the request of her mother, who had lost so many of her closest kin, the King would not allow it, assuring that his son would not likely be gone for so long. But Mirilendilme had inherited, and learned from her childhood in Lorien, some wisdom and foresight of the Eldar. She realized the grand scope of danger of the ever-growing Shadow of the wide world and felt a foreboding of doom; and feared for the Prince's safe return. Therefore she came to him, late in the summer on the eve of his departure under the canopy of Mirkwood, not far from the gates of Thranduil's halls, and said, "Legolas, I must now bid you farewell."

And he said, "Yes, dear friend, I must venture into the peril of the wide world. I, too, am saddened to part, though I look forward to witnessing the beauty of Imladris. But be not sorrowful! I should not be gone so long."

"So your father says," she replied. Her face grew solemn. "But I know of the world beyond Greenwood Forest, and of the horrors inflicted by the Shadow on the peoples of Middle-Earth. It cannot be underestimated. And I have a foreboding of doom upon the house of Thranduil."

Legolas wondered at her words, and the graveness in her face. To the prince, she seemed grow in stature, standing tall and true with the wisdom of the Elves of the West in her words. "Have faith!" he struggled to whisper. "I shall be kept safe by these strong weapons which you have carved for me. And I have a mind to return as soon as I can." He was silent for a moment and then said, "Is this doom what you see for me? Or for our people?"

"I do not know," she said, "That unknowledge is what I fear." Then her face softened. "Before you leave, these words I say to you as a gift in parting. For long years we have grown together, my friend. As a youth I have loved you as a sister loves her sibling, and have guarded you as a mother who loves her child. I have grown with you, and watched you grow, Legolas the Fair." Then, thinking of Celebrimbor her father, and Galadriel her kin, she said, "It seems ever that to the proud and mighty of my kin those of yours shall be their weakness, for I love you now, as a woman loves a man. This is my gift; may it help you upon your perilous errantries, if you so wish to take it."

For a long moment the prince stood silent, looking at her in amazement. At first he was uncertain to react, but then it seemed as though a veil of shadow, a shadow of unknowing, had been lifted from his face. Then he said, "My Mirilendilme, ever have I had love for the trees under the daylight, and for the awesome beauty of the Sun. The Sun! The sun that I see in your eyes, which have held my heart arrested in their light for as long as I can remember. I will take this gift, and treasure it. May it bring me comfort in times of sorrow! May it bring me back to you, ere long." And they embraced in parting, and he returned to his halls.

Mirilendilme then sat with unrest in thought in her chambers, with the fair stone of her father in hand. By morning she had resolved to lend it to Legolas. For if she could not go with him it would give, to her at least, some assurance, for it had some power that might help protect him, and perhaps gain him entry to the vigilantly protected havens such as Lorien if the need came. She came to the King's private halls, only to find that the Prince had set off long before dawn. Now the King had learned of the love Mirilendilme had for his son, and he was pleased. For she was on the same footing as the Prince, being the granddaughter of a Sindarin King. But he said nothing, for Thranduil understood the universal need of the side of good for upmost secrecy, and had sent the Prince off with a small company during the night. Mirilendilme understood the motives of her King, and the need now for the Prince to now assume the role of ambassador. Still she grieved again, and went into the woods, as though she had a mind to follow him. But she did not, and wandered aimlessly under the eaves of the forest, in the company her distressed thoughts and distant memories.