A/N- if you read the Fellowship of the Ring, you'll find that all the words like niphredil and elanor and mallorn tree and talan and Eärendil (the Evening Star) are in the book, so they all belong to JRR Tolkien too. I am not making them up.
~Chapter Three
I woke the next morning later than usual; I had been up thinking until late last night. My pillow felt damp on my cheek. I had cried myself to sleep last night.
The morning air was heavy and carried a thick scent of greenery and flowers. The blossoms on my window fluttered in the slight breeze. I smiled slightly. They were niphredil flowers, pale purple in color. They had a sweet scent that made you feel cool and refreshed even in the heat of a summer morning such as this. I eased out of my bed and went over to the small budding flowers. There was new growth on many of the plants. I touched the delicate petals with my index finger, lightly opening one of the new flowers. The yellow pollen shone untouched in the center.
Something outside caught my eye- a flash of gold in the trees. I stepped onto the balcony of my room and leaned forward, straining to catch another glimpse of it. There it was- a golden-haired figure running around the woods. Another look told me that this man held a bow, with a quiver full of bows with white feathers on the tips. Legolas.
I leaned further out the window, not bothering to wave or call a greeting. When Elfish men got involved in a hunt, there was nothing that could distract them, not even Galadriel saying that she had seen in her Mirror that she would divorce Celeborn and marry Sauron. I laughed at the thought.
Eärendil, the Evening Star, faded slowly in the sky as if it was refusing to be diminished by the light of the sun. The star seemed stubborn as it disappeared, swallowed up by the azure sky. The sound of pipes came from one of the nearby trees and I noticed that the Lament had stopped. Now the pipers played happy music as if to celebrate the memories of Gandalf instead of mourn his passing.
I decided that today was a good day to ride to my secret place. I had not been there in so long. I had discovered the little clearing when I went riding alone one day a few years ago. It was a little clearing deep in the Wood and there was a stream running through it. It was on an incline and at the bottom there was a little waterfall where the rocks got in the way. Flowers grew unbidden all over the clearing- the elanor and niphredil flowers as well as many others. Then, on the far side of the clearing, grows a rare mallorn-tree. The tree's branches were easy to climb and at the top I made a makeshift talan. Talan is the Elfish word for a wooden platform in the trees.
So I walked down to the stables, which was one of the only buildings in Lothlórien that was on the ground. It was a long building with many stables for all the Elves that lived in the city. Most of the horses were white but there were a few bays, two chestnuts, one palomino and a black horse, too. My horse was the palomino. I favored the color for it's rarity and it's beauty. I had named the horse Cerin, for the Cerin Amroth.
Cerin was in her stable, pawing at the ground nervously. I looked around and saw one of the new stable boys working a few stalls away. "Don't worry, Cerin," I said in a soothing voice, reaching into my pocket and setting some sugar cubs on the door of the stall. She ate them and chewed them noisily. I laughed and brought her out, swinging directly onto her back and holding onto her mane. She cantered out the door and as soon as she was out she cantered faster. I didn't need to steer her around the trees; she knew her way. I was about to go into a full gallop when a familiar voice called my name. "Niphredil! Niphredil!"
I stopped Cerin mid-gallop and swung around on her back, searching the woods for Legolas. He was running towards me, holding his bow in one hand, his quiver bouncing around on his shoulder, and he was smiling. He genuinely looked happy to see me. "Hello, Legolas," I called. As he drew closer, Cerin grew more nervous. Legolas reached my side and Cerin stomped. "Shh, Cerin," I told her.
"Her name is Cerin? After Cerin Amroth?" Legolas asked, tilting his head to the side and looking up at me. He reached out to pet her side, and after a minute Cerin consented. "She's beautiful," Legolas murmured. "I've always liked this color in horses." I agreed with him and then I got an idea. "Would you like to come with me?" I asked. Legolas smiled. I guided Cerin back to the stable and waited for the stable elf to bring him out a horse. One of the white horses was let out of the stable. Legolas swung up onto the horse, barely touching its mane in the process. He was graceful, even for an elf. I smiled at him and squeezed with my legs, sending Cerin into a full gallop. Legolas followed behind me on the white horse. When we were halfway there I decided not to show Legolas my secret place- I wasn't ready and I didn't know him well enough yet. So I decided to change course- we were going to Cerin Amroth.