Sorry for the weird formatting in that last chapter! I wrote it at my grandpa's house and his computer is different than mine, so it got posted wrong. Sorry for the weird ???s in the middle. It was supposed to be the cool Marlett thing!!!
kykyky. Oh well. Here's the chapter. Extra credit to whoever can figure out what tercáno nuruva means! Hint: it's in the song 'The Prophecy'. The lyrics can be found in the bookie of the Lord of the Rings soundtrack!
~Chapter Thirteen
"Father?" I asked, stepping into his room in the compound. "I must talk to you. It is urgent, and extremely important."
"Niphredil," said my father, sounding exasperated.
"Hlasta!" I shouted, stepping forward. "Will you never listen?" Some part of my brain knew that I shouldn't be speaking to my father this way, but all reason was abandoned here in my desperation. "Hlasta, please," I whispered. "Please, I beg you. You hold my life in your hands, and the life of the Wood, and now the life of this prince. Please," I pleaded with him. Celeborn's white brows drew together. He sighed.
"Speak," he said, in a commanding but gentle tone. I sat on the floor and folded my legs beneath me, resting my hands palm up upon my knees, in the position of the Elven storyteller. I closed my eyes and exhaled, arranging my thoughts.
"I've come to plead for my heart," I said.
"We've had this discussion already," he said, but he did not turn away.
"I love Legolas with all my heart," said I. "Do you not know what happens to those Elves who suffer broken hearts?"
"Tercáno nuruva," Celeborn murmured.
"I love Legolas," I repeated. "I could never love another!"
Celeborn looked sad for a moment. I had a glimmer of hope, growing like a flame in my heart. The breeze coming through the window stirred the white curtains. Something passed under the lids of Celeborn's eyes- and a strange look came into his eyes.
"Mornie utúlië," Celeborn said. "O mór hemion I dhû, Tiro! Ěl eria e mór, I lír en êl luitha uren. Ai! Aníron…" his voice trailed off. Darkness has fallen/ from darkness I understand the light/ Look! A star rises out of the darkness/ the song of the star enchants my heart/ Ah! I desire… I sat, dumb on the carpet, my legs folded under me. My father's eyes cleared, as if a mist had lifted, and he looked into my eyes. "Niphredil," he said, "go through with the marriage. Your mother has seen. She knows some things that…they have not yet come to pass. But then…" my father turned and looked out the window. The city bustled with the usual activity.
"But what, Father?" I asked.
"She does not know all," Celeborn said. The words hung in the air between us, and made it as if it was hard to breath. She does not know all.
"And some of it can be avoided altogether!" I cried. "Will you not just let me go?"
"Niphredil," said Celeborn, "trust me!"
"Why?" I asked, a pleading note in my voice. "How can I trust the Mirror? Is it really so reliable? How can I trust things that can be averted, and stand on shaky foundations? I know what is in my heart, Father!" I cried. "That is more trustworthy to me than the Mirror."
"But it blinds you!" said Celeborn, in a remarkably low voice. "Can you not see past your feelings?"
"Can you not see past the Mirror?" I retorted.
"That is not the problem!" Celeborn rose from his seat. "The Elves are the most sensitive creatures in Middle Earth, to matters of the heart and of the world. Listen to me. Some things cannot be averted, and the Mirror shows many things. Trust me. If you marry the human prince, you will not be sorry. Things will pass over like they never happened."
At this point I was heading for the door. Celeborn still spoke as I passed over the threshold. His voice carried through the window.
"Trust me, Niphredil!" He called. "You won't be sorry. You might even be- happier than before. Trust me."
I stormed away, not bothering to think that he might be right.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yay! The next chapter's the last one in this part!!!