A/N: This letter is in italics because this is how it reads after it is translated. It's originally written in Quenya.
AUTOTEXTLIST My dear mother,
Much has changed since I have last written you. I cannot tell how long it has been, but I know that plenty of things have passed. I am now engaged to Prince Ohtar of Mirkwood, son of the famous Lord Legolas, who was one of the Fellowship in the War of the Ring. I shall be part of a line that will be respected and honored for more years than any elf has lived or dreamed of living, and for that I am grateful. I am to be a Queen, with a handsome King at my side forever, and rule a powerful elven kingdom. I know that you would be proud of me. I do not love Ohtar, so I am considering backing out of our marriage, but he is good to me and I should feel almost guilty if I had not a good reason. And though I do not love him, I do not hate him, and as I said, he treats me well.
I dream of seeing you, mother. In my dreams you are as perfect as you always were, though I sometimes fear that you are not that way anymore. Sometimes I wonder if you have scars on your back, and your proud face is humbled and beaten. I hope they are treating you well. Shall I tell you of my life after we were separated? I imagine you should want to know.
My masters were not kind to me, but I can imagine a much worse life than the one they gave me. They were kinder than the three that you and I served under together, I suppose. If I made a mistake, they would strike me only five times, unless the crime was so terrible that it demanded more, such as when I did not awake in time to prepare breakfast. I was hit fifteen times for that, which a strong wooden bar much like the one that you and I were used to together. They did give me grace when they felt like they should, such as when I spoke in company's presence. The head of the house, after the guest was gone, took me aside and talked sternly to me but did not yell, and I was hit only once. I suppose my punishment was partially decided on what mood they were in, as well as what I had done. So you see, as I said, my masters could have been much worse.
One day I was sold to the King in Mirkwood as an attendant for the horses. 'Twas not a fowl job at all, because I loved the horses deeply. I would hum to them as I brushed them and told them stories about different things… sometimes I made the stories up as fairy-tale, and sometimes they were stories that you told me each night before I went to bed. One day the prince (this is Prince Ohtar, to whom I am betrothed) saw me and asked me of my name. I shall never forget this. I replied to him, and he asked me how long I had been serving under his father, and I answered accordingly. We spoke for a bit, when he finally told me that I may speak freely to him, and not be so formal. So I told him of my past, and I told him of you, and he seemed very interested. One day he asked me to marry him, and I felt as if it wasn't my place to refuse, so I agreed. I do not know if he asked out of pity, or if he felt that he loved me, or if he had another reason. He made sure things were all right with his father, and that is how it happened.
I was instantly showered with dresses and jewelry and attendants and large meals the moment I officially became his betrothed. I began lessons to learn to read, write, and speak the Common Tongue. I had never experienced anything like it. Mother, you have never known what it feels like to have people wait on you. Your every wish granted, like you are Illúvatar himself! I felt like a Queen already, or even higher than a Queen. The Queen, of all Middle-Earth. I have never had anyone show me such kindness… and now I am not only speaking of Ohtar (though it is true for him as well), but all of the elves that I interact with. The attendants, the King and Queen, the elves that I meet, everyone. I feel as if I am as famous as Frodo Baggins himself, the Savior of Middle-Earth. Never worry about me, mother, for I am doing just fine, be assured.
And now I am in Gondor, at the house of Lady Arwen and Lord Aragorn for an archery competition between the Elves of Mirkwood, as well as the mortal Prince Addrynnyn of Eriador. I was introduced to Addrynnyn and his betrothed, Lady Arwen and Lord Aragorn's eldest daughter, Lady Zerameth. She told me (in the Common Tongue, which I understood) that she is friends with Ohtar. She seemed very nice, though I noticed that she was looking at me nearly the entire time during breakfast, and this disturbed me and made me uncomfortable. I wonder if she suspects that I am nothing but a slave at heart. I wonder if she judged me by my dark skin, and my inability to understand all those talking around me, for I have learned that elven royalty speak the Common Tongue much more than elven slaves. I am not yet able to distinguish when I am supposed to speak elvish and when I'm to use the Mortal's language, but I suppose it does not matter yet, seeing as I cannot speak it well anyway. Everyone speaks elvish to me, except for my Common Tongue instructor (who bothers me occasionally, with his tendency to push me farther than I wish to go) who insists that the best way to learn it is not to only study it, but practice speaking it and understanding. He would be proud of me should he have seen my interaction with Zerameth.
I do not like the Common Tongue. It is clumsy and horrid and ugly. If you were here, I could say a few words to you and you should agree with me. I wonder why it is that the slaves speak the more beautiful language, and the royalty speak the uglier of the two. As I said before, I have not yet learned when it is "proper" for royalty to use elvish or not. They seem to switch almost whenever they wish. Politics is usually in the Common Tongue, and I think that is because the people that they are dealing with can then understand them, should they not be elves. But other than that, there seems to be no logical pattern as to when they speak what. This worries me, because if I am to be a Queen I should need to be fluent in both, and the Common Tongue is so very difficult to learn. They have millions of grammerical rules, and in half of the cases these rules do not apply, because there are so very many exceptions. I have come to the conclusion that the Man who created this language changed his mind much.
Now, mother, I must leave. Ohtar is asking for me. I shall plead for your freedom, and then you will come to live in the palace with me. Until then, I shall think of you when I am awake and when I sleep. I love you.
~Elaviel
