King Eomer of Rohan sat alone in his throne room in Medulsed; his beared-chin propped heavily on his fist, his eyes clouded by a constant frown. His mood could only be described as brooding, and as such he had not heard the scuttling tramp of a single attendant for near two hours as he sat in silence. Those who attended the King knew better than to let their presence be known when the King was found in such a mood as he had been for near two days. And all knew the origins of his mood - Queen Altariel had not returned from the north, though she had never stayed so long away from the kingdom.
The golden halls of Medulsed seemed empty without her laughter, and Eomer was irritable, often finding himself pacing in boredom or frustration, one moment cursing his wife for deserting him so - for few knew the anxiety with which he treated Altariel's absences, he had not forgotten her unexplained absence from their courting for so many months after the death of her father. The next moment he would be racked with guilt and desperation that he could not simply take his wife into his arms and know the sweetness of her embrace. He wished only that she would send word of when she planned a return, and at times he thought her lack of communication proof of her imminent arrival. He would stand looking out from Medulsed and scan the horizon for her telltale white form darting across the plains towards him, towards home. But for the past two days, nothing had come...
" My Lord?"
A meek voice woke Eomer from his stupor, and he turned towards the chambermaid in rage, fleeting though it may have been, it was rage none the less. " What?" He said sharply, returning his chin to its prop.
The chambermaid bowed slightly and stood gripping her hands so tightly that her knuckles turned white. " My Lord, the stable attendants send word through me, to you, to tell you the Queen arrives."
Eomer stood quickly, his head swivelling first left, then right, then down towards the chambermaid. She took a step back in fear. Eomer descended the stairs to stand opposite the chambermaid, resisting the urge to grip the girl by the arms and shake the news out of her. " When does she arrive?"
" Near an hour past she was seen coming towards the gates, with-"
But Eomer waved the girl away, not letting her finish. Thus he missed the most important piece of news the chambermaid had, for Altariel had gone afield before, and sure as the rising of the sun she had returned, but never before in the company of an elf.
" That will be all. You may leave, thank you." Eomer said quickly before turning from the girl and his thrown, he walked quickly from the great hall, down the corridor that was the most direct path to the stables.
*
Altariel and Legolas spent possibly more time than was needed tending their horses after they arrived. They stood with their backs to the great carved, wooden doors to the stable, laughing and talking with ease - their journey from Lorien had caused the growth of such ease between them, and both felt, though they did not share the thought, that they not been so close since a night so long ago on a forest path in the far and fair realm of Rivendell.
" Altariel!"
She stopped in the middle of her discussion with Legolas while brushing Niphredil's white coat. She turned quickly to see Eomer almost running towards her. The anxiety on her husband's face was blatant and held the promise of some frightened reprimand, and so Altariel prepared herself. She turned from Legolas without another word and walked towards Eomer, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply. " I have returned." She said, stepping back from the embrace.
Eomer was practically spluttering with outrage. " I can see that much, though I was almost to the point of not expecting it! Why have you been gone so long, Altariel? You should have given some word if you knew before hand how long you would be away. You sent no word, gave no token, and so I say, do not stay so long away from your home."
Altariel cocked and eyebrow in surprise and put her hands on her hips. " Do not? Is that a command?"
" Yes." Eomer said, before he could think. For if he had thought for only a moment longer before giving an answer, he would have known the mistake he had just made.
" A command from my king, I would expect, but not from my husband. Such a command would be both unwise and ill advised. What say you, Eomer? Do you speak as King, or as husband?" Altariel said confidently. She turned and winked at Legolas, who stood slightly behind Niphredil, supposedly brushing the horse, but was more interested in the interaction between Altariel and Eomer.
Eomer stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment before exhaling loudly and shaking his head. " I foretell a battle I cannot win." He said with a laugh. He took Altariel hand and kissed it in surrender. " I am sorry, I did not mean to rule you, my Queen, but I worried for your safety..." he trailed off as he noticed the man standing but a few feet behind his wife, obviously listening intently to all that was said between himself and Altariel, while brushing the coat of his wife's horse. "...But I see my worry is unfounded, you have found yourself a protector from the wild?" He said sarcastically, indicating with a dip of his head that he meant Legolas.
Altariel stared at him in confusion for a moment before she turned to follow his gaze. She took Eomer's hand and led him to Legolas' side. Legolas put down the brush he had been using and dusted his hands off on his pants.
" I had hoped for a more formal introduction, for it is my belief that when two such great leaders meet under peaceful conditions, it should be in suitable surroundings, not dust covered and travel weary by the side of a horse," Niphredil neighed loudly and Altariel patted her lovingly " no matter how grand the horse may be. But alas, the introduction has found us, and so: Eomer King or Rohan, here is Legolas of Ithilien, allied of old with my father, Elessar the Elfstone, and friend in battle to Eomer the Great."
For his part Legolas bowed low in silence, an action Eomer found strangely apt for his first meeting with an elf.
" Then as I am my grandfather's grandson I welcome you to Rohan." Eomer said cautiously, gripping Legolas' hand in the traditional meeting of friends in Rohan.
" As I was your grandfather's friend, I thank you." Legolas murmured. For some strange reason he found himself playing every part the ethereal elf - he could find no friendly words to greet Eomer, and thought it better to simply remain silent.
But after a moment too long, silence gave way to the beginnings of tension, and Altariel intervened. " If you will excuse me, ever vain and wanting of a good appearance, I'll take leave of my kin," She smiled at Eomer " And take leave of my friend," She turned to Legolas, " and meet again when I have seen myself properly attired for the presence of two lords so great." She bowed slightly to Eomer as she turned to leave the stables, a gesture Legolas found oddly formal between wife and husband. He noticed overall that she seemed more guarded when in the presence of Eomer, and in his mind he began to develop all manner of wild ideas to explain such changes in behaviour.
Eomer turned to Legolas and clapped his hands together. " It seems that woman's place is often neglected: on the first count absence for so long from her kingdom and King, and for the second, taking leave without introducing a guest to lodging!" He laughed in a hearty fashion and seemed just short of slapping Legolas on the shoulder.
Legolas smiled weakly, but narrowed his eyes when Eomer turned to lead him from the stables. " I do not think that woman leave anything wanting." He said quietly, to which Eomer slowed down.
He turned to face Legolas as he opened the doors of the stable, and for a moment the sun blinded Legolas as he came out into the quiet street. " No, I suppose you do not." Eomer said slowly. He stared at Legolas for a moment before he began walking again, up a winding path towards Medulsed, which could be seen between gaps in buildings, it was shining gold and warm in the midday sun, and Legolas was for a moment lost in the memory of the last time he had seen the Golden Hall.
" Tell me, Legolas, what errand bought you to the side of my wife while she was on her travels." Eomer said as they rounded a corner in the path and came to the foot of the steps leading to Medulsed.
Legolas followed the King up the stairs, ignoring the stunned stares of passers by as they whispered and pointed at him. " I had in my mind to visit the forests of Lorien for a time before returning to my own land in Ithilien. There in Lorien I met Altariel, singing beside a stream in Caras Galadhon."
Reaching the top of the stairs Eomer greeted the guards standing on either side of the great golden doors. The guards opened the doors; Legolas followed Eomer into the semi-darkness of Medulsed's Great Hall.
Eomer laughed, and the sound cut shallow wounds in Legolas with its sharpness. " Her absence is explained - I did not know my wife travelled so far afield as Lorien. And though I do not know the land of Caras Galadhon, I would wager it is further still."
Legolas almost scoffed at the man's ignorance. " Caras Galadhon was of old the chief realm of Lorien. It was the city of Queen Galadriel and King Celeborn."
Eomer only nodded, and coming to the end of the Great Hall, he ascended the stairs to his throne, and sat down. Legolas was left standing before him. " You speak a Queen's name before a King's, it is seldom done in Rohan, though I am told - though mainly in riddled tongues - by Altariel that the Lady Galadriel was a great leader."
" Yes, it was so."
" All the same, it would do my wife well to stay within the borders of her own land, no guarantee can be made for her safety outside the borders of Rohan's plains." Eomer said, stroking his beard again.
Legolas fought not to sneer openly. " Altariel needs no borders for protection, I do not hesitate to say."
Eomer cocked an eyebrow and nodded silently in concession. At that moment a young lady came forward from the shadow, first bowing to Eomer, then to Legolas, she said " My Lord, the Queen has sent me to lodge Lord Legolas. I would not interrupt, but know that you may call on me when need finds you wanting for accommodation."
Legolas was about to mutter a thankyou, but reconsidered. He turned to Eomer and said " My Lord, I am both weary and travel worn. May I take my leave?"
Eomer nodded, but did not stand. " We shall speak again later, no doubt, when Altariel has collected herself."
" No doubt." Legolas said before turning on his heel to follow the young lady.
She had led him slowly from the Great Hall, and coming down a dimly lit side corridor they had to the back of Medulsed. Walking past a wide window Legolas could see away south, into the hills. The day was warm and breezy outside the Hall, but inside, walking down the ornately carved corridors of the Great Golden Hall, Legolas felt strangely cool. He wanted to find Altariel and ask her to show him the city, knowing that Eomer would extend no such courtesy to him. But his thoughts were interrupted when the young lady stopped abruptly before him.
She turned and peered curiously up into Legolas' face. " Begging you pardon, but are you really?" She said excitedly.
Legolas tried not to smile. " Am I what?"
" An elf!" the girl hissed in excitement. She clasped her hands together in front of her throat as though she had said something of great offence.
" I am."
The girl clapped her hands together and grinned. " The Lady told me it was so, and I did not believe it could be, for my Mamma told me all the Fair Folk had left our lands in great ships many years ago, and that they were not seen again. But you could not be the only one."
" I am not, though few of my kind remain, and fewer of my kin."
" I would not ask, but I am ever so curious about elves, since I was a wee thing, as my Mamma says."
Legolas smiled kindly. " What is your name?"
" Hurien." She said quietly.
" I am glad to meet you, Hurien." Legolas said formally. The girl almost squealed with delight, but soon managed to bring herself under control.
" And are you?" Hurien said as they began walking again down the long, winding corridor.
" Am I what?"
" Going to leave in a great ship and never return." Hurien said. She stopped, and laid a hand on a door carved with a great horse on rearing up on its back legs, with a round sun behind it.
" Yes, I will leave and never return. I will go to join my kin in Valinor." There seemed no harm in sharing such details with a simple chambermaid from Rohan. " I have built a great ship also, white and carved with patterns and animals. It is called the Lossefalme, and it waits in Ithilien for my arrival."
" I did not know that."
Legolas and Hurien both turned to see Altariel standing in the middle of the corridor. Legolas almost caught his breath as her beauty struck him. She had changed from her travel stained and grass marked simple white dress into a great flowing gown of green. Her silvery hair lay half against her back, but half pinned up with golden hairpins, each of which held a sparkling blue stone. She wore no jewellery, but as she moved her arm Legolas saw the sparkle of some hidden jewel tied securely around her wrist with a piece of white ribbon.
" I will show Legolas to his room, Hurien. Would you please see to a meal being prepared for the King and Lord Legolas?"
Hurien bowed her head and turned to leave.
" Namarie, Hurien!" Legolas called as the girl walked quickly down the corridor. She stopped at the corner and looked back at Legolas in wonder, and the exclamation of 'An elf!' could be heard amidst the shuffle of running feet.
Altariel moved slowly towards Legolas, regarding him with a serious face. " I did not know you would leave."
" I thought Gimli would have told you as much." Legolas said pointedly.
Altariel frowned at him. " I think Gimli would expect you to have told me." She walked past Legolas, into the room with the great horse on the door. " Tell me of the Lossefalme."
Legolas followed her into the wide room, closing the door behind him. It was a large chamber of two rooms, one with a table and chairs, a tall bookcase filled with old books and scrolls covered in dust, and a ornate set of standing candelabras, none of the candles had been lit. Legolas walked slowly around the room, running a hand along the edge of a chair, knocking a fist on the surface of the table. Peering around the corner into the second room he saw a wide bed rimmed in thick curtains. He suddenly realised how tired he was. He sat down opposite Altariel at the table. She was fiddling awkwardly with the beads on the wide cuff of her sleeve.
" The Lossefalme...while you have been rebuilding monuments for the land, I have built the Lossefalme for the sea. She is both fair and powerful." He said proudly.
Altariel nodded in encouragement. " Was she built in Ithilien?"
" No, in Cirdan's home, by the sea. It is as it should be; of old my people have always departed from that city, and Cirdan the Shipwright is both skilled and wise beyond the years of the land in the arts of shipbuilding. Much of the beauty of Lossefalme is of Cirdan's hands." Legolas said.
" When shall you leave?" Altariel said, fighting hard to keep from choking on the words - it seemed quietly unthinkable for Legolas to be permanently absent from her life, but grief at such a thought would not easily win her over.
Legolas shrugged and ran his hands back and forth across the smooth surface of the wood. He looked up and met Altariel's passive stare and though, I would stay for an eternity if she would ask it of me...but she will not. " When the time comes, I will leave. But it is not come yet, and for a while I would rather tarry here with you than be anywhere else."
Altariel smiled in acknowledgment of the compliment, but gave no notice to Legolas that she understood their hidden meaning. He wondered for a moment if he had not made his meaning clear when Altariel stood and walked towards the door. She paused when her hand meet the silken wooden surface.
She turned and stared down at Legolas, her face serious and unreadable. " I would rather you tarry here with me, than be anywhere else." She said quietly. " Hurien will call on you when Eomer is ready, please take rest until then." She said before moving to leave.
" Good afternoon, Altariel Tindomerel." Legolas said quickly.
She turned and exhaled slowly, closing her eyes, as though she could not bear to meet Legolas'. " Good afternoon, Legolas."
*
Although it was many ages since the land of Rohan was given to the horse lords by the King of Gondor, and Rohan was now autonomous, small inconsistencies could still be noticed by those who looked closely at the city of Edoras. The great realm of the horse lords and their armies had developed little culturally, and while Altariel had done her best to better the city of Edoras in the small time she had been Rohan's Queen, there still seemed a lack of permanence in the city roads, it's wooden buildings. Compared with the might and splendour of Edoras' father city, Minas Tirith, it was barely a village, cold and beautiless to an eye so used to the cut stones and massive monuments of Gondor's chief city. This was much of the reason Altariel wandered so frequently outside the city walls, though out of loyalty to Eomer, she would not freely admit her small contempt for her fostered city.
As soon as she returned to Edoras, Altariel had expected to be gone again, if not for longer than a hour, she planned to wander the fields outside the city - as was often her custom when returning from a journey. But a strange change had come over her, and she found herself not looking upon the makeshift wooden constructions of Edoras with distaste, but with a quiet affection. She desired not to travel, for once, and knew acutely the origins of her comfort - Legolas. His presence within the city seemed a beacon of hope, like a fair lighthouse amongst the ruins of a crashing sea. He held the beauty and splendour of a different age within his face. His words were refined, ethereal when taken next to the likes of even Eomer. There could be no denying the superior status of an elf, and though it pained Altariel to admit, she did compare Legolas with Eomer. When they stood together, she matched their height, the fairness of their faces and the strength of their bodies. Legolas was slightly smaller of frame, if not as tall as Eomer, his long and fair silken hair served as an amiable opponent to Eomer's thick, coarse short hair and rough beard. Legolas' face was clean cut, ageless, glowing with Inner Light. Eomer's was dark skinned, rough and slightly worn by the years he had seen. Eomer's voice was like a rasping stone, deep and rich in tone. He spoke nicely, but plainly, not mincing his meanings with the art of words. He preferred at all times to speak the truth clearly, and desired the same of others. Legolas' voice was like the bubble of a spring over a riverbed, light and merry at times, but at others magnificent and piercing in intensity. His words were ever fair, even an insult or rebuke seemed a work of art from the tongue of the elf. It was true, both men commanded a majesty and superiority that their peers could not fail to notice, but the most noticeable difference between them was, strangely enough, their hands.
When Eomer held Altariel in his arms, she felt safe, protected and unwilling to leave warm emotional haven he created. It was true, his words could be harsh, and oft he clung to closely to the old views of a woman's position, but his kiss was like a cool balm to Altariel's racing mind, and she had never doubted that their marriage was the right path of life for her travel. He was a great man, this much was evident in his people's high opinion of him, and though there was many a moment he proved rustic and simple in his beliefs, he was a gentleman, old and traditional in his ways, but young and joyful in his kingship.
And then there was Legolas. Altariel winced at the memory of the encounters they had found themselves in - both brief and far between. At least until Lorien. Lorien, she thought idly, how that immortal place could hold my heart...
Legolas had seemed so desperate, so intense when he had asked to spend the night with her, that no refusal could be made. And all Altariel could do was take him by the hand, as leading him through the skeletal structure of Lorien's palace they had come finally to some long forgotten chamber. There the roof had been destroyed, and leaves fell across the floor like rain. Laying on the floor, beneath the canopy of stars Legolas had folded Altariel into his arms and with his cheek resting against her back they had remained so until the sun had rose. Altariel had been asleep with her eyes open, more consumed and enthralled in the touch of Legolas' hand upon her collar bone and shoulder than she had been by any embrace Eomer could offer. More than her body was held within Legolas' arms, it was as though he had reigned her soul to his will. Lulled by his rhythmic breath across the back of her neck, she barely noticed when he would periodically whisper some quiet elfish phrase in her ear. It seemed to Altariel that Legolas would say these words in apology, in the brief moments when he would wake, for she thought he spelt at times. She did not know that the periods of silence were marked by her own fleeting slumber, and that Legolas' speech had been constant throughout the night, and most likely the cause of her inner peace. What words he had said, she did not know. Indeed, all she knew was the incredibly real fear that should he repeat them in her ear and kiss her throat as he had, she would no longer belong to Eomer...
So now she sat in her chamber, her face turned towards her wide window which revealed a calming view of Edoras and the plains beyond, the sun creeping slowly from it's high perch in the sky towards the horizon. She imagined she could almost see the dark edge of a forest on the northern borders of the land, but it was a dream, and nothing more.
Hurien sat before Altariel on a stool. She had been so busy chirping away about the presence of the elf in Edoras that she had not noticed when Altariel had stopped braiding her hair. " Altariel?" She said finally, turning to follow Altariel's gaze.
The sky was bathed red, reflecting on the Queen's pale skin, a shadow of the thin clouds showing in her dark eyes. She did not answer Hurien, but simply turned away from the window and continued to braid the girl's hair.
But Hurien was not to be fooled. She had served the Queen since the first day she had arrived in Edoras, and the two had grown so close that often Altariel would let Hurien ride on Niphredil with her, deep into the country around Edoras, or at least when Hurien could be spared by her mother. And the girl knew now that something was not right within her friend's mind, some annoyance had lodged itself within Altariel, and it showed clearly in the frown on her beautiful face.
" Is something the matter?" Hurien said curiously. She heard Altariel sigh heavily.
" Dear Hurien, I fear you would not understand." She said with a soft smile. She tied the ends of the girl's hair together and watched as Hurien turned first towards her, then walked silently towards the large looking glass that hung on Altariel's wall. Her finger's danced along the line of her detailed and delicate braid, like thin spider's legs weaving a glossy web. Her hair was braided in the traditional mode of LothLorien.
Hurien turned towards Altariel with a grin on her face, and rushing forward she grasped the Queen's hands. " It is beautiful! I shall never take it out." She said excitedly.
Altariel smiled and placed her cold hand against Hurien's cheek. There was so much hope, so much happiness within the young girl's face, it seemed almost to vibrate through all her limbs, and into Altariel's hands. " I do not ever recall seeing you so happy, nor anyone amused by so small a deed as a braid."
Hurien sat down beside Altariel and stared her silently for a moment. " It is a beautiful gift, and no small deed. But here, I have no gift to give you in return, for I know not how to braid hair, and if I did I doubt I could surpass your own talent! I must give you something in return." She said, tapping her chin for a moment as though she were deep in thought. "Aha! I know deed I may perform for you, and though I fear it is small, I know no other who could offer it."
Altariel laughed at Hurien's contagious excitement. " Come then, tell me what this deed is, Hurien."
" I shall be your secret keeper, and you shall tell me the worries that weigh on you so, and in doing so, I might bear the weight, if only in part. For it is not right nor suited for a Queen so high and fair as yourself to be so trapped by her thoughts."
Altariel sighed, and was on the verge of declining, but a subtle voice in the back of her mind told her not to lightly dismiss Hurien's offer. And why not? She thought suddenly. It could not be denied that a sympathetic ear was needed, and who else could fill the position? Altariel knew she could not speak to Gimli about matters of the heart concerning one so close to the dwarf. And neither Eomer nor Legolas could be consulted, for it was between them both that Altariel's resolve was torn. No, Hurien could be trusted, and it best to fill the position, Altariel told herself confidently. And so she began. She told Hurien of all that passed with her, revealing the story of Elessiel Tindomerel from her errand to LothLorien at the bidding of her mother, to find an unknown elf. She spoke about all that had passed in Gondor, the death of her father, the crowning of Eldarion, and the councillor her family had found in Legolas. She spoke shamefully of her flight from Minas Tirith into the wilderness, and her passage to Rivendell, to the home of her uncles. Hurien listened to silent awe to his part of the tale, for ever since she was a child had she known a love of elves that was not evident in many of the race of Men so late in the history of the world. Altariel continued her story through all that had taken place in Rivendell, of her meeting with Gimli, her brief but fiery encounter with Legolas, and her midnight departure, fleeing again from the elf who like the hound of the Valar had pursued her first from Gondor to Rivendell. She spoke aloud for the first time those words of disapointment mixed confusingly with relief when Legolas and Gimli did not follow her to Rohan. The only part she left out was the role Celeborn had played in her story, and although the words of Celeborn passed from Hurien to Altariel, she said instead that they were from her uncles, a prophetic warning of all that could come to pass.
" I know in my heart I did not wish for him to follow me, but some piece of me could not heed those words of my...uncle. Coming to Rohan, I left the name of Elessiel Tindomerel behind me, and one - save yourself now - only knows the name under which I was born, and that is Eomer, who will not part with that secret for all the esteem he holds me in. Our marriage was long known to me, since passing from the forest of Rivendell, to be the road by which I should cease my aimless wandering. And so it has been."
Hurien sat gaping for a moment, not knowing by which words she could respond - so many questions and comments were housed within her mind. But being young, and innocent, and possibly more of intellect than others would say of her, she knew where to begin. " But your path has come to a great fork, has it not?" She said wisely.
Altariel nodded. " Yes, it has. Though I know not to what direction these new ways may lead me."
Hurien scoffed lightly. " That is easy, Lady. The answer is more plain that the nose on my face." She held her hands, palms up, out to either side of her. " Your left path leads straight onwards, there you would walk a step behind a great king among men, and the long years of your life would be filled with much happiness, great joy. The journey along that road is smooth and tended, and though you may at times wander asunder into the thicket and forest beside the road, you will always find your way home."
Altariel frowned while Hurien spoke, knowing the oracle that Hurien provided held much truth. " And what direction does the second path lead me in?" There were butterflies in her stomach when she asked the question, waiting with bated breath for the answer.
Hurien smiled knowingly, seeming much older in her face, bathed in the deep red of the sun as it began to disappear below the horizon. She had not noticed how long Altariel had been speaking until this moment. She stood and bowed slightly, readying herself to go. At the doorway she stopped and turned. " The direction of the second path will return you to someone you did not expect to see again."
" Legolas." Altariel said grimly.
" No, My Lady. That path will lead you to Elessiel."
And with that the girl was gone.
***