Lian: Part Two
by hollie
Okay, I know I said that I wouldn't be posting this new story (or even thinking about writing it) for several months, but one thing that you should know about me by now, is that my judgments are almost never correct. I always get this stuff posted either later (which is most often the case) or earlier (which is pretty rare!) This, however is one of those rare instances where I get stuff done earlier. You can thank my teachers for that though, they were kind enough to give very little homework this weekend!
Just to let you know, I have very little idea where this is going. I had originally intended Lian to be just one story, but the response I've gotten has been so wonderful, I just couldn't resist writing a second! (Plus, after that nasty little cliff I left you on in the last story, it would be too cruel to juts let you hang!)
Alright, alright, enough of my chatter, I know. On to the story!!!
Disclaimer: Weeeeelllll.... my dear friend John "dont call me that! It's Mr. Tolkien, Sir, to you!" yeah, anyway... he was kind enough to leave me this little deed in the very last disclaimer of Lian: Part One. *clears throat, unfolds deed* This hereby states that blah, blah, blah... boring, legal crap..... ah ha! this document hereby states that the fanfic author known as "Hollie" now owns one square inch of the land formerly known as... what? Constantinople?!?! *points accusing finger at Tolkien* why you..!!!!!!!!!! *tolkien, laughing on floor* "well, what'd you expect, the deed to Rivendell!? ha ha ha ha!!! you do know that when you write the words down on the computer, I can see them too! and all this time you though you were being so clever... sneaking things by me!!!!!" *hollie, who is shooting death glare at evil author* you are so lucky that you are already dead. humph! *turns back to sweet readers* ignore him.... im trying to. "ha ha!! but you cant!!!" SHUTTUP!!!!!!!!!!! *locks tolkien in closet* now that thats over with..... well, this is extremely disappointing, but oh well. perhaps writing the first chapter of this story will make me feel better.
p.s. Lani, I want you to know that I was happily writing the third chapter of The Prince of Gondor, when I recieved your latest review. I have now stopped writing that chappie to work on this one... so everyone who has been awaiting this story can thank Lani (faithfulbeyondfear).
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Lian: Part Two
by hollie
A middle-aged woman walked slowly through the bustling streets of Gondor, clutching her cane for support. Her dark hair, streaked with gray at an early age, whipped about in the autumn wind.
"Hey, it's the old hag!" a young boy cried, pointing at her and laughing. His friends laughed with him, adding their own comments sometimes. A plump woman came bustling out of a nearby shop, threatening the boys with a broom.
"Don't you be making trouble for her," she chided, "that ain't no way to treat royalty!"
"Aw... but come on, she don't hardly look something royal. She ain't nothing but a shriveled old women, that Princess Lian."
"But you must be careful, the stories tell that she was in love once, in love with on of them elves." The boys looked at the wise lady in awe.
"What happened?"
"She refused him, and so now she's cursed, because she broke 'is poor 'eart, she did. And it killed 'em."
"He died a'cos she wouldn't marry him?" they asked in wonder.
"Aye, and so now she's cursed, cause she killed something that was good and pure."
Screaming, Lian awoke, sweat dripping off her body. Running to her mirror, she saw, with relief, her reflection. There was no cane needed to walk, and her hair was as dark as ever, not a trace of gray. Wiping her face with shaking hands, she returned to her bed and sat, trying to calm her beating heart.
"It was just a dream," she reassured herself, "it wasn't true." Tears streamed down her cheeks as she tried to believe herself, but found it impossible.
She was right on some accounts, Galen was still alive, and she was not an old hag. But she had refused the love of an elf, and ever since it had weighed heavily on her heart.
Almost a year ago, her betrothal to the Prince of Rohan, Eower, had been announced at a banquet where all her father's old friends had been guests. One of the guests was Legolas, King of the elven city Mirkwood, and with him he had brought his wife and son, Galen. Lian had fallen in love with Galen, and he with her. But Lian could not bring herself to disgrace her family by breaking her engagement with Eower. On the day of the wedding, however, Eower had announced that he could not marry Lian because he was in love with another as well, Laure, a commoner of Gondor. Laure had wed Eower in Lian's place, and Lian and Galen had been able to be together again. That very day, Galen had proposed to her, but she refused.
"Why?" Lian though to herself, "why did I say no? Was there even a reason?" She thought long and hard, trying to come up with one. "I was just so scared. The thought of being married... and to an elf? And, and what would the other elves think of him, marrying a mere human." Lian tried to convince herself with these feeble excuses. The elder race had wed with the younger twice before, why not thrice?
"This is stupid, I must try to get some sleep, especially if I am to begin the journey to visit Faith in the morrow." Lian laid herself back down on her soft blankets, closed her eyes and waited for sleep to come. Slumber found her quickly, but not the peaceful kind she had hoped for. Not one half hours later, Lian was up and screaming again. She looked up to the canopy of her bed and cried, "what? What is it that you want from me? I can't undo it now, I can't!" Sobbing, the poor woman clutched a sparkling necklace that she always wore underneath her garments. Through the blue gem, her mind was transported to peaceful Lothlorien. Not the Lothlorien of the present day, the empty shadow of its former self, but to the Golden Woods at the beginning, when the Valar resided in Middle-Earth and everything was young and fair. Eventually Lian drifted off, still grasping the precious jewel, finally getting rest.
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"By the Valar, where is that girl?" Faith, the Princess of the now almost deserted elf haven Rivendell, paced anxiously around in the dirt in front of the Last Homely House.
"Princess," one of the few remaining guards addressed her, "you could have gone down to the fords with the others." Faith only shuddered, remembering what had passed on those dreaded fords so many years ago. Shaking her head, she replied, "the only way I will ever go to the fords again is if all other exits are destroyed and it is the only way out of Rivendell. And even then I would not go gladly." The guard nodded solemnly. (A/N: to find out what exactly happened on the fords.... check out faithfulbeyondfear's story, And the Road Holds No Answers.)
Suddenly, the two perceived the voices of a small host of people coming towards them. Faith rushed out towards a balcony and saw below her a group of about six or seven winding their way slowly up to the house.
"They're here!" Faith cried, sprinting down a narrow lane. Within a few moments, she had reached the group, a broad smile etched across her face. A small figure on a cinnamon-brown mare dismounted and rushed to the ecstatic elf princess. The two embraced as sisters, thrilled to see one another after a long parting.
"Lian," Faith started, drawing back from her sister-daughter, "it is so good to see you again."
"And you!" was the girl's reply. Taking Lian by the hand, the older woman led her up the path to the sprawling elven home.
"How have you been? I know things have been hard, especially after..." Faith trailed off, not knowing the right words to use.
"I've been fine," Lian added quickly, purposely deciding to keep the information about her nightmares a secret. "Things in the city are wonderful. Mother and father are doing quite well, as are Fea and Eldarion. Actually, Eldarion's finally getting to travel. Apparently, there are some unusual goings on with the Southrons, and father has decided to send Eldarion and some of his men to check it out. El's quite excited about it. To tell the truth, I've never known that he was capable of smiling, until that is, he heard about the trip. He mentioned something about 'reconnection with old friends' whatever that's supposed to mean. As far as I know, he's never really left the city, let alone gone to Southron territory, so I can't make out what that could mean. I don't bother asking either, because, knowing him, he would just give me an answer as confusing as the original statement. He's like that, you know, doesn't go into much detail, and on the rare occasion that he does, you can't understand any of it! Father says that El reminds him of that old wizard, Gandalf, in that respect. Of course, I wouldn't know, having never met him. Well, I might have met him, when I was a baby, but of course I wouldn't know because at that point I would be far too young, and I...."
Faith listened happily to her niece's voice, not really listening to the words, but to the sound. She knew Lian well enough to know that something was wrong, for the only times she ever talked so much or so quickly was when she was in trouble, or when something was bothering her. Faith had a good idea on what was making her so nervous, but she decided to keep it to herself.
"Best to save such serious conversation for when she is fed and rested," Faith decided.
"... and then she told me that I was just being foolish, and that I should stop wasting my time. But I don't think that she's right, do you? Faith? Aunt Faith?" Lian tugged on her aunt's arm, shaking her out of her thoughts.
"Oh, sorry. Um, I... How about we get you all settled here, and then we can get some dinner. You must be hungry after such a long journey."
"It only took a couple weeks, it wasn't too bad. Dinner sounds excellent though, our last meal was breakfast."
Faith looked up at the sun, which was just starting to set, "why haven't you eaten since this morning?" Lian grinned sheepishly up at her, "Well, we were so close... I didn't want to stop to eat."
Faith chuckled at her niece, "You can get some food now then."
Lian and Faith helped put the horses in the stables before going to the dining hall. The three men who had traveled with Lian supped with her and Faith as well. Afterwards, they declined the offer for tea, asking instead to be led to their rooms, for they were exhausted after such a long ride.
The two women, who were still bursting with energy, excused them and went to the Hall of Fire. It was not quite so grand as it had been in the days of Elrond's abode there, but the hall still retained most of its majesty and splendor of earlier days.
Lian fell comfortably into a chair, closing her eyes for a moment, listening to a single elven voice as it sung a tale of the Eldar days, and was joined by other voices, just as fair. She almost drifted off to sleep, she was so peaceful and warm, when a voice broke her revere.
"Lian," she looked up as Faith addressed her, concern in her eyes, "please tell me what wrong. I know something's bothering you. You can tell me, you know that." Lian began a furious battle on whether or not she should confide in her aunt. She wanted to, she really did, but she knew that if she confessed the dreams, Faith would make her do something about them. Some of her worries must have shown up on her face as she thought for Faith suddenly spoke again.
"Lian, I know that this is about Galen," the mortal winced at the name, "and it has to stop. You have two choices. One, is that tomorrow, you will go with me peacefully and together we will travel to Mirkwood and sort all this out."
Lian looked up at her, "and the second option?" she asked meekly.
Faith grinned, "the second option is that I drag you kicking and screaming to Mirkwood where we will sort this all out."
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im sorry that this is such a short first chapter.... but I really wanted to post this today... and that seemed like a good ending point. Now, do not expect another chapter soon. I dont think Im going to start writing the next one until (heh heh heh! bribery!) i get ten reviews!! tee hee! i luv reviews and until i have 10 for this one, i wont start the next chapter. okie dokie?
oh, if u wouldn't mind... ive also got two (well, three, co of the first Lian one) other fics, The Prince of Gondor (about Lian's big bro, Eldarion) and Harry Potter and the Fire Hawk (which is, obviously, a HP fic.) both are seriously lacking reviews and it would be much appreciated if u would please check them out!
also, read And the Road Holds No Answers, by faithfulbeyondfear, because it tells the story of Lian's aunt, Faith. it also explains some of the parts in this story and the first Lian. (and if u go to may faves list... there are some other, really awesome fics listed)
alright, thanks for reading this, once again, sorry it was short, but i have a feeling that Lani will lock me in her closet if i didnt post it! (once again, A.T.R.H.N.A. will explain that comment)
if u wouldnt mind (and if u want me to continue) i would luv reviews. crit is always welcomed with open arms, specially grammar and spelling stuff. im horrible with all that, so your corrections are appreciated!!!
thank u!!!
luv,
hollie