Hey all.... sorry, I know I haven't updated in ages... Lani and Faith reminded me the other day that this has gone forever unupdated... so you can thank the two of them, because I probably would've just forgotten... *embarrassed smile* Man, I wish I had a good memory... gah, alas, I seem to have been born without one. *sigh* o well. I'm updating it now... so, ya. Here it is, with only minor ado before getting back into the story...
Disclaimer: I own none of this... However I am the creator of the following elves/humans: Lian, Galen, Anto, Anil, Magen, the three Gondorian guards (who are yet to be named... whoops), Eron, Erëssa, Adaír, and, of course, the lovely horses that bore Lian and the rest of the crew to Mirkwood, like Hoshi and Alian. Faith and her mount, Hope, belong to the wonderfully creative author Faithfulbeyondfear (aka Lani) and I highly recommend that you read her fic, And the Road Holds No Ansers, cos a lot of things in this story tie into that.
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The Children of Gondor- Lian: Part Two
By Hollie
Lian and Faith followed Erëssa wordlessly through the maze of corridors and hallways, each lost in their own private thoughts. Lian was torn between a mixture of different emotions; relief that Erëssa was Galen's sister, not wife, confused as to what the significance of Anto's and Anil's parentage was, and hurt that Galen still seemed angry with her.
Well, you can't blame him, a nagging voice in the back of her mind chided. If the roles had been reversed, you would've been upset too.
"Not for this long I wouldn't have."
"Beg pardon?" Erëssa had stopped, and turned politely, her round eyes questioning. Lian suddenly realized that her last thought had been uttered out loud. A blush rose in her cheeks, and she hastily muttered, "oh, nothing. I was, um, just commenting on the lovely..." Lian glanced around for something to complement on, "those lovely tapestries." She settled on.
Apparently, this was a good topic to have chosen. Erëssa's face lit up, and she beamed at Lian.
"Oh, aren't they just wondrous? This one here," she gently fingered a clearly old cloth depicting an elf with flowing golden hair, and a circlet of gold, crimson and gems. He was in an open room filled with ancient texts and scrolls –a library, Lian thought- and his arms were outspread as if in welcome. It was a very handsome tapestry.
"This was woven by my great great great great great great grandmother, Eleneta Cirosi. She was one of the most highly sought weavers in the realm. Several of these are her work..." Erëssa led them further down the hall, pointing out the tapestries as they went. For the most part, Lian was indifferent to the work; threadwork never sparked her interest, but about halfway down the hall, a particular tapestry caught her eye.
The scene was clearly that of a battle. Lian could pick out shapes on the ground, shapes that were reminiscent of dead orcs or goblins, she couldn't tell which. Crimson thread, blood, was stitched everywhere, and Lian dimly registered shock at the fact that elves would have added something as grotesque as bloodshed. However, the majority of her focus was on the looming figure in the foreground.
It was an impressive elf, with powerful brown eyes that radiated strength and vigor, and a determinedly set mouth. His dark brown, almost black hair, was cropped short, framing his face, and tucked underneath one powerful arm was a silver helm, plumed and dented in one side.
Lian gazed, openmouthed at the figure before her, for there was no denying that uncanny resemblance...
She felt someone near her. Turning her head slightly, Lian saw that Erëssa had come to stand by her side. The elf's bright eyes had dulled, and she gazed up at the tapestry in what looked reminiscent of grief.
Before Lian could pose her question, the Golden Lady spoke.
"This is Adíar of Doriath, one of the last of his kind. Anil's and Anto's father. He was a legend among the elves, but such a recluse. This is a scene from one of the goblin wars, long before I or my brother was born. They invaded and attacked the forest, and it seemed likely that they would run the elves out, as there were so very many of them. But Lord Adíar came, with twelve of his men," she pointed to a row of figures in the background that Lian had not noticed before, "and they fought for us, and secured our victory. Then, after the last goblin had been killed, they left, just like that." She gave a ladylike motion that probably would have been a shrug on a lesser woman.
"Perhaps I should speak to Galen on taking this down, at least until.... Well, for a little while." She needn't have finished her sentence, as Lian knew exactly what she meant; the weave might cause distress or grief to Anto and Anil.
An "ahem!" broke into both girls' thoughts. They turned to see Faith standing, rather impatiently, a bit further down the hall. She smiled sweetly as they acknowledged her, then crossed her arms, waiting.
Normally Lian would have burst out laughing, but she felt it would have been improper. Erëssa resumed her position at the front of the trio, leading them to the bathing chambers.
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The baths were a collection of high-walled, tiled rooms that had high windows that Lian assumed light would filter through during the daytime. A pungent odor filled the area; the scent was mostly the same, but from under each cloth hanging (as in the baths these replaced traditional wooden doors) there seemed to waft something slightly different, as if each bath room had its own special ingredient in the mixture of scents.
Erëssa led Lian and Faith to the very last door, the only room where the hanging was pulled fully closed. They entered, and Lian inhaled the sweet scent of arelest blooms, linderblossom and orael, flowers that were rare in Gondor, but highly coveted.
In the center of the spacious room, there was a large pool. The water shimmered in the soft light cast by round light-globes on the walls. Lian could see soft towels piled by the side of the pool, and clean white robes as well.
"Have you a wash towel and soap?" Faith questioned, with the slightest impatient note in her voice.
In answer, Erëssa clapped her hands twice. Lian was just wondering what she was doing, when suddenly two more elves appeared, from an alcove in the back of the chamber. They wore plain white gowns embroidered on the chest pocket with golden gates. Their slippered feet took them immediately to Erëssa, who smiled regally.
"Wash towels and soap for our esteemed guests please." The two elves wordlessly returned to their alcove, which Lian realized must be some sort of servant's corridor. They returned mere moments later, brandishing the requested items. Faith wasted no time; stripping down to her underclothes, she practically jumped into the bathing pool and began to vigorously scrub away all the grit and grime she had accumulated over the long journey. Lian decided to follow her aunt's example, as she was anxious to feel clean again.
Erëssa waited patiently while the two other women cleansed themselves, idly turning a sprig of starliss between her thumb and forefinger. After a few moments, Faith finished, and sprang out of the bath, wrapping herself tightly in one of the soft robes and towel drying her long blonde hair. When she was done, she looked expectantly up at Erëssa, then exasperatedly down at her niece, still quite content in the warm bath water.
Erëssa clapped, and this time a single maid appeared. "Please take Lady Faith to her usual rooms, the Cul suite in Formenos Hall. See to it that her diner is brought up and that she has anything she has want or need of." The maid-elf bowed low, then escorted Faith out of the bathing room.
Unlike her aunt, Lian was quiet content to spend the rest of her life in the pool of warm, sweetly-scented water. After a few minutes however, she realized that Erëssa was waiting for her, and it would probably be rude to stay much longer.
Reluctantly pulling herself from the pool, Lian grasped for a towel and robe, quickly drying her body off. Her mop of dark hair hung limp and sopping by her side, as tangled as ever. She bit her lip, wondering what to do with it. Erëssa must have guessed her dilemma, as she said kindly, "when we get to your rooms, I can send for a maid to brush it out for you. Are you ready?"
Nodding, Lian rose and followed the elf back through the bathing hall, and down more corridors and hallways. They went up two flights of stairs, and down another hall before Erëssa finally stopped outside a door.
She led Lian inside, to what was a rather spectacular parlor. The walls had been done in soft, powder blue, trimmed with a silver leaf and vine pattern. There were four doors in the room; the one through which they had come through, one that led to a small privy, a small one that was closed, and therefore Lina knew naught where it went, and another that led to the adjacent bedroom. Lian went through this last door, and found another spacious chamber. A large four-poster bed stood at one corner, grandly engraved with flowers and fruits, and covered in a blanket of soft dove gray. The walls were blue, the same shade as the parlor. There was a single window in the bedroom, at the far end from where Lian stood. It was large and grand, like everything else, and it had a small window seat directly below it.
The Gondorian princess was little surprised when she opened the closet and dresser drawers to find her clothes and things all neatly packed away. She was beginning to see how very efficient these elves were.
Erëssa clapped for the third time that night, and this time Lian was not surprised to see an elf in the garb of a maid appear immediately.
"Lady Lian, this is Nimia, she will be your maid whilst you are here. If there is ever anything that you need or want, you may inform Nimia, and she will provide it for you. She will help you pick your clothes, brush your hair, clean your room and any other service she can." At this, Nimia bowed low, and Lian responded with an awkward curtsey. Erëssa hid a smile. "Regrettably, I must leave you now." She smiled ruefully at Lian. "I have much planning to do, especially if we are to hold the banquet tomorrow night..."
"A banquet?" Lian questioned.
"Oh, yes... surely you knew?" When she was met only by a puzzled stare, Erëssa elaborated. "It has become a tradition of the realm to honor guests with grand banquets in their honor... had we known of your arrival, it would have been planned some time ago. But fret not," she added, seeing and correctly interpreting Lian's expression, "it shall be of little trouble for me to arrange one for tomorrow night."
"Oh... well, thank you then, um, Lady Erëssa." Lian fumbled.
Erëssa smiled warmly. "Please, call me Essa... all of my friends do."
Lian grinned back, noticing the similarity between Erëssa and her brother. "All right, but only if you'll call me Lian."
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Lian sat on her bed, playing idly with her hair. Nimia had brushed it out expertly after she'd dried it, and now the long, glossy plait fell flat against Lian's back. Lian tapped a finger against her knee; she was bored and restless, and it didn't help matters that her meeting with Galen kept replaying in her mind, over and over, making her nervous and agitated and confused.
She wanted to talk to somebody, but who? In Gondor, she would've snuck into her older sister, Fëa's, room and confided in her, but Fëa was leagues and leagues away now. Dully she thought of Nimia, who slept just next door (she had told Lian that the other door in the parlor led to her quarters), but she canceled that idea at once. While the maid seemed very nice, they'd only just met. Erëssa was nixed for the same reason, plus the fact that Lian couldn't see herself confiding in Galen's own sister about her feeling and confusion for him.
So who was left?
Immediately after thinking that, a wave of stupidity washed over Lian. Of course, there was only one person to go to, and it was the most obvious of all.
Rising from her bed, Lian shoved her feet into the soft silken slippers on the floor, and tiptoed across her room into the parlor. She then knocked softly on the door that led to Nimia's rooms.
The maid answered immediately, and while her hair was tousled, and her eyes were somewhat bleary, she didn't seem the least bit annoyed that her mistress had woken her up.
Lian still felt guilty though. "I'm sorry for waking you," she hurriedly whispered, "but I was wondering if you could tell me where my aunt is? She was staying in the..." Lian wracked her brains for the name. "The Col rooms? Or was it Cal... Oh, I don't remember, but it was in the For-men-ois hall, I think.." she stumbled over the pronunciation.
"The Formenos Hall, milady? And I believe you mean the Cul rooms?" She kept her face blank, but there was the hint of a smile in her eyes.
"Yes, yes, that. Could you tell me how to get there, please?"
"This is the Formenos hall now, milady, or one part of it anyways. I can take you to your aunt's rooms, if you would like."
"No, I don't want to trouble you any more than I already have. If you could just tell me how to get there?"
Nimia obliged, giving Lian the directions to the Cul suite. Lian thanked her, and exited as Nimia returned to her bed and slumber.
Walking down the hallway, Lian silently blessed the tiny lightglobes that prevented her from bumping into things and causing a commotion. While she was skilled at creeping about in the dark at the Citadel in Gondor, this place was new and alien to her, and she didn't know where tables or statues were located, as she did in her home. The last thing she would have wanted was for her nightly excursion to cause her to stumble and break some priceless family heirloom or something of that sort.
Turning a corner, Lian began to count doors. Nimia had said that the Cul room was the ninth door on the right-hand side.
"...three... four.... five.... almost there.... six...."
Lian had reached the seventh door when she heard voices, coming from the next door.
"... I can't believe it's you, that you're here." She heard a man's voice say.
"Well I would like to know what you are doing way up here!" A familiar female's voice exclaimed. Lian's eyes opened in surprise... she had found Faith.
"I was invited, by Their Majesties," the man responded smoothly. His voice struck a chord in Lian's memory; she knew she'd heard that voice before.
"Oh. Well then..." Lian stifled a laugh.
"Faith, it is wonderful to see you again, you know." The man's voice was soft and kindly, yet it bothered Lian because she was now positive that she knew him, and the fact that she couldn't grasp a name was infuriating.
"Well, well it's good to see you as well, Eomer."
Eomer. King Eomer, of the Rohirrim. That's where she knew that voice from! Lian realized gleefully, Eomer was the father of the man that Lian had been engaged to, the prince.
"The last time I saw you was at Gondor, when my son and your niece were engaged." Lian could practically hear him smiling. "You know Faith, we never did get a chance to talk..."
Lian head Faith interrupt quickly. "Ah, yes well, we really should finish this conversation later.... It's very late now, and I'm exhausted form the journey."
"Yes, of course. My apologies for keeping you. By all means."
Lian head footsteps near the door. "Good night Eomer," Faith said briskly as the door eased open.
"Good night Faith," was the soft response. Lian pressed herself against the wall, in the shadow of a large statue as her aunt emerged from the room. She closed the door quickly behind her, and walked further down the hall, away from Lian's vantage point, to her own room. She stood before her door and then did something very odd; she shook her head slowly, and pressed it against the door. Faith stood thus for several moments before she picked up her head, ran her fingers through her hair and then entered her room.
Well, Lian thought as she hurried back to her room, that was strange.
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Okay, please accept my apologies on this chapter... It's pretty much one of those filler chapters that are so boring to write... although, I few important things did surface (cookies to anyone that can spot them!).
Also, I didn't get to really go through and edit this chappie... I promise I will later, but I just really want to get this posted asap!
Another apologie on the fact that I don't have time to put in individual thank you's.... just know that I luv ya all, and THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
Always,
~Hollie