Disclaimer: chapter one, part one.
Chapter eighteen: Lord Laivindur.
Aragorn had been crowned king and nothing but happy days passed in the white city. The hobbits welcomed peace and had no desires to leave out on any adventure in a long while yet. Although they yearned for Shire, to return home and tell of their adventures, there were still issues that were unresolved.
For many days Frodo and Sam told Gandalf and Aragorn about what happened to Feavair. Now and then, Gandalf would nod his head and it was as he said.
"A tapestry, were not all the strings have been attached before now"
He did not tell them that she had been captured by the orcs, that she was blinded. He did not tell them about the whisper on the foul language by the unknown shadow. He did not tell them how she had murmured the elf-prince's name in her fevered fantasies.
Many nights he lay awake and he could still hear the murmur coming from everywhere as if the Dark Lord or Feavair was standing beside him. He could hear her voice, singing in his head, he could feel her cold hand grasp his in the dark.
He thought about Feavair and Legolas. He wondered what had happened to them in the Cracks of Doom. Had they talked and announced their love for so and perish together. Why did he no longer feel her presence in his heart as he had done all through the journey after she saved him, did the feeling die when she died?
It was one day before midsummer. They were sitting outside in the sunshine watching the birds play in the trees and felt the sun warm their skin. Gandalf was sitting next to him, and he sat quite still and smoked, smoke rings of all colors twirled around their heads.
Sam was chewing on a straw and humming softly to him self, probably songs about their adventures. Pippin was chasing T`quel around on the ground and Merry was talking with Gimli. Frodo sighed deeply and shifted position as he felt his legs start to fall a sleep.
Suddenly a messenger came running through the garden, when he spotted Gandalf and Frodo his face lit up and he hurried over to them.
"My Lords…. the king wishes to see you" he said. Frodo looked at Gandalf waiting for some kind of explanation, if there were more surprises in store. However, even the white wizard seemed to wonder what was going on.
"Yes of course" said Gandalf.
"He wishes to see you too Master Frodo and Master Sam" the messengers said and then he hurried off. Frodo, Sam and Gandalf exchanged glances, but slowly they rose and started to walk towards the hall.
There Aragorn was seated at his throne and before him was a gray and ragged dressed man. He was of elf kind, but his manners were different, he did not seem the elvish glow and his eyes were hallow and dark. His hair was long, silvered running freely down his back, he was dressed in plain gray tunic, black pants, a tattern and worn cloak. On his head, he had a long and pointed hat that seemed to be rooted to his hair and he looked similar to the Gray Gandalf.
He was pacing back and forth his head bend and now and then, he looked at Aragorn. His eyes seemed to burn with some kind of rage and he muttered for him self on the high elven tongue. When he saw the others he stopped tensed and Gandalf froze dead in his sight.
"Lord Laivindur" Gandalf said slowly and the old elf nodded. His face was flawless and pasty, his eyes were ageless, he had scars alone his hairline and his hands were thin and knuckled.
Aragorn rose from his seat and then looked from Gandalf to the gray-cloaked elf.
"So you know each other." It was a statement not a question and Gandalf nodded.
"Yes, though it is long since we last have meet" he said and Lord Laivindur forced a smile.
"Yes….I have been traveling for some time" he muttered.
"Then what brings you here?" Gandalf asked.
"Matters of my foster daughter" he answered calmly.
| They sat around a round table, Gandalf had his staff lying on it, and Lord Laivindur sat opposite of him, his fingers folded in front of his face. Aragorn looked like he was not sure what to think or do. Frodo and Sam still exchanged glances.
"So you heard the news then?" Gandalf said and Laivindur nodded slowly, his fingers still folded in front of his eyes.
"The birds and beasts told me. I could feel the shadow letting go of its grip around the earth…all the elves have" his voice was calm and low filled with age and tight with anger.
"May I ask why you never told anybody your ward was the daughter of the last Spirit Weaver" Gandalf said, trying to be calm. The truth was that he had bad feeling about the elf sitting in front of him. True his greatness was known around the world and he was counted among the oldest of all the elves, but he was mysterious and strange for he came and went as it pleased him.
"It seemed of no important," he said calmly.
"Not of important" Gandalf almost yelled. "You knew she had the spirit of Sauron bond to her"
"Yes I knew" Laivindur said calmly, then he unfolded his fingers and let his hands rest on the table and for a long time he stared at the people sitting around him.
"I knew that if men, who are so foolish in their ways, knew about her she would be hunted down. They would try to kill her, but would not succeed, she would endure torture at their hands." He paused.
"Elves and Men took little notice of the Spirit Weavers, they came and marveled the world with their beauty, their voices and their skill. They marveled, and people grew afraid of them and they turned to the Dark Lord, as Men did before Melkor. Sauron even managed to fool the Elves of Eregion.
They were captured by the Dark Lord and placed in his dungeon, where they lived until they went mad from darkness and started to kill each other. Ithill Quessir was with child when she was captured and when the Dark Lord offered her freedom and her child protection from the madness, she took it.
Her spirit was already broken when she returned and she died in childbirth. I knew what Feavair had to face and I did not want anybody to put pressure on her. That was why I did not tell anyone. If she was pressured…."
"The darkness may have consumed her…" Gandalf ended and Lord Laivindur nodded.
"Now I wish to learn what happened in her last days," he said.
"Not much" Frodo muttered, he had not yet told anybody about the pieces of conversation he had overheard.
"Nothing…so the Dark Lord Sauron did nothing to prevent her from…?" Laivindur trailed off.
Sam sighed deeply and frowned, the name Laivindur seemed familiar to him somehow.
"He captured her and held her captive, but we rescued her" Frodo said. Laivindur was starting to grow anxious and Sam could see that his hands were trembling.
"So did he talk to her?" he asked slowly.
Gandalf furrowed his eyebrows he could not see why this had any importance at all, he turned his head to Frodo and Sam. They had told them that the orcs captured her, at orders from the dark Lord, and had her imprisoned.
Frodo looked quickly at Sam. They had both heard the whispers on the Black Speech; they had felt the presences of an evil shadow.
"No" Frodo said calmly. Laivindur stared at Frodo with an intense glare that almost burned a hole in him. Moreover, as he glared, Frodo felt a small tug at his chest.
"You lie" Laivindur yelled suddenly and slammed his fists in the table. Aragorn rose quickly, and some of the guards, who had heard the yell, opened the door to see if everything was all right.
"I do not lie" Frodo growled. Could it be the Dark Lord Sauron that had spoken to her in the Tower. Laivindur continued to glare at him, and the pain in Frodo`s chest returned, stronger then last time.
"You lie, I can see it, she did meet the Dark Lord" Lord Laivindur said, finally managing to calm down again. Frodo looked away unable to meet the elf's stare.
"Frodo….?" Gandalf said calmly. Frodo looked up from the table and stared at the white wizard, the king and his friend. Lord Laivindur was still staring at him, his fists clenched and his body tensed. Frodo opened his mouth to say something when a new tug pulled at his chest and he felt that the air became heavier to breath.
Why did Laivindur want to know if Feavair had talked to the Dark Lord? Why did it matter now that both of them were dead?
He could see him self, standing on Sam`s shoulder, and he could hear the murmur from above his head. The pain in his chest grew and he gasped for air, slowly he rose from the chair, and staggered backwards. Lord Laivindur also rose and continued to stare at the frightened hobbit.
Gandalf, Aragorn and Sam began to talk all at once wondering what was going on.
Frodo clutched his chest, he had only felt this pain one time before, and that was in the mists of danger right before they found Feavair, right before they heard the conversation.
His vision started to blur and a voice started to flow through his brain as memory brought back the voice of Sauron and it hissed evil in his s ear.
"She wove half my spirit on the ring, and the other half to her child our child.
Frodo opened his eyes and saw that Lord Laivindur was still staring at him, his eyes flickering with flame, and his fists opening and closing, he knew that it was a strong will that held the elf from leaping to his throat.
Then Lord Laivindur seemed to calm down. He closed his eyes and straightened up.
"Very well then, if you do not wish to tell me, then I shall not force you. Feavair is dead and the Dark Lord Sauron is gone."
He grabbed his hat and then bowed before the king.
"Then I bid my farewell. I have done my quest for this world and I shall at last take the Straight Road. My prayers are that she did not suffer to much in the end." Then he turned around and walked towards the door.
"Now…would anyone tell me what is going on?" Aragorn said slowly. Frodo rose slowly on unsteady legs and wiped some sweat of his forehead.
"Frodo…." Gandalf warned "Are you keeping something from us?"
Frodo looked at Sam and he shrugged, he knew not what was going on.
"No Gandalf, she did not meet anybody it……it is nothing. Feavair…..she suffered much in the end, I do not wish to talk about it"
Gandalf sighed wearingly and leaned against his staff.
" Then we shall no longer dwell on her." He smiled a little sadly. "The Spirit Weaver came, and she marveled," he repeated.
Aragorn was about to say something, when a new messenger arrived telling him that fair folk came out of the North. His eyes seemed to light up, so did Gandalf`s.
"I see that there is still much for me to learn. But now, let us end the discussion for now"
"Yes, let us go and great the Lords of Rivendell and Lady Galadriel and Celeborn Lord or Lothlórien" Aragorn said and could not contain his excitement as he walked towards the door.
Frodo watched them disappear and then he sighed deeply and placed his palm on his heart. He could feel it again, the calm warmth of her touch spreading through his body, filling his blood veins.
"Master Frodo…are you alright?" asked Sam and Frodo nodded and then a small smile appeared on his lips.
"She is alive Sam," he said slowly.
"Alive…. but how?" Sam asked startled and Frodo closed his eyes briefly.
"I do not know…but I can feel it and Lord Laivindur knows it…. if not he would not have come asking for her"
"So what do we do?"
"We…need to rescue her…and the others if they are still alive"
"But the Dark Lord is he not destroyed…. how can it be…?"
"I do not know, quickly let us talk to Gandalf"
The two of them dashed towards the door, but just as they were inches from the White Wizard somebody grabbed Sam`s arm. Surprised by the assault Sam yelped in pain, causing both Gandalf and Aragorn to turn around quickly.
Sam stared into a pair of blue eyes filled with questions and concern. It was an elf and his hair was blond and cut right over his shoulders. He was wearing a blue tunic and around his neck hung a silver flute. Behind him was another elf, female, this one with curly dark hair and blue eyes; she was dressed in a long red dress.
"Let go of me" Sam yelped. The elf that had grabbed him looked at him surprised and quickly let go of him. Aragorn and Gandalf walked over and stared at the elves suspiciously.
"Who are you?" Frodo asked and Sam rubbed his arm.
"Don`t worry, we are only bards my name is Jar`en Ben`al and this is my wife Fiowyn" he pointed a thumb at the woman standing behind him, and she waved her hand nervously at them.
"We….eh…kind of heard you talking about Feavair…" she stuttered feeling slightly nervous in the presence of the king, the mighty wizard and the two heroes from Shire. Jar`en Ben`al did not, he felt no differently, if he was talking to a king or a beggar.
"You knew her?" Aragorn asked. The bards had been at the castle when he was crowned, but he had not yet heard them perform. Jar`en Ben`al nodded.
"Yeah, she used to play with us, we were the Traveling Trio…you know kind of famous a couple of years ago" he said proudly.
"I have never heard of you," muttered Sam.
"It doesn`t matter" said Fiowyn quickly. "It was a long time ago, and we have not seen Feavair since she left us, and we were wondering why you were talking about her"
"Feavair aided the Fellowship of the Ring. In the end, she fell in battle" Aragorn said.
Fiowyn's eyes started to fill with water.
"She is dead…" she muttered and Jar`en Ben`al grabbed her hand. "Prince Legolas must be feeling…" he trailed off and tightened the grip on his wife's hand, not being able to put words on the demotions.
"I am afraid that the Prince of Mirkwood has also fallen in battle," said Aragorn.
Jar'en Ben'al and Fiowyn muttered a few words on an elven prayer and then said.
"Than at least they are together in the Hall of Mandos. Perhaps they will meet again. Yet another tale of tragic lovers"
"Ah…." Gandalf began and Frodo blinked away a few tears.
"When did they meet, do you know?" Aragorn asked. He had known Legolas for several years and never before had the elfprince mentioned his love.
" The year 2890 of the Third Age, and they were wed not many years later" Fiowyn said.
"Wed?" Aragorn asked shocked " I never heard that the elf prince of Mirkwood had wedded"
"King Thranduil disapproved of her," Jar'en Ben'al snorted and Fiowyn elbowed him in the ribs.
"King Thranduil did not approve of their marriage. They were wed in secret and their love hidden."
"My Lord…." The messenger said and urged King Aragorn to come. Aragorn closed his eyes and thought about his own love for Arwen, forbidden for so long.
"I am coming" Aragorn said, Fiowyn and her husband bowed and then the King walked away to great his guests. Gandalf followed him shortly, while Frodo, Sam, Fiowyn and Jar'en Ben'al stared at each other, not sure who should speak first.
"Well, farewell then" Jar'en Ben'al said, he bowed, before he took his wife's arm and led her down the corridor.
"Mr. Frodo you did not tell Gandalf and Aragorn that…." Sam started.
"Hurry on Sam" Frodo said, and ran the other way.
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