AN: Sorry again for the delayed update. Unfortunately, this will be another rather slow chapter. Sure, stuff happens, but climbing trees and explaining the Simarillion aren't exactly the best forms of action. But then again, you were the ones who tortured me with a month of 99 reviews... grrr...
I am sorry these last few chapters have been rather blah. It's hard for me not to skip over this developing of the relationship and get to the big action that's coming. But it really is necessary, otherwise it will be another I-see-him-and-now-I-love-him-forever cliche. ^_^' I've estimated, though, that the Fellowship will probably only remain in Lorien for two more chapters after this... and despite the lack of action, stuff needs to happen before they leave, so I'm anticipating long chapters. And I'm guessing the big turning point I've been promising will happen around Ch. 14.
Sorry for boring you even more. Just a quick thank you to my limited reviewers. *glare*
Loopy Lu- ::grins evilly:: You want to know how they get to Helm's Deep. Mwhaha. I congratulate you for knowing your plot well enough to realize this. And it will happen. "The Gang", as you have christened them, will be there. But how... I really can't say. I'm guessing you'll find out around ch. 14, and it will be rather... erm... frightening for her ::hint hint:: But if I say anymore, it will spoil a lot.
Thank you also to Senshi's Tenshi, L.L., Tenshi-Hotaru, and Silver Dragonfly, you wonderful people who reviewed. ;D I own nothing but my own ideas. And I don't own Celebithil's song either. See if you can guess where it's from! "..." is talking, '...' is thought, [...] is AN or definition, (...) is extra info but part of the fic, ... means trailed off, -- means interrupted. If you need elvish help, check the last chapter. Enjoy!
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"And so the Valar dwell in the blessed realm of Valinor in the West, across the Great Sea. This is why the elves turn to the West and love the Sea; it reminds us of the fair home we left so long ago and, may Elbereth will it, we will one day return to."
Celebithil dangled her feet into the waters of a small brook that sparkled in the light of the noontime sun, unknowingly revisiting the same stream where she had first seen Boromir. Boromir himself sat slightly behind her with his back to a green willow that overhung the stream.
"They are gods, then?" he asked thoughtfully.
Celebithil glared at him impatiently. He could not seem to grasp the concept of the Valar. "We are not polygamous," she said impatiently. "We believe in the same one God that many men do, the Lord of all lands, peoples, universes, and dimensions-- Eru Iluvatar." [means 'The One' 'The Father of All'] "The Valar are great lords and kings of power, but they are the thought of Iluvatar. They are like," she desperately searched for a word he could relate to, "angels. Yes, great powerful angels to whom Eru has given control of Middle Earth while he watches over the Great Play of all the universes. They are like vassals of great power under an omnipotent lord."
Boromir nodded as he slowly digested what she had said and began to comprehend. "So these others, these Maiar you speak of," he said slowly. "They are servants to these powerful angels, these Valar?"
"Yes!" said Celebithil with relief. "Now you see it! But even the Maiar, as servants to servants, are much more powerful than the common peoples of Middle Earth. The Istari-- the wizards, such as Mithrandir-- are among them, as well as Melian of old, the mother of Luthien who cast a girdle of magic around her home, and . . . " Celebithil's face darkened, but she determinedly continued, "the Dark Lord Sauron. He was once a servant of the most powerful and destructive of the Valar, the root of all evil."
"There was a dark lord more powerful than Sauron?" said Boromir with surprise, not heeding the name.
Celebithil's face twisted in loathing. "Yes," she said deliberately. "He has existed since the beginning of Time and is still shut beyond this world in the Great Void. He has done many horrors to the elven people, including capturing and corrupting some and torturing them into his horrible creations-- Orcs. We name him Morgoth, the Dark Enemy of the World."
The clear call of silvery horns interrupted her thoughts and lifted the darkness from her face. She got to her feet and glanced upward at the fiery orb directly overhead.
"The noontime meal," she said. "Usually I wake up late enough that this is my first meal of the day," she smiled. [AN: Remember? This is the same day as in the last chapter. The same week that she was getting up early to take archery lessons with Haldir.] "I must go, or they will worry."
Boromir nodded. "I, too, must return to the others. But may I see you again, Lady Celebithil?"
"If I wish to be found, I will be found," she responded cryptically with a mysterious smile.
Boromir smirked. "Then I shall seek you."
~*~*~*~*~*~
The sun was sinking in the sky, casting long shadows throughout the Golden Wood. Boromir wandered aimlessly among the trees of Caras Galadhon, lost in his thoughts. It was mind boggling how quickly his life had changed, ever since he had insisted on delivering the message of the dream to Rivendell. He never guessed when he began that he would journey long and far from his home, in lands of Darkness and land of Light, on grounds untouched by most mortal feet.
He paid little attention to where his feet led him, so he was surprised when a smaller body suddenly ran into his. A silvery-golden head looked up to his face with eyes blurred by the tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Celebithil! What's wrong?" he cried with concern as he tried to calm her shaking shoulders.
Unable to respond, she held out a shaky hand that clutched a scrap of parchment. Boromir took it from her grasp and skimmed it with his eyes.
It was a note, obviously written hastily. The writer hadn't the time for elegant elvish runes and instead had scribbled his note in the letters of the Common Tongue.
"So sorry, but the runner from the Borders found me before I could find you. I have been issued urgent commands to return to the Borders at once. So sorry for the lack of warning, but I must leave immediately. Strange things have been felt near Caradhras, and everyone is uneasy, fearing a mass attack from the monstrous creatures that inhabit the mountains.
So sorry we didn't get to finish those lessons. But if my heart tells me true, we shall see each other again soon. I shall think of you and miss you always, Aikuu.
With all my love, Haldir".
Boromir looked up almost suspiciously. For some reason, he didn't like the sound of that last stanza. Was it jealousy? he wondered. But why?
He hadn't detected anything beyond friendship between the two elves, but now he wondered. But from the way she spoke of him, Celebithil seemed oblivious to any feelings Haldir had for her.
But from the look on her face, he could not bring himself to speak of such matters. Instead, he tried halfheartedly to comfort her. "He will be back soon," he tried.
"Oh Boromir, I didn't even get to say goodbye!" she moaned. "I ran off and left him and now he is gone..."
Boromir slowly put his arms around her and held her while she cried, trying to pass on comfort. [AN: the embrace of a friend, not a lover.] "He will be back before you know it," he soothingly assured her.
At length, she calmed down and wiped her tears away, attempting to regain her dignity. "I... I am sorry you had to see me like this. He has come and left again hundreds of times before. It is just... with Mithrandir's death so near... I- I don't want to lose him too."
"He will return," Boromir assured her again.
"Ume," she said to herself. "Yes, he has returned every time before. This time will be no different."
"Oh!" she said suddenly, her eyes lighting up. "I was looking for you, before I found... the note. I want to show you something."
Boromir looked curious as she glanced up at the afternoon sun and suddenly became alarmed. "Come now!" she cried. "There is little time!" With that, she ran lightly from the city, with Boromir following heavily behind.
~*~*~*~*~
Before long, the city's talans all lay behind them and the open woods of Lorien before them as they ran. Celebithil suddenly let out a cry. "There!" she gestured, pointing to a hill before them. She sprinted towards the destination.
Boromir looked at the hill curiously as he reached it. The hill was bare, save one tree on its crest. The soft golden grass of the hill shone with a brilliant light as the sun lowered in the sky. He turned his gaze to the strange tree. Here, truly, was the tallest tree he'd ever laid eyes upon. It was strong and powerful, with a trunk larger than he could wrap his arms around, and would have made a fine tree-house. But as he gazed upwards, he realized that unlike the other mallorn trees, this one did not reach a height and broaden out. Instead, it continued to climb higher and higher towards the heavens.
"Come on, Boromir!"
Coming back to earth, he was shocked to find Celebithil no longer on the hill. Instead, she was already in the lower branches of the tree.
"Come on!" she called again as she swung herself up to another branch.
Boromir took a step forward. "I..." he began haltingly, "I... don't know how to climb."
Celebithil froze in her ascent. "Can't... climb?!" she repeated, disbelievingly. Quickly, she swung herself down so that she hung from the branch by her hands. She let go and landed, cat-like, on the ground.
"You have never climbed?" said Celebithil again, incredulously.
Boromir shook his head and held out his hands. "Once, when I was a lad of four, I tried to climb an old oak. Unbeknownst to me, the tree was rotting and dying. As I got to about the third branch, the tree could support my weight no longer. The branch snapped and I fell, resulting in a broken leg. I never again attempted to climb."
Celebithil looked shocked but saddened that a person could be so deprived. "The trees of Lorien do not rot," she assured him. "As long as you stay near the trunk, they will stay strong and true and support you."
Boromir looked doubtful, but as Celebithil moved towards the base of the trunk, he followed. "Stand here and look up," she instructed as they both lifted their heads. "What do you see?"
Boromir looked up into the leafy foliage above with countless branches in numerous directions. "Many limbs," he said simply.
"Yes," replied Celebithil. "Many limbs. Many limbs that form a path. Many limbs that spiral upwards. Many limbs--"
"That form a living staircase," completed Boromir in awe.
Celebithil smiled. "Yes. The tree has given us a stairway to heaven. Upwards it climbs, to heights that none have seen. It will not fail you."
Celebithil lowered her gaze and turned to him. "Now follow me," she said. "I shall show you the path. Follow my lead, and you shall see the world known only to the birds of the air."
She took hold of the lowest branch and pulled herself onto it. With a glance and a nod in Boromir's direction, she deliberately grabbed the next branch and hoisted herself up. Boromir closely watched her every move. Slowly and deliberately, he followed.
He was not a skilled climber, but he was strong, and for his first time in a tree, he did quite well. Celebithil slowed so that she would not get too far ahead as she continued the seemingly endless dance of getting a hold and pulling herself up to the next branch. Boromir's movements were slow, but deliberate and steady. Limb after limb, he followed her path as he carefully placed each hand before hoisting himself upward.
Celebithil just shocked him. Maybe he had never spent enough time among the elves (indeed, he had known very few elves before this journey), but he was astonished at how comfortable she became with the tree. It was almost as if she were one with it; her motions were fluid and perfect, knowing exactly where to go and what to hold among the maze of limbs. She would surprise him by suddenly swinging down in front of him upside down, supported only by her knees. Or by suddenly hopping down from a branch above to land, standing, on a branch below him. The small elf continued to guide him and instruct him on where to hold and shout encouragement as she climbed up the tree as if it were nothing more than a ladder.
"Almost there!" she called as she disappeared onto a branch above. Boromir knew he was probably more than a hundred feet off the ground, but he didn't dare look out or down. He had never been this high before and didn't want to put his tolerance of heights to the test. He focused on the branches and foliage in front of him.
"Over here!" called Celebithil from a limb off to his upper right.
With a slight grunt, he pulled himself up behind her onto the final branch. He straddled the limb and leaned back against the trunk, panting slightly from the long climb. Then he looked out.
The sight that met his eyes made his breath catch in his throat. From here, high above the treetops, he could see all of the realm of Lothlorien. For miles upon miles, the beautiful living golden trees stretched into the distance. Beyond that, great majesty filled him with wonder: The mighty snow-capped Misty Mountains. Their upper peaks, hidden by a haze, stretched into the heavens, leaving him breathless and feeling amazed and almost insignificant. [AN: If you've ever actually seen mountains like this, especially the beautiful Southern Alps of NZ, you'll know what I mean.] Behind the great pillars of majesty was the illuminated backdrop of the Great Painter's canvas full of reds, golds, pinks, and violets.
Celebithil smiled brilliantly. "We made it in time." She turned and cast her eyes towards the descending fiery orb.
Boromir was so captivated by the scene that it was not until several minutes later that he realized Celebithil was humming something. It was a strange and mysterious tune, unlike anything he'd ever heard before. He strained his ears to hear her words as she softly sang to the sunset. [AN: I had to put line breaks in in case baka ff.net doesn't space them out as they're supposed to be... grr..]
"There's a feeling I get /
when I look to the West, /
and my spirit is crying for leaving. /
In my thoughts I have seen /
rings of smoke through the trees /
and the voices of those who stand looking. /
Oo, it makes me wonder. /
Oo, really makes me wonder. /
And it's whispered that soon, /
if we all call the tune, /
then the piper will lead us to reason. /
And a new day will dawn /
for those who stand long /
and the forests will echo with laughter." **
She continued to hum the strange tune as Boromir watched, awe-struck, as the sun sunk and left its brilliant trail of colors in the sky. It was a thumbnail of red, falling behind one of the mighty pillars.
She continued to hum the strange tune as Boromir watched, awe-struck, as the sun sunk and left its brilliant trail of colors in the sky. It was a thumbnail of red, falling behind one of the mighty pillars, as the shadows stretched to their longest. But before it disappeared below the Sea, it reached out a long golden ray in desperation. It reached its long ethereal arm across the Sea, between the two mountains, through the Red Horn Pass, to Lorien itself. Celebithil cried out and reached out her own arm as if to touch it. For a moment, the light embraced her in its golden splendor. Boromir shielded his eyes in wonder as she appeared to be a shining celestial being, connected to the golden pathway to the distant West. "There lies the Blessed Realm!" she cried.
Yet the moment passed and the vision disappeared. The mystical golden path leading to the orb of light vanished below the horizon, and Celebithil returned as an earthly being of Middle Earth.
Boromir could not form words to describe what he felt inside of him. He remained silent in awe as the trail of colors faded away into darkness and the stars winked to life.
At length, Boromir realized Celebithil was still humming. He called her name softly, but when he received no response, he lightly placed a hand on her shoulder. "Celebithil?" he said.
Then her only response was to lean backwards-- onto his chest. It was then that he realized her eyes were closed and she seemed half in a dream.
"Celebithil?" he asked softly. "What is that strange tune?"
"Old song," she murmured hazily in her dream state. "Long ago. Mother sang it... to sleep... Told me to remember..." A tear slipped down her cheek. "Been so long... only some words... can't remember... only melody...."
Her words blurred and her breathing slowed. Boromir was careful to breathe in time with the rising and falling of her chest as she rested against him. With his calloused thumb, he wiped the tear from her soft smooth skin.
Looking down, he felt protective of the elven girl, her hair silver in the moonlight. Though he had only met her three times, he felt strangely about her, as if she were the most important thing in his life. She made him feel strong, stronger than all the nations and armies of the world. And yet, he felt weak, oh so weak and helpless.
'Is this love?' he wondered. He had heard takes of the strange things love could make you feel, but even after forty years he had never experienced it. No woman he had met before gave him this strange feeling. Yet here was this elf, unlike any woman he had ever met, that attracted him and made him feel so strange. Yes, there was no other word for it; it must be love.
He remembered thinking one last thought before he also drifted off. 'But may I return from this perilous journey alive,' he prayed, remembering the quest. 'May I return, so that I will not break her heart as I fear. If not, may she be oblivious to my love, as oblivious as she seems to be to Haldir's.'
Unfortunately, Fate had other plans.
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AN: ::ominous chord:: Not that we didn't know this already. ^_^'
**If you didn't guess, the song was from Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven", which is supposedly written about Galadriel. Those are the parts, from the middle of the song, that most clearly relate to LotR. (for more info on the Galadriel relation, go to )
Thank you for reading and please*please* review. Only takes a second! Hennaid, mellonae!! Namarie!
~Calli-chan
P.S. Let me know if you want email updates! (And remember to leave your email address). Thanks! Ja!