Ume - yes
N'ume - no
Namarie - 'Farewell'
Suliad - friendly greeting (i.e. 'Hi!')
Amin hiraetha - I'm sorry
Diola lle - Thank you (according to the Grey Company)
Hennaid - Thank you (according to the movie)
Mani? - What?
Ai - little or small (so Aicath is 'little cat' and Aikuu is 'little crescent moon')
Tarien - Princess
Periannath - elvish name for Hobbits
Istari - wizards
Imladris - Rivendell
Mithrandir - Gandalf ('Grey Pilgrim')
Vakhar - the elite group of guards on the borders of Lorien. (singular: Vakha )
mellyrn - 'mallorn'; these are the golden trees of Lorien
talan - 'flet'; basically tree-houses
lembas - 'waybread'; the nourishing bread of the elves for long journeys
Eldasil Celebithil- 'Silver light of the Stars' 'Silvermoon' (Usagi/Moon)
Nenloth- 'Water flower' (Ami/Mercury)
Hinienmel- 'Child of Love' (Minako/Venus)
Naurfea- 'Fiery Spirit' (Rei/Mars)
Taurenreil- 'Garlanded maiden of the forest' (Makoto/Jupiter)
Kemenuial- 'Twilight of the Earth' (Hotaru/Saturn)
Menelsul- 'Heavenly Wind' (Haruka/Uranus)
Mirengaer- 'Jewel of the Sea' (Michiru/Neptune)
Ertirhiril- 'Lonely (female) guardian' (Setsuna/Pluto)
"..." is talking, '...' is thought, [...] is AN, (...) is extra info but part of the fic, ... means trailed off, -- means interrupted. Review Responses at the bottom. Enjoy!!
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The thunder of enemy feet and the screams of pain echoed in the heart of Lady Galadriel as she sadly watched what had befallen at Helm's Deep through her mirror.
The elvish force sent by herself and Lord Elrond had made it safely to Rohan with little problems. Haldir had led them well and swiftly. Her heart had rejoiced with relief when they had found Celebithil wandering by Fangorn. Yet Galadriel knew the girl's future was not yet secure, nor would she be safe while Sauron remained, yearning for the secrets he had almost attained from the girl.
The Battle of Helm's Deep was now over. Countless elves had forsaken immortality for the sake of these men. Slaughtered, their bodies lied bloody and unburied across the foreign fields and walls. Galadriel silently prayed to Mandos to bless and watch over their souls.
Among the dead was one whose end she had not forseen- Haldir son of Hundin (1), leader of the Northwestern Vakhar guard, and a boy whom she had known since his birth. The child who had been a constant companion to her granddaughter during the many extended stays in Lorien. The boy who was always eager to learn, always prepared to listen with an open heart. The young elf who had displayed great nobility, wisdom, and skill from a young age, promising to grow mighty with the years. Like a son to her he had been, growing up close to the palace, often inside, listening and learning from the Lord and Lady. It had been hard to see him leave and take up his destined position among the Vakhar. In a way, it had been like losing a child again, though Galadriel knew that this promotion hurt her granddaughter even more. And now he was gone forever.
Galadriel tried to detach herself from the sorrow as she telepathically informed Elrond of the Pyrrhic victory.
"Victory?" he replied. "This is hope indeed, but it is only the beginning. Many more will die before we truly have hope for a free Middle-earth. And Haldir, you say? Was he not the one you spoke of?"
Ume, he was the one," said Galadriel sadly. "In times of peace, he would have made a wonderful husband for Eldasil. He loved her unceasingly and suffered in silence, for she was oblivious to these feelings until recently. Indeed, she loved him too, but she thought of him as something more than a brother, something beyond a dear friend, and was unable to label this inner need for his companionship. I fear that his death, along with the death of her faithful servant and friend Kemenuial, may have broken Celebithil."
"Is my Ithil all right?" cried Elrond frantically.
"She is in the hands of Mithrandir and Ertirhiril. Until she awakens from her dark dreams, none can say."
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
.
The dream was strange.
Out of the endless darkness grew a tree. She wandered forwards towards the strange tree and noticed yet another to her right, and another behind her.
She was in a forest.
At first, she thought that she had returned to Lorien. But as she touched a tree in welcoming, she was greeted with strange memories. Strange dark memories of times of horror and fear, darkness and pain.
The entire forest seemed to speak of it.
She continued walking forward. Something pulled her onward, compelled her to keep walking, though the trees around her grew dark and twisted.
Slowly she was able to sight a dark clearing in the distance, perhaps with a building within. The tug inside her assured her that this was her destination, this was where she needed to go. She eagerly hurried forward.
But then someone called from behind her. A familiar voice penetrated the musty darkness of the forest. She stopped. The voice became clearer and a light grew behind her eyes.
Then she saw the light that was behind her and realized the horror that waited before her. She screamed, turned, and fled to be enveloped by the white light . . .
.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
In a small room in the Keep of Helm's Deep, the unconscious Celebithil suddenly sat bolt upright, her eyes blank and her face echoing a silent scream. Then the pupils returned to her eyes, and she collapsed back upon the bed, falling into a dreamless sleep.
Gandalf slowly opened his weary eyes and got up from his position beside her bed. "We reached her just in time," he spoke to the anxious Ertirhiril. "She was lost within a forest. He was calling to her, though she could not have realized it. I believe he was using the mask of his former stronghold at Dol Guldur in the depths of Mirkwood to reach her. And he almost succeeded, but she resisted immediately as I called her. She will be safe, for now."
Ertirhiril sighed in relief.
"Come now," said Gandalf as he gathered his staff and moved towards the door. "There is still much to be done. Aragorn awaits, and I too desire to fully understand was happened to her after we left Lorien. Theoden will insist to listen as well, and as it is his Keep and his realm, he has to the right to know the danger she brings here. Leave her to rest. I fear that it may be the most peace she will get for many days."
Ertirhiril sighed sadly, but moved out behind Gandalf. The duties of an Istari are hard indeed. She would reveal what Celebithil had told her and what she had seen in the Streams of TIme. Gandalf would be deeply concerned, Aragorn would be outraged and ready to jump up and protect his sister, and Theoden... well, she could not guess Theoden's reaction yet. But all would be deeply worried that as Sauron searched for the Ring, he also sought the one within these walls. Ertirhiril paused as she crossed the threshold and looked back upon her sleeping princess. "Sleep well, Tarien. May Elbereth watch over you and no dark eyes avail you." Then she was gone.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Celebithil drifted slowly awake. The last thing she remembered was falling before the gates of the Keep, but now she was in an empty room with the darkness of night streaming through a small window. The dull ache of loss returned almost instantly, and all the painful memories. However, she did not push them away, but embraced them.
She cried into her knees and longed for someone to tell her that it was all right. For little Kemenuial to come knocking at her door in the middle of the night with a candle and a smile to chase away the nightmares. For Boromir to sit by the tree and take her into his arms, promising that he would not let anything happen to her. For Haldir to give her a quick hug and a shy smile, maybe even a kiss, and assure her that everything would work out fine. Or even for her Father, to lift her up and cradle her in his arms as he had when they were children, rocking and speaking comforting words or telling a story to distract them from their fears.
She missed them all, and everyone. She hugged her knees tightly, but her tears were dry. Rocking back and forth on the bed, her breath came in ragged sobs. No stars could reach through the small window to comfort her. She longed for the comfort of moonlight.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Eomer silently paced the upper battlements of the Keep. He could be down in the Hall, feasting and merrymaking with the men. Perhaps he should be. It was a victory, after all.
But in his heart, Eomer did not feel victorious. How many men of his eored had lost their lives? How many of the weary old and the innocent young had died, hopelessly fighting to defend their families? How many of his own childhood friends were gone forever from the land of the living?
Eomer shook his head. This was not his first experience with battle, he should not be thinking like this. Yet somehow this battle was different.
He could not celebrate with the others. He had requested this watch purposely to escape the others.
He continued to pace, as his tortured mind mused in the silent darkness.
-o-o-o-o-o-
She shivered, though the air of the room was warm. She was lonely. She was trapped. She had to get out of this room. She had to see the sky. She had to see the moon. She had to see Gil-Estel.
She needed hope.
She grabbed a cloak from the bottom of the bed and hurried into the night air.
-o-o-o-o-o-
Eomer sipped a mug of mead that a drunken friend had brought up from the Hall. It chilled him to the bone. Yet he sat upon the battlement, sipping, musing, and worrying.
In the silence of night, the sound of soft footsteps reached his ears. Eomer shook off the effects of the alcohol and alerted himself. Someone was coming up the stairs. He silently prayed that it not be another of the men, wanting to shove more ale down his sober throat. With a sigh, Eomer pulled his cloak closer around himself and waited in the darkness.
Yet it was not a man at all that reached the top of the stairs- it was a lady. Her hair, though messy and rather grimy, caught the light of the starlight as the reached the battlements and gleamed silver. But her face was red and muddied, sore from crying perhaps.
Her face was upturned, her eyes searching the sky. "Earendil, manke naa lle!" she cried out in some foreign tongue before falling to her knees in sobs.
Of course he recognized her now. She was one of the elvish women who had entered the Deep at dusk. She was the one whom had embraced Aragorn with joy. She was the one whom the sorceress Setsuna had spoken of only several hours before. She was the one whom Sauron sought.
"My Lady?" said Eomer, approaching slowly. She did not take any notice of him, yet he persisted. He had only understood one word of her cry, but he hoped it could help. "My lady, the star Earendil lies behind us," he said pointing.
She lifted her head slowly and turned to the sky which she had not seen in her desperation. The sky of the north, behind them. There Earendil danced in the sky, the brightest of stars. The woman exhaled in relief.
"I... I had feared that he, too, had left the sky, and all Hope was gone," she explained slowly. Not once did she take her eyes off the star, as she drank in the light hungerly.
"Is there any way that I can aid you, my lady?" asked Eomer hesitantly.
She looked down for the first time. "I am no lady," she said almost angrily. "Call me Celebithil." Then she softened. "I have lost all whom I love the most, all in a matter of days. I am alone in the world, and I hear the darkness calling to me. No one in this world can help me." The anguish in her voice suddenly made Eomer want to reach out to her, but he quickly remembered his place and restrained himself.
"What of the living?" he replied. "What of those who long to care for you and see you well once more. Will you give up on life, despite us?"
Celebithil seemed surprised by his sudden boldness of including himself in this group. Eomer seemed surprised himself, but he set his face to back his words. "Do you know who I am?" she said quietly after a moment.
"I know that you are the lady whom the darkness wishes to conquer."
Celebithil gasped in shock. "Who told you this!?"
Eomer bowed his head in pardon. "My apologies, my la- Celebithil. My uncle Theoden insisted that I be present when Lady Setsuna explained the danger you brought with you to the Riddlemark. Of all of Rohan, only the King and myself know your secret. You are safe with us."
Celebithil seemed taken aback, but slowly nodded her head in consent, though her face represented muddled feelings and confusion. "I thank you," she said slowly, not sure how to choose her words, "but... I fear I have been away too long. The night sky gives me comfort, but my friends will be worried." She turned to leave, her face traced with strange shadows and grime. "Farewell, sir--"
"Eomer," he supplied helpfully.
She paused for a moment, surprised. "Eomer," she echoed quietly. Then she disappeared into the Keep.
.
.
.
.
.
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Yet several hours later, Celebithil returned to the same battlements, not long before dawn. Eomer was gone, his watch having finished long ago. She wandered quietly, absorbing the light of Gil-Estel and the moon, but silently longing for some company once more.
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(1) Haldir's parents are actually unknown, but I felt I needed to add a father here.
AN: Yet another chapter complete, w00t! Hopefully it won't be long until I can do chapter 20. I'm very excited to have this fic moving along at last. More action coming soon! Now for Review Responses:
Nobody- eep! I suppose I have left Gimli out of a lot of this... then again, I haven't been paying much attention to Legolas either. " They'll be in soon, I promise!
Kitoky- well, I guess I didn't make the April 23 date. " Here's some hints of romance though!
Eyes-of-Pearl- I am a big fan of Setsuna, and I always feel bad for her. She suffers so much, but never complains! Can't wait till I can pair her in Gathering Starlight. ::wink wink nudge nudge::
Loopy Lu- Hotaru comes back... in the future. :D I mean, she will return to this fic. And when she returns, she will play an important role, and have her own separate sub-fic. So don't worry, I promise I'll get her back in as soon as possible! Eep!
Thank you also to:
Empresskoldy
angelwings6117
shelum
Chibi-ColaKeep the reviews up! Your encouragement, ideas, and every simple review is ink for the author's pen. Thank you for your help! Hope to see you again soon! Ja.
-Calli-chan