Chapter 6- Letters and Arrivals

Year 2500 of the Third Age

Rúmil opened the door to Haldir's new talan to find Orophin looking through old parchments. It had been a long evening of partying the beforehand for all of the wardens in Lothlórien, celebrating the appointment of the new March Warden, and Rúmil was morethan surprised that Orophin was up and awake already this morn, especially knowing the amount of alcohol consumed by them both could have been seen as extremely gluttonous by most anyone. Rúmil and Orophin were given a huge honor to celebrate… Haldir being named March Warden… and if there was one thing the Lórien brothers did well, it was celebrate. So it was a good thing for them that the celebrations would continue into this evening when Haldir would officially be named March Warden, receive his ceremonial weapons, and the rest of the city would feast on his behalf.

"You are awake earlier than I expected," Rúmil said, walking into the room and sitting at the table across from Orophin.

"I did not drink as much as you last eve, Rúmil," Orophin replied. He licked his index finger, and placed it to the parchment, quickly flipping through some of the pages.

When Rúmil received no other comments from Orophin, he interrupted his elder brother's perusal of the parchment, "What are you looking for?"

"Nothing," Orophin said quietly.

Rúmil recognized the box that Orophin was searching. It was the large, ornate wooden one, carved with leaves that held all of Haldir's letters, and it was the one thing he tried to keep secret from his brothers, because within this box was the entire two thousand three hundred years of letters that Laereth had sent to him from Mirkwood. They both knew it was painful for Haldir to realize the mistakes he had made so long ago, but they had never realized just how ashamed he was of himself that he had pushed Laereth away without telling her just how he felt, until helping him move into the new, larger, and much more luxurious March Warden's talan. And the only way they could tell he was shameful (or at least scared of the possible outcome of these letters and any replies he made) was because he never sent anything to her. He wrote a response to every one of her letters, sealed them and addressed them to her…

But he never found the courage to send them.

Or perhaps he was just so furious with her, he could not send them.

Whatever the reason, Rúmil felt horrible for both his brother and his surrogate mother, and friend, Laereth. If they had only realized so long ago that they needed to stay together, in one place, for each other, then perhaps they would not have had to live for more than two millennia in utter turmoil over the issue. It was very true that both he and Orophin missed Laereth and Cuileth a great deal… nay more than a great deal… but they had maintained decent relations over that time through letters, and they both understood that Laereth wished to spend time with her brother. If anything, they understood the need for family, even though Rúmil had been very young then. However, even to this day, they did not know the full reason as to her leaving, though they had speculated that it could have been due to a budding romance between Laereth and Haldir that neither could grasp, which had led to their fighting.

It was a foolish reason, he thought, but Haldir had seemed not to show any outward signs of being angry. When she had gone to Mirkwood, Haldir had maintained them well, gone on to find many an elleth willing to cure his woes, and worked his way up through the ranks of wardenship, all the way to now being March Warden. Rúmil only hoped that Laereth had found what she had been looking for, or successfully hid from the things she did not want to admit, by going to Mirkwood.

It almost seemed as though Haldir was too pigheaded to give in and reconcile, and she was just unforgiving enough not to take his apologies should he offer them to her through the letters. That could have been why Haldir had not the courage to send his letters. Perhaps in these letters were apologies. Maybe it was the other way around… maybe it was Laereth's fault for the fights they had before she left. Maybe she was the one that was too narrow minded…

But he knew it was useless to speculate.

"Does Haldir-," Rúmil started.

"No," Orophin interrupted.

"Where is he?"

"At the old talan getting the last of his personal effects," Orophin said.

Rúmil sighed, "What are you looking for? We both know there have been no new letters from her for five hundred years."

Orophin glanced up at him, looking at him closely for a moment, "I know, I just had to check… to see if there was one with any mention of her coming for the ceremony tonight."

"She will be here," Rúmil said.

"She has sent no word to us," Orophin replied.

Rúmil nodded, "But she is Laereth. Even with their differences, she would never miss him being named March Warden."

"Do you think Haldir will get angry?" Orophin asked, sitting back in his seat and letting out a long sigh.

"There is only one way to find out," he pointed to the sealed replies, in which held all the answers to their questions; whether the letters were those of anger or of perfuse apologies for the way he acted.

The older brother glanced at the yellowed envelopes, as though he were debating on opening them, but he shook his head in resolve. "As much as I want to get into Haldir's business to help him, reading his mail is too personal… especially if he could not even send it to Laereth in Mirkwood."

"I agree," Rúmil said, but kept staring at the letters. If only he had the ability to see through the thick parchment.

"Do you need help moving your things into the old talan?" Orophin asked.

"Nay, Haldir has helped with most of it," he answered, "especially since there was no moving of furniture besides the beds… Are you sure you want me to have our talan?"

Orophin nodded his head and began to place the letters back into the box. He latched it shut and carried it over to the drawer in the desk he had found it in. "It will be good for you to live there. You enjoy it more anyway."

Rúmil frowned, and looked down at his hands. He always felt horrible when issues like this came up. It was clear that neither Haldir or Orophin liked to live in their mother and father's talan much, because of the memories it brought back, but he being so young when they left, he never really had any memories of them, so it was just another place for him live. Of course it was a place with all of the happy memories of his childhood with Laereth and Haldir, but he had never been gifted with the ties Haldir and Orophin held to it.

The door burst open then, Haldir entering with an armful of things and setting them down on the table. He looked between his brothers, and then at the kitchen. "What good are you two? You sneak into my talan, to do Elbereth knows what, and do not even think to make the morning meal."

"We did not know if you had already eaten," Rúmil said, going through a few of the things Haldir had brought with him

"The talan is emptied of my things, Rúmil," Haldir replied. "You are free to now get settled."

"Thank you," he said.

Haldir moved about, setting a pot over the fire to warm water for tea. His younger brothers watched him move about the room as though he were higher than any bird in the sky, unbelievably joyful for one time in his life. After all, he was now March Warden, the one thing he had always wanted to be, so it was no surprise that it had actually… finally… brought a smile to his face.

"We have a gift to you from both of us, Haldir," said Orophin, "but I know not when it will be ready."

"If it will be ready," Rúmil muttered to himself.

Orophin shot him a sour look, and glanced back at Haldir, "I hope that you will like it, but we shall see."

Haldir laughed, "I am sure I will like it. You two have never failed in giving gifts."

Rúmil could not help but wonder if they had failed this time, but he pushed away that thought. Everything would work out, it had to.

They rode at gallop for four days straight, stopping only for short bouts of rest and for food. The word had come late that Haldir was to be named March Warden of Lórien, because the messenger was stopped by bad storms over the plains for a few days. She had grown angry when he had arrived so late, allowed only a moment to decide what she was going to do, and prepare herself for the journey. So she and Cuileth threw a few things together into a satchel bag, grabbed their swords, bows and quivers and mounted their horses… taking off on a journey they hoped did not have them running into foul creatures that would harm them in any way.

And finally, on the morning of the fourth day, they sighted the thick mellyrn of Lothlórien. They rode even faster and harder, and soon reached the outline of the realm. It was not until now, whilethey were being guided through the forest, that she had time to stop and think of all the things she had not while in haste to get here.

The thing that now weighed on her mind the most was whether or not Haldir even knew of her coming. What would he think with her there? It was obvious that Orophin and Rúmil had been the only ones to know of sending the missive out to ask her to come… after all, Haldir had not written to her in all of her time that she had been away. And truthfully, she had no idea how she was to feel now that she was going back and after having been neglected for so long, even after all of the letters she sent to Haldir.

"I forgot how beautiful it was," Cuileth remarked.

Only half-hearing this, Laereth snapped out of her reverie and glanced at her sister, "What?"

"I said that I forgot how beautiful it was," she said with a happy sigh. "I have missed Lórien, but I love Mirkwood as well."

Laereth chuckled, "I think it is like that with all Elven realms. If you find that this is the realm where your heart truly lies, though, while we are here, I think you should stay."

"And what of you?" Cuileth asked. "What of your heart?"

"I would rather not speak of that right now," she replied. "It is best to not think about it until it is absolutely necessary."

Cuileth chuckled lightly, "I would hope you had gotten over him by now, so that only tells me that perhaps it was love."

Laereth shot her a silencing glare, "Stop now. There are many other things I must deal with before I can talk of that."

"It is so like you to put things off to the very last moment," Cuileth replied, but was not allowed to say anymore as they passed into the city of Caras Galadhon, still as wonderful and beautiful as it had been when they left. They dismounted their horses and stretched their aching legs for a few moments, before realizing that a steward had been sent down to greet them upon their arrival to the city.

The handsome Silvan ellon smiled and bowed his head slightly to them, "My Lord and Lady request that you have an audience with them before you settle in. I shall escort you."

"Thank you," Laereth replied, and went to grab her things from her horse, but they were already gone.

The ellon chuckled, "The stable hands took them for you. Your things will be taken to your guest talans while you have your audience."

She glanced at Cuileth and they shrugged their shoulders, following after the ellon. They were halfway up the stairs to the large palace within the trees when the ellon turned to glance at them, "Any guests of the new March Warden are taken in high regard."

Laereth pursed her lips thoughtfully, "I know not if we are guests of the March Warden, or if he will accept us as guests, but of his brothers, we are guests."

The steward smiled, "I believe that the Lord and Lady hold in high esteem anyone who is a guest of that family. They each have proven themselves many times over to be ellyn of the utmost charisma, authority and character."

Cuileth giggled, "Well, at least they turned out fine, Laereth."

Laereth had to laugh at that comment. While she was not surprised that they had turned out to be such fine Elves in the eyes of others, it was nice to know that they had not gone other directions in their lives. "That is true."

"Except, I must say, that since I have come here with the Lord and Lady, I have found that the younger two are both very devious when it comes to jesting with others, or making plans," the ellon continued.

"I would expect as much," Laereth replied. They came tothe large, open aired flet, where a good number of Elves were sitting and enjoying the day. Off to the side was the venerable and mighty Lord Celeborn, and his supremely beautiful and powerful wife, Lady Galadriel. She had met the Lord and Lady once before, when they stayed in Lórien after the wars. Her mother had been assigned to be Galadriel's handmaid during the stay, so Laereth had helped her with that, and in the process met both the High Elves.

They stood up from their seats and walked over to them then, without making her and Cuileth go to them as many other high lords might have waited for. She found it most wonderful and surprising of the Lord and Lady, of which she had heard many great things about from Orophin in his letters. He had said they were mighty and powerful, but never did they use their power for wrong things. They were also said to be kind and charitable. All in all, they were to be better than Amroth had ever been, but she had no way of knowing that for sure.

Laereth bowed to them, Cuileth following her lead. Once they were straightened and looking at each of the rulers, Galadriel smiled warmly, "Welcome back to Lothlórien, Laereth and Cuileth."

She was surprised the Lady knew their names, but she smiled graciously, "It is wonderful to be back here."

"Our new March Warden will be quite surprised that you have come back," said Celeborn, looking over them both, as though judging their worth.

"I do not even think he knows," said Laereth.

Celeborn chuckled, "Nay, he does not, but he will be happy to have you here from what Orophin and Rúmil have told us."

The Lady stepped down the stairs to them, and spoke directly to them so the prying ears and eyes of the other Elves around were privy to no more of the conversation. "I know of the haste in which you have traveled to this event, and that you had little time to prepare things to bring. I have had some dresses from my finest seamstresses sent to your guest talans. You are welcome to keep each of them, as a small gift from a very thankful ruler to the elleth who managed to keep Haldir training to become a warden, and not stop because of his parents' leaving. We would be at a huge loss if we did not have his leadership now."

Laereth knew then that the Lady either knew a lot by reading into the thoughts of others, or had spoken to Haldir of his past before, and knew all the sordid, and happy, details of that past. "Thank you, my lady, though I am sure I do not deserve that credit."

Galadriel smiled, "You deserve it more than you know. During your stay here, I hope to speak some more with you, but there are things for this evening I must tend to, so that I can ensure everything will go off without any problems."

"I understand, my lady," Laereth nodded.

"You will know the gowns which are meant to be worn this eve, because they will be of the finest and luxurious cloth and handiwork," Galadriel replied. "And you will also sit at the high table with us, the guest of honor and his brothers this evening. Orophin and Rúmil have alreadyasked us about this."

Laereth bowed her head slightly again, "Thank you very, very much for your kindness, my lady."

Galadriel nodded, and motioned for an elleth to come over to them, "Rodwen will show you to your talans and the baths when you are ready, but you will have company in a few moments."

And on cue, came a commotion from a side staircase, and out came two ellyn, pushing each other slightly before standing up straight, smoothing out their tunics and catching their breath. Laereth tried not to laugh, but it was hard not to, especially when the ellyns' eyes glanced over them and recognition spread across their faces. She could not believe that they were actually the Orophin and Rúmil she once knew, now that they were completely matured, and exceptionally handsome like their elder brother. But she had little time to remark on their beauty as they ran over to them.

Orophin, who was the larger of the two, picked her up and hugged her close to him, saying, "I cannot believe you made it! Thank Elbereth you made it!"

"I would not miss this," she said, hugging him tightly, though he did not put her down on the ground as Rúmil had done with Cuileth after hugging her closely. Finally, after Rúmil cleared his throat in an annoyed fashion, Orophin set her on her feet, and she was allowed to hug Rúmil. She stepped back after a few moments, and looked over each of the fine specimens of Elven maleness presented to her. "Look at you two… when I left I had not imagined you would turn out like this."

Rúmil laughed, "I was only ten years old when you left, of course I have changed… and I have now come to realize what the definition of beauty is, in an elleth… and you two are fine examples."

"Elbereth, make him stop, please," Orophin pleaded, but laughed. "It is true, though, Rúmil. We were young and had not noticed that we were in the company of beautiful ellyth."

Laereth laughed at them, "That is enough flattery for now, I know that you two have not told Haldir about this. Nothing will save you if this plan goes ill, not even empty words of praise."

"We hope it does not," Orophin replied. "But I speak the truth about you, Laereth. I did not realize that the elleth I loved so dearly was as stunning as you."

"You have become quite the charmer," Laereth said.

Orophin chuckled, "I learned it all from Haldir, but Rúmil was much more astute a student than I was in ways of wooing ellyth."

"Well, during my stay, I am sure to find this out," she replied and let out a long sigh. "What are your plans? When do you wish for Cuileth and I to make our appearance?"

"More appropriately, it would be when do we wish to be yelled at and given three months border duty?" Rúmil interjected.

"Before the ceremony later this afternoon," Orophin said, glancing at Rúmil with a displeased look. "We have to operate in the mindset that this will all be to his liking, Rúmil."

Laereth sighed, hoping that thinking like this would truly yield at least a civil welcome from Haldir. She could not expect a heartfelt welcome, complete with hugging and laughter like they had gotten with Orophin and Rúmil, especially knowing the state in which she had left their relationship in when she went to Mirkwood. "We will think that. Perhaps it would be better if I were the only one to be around when he realizes we are here."

"That is what we had planned," Rúmil said. "It is still early in the day… perhaps after you rest you could take a walk about the city."

She laughed, "I had already planned on doing that, but I suppose that would be the best idea. He cannot commit a horrible murder in the midst of the city, can he?"

"Nay, he cannot," Orophin said. "Then we should let you go so you can rest. You may need all of your energy."

Elbereth… if only they could have been here while on better terms with Haldir.