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As always, my many thanks for all your support and good wishes. Many of you had great comments that I wanted to reply to, but I can't this time. Early work meeting..thing..tomorrow for whatever reason. I'm real pissed about that. Anyway, I hope everyone's holiday season has been going well and everyone is safe tonight.
A new year is coming! Woo!
Chapter Twenty: Lessons to be Learned
Ashk
"It's a pleasure to meet you," I said, balancing Moriana as I shook the man's hand.
I was so happy for Donavon. This was his kin, a member of the family he'd lost. Surely this man brought with him some sort of comfort for the lost boy.
"Ah, the pleasure is mine," replied Ermone. "Not every day one meets the wife of an infamous Elf."
I gave a nervous chuckle. Surely Haldir wouldn't want that to be known. "Of course," I replied as a chilly spring breeze passed between us.
"Donavon, why don't you get Onduras and we'll all go inside," I said. Donavon glanced at his uncle as if wary to leave his side. I smiled. Poor boy acted as though the man would disappear if Donavon was out of sight.
But, he nodded, and went off to do my bidding.
"You have a beautiful home," Ermone praised.
"Yes, thank you," I replied, walking up the stairs to the porch and going to the door.
Inside, it was warm and I sighed a breath of relief before putting Moriana on the sofa and taking off her jacket and boots. She cooed at me and pointed at our visitor. I smiled before moving to place her on the day bed.
"Would you like something warm to drink?" I asked.
"If you're willing, I would enjoy something," he replied as his nephew moved past him and removed Onduras's jacket and boots before placing him beside his sister. Both children stared at us with wide eyes as if something were brand new to them.
"Is tea all right?" I asked.
"Wonderful," Ermone replied, seating himself at the table. Donavon quickly sat beside him and I gave the boy a warm smile. He, however, only shifted his gaze away.
"So, if I may ask, how long has it been since the Warden and yourself have been married?" the man asked.
I nearly dropped the cups I was retrieving before steadying myself. It was the first time I ever had to answer that question or anything about the relationship Haldir and I held. No one else saw it fit to ask.
"Umm...Just about a year and a half now since I first met him," I managed to say without lying.
Ermone nodded as I filled the kettle and put it on the stove. Wood was still burning from breakfast earlier.
"Donavon surprised me so when he told me of you," he told me.
"Oh?"
"Yes. You see, I ...Hmm...Well, I suppose you could say I idolize your husband," he told me as I turned to face him. "Yet, out of all the tales I have gathered, I never heard of a wife and children to the March Warden's name."
As he said it, something made me want to frown. Perhaps it was his tone, but it seemed innocent enough. Surely I was just thrown by his questions.
"Yes, well," I couldn't think of anything to say to that. "...Sometimes one's greatest treasures are kept hidden."
He stared at me a moment before smiling slowly, the scar on his face becoming more obvious with the gesture.
"Very true," he said softly. "Very true."
By the time nearly an hour had passed of dull small talk, Ermone finally took his leave. I walked him to the door with Donavon trailing behind.
"How long will you be staying in Celebruim?" I asked. Though he was Donavon's kin, I had no intentions of inviting this man to stay in my home. He seemed kind enough, really, but to have man in the house with Haldir away...It would not suit well with gossipers or with me.
"Oh, I will leave in the morning. I must fetch the rest of my kin and countrymen. We will return to see what it is Donavon has decided come autumn."
"Decided?" I asked, glancing at the boy.
"Of course," Ermone replied. "Whether or not he wishes to return to his homeland."
"Oh." I looked at Donavon, slightly surprised at how stricken I was by this. I didn't know what I expected from the boy. Obviously he couldn't stay here all his life, but he'd become close to the family in his quiet ways.
"Once again, a pleasure, my lady," Ermone said, bowing slightly to me as if I was some sort of noble. "Perhaps next time your husband will be around," he added with a tilt of his head.
I raised a brow. "Perhaps," I managed with an acted smile. Something about the way this man talked about Haldir gave me a chilly feeling. A feeling that wished to warn of something...but told of nothing.
Ermone chuckled as if sensing my feelings. "My wife would have liked you, Mistress," he told me. His eyes glanced around the house as he stepped down from the porch. "She would have liked this place and these people."
I nodded. "Terrible she cannot be here with us now," I said.
When Ermone looked at me again, his eyes were icy for a brief moment before he smiled. "Yes...Terrible."
Finally, we said our farewells and I watched the man walk off my property with his nephew at his side. Yet, I couldn't decide if my initial joy for Donavon was now warranted. The boy seemed even quieter in the man's presence. And I had to admit, my own guard rose as our conversations varied...somehow always finding its way back to Haldir.
A loud bellow from the barn reminded me of my duties for the day and I sighed.
"All right…I'm coming," I grumbled, turning to retrieve my children first.
Evening
Rumil
"You look defeated at some great challenge, brother," I said from the left of my eldest brother. He looked at me as if realizing I was there for the first time since we'd left Lorien.
He shifted and rolled his shoulders. Kali snorted under him and he glared at her head. "Just thinking," he replied to me.
Thinking of what? The battles to come? Entering Greenwood's courts once again, or was he thinking of what he would miss most this journey?
I wanted to ask these questions, but I held back. I couldn't ask Haldir this even as his brother. I knew what he held inside him, shadowed from even his own eyes…Shadowed from Ashk's eyes as well as dozens of others.
But he couldn't hold such a thing away from his brothers. Orophin and I both knew his horribly beautiful secret. A secret that I both cheered for and mourned for.
To love a mortal was dangerous; deadly.
I sighed and looked ahead. In the far distance, I could see the forest of Greenwood. We still had some time until arriving inside its borders and I knew that somewhere between now and entering those borders, the March Warden would take charge and Ashk's husband would be set aside. This was the way of all warriors who led their own lives.
"Rumil."
I looked to the Warden as he glanced at me. He didn't say anything, but offered something in his hand.
Surprised, I didn't move to take it.
It was a small dagger. It was the size to fit in the boot of anyone. It was a white gold color and ancient words were etched into it. Only so many Elves ever held these daggers and the sword that was its companion. Twelve at a time, always.
"Illiar requested his discharge," Haldir told me, looking away. He paused a moment before looking at me again. "I need another Warden."
"You are promoting me?" I questioned in an airless voice. Some amusement filtered in my brother's eyes and he offered the blade again.
This time, I took it.
A Warden was never to be confused with the Warden - the March Warden, Captain of the Galadhrim Guard. But a Warden was at his side as one of his lieutenants. There were twelve in all, forever and always.
Orophin had been a Warden for nearly fifty years now. Haldir himself had been the youngest Warden to ever walk Lorien's borders; he was also the youngest March Warden.
"If you accept the challenge, yes, I am promoting you," Haldir told me.
"But...You are supposed to go through the Lady and Lord for this. There is supposed to be a ceremony and–"
"For Valar's sake, Rumil," Haldir chuckled. "I did go through the Lady and Lord. The ceremony will take place at Greenwood's welcome this evening."
"Oh," I managed to mutter.
Haldir looked at me and smiled, a smile that looked so much like our father's I had to look away.
"I'm proud of you, Rumil," he said, his hand clenching my shoulder. "You have become a great Galadhrim."
I smiled slightly, risking a look his way. "Well," I said, "I was never one to be left behind in family tradition."
Haldir chuckled and shook his head. "Idiot," he muttered and I laughed.
Four Days Later
Ashk
Much of the snow was gone now as I strolled between the paddocks. The goats were lying lazily to one side, and Black was meandering after the cow at the other.
Moriana was nestled in the pack strapped to my shoulders while Onduras was in my arms this early spring day. I hadn't quite decided what to do with the three of us yet. The day was early yet, and I didn't work that evening.
"What is going to keep us all busy today?" I wandered aloud to my children.
"Perhaps a few good visitors?"
I looked behind me, shocked at the voice who spoke. Around the corner of the barn, Lord Celeborn rode his horse casually in to view. Behind him, Lady Galadriel herself came trotting up. Orophin came with her.
"Oh, my Lord!" I smiled. "My Lady." Remembering manners, I managed to curtsy, even with my arms full.
The three Elves chuckled between themselves and Lord Celeborn dismounted only to help his Lady down from her own horse.
She smiled at me even as I winced, seeing her walking in mud, slush, and stray pieces of hay.
"Look at these two!" She literally gushed as I presented my daughter to her. "They've grown so."
"You saw them only two months ago," mentioned her husband as he peered over her shoulder at the wide eyed child.
"Yes, and haven't they grown?" Galadriel repeated, looking at her husband who laughed and agreed.
As Orophin lifted Moriana from the back sling and beamed at her a good day, a shiver trembled over me from the cool day. Though I knew my guests did not feel the chill, I had no intentions on becoming sick any time soon.
"Umm...Please, come inside," I said, motioning to the house.
A short time later, as I poured freshly made tea, I glanced at my guests. "So..." I said. "What brings you by?" I hated to say that even though I was enjoying their company, I wondered if maybe they had news of Haldir.
But, it had barely been a week.
"Oh, you have been on my mind lately," said the Lady of Light, "I have not seen you since our last meal here."
I raised a brow and sat next to Orophin with a laugh. "Oh, after that meal, I would not have been surprised had you never come back."
"Well, we know it was not all your doing," Lord Celeborn replied. "Haldir has ever been the infamous horrible cook." I laughed and seconded that even as the great Lord propelled Onduras high in his arms and cradled him back, much like the child's father often did.
For the first time, I wondered at the relationship these two nobles held with Haldir. They seemed so close every time they were near. Especially their last visit. They all seemed as if family.
I glanced at the small table and realized I did not have anything to sweeten the tea. I frowned, shifting to rise and retrieve some before Orophin's hand tapped my arm as he stood.
"I'll get it," he said without prompting as he wandered towards the kitchener.
"Tell me you do not spend your days alone here," said Lord Celeborn suddenly. I looked at him in surprise before shaking my head.
"No. I work many days and Donavon is here in other times," I told him.
He nodded in understanding, but I couldn't help but notice that his Lady's eyes had taken a bit of a drifting state even as she seemed to be looking at my daughter in her grasp.
"And how is the boy?" Galadriel asked, glancing up at me.
"Well," I replied. "In fact, a relative of his passed through the village not all that long ago. I think it was good for him to see a family member."
Galadriel tilted her head with a nod and smile that seemed more pasted than real.
Onduras suddenly whimpered as if to cry before Celeborn lifted him high and swooped him down again.
I smiled. "I think he missed you," I said as Orophin joined us again, placing the jar of sweetener on the table as he sat. "You're very good with children."
"I had a daughter of my own once," the Lord replied. I nodded, already having known this, and already knowing that warning look from Orophin not to ask upon the subject.
Lady Celebrian's passing was felt by more than just her people.
"We have seen many children in our days," said Lady Galadriel. "Including that one sitting next to you," she said with a mischievous smile. Orophin beamed.
"Yes, and I was the best of my year," he said proudly.
"You were the only of your year in Lorien," Lord Celeborn said with a chuckle.
Time passed, and friendly conversation brewed with humor as well. However, I couldn't help but feel that this little visit had its own purposes. The Lady of Light continued to glance towards the door as if awaiting some great shadow to pass through it.
Was this friendly time to spend visiting - or was it a time to check up on me?
Noon neared as we strolled outside. A shrieking sound split the air and the Lord of the Wood himself nearly stumbled down the stairs, my daughter in grasp.
He managed to save himself, and the child, before looking around in shock.
I, however, could only sigh. "I'm afraid I have a very upset stallion to tend to," I told them, looking to the corral Black was springing about in.
Again, his shrill demand echoed as he stopped long enough to look at us before bucking and leaping to his own delight.
"Isn't he the demanding one?" the Lady of Light mused aloud.
"He is as moody as a cave troll in shadows," Orophin grumbled. "And doesn't like Elves one bit, I might add."
"He doesn't like you nor Haldir. He adores the twins and Rumil," I defended.
The Lady and Lord laughed before Celeborn handed me my daughter and motioned for Orophin to follow him to gather the horses.
I looked to Galadriel. "I enjoyed your visit," I told her with a smile.
She smiled graciously back at me. "As did I," she replied. "I hate to see you so alone all this way," she added with a slight frown as she glanced to the village then to the Lorien Wood.
She looked as though she was judging the distance from each. "And you certainly are alone." There was a bit of disgruntlement in her voice.
"Oh, I don't mind the isolation sometimes," I said. "Yet, on those cold walks home at night, I can't help but wish to live a little closer to town," I added with a smile.
"I would see you within my city if ever you wished it," she told me quietly. "You are always welcome."
I was surprised. Of course I'd always felt comfortable around the great Elven Lady, but I had never really thought about being welcomed into her home without a second thought.
"My thanks," I replied sheepishly. "And perhaps I will visit during these summer months."
"I hope you do," she told me. "Come the end of summer, and I am traveling to Rivendell for some time to visit with my grandchildren and son-in-law."
"That sounds wonderful," I said with a smile.
"Yes," she replied, her eyes casting towards the village. "I do not know how long I will be gone. It is many days' travel from here..." She seemed as though she was in thought as she said it and I frowned slightly.
However, before I could say anything about it, Lord Celeborn and Orophin came back into view with the saddled horses. Orophin's stallion was missing and I hoped he would stay longer.
As we bid farewell, Donavon came onto the property. I only spotted him because Galadriel's eyes shifted from me to him, some distance away still. I frowned slightly as her smile faded just barely.
However, she quickly recovered it when she looked to me again.
"I shall see you soon," she said.
"I look forward to it," I replied. "Good day, my Lady - My Lord."
Celeborn nodded with that warm smile of his before he and his wife rode back towards their home at a soft canter.
I looked to Orophin who was avidly avoiding my gaze.
"What was that all about?" I questioned.
He looked at me as if surprised. "Good spirits to visit, I suppose," he told me.
I raised a brow, shifting my daughter in grasp.
He shrugged. "I don't honestly know, Ashk. They called on me this morning to escort them here...They just wanted to visit with you, I suppose."
I nodded, accepting it for now. However, as I watched the two white creatures disappear into their forest, I looked to Donavon.
Strange, I thought. The Lady of Light, normally so kind, did not greet him even as she knew his presence was near.
August - Three Months Later
Haldir
"Hold the line!" I shouted as the Orcs once more tried to break our barrier. They collided with spears, shields, and blades. From above, Greenwood's archers rained an assault of arrows, but it still wasn't enough.
Again, a tide hit and I heard the cry of my Galadhrim echo into the forest.
"Hold the line!" I called again, Galadhrim from further back moving forward to fill the places of their fallen comrades.
I staggered back two steps as a large Orc crashed into me. He collided mostly with my shield, but the sheer force made me stammer under his weight.
A frustrated cry left me as my blade swung forward and ground between his ribs. Oily blood slicked onto my hand as I shoved him away and retook my place.
Cursed Orcs. The evening air reeked of them. The trees they'd passed through seemed to be growing darker and dying as the days passed.
"Haldir! Fall them back!" Olimar's voice trickled to me over the noise and cries of painful death.
I glanced back. "We can hold them!" I called back.
"Spiders are coming! Fall them back!" Olimar demanded and immediately any thought of defending this area of the forest was lost for the moment.
"Fall back!" I commanded. The line broke and Greenwood's archers hailed a storm of arrows to protect us as we fled.
Gods how I hated running from Orcs.
However, a cry of horror rose up as the hideous sound of spiders nearing tapped into the air. The Orcs fled with a terrified shriek and I glanced back to see dozens picked off as spiders rained from the trees sprouted from the ground.
They were only infants...Yet three times the size of any grown Elf. A nest must have been near.
I scowled, leaping into the trees once again. However, even as I did so, the tree shook just after I landed safely on a limb.
An Elf from Rivendell fell as the tree trembled. I reached out on instinct even as the tree shook again - infant spiders below shaking out their prey.
My hand clenched the Elf's arm even as I fell with him. My free hand lashed out before someone else grabbed me. There was a grunt of effort as we came to a snapping halt.
The Elf I had in grasp quickly swung onto a nearby limb before Olimar pulled me to his side.
"Cursed bastards!" he hissed even as his archers and my Galadhrim impaled the spiders with dozens of arrows. They shrieked, some fleeing, others tumbling to a dead halt.
"Great," I grumbled, looking around us. "Now where is mother dear?"
Olimar remained silent as we peered out at the now empty forest around us. The occasional spider came from burrowed tunnels to snatch away a corpse or two, but there was no movement despite that.
This wasn't right. Where there were infant spiders, there was a mother.
Unlike Orcs, spiders could move nearly silently. Every Elf in the area was listening for the movement, waiting. No one spoke, fearful they would disrupt another's concentration.
A breeze passed and with it came a flutter of leaves.
I frowned. Leaves falling before autumn?
Looking up, I barely had the time to shove Olimar aside as the spider repelled down towards us from the top of the trees. She moved quickly, hitting aside others in her way and knocking them to the ground where her children waited.
I landed on the ground with a rough hit squarely on my left shoulder. It didn't take but a moment for me to know it was thrown from its place.
"Haldir!"
I heard Rumil's voice, but when I looked up, all I saw was a disgusting creature pattering her way towards me.
Someone pelted the creature with an arrow, and she cried out as I jumped to a stand. However, arrows did little to an adult spider's hide.
Spotting a spear still projected from an Orcish corpse, I snatched it with my useable hand and wielded it around just in time to back the beast away before she lunged.
Others tried to pelt her thick hide with arrows, but it served as nothing more than to make her angry as I prodded her back towards the trees my fellow warriors were in.
The spider reared high away from the point of my spear and from my right, two arrows bolted into her chest. She screamed and staggered to all her legs again before Olimar stalked even closer, snatching another arrow from a body and notching the deadly point with rage in his eyes.
He loosed the arrow and it pierced one of the creature's eyes. She squealed in pain, stammering backwards and right into angle for the other archers. In only moments, dozens of arrows were impaled into her head as well.
I jolted as a small spider near me suddenly collapsed with a wail of pain, a Galadhrim arrow protruding from his body. Looking up, I found my brother with a bow still in grasp.
Then, there was silence.
The corpse of the grown spider twitched and I glared at it before looking around me.
An enraged cry split the air a moment later and I looked at Olimar in shock as he threw down his weapon and kicked a spider's corpse near him.
"Cursed beasts!" he shouted. "This is my family's wood! Elven Forests!"
I said nothing, nor did anyone else. In the months that had passed, much of the forest that had once been so green was now fading into a shadowed existence few entered. It had been long since I'd heard this forest called Greenwood.
Now it was Mirkwood; Forest of Shadows.
It was breaking the prince with us now, and we all knew it. And I could not blame him. To see what was once glorious and right turn to hideous, deranged life was enough to drive one insane.
I looked at the prince, taking a breath to say something to ease his grief for just a moment. I had intended to give him something of encouragement.
But, I didn't quite realize what was happening before I suddenly dashed forward.
Shadowed by broken tree limbs and bodies of others, a figure moved from within the forest floor itself and I was already running for the prince as he turned to see what moved behind him.
"NO!"
I lunged forward even as I saw the spider dash out, his thick fangs clamping into the Greenwood heir's left shoulder and neck. Long legs wrapped around my friend and he was yanked into dark shadow before I even hit the ground.
My hand met nothing but empty air.
I stared into the dark tunnel for a moment, leaves from the commotion fluttering down around me in a hideous silence.
Ashk
"Maaa."
"Ama."
"Maaaa.."
"A-Mah."
"Muh."
I sighed with a laugh as Onduras grinned at me. His speech was coming much faster than his balance - the complete opposite of his sister. Moriana had stood on her own three times now, yet she did not take any step forward before falling.
Not even a year old and they seemed to be growing up far too fast for me. They were both human and Elven children...but they aged with the grace and speed of the Elvish kind's young.
A breeze passed and Moriana stirred in her sleep with a frown. I smiled at her and looked up to see the Black meandering from one grazing place to another while the goats followed him like loyal puppies.
It was hot today, nearly at the end of August now. We sat under the fruit tree that nearly marked the half-way point from the Golden Wood to our home.
A lazy day sounded good to me since the second harvest had taken two days with only Donavon and I.
With a deep breath, I laid back onto the blanket I had sprawled out. Onduras settled in the crook of my arm as I closed my eyes. Distantly, I could hear the Black at the creek, splashing his nose in the cool water.
However, I opened my eyes a moment later as Haldir's face suddenly came to me. I frowned.
It had been three months with no word from him. He had told me he doubted he could get dispatch out to Celebruim, but still...I had silently hoped he would send word sometimes that he was all right.
That kiss before he left that spring haunted me. Every time I even thought of it, my lips hummed and burned.
I missed him.
"Bah..."
I turned my attention to Ana who was now up and about, crawling towards a small salamander not far away. I smiled, watching her as she came to the tree trunk and the tiny creature disappeared into a small hole.
"Bah."
"That's not going to do much for him, my dear," I told her, not moving for fear of disturbing her brother.
She looked at me with a frown before her wide eyes peered around us. I watched with interest as she turned and sat at the base of the tree.
"Given up?" I asked.
She ignored me, her finger drawing in the dirt. I smiled and sat up carefully, moving Onduras away from me so I could see what Black and the goats were doing.
Oh, Black. That horse was so confused. He was trying to angle his head enough to drink from a doe. She immediately shrieked before running off, spooking both the fool horse and the other goats.
The cow nearby only bayed her dull voice before eating once more.
Something moved beside me, too tall to be Little Ana crawling about. I frowned, not looking as my stomach turned. Who was out here?
However, the moment I looked to my right, Little Ana was stumbling her way after a bird.
The bird flew away as I screamed something or another. I bolted to a stand, grabbing my daughter and holding her high into the air. Her eyes were wide in shock, her bottom lip sucked in as she did when she was scared.
But, oh, I didn't care!
"Ana, my girl, you walked!" I cried. "You walked, baby girl!"
Ana still looked stricken even as I cradled her close, laughing as I wished she could.
"Ashk?" A voice carried the distance as I turned to see Orophin moving his horse to a trot towards me, a look of concern on his face.
"Orophin! She walked!" I shouted.
Surprise immediately swamped his face as he dove off his horse and rushed to us.
"Oh, Ana, wait till your ada sees this," Orophin beamed. "He will be so surprised, won't he?"
We laughed like two fools before Onduras pulled on his uncle's leg and he sprung the child into the air only to catch him again, my son giggling just about as much as we were.
One Week Later
Haldir
The grief in the room was stammering and I felt slightly suffocated. Tears were obvious in almost everyone's eyes and when the King himself left the room in attempt to hide his horrible grief, many had lost any composure.
The memorial for Olimar, Prince of Greenwood, was the last thing these people needed. Their forest was being invaded - their homes tainted with darkness. Now their most beloved prince had been killed.
It had taken three days to find the lair of the spider that had taken Olimar. Two Elves were injured in that dark place, but the spider had been slain between Legolas of Greenwood and myself.
Yet, that was not enough to bring Olimar back nor dull the pain that was brimming in so many.
I could barely even look at the prince's wife and children. It nearly made me violently ill as I glanced at the beautiful Elleth who was already fading.
Her eyes were dulling, skin paling, wrinkles of the years passed catching up far too fast.
I doubted if the lady would live through the next week, and for that the suffering in this court was even greater.
Eleven of the twelve children of the Greenwood royals stood as tall and proud as they always had beside their father. However, the absence of their second oldest was a burning reminder it would never be the same again.
He left a gap similar to the space that was empty beside the great King Thranduil - The empty place of the queen who once reigned at his side before her death.
"Haldir," a gentle hand slipped onto my shoulder, squeezing slightly. "Are you all right?"
I looked at Philiandra, eldest of Thranduil's children.
"I should be asking you that," I said, finding myself on the balcony of the throne chambers while everyone else was inside.
She smiled slightly. "I am asking you," she said softly with a tilt of her head.
Ever the stubborn one, I noted with a sad smile. She and Olimar always had reign over the children of Greenwood, and it had molded them into being great leaders of their time.
"I'm fine," I replied, turning so I could lean against the rail of the balcony. "And you?"
Her lips pressed into a fine line. "As well as can be expected," she murmured softly. I nodded in understanding. She sighed and crossed her arms. "Life sometimes doesn't seem fair, does it?"
"No, it doesn't," I replied, some resentment at fate finding its way into my voice.
I sighed and looked at her only to find the princess peering inside, watching her sister-in-law and two nieces.
"Who will care for them if Hiera does not last through this?" I asked quietly.
Philiandra gave a grieved sigh. "She is already dead," she murmured, her voice shuddering. "She will not make the night." Silence settled before she shifted and said, "Cadolas and I will be tending to the two in the years to come."
Philiandra and her husband Cadolas already had four children of their own. However, I made no objection. She was a good mother, and Cadolas was a good father.
Silence settled a time and I saw as sadness crept back into the princess's eyes. I wanted to say something to comfort her, but I could think of nothing.
After a long while, she took a quick breath. "Haldir, would you promise me something," she said suddenly, her voice quiet as she peered at me.
I raised a brow in answer and she looked away.
"When you have a family of your own one day, never take them for granted...It is times like these when I look back and see the time I've wasted with my own family. What would happen if I died tomorrow?"
"Don't say that– "
"I would have more regrets than memories," she continued, ignoring me completely. "How many things would I remember as I walked the Halls of Mandos that I would have to wait to amend?"
I stared at her a long moment before letting out a tense breath. I only shook my head.
"Take this from an old wife, Haldir," she said. "I have been married two-thousand and eighty-seven years...and it still does not seem like enough time if I were ever separated from him. When the day comes when you marry, and when your own children come, keep them close. Do not do anything you will look back on and never be able to amend for.
"Time is not unlimited and does not wait for all confessions."
Oh, if she only knew how close she had come to completely stripping away what strength I had to keep my family from my already troubled mind.
She said something more to me as she moved away toward her husband as he held their youngest child in his arms. I watched as the two walked back inside, arms linked and children following their strides.
What would I regret if I died tomorrow?
I sighed and turned to look out at the great city from the balcony I stood on. "Olimar, what lessons are you still trying to teach me, my friend?"
A gentle breeze was my only reply.
- - -
Well? Hope all of you enjoyed - Happy New Years'! Everyone be good (as possible) and stay safe! If I do not update on time this upcoming week - I am either still hung-over, still drunk, or in a foreign country I cannot remember entering. Lol! No worries though.
Next update: January 4th
P.S. As promised, the summary of The Mage was posted on my profile. Please, please let me know what you think or if I should toss the idea. Thanks all!
P.S...S. Hmm, some things about Green/Mirkwood were changed on account of some information I was not aware of. Due to my dread of many Legomances (not all, mind you. Some are very good), I did not know much about his family. Sibling number was drawn from imagination, but some facts were edited due to my wonderfully loyal readers letting their dense author in on a few secrets. Thanks guys! Credit to you there!