1
Coming to Be
It was in the city of Ost-in-edhil that the infant first took a breath of air into her tiny lungs. It was not a delivery of ease, however, for during the birthing process, something had gone awry and life had been stolen from the babe before it had been gifted to her. As the little female form had been pushed from her mothers' body, it had been still despite the ministrations of the healer who had caught her. Hands were gentle as mother and father, Selestas and Maieron, watched on with fear filled eyes.
Once the cord had been cut, Seladra, the healer, turned and carried the babe to the table, laying her down upon it as she worked fervently over the small limbs. Soft words were sung from her lips as her hands moved to quickly coax life back to the first-born daughter of this household. The wish was granted and the infant's cry filled the house, much to the sobbing relief of its parents.
"Maiestas… my daughter." Weepy words were whispered as Selestas pressed her lips to the wrinkled forehead once Seladra had swaddled and handed her to the mother. Put to breast, she ate eagerly and hungrily, settling into the offered love as a new life of one of the First Born.
The years were kind to the elven family, though the strife in Ost-in-edhil grew daily. Many nights, Maiestas would lie in her bed while her parents spoke of when they would leave, for they felt loyalty to the Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel. Since their departure, the city had lost some of its light, its grandeur. The rumors flew louder and louder of the time when Sauron would attack, of when the orcs would come. Such discussions frightened her, yet she never spoke of what she heard to Ada and Nana, for the shadows that seemed to dwell constantly in the depths of their eyes gave her pause. Where had the light of happiness gone? Why the worry that outshone even that?
It happened finally, not so many winters later on a cold day. The breath could be seen passing the lips of the guard as they'd been struck down and the siege of the city had begun. Escape routes were quickly cut off, yet there had been one that remained open. Her father had tried to get them out, yet the success of that was another story, another chapter.
That was how she thought of her life, this She-Elf who now has seen more then four millennia pass behind her. Each event, or series of events, was another beginning in the book of her very existence. A long novel it was, for she had felt not only death before birth, but love of a child to a parent only to have it stolen on swift wings. She had then felt the safety of strong arms encircling her tiny form, coupled with other arms, those of her foster parents.
Years passed as another section was written simultaneously alongside many others. Her love for the Elf Lord had never once faltered, never once dimmed. During the time of this budding adoration, her foster parents had taken leave of Middle Earth, sailing for Westernesse on one of Cirdan's gray ships. They had held her and begged her to join them, yet she had declined, keeping the reasons her own. She was not yet ready to admit defeat in regards to the one who had even to this day spoken only in passing to the young elf maiden. She had chosen to remain, parting for the second time with all she had known for a family. She had privately been reading books, secrets that many did not speak of, more did not know of.
The winters continued to pass, one by one. Unnoticed they went by but for the dual purposes she had adopted in her life…her quests. The first was to call back those she had lost entirely too early. Her precious Adar and loving Naneth were never more then a thought from her mind. How she longed to feel the warm embrace of her mother's arms around her form once again. How she craved to hear the soft voice of her father singing as he was hard at work. Such was not to happen, at least not to the years she had gained.
The second quest came to as the Second Age had drawn to its closing. A fair elf-maid had journeyed to the land she had called home, catching not only the love of the people who also dwelled there, but also the very one who she had been vying for in silence. Her tears had known no constraint as she had wept for the loss of any chance she had. Celebrian had arrived at Imladris, and from that day forth, Elrond had eyes for none other.
In 51 of the Third Age, Maiestas had been unable to accept the life that would not stretch out before her, for now she had come to an impasse not only in her studies, but also in that of her love. Her time with the books, with the words, and texts had intensified after the Elf Princess had come. She spent little time outside of her dwelling, instead opting to make notes long into the night and the following mornings. The day arrived when no further texts could be found, not even in the darkest corners of the library. It was at this moment, when she realized she had nowhere else to go in her life's work and, indeed her very life, which she decided to leave. Packing nothing but a change of clothing and some food, a bag of miruvor, a satchel full of parchment, and a determined mind, she set out. It was deep in the darkness of night that her cloaked form had taken leave, being stopped only by a Guardian who desired to know of her intent. She had spoken of a desire to sail to Valinor and had been allowed to continue on. Thus it was that Maiestas, adopted child of Imladris, had set out on her own, into the wild lands of Middle Earth.