Chapter 6

Warnings: none, but a cute scene at the end to tantalize you people

muahahahahaha I am so evil!

xxxxxx - passage of time

italics - thoughts or memories

(Galadriel)

She bowed slowly to us and left the room.

I sat down in my chair.

The image of the girl with the silver hair flashed through my mind.

But how?

"Meleth nîn?"

I lifted my head to see my lord looking at me with concern.

"What did you see?" he asked

"Someone I have not seen for a long time." I whispered.

(Haldir POV)

As I led her through the winding walkways high in the mallorn trees, she kept her silence.

She looked as if she was deep in thought, but I did not ask.

Onward we twisted and turned through the trees until finally we came to the dwelling I had been directed to take her.

"My lady, we are here." I said to her, stopping outside a chamber, built on a talan.

She did not answer.

"My lady?" I said questioningly.

Silence.

"Elenna?" I said again, gently touching her on the shoulder. She jumped slightly.

"You will stay here until the Lady says otherwise." I told her.

She nodded mutedly at me.

"Goodnight, Ranaew." I said.

She smiled weakly at me.

"Goodnight."

(Elenna POV)

The Lady knew.

But she was not telling me. I could see it in her eyes. The way she looked at me with recognition.

She knew.

But she would not tell me.

I was so close, so close to finding my family, only to be held back at the last moment.

Why?

I looked at the chamber around me. Draperies fluttered with the breeze passing through the doorways. I walked onto the wide terrace, and looked down upon Caras Galadhon.

Lights softly glowed like fireflies, floating around the silent walkways. Hush whispers murmured, drifting around the trees like a sigh on the wind.

Why?

I suddenly felt the walls closing in on me, even though the chamber was open with floor length windows. I needed to get out of here.

I left the talan and walked aimlessly on the paths winding up through the trees.

Higher and higher I climbed, until even the lights of the city where far below me and the walkways narrowed so that only one person could have walked on it at a time.

As I turned the last bend, I came to a small bridge, suspended by ropes, high in the canopy. I walked onto it. It swayed gently side to side as I lightly stepped across to the other side. I came to a small platform, with a rope ladder dangling down to it from the branches above. Curious, I climbed up.

As I emerged through the leaves, a starlit night sky greeted me. I pulled myself up onto a wide flet, built at the very top of a mighty mallorn tree.

My breath caught in my throat.

The night was cloudless, and the stars twinkled kindly down at me.

We are watching. They seemed to say.

I sighed, and leaned against the strong trunk of the tree, wide even though it was tapering to its end. I ran the back of my hand down the smooth bark.

Suddenly I caught my hand on something rough.

I turned around and saw there, carved into the bark, words I had not noticed before. I leaned closer to read it.

Till the stars dim in heaven and the seas are spent, together we remain forever.

Celebrían & Nimbrethil

There, carved underneath, was a crude drawing of two little girls, holding hands and smiling happily.

I ran my fingers over the engraving in the bark

Nimbrethil

Why does that name seem so familiar?

"Elenna?"

I turned quickly to the source of the voice. A surprised Haldir looked at me through the opening in the floor of the talan.

"Haldir…" I started.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I….was just…walking, and then I saw the ladder…so I climbed it." I said. "How did you know I was here?" I asked.

"I did not." He replied. "I come here at night, when I can not rest."

"I see." I said.

Silence fell.

The night wind rustled the mallorn leaves, the stars hung low in the sky.

"What is this place anyways?" I asked curiously.

"It used to be a watchtower, long ago." he answered, "It has fallen into disuse ever since the borders of these lands have been extended."

"The walkways suspended on rope were used by the guards to get quickly through the trees." He continued, "They are connected to every pathway in the city."

I pondered over this.

"I used to come here to be by myself when I was an elfling." He added.

I tried to imagine him as an elfling, but failed.

"What are these writings on the bark?" I asked.

He smiled, "It seems that I was not the only elfling who sought refuge here. The Lord and Lady's daughter Celebrían used to come here when she was young."

"I see." I said, "Then what about the other name?"

He shook his head. "I do not know, but I would assume it was her playmate. The Lady Celebrían was many years my senior, she married to Imladris when I was just an elfling."

"Imladris?" I asked.

An image of a grand house, built on the cleft of a valley flashed through my mind.

"Yes. She wedded Elrond Halfelven, Lord of Imladris." He said.

"Oh." I said.

We fell silent again, watching the stars.

"I seem to have developed a habit of finding you at night, Ranaew, don't I?" he mused.

"It would seem so." I said, absentmindedly. I was still thinking about this new piece of information.

Note: Nimbrethil 'white-silver birch'– Sindarin
Nim – 'white', brethil -'silver birch'
Pronounced: neem-BRE-theel
They were also birchwoods in Arvernien, south of Beleriand.

(Haldir)

She fell silent beside me, lost deep in her own thoughts once again.

When I came up to my usual haunt that night to gather my thoughts for the day, I found – to my great surprise – her there, sitting on the floor of the talan, musing over the engraving on the bark.

How she ever found her way up here, I did not know. The old watchtower talan was hidden high in the mallorn trees, anyone who did not know where already it could not have possibly found it.

And no one ever comes this high into the city anyways, the old guard walkways were long abandoned.

I came across this talan high in the mellyrn by chance when I was young, trying to escape from the constant mischief of my brothers.

They always had some prank up their sleeve, and it always seemed to involve me in one way or the other. One day, after having a whole bucket of rainwater dumped over my head as I passed under a branch they were hidden in, I finally had had enough. After dragging them out of the tree by their ears and depositing them into a nearby pond, I ran away laughing, as they climbed dripping wet from the water and ran after me.

I led them on a chase all through the city. As we climbed higher and higher into the trees, I could hear the furious yells of my brothers as they ran after me panting. Picking up my pace, I turned down an unfamiliar pathway that led sharply up into the canopy. It narrowed until finally I came to a bridge, suspended by ropes in the trees. I stopped, gasping for breath and listened for any signs of my brother.

"Where did he go?" I heard Rumil say, on the pathway far below me.

"I don't know." Replied Orophin, "I swear I saw him run pass here."

"You said that at the last turn!" said Rumil "And he turned out to be down the Minstrel's Walk."

"Well don't blame me, you were the one who came up with this stupid idea anyways." retorted Orophin.

"YOU emptied the bucket over his head." Rumil replied triumphantly.

I stayed silent as I listened to my brother carry themselves and their bickering farther and farther away from my hiding place.

Smiling with self satisfaction I took a look around the place I was at. The wooden walkways creaked as they rocked with the light breeze. I moved quietly across the bridge strung up to a platform. From there, they extended far into the expanse of trees. I moved leisurely towards the next walkway when something lightly brushed by my arm.

I turned to see a thin rope ladder, hanging limply down from the trees. Out of curiosity, I climbed up the ladder and came to the wide flet, built against the mallorn tree, looking down over the vast wood of mellyrn.

So I went there whenever I needed to be alone. My brothers never found it, I made sure they didn't. It belonged to me and me alone. So many times during my childhood I came here, exploring the abandoned walkways, gazing at the stars.

My brothers never figured out how I could get from place to place so quickly.

The walkways became my secret weapon against them, and they were never able to pull another practical joke on me again.

I sat there reliving my old memories, one by one, until memory merged into elvish dreams……

(Elenna)

Something brushed lightly across my nose, tickling me. I pushed it away, but then it was back again. I opened my eyes.

A strand of hair was blowing across my face. I frowned at the offending hair and attempted to brush it away again. The white blonde piece of hair didn't seem to want to go away.

White blonde hair?

I sat up quickly.

I had been leaning on Haldir.

How could you have fallen asleep? I scolded myself. The last thing I knew I had been brooding over my conversation with the Lady.

It was early morning. Mist hovered above the tree tops, birds called lazily to each other. The pale, watery sun peeked shyly from below the horizon, its light illuminating the rosy pink sky.

I glanced back at where he was still resting against the mallorn tree trunk. He seemed to be still deep in reverie.

Hesitant to wake him, I slipped soundlessly down the ladder and made my way back to my talan.

(Haldir)

I awoke to sunlight shining brightly into my face. Birds chirped cheerfully all around me.

It was morning.

I did not remember falling asleep.

For a moment I could not remember where I was, but then I realized I was in the old abandoned watchtower.

Memories of the night before came rushing into my head. I glanced to the spot beside me where she had been sitting, but the talan was empty.

It was like she had never been here.

I shook the jumble of thoughts from my head. I had things to do today.

I brushed my clothes off and rearranged my cloak, then left the talan.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A single strand of long black hair settled on the floor of the flet, glinting silver in the morning sunshine.

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