A Home Long Lost
A warm hand touched her shoulder. Erenien jerked at the contact. Slowly, her eyes traced the hand to its owner.
"Anoriel...," she breathed, for in front of her stood the lady, clothed in spotless white. Erenien's eyes then turned to Calemir, who stood beside his wife wearing a serene smile upon his lips. An ethereal light emanated from the couple. In their light, the dark spots splattered across the withered carpet, where the couple had fallen became all too obvious. A quick glance across the room revealed that it was no more clean and cozy but dusty and grim. The walls were mouldy and there was stench of pooling dampness. A dim light crept through the dusty glass of the half-broken window pane to her right and through the broken roof-tiles, revealing the rusted pair of knives lying beside her knees. A quick glance down at her own dress, showed that it was covered in dust and dirt.
She stared blankly at the couple, as her mind refused to form coherent words among the rush of emotions within her. "What happened?" she finally choked out, unable to understand anything that occurred or seemed to, mere moments ago. Anoriel leaned forward, her hand wiped off a single channel of tear that trailed down Erenien's cheek with atmost gentleness. "This was only a memory, dear one, of what happened to us on that fateful night."
Erenien frowned, remembering that somebody had called her so, once, but who or when- she couldn't exactly place it. Yet, she didn't dare to voice her thoughts. Have we met before?
"The baby...what happened to the others?" she asked, snapping back to the present.
"You know the answer to that question, iell nîn (my daughter)," it was Calemir who answered.
Her eyes widened with realisation. She drew a shaky breath and sank to the ground in utter shock, looking back and forth between the two gleaming elves.
Anoriel smiled fondly at her baffled expression. "Come. We have something for you," she extended her hand. Erenien managed to stand up and nearly stumbled as her knees and aching muscles momentarily refused to support her weight.
They led her to another room beside the one in which she had found the cradle. Mothballs hung from the wooden ceiling. The room smelled of dust which itched her throat. A bed and two chairs occupied the left side of the room and a wardrobe and a mirror were lined against the farthest wall. She was relieved to see that above the room, the roof had sustained, providing protection from rain or snow. Calemir draped his hand over her shoulder and guided her to the ornate mirror.
Erenien absorbed the image in front of her. Her eyes, a perfect combination of Calemir's green and Anoriel's silver. Her hair, somehow golden unlike her parents' but still highlighted with her father's brown. As she stood there, heart soaring in the new realisation, a small wind fluttered through the curtains of the broken window to her left and blowed strands off her face.
Erenien froze and her breath hitched at her throat. For a moment she wondered whether she was dreaming or not. This felt... as if one of her distant dreams came true. Anoriel gently squeezed her shoulder in reassurance and tucked strands of gold behind her daughter's ears, which, much to Erenien's wonder, were not round but with tapered ends.
"You were always one of us, dear," Anoriel smiled at the dumbstruck expression of her Aerien. "All my life, I was hunted by those filths because of my powers. They wanted me to join the Dark Lord or to kill me. I did not want you to have the same fate," Anoriel paused, as her voice wavered.
After a moment, she continued in her clear, silvery voice. "I wanted to shield you from them. I hoped that if you looked like one of the Edain, you might be overlooked. But I was clearly mistaken." She uttered as regret filled her words.
"I used my powers to hide you, to make you look like one of the Secondborn. It was not entirely impossible, as you carry a fraction of their blood through your Ada." Erenien's eyes flitted to Calemir, who smiled and nodded.
"Our enemies broke my shield around you and you turned into what you was really supposed to be. You suffered greatly because of me. Could you ever forgive me, my child?"
"Nana...," Erenien hesitated.
"We love you, my beloved, sweet child, always." Anoriel wept.
Erenien nodded as tears sprang from her eyes. "I love you both. How can I not love you, after seeing everything that had happened? I will never forget you or what you have done for me." Anoriel embraced her daughter, who was a handspan shorter than she. Calemir followed her, as he enveloped his daughter and placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Come. Here is a small parting gift," Anoriel said as he broke away. She led her to one of the wooden boxes in the corner. Erenien moved her hands across the well-preserved wood, wiping off the dust from its ornate lid and carefully opened it. Inside it was laid a golden armour, on the breastplate of which was embossed the sigil of the golden sun, an ivory cloak, with the same golden sun embroidered on it and a crown, made of both gold and mithril, which looked so delicate but was surprisingly strong in her hands.
"These were mine. From this day onwards, they shall be yours. They will be your symbol as my daughter when you come to the western realm."
When I go to the Western realm!
"You can come to Valinor because you are one of the Eldar. The straight path will always be open for you," Calemir said, as if he had read her thoughts.
Erenien couldn't believe her ears. Her heart swelled with such joy that she feared it might explode. I am an elf! I am immortal!
"Where are you going?" she asked suddenly as the word 'parting gift' finally sank in.
"We were dwelling in the Halls of Mandos all this time. It is because of Lord Namo's mercy that we are allowed to visit you," Calemir said.
"We hope that our waiting will be over soon and that we will be reembodied. We shall be waiting for you, Aerien, on the shores of Aman," Anoriel said, embracing her daughter once more.
Erenien's vision of her parents turned blurry as tears sprang in her eyes. They spilled out as she pulled back from her mother and embraced her father. Calemir wiped off her tears and placed a tender kiss on her forehead.
"You have grown to be a fine lady, my little one," he said. "Be strong, Aerien. We may not see each other in hither shores anymore. But we will, one day. Till then we shall always be with you, in your heart."
Despite the tears, Erenien found herself smiling as that hope slowly blossomed.
"There is somebody else waiting to meet you," Anoriel smiled.
From Erenien's left, someone stepped into the light- a lady of high nobility like Anoriel. Her face was familiar, for Erenien had seen its likeness in one of the books in the library.
"Greetings, Erenien," Elerien said, smiling."
"My lady," Erenien bowed deep.
"There is no need for such formalities from you." Elerien smiled. "I came to ask for a favour."
"What is it, my lady?"
"Thranduil has lived many years, tormented by my death. You are the light that came into his life. A war looms on the horizon; one final stand of the free people against the lingering darkness. If everything ends well, then the time will come for him to make his last journey."
"What should I do, my lady?"
"Stay with him. Comfort him in his pain. You must convince him to come to Aman."
"I am sure Ada would sail," she caught herself. "I meant king Thranduil."
"I don't regret that you call him your Ada, dear," Calemir reassured.
Erenien sighed. "Ada still grieves you, my lady. At any cost, he would want to be with you. I am sure of that."
"There are other regrets which he bears. I am afraid that he might not want to sail, but he must. Our time here is waning. You must convince him. Do not ever abandon him, Erenien. That is my plea."
"I promise you, my lady, that I will stay with him until all this ends. If I sail, it will be with him. I give you my word."
Elerien smiled. "Thank you. Tell Thranduil that I will be waiting for him. Ae, Legolas! Tell him... tell my son that he will accomplish great deeds, those that are worthy of being in songs. Tell him that I have always loved him and always will."
"I will, my lady," Erenien replied, bowing. The next moment Elerien faded away as if in a thin mist.
"It is time for us to depart, my child," Calemir reminded her. Erenien sighed and nodded, her heart desperately yearning for those moments not to end. She dipped her head, swiftly blinking away the tears.
"My gifts for you contain my powers in them. They will come to you in the hour of your need," Anoriel took her daughter's hand and gently squeezed it, her eyes roaming over Erenien one last time.
"Thank you, Nana, Ada," she said, meeting their eyes once more. They gave her their final blessings. Then, hand in hand, both of them disappeared and the golden light slowly faded away.