Caras Galadhon
Aurë woke before dawn—as she usually did—and could hear the continued lament of Mithrandir. The words were solemn and her heart saddened at the sound. She remembered all of the times she had encountered the wizard in the past and treasured the memories.
Feeling the dawn's approach, Aurë exited her chambers and stood upon her flet, waiting for Arien to make her appearance. It was harder to see the sun rise among the trees of Lórien, but the elves of Caras Galadhon had gifted her with this particular talon so that she might see the dawn uninterrupted.
Today, the rising sun was bright and determined. Arien's time for mourning had passed and now she was bringing a sun of healing and hope. Aurë listened and she could hear the song of dawn, a quiet, and determined hymn—Tilion's voice adding in haunting undertones. Aurë wanted to share this message on to the heavy hearts of those in Lórien and so she raised her voice in song, intertwining Arien's message of hope into the lament of Mithrandir and eventually the Eldar joined her and the song of mourning turned into one that spoke of perseverance. It pleased her to be able to help alleviate their sorrow—even if only a little.
When the hour of dawn passed Aurë quickly prepared for the day. She wore a silvery delicate, gossamer dress that was her favourite because it reminded her of the stars and made her feel like she was walking among them. She had worn leggings and tunic her entire time away from Lórien, and she relished the freedom of the dress that pooled around her like water. She much preferred gowns.
She left her Talon with the intent of visiting with the travellers. She found herself increasingly curious of them. She seldom left the protection of Lothlórien and had seen little of Middle-Earth but was curious of the other lands. She took delight in the beauty of the world that the Ainur had seen into fruition, and loved to get to know its people.
She attempted to walk slowly and gracefully towards the fountain she knew them to be resting besides, trying to mimic the Lady Galadriel in her fluid movements. Normally, she rushed clumsily everywhere—too eager to get to where she was going. This time, however, she wanted to appear graceful and calm to the visitors. She had embarrassed herself enough last night.
Aurë approached the fountain carefully, suddenly nervous. What if they were still yet sleeping? Perhaps she should go and gather some food for them to break their fast? Perhaps it was rude of her to just visit unannounced? She began to slow her pace and was about to turn around when a voice called to her. "Good morning, my Lady."
Aurë quickly brought her head up to greet the voice—now blushing. "Good Morning, Lord Aragorn. I apologize for my intrusion—I was not thinking. I should leave you to rest."
Aragorn raised a hand to halt her near babbling. "Not at all, my Lady. We all awoke to the beautiful voice of dawn. We would relish your company, please join us." He held out an arm for her and she gratefully grasped it—her anxiety gone.
"Thank you. I must confess that visitors seldom come to Caras Galadhon and I long to hear of the outside world, which is my selfish motivations for visiting so early in the morning." Aurë confessed, looking down.
"Do not worry yourself, Lady Tindómiel, I, for one, do not mind your company. The others will not either, I dare say. The hobbits were quite thrilled to hear that a star walks among us in Eldar form."
She blushed, still unused to being revered so highly despite the three ages she had been here. "And I am quite thrilled to hear that they are from the Shire. I've not been there."
Aragorn merely smiled pleasantly at her before leading her to into the clearing that was acting as their lodgings. She quickly surveyed their camp and saw that all eight of them were there. The hobbits all gathered around their fire—chattering excitedly to themselves, save for Frodo. The man, the dwarf, and the elf were all siting in silence, tending to their weapons.
Upon Aragorn and Aurë's arrival, two of the hobbits head's shot up, excited. One came forward, bringing a basket with him. "Look, Aragorn! They brought as food!" He stopped short when he saw that Aurë stood next to Aragorn. His face quickly turned red. "Oh! I'm sorry, my Lady!" He quickly bowed so low, that Aurë wondered if his head was touching the ground.
She giggled and felt the eyes of the others on her, but ignored them. She walked forward and knelt next to the bowing Hobbit, urging him to stand. "There is no need to bow to me, Sir Hobbit." She smiled as he gazed at her with wide eyes, his face scarlet. "If anything, I should be bowing to you. You do Middle-Earth a great service."
She watched as the Hobbit seemed to inflate with pride. His chest puffed out and he squared his shoulders. "Yes, well, I am Peregrin Took, my Lady, but everyone calls me Pippin." He had made his voice seem deeper.
Aurë laughed again, absolutely delighted by the young Hobbit. "I am truly honoured to make your acquaintance, Sir Pippin. I must confess, I have never met anyone from the Shire, before."
"The Shire is wonderful!" He exclaimed. "Would you like to hear about it?"
"I would love to!" Aurë smiled. "But first, perhaps I should be introduced to your companions, I fear I have yet to be introduced."
She straightened back up to her full height and looked towards the other Hobbits who Pippin had rushed back towards. One, similar in height to Pippin stepped forward and bowed. "Meriadoc Brandybuck, at your service, but you may call me Merry."
"It is a pleasure, Merry."
"Samwise Gamgee, my Lady, but everyone calls me Sam."
"It as an honour, Sam." Aurë smiled at the stouter, stuttering Hobbit. She turned her attentions to Frodo. "You fair better this day, Frodo."
Frodo gave her a small smile. His heart, she sensed, was still weary but not quite as heavy. "I do, my Lady. Thank you." She saw him fingering the flower she had given him the night before and was glad.
"I am Gimli, son of Glóin, my Lady. You resemble the stars from which you hail most beautifully." Aurë turned her attention to the blushing dwarf at her right and smiled, shyly.
"You are most kind, Gimli. It is truly an honour to meet such a fine warrior as yourself." She nodded her head in a small bow.
"I am Boromir, son of Denethor of Gondor, my Lady." The man walked forward and taking her hand, gracing it with a polite kiss.
Aurë smiled widely. "I have had the pleasure of visiting the lands of Gondor once, a long time ago." She told him. "It was very beautiful."
"It has lost none of its beauty, my Lady, I assure you." Boromir told her with an honest smile.
Nervously, Aurë looked towards the elf with the intense gaze. He was the last to introduce himself. Once again, she blushed at his fervent gaze upon her, and turned her gaze downwards. He made no move.
Aragorn, behind her, laughed heartily, moving forward to clap the elf on the shoulder, breaking him out of his apparent trance. "Come on, Thingol." He joked softly to the elf and Aurë heard. "We have not got two hundred years." Aurë blushed heavily at Aragorn's insinuation. Surely, he jested.
The elf seemed to compose himself, shooting Aragorn a look, before walking towards Aurë who suddenly felt very nervous.
He grasped her hand, bringing it to his lips, the action not feeling quite as innocent as when Boromir had done it. Her stomach erupted into a series of butterflies as he kept his blue gaze on hers. She felt her cheeks continue to heat as he kept her hand to his mouth.
"Lady Tindómiel, it is an honour to make your acquaintance. Words do not do justice to your beauty, for you are more fair than anyone could ever begin to describe."
Aurë shyly averted her gaze as she removed her hand from his and grasped her hands in front of her. "Your words are very lovely for one I have yet to know the name of."
The elf before her bowed. "My apologies, my Lady. I am Legolas of the Woodland Realm."
Enlightenment lit up her eyes as she beheld the Prince of Mirkwood. "I apologize for not recognizing you sooner, my Lord." She curtsied lightly. "How fares your father?"
"He is well." Legolas said with a tilt of his head. "You know him?"
"I have met him but a few times over the years." Aurë revealed with a small smile, feeling brave enough to meet his gaze once more. "I knew King Oropher more. I fought along side him in the Great Battle."
She heard sputtering behind her and Aurë turned her attention to Gimli who looked nonplussed. "You? A little wisp of a thing fought in the War of Wrath?"
"Lady Tindómiel is quite skilled with a blade, Master Dwarf." Aragorn said with a laugh. "She has seen her fair share of battles."
"My curse only ends when the evil of Morgoth is purged from Middle-earth, and I will do my part in ending it." Aurë told him with a sad smile, her heart heavy with longing. "But I do not with to speak of such things."
"We shall endeavour to change the subject then, my Lady." Legolas spoke softly and Aurë shyly met his smoldering gaze once more. "May I say, you have a lovely voice. It greatly alleviated my heavy heart to hear it."
Aurë smiled broadly, pleased to hear the dawn's song had eased at least one person's pain. "It gladdens my heart to hear this. It was the song that Arien and Tilion were singing. Up unto this day, their song was full of despair, but today Arien brought a sun of healing. They sang of hope and I wanted to pass on that message."
"The dawn sings?" Sam asked.
"Everyday." She confirmed with a reminiscent smile. "Every dawn and dusk Tilion and Arien rejoice in their reunion." She frowned. "I cannot hear it as clearly as I once did."
"We shall defeat Sauron, my Lady, and end Morgoth's evil once and for all." Boromir vowed heatedly.
"You are valiant to say so." Aurë blessed him with a sunny smile, and the conversation stilled for a moment.
"Do you still wish to hear of the Shire?" Pippin asked finally, excitement barely contained.
"I wish to hear of all of your homelands." Aurë admitted, looking into the blue eyes of Legolas. "I admit I have not ventured far from the woods Lothlórien in some time now. I wish to hear of the world."
Legolas smiled then, like the sun breaking through the clouds. "We shall do our best, Lady Tindómiel.
She smiled back and allowed herself to be lead and seated around their fire, enchanted by the stories they began to weave for her. She felt it also helped ease their heavy hearts to speak of their homes. Aurë was happy.