Chapter 6
They had just arrived at the entrance of Rivendell and stood now at a large oval shaped platform. Luckily it had railings. Thranduil helped her down from the horse and she decidedly avoided eye contact with everyone around her. She didn't want to stand out too much. The Elvenking merely told her to stay put like she was but a dog before joining in with the crowd of elves and horses. Everyone seemed to be busy with unpacking the horses and apparently greeting the Rivendell elves. The elves seemed to know each other well and the King was no exception. She observed as he was flocked with no doubt nobles, eager to shake his hand. Good. She now had a chance to slip away and catch her breath.
Earlier, she had trouble breathing correctly as they passed over the long and incredible thin bridge, situated over the great ravine that almost seemed to cage Rivendell. That bridge hadn't had any railings at all and it didn't help that Thranduil thought it necessary to ride the horse in a terrifyingly fast and unruly trot over the obvious death trap. She may not know much about horses but she knew that they definitely shouldn't be trotting about in such circumstances. Sigrid shook her head, as a semi-serious attempt to ward off her growing headache. She had elected to keep her eyes closed on their way over the bridge of doom and so she had missed out on the details. The details of the wonder that now hindered her attempts at stabilising her breath. The wonder that laid before her eyes.
Elvish structures were something special... Clean, pure, elegant and ancient. Precisely everything that Sigrid could never be herself and as the only human there... she felt painstakingly out of place. That uncanny feeling of alienation prompted her to move even further away from the group, her eyes scanning and taking in every stunning detail she could. She was much too awestruck to really let her discomfort ruin her mood. Sigrid hadn't gotten a good look at Rivendell before. The city had first started to reveal itself little by little amidst the fog, once they'd passed the crooked road through the Misty Mountains. She first believed it to be much smaller than what it actually is but as she now came to realise, she was way off the mark. Not only is the city larger than expected, it actually continued into the mountains.
Strangely enough, it looked so natural, as if the city was a great white tree and the mountains were its rightful piece of earth to stick its roots into. The mountain-city was built and constructed to have several floors with many carved balcony-like hallways, stone platforms, stairs, bridges, tunnels and probably much more that she couldn't see. There were even neatly dug-out wide courtyards for the market-place and for what she presumed to be several homes of the elves. The large mountain stood occupied with the same ivory buildings as the rest of the city and it didn't even look remotely crowded. Large bridges and roads lead right into the mountain and out across the other side of one of the larger waterfalls.
It reminded her faintly of Erebor but the concepts and the designs were vastly different. It couldn't even be compared. Traditional elvish craftsmanship coupled with dwarfish craftsmanship seemed worlds apart at that moment but she wouldn't dare to actually decide on which one is superior. It just feels kind of pointless. The whole city shimmered in blue and yellow lantern lights, the lights seemed to be especially necessary in the mountain-area of the city and she could clearly see that elves were as active as any hard-working folk, if not more so. Sigrid turned around and continued to inspect Rivendell. She realised that the name couldn't be more fitting. The great mountains that surrounded the elven city, had numerous, tremendous waterfalls running down its slope hills, surrounding the city in its splendour.
Obviously the elves hadn't built anything too close to the rushing waters, in that case, safety seemed to be quite the necessity. Nevertheless, The waterfalls then gathered themselves into large rivers running beneath and in-between the elvish structures of which she currently stood on. The city looked to be built in accordance to the rushing waters, catching and leading the current underneath several bridges and domes. She was utterly fascinated and she couldn't stop herself from leaning a bit over the stone railing, her previous fears as good as forgotten. She wanted to watch as the rivers running through Rivendell went over the edge of the gigantic and steep ravine that sat at the city's heels.
Sigrid, who wanted too see how deep the abyss was, realised that she would have to do that some other time since it was way too overshadowed and foggy to really make out anything at all. A crescent moon peeked down at the elvish construction, the mist around the mountains shone up in an ethereal glow and the lanterns of Rivendell stood out like small discoloured and blurry stars. Everything looked so dreamy, so perfect and alluring and Sigrid wanted to shy away in shame. She didn't belong here, though she somewhat wished she did.
The evening was still young but she only wanted to sleep, no matter what. It had to be around around eight o'clock or so. She normally didn't go the bed at this time but the whole day had been a taxing. The mental images of those men, ugly, smelly brutes, laid still fresh in her mind. Wanting to hurt her, wanting to take the ring. A part of her was so tired of it all, a part of her had wanted to let them take the damn trinket... But it was like she didn't have a will of her own, like the ring wanted something else and it kept on poisoning her mind. Looking away from the mist-filled ravine, Sigrid accidentally met the eyes of one frustrated Thranduil. She morbidly thought of flinging herself from the cliffside as she watched him walk over to her.
"I see you are free from your fans, my king."
He raised a brow at her comment and took his place at her side, leaning on the railing, a bit away from her.
"Your observational skills are truly out of this world dear, but i wouldn't call them my fans, they are more like leeches" he answered, keeping his eyes on the commotion that was still going on.
More elves had arrived to handle their horses and she knew that they would probably move soon. She was right, as a company of Rivendell elves arrived, just as another company started to lead their horses away. Thranduil went forward to greet them, gesturing her to follow him. They walked in silence and she kept her head nestled in her hood. She had elves on either side of her as they walked in group of maybe fifteen people. They passed stairwell after stairwell, bridge after bridge. I until they came upon an outdoors hallway, wide and long, decorated with elven statues. The hallway lead out into a big courtyard which had a relatively big temple-like structure at its base.
This is where their company scattered as everyone but herself and the king, promptly turned right. She watched as they elegantly walked away, ascending a couple of stairs and disappearing from view. She followed Thranduil as they stepped inside the temple, taking in the large oval room with a polished stone table in the centre. A man and woman stood there, the woman stood turned away at a small terrace and the man had some sort of document in his hands. He looked up from his work and a polite smile grazed his elvish features.
"My friend, you arrived earlier than expected but i am glad nonetheless," He said, briefly casting his eyes over Sigrid's subtle figure as she stood slightly behind the elves before her.
His eyes were dark blue and his hair had a mocha brown colour to it. His navy blue robes melted in with the environment, illuminating his face.
"I trust the journey was without complications?" the elf continued as he stood before them.
"Not quite," Thranduil answered and turned to her. "Sigrid here, was ambushed by two men earlier this day and they carried this."
He pulled out a rolled up letter of some sort and handed it over to who she presumed to be Lord Elrond. He opened it with a small frown that slowly gave away to become two raised brows. He didn't say anything though and as he locked back up at Thranduil, a serious aura stretched out around them.
"Let's sit down and discuss this in private."
Sigrid looked around, confused as she leaned on a stone pillar, did they mean for her to go away now?
Lord Elrond once again looked at her, walking over to her, he stretched out his large hand. "Lady Sigrid, I'm afraid i haven't formally introduced myself." A gentle smile lit up his face as she slowly shook his outstretched hand. "I am Elrond and i welcome you to stay at Rivendell for as long you may need. I'll have you know that you are perfectly safe here, no harm will come to you."
"I- ...thank you, my lord..." she forced out, holding back a yawn which painstakingly caused her to stutter like a fool.
She felt like she was being disrespectful but she really was tired, very tired. Something Lord Elrond noticed. "You must be tired from the journey, i'll have someone escort you to your room for the night. We will discuss your matter first thing tomorrow."
She blinked and nodded dumbly.
"I can take her," a voice broke out, like it was singing, a gentle, aerial tune, flowing through the air.
Lord Elrond turned around and Sigrid could only stare as the moonlight passed over the Lady elf. The moon made her seem clearer and she stood out like a beacon of light in the dark, much brighter than the other elves. A tall, proud lighthouse, illuminating and glowing. Her elvish diadem glimmered like silver in the dark, her white dress gently moved back and forth in the breeze like something of a ghost. She had the bluest eyes Sigrid had ever seen and as she strayed closer, it almost looked as if she was floating above the ground. Sigrid could make out small spots of light in her eyes, like they were reflecting the stars, scintillating like pure diamonds. Her hair dropped down in long, blonde ringlets... No, not blonde, more like spun gold, gleaming like some sort of treasure.
"Come with me, my child," the elf spoke as she took Sigrid's slightly shaking hand, she hadn't quite recovered yet from all the horse-riding.
She was much too distracted to really hear the lady's words as clear as she would have wanted to. For at the very same time, Galadriel's same voice started to fill up her head instead, like her very own innermost thoughts.
"My name is Galadriel and don't worry Sigrid, daughter of men. I understand that you must be wary and confused but you can trust me. Let me soothe your tiredness and hunger, for you have yet many challenges to endure." The elven voice whispered in her eardrums, echoing in her skull and she could hear it as clear as day, but still, the lady's lips weren't even moving.
She was only smiling. Sigrid was led away by the hand, transfixed and shocked. Thranduil and Lord Elrond were left alone, staring at the disappearing females. A flash of irritation passed over the elvenking's face but it was fleeting, barely there before it vanished.
...
The radiance from Galadriel's physique spilled onto her arms and created shadows in their wake. She had a gentle hold on Sigrid's arm as they walked in silence through the ivory corridors.
"You are so bright my lady, shinier than any other elf I've seen..." she couldn't help herself as the words spilled from her tongue, staring up at the beauty in awe.
A little smile broke out on the elf's flawless face as she looked down at her.
"No doubt it has something to do with your ring. Magic rings can often open new doors to a second sight. The light could very well be a token of the eldar and the firstborns. I'm sure such a finesse can be adjusted as our understanding of the ring grows." The lady gestured to her own ring. A blinding thing really, silverly in its form, glowing like a pure star right through her finger.
If she peeked hard enough, the light seemed to give away to a more precise shape. The ornament of a flower with some sort of gem at its centre.
"She is called Nenya, the ring of water. Do you happen to know the name of yours yet?" She looked away from the scintillating thing, her eyes burning. She focused instead on the evening scenery that peeked out behind the glass-less windows. They were inside now, walking down the fine marble hall towards a set of stairs, leading upwards in a great spiral.
"Yes, if i remember correctly... CarnimÃrë, though I'm probably pronouncing it wrong." She tried not to feel too stupid.
"Ah yes, the red star. We have some documents on it here albeit not much. It was said to be forged by the very smiths of the Valar themselves." Galadriel said with a raised brow, gentle in her features.
Sigrid's eyes went wide and she briefly lost her breath before Galadriel continued on. "Magic rings have a tendency of having a will of their own... They are like people with their different kinks and personalities. This one seemed to have tied itself to you, yes?" They ascended the steps and Sigrid had to focus on not stepping on the elf's moving dress.
"Yes, it was a painful process and it seems that i cannot get it to leave my finger." As they reached the top, a lit-up, wide hallway shadowed their steps as they came upon a creamy pale door.
"I see, Know that we will do what we can to rid you of this burden Sigrid but you must be prepared for anything that may come." The lady gave the door a slight push. It opened to reveal a comfortable room.
Big with a large bed, seated a the front of a large window, a glass one in the shades of green and blue. It was equipped with a desk, bedside tables and a private bathroom. It looked luxurious and expensive but not that kind of richness that reeked of money, no... It was pure, rich with culture and old, old age. She followed Galadriel into the bedroom. On one of the bedside tables, some sort of drink stood. An elegant translucent glass with a strange dark pink substance, it looked thick and it bubbled around, like something was moving in there. The lady-elf, walked over to the glass and picked it up. She sat down on the bed, the whiteness blending into her dress.
"Come here, Sigrid." She waved her hand and she realised that she had been rooted to the doorway the whole time.
She stepped forward and took a seat by the lady's side. Was she going to drink that...? She must have looked confused.
"This will be your room during your stay here. I take it you are tired yes? Have you eaten something?"
"No not for some time, I had some Lembas in the afternoon though." Galadriel looked troubled at that.
"It is as i feared then, riding for such a long time is hard enough for a human, especially for someone as young as you but i think the greater leech on your energy is the ring you bear. It merely means that you have to eat more as long as the ring is tied to you." She plucked a strand of hair from where it was stuck on her brow, putting it away behind her ear and Sigrid was struck by the sheer motherly instinct that lady Galadriel seemed to possess.
"Thranduil must have been aware of this, your face look almost ashen, my child. He has completely neglected your care..."
She didn't know what to say, she was too tired to be angry at the elven king. "Oh... alright," she heaved out looking down at her hands.
Warm fingers placed themselves under her chin and lifted her head up. "The issue is to be dealt with. You must sleep now but before you do, you must drink this to quickly renew your energy, though it won't make you any less sleepy. I know you must be genuinely tired from the day."
The elf was so gentle, so soft and soothing. She couldn't do anything other than to trust her. The liquid tasted sour on her tongue but she drank everything either way. It was just as thick as it looked and she had to swallow it down several times before everything really went down. She almost dropped the glass as she gave a cough. Galadriel took it before she could. The elf lady stood up and went away for a second before coming back with a glass of water this time. Sigrid took a few sips, looking up at the luminous elleth.
"Will you be alright on your own until morning?" Sigrid nodded, feeling somewhat warm and fuzzy.
"Then i shall leave you to your sleep, little Sigrid," lady Galadriel, said stroking her cheek briefly before taking her leave.
Sleep didn't merely creep up on her, it rushed over her like a shower, like she suddenly drowned. One minute she was awake, the other she was deep in slumber. She only just managed to step out of her dress and draw the duvet over her before she went out like a candle light.
...
Thranduil was reminded of his own moody atmosphere by the moving second. It churned around in his mind, like it was brewing up inside of him. Elrond's lacklustre attempts at lighthearted conversation began to test his patience. He'd much rather go straight to the point. They had already gone through the note on black speech and to no ones surprise, it had orders of retrieving the ring to Gundaband by nightfall. Now the lord of Rivendell wanted to talk about the climate up in the north and needless to say, Thranduil wasn't feeling it.
"When will Lady Galadriel return, you think?" he asked, interrupting Elrond's talk about the coming of the first snowflakes.
The elvenking rose from his seat to walk over to the balcony-like platform. It had a big waterfall, cascading down under it.
"She's only putting the girl to bed, soon i hope." Elrond came up beside him and they both observed the torrential motions of the river.
"Thranduil... have you really taken care of the girl? She looked very pale and faint like a thin sheet."
"I have seen to her needs, she still draws breath after all," he responded as one of his eyebrows developed a small tic in masked frustration.
For some reason, this new topic of Sigrid made his mood even fouler, it served as a reminder of the human girl. However, he wasn't as annoyed with her now as he'd been before, probably because she wasn't near him at the moment.
"Well you are aware of the fact that she is but a human, a young girl at that. She is still very much a child and the ring must be putting quite a strain on her," Elrond said in a formal manner but it was obvious that he genuinely cared for the girl, the lord of Rivendell had quite the soft heart.
"Little Sigrid will be in need of more food than some Lembas in the future, as long as she wears the ring at least."
They both turned around to the tuneful voice. Lady Galadriel stood tall with her hands loosely locked together at the front. Her face remained soft and gentle but her eyes told a different story. They zeroed in on him like they were about to condemn him for something. She had a soft heart as well it seemed... that's just marvellous. "I shall keep that in mind," Thranduil said, his face neutral.