Chapter 10

Music of the Night

They made camp on the northern shore of Lake Evendim, working in silence. Little had been said since they left the group of Noldor a fortnight past. Her companions still holding a grudge over the secret revealed to the Noldor leaders that they themselves had not known. The face they were all tired and weary of travel did not help to improve their moods. Elarinya let them brood.

She sat on a tall hill that stretched out from the surrounding mountains to look at the tranquil lake before it. It brought a sense of peace to her troubled mind, the sound of the soft waves breaking against the sandy shore, the reflection of the stars twinkling on its rippling surface. The breeze was cool, causing her to shiver as she pulled the cloak around her tighter as she shut her eyes, lightening to the music of the night. It soothed her weary soul.

The scenery around her changed; gone were the soft ripples on the shores, instead they were replaced by the crashing of waves upon rock. Icey salt spray pelted her face as she gasped in shock, eyes flinging open wide. Elarinya worked to take in her surroundings, taking in the angry sea, the sharp rocks digging into her skin where she sat. Shakily she to her feet, working to steady herself against the wind. If she did not know better, she would say it was alive, fighting her, pushing her forwards to a fate she was not sure she was ready for.

Carried on the wind, music filled her ears, causing her to turn abruptly, back to the wind. He was there, far down the rocky shore, sitting on the rocks, harp in hand. Without thinking, she moved forward, letting the gale steer her. She watched his fingers move deftly across the strings, the sound hauntingly desolate, drawing her closer. Black hair, wavy from the salt dried in its length, whipped around his lonesome figure, obscuring his face from her view. The melody filtered into her soul, as if speaking directly to her, words unbidden spilled from her lips, her voice raising in song to match his descant.

"Through fearsome paths I walked
Within all-encompassing darkness…" His notes faltered, could he hear her? Was it possible? She was not sure, as she continued on,

"Yesterday's light is dimmed and tomorrow's nowhere in sight
Blindly I followed the beacon

The beacon that is my tremulous heart
Onward into the depths of what lay ahead
Daring to be swallowed in its emptiness
fortitude taunting it at every turn

I breathed in their whispered silence
Black crashing waves were set ablaze with his vision
Flinging out golden tongues of flame as his fingers danced upon strings
My dance of passion begun within the arms of darkness."

She found herself upon him, her song fading upon the frigid air. His fingers paused as the words dissipated, his tune changing as he began again. Her feet moved unbidden, bringing her to his side, his pale features brought out by the stark contrast of his hair. Strong handsome features adorned his face, making her catch her breath. This was the man from her dreams, the ellon who had haunted her waking memories for years on end. Slowly she raised her hand, tracing the outline of his strong jaw, cupping his cheek. Elarinya gasped at the contact, lightening shooting through her body as silence engulfed her and steel grey eyes, matching the raging sea bore into her own.

…

His fingers plucked the strings without conscious thought. His soul composed the music, the haunting tune matching the sorrow in his heart. The waves adding to the melody the anger he felt of himself and his family. The desolate landscape his self-proclaimed exile. His lonely sole ached for more.

Maglor felt his world shake, but kept his focus on the music, attempting to free himself from the plaguing guilt that consumed him. Slowly, softly, a new sound began floating to his ears. A voice drifted in the wind. His fingers faltered ever so slightly on the harp. He knew that voice, the one that brought light to his dark world and hope to his heart. He wondered why the Valar tormented him so. Knowing he was past the hope of gracing the shores of Valinor, faced with a life stuck in Mandos' halls, why show him one more thing he could not have—love, happiness, family.

The soft feminine voice grew closer, enveloping him in warmth and light. Golden flames danced around him, his fingers matching the voice incasing him. What kind of spell had he been placed under? The aura around him shifted, he felt the hair ever so slightly move from across his face. Then it was like a lightning strike, his body was on fire as he felt the lightest trace of fingers brush his cheek. They were not soft and fragile, not the delicate hand that cupped his cheek was rough and calloused, hands that had seen their fair share of work. His music stopped. The howling wind and roaring waves created music around them, he jerked his gaze up.

What he saw, he was not sure, she was there and yet she was not. He saw a blurry outline of a figure. Slender, definitely female, while pigments of color dotted through and then disappeared. Dark hair disguising her face. The only thing Maglor saw with clarity were the starling green eyes that bore into his own. Then, like the snap of his fingers, the image was gone. She was gone. Many long moments passed before Maglor came to himself again, his fingers strumming a different tune, one his deep timbre vice joined with

"Underneath the sky of deepest gray
My phantom maiden came to me
Long lost
Hidden amongst winter's frost
Many times I searched
through the icy glass of my heart
Finally to see a flicker there at the edge of the cliff
Something or someone there cloaked and hidden through pale ocean mist
Just at the periphery of winter's end
Caught for seconds - or was it an eternity - that I saw her there
frozen in icy beams of moonlight
My heart beating wildly
Wondering if hers beat rhythmically with mine.
For a moment all was still.
Then suddenly she was here
Here by my side
A fragment of a second before you vanished
Gone
Disappeared into nothingness
Only the silver tundra of the moon's glow lay cold against my heart"

…

Elarinya shot up from her spot on the hill, heart beating frantically in her chest. Placing her hand roughly over her heart, she willed herself to breathe. He had heard her, felt her touch…he had seen her. Those sorrow filled eyes of steel would be burned into her memory for many nights to come.