The company followed Haldir and his brothers into the Elven city. Legolas marveled in silent awe at its beauty, so different from Imladris or, the halls of his father. He followed behind Aerlaer, climbing elegant stairs which spiraled around the tall trunks of the mallorn tree; passing along many elegant yet simple flets in between finely crafted, narrow bridges. It was not until they were quite high up into the beginnings of the canopy of a close-knit cluster of mallorn trees; that they came to stand upon a large platform which served more as a dais in Legolas's opinion.
"Here is where we leave you, for now." Haldir spoke calmly and Legolas acknowledged him with a nod while, Aerlaer, merely, lightly elbowed him in the ribs. The action struck Legolas as strange. The Marchwarden simply shook his head before he and his brothers re crossed the last bridge they had passed.
He noted how the Hobbits, Gimli and Boromir shifted nervously as they waited, staring up at the wide, silvery grey stairs which led to an elegant archway entrance to the great talan dwelling before them. Light suddenly seemed to appear in the arched entrance and Legolas, for the first time in his life, gazed upon the Lord and Lady of the Golden Woods.
The light of the Eldar clung like starlight and moonlight upon their skin, their faces, although wise beyond all reckoning, serene and fair. In moments, they stood level with he and the Fellowship and he wondered if perhaps sunlight too clung to the Lady Galadriel for her hair was that of the golden sun, falling in long, even waves. He felt a shift in Aerlaer, beside him. A small movement, as if she wished to run forward but, held herself firmly in place.
"The Enemy knows you have entered here. What hope you had in secrecy is now gone." He looked at each of them, his eyes lingering on Frodo, then himself, with cool, blue, grey eyes and finally, Aerlaer. "Nine there are here, yet ten there were, set out from Imladris. Tell me, where is Gandalf?" He questioned, a slight frown marring his face. He felt then, the eyes of the Lady, sweeping over himself and then Aerlaer. Her gaze was powerful yet, he could endure it. He had heard tell that not all who gazed upon her could. "I much desire to speak with him… I can no longer see him from afar." Finished Celeborn.
"Gandalf the Grey did not pass the borders of this land. He has fallen into shadow." Stated Galadriel, still looking at Aragorn who nodded his head slightly. To Legolas, he looked lost for words, in grief or something else, he did not know and so tentatively, he spoke up on behalf of his companions.
"He was taken by both Shadow and Flame, A balrog of Morgoth. For we went needlessly into the net of Moria." Legolas explained, feeling grief well up inside him once more.
"Needless were none of the deeds of Gandalf in life. We do not yet know his whole purpose." Galadriel replied, surprising him. She turned her eyes to Gimli who was looking down sadly. "Do not let the great emptiness of Khazad-dûm fill your heart, Gimli, son of Glóin." The Dwarf lifted his head to look up at her in wonder. "For the world, has grown full of peril." She turned to Aerlaer who looked sad once more, eyes tinged green under the lights of the trees. "And in all lands, love is now mingled with grief." Galadriel then turned her gaze to Boromir, beside Aerlaer. The man turned away, beginning to weep. Legolas was momentarily concerned for the man, just what bothered him so? What lay so heavily on his mind or heart?
What now becomes of this Fellowship? Without Gandalf, hope is lost." Celeborn questioned. The Sindarin lord swept his gaze to linger a moment on each of them. Legolas felt despondent at his lack of hope. What would they do? The Ring could not stay in Lothlórien forever.
"The quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail to the ruin of all." Continued Galadriel and Boromir, seemingly re-composed, turned to look up at both Elves. "Yet hope remains while the company is true." Galadriel looked to Sam and offered him a warm smile. She was certainly cryptic in her consolations and warnings. Legolas decided. "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Go now and rest this day for you are weary with sorrow and much toil. Tonight, if you wish to join, we shall have a feast in Gandalf's honor."
A feast. Would the others, Gimli, the Hobbits and Boromir, understand and attend such a feast or would their grief be too near as his own was? Still, he would go, out of respect for his old friend and, perhaps it would cheer the Hobbits? Haldir appeared once more and beckoned they follow him. He turned to Aerlaer but she shook her head. Understanding dawned on him. The Lord and Lady, after all, were her grandparents. Of course, she would wish to stay with them. He nodded in understanding but, felt a slight pang of loss as he turned away to follow the others back across the bridge.
…
"Tithinriel, come here." Celeborn spoke quietly, by her side and Galadriel watched as her youngest granddaughter, raced the small gap between them and flung her arms around her grandfather. Pain lanced through her, pain she knew, would never leave her. Her youngest daughter was dead, her youngest grandson lost to the same fate and all which remained was Aerlaer.
The young Elf pulled from Celeborn' s embrace and Galadriel wrapped her arms securely around her, holding her close. Although she'd been trained to be a warrior, a fighter; she was still so young in Galadriel's eyes. So, innocent and young and precious. So, so precious. Now more than ever. Always, she would be their Tithinriel.
"Let us go inside." She murmured, releasing the youngster and beckoning up the stair. She had acutely felt the turmoil of emotions surrounding her granddaughter, grief, loss, displacement, joy to be with family once more, confusion and wariness and further, a simmering wish for revenge for all she had lost. She motioned Aerlaer into a spacious seated area and sat beside the young elleth on a cushioned chaise. "We grieve deeply for the loss of your mother, father and brother, as you are. She admitted quietly as the pain, once again lanced through her fëa.
Aerlaer looked down, tears springing to her eyes. Galadriel could not make this right. She would feel Gandalf's loss too, although, I am not so sure that loss is so lasting. She tilted the young Elf's chin up to look into her eyes. "Do not hold all this sadness inside forever, Tithinriel, remember they are now forever safe in the havens and one day we will see them again."
"I am glad naneth and adar went together," she said. "If one were left behind, they would have died of a broken heart, I think, which would have been much more painful." Aerlaer murmured and Celeborn nodded in agreement from where he sat across from them. "I believe you are right." He acknowledged. It had been something she and Celeborn had discussed at length. A way to push through the tides of grief which had threatened to wear her down when she'd first felt the loss in her own fëa, only to receive confirmation from Elrond.
Aerlaer sighed, her shoulders uncharacteristically slumping forward. "I'm the last now." She spoke wearily. "I feel reckless for volunteering to go on this quest but, I could not simply idle doing nothing. The quest is of the foremost importance to me but, when all is said and done and if I come through this alive, I feel duty bound now." She sighed again and Galadriel had an inkling of just where this was going. "The prospect of finding a lifemate is now daunting; it is not something I have really thought about…" She trailed off with a slight frown and Galadriel knew exactly where her thoughts had wandered.
"Not many Elves wish to travel outside of their own realms and yet, I cannot linger in one place forever. I do not wish to travel to the Havens either, though." It was tempting, all too tempting to settle the lifemate debacle but, Galadriel needed to know something for certain first and, if it were true. That slight issue, Aerlaer needn't be worrying over, would sort itself out in due time. Instead she smiled warmly to her overthinking and over worrying granddaughter.
"It is as you said; right now, the quest is your life. Do not let the future worry you so Tithinriel." The youngster nodded, seeming a little more consoled. Everything else will come when the time is right." She nodded again, all the more content and Galadriel smiled. She was so joyed to see her youngest descendant and, so very grateful she still walked Middle Earth. "Go now and rest with your companions, they are under the Peaceful Tree. Please tell them I look forward to seeing them this evening in the Glades of Joy."
"Gandalf always did enjoy a good party." Aerlaer commented with the first bright smile Galadriel had seen since she had first laid eyes on her.
"Yes, yes he did." She murmured as the youngster hurried off, although still elegantly, to find her companions.
"She does not know." Celeborn stated quietly, once Aerlaer was certainly well out of earshot. Galadriel shook her head.
"It appears not. Neither, it seems, does he. It is no wonder really, the lies she was fed all those years ago. He was undoubtedly fed his own lies. When the time is right, they will know." She conceded, rising from her seat and stepping out back towards the dais to overlook the city below.
…
Aerlaer let the sound of a certain two Hobbits, bickering over food, lead her to her companions. The camp was truly a luxurious set up compared to how they had been sleeping of late. Nestled amongst the roots of an enormous, ancient mallorn tree known as the Peacefull Tree. Material had been draped like curtains in places to create more of a shelter and, the cozy nooks created by the tree's roots, had been arranged with plump pillows and soft blankets. Aerlaer could not help but smile, grateful as she surveyed her companions who for the first time since Rivendell, looked relaxed.
"Galadriel sends her best wishes and said she is looking forward to seeing you all this evening to celebrate Gandalf in the Glades of Joy." Aerlaer said, re quoting her grandmother. She then thought of something else, they'd had nowhere anywhere to fully bathe since leaving Rivendell, only having the use of streams to wash a little of themselves if they had the time. "Ah, also, I do not know if Haldir explained to you where, along the Celebrant River, you can bathe?" She said, feeling the slightest bit uncomfortable at having to discuss bathing with a company of eight males.
"No, he did not mention such a place," Boromir replied. "I think I can speak for us all when I say I would very much like to feel clean again. He smiled graciously to Aerlaer and the others nodded in agreement.
"Aragorn certainly needs a good dunking." Legolas smirked and the Ranger grunted at him but the corners of his mouth twitched in a half smile. She wouldn't say it aloud, but, they all really were getting to be a little on the nose. Another glance at Legolas told her he thought the same.
"Okay we are all agreed we are quite filthy, so where do we need to go exactly?" Merry asked diplomatically.
"If you walk back towards the Celebrant and then head upstream you will see two separate mallorn trees a little way from one another. They are growing right on the small rivers edge and overhang the river. The closest tree is for the ladies to bathe and the one a little further upstream is for the males. You won't get them confused; they are both guarded by Elves she grinned at them, any uncomfortableness from earlier, gone as she teased them a little.
"Ooh, we better be careful then, right Merry." Pippin quipped mischievously as he and Merry hopped up, followed by Sam who turned to Frodo.
"Mister Frodo, a nice wash will do you the world of good." He coaxed to his friend. Frodo only nodded and stood, still silent since the mines. She refrained from frowning in worry.
"I know the way, I may as well go too, if only to save Legolas's delicate nose." Aragorn shot a small smirk towards the blonde Elf who simply grinned back smugly. Aerlaer laughed quietly at both, shaking her head as she peered now among the pillows and blankets for a place to rest. She was glad to see a portioned off area and stepped behind it and deftly stripped off the outer, grey dress she had been wearing to reveal only the off-white one beneath.
Being much cleaner than the others, she flopped down in one of the cushioned nooks, next to the other Elf who was perched along the length of one of the trees roots, back leaning against the trunk of the tree and legs stretched out before him. Not quite comfortable, she wriggled sideways, hooking her knees over the opposite root to the one Legolas was perched on and sighed contently.
…
"Quite comfortable down there?" Legolas asked, with a hint of amusement as he peered down at the elleth. She tilted her head back, to gaze up at him and he realized, it was the first time he had ever seen her look truly relaxed. Not tense from travelling, or thinking, or fighting. There was no watchful look in her eyes as there was no danger to watch for. He noticed too, her grief from earlier had subsided, her eyes were a serene blue.
"Very much so." She replied.
"I don't believe I have ever rested with my legs like that." He raised a teasing brow at her. It seemed a very awkward, uncomfortable position yet, she seemed content in it.
"You should try it." she laughed at him and pointed to the large space next to her now that she was propped sideways between the roots. "I cannot imagine perching on a tree root would be more comfortable." She grinned at him, her tone teasing.
"I shall be the one to decide that." He announced, curiosity and a competitive urge making him swing his legs over. He slid down the tree root to sit two feet from her and wriggling down so his head rested on the cushions, he stretched his legs up and draped them like Aerlaer had, over the opposite tree root next to her. She remained silent, waiting for his verdict.
"He turned to her and grinned. "It is surprisingly very comfortable. He murmured to her as he let his shoulders relax back into the cushions.
"Told you." She replied self-contentedly and he shook his head at her laughing quietly. They fell silent for a while and he gazed upwards, marveling at the structure of the great tree they rested under.
"How do you find Lothlórien?" Aerlaer asked him, pulling him from his reverie. He tilted his head towards her to find she was turning slightly onto her side to see him properly. We are lying rather close… Legolas self-consciously listened, hearing both the snores of Gimli and Boromir. He and Aerlaer were the only ones still awake. He gazed back up towards the canopy.
"It is beautiful." He breathed. "Never have I seen such tall trees and of such majestic splendor and, the leaves are more golden then I imagined from tales and songs. I would like the chance to walk under these trees again someday." He smiled wistfully up into the boughs and branches of the tree the lay under. "Long have I wished to look upon them and, finally I am but, perhaps not for long enough. I think our stay will be brief."
"I think you will see them again." Aerlaer murmured quietly, before she fell silent beside him. Legolas continued to stare up at the tree, now noting how the light lit up the golden leaves above. He breathed in and let a long breath of air out, relaxing down further into the pillows.
He turned his head towards the elleth and was met with her sleeping form; her head resting on her hands. A small smile involuntarily pulled at his lips. So peaceful she was and, for a moment he let his gaze linger upon her face, noting how her dark lashes brushed the topmost part of her high cheekbones. "Loro vae, riel." He murmured so quietly he might not have said anything at all and turned his head back up to the golden leaves above and closed his own eyes.
…
Boromir awoke and, blinking his eyes, looked around him. He could hear Gimli still snoring and the sound of bird chatter and the far-off melodies of Elves singing and wind, high in the trees. Everything else was quiet and peaceful, he even felt peaceful for the first time in many weeks. Something he did not think he would feel in this unknown, Elven realm. The Hobbits and Aragorn had not yet returned and he realized, some of his peace was from Frodo and, the Ring, being away from his presence. Ever since he had nearly touched the ring in Rivendell, it had haunted his mind, ever present and, in his dreams, he saw the destruction and fall of Gondor.
Only the cheerfulness of Merry and Pippin, Aerlaer and the banter between Legolas and Gimli had kept him sane. He sat up a little to glance around and could not help but grin as he saw the two Elves lying side by side, fast asleep with their legs hooked over a tree root. If Elves weren't so Fair and elegant, it would be comical, the way they are resting. How could one find comfort with ones' legs over a tree root? He thought, amused. Ah it is times like this it feels as if nothing is wrong and my mind feels at peace.
He had thought too soon, Aragorn and the Hobbits were walking back towards their camp, Merry and Pippin chattering noisily away. Choosing to try and remain happy, he waved his arms at them and when they noticed him, he put a finger to his lips, urging them to be quiet. They obliged and quietly crept the last forty feet looking curiously at Boromir who, grinning again, gestured to the two sleeping Elves.
"I woke up and they were like that." Boromir whispered, ignoring the slight pull he felt which was like a dark rope snaking around his heart, trying to draw his attention to the Ring.
Aragorn looked down smiling at the two Elves. "From the peacefulness upon their faces, I am assuming such an odd sleeping position is comfortable?" He whispered back with mirth. Boromir merely shrugged, plastering a grin upon his face but, it did not feel as real as it had before.
"I'm going to try it." Pippin stated and tiptoed to an alcove amongst the roots near the Elves and flopped down, swinging his shorter legs up to copy them. Instead they just stuck straight up in the air, too short to hook over the tree root as the Elves had draped their knees.
"Me too." Merry said in determination and followed suit. Boromir shook his head as they both crossed their arms on their chests in a self-important way.
"Mmm it's not bad Pippin." Merry whispered.
"Not bad at all." Pippin replied and with that both hobbits closed their eyes to sleep.
"Well I won't be trying it." Aragorn muttered quietly as Frodo and Sam settled, normally, among blankets and cushions. To Boromir's relief, they were a few feet from him but, the sudden return of the small Hobbit, had him only wishing to see the Ring, to know it was still safely around the Hobbit's throat. Close enough to take if he wished too… he stood abruptly, grabbing his pack glancing back down at the Elves for some semblance of distraction.
"Those Elves are odd, endearing but odd." He muttered.
"Indeed, it is hard to imagine two ruthless killers in battle to look so innocent and harmless and yet here they lay." Aragorn replied with a fond smile at both.
"I suppose I better take a bath, is it easy enough to find these bathing shallows?" He asked quickly, needing, he realized, to distance himself from the Ring and Frodo.
"You cannot miss them, and they were empty when we left so, are perhaps still so. Aragorn replied. With a wave, Boromir walked towards the river, forcefully pushing thoughts of the Ring from his mind.