20 Years Later
King Elessar rode slowly down a forest path, lost in thought, drinking in the solitude. Ever since the War of the Ring, life had been one political issue after another, what with establishing his authority, running out the remainder of Sauron's evil and such like things. There had barely been time to breath, much less to be alone. And now that Arwen and he had a child, things were even more hectic at the White Tower. But there were the rare treasured moments when the King Elessar could slip away by himself for a few hours without an entourage of guards. This was one of those times.
Suddenly he was startled by a rider on a chestnut mare, who rode up suddenly and fell into step with Roheryn as if nothing strange had occurred. Reacting quickly, Aragorn Elessar had Anduril halfway drawn when he realized that a blade was leveled at his throat. Sighing, he let the sword fall back and raised his hands, mentally berating himself for becoming slower with the years.
Then the figure spoke. "Do you not know me, son of Arathorn?" The voice could have been female, but Elessar couldn't be sure. The stranger wore the garb of a Ranger from the North, and he had but rarely heard of female rangers.
His voice quivering slightly for a reason he did not know, Elessar said, "Remove your hood. Let me see your face." The blade swiftly vanished and as he lowered his hands the hood was thrown back.
The Ranger was now revealed as definitely female, with long strawberry-blonde and sea green eyes which pierced him with a proud stare. Her skin was pale; alabaster freckled with little brown dots over her nose and under her eyes. She was almost cute, except for the fact that her face and pointed ears spoke of a nobler heritage. An elven Ranger.
Elessar's mind raced, trying to match face with memory. "You have the look of Elrond Half-elven," he said slowly, uncertainly.
The Ranger gave a very unladylike snort. "I should hope so, for I am his daughter. Though, I've never met him and I doubt he even knows that I exist."
The King's eyes widened. "Rosegold? How?" He could hardly believe what he thought he was hearing.
The woman nodded. "I am she. The Morgil, some call me. So I see you do remember me at last. You have forgotten me quickly, more quickly than I would've thought. But then, you are human after all." Here she paused, but before Elessar could even begin to reply, she went on. "Life since Edoras has been good to you, I gather. You've come into your inheritance as heir of Isildur, conquered the evil of the east and you even married your beloved Arwen." A bitter edge crept into her voice at the mention of Arwen. "There's even word that you have a child now. A son. Congratulations."
Elessar nodded slowly. "Yes. It's true, life has been good to me. But not, I take it, to you. What's happened?"
The bitterness in the elf's voice moved into her face and she took a deep breath. "The question, Elfstone, is what hasn't happened to me since Edoras.
"When I awoke in the healer's care and found out you were gone, I was frantic. I needed to know whether you had forgiven me for my attack on you. I stole a horse and rode hard for Dunharrow, where I'd heard you'd gone. They tried to keep your location from me, but it is hard to keep any such mass exodus quiet.
"But in my crazed state I rode north, instead of east to Dunharrow. I rode my horse nigh unto death, and when I came to myself, I could see Fangorn Forest in the distance. I knew then that I had lost my way. There was nothing for it though, but to keep on riding the way I had set out. Thus I rode for many days, shying from Fangorn and Lorien and finally passing through Mirkwood.
"I wandered in Mirkwood for days uncounted. My horse abandoned me in terror and I was beset by many nameless evils in the dark. When I at last emerged into the pale light of the North, all speech had been driven from me.
"Wandering alone and dazed from the horrors of the wood, I was met by a pair of Rangers of the North. They took me in and, despite my lack of speech, trained me long in the ways of the Rangers until I was one of them.
"In that time, I fell in love with one called Elladan. We married in the spring. Elladan hoped one day to coax me to speak, though at the time I thought it impossible that I should ever speak again.
"The morning after our wedding, I awoke later than I normally did. Elladan was standing outside of our dwelling, talking in low tones to his brother Elrohir. By chance, I heard Elrohir say, "What did you ever do to deserve her, son of Elrond?"
"At that I sat straight up in bed and screamed, the first sound I'd made in years. When the brothers came to me, I sobbed out my story. Horror of horrors, my husband was my brother. There was nothing we could do, however, the damage had been done. We broke off our marriage, of course, and I spoke from that day onward.
"But it was too late, I became pregnant. I have a son now. He is in the North, with his father. After he was born, I rode down to find you. I wanted you to see what I had become. I want you to know that I don't need you or any other man to fulfill my life. I am my own person. I need no other.
"But still, there is never a day that I do not think of you, and often I wonder how things might have been different if not for my sister. And I wondered if you would keep your promise never to forget me. Yes, I heard those whispered words twenty years ago. I heard them and I've enshrined them in my heart, thinking that you actually cared. But now I return to find promises broken, and a scarred elf maiden farther from your mind than ever before."
Elessar, stunned, tried to defend himself. "I do care! I've...thought about you. I remember you each time I ride into Edoras. It is merely the memory of your face that has faded, and the memory of your voice. But still, I am a busy man, I have a kingdom, a family to consider!"
The woman's face hardened. "Of course. I apologize, my Lord. I don't know why I expected you to think of me, a simple slave girl who has no bearing on any of your affairs. I will trouble you no longer." Turning her horse, she began to ride off in the opposite direction.
The Lord of Gondor halted Roheryn, standing in his stirrups to shout, "I will always remember you, Rosegold Morgil!"
She stopped and looked back at him. Her words were faint, carried on the breeze. "You will not remember me, son of man. In six hours, you will not even remember that we have met today. And that is because I do not matter to you. I will never matter to you. You promised me your memory when I was young, love-struck, and weak of heart. I believed you and now see what you have done. Broken are your promises and broken is my trust in you. No words you can now speak will ever move me to believe that my memory will keep a place in your mind." Then she disappeared, leaving King Elessar hurt, confused, and with a lot of food for thought.