"Tinwe, could you tell us another story of your adventures?" Frodo asked as he sat with his kinsmen and the elleth. They were in the gardens, enjoying the evening air.
"What of my adventures would you like to know?" Tinwe asked, turning her head to look at the hobbit.
"I would love to hear of your adventures in the south. I know very little of that land."
"Hmm, well, I suppose the story began right hear in Gondor. I had been moving south for several years, and came upon the White City. I only stayed for a few days, to get supplies for the rest of my journey. I had decided to take a ship along the coast, until I reached a friendly harbor in the south, which, I must admit, is not easy to find…"
The hobbits listened to Tinwe's tale of the southern wild, and what lay there. However, as the moon rose high in the sky, Tinwe stopped her tale.
"I am sorry hobbits, but it is time for sleep. If you'd like, I will continue tomorrow night."
"Okay," they all mumbled in defeat. Pippin yawned widely, making Tinwe smile. "Goodnight, Tinwe."
"Goodnight hobbits," she said, watching them shuffle off. She stood too, walking toward her bedchamber. She lay down on the mattress, looking out at the night sky. The stars had returned, and they cast a white glow on the elf maid as she lie awake, deep in thought about her past, present, and what the future may bring. The war was over, and she knew not what to do with herself. She had traveled far and wide in every direction. What else was there for her to do? She remembered her mother, and how she'd always insisted when Tinwe was home on how she should settle down and have a family. Tinwe had always responded, saying that perhaps the next time she returned. But she never did. She had seen too much to believe she could just suddenly stop traveling. But in her heart, she was growing weary of always leaving. She was ready for a new adventure.
Tinwe continued telling stories to the hobbits every night. Soon, it was no longer just the hobbits. Men of Gondor and Rohan also came, most of them injured in some way, to listen to the beautiful elf speak. She found a strange delight in retelling her tales. She would act out the exciting parts, sometimes getting the hobbits to assist her. The men listened, hanging on her every word. It was a marvel to them; a woman who traveled the world, and had fought more battles than the most experienced among them.
However, one night, she found she had exhausted her exciting stories about the battles and amazing things she'd seen.
"I am afraid I have no more stories to tell, at least not that you would find interesting."
The men all groaned, several making encouraging comments, telling her to continue. As it turned out, Legolas had joined the group that night, and he smiled, speaking from Tinwe's left.
"Why not tell the story of how we first met. That story still brings a smile to my face."
"I will not embarrass myself by telling that tale," Tinwe said, turning to the elf. The men around her all started breaking out in protests. The fact that the story embarrassed her only made them more eager to hear it.
"Hmph, you tell it to them then," she said, putting her hand up in defeat. "I shall not be the one to tell it."
"Very well," Legolas said, coming forward and sitting cross-legged on the ground beside Tinwe. The men all leaned forward eagerly, waiting for the tale to begin.
"It was about two thousand years ago, and I was on my way home from a visit to Rivendell. I was almost home, but I stopped at my favorite pool for a quick swim. It was very hot, as the summer heat got trapped beneath the thick canopy of the trees. I was enjoying the cool, refreshing water, when I heard voices from nearby. I stopped, listening curiously. I heard it again. Quietly, I crept towards the sound of the voices. As I approached, the voices grew louder, and seemed to be coming from behind a large boulder. Once I reached it, I stood up and looked over it. There sat two little elflings.
"Upon seeing me, the one facing towards the pool fled into the woods behind her. The other looked around, and I asked her 'Can I help you?' Her face turned bright red, and she stuttered no, apologized, and fled after her friend. I watched her go, and returned to my horse, and rode to my father's city. That night, I was to be meeting a skilled blacksmith my father had hired to make a new set of knives for me, my old ones having been lost in an Orc raid several weeks earlier. So when I walked into the dining hall, I was most surprised to see the little elleth whom I had seen only a few hours earlier.
"Though she sat determinedly looking downward, I could not mistake her, for her light brown hair was most unusual among our people. I was introduced to the blacksmith, who was in fact Rissa, the elfling's father. I knew her elder brother, who was only a few years my senior. When her father got around to introducing the elleth as Tinwe, she looked up at me with her deep green eyes, smiling unsurely at me. I returned it, and informed Rissa we had met before. He looked confused, but did not press the matter. Later, as the family was leaving, Rissa's wife, Isawen, said goodnight to my father. Tinwe took her mother's lead, curtsying respectfully and saying thank you to my father. But when she caught sight of me over his shoulder, she turned bright red again, and fled after her mother. Much to my surprise, I found the young elleth again two thousand years later, here at Pelennor Fields."
The men laughed as Legolas told his tale. They found Tinwe's behavior as a child very amusing. As Legolas finished, they looked at Tinwe, who was sitting beside him, arms and legs crossed, shaking her head as she looked at a tree to her left.
"What were you doing spying on the elf, my Lady?" one man called out, his comrades laughing heartily.
"I didn't know I was spying on him!" Tinwe said defensively. "My friend Icaria was the one who dragged me there."
"Yeah sure!"
"Oh, come on."
"Surely someone else has a story they would like to share?" Tinwe said, rather annoyed, looking around, determined to change the subject.
"I once met a dwarf who was traveling to the Lonely Mountain. He had gotten lost on his way around Mirkwood, for he did not want to travel alone through that place. No offense, of course," he said, nodding to the two elves.
"None taken. Please, continue," Legolas said, gesturing for the man to finish.
"Well, he told me a story of his kin, who had mined deep in the mountains, searching for the metal Mithril."
"Who was this dwarf?" Gimli said. Tinwe had not even noticed him sitting there, next to the hobbits.
"Nar was his name."
"Ah, he was a cousin of my father's. What did old Nar say to you?"
The man continued his story about the Dwarf, and soon, it was past midnight. As the story ended, the men dispersed. The hobbits shuffled off together, and Gimli went towards the palace, mumbling about being hungry. The elves walked slowly through the gardens on their way to bed.
"I can't believe you actually told them the story!" Tinwe said incredulously. Legolas smiled, watching the elleth gesture wildly as she ranted about how horrible it was.
"The audience appreciated it."
"What do you expect? They are men. They revel in other people's pain. But really, you made me out to be some sort of stalker."
"Well, you were," Legolas said, grinning.
"That's not the point! Never again will I get respect from these men."
"I doubt that is true. They have seen you in battle, and know how valuable your skills are."
"Ha, as if. Now they see me as a silly little girl. They know now who I was as a child, and so they know there is more to me than just a warrior. So much for my image."
"You are just determined to fault me for revealing that you were not always a hardened warrior. Personally, it is one of the most memorable parts of my younger years."
"Hmph, well fine. Goodnight, Prince Legolas."
She stalked away, nose in the air. But Legolas just smiled, watching her go. He knew she would be perfectly cheerful in the morning. He went to bed, knowing that in the morning, Tinwe would be back to normal.