c. 10 First taste of Lembas
The rope ladder was very sturdy. Estel hardly noticed any movement in it as he ascended into the flet. Aglarmir went up ahead of Estel and Gilrean to inform his brothers that the party from Imladris had arrived. Balglin and Taurnil had been expecting their brother's return and welcomed him with open arms.
"Mae Govannen, brothers. Here are Estel Arathornion and his anme, Gilrean. I must go show the Rangers to their sleeping flets. I shall return shortly. Estel, Gilrean, make yourselves comfortable and we shall eat as soon as I return."
About an hour later, Aglarmir returned to find Estel soundly asleep. He lightly touched the human to wake him up. "Estel, it is time to eat. We still have a long ways to go tomorrow, you must keep up your strength."
Estel sat up from his bedroll slowly. For the first time in a month, he had been having the most wonderful sleep and dream to go along with it. He dreamed that he was back home in Imladris with his brothers and Ada. Oh, how he hoped Elladan and Elrohir were safe.
"Why the smile, little one?" Gilrean asked her son. "I was having a dream about home and Elladan and Elrohir and Ada. And that we were all together again. I miss them so much already."
"I know you do Estel, I do too, but you will see them again. Soon, you will be too busy to even remember to think about them. I'm sure they miss you very much as well. But now, let's see what the Elves have planned for us for supper, shall we?"
As Gilrean and Estel were talking Aglarmir and his brothers were setting the food out. There was wine, tea, lembas waybread and even some sweet treats for Estel. Taurnil poured the drinks; wine for Gilrean and tea for Estel. Balglin broke up the wafers and passed them out.
"Now Estel, eat this slowly, one wafer is enough to fill the stomach of a grown man for days. It is called lembas; we use it for long journeys to sustain our health and energy. My brothers and I thought it would be a fitting choice for this meal because we had heard you have never tasted it," Aglarmir stated.
"What is that leaf for?" Estel questioned. "This is a leaf from the great Mallorn. It keeps the lembas fresher longer."
"Oh, ok."
Estel was usually not one to say 'no' to food, but he didn't like the look of the waybread.
Slowly, he took a small bite and promptly began coughing so hard he thought his lungs would explode, but he tried to choke it down so that it would not seem rude to their hosts. He did not like the taste of honey and nuts and that was what the waybread was made out of. He tried to eat some more but his throat felt like it would close up at any moment if he took one more bite.
With a small tear in his eye, Estel looked up at Aglarmir. "I'm sorry. I tried, but I just don't like honey. You're not mad are you?"
Aglarmir and his brothers looked warily at each other. They had not been informed of Estel's one food dislike.
"No, of course we're not, Estel. Everyone has different tastes and some humans don't tolerate some Elven foods very well. Maybe one day you'll grow to like it. But you do need to eat something, here try one of these cakes. I promise there is no honey in them."
"Would you like to hear a story Estel? I think you may like this. You crossed over the river Silverlode coming into Lórien, yes?"
"I think that that was the name of it."
"Well, the other river that flows out of the forest on the Southern borders is called Nimrodel. It is named after a fair maiden.
An Elven maid there was of old,
A shining star by day:
Her mantle white was hemmed with gold,
Her shoes of silver-grey.
A star was bound upon her brows,
A light was on her hair
As sun upon the golden boughs
In Lórien the fair.
Her hair was long, her limbs were white,
And fair she was and free;
And in the wind she went as light
As leaf of linden-tree.
Beside the falls of Nimrodel,
By water clear and cool,
Her voice was as falling silver fell
Into the shining pool.
Where now she wanders none can tell,
In sunlight or in shade;
For lost of yore was Nimrodel
And in the mountains strayed.
The Elven-ship in haven grey
Beneath the mountain-lee
Awaited for her many a day
Beside the roaring sea.
A wind by night in Northern lands
Arose, and loud it cried,
And drove the ship from Elven-strands
Across the streaming tide.
When dawn came dim the land was lost,
The mountains sinking grey
Beyond the heaving waves that tossed
Their plumes of blinding spray.
Amroth beheld the fading shore
Now low beyond the swell,
And cursed the faithless ship that bore
Him far from Nimrodel.
Of old he was an Elven-king,
A lord of tree and glen,
When golden were the boughs in spring
In fair Lothlórien.
From helm to sea they saw him leap,
As arrow from the string,
And dive into the water deep,
As mew upon the wind.
The wind was in his flowing hair,
The foam about him shone;
After they saw him strong and fair
Go riding like a swan.
But from the West came no word,
And on the Hither Shore
No tidings Elven-folk have heard
Of Amroth evermore.
The Elves dowsed the lights and made ready for bed. Estel had fallen asleep. If the Elves had known it, he was imagining the sea, which he had never seen. To Estel, Elvish poetry invoked so much imagery, he could almost picture fair Nimrodel waiting for her true love, dancing in his dreams.
*Estel Arathornion and his anme, Gilrean – Estel, son of Arathorn and his mother, Gilrean