Chapter 50
The Dark-elf and the Dawn-maiden
Thranduil woke up upon hearing strange screeching noises. It echoed in his mind, so powerful and mysterious that it made his head to swirl and his vision to blur. He closed his eyes for a few minutes, waiting until the screech faltered into the dark part of his mind. When he opened his eyes again, he looked around his room. It was barely morning, yet he was already panting like he ran through the woods. He clutched his head and blinked again, image of a dark and hooded figure forming in his mind. In his years of living, he could not remember anything that resembled the dark figure. The long, trailing shriek returned momentarily, as he imagined the figure closing in on him with one armoured fist reaching out for him.
Unable to bear it alone, Thranduil screamed.
Erynlith woke up to the shouting of the wardens. She immediately sat up on her bed, grey eyes wildly looking for signs of trouble. Someone was shouting in Silvan, and another replied, and another. Heavy and quick footfalls sounded in the courtyard. Yawning, Erynlith got out of bed and leaned on the silver railing, watching as Orgilion and his scouts panicking down below. She could barely understand what was being said, but she heard someone shout "Nimrodel".
At once, her attention perked and her sleepiness was suddenly gone. Grabbing her bow and quiver, she fixed herself and went downstairs.
"What is happening?"
No one seemed to notice her. Orgilion was running towards the barracks, while barking out orders. Most of the Nandorin folk were whispering and returning to their homes, up in the flets where it was safe.
She saw the familiar young warden and tugged at his hand. "What happened to Nimrodel?"
Haldir was panting, a thin sheet of sweat covering his forehead. "Lady Nimrodel has run away last night. We are assembling teams to search for her, as per the King's orders."
"You—" She looked dismayed. "How could you lose track of her?"
"I... I did not... I mean..." He decided to swallow his pride. "I am sorry, Erfaron."
She was surprised to hear him apologize. "No," she told him gently. "I am not blaming you. No one is to blame. Come, I will help to look for her." She began to jog towards the direction of the barracks.
"But the King—"
"The King lies on his bed, worried about his betrothed." Erynlith placed her hands flat on her hips. "Are you coming with me or must I do this alone?"
Haldir smiled. "Not alone, Erfaron. You have my word."
"Goodie." She beamed at him and reached out to ruffle his hair. "Let's go."
"Right." He sighed and fixed his dishevelled hair. It had taken him ten minutes that morning to get the braids right.
Once at the barracks, everyone was running to and fro. Orgilion was still shouting orders, and the scouts he called out immediately went to positions or dashed off to fetch something. Most of the scouts were already scattering around the area and clutching their bows and horns (to signal if anything happened). Among the running scouts were two elves with silver-gold hair and blue-grey eyes; one had his hair pulled in a ponytail, while the second braided his hair into a simpler fashion. Both wore similar tunics and breeches, carried the same bow and quiver, only that the fletching of their arrows were green and red.
When he saw them running off, Haldir called out to his brothers.
"Orophin! Rúmil!"
Both young elves looked up and ran back to him. Haldir cleared his throat and gestured to his female companion. "I have the honour to introduce you to Erfaron. Erfaron, these are my younger brothers, Orophin and Rúmil."
Erynlith smiled pleasantly at them, and bowed a little. "Mae govannen."
"M-Mae govannen... Erfaron." Orophin was fifty years younger than Haldir, though he stood as tall as his older brother now. His hair was in a long ponytail. He looked kind and amiable, unlike the first impression Haldir had on others.
Rúmil offered his hand and said, "Welcome back to Lórinand, Erfaron." He was panting from running throughout the whole morning, though he smiled a very sweet smile. Up close, his eyes looked more blue-green instead of grey, and his hair seemed more silver than pale golden.
"It is very wonderful to meet you both, tra-la," Erynlith singsonged. Standing beside three younger elves reminded her of Elladan and Elrohir, though she hoped that Haldir remained serious and calm, and Orophin and Rúmil not to be as mischievous and playful as the two sons of Elrond.
"Will you be looking for Lady Nimrodel, too?" Rúmil asked, looking a little excited.
She nodded. "Yes, it is more efficient if we worked together, hm?"
"What if wargs appear? Or even those dwarves from Moria?" Orophin made a little dismayed face. Young as he was, he and Rúmil had never seen a warg so close; Haldir had seen a juvenile once, and barely escaped without a bruise on his arm. After he killed it, he trained himself to become better and better.
"Oh, we can take care of wargs, tra-la." She waved Orgilion over and the Chief Marchwarden jogged towards her. She said to him, "Are we leaving? Are the groups ready to depart?"
"You're coming?" Orgilion clutched his belly and laughed out. "But of course you are! I am planning to dispatch groups on each corner of the realm," he explained, pointing his index finger towards north, south, east and west. He held up four fingers in her face. "We will have four teams to scour the lands, with twenty elves each. I am sending scouts to remain in the barracks and keep on watching the surroundings while we search for Lady Nimrodel."
Erynlith turned to the young scouts, and smiled. "I am counting on Rúmil and Orophin to keep watch."
Rúmil puffed out his chest. "You can count on me, Erfaron!" he chirped.
"Me, too." Orophin saluted to her and began to pull his brother. "We are going to our posts now. Be careful, Erfaron!"
"Hey, how could you forget about me!?" Haldir called out.
"Oh! Take care as well, brother!" Orophin and Rúmil snickered and dashed off.
Despite pretending to glare, Haldir found himself chuckling. His brothers were younger than him by a couple of decades, though it was already him who raised them. Their father was one of King Amroth's trusted marchwardens and fought under King Amdír's banner during the War of the Last Alliance. After the war, he walked on a limp and continued serving Amroth, until he was caught up in a skirmish in the Gladden Fields while travelling back home from an errand, and was ambushed by orcs. Three days later, his body was washed up on the shores of Anduin, where King Amroth and Orgilion had pulled him and brought him back to the infirmary. His father was cold and dead long before he reached the infirmary; and his wife, a seamstress who made dresses for Lady Nimrodel and sometimes Erfaron, had cried her eyes out day in and day out, quite forgetting that she had three young sons to take care of.
A hundred years was still a child by Elven standards, especially when you walk among wardens and counsellors who had walked this world for thousands of years. Haldir, then barely a hundred years, had taken care of the household while his mother wept, fed Orophin three times a day (five if he was really hungry), and made little Rúmil stop from eating dirt. He cooked and washed clothes in the morning and afternoon, trained himself in archery when the little ones were asleep, served dinner, told bedtime stories about Erfaron and the orcs and wargs, and trained archery again at midnight. Lather, rinse, repeat.
"Shall we get going?"
Erynlith's voice snapped him back from his trance.
Haldir looked down at her and saw that she was already carrying her bow and had her quiver strapped across her back. She was in the middle of strapping her two white daggers behind her waist when Orgilion returned with a stallion in tow.
"The King wishes you well, Erfaron," the Chief Marchwarden said, handling the reins of the horse. "Just be careful, he said. He believes you will find her."
"How thoughtful of him." She lifted herself and settled on the saddle. She turned to Haldir. "Well, are you riding with me or not?"
His blue-grey eyes glanced at Orgilion, who was now crossing the field to return to the others. Then, he leaned in and lowered his voice. "Am I allowed to?"
She blinked at him. "Of course you are! Who could say otherwise?"
"N-No one." He sighed and climbed on the horse. He made sure his hands were not touching her, and his chest was not pressing against her smaller frame. Instead, his hands were flat on the stallion's rear, to balance his weight, while his strong legs were firm on the sides.
"Time to go, tra-la-la." She began to sing as she whirled her stallion around and went to exit the forest.
It was still midafternoon, yet the skies were dark and it seemed rain would come soon. In Greenwood, it was darker.
Nimrodel walked under the shade of the thick branches and her feet were caked with both hard earth and bits of grass and roots. Whenever she looked up, she could barely see sunlight passing through the leaves, and whenever she looked ahead of her, tangles of overgrown roots, strange bushes with strange red berries lined on her right side, while frightening oak trees with sharp branches stood in a column on her left. The road was barely noticeable, winding ahead like an unknown maze.
She heard something rustle in the bush. Her head snapped immediately, and saw that it was only a small critter living in the woods. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Nimrodel moved forward and continued traversing this dark forest. Greenwood had been so beautiful, she remembered, though she had never been in the Elvenking's palace since he ascended the throne after the War. It had always been Thranduil who came to Lórinand.
Must I regret this? She thought over and over, following the faded road. She kept her eyes focused beside her, fearing that something might leap at her and seize her. The cold wind breezed past her, chilling her to the bone; and for the forest time since leaving the golden wood, she regretted that she did not bring any cloak to warm her. When the wind howled again, she shivered and continued on. Wind and dark forest, nothing to worry about, she assured herself.
She cried out in pain when she stumbled upon a boulder, and she fell on the ground face first. Pain stung her right foot. Blood followed next. Nimrodel turned away at the sight of her wound and blood; now she was starting to regret her decision. If Amroth had only been agreeable and agreed to leave Middle-earth with her, she wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. She forced herself to stand, walking limply, and continued on.
The wind howled again. Only now, she did not feel the wind.
She looked behind her, feeling eyes watching her movement. Something was snapping quietly, most likely twigs. Nimrodel swore she was not the one doing that. She backed away slowly, her wide blue eyes searching for anything. Something was growling, crawling, watching her. It made chills ran up her spine; and when a pair of bloodshot eyes glared at her from the darkness up ahead, Nimrodel sprinted off.
Then, large, tawny figure was running alongside her.
"Erfaron, have you been to Greenwood?"
She paused and glanced at him. She did not want to talk about it right now. "Why do you ask, tra-la?"
He shrugged. "No particular reason."
"Let me tell you a story instead." Erynlith hummed a little tune; she really wished her harp was there with her, but she had left it with Glorfindel back home. She missed him, and wondered if he did sleep at night like she told him.
"Now, this is a story of a little lonely elf who lived in a very dark place. He lived alone, ate alone, sang alone. He only had one friend, but she was mean and strict to him. So, he tried looking for another friend. One dusk, while still in the darkness and watching the earth, he saw another elf by the river. As he looked, he could not help but feel light-hearted and relieved to see the river-elf."
Haldir made a face. "Please don't tell me this is another of those love stories."
"A little." She grinned and laughed when the warden shuddered.
"Okay, so the dark-elf found the river-elf and thought she was enchanting. What happened next?"
Erynlith guided the stallion across the Gladden Fields, the marshlands located east of the Misty Moutains. It was dark and barren, the area covered with thin fog and reeking smell. Many pools and puddles dappled the place, with beds of reeds and surprisingly, small yellow wildflowers poked from the ashen fields. According to lore, it was here where Isildur, King Elendil's son who fought in the War of the Last Alliance, had lost a golden ring so important that Orcs ambushed Isildur and his company in these marshlands.
She caught glimpse of something moving across the field.
"After the dark-elf found her," she continued, keeping Haldir's attention focused on her, "he tried to get out of the darkness. He slipped past his sleeping friend, who turned out to be the dawn-maiden, and went down to earth to introduce himself to the enchantress. Now, the river-elf looked up from the water and saw him coming, a tall and dark figure from the skies."
Whatever was following them in the darkness was growling, and she urged the horse faster, keeping a smile directed at Haldir.
"How did the dark-elf do it? Come down from the skies, I mean."
"Oh, you know some elves have very strange abilities. Take Lord Elrond for example: he could foresee events from the future, but he cannot control it. He said it only occurs to him every once in a while, and in vague hints." She shook her head and snapped at the reins; Haldir would have rolled off the horse if he hadn't grabbed the edge of her saddle. "Back to the story: when the dark-elf finally beheld the river-maiden, he smiled and introduced himself to her. She seemed wary at first, but offered her hand and smiled as well. Then—Haldir, could you hold on tightly, please?"
He hesitated for a moment, but saw the serious look on her face. He nodded, wrapping one strong arm around her waist while the other held his longbow. For the second time, he almost slipped from the horse when it galloped and sprinted like a projectile. Haldir looked behind him and could see something robust and sleek following them. He instinctively moved to draw his bow and arrow, but his companion stopped him by tugging at his tunic sleeve.
"Not yet," Erynlith told him, her voice sounded alert and patient. She was focused on passing through the Gladden Fields without having to fight; if it came to that, she and Haldir could be caught up in the water, tangled in the reeds, and most frightening, cornered and assaulted. She grabbed his other hand and wrapped it around her waist.
"Before the sun started to rise, the dark-elf bid goodbye to the river-maiden and returned to the skies. He found that the dawn-maiden was still sleeping. A few minutes later, she woke up and greeted her friend."
Haldir looked again and now saw a large warg snapping at their heels. It was almost as large as their stallion, its sharp and yellow fangs covered by white foam, the angry amber eyes staring up at him. It was a huge success for him to snatch his left arm back from Erynlith, who wheeled the horse and urged it sharply to the left as another grey warg appeared in front and tried to cut them off. The horse staggered for a while, its hooves slipping into the soft mud, and let out a laboured neigh. Haldir took an arrow, fired, and missed the warg behind them. He gritted his teeth and shouted a curse.
Erynlith dug her heels on the sides of the stallion, mustering it ever faster. She could see the other end of the Gladden Fields. "Every day since then, the dark-elf continued visiting the river-maiden," she continued with her story, "as long as the dawn-maiden did not find out and woke up with the dark-elf in the skies. However—"
"Erfaron, this is not the time for stories!" Haldir fired another arrow, and despite the unsteady aim, it hit the first warg on the shoulder, but not enough to completely dispatch it.
"However," she sternly insisted on her story, "almost a year after the dark-elf and the river-maiden started seeing each other; the dawn-maiden became suspicious. She always tried to catch her friend in the act of leaving the skies, but she always falls asleep after dawn and—"
He ducked his head as the brown warg bolted—mouth wide open and golden eyes bulging—and sighed in relief when the creature stumbled on one of the pools with a muffled bark. The second one was closing in on their right, racing beside the stallion, with its muzzle all wrinkled and fangs showed. Haldir balanced himself on the horse, placed his hands flat on the rear, and lifted his right leg to deliver a strong kick.
The smaller grey warg whined at the impact, its vision blurring for a moment. Gradually, it stopped following to paw at its aching eyes.
"Ah, you are amazing!" Erynlith praised and continued leading the horse outside the marshland. Then, with a soft voice, she continued: "One day, the dawn-maiden awakened and found her friend to be gone. She looked down to the earth and saw him with the river-maiden, and she was angry. The dawn-maiden went to earth herself, clad in so much light that even the dark-elf cannot bear looking directly to her. She cursed the dark-elf for leaving, for he was not allowed to leave the skies. The dark-elf pleaded and asked for her forgiveness, now admitting that he has fallen in love with—"
"I knew it was going to be a love story," Haldir complained, running his fingers through his hair. Sweat trickled from his forehead, and he was incredibly thirsty.
"Yes, you did see that coming, hm?" She smiled.
"I did, but I want to hear the rest."
"All right! He fell in love with the river-maiden and promised not to disobey again, as long as he and his love would be together in the skies. The dawn-maiden perceived that he was telling the truth, but she knew that the river-maiden belonged in the earth. 'I'll do anything', the dark-elf told her desperately. 'I want to be with her forever and ever'. 'Do you really?' the dawn-maiden replied. And the dark-elf nodded and said, 'Yes, so please'. Using her powers, the dawn-maiden touched the river-maiden on the heart and turned her into something bright and beautiful. When the light faded, the dark-elf was stunned that his love had disappeared, and asked where she was. 'Up in the heavens where the two of you could be together', the dawn-maiden said and smiled. 'You can return home now.' Thus, looking high above him, the dark-elf saw something shining in the heavens, so silver and bright, and knew at once that it was his river-maiden turned into something else—the Morning Star."
Finally, the Gladden Fields came into an end. Before them were massive field and the river Anduin on the right. The foggy area seemed to have gone with the marshlands; and the wargs did not continue pursuing them. The Sun was blazing above, warming their skins, and for a moment, Haldir was relieved to get out of trouble, unscathed.
He looked at his companion and gave her a questioning look. "What happened to the dark-elf and the star-maiden, Erfaron?"
"Oh, the three of them returned to the heavens, and stayed there during the morning, afternoon, and evening. The dark-elf did not seek to leave the heavens anymore because his love is with him now, and the dawn-maiden, contented, fell back to sleep." She beamed up at him. "And they lived happily ever after."
Next Chapter: More Eryn and Haldir misadventures. Nimrodel in freaking Greenwood!
Author's Notes: How strange is it that I've updated in less than a week? Normally, we should celebrate about it, but I've seen the news about what happened to Paris, Lebanon and Japan. Really, what is happening to our world? I hope all our friends in those countries are safe, especially because I have friends living in Japan so I feel emotional about these incidents. Let's all pray for them.
Now then, what do we have here in this chapter? We've got some Thranduil dilemma, the introduction of Orophin and Rumil (you two cutesies!), and the Eryn and Haldir misadventures! Eryn is supposed to sing the story, but because I am feeling rather lazy to come up with one, I decided to make her talk about it instead. Some of you might find the story a little weird and out of place. Then again, it's Eryn! She's bound to talk about some weird things sooner or later. Truth be told though, I think it may have a hidden meaning or two. *shrugs*
*Overlord Rousdower - OMG Thrandy has Eryn senses! Now I imagine him holding a radar that beeps and glows red when Eryn comes near! XD
Yes, oohhh, I've seen your Sauron/OC! Make it happen! Make Sauron/OC happen because I follow Phobs too and her Melkor/Sauron arts are awesomesauce! I understand the feeling of writing another story while you still have other unfinished ones... but 12 unfinished stories?! You are the chosen one, my Lord Rousy! Please do bring me riding and fencing next time~!
*EllethofRivendell - Thank you very much for following! And thank you for the birthday greeting! *hugs* Hope you enjoy the story more!
*Rosiethehobbit17 - The morning I woke up and read your review, I think I spent full two minutes laughing and rolling on the bed! Nimrodel is gone? YES LET HER LEAVE! Her role could be replaced by a houseplant and it wouldn't even make a difference! Call Thrandy because we definitely need to partaaay! XD You made my day! Thank you!
*Xxdarkrose18 - Yes, something should really happen to Nimrodel because she is such a spoiled brat! Though I did kind of made her that way so... Thank you for the review! Good to see you here~!
*Star of Sea - OHH, let Thrandy and Eryn go together so we could have Glorfy, Haldir and Amroth for ourselves! I don't mind either of them just give me an elf, Mr. Tolkien! *gross sobbing in the corner*
You read while in class! *high five* I always do that when the subject gets boring and stuff, but don't get too distracted! Classes are still important! Most importantly, don't get caught by the teacher. *winks, then laughs evilly*
*Lord Illyren - Worry not, my Lord! Each chapter brings them closer together! Glorfindel should start becoming nervous because Thrandy is the real deal!
*Zip001 - Nimrod? More like NIMRUDE! HA! Guys? Anyone? Oh, okay... LOL but moving on: I would have made Eryn come back to Mirrormere and show those dwarves some manners, but I figured it would be out of her character, because she's not an aggressive elf to begin with. She's all songs and flowers and trees which would make it more unlikely. Her last remark to Haldir was meant to be a little tease, because (like you said) Haldir is too serious.
*juliacensi95 - Guilia~! I missed you! *hugs*
Aww, it's all right if you cannot review right away because you have exams. (Exams are important, children! Keep studying!) I go to a university too and I have so much time in my hands lately that I could update chapters every now and then. May I ask what you're studying in university?
You got it right with Nimrodel! She's a runner from everything: Amroth refuses to grant something=throw tantrums, wardens are not friendly with her=complains); and like you said, very spoiled. She gets what she wants because she has Amroth under her sleeves, and to make it worse, Amroth spoils her even more. Spoils her rotten! Like pouring oil into the fire! Like Erestor, she's selfish and does not think much of others. But that's okay! Nimrodel's gone to Greenwood and we know who are searching for her and we know there's an Elvenking waiting... *fangirls*
No need to apologize for the long review! I love reading them! I hope I know more people like you in real life, someone I could chat with in a bar and talk for hours about books and stuff... I would really like that a lot!
Thank you for stopping by even if you have exams. LOL. Good luck on the exam! See you next chapter~! ( ˘ ³˘)
P.S. I am surprised you still like Nimrodel. Some really dislike her and Celairis, our favourite Chief Counsellor (or is it Erestor's title?)