AN: Hey y'all! How are you? Last week was e-x-h-a-u-s-t-i-n-g for me, bc it was exam week, and yep teachers really like to conspire against us to give us hell.
Anyways, at least its midterm break so :)
Also, if you guys have noticed, I have edited the prologue. Only minor things, typos, and slight sentences change. But I do advise to have a look at it! I am going to slowly edit these chapters as I go, bc looking back is just so embarassing. Um yeah. So I strongly advise to check out the edited chapters once they're out, as they are going to be very much improved. Do not worry, I will always notify you if I edit a chapter. :) And, starting from now, I am going to add a quote or poem at the beginning of each chapter, usually one I strongly enjoy. When I will edit chapters, I will also add a quote, so really, I would read again this story once its edited if I were you. But Im not, so your choice ;)
Thank you all for the follows, faves and review :)
BIG SHOUT OUT TO Katia0203 FOR REVIEWING EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER (almost but who cares) OF THIS STORY! THANK YOU!
And we are 9 reviews away from 100! How sick is that? The hundredth reviewer will get a oneshot, about this story and its caracters. It can be about anything you'd like in this story,( e.g. Thranduil&Alysae, a scene you had in mind of her childhood,); I will not however write smut. I will post the oneshot on my profile and itll be dedicated to the 100th reviewer. So yeah, review peeps! ;)
Katia0203: You wrote eLEvEn reviews! I think I might love you. I am working on the typos dw. As for the Fellowship, she did not leave with them, because they did not plan to go through Lothlorien at first. So technically she could have gone with them, but its unnecessary danger. I hate goodbyes too :( And yep, spoons. WHo knew the twins could be so clever? I really really hope Galadriel can help Alysae too. Thank you sm, and hope you enjoy this chap!
Annabel Jones: I am sorry, mellon, I just love way too much teasing you. Anyways, this story is going to stay mysterious for a little while yet. Bare with me! It will all come to light as the story goes on! As for being a detective, yup ;) Thanks again :)
the8horcrux: I know right? Especially when she like transforms into this really creepy witch creature and yeah. But if I were her, then I would probably do the same, you know? World domination anyone? As for the reviews with all the theories, I cannot answer that, but it is an interesting idea! I really want to just write the truth out, but at the same time, I kinda like leaving you hanging so ;) Enjoy this chap!
mystarlight: Well, if you go back and read the prologue (which I strongly advice! as I've edited it a little), you will see the scene the mirror showed her. Remember, how Thranduil was? The cold king who interrogated the frightened little girl? Well, the mirror basically showed her a scene of her past. Thank you for your kind words! :)
MustardLady: I know! Except that Alysae saw way more than Rey did, probably way too much. And yes, I would regret it too, because these images would probably torment me. WHich is why, Galadriel is going to make a decision that I really do not like, but that I think is necessary in this chapter. As for the Do Not Worry, I want to shake Galadriel up, but at the same time, I know exactly why she said it, and I am agreeing with her. Hope you like this chap :)
PrettyRecklessLaura: Well I hope you like this one too! :)
Sorry about the vv long AN
. . . Chapter 16- Not a Farewell . . .
"So let us melt, and make no noise,
No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move;
'Twere profanation of our joys
To tell the laity our love.
Moving of th' earth brings harms and fears,
Men reckon what it did, and meant;
But trepidation of the spheres,
Though greater far, is innocent …"
John Donne, 'A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning'.
.~.
Lady Galadriel had lived for many long years.
She had seen the span of thousands of lifetimes, seen the earth gradually change, watched as the forests grew; and some things fell forgotten, whilst others rose to knowledge. She had seen the destruction of Gondolin, fallen by fire beasts, and saw the wise old Ents diminish; she saw terrible darkness rise to power, and then be defeated, only to rise again.
She had seen many things.
Whether it be from the swirling image of her mirror or with her very eyes, she had seen more than all the scribes of Arda could account for.
And yet, some things still managed to surprise her.
Her grandsons had spoken so highly of the mortal girl, adopted daughter of Thranduil, Alysae, that she had been curious. Her mirror had shown her nothing of this girl. Only a strange blankness, no past whatsoever.
So she had extended an invitation to the girl, for dinner, to quench her curiosity. She had not expected what she saw.
Like a vision of the past, a distant dream, and yet a sight she saw every night; for a second she had thought it was Celebrian, her daughter, entering the room like a drifting reverie.
With golden hair that fell in waves, and large blue eyes amid a fair face, Alysae had come in like a haunting angel; and in her hair had glowed a butterfly brooch.
My little gwilwileth...
Galadriel had been taken aback. She had nearly let out a gasp of shock, nearly had run to the girl to make sure that Celebrian, her Celebrian was truly here, and not another dream.
But then Alysae had straightened up, and her hair was darker than Celebrian's, and her face was not the same, and her eyes were silver-gray and not the cerulean of her daughter.
Hurt and bitter disappointment had blossomed in her chest but she had forced herself to remain unchanged, to betray none of her thoughts.
Through her bond, she had felt Celeborn stiffen at her side, and without a doubt she knew he had seen the same image as she. It had been hard.
And Alysae had turned out to be extremely pleasant; polite and kind, and certainly not afraid to bring the twins down a few notches. But the weight of sorrow and past hurt hung heavy over her. Galadriel had entered the girl's mind, it had confirmed what she had first seen when Alysae had arrived: the young girl needed her help. To do so, Galadriel knew that the only way to reveal the secrets of her past, was to look into the mirror.
It was not an easy decision.
To look into the mirror was to accept that you might never be the same; one never knew what they could see. It was also rather confusiong, as Galadriel knew well. Images seen without context rarely made sense, and only served to drive one insane, trying to figure out what it all meant. And the mirror had a will of its own, only showing certain things; it showed not what you wanted to see, but what you needed to see; and if one looked closely enough, one could see that the answer that one seeked was usually right in front of them.
And so Galadriel had beckoned the girl to come and look into the mirror.
She had waited, as she always did, but she knew that they could never resist the pull, the ones beckoned by the mirror, the tentation of knowledge. Galadriel had decided not to enter the girl's mind as she made her decision, choosing instead to silently observe. Was Alysae going to look into the mirror? Looking into her silver-blue eyes, one could see the indecision, the thoughts, the options being weighted and measured carefully, in their swirling depths.
And then the girl had chosen to look into the mirror. Galadriel knew that Alysae was aware of the dangers surrounding her mirror, so she said nothing, influenced her not. The Lady was neither surprised nor disappointed, expecting both outcomes, and yet knowing that Alysae would choose this, like knowing the path taken everyday to one's home.
Through the girl's mind she had watched, through her large eyes like two mirroring pools she had seen, all that had been wanting to come to light for centuries.
Galadriel had not expected those images; the mirror had revealed more to her than it had to Alysae, and now she knew the answers to all her questions.
She knew who the girl truly was.
And she knew why the girl needed her help badly, although she guessed most of the cause.
And she also knew that the girl was very most distressed, and that her memories of the mirror would only haunt her. So she tucked them away. Temporarily. There was no need to weaken the girl's mind with tormenting images after all. It would only accelarate the processus of fading that the girl was already experiencing.
-xxx-
"Wake up, Alysae!"
The voice cut through the darkness, and Alysae groggily opened one eyelid after the other. Warm light nearly blinded her; she shut her eyes with a groan of pain.
"What happened?" she asked sluggishly, her tongue feeling heavy in her mouth.
"Wake up!" the voice came again, feminine and impatient.
Alysae forced her eyes open once more, this time a little more carefully. The interwoven branches of the ceiling came into view, forming an intricate knitted cover of natural silver and gold.
Alysae raised her head; in the doorway stood Laereth, with her hands on her hips.
"Finally! I though that you would never wake up," the elleth chided her with a smile. "What did you dream of, that it was so hard for you to return to the world of the living?"
Alysae scrunched her nose in confusion. "It's strange; I cannot seem to be able to recall."
"It matters little, I have been trying to wake you for ten minutes now!"
"Well I am awake now," said Alysae, rubbing at her eyes.
"Come quick!" The elleth drew the covers back from Alysae, leaving her legs cold and bare. "Get ready now for the Lords Elladan and Elrohir Elrondion are to depart in scarcely an hour."
Alysae froze. "What?"
Laereth shook her head. "Have you lost your head? I thought you knew that already!"
"But, now?"
"Yes, now," Laereth smiled helplessly. "Let us get you dressed, for I fear you shall miss their departure!"
-xxx-
"It is nearly time, is it not, brother?" asked Elladan.
Elrohir sighed. "We leave in ten minutes." He glanced back to the path that led to the staircase to the talans. It was empty, not a sound drifted through; the silver glow descended upon it like rays of moonlight.
His gaze strayed overhead, to the top of the trees, where the branches of argent and leaves like sheets of gold formed a roof, where platforms strayed and on them talans stood, and where Alysae should be.
They had already said their goodbyes to their grandparents earlier on.
Galadriel and Celeborn had stood together, mighty and proud, and untainted as snow. Celeborn had given them both a light embrace and a clasp of the shoulder, whilst Galadriel had tenderly kissed their brow.
She had pushed Elrohir's hair back and looked into his eyes, her own keen and gentle. "Do not despair, my daughter's son," her voice echoed in his mind like a murmur. "Have hope, for your wishes shall be answered, and I sense great happiness in your future." Her features turned grave. "But before that, there will be darkness and much pain and sorrow. Do not lose your hope in those dreadful times."
Then she had turned away and spoken with his brother while he pondered on her words.
She had sensed his inner turmoil, had seen his feelings, and had known his thoughts. There was no hiding anything from her. From what the lady had told her, she had probably looked into her mirror to know such things. Great happiness? He hoped it was true. However the part where she talked about darkness and pain, and suffering, did not make Elrohir feel any better. It could only be about the war against Sauron. Was he going to lose people he loved?
Elrohir shook his head in irritation.
It was no use turning his grandmother's words in his mind; it would only make him go insane trying to find the meaning behind each word. The dark haired elf frowned. His grandmother always did that. Offer extremely cryptic word right before a parting, to leave one pondering until sick.
He wished his grandmother had not told him that. And yet, he was grateful for it; to know that when the night was darkest, without a flicker of light, the Sun would still come up after it.
He sighed again. He would miss the sense of peace and serenity, and also that quiet power, which came from Lothlorien; would miss the golden hues of the mallyrn leaves, like dustings of treasure; would miss the way the silver trunks of the mallyrn stretched impossibly high over head, and how stairs slithered around them like dwinding ropes. He would miss the talans that felt like they were floating in air, so high they were.
Movement caught his eye, something white had fluttered in his sight. Someone was running down the stairs, occasionnally passing from view as the staircase turned and twisted round the trunk; she lifted her white dress like a drop of snow, or a drifting cloud, so that she would not trip against the long hem. Her hair, like a shawl of gold it waved behind her, pushed back by the force of her speed.
Alysae.
Elrohir remarked silently that in the distance, she looked like a white petal caught in the wind. Soft and gentle, fluttering here and there, descending slowly to the earth. Or maybe she looked like a snowflake, delicate, wonderful to behold, unique and small and refreshing.
"Alysae's coming," Elladan said behind him, startling him. His twin brother was staring towards Alysae as well, watching as she came ever closer and closer. Soon, she'd be there.
"I thought she'd never come," Elrohir said nonchalantly, although relief took him at the sight of her.
Small seconds passed, and in the paths before them, arrived a panting Alysae. Her cheeks were flushed with exercice, and her eyes were bright. Her chest rose and fell as she took deep breaths.
She dropped the hem of her dress and advanced slowly toward them, taking a moment to catch her breath. A strand of yellow hair fell against her flushed cheek.
"I thought... you'd be gone... by the time... I arrived," she said between breaths, relief filling her eyes.
"Well obviously we are not," drawled Elladan. "You're late. What happened?"
Alysae blushed, although it changed little to the coloration of her cheeks, and brushed at her hair, pushing golden strands behind her ears, and trying to look more put together.
"I was asleep," she mumbled, looking at her shoes. She straightened up. "It does not matter anymore. I came to tell you goodbye."
She glanced at something in her hands, and it was only then that Elrohir realised that she was holding on to two pieces of paper. It was tradition: everytime they left, or if she was the one leaving back to Mirkwood, she offered the twins drawings.
Her drawings were always sloppy and a little disfigured (the only thing she drew well were foxes, and no one understood why), but Elrohir loved them just the same. Elladan always teased, saying that they were an abomination to nature, and should not be allowed to exist.
But Elrohir knew that his twin treasured them as well.
Ater all, they all knew that every second mattered when being involved with the lives of mortal Men. Soon, in what would be the blink of an eye for them, she would be old and withered. Elrohir swallowed.
He did not want to think about that. Too many times had he seen friends of his die before his very eyes.
Alysae stepped forward, bringing him back from his thoughts. She cleared her throat and held one of the sheets out to Elladan.
"I know you might not see this, but it is your horse there-" she pointed to a brown splatter, that looked like a potato with six legs "- and here is you, Ro, Las, and me." She gestured to four sticks with what appeared to be different coloured hair.
Elrohir glanced behind his twin's shoulder to see a very abstract painting. The drawing was awful, but the colours were beautiful, and Elrohir knew that she had spent a lot of time on it, and that each stroke of colour meant something to her, in a strange beautiful way. In the bottom right hand corner, she had drawn her signature fox. For some reason, Elrohir though it looked sad, with a tear glistening at the corner of his eye, or that may just be his imagination.
"It's... wonderful, Alys," said Elladan. "I never would have guessed that it was a horse!"
Alysae let out a small, choked laugh. She wiped at her eyes. "This way you will remember me."
Elrohir frowned; it sounded like she was saying farewell, or expected not to see them ever again. Before he could voice his concern, she turned to him, handing out the other paper.
Her startling silver blue eyes met his, and in them he could see himself reflected. He took the paper, turning it to study the drawing.
It was of a forest in winter, snow coating the ground and branches like a cold untainted blanket. A lone fox stood in the middle of it, staring towards him with uncertain eyes. There were dark bushes and in them white splatters, that Elrohir could only guess were berries. The trunks of the trees were wobbly, and the bushes looked like tangled hair, but the ellon knew that it was only the surface of the drawing.
He could see how she had carefully chosen each colour, how the white of the snow was slightly tainted in blue and grey, how the trees seemed to beckon him, and whisper secrets loud enough for him to hear; he could see how the fox seemed ready to tell him something, or maybe to dart away out of reach. And everything in the drawing shouted goodbye.
Alysae bit her lip. "I know the trees are not very good, but they are essentially lines, so it is not so hard as I thought it would be. The white spots are snowberries, my favourites. It is Greenwood in winter, or Mirkwood as it is known among men."
Elrohir looked up. "This is wonderful, Alys," he murmured.
Elladan glanced at the drawing. "I guess it's okay?" He took in the wobbly lines with a slight grimace. "I still do not understand how you can draw foxes so well, and yet not be able to draw anything else anywhere near decent."
Elrohir elbowed his twin. Elladan shrugged helplessly. "It's true, though."
"No, he's right," Alysae admitted with a small smile. "I truly am terrible at drawing, although I enjoy the use of colours. I hope that you do not mind the awfulness of them. I heard long ago that gifts have no purpose, only intentions. And although my presents for you are not useful in the slightliest, I hope you will treasure them, and remember them long after I am gone, for the love and friendship I bear for you both will last through the ages, I hope."
Elrohir felt his mouth open. "But..." he began.
"Why?" Elladan cut him off, although he was not angry at his twin, for he had said the very question he wanted to ask. His eyebrows were drawn together. "Why such dark words? You have kept on repeating "remember me", are you planning on running away?"
Alysae shook her head violently. "Of course not!" She tucked a strand that had fallen back into her face behind her ear. "It is only that we are at war, and in these dark times, things are bound to happen. I have come to realise that every second matters, as Death can take anyone easily and at any time, and I..." her voice faltered, "I could not bear to have either one of you d-die." She took a breath, wringing her hands, and tugging at her skirt. Both twins were staring at her intently, with grave expressions on their faces.
"I have come to care for you both like brothers," she continued in a breath, "and should something happen to you or me, I want you to know that and, I would like, I would like to know that maybe I mattered a little to you both. I know you have seen the lifetimes of countless men, and that I am one in many but-"
She broke of with a gasp as Elladan roughly took her by the arm and shook her.
"Silly girl!" he said. "As if we could forget a girl such as you!"
He unfolded her in his arms and she clutched at his chest like a lifeline, tears running freely down her face. She made no sound safe for the occasionnal sniffle. Elrohir watched her wide eyes.
This was not the same girl he remembered, running freely round all of Imladris barefoot and with her hair flying to the wind. It was not the girl who'd laugh and make jokes, and play pranks with them, or the one who liked to sit in silence with their father or Aragorn to "contemplate the wonders of nature".
No, this Alysae was quite changed. She seemed bitter and full of sorrow. She seemed like she had already seen all her loved ones die.
Elladan caught his eye and they shared a significant and meaningful look.
Elrohir hesitantly patted her back. "At the risk of sounding like Aragorn, I must tell you, have hope. When the night is darkest, and all joy seems to be gone from this world, when the moon has disappeared behind a sombre cloud, remember that the Sun always comes up, and that the wind pushes the clouds back. Have hope Alysae." He saw her shoulders shake against his brother's chest.
"You are the wind," he said. "You are strong and brave like the wind. Sometimes gentle and soft and murmuring, wondeful and cool as the breeze, other times strong and unwavering and proud, like the howling that breaks rocks and moves mountains. It is time for you to push back the clouds.
"This is not a farewell, Alysae," he continued, as she turned around in Elladan's arms to look at him. Her eyes were shining and filled with tears, her cheeks wet, but she regarded him all the same. "This is a goodbye, and a promise to see each other again."
"How can you promise that?" she murmured, her voice a croak. "How can you promise you'll come back?"
Elrohir took her hand, limp and cold in his own, bigger one. "I cannot promise you anything. But, Alysae, it does you no good to mourn for things that are still there. Have hope for it is not daylight yet."
She sniffed and brushed at her cheeks. "I hope you are right, Elrohir Elrondion."
"I might loathe to say this, but he is," said Elladan. "Do not forsake hope, for it does not suit you."
Alysae let out a small trembling laugh. "Its not a farewell," she said.
"It's not a farewell," repeated Elrohir.
And when their horses rode away, becoming distant figures and merging with the horizon, Alysae saw them raise their hands into the air in a silent salute, before they disappeared from view. And although she hoped she might see them again, she was less sure about that. But at least, she hoped.
Until we meet again.
-xxx-
gwilwileth- butterfly
A little sad and angsty. Alysae gives presents, and Galadriel has got her own POV! Tell me what you think :)
Remember, the 100th reviewer gets a oneshot!
Also (last thing I promise!) chapter 1 will be edited soon!