Gwin and crew spend the night up in the mountains, and she reflects on her past while doing something she hasn't done for hundreds of years. Hope you like the chapter!

Chapter 94

I shivered as I huddled in my cloak while on first watch. Luckily the rain had ceased, and it was quiet, with the exception of the soft snores (or perhaps not so soft in Golodir's case) of my companions. The stars were veiled by the clouds, and my eyes were sharp on my surroundings. I scanned the cliffs above us, looking for any signs of movement. No one had reason to suspect our journey, so I did not anticipate any sort of attack from goblins or orcs, but it was always prudent to prepare for any eventuality. Lothrandir was sitting apart from me, fixing up his little hand harp. My fingers twitched as I beheld it. I had not played for quite some time, and found I missed it. In fact, it had been centuries. When I first came to Celondim, I used music to try and cope with the loss of my friends in the attack of Edhelion. Over time, I found myself playing less and less, before setting it aside entirely as things became more dire. Therefore, I had left mine in Celondim, as it was not practical to carry it around all over Middle Earth; apparently Lothrandir disagreed.

"Do you play?" Lothrandir asked, jolting me out of my thoughts.

I shrugged, "A bit." He gave me a look, indicating I should elaborate. "I have one of my own, but I do not have it with me. I grew up playing it and…" I sighed, not wanting to reflect on the painful memory. "I had hoped to become a professional musician one day, when I was young." I looked down at my hands, and relaxed them as I noted they were gripping my cloak tightly. "Some dreams are not meant to be, I suppose." I did not want to see Lothrandir's pitying gaze, so I kept my eyes on my lap.

Apparently deciding he wanted to keep speaking on this, I noticed him settle down next to me. "Perhaps, but perhaps not. Maybe, when this is all over, you could pursue your dream once more?" he asked encouragingly.

I shrugged in response, not knowing what to say. Suddenly he was pressing the harp into my hands, and I instinctively positioned it correctly so my fingers were hovering over the strings.

"Give it a try," Lothrandir murmured.

"I…I am not sure I remember how," I replied quietly, feeling unsure.

"I am certain you do," Lothrandir insisted. "Play something, and do not worry about performing for me. Do it for yourself."

I hesitated for another moment, before plucking a few strings uncertainly. They were perfectly in tune, and I felt a thrill move through me as a familiar melody flowed from my fingers to the instrument. It was an easy one, which I had learned when I first began to play. The words of the song spoke about the forest, and the happiness my people found beneath the trees. A memory of my mother teaching it to me hit me hard, and I faltered. I could almost hear her gentle rebuke, "Try again Gwinnie. Go back to the first verse and consider what the song means to you; this will help you find your way forward."

Yes Naneth, I will try again. I continued on from where I had stopped, and closed my eyes as I visualized the green leaves of the trees, once so healthy and full of life. The sunlight peeked through in beams of warmth, reflecting prettily on the lake near my childhood home. The long grass swayed back and forth in the breeze, and I could almost smell the familiar scent of the wildflowers that bloomed in the summer. I could hear my mother laughing as my father caught her around the waist and lifted her into the air, their eyes shining with love.

Distantly I hoped Lothrandir was paying attention to our surroundings, because I certainly was not.

After a time, I was brought back to the present as I heard Elladan or Elrohir humming along. I knew I had played it for them before, and I smiled. As the last notes of the song echoed into the night air, my eyes fluttered open and met the grey ones of Elladan, who was grinning. "How lovely it is to hear you play once more, muinthel."

"Ah, well thank you," I muttered, my cheeks reddening at the small audience which had gathered. I noticed a few of the others had awoken and were sitting quietly as they listened. "It was nothing much, just a simple tune."

"I could almost see the images you played about," Lothrandir said in wonderment. "It was beautiful."

I took a deep breath and pushed aside the discomfort of the praise I was receiving; it was something I was working on. Candaith told me once that I should be proud of my accomplishments; not in a boastful way, but rather as an acknowledgement of what I had done and how it had helped others. Even something as simple as playing a hand harp gave others the pleasure of listening to music. These were trying times, and perhaps I needed to take advantage of any bit of happiness I could find. "Shall I play another?" After seeing the others nod, I flipped through my mental catalogue of pieces and gave Elladan a sly grin before beginning the next one. His eyes widened as he recalled where we had both heard it once.

3rd Age, Year 2402, Imladris

"Elladan, why are we here?" I moaned. "I am exhausted and just want to go to the guesthouse and rest!"

Ignoring me, he threw an arm around my shoulders. "You deserve to have some fun after all of the work you have been doing." My 'work' was acting as a messenger from Imladris to Greenwood, and back again. It was a tiring journey, made more dangerous by the increasing number of goblins in the High Pass. All I wanted to do was sleep. Elladan shoved a drink in my hand. "Here, I will buy this one for you as a reward for your services to the realm." He said this dramatically, and I couldn't help but smile at his antics.

"Services to the realm? I rode a horse back and forth," I replied drily. I took a small sip and hummed at the taste of my favorite wine. "How did you know this is what I wanted to drink?"

Elladan winked, "Because you have ordered it almost every time we come here."

"Fair enough," I said, chuckling. "What about you? I do not see a drink in your hand yet, mellon nin."

"Well, Elrohir was supposed to be fetching me one, however…" Elladan gestured across the room, and I rolled my eyes at the three Ellyth who were fawning over Elrohir and hanging onto his every word. I could tell he was regaling them with some story where he exaggerated his deeds and made himself look like the dashing hero the ladies thought he was.

"I wonder which tale he is using this time," I mused with a smirk. "Perhaps the one where a beautiful maiden fell into the Bruinen and he dived in to save her?"

"Ah yes, of course! Perhaps he will forget to mention how he actually slipped on the rocks and accidentally fell into the river, pulling said maiden in with him," Elladan said with a grin.

We spent a few enjoyable hours at the pub, and we were both a little tipsy when an Elleth by the name of Raineth sauntered over. She plastered herself to Elladan's side, and fluttered her long, dark eyelashes up at him. "My Lord Elladan, how lovely it is to see you here tonight," she murmured, her voice sultry.

He grinned as he looked down into her eyes, and twirled a string of her long, dark hair around his finger. "Not as lovely as it is to see you, my lady." I rolled my eyes at his flirting and knew he would have no trouble convincing her to go somewhere more private. However, a bard was beginning to play a jaunty tune, and Elladan's eyes lit up as he heard the first notes. "Would you care to dance, Lady Raineth?"

The thought of twirling around the dance floor with Lord Elladan must have been impossible for Raineth to resist. "I would love to, Elladan." She fluttered her eyelashes again, and I raised an eyebrow at her boldness to use his name so informally. People in Imladris were stuffier about these things than in Greenwood, but since when had the twins ever cared about such things?

I watched them dance for a time, before an Ellon named Golhador came and stood beside me. I instinctively went to move away, as he was someone I found to be rude and arrogant. He was stationed to watch the pass from Imladris to the Misty Mountains, and whenever Arwen and I would go to the viewpoint above the valley to spend some time together, we had to deal with his boasting. I also knew him to be a bit of a drunk when he would come down to the pub, and could smell the heavy scent of Dorwinion coming from him. I wondered how much of the strong wine he had consumed.

He turned to face me and drawled, "Ah, Gwinthilnel, fancy running into you here."

I fought the urge to wrinkle my nose at him and tried to be polite. "It is a popular place to spend the evenings." I was not sure I managed to keep my tone as light as I had hoped, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Are you here unaccompanied?" he asked, looking to my other side to see if I was alone.

"I do not need a companion to go to a pub and get a drink," I replied, raising an eyebrow. "Contrary to your opinion, not every Elleth needs to have an Ellon around to protect her from scoundrels."

"You mean scoundrels like me?" he asked, smirking at my discomfort. "I would prefer the term 'handsome warrior', but I suppose scoundrel will do." He moved a little closer to me and brazenly placed a hand on my hip. I frowned, and when I tried to move away, his hand clasped my waist tightly. "Leaving so soon, vanima (beautiful)? I thought perhaps we could…get to know one another better." I squirmed as he whispered in my ear. I was a warrior, and knew I could probably win in a fight, but didn't want to make a scene.

Elladan had no such reservations as he suddenly appeared and pulled Golhador away from me roughly. "Get your hands off of her," he growled.

Golhador's eyes flashed angrily, "Who are you to object to my attentions for her?" His fists were clenched tightly, and my eyes widened as I noticed he seemed ready for a fight. Idly I noticed the music had gotten louder, as if to drown out the commotion of the scene. Some people were still dancing and oblivious to the situation, but others looked our way in curiosity, including Elrohir. He noticed what was going on and abandoned the Ellyth who had been by his side, and made his way next to me. He put an arm around my waist protectively…

…which seemed to enrage Golhador. "You would choose him over me?!"

I took a breath and gathered my courage, "You were never a choice, Golhador, and I do not owe you an explanation." I decided not to tell him Elrohir was like a brother to me, which might have been spiteful, but I didn't care much about Golhador's feelings at the moment.

Quicker than I thought he could move, Golhador foolishly made another grab for me, but Elladan pulled him back to face him, and knocked him out cold. Noticing we were drawing even more attention, Elrohir swiftly escorted me outside, and we found some manner of privacy behind a small barrier of trees. I didn't notice my hands were shaking until Elrohir took them in his. "Gwin? You are safe now."

"I…I know," I said softly, flushing with embarrassment. "I should have been able to fight him off without your help."

"You were trying to be polite, not that he deserves it," Elrohir growled. "I know you could have taken him down in a moment; I do not doubt your abilities, mellon nin."

After a few minutes where I settled myself on the ground and gathered my thoughts, I smirked. Elrohir was sitting next to me and raised an eyebrow. "Something amusing you?"

"Elladan hit him pretty hard," I said. "Seeing him knocked down a peg, literally, was very satisfying!" I laughed, and Elrohir joined in. "Although, I am not sure what your Adar is going to do about this."

Elrohir looked apprehensive. "Well…once he hears the reason why Elladan did what he did, perhaps he will be lenient. We will just say he defended your honor."

I raised an eyebrow, "I think perhaps it will not be good enough…" I paused as I heard Elrond's stern tone echoing through the courtyard. "We better go rescue Elladan." Laughing, we made our way over to a now sheepish-looking Elladan, and with some convincing, we prevented a likely harsh punishment, although Elladan still needed to clean out the stables.

"Well," I said. "I certainly will not forget the song the bards were blaring during all of this, will you?"

"It has been imprinted on my mind forever," Elladan groaned, and Elrohir and I laughed.

By the end of my performance of said tune, the twins were both laughing, and everyone demanded they tell the story. I rolled my eyes as they exaggerated things somewhat, and grinned as Candaith settled down next to me. His eyes were twinkling and he whispered, "It seems to me you got up to some trouble when you were younger, didn't you meleth?"

I looked at him innocently, "I do not know what you could possibly mean. I was an angel."

Candaith eyed me doubtfully. "I am sure I could coax some tales out of Elladan and Elrohir-" I put a hand over his mouth and hissed, "You will do no such thing or I will never hear the end of it!" When I decided he would remain silent on the issue, I removed my hand and he took it in his. "Very well; I will desist…for now." I rolled my eyes, knowing it was the best I would get tonight.

No one rested much overnight, but we all agreed it was worth the lack of sleep to share such happy moments. There certainly wasn't enough of them these days.

I liked writing the light-hearted memory, and I hope you enjoyed reading it! Leave a review if you have a moment, I treasure each one!