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Elladaniel - Chapter 2 - In The Golden Wood
“Look, Ivoreth! Caras Galadhon!” Ada’s arm extended, thumb pointing forward.
Ivoreth roused and followed the pointing digit, and then straightened slightly in surprise. She had seen some of the trees of Minas Tirith in the autumn, when their leaves would turn yellow and golden and then fall away lifeless, but the sight before her now was very different. From a rocky clearing at the top of a hill, looking down into the next valley awash in the warm afternoon sun, the huge gathering of trees that towered over the rest of the surrounding forest were indeed golden, but it was a gold that glowed with life and vitality. Ivoreth could see other, similarly golden trees sprinkled throughout the valley that stretched below, but those were much smaller and blended in with the forest that surrounded them.
“Soon you will meet my grandparents, the Lord and Lady of Lórien,” Ada spoke into her hair near her ear. “Don’t be surprised if my grandmother acts as if she knew you were coming with me; she has her ways of learning things, but she will not harm you. And my grandfather may seem like a very quiet person, but he is very wise and kind. He will like you, I’m certain.” Ivoreth leaned back against her Ada’s chest, content to watch the trees of the forest grow closer from her secure perch in front of him.
“Until he finds out he’ll need to keep close eye on the silver,” Elrohir grumbled just loudly enough to be heard. Ivoreth cringed, as she did each time Ada’s brother chose to remind her of his disapproval.
“That’s enough,” Ada grumbled back and then dropped a kiss onto the top of Ivoreth’s head. “Don’t worry, sweetling. They will love you as I do – just wait and see.” With a subtle shift of his legs, he had Morrod moving forward again down a narrow path back into the trees.
Not long after, a clear voice raised in glad song sounded from the direction of the larger trees and was immediately answered by several of the Lórien Elves behind them. Ivoreth could hear the welcome and pleasure at homecoming in the exchange of songs and smiled. It must be nice to have friends and family waiting for a return, and to know that welcome so plainly. When they got to Im… Imla… Ada’s home, would it be Ada’s turn to sing to the welcoming voices – Ada’s and…
No. She wouldn’t think of Elrohir, despite the sound of Raini’s surprised pleasure from her right, where her little sister was carried by her Ada’s twin in a linen sling across his chest. The sound of Elrohir’s voice joining in the song twisted the knot that was her stomach; but when her Ada joined in as well, Ivoreth forced herself to shut away the sound of Elrohir’s song and listen only to Ada’s rich baritone. The riders moved forward until completely surrounded by trees from which rope ladders dangling from platforms in the tall branches. Ivoreth twisted her head looking upwards and gasped. None of the platforms looked as if there were much of anything that would protect those on them from stepping off into empty air if they weren’t careful.
Elves live in trees? Are we going to live in trees at Ada’s home too? Raini will fall…
They crossed a deep and still-running moat over an arching bridge, for which Ivoreth was grateful; fording the Silverlode the day before had been a truly frightening experience, even from the safety of her Ada’s tight arm. Just beyond the bridge stood a gate in a tall, green wall, and then the trees that covered the hillside around them changed; the bark was a smooth silver, the trunks were even larger than before, and the leaves overhead among the platforms and walkways were golden. Several of the huge trees had sets of stairs built around them in graceful spirals stretching high over the forest floor. Above them, the sun shone through the leaves with blinding arrows of intense light contrasting the subtle gold of light through the strange leaves. Ada pulled Morrod to a halt before the grandest of the trees - one with stairs that not only spiraled upwards but was covered with delicate wooden arches of nearly white wood.
Elves garbed in grey and green darted forward to take charge of bundles the moment Ada slid from his mount’s back and had Ivoreth firmly in hand. This time, however, Ivoreth’s legs refused to remember how to work again, and her knees buckled beneath her no matter how hard she tried to stand. Ada pulled her up into his arms. “You’ll be all right after a long, hot bath, a good night’s sleep and a day spent walking around on your own feet for a change,” he told her, and Ivoreth wondered who he was trying to comfort more – her, or himself. She laid her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck.
As the stairs climbed impossibly high into the huge tree, Ivoreth finally turned her face to her Ada’s neck. She could hear Raini chattering in happy excitement to Elrohir only a step or two behind them, and the sound of Elrohir’s amused replies floated up as well.
At least he treats Raini well. She’s so fond of him.
“Mae govannen, ionnath nîn.” Ivoreth’s head came off her Ada’s shoulders at the rich and musical woman’s voice.
“Grandmother,” Ada responded with a happy smile in his voice, his greeting echoed by Elrohir in Sindarin, and Ivoreth stared with open mouth at one of the most beautiful women she’d ever seen. She’d once thought she’d seen the best of Elven beauty with Celebriel, and then later with the Queen, but this creature of white and gold and stars was beyond anything she’d ever dreamed of.
This is Ada’s grandmother? She doesn’t look any older than he does, or Celebriel!
The woman lifted her hand from where it had rested on the arm of a tall and serious Elf and came forward to rest a gentle hand on Ivoreth’s head.
“And who is this?” the musical voice inquired with a touch of laughter and reassurance.
Ivoreth tucked her head shyly back into the hollow of her Ada’s neck while keeping a wary eye on the elleth. “I must admit that I have followed in the steps of my adar, and have taken this mortal girl and her younger sister to raise as my own.” Ada’s head moved as if he was trying to look into her face, and Ivoreth pressed even closer to him, wishing his long, dark hair would hide her face. “This is Ivoreth, and the little one with Elrohir is called Raini. Daughters, this is your grandmother Galadriel and grandfather Celeborn.”
From Elrohir, Ivoreth heard a soft snort, but thankfully, he remained silent this time. It wouldn’t last, she knew, but the lack of muttering gave her a chance to relax, even if only slightly.
The long and graceful fingers cupped a cheek and then brushed across her forehead. Ivoreth found herself unable to resist turning and looking at the elleth again, only to be held firmly in a strong, grey gaze of that bore directly through her to the bottom of her soul. Certain that Ada’s grandmother could see every last offense she’d ever committed, even without Elrohir’s commentary, she swallowed hard. The elleth’s eyes were sharp, but there was grief and sadness behind them as well that clearly echoed with her own, and a depth of understanding that took her breath away.
“This child has seen too much sadness,” Ada’s grandmother pronounced in a slow and careful manner. “And even now, she stands on the edge of fading from a broken heart, surrounded by utter strangeness from all sides and completely removed from everything she ever knew or thought she understood.” The hand at her face cupped her cheek. “It is well that you take her home with you to Imladris, Elladan nîn. This little one will need much time and peace in which to find a way to heal a faer which is almost completely shattered; and she will no doubt give your Adar someone with whom to occupy his time between now and when he leaves, when he’s not occupied with lists and planning, that is.” A smile spread across the beautiful face that warmed Ivoreth, despite her misgivings. “Let go of your sorrows and know you are loved, nethben, even if it might not seem so at the moment.”
Ivoreth blinked, startled out of the warmth of the comforting smile once more. What does she know? What did she see in me? Does she know I’m a thief – that Elrohir hates me?
“And what a charming baby! May I hold her?” Ada’s grandmother patted Ivoreth’s arm gently, giving her another kind smile that returned a little of the warmth and then moved on to Elrohir and his little passenger. She carefully took the baby into her arms with what looked like a great deal of practice and settled her on her hip. “Your Ada tells me your name is Raini?”
“Uh-huh. Who you?” Raini asked with no fear or shyness at all.
“I am your grandmother, little daughter,” she replied with a sparkling and contagious laugh, “and this is your grandfather.” The elleth had turned back to the tall and serious Elf, bringing Raini with her. “It has been many long years since we have had one quite so young beneath our trees, has it not, my love?”
“Indeed.” Ivoreth had never heard such a very deep voice before. The tall, silver-haired Elf had moved to stand close to his wife, smiling very softly and brushing the backs of his fingers across Raini’s cheek. Ivoreth saw her sister reach out and touch the long, golden hair of Ada’s grandmother very carefully, and the beautiful elleth laughed again and gave the little girl a kiss on the forehead.
“You will need a larger chamber than your usual, I can tell, Elladan,” Ada’s grandmother looked over at them. “Lainor will see to it your belongings are moved to a talan more suited to a family. Elrohir, will you want a chamber in that talan, or one of your own?”
“My own, Grandmother, please. It is better that the girls get used to being under their Adar’s care.”
Ivoreth let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. The last thing she wanted was to run into Elrohir constantly because he lived in the same… what was it Ada’s grandmother called it… tal…? And even Ada had tensed slightly and then relaxed when Elrohir voiced his choice without any additional cutting remarks.
“I’d also like to introduce you to Celebriel Aranoriel, who travels with us on to Imladris.” Ada held out his hand to Celebriel to draw her closer.
She sank gracefully into a deep curtsey before the Lord and Lady. “I am most honored.”
“I know your father,” Celeborn stated with a nod. “He is one of the better carpenters this side of Aman. I have several times tried to lure him away from Elrond to gift his talent to Caras Galadhon, but he was always content to remain in Imladris.”
“I will be certain to tell him of your high praise, hir nîn,” Celebriel blushed, and Ivoreth realized that Ada continued to quietly hold Celebriel’s hand. He likes her. The thought wasn’t distressing at all – she had long included Celebriel in her idea of her new family. Now she considered the possibility that Ada might be considering the same thing.
“Lainor will see you all to your chambers now, where you can rest and refresh yourselves after such a long and hard journey. We will meet again in our personal quarters for a small repast at Anor’s setting.” Galadriel carefully handed Raini back to Elrohir and then gave Ada a knowing glance and smile. “I look forward to getting to know all of these new faces in the lives of my grandsons.”
Again Elrohir gave a soft snort, which drew the sharp eye of his grandmother before she nodded at Lainor and then turned back to her husband.
“If you will follow me, please.” Ivoreth turned her head to look at the speaker. Lainor was shorter than her Ada and dressed like so many others seemed to be here in grey and green, with a kind face and silver hair much like his Lord’s. With a gesture, he led the way towards one of the slightly smaller tree trunks with the spiral stairs. “Lord Elrohir, your talan is on the third level, second entrance. Lady Celebriel, yours is on the first, third entrance. Lord Elladan, if you will follow me...”
She laid her head back down on Ada’s shoulder. “Ada, can I just stay in bed and sleep and not go anywhere else tonight? My legs don’t want to work right, and I’m not hungry…”
“I’m afraid not, daughter,” Ada replied quietly. “It is only right that your grandparents have a chance to get to know you a little better before we leave. This will be only a meal and some talk; nothing will happen that you need fear.”
“But I don’t want to…”
“Ivoreth.” His voice was soft but firm, and Ivoreth knew she would not win. She bit her lip unhappily, but quieted down, unwilling to chance making him angry. His voice softened. “You need not eat much, my daughter, but you need to at least let your grandmother know you appreciate her efforts on your behalf. Besides, you haven’t eaten a proper meal in days, which reminds me. I’ve yet to give you your tonic; that should help you feel better.”
“Lord Elladan, your talan is on the second level, first entrance” Lainor’s voice intruded gently. “I will see to it your things are delivered as soon as possible.”
“Thank you, Lainor.” Ada looked back over his shoulder at where Ivoreth was certain Elrohir stood with Raini. “Thank you for your help with Raini. Hopefully Ivoreth will feel well enough a little later on that she can walk to the feast on her own.” He started up the long, circling stairs. Ivoreth closed her eyes and shuddered at the sound of Elrohir’s grunt of agreement. Or was that another snort?
At least he isn’t staying just above us. And I can stay in this tal… talan, and I’ll not have to see him except at the meal tonight.
oOoOo
The food looked inviting, but the savory aromas were making Ivoreth’s stomach knot again, just as it had for the last two evenings around the camp fire. Seated at a round table between Ada and Raini, Ivoreth pushed her food around her plate so that it looked as if she were eating something; but from the looks Ada gave her from time to time, she knew that he knew she wasn’t eating again. Celebriel was helping Raini with her plate, and Ivoreth’s little sister was contentedly stuffing her face with bite-sized nuggets of meat.
Ada leaned toward her again. “Remember, you need to at least show that you appreciate all the work that went into preparing this meal.” He smiled down at her, and the smile was warm enough to tell Ivoreth that he wasn’t scolding her, merely reminding her of her obligation at this meal. “You need not eat it all, but at least some of everything. Think of how you would feel if you worked hard, only to have your efforts ignored.”
Ivoreth nodded. Working hard at something only to have her efforts ignored hurt; this she knew all too well now. She speared and lifted the smallest nugget of roasted meat from her plate onto the end of her fork and put it in her mouth to chew carefully. Surprised at how good it tasted, and the fact that her stomach was actually not rebelling the moment something with taste touched her tongue, Ivoreth chewed, swallowed, and then took another small bite – and then another. She was hungry; she’d spent the last two days barely eating more than a slice of bread or a handful of dried fruit.
The small helping of meat quickly vanished, and so did the vegetables and a slice of bread with honey drizzled on it. More full than she’d been in days, Ivoreth pushed her plate away and settled back to watch the others at the table, especially the ones she didn’t know. Most of them were speaking in Sindarin, in which she could only catch a word or two from time to time now. Still, it was fascinating to watch the new faces.
Ada’s hand suddenly settled on her shoulder, and she gazed up into his face and found him looking down at her with surprise and fond satisfaction. “Well done, my daughter,” he said softly, bending down to her once more. “I knew you could do it. I’m proud of you.”
Ivoreth caught her breath, stunned by the happiness that swelled within her at his words. At that moment, she would have done anything to win more of her Ada’s approval. As if he could sense what was going through her mind, Ada leaned over and pulled her up into his lap and let her settle against his chest. She turned into him and held him back, her fingers clasping the edges of his fine robe tightly.
“I would hear how you came to adopt your daughters,” Galadriel said, gifting Ivoreth with a smile of her own. “Are they of the Dúnedain?”
“No. They are orphans of Minas Tirith, the last of an entire family,” Ada replied, his large hand stroking back Ivoreth’s hair gently. “I first met Ivoreth when I rescued her from being raped and killed by a pair of rogue guards. She ran away from the Houses of Healing almost immediately, but came back several days later with Raini nearly dead of lung fever and expecting to be taken away and executed as a thief.”
“She is a thief.” Elrohir timed his comment for when his brother paused to draw a breath. “She stole a candlestick and blanket on her way away from the Houses of Healing the first time you met her.” He shrugged when Ada stared at him. “She admitted as much herself, to me, to you, to Estel...”
Ivoreth had closed her eyes during Ada’s recital, and now she cringed. If the Grandmother had suspected anything from before, Ada’s tale and then Elrohir’s remark had just confirmed it. The last thing she wanted to see was the suspicion and distrust that would grow in that beautiful elleth’s gaze now.
Elladan’s stare turned to a glare, and then he took another deep breath to continue. “At any rate, I made Ivoreth a promise to see to Raini’s future without letting her go to an orphanage, and after a while, I decided the best way to do that would be to raise the both of them myself.”
“What happened to her parents?”
Ada patted Ivoreth on the shoulder as if to awaken her. “Would you like to tell her yourself, daughter? You know the story better than I do.”
She steeled herself and opened her eyes again to look at the Grandmother, only to be shocked by the lack of anything wary or cautious in the grey gaze. She glanced cautiously at Elrohir and shivered at the cold expression on his face. “Nana died a little while after Raini came, and Da died in the siege,” she recounted obediently.
Galadriel nodded. “And how long was it after your adar died that you came to live with Elladan?”
“Two years.”
Those grey eyes widened. “And in all this time, did you have a place to stay? Food to eat?”
Ivoreth curled back toward her Ada, pressing her face into the soft velvet robe. Ada’s hand went back to cradling her head gently. “We discovered an entire population of orphans in the same situation, Grandmother. They lived – or some of them still do live – in the large cistern inside the city walls. Many of them stay alive by stealing food or coin to buy food. Evidently the orphanages there have a history of abuse, so many were afraid of going to them for help and would rather starve on the street than take the risk. Ivoreth and her sister were starving when they finally came to live with me.”
“And yet some of them steal even after they are provided with food aplenty,” Elrohir commented again, his voice brittle. “I sometimes wonder what Elladan is trying to accomplish, bringing an admitted thief into the household. At least the mortals Adar brought into the household, even as fosterlings, were honest – and of our own kin.”
Ivoreth shrank further into her Ada’s embrace as if she’d been hit, and her stomach twisted.
Does he hate me so much that he’d ruin this for me too?
“As a matter of fact, I have heard,” the Grandfather pronounced in his deep voice, “that those who live on the very edge of extinction for any length of time can have difficulty leaving behind those actions that have most helped them survive. It can take a great deal of time to trust that one need not have to do those things any longer. Lineage has little to do with that, Elrohir.”
“What does all this have to do with Ivoreth?” The Grandmother sounded confused. “She’s such a sweet child.”
“Looks can be deceiving, Grandmother. The facts speak for themselves. Ivoreth stole from the Houses of Healing before, and then later stole coin from both me and Celebriel before we left Minas Tirith,” Elrohir announced in disgust. “She is a thief, and not to be trusted. Here Elladan took her into our family, gave her shelter, food, clothing, love, support – I even kept Raini from dying – and all the thanks we get for our efforts was to have our purses lightened. And he still intends to adopt her into the family!”
“Ivoreth was afraid when she took the food and coin, and she had good reason to be,” Ada growled. “She watched her parents die, and then her sister die, her younger sister grow sick unto death; she herself was beaten and nearly raped, and then found out her little brother was beaten to death while in prison for something he didn’t do. She’s been with us for only a few weeks – barely enough time to begin to trust us – and while she knew it was wrong, she felt she had to try to make sure she and her sister survived again if something were to happen to me, or if we just left her behind when we departed.”
“By stealing… By entering the chambers of others with the purpose of taking that which doesn’t belong…” Elrohir snapped.
“That’s all she knew!” Ada snapped back.
“Not that it did her all that much good before; her other sister died, her brother got arrested for stealing, Raini almost died of starvation and lung fever, and even she ended up almost raped by human yrch when she set out to steal coin for medicine.”
Ivoreth’s stomach tightened further.
“That wasn’t Ivoreth’s fault, and you know it!” Ada yelled. Ivoreth’s eyes opened wide with fright, and she looked up into a face that was flushed and twisted with anger. “Naneth wasn’t taken by the yrch because she was a thief…”
This is what Ada looks like when he gets mad?
“We’re not talking about Naneth, we’re talking about Ivoreth. And how a person responds to what the Valar place in front of them is their fault, Elladan! You know that as well as I do. Nana chose to sail to the Undying Lands. Ivoreth’s answer to everything is to steal…”
“It would be best if you left your mother out of this discussion, Elladan. But neither are you in any position to speak ill of others stealing, Elrohir,” Galadriel stated sternly. “I believe I remember your mother talking about your taking your father’s mithril dagger…”
“That was different!” Elrohir sputtered and then drew himself up tightly. “I wasn’t stealing it, I just wanted to…”
“You went into your father’s chamber with the purpose of taking that which didn’t belong to you. What you were going to do with it makes no difference. By your own definition, theft is theft,” Galadriel said coldly.
“But I didn’t make a habit of taking that which wasn’t mine,” Elrohir raised his head and looked at Ivoreth in disgust. “I made a single mistake, paid for it, and never did it again. On the other hand, I wouldn’t trust this one near anything I wouldn’t want to find gone.”
“Are you listening to yourself?” Ada shook his head in amazement. “She takes food, a few coins, and a candlestick to survive – because she’s afraid of being abandoned again – and you’d expect her to rob you blind every time you turn around? Have you noticed anything missing lately?”
“Is that all the little one took from you? A silver coin – two – and some food?” Celeborn demanded.
“Two from me, and three from Celebriel as well,” Elrohir replied, his face red. Ivoreth’s stomach twisted again, this time more painfully. “She took enough for us both to notice the difference, enough to know that she has no place in our household. No, I haven’t missed anything lately, but the fact remains that we’ll have enough to worry about when we get home that neither of us needs to wonder about when this one will next decide she’s going to be abandoned and start taking things again.”
Now the Grandmother and Grandfather will hate me too.
“Five silver coins, in Minas Tirith, is a great fortune to a penniless orphan, brother,” Ada said in a very tight voice. “Did you not hear that there was food also in that bundle, food meant to keep them from starving in the short term?”
“And all of it far less valuable than a mithril dagger given to your father by Gil-Galad himself,” Celeborn added. “Your attitude here is unreasonable, ion.”
“But look at what Elladan is bringing into the House of Elrond; this is the life he wants to live once Adar has gone West, after we spent centuries killing yrch to make a quiet, noble life possible for all of Arda! He adopts a compulsive, petty thief prepared to steal from her own family without hesitation!” Elrohir exploded. “After three Ages of the world of being one of the most respected lineages, he brings a no-account mortal thief into the family simply because he thinks he can save her from being raped when neither of us could save Naneth, and now he expects us to…”
“This has nothing to do with Naneth, and Ivoreth is not a no-account just because she isn’t Dúnadan!” Ada exploded back, his fist hitting the table in front of him and making the plates and other dishes rattle. “She may have become a thief to survive, but she is my daughter now; and she will unlearn her bad habits, given time.”
“Time in which we’ll have to count the contents of our purses nightly!” Elrohir shot back. “You would turn away from me and everything we’ve been through over the centuries to spend all your time trying to civilize a mortal not worth the effort, when we will need to be learning to take Ada’s place as Lords of Imladris. You even are considering marriage to give yourself the illusion of a family! Are you expecting Celebriel to turn Ivoreth from a criminal into a member of a noble family, when even she is of more common stock?”
There was a gasp from the ellith around the table, and even Celeborn growled a warning.
Ada’s voice grew low and hissed through clenched teeth. “You know nothing of what you speak, brother! And I would suggest you hold your tongue while you still have one to hold!”
Ivoreth stared back and forth in terror between two faces that looked all too much alike: both flushed and with grey eyes that flashed dangerously. Both looked as if they were ready to spring across the table at the other at another word and do real violence to the other. This was not the Ada she thought she knew; that Elf was soft-spoken even when angered, and gentle. Seeing Elrohir angry at her had become something she expected, but seeing Ada easily capable of violence reminded her that she really didn’t know these people – these Elves – half as well as she had thought. They were dangerous, they were so very different from anyone she’d ever known, she didn’t understand them at all, and she was surrounded by them.
Ada and Elrohir are fighting now, and it’s all my fault. Oh, I shouldn’t have eaten…
“I’m going to be sick,” Ivoreth moaned, hating the way everyone at the table suddenly stared at her.
Immediately Ada rose, Ivoreth caught up in his arms, and headed for the door. “I’m sorry…” she whispered, shaking in fright at the violence still present in his embrace and pressing her hands hard into her stomach as if it would keep the pain away for a little while longer.
“Elladan.” Galadriel’s voice called from behind him. “Bring her in here.”
Ada carried her to what Ivoreth guessed was another room, because the sound of the conversations from the table was far away and there was a scent of fresh flowers. “Ada!” she called out in alarm as her stomach roiled one last time, and then she started to retch. A silver basin appeared in front of her face just in time for the entire meal to spill up and out again. Gentle fingers kept the loose tendrils of hair about her face from wafting into the mess as Ivoreth heaved until there was nothing left in her stomach to move.
“Here.” The Grandmother put a mug of water to Ivoreth’s lips. “Rinse and then spit it out.”
Too miserable to care anymore, Ivoreth did as she was told, and then found herself gathered up into her Ada’s arms. Too frightened to struggle, she settled her head on his shoulder and her nose into the hollow of his neck beneath his ear.
“I swear I’m going to strangle him…” Ada growled, his whole body tense even as he held Ivoreth close. “He has no right… I should…”
“You will take care of your daughter, and let me handle this,” the Grandmother said softly, but in a kind of voice Ivoreth had never heard before: filled with heavy purpose and no small amount of anger of her own. “As his anger at her misdeed festers within him, her faer fails further, and I begin to sense that he takes pleasure in this. I will not lose my first great-grandchild, mortal or not, to fading as the result of his blind need to lash out at her in grief because so many he cares about will soon be leaving these shores; or because the two of you have frightened her half to death with your disagreement.”
Ivoreth felt a gentle hand press soothing circles on her back, and a soft kiss pressed into the back of her head. “Sidh, nethben. Be at peace, little one, and don’t be afraid. Your father loves you, and that is what is most important. Take her to your talan and stay with her now, Elladan. Set aside your anger at Elrohir and see to her; can you not see that you have terrified her? She needs you desperately, for already I feel her beginning to fade. I will ask Celebriel to watch over Raini for the rest of the evening so that you can give Ivoreth your undivided attention. Let me deal with Elrohir, however.” There was a swish of fabric, and then the Grandmother was gone.
Ivoreth didn’t care. The damage was done. And if it hadn’t been for her promise to Ada never to run away again, she’d have been darting among the trees searching for a way out of the Elf tree-city the moment his back was turned to her. She didn’t belong among these Elves. Elrohir hated her; and now that the truth was out, things would never be good with the Grandmother and Grandfather.
I thought it would be better once I was away from the City. But what I did there follows me; and I can’t start a new life, like Ada said, if Elrohir keeps reminding me and everybody I meet about my old life all the time.
At least she knew for sure that Ada would take care of Raini. But if she was gone, then he’d have no reason to be angry with his twin, and the Grandmother and Grandfather would be happy too. Ada and Celebriel could marry and make a family with Raini.
If she was gone… No, not if. When she was gone…
Sindarin Vocabulary
Adar - father
faer - soul, spirit
hîr nîn - my lord
ionnath - sons
mae govannen - well met
nethben - little one
nîn - my, mine
sidh - peace
talan - tree dwelling for Silvan Elves
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