DISCLAIMER:
I do not own, or have anything to do with Lord of the Rings and the story's related characters. The characters Taryn, Nefiáthiel, and Nefára belong to me, everyone else is property of J.R.R. Tolkien.
TRANSLATIONS / DEFINITIONS:
melamin = my love
Mellyrn = big trees in Lothlórien
Taryn fumbled for her words and spoke as soon as she was positive that she could compose a coherent sentence.
"Haldir of Lothlórien...wow. It really is more of an honor than I had imagined," She spoke slowly. "I have heard much about you."
"Have you now?" His eyes twinkled behind a shield that she knew would be hard to break.
Taryn nodded, giving him a genuine smile. "I have, and believe it or not, it would be good for you to let down your defenses once in awhile, my dear Marchwarden."
Haldir's face registered a look of shock.
"I know that it was you who found me, Haldir," his blue eyes questioned Taryn. "...and I thank you. You saved me from Orcs, I'm sure..."
"Twenty surrounded you and they would have had Elf for supper, had my brothers and I not slain them." He added in and Taryn nodded.
"I am grateful, Haldir. I don't mean for you to think otherwise, and I would love to speak to your brothers..." Haldir turned to call them, and Taryn grabbed his arm. "But...I do know that they don't speak as much of the...Westron tongue as you do, and I am afraid that my ability to speak Elvish has passed away with the time I have spent away from the Elves."
Haldir looked at Taryn oddly, and she felt herself shrivel in the Elven boots given to her by the Lord and Lady of the Galadhrim. She felt horrible, lying to Haldir this way...her favorite Elf, and she was lying to him. Taryn sighed. How else could she explain it to him? With the truth? Surely not. She moved to speak, but Haldir held up a hand.
"I know you're not being quite honest with me, Taryn. I can see it in your eyes." He let a slight grin curl his lips for a moment. "To tell you the truth, I do not blame you for keeping secrets. After all, I would likely do the same in a new place."
Taryn hung her head. "I am sorry, Haldir..."
"Don't be sorry; I know that I would not," He spoke, before his gaze turned to the Necklace. "Such a strange token...Did the Lady give this to you?" His eyes flickered back up to Taryn's and she shook her head.
"No. I had it on me when I came here. It was a gift from a friend...far away from here." Taryn's sight misted up a bit, and she dabbed at her eyes with the sleeve of the silken dress. Haldir straightened up immediately.
"Why do you cry, melamin?" Haldir took Taryn's hand in his and pulled her to him, locking his arms about her awkwardly. Taryn shrugged within his embrace and clung tightly to his grey tunic.
"I miss my home, I suppose. I miss my friends..," She looked up at Haldir, a pleading look in her eyes. "I feel so alone here...utterly alone, Haldir. Tell me I'm welcome here, please?"
Haldir sighed. "You are welcome here, melamin, you are."
...
Two Months Later
Taryn woke in the first light of morning as she had done for the last two weeks and donned her grey leggings, tunic, and boots before sprinting off to the banks of the Nimrodel. She waved at several of the guards as she ran, knowing who sat at what post in the early morning hours as she had run this same route for the past month.
Shortly after meeting Haldir those two months ago, he and his brothers had been relieved of guard duty, and the Lórien Captain had taken Taryn for a walk to help her get acquainted with the forest. He had gotten her to laugh and sing along with him, and even managed to teach her a bit of Elvish. She could now hold light conversations with Rumil and Orophin, Haldir's brothers, and understand some of the text in the Lady's library, although she still often resigned herself to asking for aid in deciphering some of the words.
Taryn took a seat at the bank of the stream and trailed her fingertips lazily across the the surface of the jovially bubbling water. She absolutely loved it here: so peaceful, so serene...but on this particular morning Taryn felt a feeling that she had never felt anywhere before within the boundaries of Lothlórien. An anxiousness settled over her as she gazed out into the trees at the other side of the Nimrodel.
"I thought I would find you here, melamin," A voice came from behind Taryn and she grinned. She would know that voice anywhere.
"And I knew you would find me here, Marchwarden," She replied as she turned to see Haldir, dressed in his typical grey tunic, leggings, and boots, leaning against the trunk of one of the Mellyrn trees with his arms folded across his chest and his left leg bent so that his foot was propped against the tree. Haldir grinned and shoved himself away from the tree gracefully before walking with light Elven footsteps over to Taryn. "How long were you there?"
Haldir shrugged as he took a seat next to her. "Not long...merely long enough to be sure it was you that graced Nimrodel's shores."
Taryn laughed. "You should have known it was me immediately, Haldir."
He smiled and gazed out into the woods across the river thoughtfully just as Taryn had done moments before, and his smile faded. "Something is coming, Taryn, and I am afraid that it is not good."
Taryn nodded. "I agree. An uneasiness has washed over me several times today already...and it's only gotten worse the longer I stay here," Taryn turned her eyes to Haldir searching for answers to the riddle she feared she already knew the answer to. "What is going on, Haldir? And please be truthful."
Haldir was silent for a moment, and then he turned to meet Taryn's questioning gaze. "On my watch this morning, I heard faintly the sound of Orc drums and saw the outer walls of Moria shake. I...am afraid something draws near. Something...Evil." The word left a sour taste in Haldir's mouth, as if Sauron himself had cast a fiery ale down the Elf's throat. "The peace of Lothlórien is going to be disturbed, I fear, and soon."
Taryn was silent as she absorbed Haldir's tale into her mind and analyzed all that she could recall from the Lord of the Rings novels. Orc drums...Moria...EVIL. It could all only mean one thing:
The Fellowship was coming.
Go to story...
Prologue - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8
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