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:
Mellyrn =if we don't know it by now...we may have some trouble...*tsk,tsk*
talan = um, see above...but for those of you that don't remember: a platform built into the *Mellyrn* trees of Lothlórien.
mela = love
mellonim = female version of friend (male is mellon)
Amin mela lle = I love you.
goramin = my heart
namarie = farewell
eldar = a true love; a soulmate
"They're coming then," Taryn muttered as she grazed her fingers across the amulet that hung about her neck, all but forgotten.
Haldir shot an odd look at Taryn and then averted his eyes to the now-swirling red stone. "It moves..."
Taryn's eyes shot down to the Necklace immediately and widened when she saw the stone swirling angrily about her neck. Suddenly frightened, Taryn turned her eyes back to Haldir. "We have to see Galadriel...now."
Haldir nodded and, without question, helped Taryn to her feet before the two of them sprinted the wide expanse of forest to the entrance of Caras Galadhon in a matter of hours, as was the speed of Elves...now that Taryn was one among their ranks. The two Elves grappled with the ladders once they reached the base of the Mellyrn tree that Galadriel and Celeborn's hall stood upon and climbed with a strength and a vigor that was fueled for both by fear and adrenaline. By the time that they reached the talan, Galadriel and Celeborn stood in their hall awaiting the Bearer and the Marchwarden.
"My Lady, My Lord," Taryn grunted, cursing her human lungs. Technically she was an Elf, but that didn't mean that she didn't ever get winded. She was, after all, still Human. "What is going on? Why is this Necklace acting so wierd?"
Galadriel's eyes focused on the stone for a while before she spoke slowly. "The time draws near, Taryn. It is nearly time for you to join the Quest."
Taryn took a fearful step back. "No...No, I...I can't..."
Galadriel nodded. "You can, and you will. You have both tarried and trained with the Elves of the Galadhrim for the past two months and caught on quicker than any in history. Now you and your skills are needed more than ever, Bearer."
Haldir looked at Taryn incredulously. "Bearer? Taryn, what have you kept from me?" He whispered sadly.
Taryn looked over at Haldir, sadness in her eyes.
"Yes, Haldir. Taryn bears a secret that is best to be kept from all, but you should know that secret, Haldir...for it was meant to be yours. Taryn is the Bearer of a Necklace of Power, one of two forged by Celebrimbor after he had forged the Three. It has been lost for millennia, but has now returned to us unspoiled, for this girl is true of heart and mind. She has secrets that she still has not told, and if she so desires to tell them she will.
"Haldir, you will go back on patrol at midday with Rumil and Orophin," Galadriel's eyes shifted from the Necklace to the overwhelmed Elven Marchwarden. "The Fellowship of the Ring draws nigh from Moria."
Haldir's eyes widened and his face was a mass of emotions, each of them layered so that Taryn could not read any of them, but he nodded just the same. "Yes, Lady. I shall inform Rumil and Orophin immediately." Haldir turned to Taryn. "I will meet you at the Fountain." He pressed a lingering kiss to Taryn's cheek before bowing to Celeborn and Galadriel and racing off to find his brothers.
Galadriel gave Taryn a sad smile. "It is too bad, mela...you have just found each other, and now..."
Taryn sighed. "I must go..."
Galadriel nodded.
"Lady, if I might ask...how does one know love?" Taryn inquired sheepishly, a light blush settling over the apples of her cheeks.
The Lady of the Wood grinned. "You just do, mellonim. You will not know it until it is upon you."
Taryn nodded and then spoke again. "Tell me again...about eldars, My Lady?"
"Every Elf, Man, Dwarf, or anoyne of any other race has an eldar, a soulmate, that they are destined to find. When you find your eldar, Taryn, you will just know...and when you are with them, everything just feels..." Galadriel sighed happily. "...right." The Lady of the Wood studied the silent girl carefully.
"I...know what that is like now. With Haldir I feel...at peace, perfect, completed...like nothing could go wrong," Taryn whispered sadly.
"If he is your eldar, then why are you saddened?" Galadriel's eyes narrowed as she gazed at the Human girl with Elven ears.
"I am not an Elf, Galadriel! I won't live forever! Don't you see? It's just like Arwen and Aragorn! It's only a dream! And to top it all off, I can't stay here...no matter how much I desire to, I can't!" The girl's rate of speech slowed and fell to a whisper, tears ready to fall down her face. "It wouldn't be right..."
“Taryn, Galadriel began. “You were cast an Elf in Middle-earth for a reason, not by chance.”
“Pray-tell, what is that reason?” Taryn inquired, wiping the tears from her eyes.
“It is as I said: you are pure of heart and an unspoiled soul. You are kindred and Elf-like, that is why you are now of Elf-kind,” Galadriel smiled down at Taryn. “Go now, your eldar awaits you.”
Taryn grinned and hugged Galadriel promptly before racing across the talan, down the ladder, and to the fountain in the center of Caras Galadhon where Haldir awaited her. Haldir’s blue eyes searched Taryn’s hazel ones as she ran over to him.
“Midday is almost upon us, and Rumil and Orophin have been awakened. Promise me later that you will speak of what you have kept from me…promise me, Taryn.”
Taryn nodded. “I swear it, Haldir. I will tell you.” Haldir nodded and turned to walk away when Taryn grabbed his arm. He cocked his head slightly to the left and let his hair fall from his shoulders to his back as his eyes searched Taryn’s for some indication of the reason that she had stopped him.
Taryn grinned happily, a smile that radiated well beyond her eyes. “I will keep nothing from my eldar.”
Haldir’s eyes glazed over with shock. “What did you just say?”
Taryn simply grinned.
“Speak! For the love of Elbereth, Speak!” He pleaded, his eyes narrowing.
“Amin mela lle, Haldir o Lorien…my eldar.”
Haldir’s eyes flashed with happiness for a moment before capturing Taryn’s lips in a quick kiss. “Amin mela lle, goramin. Namarie.” With a quick squeeze of Taryn’s hands, he was gone. Despite the troubles that were about to crest the horizon in Taryn’s life, something told her that everything would end up all right…beginning with Haldir and herself…
And perhaps a home in Lothlorien…
Go to story...
Prologue - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8
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