Friends of Nimrodel: Tapestry of Dreams

[mark12_30]

Mellonin stiffened for a moment, and then knelt beside Ravion, and spoke.

"I have been less than grateful. I am sorry. I owe you much... Yes, we will return home, home to Minas Tirith. Will you not journey with us, and receive my parents' blessing? How glad they will be to have their son safely returned! Come, and share our joy."

Hoofbeats caught her attention, and her head turned as Ravion started to answer. She stood. "The elf and the wayfarer boy! They have returned." A snort from Celegoer was followed by words from Nethwador, half joy half scolding. THe wild edge had come back to the boy's voice.

"Peace, " said Taitheneb, and slowly the boy calmed. Nethwador touched Bella's hand, and stood trembling before her. "Bella, mellon."

She nodded, and took his hand, and drew him to the fire opposite Ravion. Together they sat down, and tangled whispers passed between them, some in Sindarin, some in the wayfarer's tongue, some in the common speech. Mellonin smiled. "Does he know what you are saying?"

Bella smiled. "Perhaps not, " she replied. Nethwador's dark eyes flickered toward Mellonin, and then back toward Bella. Liornung brought them each a blanket, and they inched closer to the fire, and rejoined hands.

Mellonin stood beside Ravion, who stared for a while at the fire, and then looked up at her.

[littlemanpoet]

Maegeleb had been watching the humans as they slept, himself under the watchful guard of Erebemlin and Taitheneb. He had used the time to look upon the humans' minds. The two guarding Elves knew what he did, but just as soon stop an Elf from viewing another's mind as stop a mole from digging. What could be done with these humans to ensure that he won Nimrodel instead of that other, now drowning, Elf?

Raefindan. Roy Edwards, the boy-man from the future. Who dreamed them all. It was a puzzle, really. If this Roy dreamed all of them, were they real, or just part of his dream? Maegeleb glanced at the two Elves, who looked at him askance, for they knew his thought as well, and were finding it alien, unsettling, and unbelievable. Let them think what they would.

Mellonin. She of the healed face and wounded heart. She had her brother back and refused to believe Roy dreamed her. She believed her role to be over, now that Mellondu was back. Little to be achieved there.

Mellondu? He kept the Elf safely buried, repulsed by that one's disregard for his sister. Maegeleb smiled slyly. He had not even counted on Amroth's hardness of heart and - what was that word from Roy Edwards' time - obsessiveness in regard to Nimrodel. So now Mellondu wanted the Elf to stay buried, but as long as that fëa was there, it might crop up; it was needful to banish it back to Mandos once and for all. How? He would have to give more thought to that.

Ravion. Confused ranger. Very maleable to his purposes. Get him riled.

Ædegard. One handed fool. Caught in the ways of Rohan.

Leafa. Weak, weak, weak. Easily led hither and yon.

Liornung. Dreamer.

Erundil. Dangerous. Schooled in the ways of field and fen, forest and beast, and of the human heart, by all accounts.

Bellyn. Stolid, no great help or hinderance.

Nethwador. High strung and distrustful.

Aeron. Listless and mulling over his despair.

Suddenly Maegeleb had the answer. Change nothing. The group was already beginning to pull away from each other, tending in their own directions. The only danger was that Mellondu and Ravion might come to blows over Mellonin. Let that not happen.

Morning came. Maegeleb was aware that the Elves had read much of his thought, as he had of theirs, and so he knew that Erebemlin had been trying to waken Amroth. He must lull the humans, or better yet, allow them to continue to lull themselves.

Maegeleb was satisfied.

[Orual]

The arrival of the elf and the boy, while an interruption of their conversation, affected Ravion little.

Come, and share our joy.

As Mellonin spoke with the others, Ravion watched her and pondered those words. Their sting confused him. Why should he feel stricken by such a gracious invitation? Mellonin was trying to be kind. Why could he not take her comment in the manner in which it was given? When he was a youth, Erundil would often tell him that one great failing in him was his inability to take a compliment. Perhaps his tutor had been right. But it did not alleviate the sting.

He raised his eyes to Mellonin's face: her eyes, glittering in the firelight; her sweet smile; her dark hair; her kind demeanor. He looked down, afraid that she would take offense at his scrutiny.

Come, and share our joy.

He felt the weight of Mellonin's gaze on the back of his head, and he turned to her. He stood and forced a smile that he hoped looked genuine. "Mellonin, I do share your joy," he said softly. "And I wish you to have much joy in the future. I will accompany you to Minas Tirith, but..."

He closed his eyes briefly, steeling himself, then opened them again. "But I am afraid that there, we must part ways. I do not wish to intrude upon your family's reunion. It is not my place."

He hoped that she would understand. He hoped that she would, in some part of her, realize that it was for her sake. He could not control his feelings, but he could control his actions. He was too volatile, too moody, too changeable for her. He had done his duty; he had found her brother. Now there was only one thing left to do--let her move on--and it seemed that this would be the hardest.

[mark12_30]

Mellonin watched him, her smile beginning to fade. She nodded reluctantly, and then took a deep breath.

"And then... from Minas Tirith, where will you go? What will you do? Some business or duty demands your time, of course, and I am being selfish." She laughed guiltily. "Yet that duty, too, you will finish, and then you will return? Surely, you will come visit, whenever you may. Do, Ravion. You must. Say you will." Her grey eyes sparkled with mischief, and a touch of guile.

"Indeed, Ravion, you must, " echoed Aeron, with a hint of his old smirk. "Deign not to deny She Who Must Be Obeyed."

Mellonin stiffened, and said nothing, but turned on her heel, and walked away out of the firelight. Erebemlin spoke. "Stay, woman, you have walked far enough. We grow weary of herding such aimless sheep."

Aeron smirked again, and turned to see Mellonin's reaction; but she took a deep breath, and walked back to the fire, standing and staring into it with crossed arms. Mellondu, seeing her fury, sighed, raised an eyebrow, and lay back down. He would be glad to be back home-- at peace.

[littlemanpoet]

Ædegard

Ædegard woke with the sun. He would have mended the fire, but that was proving unnecessary these days, with the Elves never sleeping. How could they get by that way? He walked away from the camp to relieve himself. Oh, to be an Elf. Nay! He would have none of it. He was happy to be Rohirrim, happy to have troth with a Rohirric lass as beautiful and sweet-hearted as Leafa. Ar-ge-leafa. The name was slightly odd, perhaps archaic. Ar meant honor or worth; ge usually meant action in the past; leaf was clear enough; and a was feminine. Best as he could make it out in his own rough way, her name seemed to mean something like Leafed honor, or Worthily leafed; silly; he shook his head in frustration, then thought once more: lass of the best leaves. Yes! He liked that one. It fit her.

When he returned to camp, Leafa was sitting near the fire, warming and chafing her hands. He sat down by her right side.

"Good morning, lass of the best leaves. How did you sleep?"

A smile grew on her lips. "I slept well, though not as long as I would have wished." She turned to him. "My Da called me that."

"Then I was right! 'Tis the meaning of your name, I think."

"And yours? What does Ædegard mean?"

"Lucked spear, or lucked warrior."

"Oh!" Leafa looked somewhat discomfited.

"Fear not, dear Leafa," Ædegard said in humbled tones, "I am no warrior, and fool to think I could have been. I am a one handed wainwright." Leafa relaxed. He brightened. "But with you by my side, I could become a three handed wainwright! I could teach you the craft. Why did I never think of it?" Leafa was looking even more discomfited than at first. "But I should ask you. Do you think you would like to learn something of the craft?"

"I - I do not know. I know nothing of such things. I fear I would be a burden to you."

"You, a burden to me? Never. Not ever. You are the warmth of my heart."

Leafa smiled at him gratefully, and lay her head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her, which did not work as well as he would have liked, since it was handless. Leafa did not seem to mind that; and Ædegard was grateful in his turn.

At length he said, "I have been thinking, Leafa, that my part in this quest may be finished. I do not know for sure. What think you?"

[Nurumaiel]

Leafa looked here and there, and seeing that no one else was very close by to them, turned her face back to Ædegard with a rather puzzled frown. She did not answer immediately, but continued to look up into his face, and after a moment her frown changed to a little smile and she dropped her eyes. How blissful it was to have his arm about her, and his eyes gazing down at her so fondly! Perhaps she had merely dreamed that he had said he could not marry her. It seemed so distant and vague now.

"I do not know," she said, straightening her face and recalling her mind to the matter at hand. "I am not one who loves wandering, such as Liornung, and while I am very fond of the company, I feel uncertain at times. Not of their loyalty, but... I feel uncertain especially when I am near the Elves. I fear I am nothing but a burden to them. I feel that they disapprove of all my clumsy ways."

She paused and blushed, glancing in the direction of the Elves, and hoping they had not heard what she said, though she had said nothing unkind. She had never felt very strongly that they disapproved of her before, but after she had fled from the camp and caused the men to ride out to find her, she had cringed whenever she noticed the Elves looking at her. No doubt they wouldn't have done what she did, even if their hearts had been broken. She had caused so much trouble, and...

"You found me amidst the wayfarer people," she continued. "Liornung was very good to me and took me away from them so eventually I could return to a life in a home, rather than wander about. My father loves to wander, and he also has a great love for the winds, the grass, and the trees. The wilderness, he says, always calls to him. He tells me the first song he really heard and thrilled to was the song of the winds playing against the harp boughs of the trees, and the gentle rustlings of the leafs. That, he says, is one of the reasons he named me for leafs.

"My mother and I are of a different sort. She followed him when he left with the wayfarers because she loved him; I because he was my father and I too loved him, and because I had nowhere else to go. I know no one back at my home, and certainly no one at Edoras."

She raised her eyes to his face. "The matter stands here," she said. "I feel I cannot marry you without my father's permission, which means we should have to wait some time until he decided it was best for his family to return home. And so if we returned to Edoras, or wherever it is you live, we would have to wait some time to be wed. Meanwhile I should have nowhere to stay, for I know no one. The only one I know who can take care of me until I enter your home as your wife is Liornung, and I do not think he will be returning until this quest is over.

"I do not say," she added earnestly, "that I cannot return now. I merely say that there are some obstacles to hinder us. But I will do what you deem advisable."

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

She knew that the Elves scorned them for leaving the camp. It had been written in their eyes when she and Argeleafa returned. Bellyn could read it in their faces - their distaste and annoyance. What had Bellyn done but followed her heart to help find Argeleafa? What had Argeleafa done but acted on her feelings? Did not the Elves feel sorrow, or loss, or anger? Bellyn fumed inwardly at the hypocrisy of the Elves. Their loyalty to Amroth went deep...Bellyn knew it well. Was it not the same thing to be loyal to a king as to be held loyal to a friend? Bellyn knew the Elves would have done the same if Amroth had left the company.

Her anger was calmed as she sat by the fire.

They held hands.

Bellyn wondered at how quickly things had changed. Had not it only been weeks since the group had found Nethwador as a savage, beastly creature? Now he sat calmly, and closer to Bellyn than she had ever been to anyone, except her mother many long years earlier. She had never felt more comfortable with anyone. Bellyn felt nothing but kindness and security from Nethwador. She liked being near him, but it was an unexplainable feeling. Her hands were cold, though she felt warm and content, under her blanket and next to Nethwador.

"And what shall we do, dear Mellon, when this journey is over?" She said to him in a whisper, looking at all the members of their rag-tag company. What a mission, to bring forth so many people of different backgrounds. Bellyn had not thought too often on where she would go when the journey ended. Now she wondered, for the evil Elf had made it clear that the journey could be halted at any moment. How long could they travel, hoping against hope to find Amroth's lost lover? "Where shall we go?"

Still, Bellyn remaind calm. Their hands remained interlaced.

Soon the company would need to continue. Bellyn had no doubt that they would find Nimrodel...eventually.