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Title: what once was (#438)
Author: whatoncewas
Chapters: 2
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Archive: Tolkien
Category: Lord of the Rings
Description: A series of short LotR character vignettes. "Oh, how he longed for what once was, when he had his parents, and the giddy smiles of his sister, and the warmth and sincerity of his uncle." PG-ish as of now.
Published: 07 Dec 2003
Updated: 12 Dec 2003
Warnings:
Type: Angst
Characters: Eowyn; Eomer; Faramir; Boromir
Chapter 1 - beginnings of Shadows
what once was
eowyn & eomer & faramir & boromir
1-beginnings of Shadows
1.1 - so, so fair
Golden hair flowing down from the crown of her head, slight flush on her cheeks, small smile, a beautiful white dress, and she is what you make of her. If you choose to believe so, she is beautiful. If you see her as radiant, than so she is. She would be easily molded now, could be sculpted into the perfect young girl, were it not for her love of horses, of fighting, of war.
She of Eorl's house delights in destroying her enemies, in grinding them into dust, so nothing would be left. She is still young, still vulnerable, yet with an underlying steel that goes unnoticed by most, enabling her to trap them with her piercing grey gaze. She sees much more than she would let you believe and at times more than you believe anyone could see.
Fair and cold as is her line, she may stand completely still and fool you into believing her serious attitude; then, swift as lightning, giggle and run to her uncle's horse, whom she always borrows, and ride off across the plains of Rohan.
1.2 - bound
He was older, living under a different set of rules. He had to uphold his father's name and seem mature. And, well, he did that, just not the way anyone wanted him to. And his father didn't get to see him exemplify the family name...
His father would never see him again.
Oh, how he longed for what once was, when he had his parents, and the giddy smiles of his sister, and the warmth and sincerity of his uncle.
Now there was only his cold sister, his distant and aloof uncle, and his horse.
Happiness fled as the Shadow neared, and he feared never would his sister smile again, never would his uncle pat his head and let him race the Riders of the Riddermark, never would he himself be at peace.
Restless-always.
The clock never stopped, and he moved in time with it, waking, sleeping.
Dark would be his future if it were not headed off soon.
1.3 - distance
He was always far from the rest, unwanted. Father never cared for him, always kept him at a distance. Everything was his brother, who was so perfect and good and light that he loved him, but wished to hate him, wished he could.
He had a room with a window facing Mordor, and each night he would fall asleep staring at Barad-dur, hoping it would fall in the night, that Sauron's power would fail him.
It never seemed to heed his pleas, ever burning, creeping up on Gondor.
The Shadow moved slowly, cautiously, yet he still noticed its waxing under cloak of darkness.
He wanted only pure freedom, to be recognized as himself, not as the brother of his brother. Why couldn't his brother be the younger brother? Always overshadowing him in every way, he wished for once he could reign over his brother, be the victor in an invisible never-ending battle of strengths and weaknesses.
If only.
1.4 - his father
His father wished for him to forsake his brother, to turn him away at the gates of Gondor. He couldn't do that, for blood was blood and relatives were relatives, simple as that. Though he knew he would always be seen as the "better" of the brothers, he knew just as well that label was subjective and fickle. It could easily change with the rising of the sun, and he only wished to have earned it, never to keep it.
It wasn't as important to him as it was to his father. His father hated his brother, perhaps because of his mother.
Most likely.
If that was the reason, he knew in his heart that it wasn't his brother's fault. No, it certainly wasn't. Ill health, curse of the Shadow, darkness of mind... Any of those factors could have caused it, but it was not his brother.
No, never his brother.
His brother had always a cross to bear upon his back; and he would never add to it, no, never.
Love was all that kept his brother with him; and he wished always to have a brother, for he feared to be alone, when anything could touch him, could take him, could shatter him.
Chapter 2 - Quicksilver
Quicksilver in my veins, poisoning me, poisoning us.
what once was
lord of the rings drabbles, set before/during the war
quick note-Thanks to Viv and ArwenEvenstar for reviewing. Sauron and Legolas are pretty much included. :)
2-Quicksilver
2.1-poison of rohan
Grima’s work is that of a subtle art, barely perceptible even to those granted great gifts of vision, such as her, dear sister, clear-sighted. She knows, of course, that he darkens the mind of Theoden-king, but only a bit of how he does it. How indeed.
By sowing the seeds of Saruman and leaving the now small kingdom of Rohan to reap their rewards.
Torching the Westfold, burning rapidly through it, slicing deftly through the tall wild grass as if through a thick, leafy forest.
Burn, burn, burn, and set hearts and minds aflame with an unintelligible sort of madness.
2.2-mirkwood
The Shadow is ever darkening the lands there, bringing with it a deepening sense of dread, of doom.
Legolas knows he may never see the elves sing of the Sea again; he may not live that long, though he has lived for centuries.
The long arm of Sauron approaches now, accompanied by orcs and Uruk-Hai and Wild Men and those, like Saruman, who wish too to rise in the wake of Middle-earth’s destruction.
Only total death could be the end result, an end of sorts to the glorious life now living to their doom on Middle-earth, fated only to die.
2.3-barad-dur
Doom, ring the bells of Sauron always, doom doom doom.
A force is amassing in Mordor, mustering thousands nay nearly millions who wish only power, only this evil sort of knowledge that comes from the first Shadow ever to grace Arda: Morgoth, and Sauron but his follower.
Ask Sauron how followers feel and he will torment you to the end of your days.
Ask him how he felt as a servant of Morgoth and he will leave you suffering for as long as is humanly (or, conversely, not so humanly if you are of such a race) possible.
Just don’t.
2.4-rivendell
Queen of the stars, sing the songs of the elves, A Elbereth Gilthoniel!
Their time on Middle-earth is coming to a rather abrupt close, as they prepare to leave for Valinor.
They will leave the day you enter, perhaps a bitter irony, a bone of contention to you in later days.
You wanted to be one; it’s too late, far too late for that.
Rivendell is nearly empty now, the last few going off to war.
You see this now, your heart just aching to see just once the beauty, the suffering.
You can’t be one of them; powerful, intense.
2.5-forsake the twilight
This touches her more deeply than she lets him see.
To leave her people for him, this, this is harder than she first thought, all those years ago, but to her people it is but yesterday.
Such a rift between her and her father now, she muses bitterly, like never there was before.
Once she was the Evening Star of her people and now she will remain but a memory to them, a fleeting glimpse of fading beauty.
She will forsake the twilight for him, and never again can she turn back now.
This is, oh this really is, forever.
2.6-endgame
Frodo the Nine-Fingers.
That is how he is now remembered in folklore, the ringbearer.
What an arduous, treacherous task and now he can hardly see the day in front of him, underneath the fog of his mind.
It has tainted him terribly, perhaps beyond salvation, and he can no longer live where he is not breathing.
Every day breaks him, shatters him, and picks up the pieces at the end.
Too much for a destroyed person to take.
So he must leave the world of Middle-earth in hopes elsewhere he can be something again.
Like he was before.
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