A Mettarë Tale

I do not own anything in this fan fiction except the original characters/places/items that I create. Everything else belongs to Tolkien.

This is a short story that I wrote for a 'secret Santa' gift exchange on the LOTR Plaza. The screen name of the person I got was Eowyn of Light, so this story is not based on the real Eowyn.

The gift options were either artwork, a poem or a short story. The short story had to be less than two pages, so this is a very short story.

Mettarë is a holiday in Middle-Earth that took place around Yule-time or what we know as Christmas now, and it is also the celebration of the New Year.



A Mettarë Tale for Eowyn

It was Mettarë. Eowyn was finishing her last minute shopping for her meal tonight. Why do I always spend Mettarë alone? Eowyn wondered. But, even if she was to spend it alone, she wanted to have a nice meal. Looking in her basket, she saw that all she had left to buy was bread.

Well, that shopping didn't take as long as I thought it would, she thought to herself afterwards as she was walking home. Pulling her cloak tighter around herself, she looked around. The snow that had been on the ground for several weeks now wasn't looking so white anymore. Eowyn thought, a snowfall tonight would be lovely! She looked out further past all the houses. The snow covering the plains was still white, and mostly unbroken. Her thoughts kept her busy as she walked, though, and she didn't notice rider ahead who was having trouble controlling his horse. And then the horse decided to bolt.

"Miss, look out!" she heard a man yell.

Looking up, she saw a figure flying towards her as the horse bolted towards her. And then the figure hit her, knocking her out of the path of the horse.

~~~~~

I can't believe I said yes to him! Eowyn thought later as she prepared for the Mettarë Banquet. She hadn't originally planned to go, but Alfric (the man who had pushed her out of the path of the horse) had asked her if she was going. And when she had said no, he had told her there was no way a beautiful girl like her was going to sit at home by herself when she could go to the banquet. His knock came on the door just as she put the finishing touches to her hair.

~~~~~

Eowyn had enjoyed the being at the banquet with Alfric. He had a wonderful sense of humor, and he knew how to keep her comfortable. Alfric tugged her away from the direction of her home when they left the banquet.

“Where are we going?” she laughed.

“You’ll see,” Alfric said with a grin.

He led her through the streets to a stable, and outside the stable, there was a sleigh. Eowyn gasped with surprise. Alfric helped her up into the sleigh, then climbed up himself, and they rode out. The moon shone out brightly between the clouds, and they rode for miles before turning around again. As they drew near to Edoras again, it started to snow. Eowyn smiled, reaching up to catch some snowflakes. Alfric smiled, glad to see her enjoying herself. However, they soon reached her home. Alfric left the sleigh, and came around to help her out.

“Thank you for a wonderful evening, Alfric,” she said.

“You’re welcome, Eowyn,” he said as he walked around and climbed back in the sleigh.

She watched him go, a smile on her face.

“Merry Mettarë!” he called back to her.

“Merry Mettarë to you too!”

The End