Dawnstar and Friend

Eleanor’s POV
Before my prince comes, I have something else to worry about.
The moment Thanduil got my letter, apparently no one else bothered to tell him, he packed up and left to come to Lorien, only stopping long enough to send a messenger ahead to forewarn of his coming.
I am not sure whether to be terrified or over the moon, the messenger not being a well of information on Thanduil’s opinion on my engagement.
We sit upstairs, above the greeting hall/area-thingy that is seen in the Fellowship film, though it doesn’t look all that similar, it is much more graceful.
I have to admit I am scared out of my wits, the fact that Thanduil has ignored the frosty relations between Mirkwood and Lorien to come see me says quite a lot and I still am unsure if it is good stuff.
On mind-cue from Galadriel, we descend the stairs to greet the elfin king, and I am trying not to quake.
When I get down there he shocks the life out of me, not to mention everyone else, by pulling me into his arms and spinning me round. I think he might just be happy, you know.
Actually, it turns out that happy is a total understatement. He is totally over the moon.
He stays for as long as he thinks he can in these troubled times, being quite disturbingly cheerful, before leaving again.
We decide not to tell him that Legolas and the Fellowship would be coming through soon, else he would stay longer and then there would be there would be the explosions when he finds out that Legolas is friends with a Dwarf, and even worse, the son of one of the Dwarves who he held prisoner.
None of us want to see that just yet.
Somehow we manage to wangle it so that we are included in the patrol that goes out to the borders when the Fellowship is due to arrive so we are there to see it. Ginny, however, stays behind as it would seem a little strange to see a single 5’5” ‘elf’ amongst the rest of us, who are all at least 6’.
We manage to convince Haldir and his company not to tell the Fellowship that we are there, if they come through of course. They seem a little suspicious about this request for some reason, can’t think why.
Strangely enough the Fellowship do turn up. Isn’t that a co-incidence?
It is quite fun watching them, though I both have to resist the temptation to hug the Hobbits and kiss my elf to infinity.
After they have been safely ensconced in the talens, we go down and join the guard. That night we fight with the guard and have a few hairy moments and I am rather worried when, while I am surrounded for a short time, one of the sentinels calls me by my law-name and at least some of the Orcs and Uruk-hai who hear them call me Dawnstar escape. It probably will come to nothing, but it still gives me a sense of foreboding whenever I think about it.
After the fight, Miriel and I race back to the city to report and be there before the Fellowship. We get just enough time to rest and refresh ourselves before going to wait in that same room we waited for Thanduil in.
When I go down the steps to greet the Fellowship, we are all touched by their grief. Miriel and Ginny both sweep forward and hug the Hobbits to them while I wrap my arms about Legolas’ neck and hug him gently. I feel his tears and kiss those away too.
We escort them to the clearing, which has been prepared for them, and helped them as we could.
I stayed with my fiancé for the whole night, letting him take comfort in my presence. The grief of the Fellowship helps us pretend to be sad as we know that Gandalf is not dead.
After the Fellowship has gone to sleep, I take Legolas up to my talen. I know it is not really proper, but as we are engaged, there is a certain leeway for us.
Though we do nothing improper, he does sleep in my arms that night, which I think helps him.
Over the next few days, I help him get over his grief, often taking him to visit my elfin friends, more male than female because of my preoccupation with fighting and being dangerous and all that.
He soon takes to bringing Gimli with us, who at first makes my friends nervous, but they soon get used to the plain spoken Dwarf, partly because I make sure that neither party can air their prejudices.
Amusingly enough, despite us having been in Rivendell for two months after the Council of Elrond, Gimli had not discovered the relationship between Miriel and Legolas.
This is probably because I took up much of Legolas’ time and much of the rest of it was spend training the Hobbits.
When our little Dwarf friend does find out he is rather amusing, he stares at the pair, who are standing side by side and do actually look very much like relatives, gaping in shock.
It is quite awkward for a few days after the discovery, and that helps because the awkwardness keeps the minds of the Fellowship off Gandalf.
We get fed up of it though and diffuse it by asking Gimli to show us more on the use of the throwing axes that we were given by the Dwarves when we visited Erebor. He is more than happy to show us the use of a ‘real’ weapon.
We do also carry on training the Hobbits, which is really quite amusing, partly because I teach them the methods I had been taught back home for fighting people bigger than me. They are quick learners, I notice.
When we tell Legolas about the visit of his father to Lorien, we have a rather amusing time. If Gimli’s reaction to the discovery of the relationship between Miriel and Legolas was funny, then his is absolutely hilarious.
He gaped for a while then paced a bit, running his hands through his hair, which is undeniably sexy. He then sits down and asks for details and every so often gets up, paces and mutters to himself. He is obviously confused by his father’s reaction.
For the next few days he seems unable to take his father’s visit off his mind.
During the visit, we also keep up to date with the war, talking to Galadriel and Celeborn often.
The news from outside the utopian elfin realm was grim. While the Fellowship has been here, Orcs have formed a ring round Lorien so it would be dangerous for anyone to leave or enter. I have no doubt which multi-racial group they are after.
A week or so before the Fellowship is due to leave, the guards capture an Orc, who claims to have useful information in return for his life.
He is dragged off to a dungeon to be questioned by the elves.
A few days after that, I get called to a private meeting with Galadriel and Celeborn.
What I hear while I am there is one of the few things which has actually scared me for a long time.
I knew that them calling me Dawnstar when we were fighting was bad.
One of the Orcs, at least, had reported back to their master, whether Saruman or Sauron, and I was known to the enemy.
They also somehow knew of my powers, though thankfully, they didn’t know about either Ginny or Miriel having powers.
The Orcs’ orders had changed from bring back the Hobbits unharmed to now bring back the Hobbits and the pale brown haired she-elf. This rather curtailed my freedom of movement.
There was another problem there. Lorien would be assailed three times and the attack would reach far into Lorien. It was inconceivable that I would not fight, but the Orcs had orders to bring me back and they would try to capture me.
In other words, I am in immense danger and there is no way out, it would kill hundreds of people potentially to get me to the safety of Rivendell.
Ginny’s POV
It doesn’t take long for Thanduil to arrive after he received the letters from Ellie and Miriel. Even if Ellie hadn’t sent him a letter herself, Miriel’s would most certainly have brought him running. The intervening 90 years doesn’t seem to have dampened Miriel’s naivety when writing to her father, especially when she’s excited about something. Her letter included phrases like: we have a binding to plan...happened at Imladris...so romantic...they actually got together when Ellie first arrived in Mirkwood... See what I mean?
As we sit in the area above where visitors are formally greeted, I can sense and see Ellie’s nervousness.
“Don’t worry, Ellie. Thanduil won’t do anything – this is what he’s wanted for the past century.” (My God, has it really been that long?)
Ellie still paces nervously.
I’m about to use my powers to calm her when Galadriel’s voice enters our heads, telling us it’s time to descend.
Thanduil, one of the most buttoned-up, serious, controlling elves around doesn’t wait upon formalities, he simply swooshes forward, grabs Ellie in his arms, and proceeds in spinning her round and round. He is actually laughing – something no one else joins in with as we’re all so shocked by his reaction. It would appear he’s rather pleased at the prospect.
Over the course of his stay, Ellie and Legolas’ betrothal becomes Thanduil’s most favourite subject. He brings it up at the oddest moments – even when we’re trying to do something as serious as training.
Thankfully, I was in a large group of archers at the time and we all loosed our arrows together, so Thanduil didn’t really see who owned the arrow that hummed right past his ear.
Thanduil left quite soon after that and then it was only a matter of time before the Fellowship would grace us with their presence.
Reasons pertaining to height are amongst those given when I choose not to join the patrol with Miriel and Ellie.
This means I have an agonising three day wait from the 15th to 17th January. Tolkien tells us about the Orcs from Moria who follow the Fellowship into Lorien and are driven back by Haldir and his patrol, but he doesn’t say anything about the fate of the two female elfin princesses who have also joined in. It’s a shame I can’t use my powers on myself.
Needless to say, I’m overjoyed when Ellie and Miriel arrive back in the city.
There are brief hugs before we all freshen up in order to meet the Fellowship proper.
We don’t really have much time so I decide not to ask Ellie about what has made her seem a bit nervous; it can’t be Gandalf... we know what happens there.
The four Hobbits look so downcast at the death of Gandalf that Miriel and I also forget formalities (who in their right mind would enforce them at this point anyway?), and immediately take them in our arms, hugging them tightly.
I feel my shoulder dampen as Pippin’s tears soak into the fabric. I find my own eyes welling up. Yes, I know Gandalf isn’t really dead, but I can be very emotional at times and everyone is so very sad after recent events. Besides, I really liked Gandalf when he was in Rivendell and who’s to say when I will see him again.
Two events help to lighten the mood of the Fellowship’s stay. They both involve a certain set of very entertaining reactions by both Gimli and Legolas.
When told of Miriel and Legolas’ true relationship to each other, the normally gruff and blunt Dwarf just stands in front of the siblings, his mouth gaping like a fish, looking first at Miriel, then at Legolas, then back again. His mouth works as though he wants to say something, but no sound comes out.
The second is Legolas’ reaction when we finally tell him about Thanduil’s congratulation trip to Lorien. He gapes, paces, mutters under his breath, runs his fingers distractedly through his hair, all the while making us go through our account of the visit in nauseating detail.
I must say I rather like seeing Legolas all flustered like this and I can’t help teasing him a little by changing one or two little details so that he gets even more confused. It’s good to know that even elves lose their cool on occasion.
***
Outside Lorien, the world is getting grimmer by the day. That is why Ellie, Miriel, and I are on border patrol – this isn’t really the time to be worrying about one’s height. Besides, we couldn’t sit around and do nothing.
I’m worried about Ellie though, last night she told me about the change in the enemy’s plan. She wasn’t very forthcoming and I had to bully the answer out of her.
Outwardly, Ellie seems fine, if a little shaken; inside, she’s just a bundle of nerves. Maybe we shouldn’t have come so close to where the Orcs are.
Our scouts are reporting restlessness from the enemy lines; it looks like they’re arming up.
I hope the day goes in our favour.
Legolas’ POV
It was the day the Fellowship was leaving and we prepared to go.
Eleanor, my beloved, had gone to the borders for a short while.
I had not been happy that she was going into danger again, but I did not voice my worries. She had been fighting for years and knew what she was doing.
She had also been distracted for the last several days, like there has been something scaring her.
I think it has something to do with the private meeting she had with the Lord and Lady. She wouldn’t talk about it, saying that they had asked her not to tell me about what had been said.
I accept this and let it go, but she promised me to be back for the farewell.
When we are receiving our cloaks from Haldir she is not there and then, when we go down to the boats, she is not there either.
When Galadriel give me my bow, I ask what has happened to her. She looks at me with an unreadable expression and takes me aside.
“I am sorry to have to tell you this Legolas, but yesterday she was in a battle and became separated from the rest of the group. My wardens lost track of her in the battle and she was lost. We have not found any body and have sent a party to track after the Orcs who escaped.”
“She left her cat behind though and asked us to have you care for it, or more precisely travel with it, should she be lost.”
“Ginny and your sister have left with the group tracking Eleanor, taking their cats with them.”
To hear that she is almost certainly gone makes my world crash around my shoulders.
She can’t be gone, she can’t be!
It is only my loyalty to the Fellowship, the promise I made to help destroy the Ring and her cat, winding itself sinuously round me, that stops me from running after her.
I will not live long after we have completed this quest though. I cannot stop my grief at the loss of the one I love more than anyone and to whom my heart will always belong. I cannot live without her.
I take Nyx and go.
The cat curls up behind me in the boat, obviously uncomfortable in the water going vessel.
As we travel I stroke her, holding onto one of the few things I have left of my beloved.