In the Garden
folder
-Multi-Age › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
35
Views:
7,565
Reviews:
59
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
1
Category:
-Multi-Age › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
35
Views:
7,565
Reviews:
59
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
1
Disclaimer:
I do not own the Lord of the Rings (and associated) book series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Chapter 6 The Way Home
Title: In the Garden, Chapter 6
Author: Sorsha
Fandom/Pairing: Elrond/OFC, others implied
Rating: PG-13, but will increase in future chapters
Warning: AU (Story set several hundred years after ROTK in Aman); Het.
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated.
Archive: AFF.net; fanfiction.net
Acknowledgements: Thanks also to Lady Victoria for betaing this fic.
Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to Prof. Tolkien. A quick check of my bank account should prove I’m not making anything off of writing my stories. Sigh!
Summary: Life in the Blessed Land has not been so blessed for Elrond. Can the happiness that has long eluded him be found in the words of a red-bound journal, the help of his scheming friends, and the granting of a wish that none thought possible?
Chapter 6 --- The Way Home
Meril stood for a moment unsure of what to do. Her friends had paired off with their partners upon arriving at the recital. Now that the hour had grown late, she was ready to go home. So much had happened, all she really wanted to do was to close the door to her room behind her so she could relive several key moments of the evening in hopes of putting them into some realistic perspective.
Unwilling to ask her friends to leave or, worse yet, linger so that she would have to be a third person in a moment meant for just two, she slipped out of the side door onto the patio intent upon leaving on her own. She had enjoyed the evening, the first such gathering she had attended since Haldir’s betrayal other than her siblings’ weddings. /Min’s wedding that had to be rescheduled and scaled back for a single couple, not the two as we had planned. I still feel guilty that the scandal forced her to delay the wedding and that it ended up a small family affair rather than the big event she had wanted. Odd… she got the wedding I wanted and was denied the one she wanted because of mine being cancelled./
Sighing, she stepped though an opening in the hedge onto the walkway that led to the front of Gildor’s house. Unlike her family, her uncle and aunt preferred a solid structure built on the ground rather than a talan in a great tree. /The difference between millennia lived in Lorien verses living in Imladris or Lindon… or of living rough as a wanderer. I think Nana relished the change as it marked the start of a new life for her when she married Ada and moved with him to the Golden Woods. She was the wife of a respected advisor to the rulers of the realm and lady-in-waiting to her aunt, not the illegitimate daughter of a long-lost king./
Turning to the left as the path wound its way back into the City, Meril squared her shoulders and moved forward. /This is Aman, not Middle-earth. It is safe for me to travel alone at any hour of the day. Besides, I do not have far to walk to be home./
“Do you not plan to wait for your escort, my lady? The hour is late after all.”
Whipping around in surprise, she found herself face to face with Lord Elrond. “My lord! I did not see you there.”
Nodding his head, he smiled. “Thank you for proving my point. I am sure your escort will be worried when he finds you have abandoned him.”
Startled by the implied question, Meril answered without thinking. “I have no escort as you well know, Lord Elrond. He abandoned me a long time ago.”
Seeing the puzzled, embarrassed look that crossed his face before he could hide his reaction, she asked, “You do not know… my name made no connection?”
“Pardon me if I have… Before tonight, we had not formally been introduced,” he began, obviously confused.
Embarrassed herself, she groped blindly for something to say to end the awkward moment. “I will be fine, my lord. I came with friends, but they… are with their intendeds, so they will not miss me. Again, I very much enjoyed your performance. It was well worth the wait.”
“Thank you, but… why did you think I would know your name? I admit your name is one I should know as I know your parents. I have known your mother since I was an elfling… from when I was living in Lindon. She read and sang to my brother and me. I remember her fondly for I knew she understood how we felt… alone and out of place at court.” Pausing he added, “Your father often traveled to Imladris on business for Lorien and I think highly if him. I do not recall meeting you before… though I have seen you in the park,” he concluded, a faint blush highlighting his cheeks.
Unsure what to say, she finally decided her only option was the truth… all be it a very short and abbreviated statement of those facts. “I assumed you had heard my name… I was Haldir’s betrothed.”
The faint blush turned to a bright red stain as he finally understood both her comments and her embarrassment. “I… I am sorry, my lady. I had not realized. I do not believe I was ever told your name. I must have heard it, but did not make the connection what with… I am sorry to have embarrassed you. You are right; I should have made the connection.”
Unhappy that she had embarrassed him, she changed the topic. “Nay, you had more than enough to occupy your thoughts. May I ask… is the harp your preferred musical instrument? You are most gifted in its play.”
Recognizing her desire to move past an embarrassing topic, he accepted her overture with grace. “Aye, I do prefer the harp, though Lindir taught me other instruments as well. What instrument is your choice?” Gesturing for her to precede him, he added, “I believe Galadriel said you play the flute…”
“I confess, the flute is my favorite, though I enjoy my harp and lyre as well. I find the flute allows me to freely express… impulses that move me when I play. Of course, not when I am playing a set piece, but other times… I know I am not expressing myself very well,” she trailed off, taking a quick glace out of the corner of her eye trying to see if he found her ramblings silly.
To her relief, he was nodding his head. “I know are saying. I do that with my harp. Have you ever written down the music you create?”
Shyly, she shook her head. “I am not a composer, my lord. I seldom remember what I play. It is simply a… need that takes me and I either write poetry or play my flute... though I have done little of the latter in recent years.”
Smiling, he asked, “How do you know you are not a composer if you do not remember what you play? We must tell Lindir this, for I did much the same thing until he taught me to fully connect to my music. Thanks to his efforts, I can hear my songs in my head, not just through my spirit, in such a way that I can commit them to paper. I find great satisfaction in that… much like looking upon a finished poem that says and is as you thought it should be.”
“You write poetry as well, my lord?”
Cutting his eyes to catch her gaze, he grinned. “I do when I have my journal.”
Giggling at the unexpectedly playful remark, she nodded her head. “I thought it would never cease raining so I could go to the park and return yours to you. I had not realized how often I reached for my own until it was not there.”
“I have had the same realization. If you plan to visit the park tomorrow, perhaps we can exchange them then?” he suggested, trying unsuccessfully to keep the hopeful note out of his voice.
“Like you, I tend to go in the early afternoon. May we plan to meet tomorrow in the small garden at the hour after the mid-day meal?” she replied, her heart beat speeding up in anticipation of their meeting again.
Relieved that she obviously had no objections to being seen in his company, he agreed. “I will be there, my lady.”
“My family’s talan is just down this path, my lord. I thank you for walking with me.” Meril stopped and gestured toward her home. “While I was not overly concerned about my safety, I lived in Middle-earth far too long to take such things for granted. I hope I have not inconvenienced you too much by taking you too far from your own home.”
Tamping down a flare of disappointment that the walk had ended so soon, Elrond turned and bowed in her direction. “No inconvenience at all, I promise you. My home is only a short distance to the north. I will be home in a matter of minutes. It was a pleasure, my lady. Until tomorrow.”
Inclining her head, she murmured, “Good night, my lord. Travel safe.”
Elrond stood for several minutes after she had climbed the stairs to the porch in front of the talan and closed the front door behind her. He did not remember the last time he had enjoyed a conversation so much. /There was nothing remarkable about what we said… no great revelations or Arda-shaking insights. Still, it was so… natural. It seemed to flow between us without effort or… artifice. Indeed a refreshing end to a pleasant evening. I am very glad Lindir pressed me to come./
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As Elrond moved away in the direction of his home, he did not see the curtain over the living room window shift slowly back into place or the ellon who had been following them from a distance dart behind a tall hedge as he passed. In the talan, an elleth walked slowly toward her room, her mind replaying the conversation they had shared, her heart more at peace than it had been in many centuries. Once the elf lord had passed out of sight, the ellon emerged from his hiding place and disappeared down a path leading toward a nearby house.
-----
Author: Sorsha
Fandom/Pairing: Elrond/OFC, others implied
Rating: PG-13, but will increase in future chapters
Warning: AU (Story set several hundred years after ROTK in Aman); Het.
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated.
Archive: AFF.net; fanfiction.net
Acknowledgements: Thanks also to Lady Victoria for betaing this fic.
Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to Prof. Tolkien. A quick check of my bank account should prove I’m not making anything off of writing my stories. Sigh!
Summary: Life in the Blessed Land has not been so blessed for Elrond. Can the happiness that has long eluded him be found in the words of a red-bound journal, the help of his scheming friends, and the granting of a wish that none thought possible?
Chapter 6 --- The Way Home
Meril stood for a moment unsure of what to do. Her friends had paired off with their partners upon arriving at the recital. Now that the hour had grown late, she was ready to go home. So much had happened, all she really wanted to do was to close the door to her room behind her so she could relive several key moments of the evening in hopes of putting them into some realistic perspective.
Unwilling to ask her friends to leave or, worse yet, linger so that she would have to be a third person in a moment meant for just two, she slipped out of the side door onto the patio intent upon leaving on her own. She had enjoyed the evening, the first such gathering she had attended since Haldir’s betrayal other than her siblings’ weddings. /Min’s wedding that had to be rescheduled and scaled back for a single couple, not the two as we had planned. I still feel guilty that the scandal forced her to delay the wedding and that it ended up a small family affair rather than the big event she had wanted. Odd… she got the wedding I wanted and was denied the one she wanted because of mine being cancelled./
Sighing, she stepped though an opening in the hedge onto the walkway that led to the front of Gildor’s house. Unlike her family, her uncle and aunt preferred a solid structure built on the ground rather than a talan in a great tree. /The difference between millennia lived in Lorien verses living in Imladris or Lindon… or of living rough as a wanderer. I think Nana relished the change as it marked the start of a new life for her when she married Ada and moved with him to the Golden Woods. She was the wife of a respected advisor to the rulers of the realm and lady-in-waiting to her aunt, not the illegitimate daughter of a long-lost king./
Turning to the left as the path wound its way back into the City, Meril squared her shoulders and moved forward. /This is Aman, not Middle-earth. It is safe for me to travel alone at any hour of the day. Besides, I do not have far to walk to be home./
“Do you not plan to wait for your escort, my lady? The hour is late after all.”
Whipping around in surprise, she found herself face to face with Lord Elrond. “My lord! I did not see you there.”
Nodding his head, he smiled. “Thank you for proving my point. I am sure your escort will be worried when he finds you have abandoned him.”
Startled by the implied question, Meril answered without thinking. “I have no escort as you well know, Lord Elrond. He abandoned me a long time ago.”
Seeing the puzzled, embarrassed look that crossed his face before he could hide his reaction, she asked, “You do not know… my name made no connection?”
“Pardon me if I have… Before tonight, we had not formally been introduced,” he began, obviously confused.
Embarrassed herself, she groped blindly for something to say to end the awkward moment. “I will be fine, my lord. I came with friends, but they… are with their intendeds, so they will not miss me. Again, I very much enjoyed your performance. It was well worth the wait.”
“Thank you, but… why did you think I would know your name? I admit your name is one I should know as I know your parents. I have known your mother since I was an elfling… from when I was living in Lindon. She read and sang to my brother and me. I remember her fondly for I knew she understood how we felt… alone and out of place at court.” Pausing he added, “Your father often traveled to Imladris on business for Lorien and I think highly if him. I do not recall meeting you before… though I have seen you in the park,” he concluded, a faint blush highlighting his cheeks.
Unsure what to say, she finally decided her only option was the truth… all be it a very short and abbreviated statement of those facts. “I assumed you had heard my name… I was Haldir’s betrothed.”
The faint blush turned to a bright red stain as he finally understood both her comments and her embarrassment. “I… I am sorry, my lady. I had not realized. I do not believe I was ever told your name. I must have heard it, but did not make the connection what with… I am sorry to have embarrassed you. You are right; I should have made the connection.”
Unhappy that she had embarrassed him, she changed the topic. “Nay, you had more than enough to occupy your thoughts. May I ask… is the harp your preferred musical instrument? You are most gifted in its play.”
Recognizing her desire to move past an embarrassing topic, he accepted her overture with grace. “Aye, I do prefer the harp, though Lindir taught me other instruments as well. What instrument is your choice?” Gesturing for her to precede him, he added, “I believe Galadriel said you play the flute…”
“I confess, the flute is my favorite, though I enjoy my harp and lyre as well. I find the flute allows me to freely express… impulses that move me when I play. Of course, not when I am playing a set piece, but other times… I know I am not expressing myself very well,” she trailed off, taking a quick glace out of the corner of her eye trying to see if he found her ramblings silly.
To her relief, he was nodding his head. “I know are saying. I do that with my harp. Have you ever written down the music you create?”
Shyly, she shook her head. “I am not a composer, my lord. I seldom remember what I play. It is simply a… need that takes me and I either write poetry or play my flute... though I have done little of the latter in recent years.”
Smiling, he asked, “How do you know you are not a composer if you do not remember what you play? We must tell Lindir this, for I did much the same thing until he taught me to fully connect to my music. Thanks to his efforts, I can hear my songs in my head, not just through my spirit, in such a way that I can commit them to paper. I find great satisfaction in that… much like looking upon a finished poem that says and is as you thought it should be.”
“You write poetry as well, my lord?”
Cutting his eyes to catch her gaze, he grinned. “I do when I have my journal.”
Giggling at the unexpectedly playful remark, she nodded her head. “I thought it would never cease raining so I could go to the park and return yours to you. I had not realized how often I reached for my own until it was not there.”
“I have had the same realization. If you plan to visit the park tomorrow, perhaps we can exchange them then?” he suggested, trying unsuccessfully to keep the hopeful note out of his voice.
“Like you, I tend to go in the early afternoon. May we plan to meet tomorrow in the small garden at the hour after the mid-day meal?” she replied, her heart beat speeding up in anticipation of their meeting again.
Relieved that she obviously had no objections to being seen in his company, he agreed. “I will be there, my lady.”
“My family’s talan is just down this path, my lord. I thank you for walking with me.” Meril stopped and gestured toward her home. “While I was not overly concerned about my safety, I lived in Middle-earth far too long to take such things for granted. I hope I have not inconvenienced you too much by taking you too far from your own home.”
Tamping down a flare of disappointment that the walk had ended so soon, Elrond turned and bowed in her direction. “No inconvenience at all, I promise you. My home is only a short distance to the north. I will be home in a matter of minutes. It was a pleasure, my lady. Until tomorrow.”
Inclining her head, she murmured, “Good night, my lord. Travel safe.”
Elrond stood for several minutes after she had climbed the stairs to the porch in front of the talan and closed the front door behind her. He did not remember the last time he had enjoyed a conversation so much. /There was nothing remarkable about what we said… no great revelations or Arda-shaking insights. Still, it was so… natural. It seemed to flow between us without effort or… artifice. Indeed a refreshing end to a pleasant evening. I am very glad Lindir pressed me to come./
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As Elrond moved away in the direction of his home, he did not see the curtain over the living room window shift slowly back into place or the ellon who had been following them from a distance dart behind a tall hedge as he passed. In the talan, an elleth walked slowly toward her room, her mind replaying the conversation they had shared, her heart more at peace than it had been in many centuries. Once the elf lord had passed out of sight, the ellon emerged from his hiding place and disappeared down a path leading toward a nearby house.
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