Everlasting Dawn

Chapter 3

The girl threw up her hands in frustration and growled through her teeth. Mairon looked up from his book and chuckled as her brow creased and contorted.

"I do not understand this! Why is it so difficult?"

"Eriathwen, if you believe it to be so, then the work will never tire or become easier...you must allow your mind to see as the words are written on the page. Knowledge is an art, remember that. Now try again..."

He gestured to the piece of parchment, of which the girl was trying to write in Westron. She found it easy enough to speak the language, he had discovered for she was fluent in Sindarin, Quenya and Westron, but the latter seemed to fail her in writing. His next lesson with her was Khuzd Dhul and dwarvish runes, but he was tempted to leave it until another evening. Already it was quite late into the evening and the sun was near enough set.

"I'm sorry, but this is too impossible!"

The young elf threw down her quill and ran her fingers through her chestnut curls. Mairon stood and walked round to her. He wasn't going to let a weeks absence from his forge go to waste because she had given up.

"Nothing is impossible unless you say it is. If you believe that you can do it, then you will achieve your task."

"You speak in riddles, Mairon, can you not just help me?"

"Of course, my dear lady."

He circled round the back of her chair and lent over her. Eriathwen turned her head, only to find her nose brushing his cheek. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, and she held her tongue. She looked back at the page of scrawly writing. Mairon chuckled inwardly and pointed at a sentence.

"Here, what are you trying to write?"

She pointed at the page of the elvish text she was reading. It was an old guide on the creatures of the Greenwood. Her finger gracefully traced under the writing.

"It has been many years since the great elks of old wandered the forests of old. Now it is a rare and splendid occasion to spot such a unique creature in these habitats."

Mairon nodded. He pulled a sheet of clean parchment towards him and dipped the quill into the ink. Then he scratched the sentence in elvish on the page. He then repeated the same sentence, but in Westron. Eriathwen's eyes narrowed at the page. Mairon placed a calming hand on her shoulder.

"Look, it is easy once you get the hang of it...each letter in elvish has a curve which fits into its Westron counterhalf. Find the curve, find the letter."

She nodded, understanding slightly. Then she placed her quill, just under where Mairon had written the transcript and attempted to write. He watched her as the tip wobbled along the page, finding it adorable how her eyes seemed to crease as well as her brow and she chewed on her bottom lip. Mairon was shaken from his musings when she reached the first W. The rest of her writing was shaky and almost illegible.

They were nearly two weeks into her education, and the Ainur was stressing that the only things he'd taught her was a few words in Khuzd Dhul and part of the history of Rhovannion.

Mairon walked over to her. He then sat down gently on the arm of her chair and took her hand in his. She frowned at him wordlessly, her heart quickening with nerves and embarrassment. He looked at her, their gazes meeting.

"Let me guide you."

Then he lowered their hands and began writing. Eriathwen watched, amazed, as the quill began to write the words. The black marks were not wobbly or slanted, but clean and smooth...as if plucked from a book and placed onto a page. Once they'd finished, Mairon released her hand and stood.