Daughter of Mirkwood [Lord of the Rings | Haldir]

Chapter 7

Another Beginning

They spent the night on the Flets the Wardens used to guard the borders of Lorien. After the horses were led away to a more secluded area, the Rivendell party was, one by one, lifted up to the platforms hidden among the branches of the mallorn-trees that inhabited Lorien.

Once settled, the Rivendell Elves began to truly relax. Aeslin, buoyed by her joy at being among so many great trees, checked on Elladan's bindings, eventually unwrapping them and examining the wound. What little healing she had done promoted the wound to close on its own, so it was well enough to leave unbound. Aeslin was pleased with the results, and told Elladan that, with the natural speed with which Elves healed, he would be hale long before they reached Rivendell.

It was a testament to the effect of the Golden Wood on the Mirkwood elf that her sorrow was far less than it had ever been previously on any mention of Elladan and Elrohir's imminent departure. She and Arwen well knew that at dawn the brothers would depart so they could make it through the Redhorn Gate before winter reached the mountain pass. Though Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn were their kin as well, the twins were anxious to get home.

The night seemed to pass blessedly slow, allowing the four elves out of Rivendell one last chance to be together before they were separated. Arwen, rather understandably, was quiet and reserved that night, sitting between her brothers as they all reclined with their backs to the massive tree that gave home to the flet. Aeslin sat next to Elrohir, leaning comfortably against him as the night wore on. The four of them talked quietly, undisturbed by the Lorien elves nearby.

By the time dawn came, they had all fallen into an easy sleep, dozing as the sun's light began to stream through the canopy of leaves leaving dappled patterns on the wooden surface of the flets. Aeslin was the first to open her eyes as the forest awoke around them. Beside her, Elrohir slept peacefully, Arwen's hand wrapped in his, while she lay curled against Elladan, who in turn had a protective arm around his younger sister. Aeslin extricated her hand from the crook of Elrohir's arm, careful not to wake him as she separated herself from the siblings. They looked so peaceful that she couldn't bear to disturb them. With the silent steps of her kind, she paced across the flet and looked out at the Golden Wood, finally stopping to watch the forest around her.

Standing stock-still at the edge of the flet, her eyes followed the shifting and dancing patterns made by the sunlight through the leaves. It was so unlike Mirkwood that she was barely able to compare the two, not that she really felt any desire to do so anyway. She hadn't been there for more than a few moments when Haldir joined her.

"I trust your night was peaceful." With a small smile she turned to face him.

"Yes, thank you. It was a well needed respite for us all." He nodded, satisfied. Taking another few steps forward, he came to stand beside her on the edge of the flet, looking out beyond their perch.

"The Golden Wood calls to you, doesn't it." A look of soft satisfaction came over Aeslin's face as he spoke, confirming Haldir's suspicions even before she spoke.

"Indeed, it does. It has been almost three centuries since I left Mirkwood. I could feel the emptiness inside me at being parted from my home, but Lorien..." She was at a loss for words. She still missed her home, but Lorien called to her heart in a different way than Mirkwood ever had. "...I don't know. They are as different as day and night, Lorien and Mirkwood; each beautiful and wondrous in its own way. I can't even compare them." It was Haldir's turn to nod.

"It is indeed beautiful here. There is nothing in Middle Earth to rival it."

"That is not at all difficult to believe."