Seeds of the White Tree

Chapter 34 - Melethryn

The sun was still below the horizon when Eruthiawen and Almárëa rode out from Annúminas. Together with a group of young Dúnedain women, they followed the lake shore northwest. The Hills of Evendim rose sharp and rocky to their left, their mantle of black pines creaking softly in the morning breeze. In some places, the shale rose so steeply from the shore that gnarled tree roots protruded from its face. Tiny waterfalls trickled here and there, down through the hills to the lake, slicking the stone and making it shine like polished glass. The scent of old forest, dark soil, and calm water surrounded the women as they rode, so rich and full of life that they could practically feel their skin tingling.

It was slow going in places; the pebbly beaches crunched and shifted under the horses' hooves, and once they even had to navigate a channel cut through the hillside where a proper waterfall met the lake. Come sunrise though, they had found the place they sought.

Here, on the northwestern corner of Lake Evendim, the steep hills and thick forest peeled back a ways, leaving a stretch of open shore. The rocks were smaller here too, thinning out into a fine grey gravel nearly the texture of sand. Large logs of driftwood lay scattered along the shore, twisted in sun-bleached, serpentine shapes that piqued the imagination to look at.

One of the young women of Annúminas pointed along the beach. "Look there! The bears have been down to the water already this morning."

Sure enough, a mirroring set of heavyset prints could be seen meandering away toward the tree-line; one large and the other small.

"Yes, a mother and cub no doubt." Eruthiawen smiled. "A shame we missed them, but perhaps for the best."

"Come on Eruthia!" Almárëa called, already down off her horse and halfway out of her kirtle. "I've been waiting for a swim since yesterday!"

So far away from the city and any prying eyes, the older girls were only too happy to follow Almárëa's example. Horses were loosely tethered to nearby driftwood, outer clothing was shed, and shoes were kicked off, left to lie where they fell. Shrieking with delight and cold, the seven of them raced to tumble into the shallows of the lake.

They passed a wonderful morning there on that beach. Some, like Almárëa, swam out as far as they could and dove down for the bottom. They surfaced sputtering, repelled by the dark and cold. Others were content to wet their feet at the shore, searching for pretty rocks and other curiosities as they waded. A lynx stuck its head out of the trees briefly, drawn in by curiosity and the clamor. It permitted the girls only a brief glimpse though before darting away back into the forest.

By midday they were all tired, chilled and hungry, and so they built a small fire hollow on the beach. Almárëa and one of the Dúnedain caught a pair of trout further down the shore, and these they roasted for an early lunch. While they ate, the girls unbound their wet hair and spread it across their shoulders, the better to be dried by the fire. There they sat, picking little bones from their meal and chatting amongst themselves.

"Haaa..." Eanna, a short girl with dark curls and freckles, sat back and sighed with contentment. "A pity summer is so short; I could spend every morning year-round like this."

Almárëa hummed in agreement as she licked her fingers clean. "A pity we aren't here more often! I think Annúminas might just be my favourite place in all of Middle-Earth."

"If Your Grace were to spend a winter here, you might not say as much come February, when the windows are all frozen shut and flowers seem but a distant memory," said Selwyn, Eanna's taller, more pessimistic cousin.

"I wouldn't mind!" protested Almárëa. "Snow is beautiful, and we see so precious little of it in the south. No sooner has it blanketed the hills at Yuletide then it seems the thaw begins."