The Eastern Woman

Lord of Lothlórien

Celeborn entered the Palace escorted by five Galadhrims.

He immediately felt the smell of incense in the air.
"What is going on?" he asked Feren, who accompanied him.

"Someone has fallen into the Void." replied the commander of Greenwood. That was the definition of death for Elves.

Feren called one of the guards who were watching over the Great Door. He asked him something in elvish, and the soldier answered: "Roswehn."

Celeborn asked: "Is the human woman dead?"

The commander nodded. "Did you know her, Lord Celeborn?"

"Yes. Many years ago she was a guest in Caras Galadhon. She stayed for three days in our territory. I knew she had become Thranduil's lover, but I thought she had returned to Dale in the recent years." replied the Lord of Lórien.

"Our King brought her back here a few days ago. She was very old. A cruel twist of fate took her away from her loved ones." answered Feren. "But we were all expecting it: humans die."

"And where is their son?" Celeborn wanted to know.

Feren's eyes opened wide. "You ... you know ... about the young prince?"

"Galadriel and I know everything. He is a half-blood Elf, whose existence is extremely important. I guess he is here, hidden somewhere." said the noble Elf.

"He has escaped. Lord Thranduil is looking for him." Feren explained, as he accompanied Celeborn to the council cave. "He has given me full authority, in his absence. Therefore, we will have to talk about the next actions."

"Escaped ... this is tragic news. I can imagine Thranduil's anguish ... and Roswehn's desperation. Her old heart could not bear this." commented Celeborn. "Poor woman. She was so beautiful, and tenacious."
He thought of Haldir, the captain of the Galadhrims, killed at Helm's Deep. He had loved her immensely. The memory of the girl of Dale had never left his mind.

"Please follow me, Lord Celeborn. It is time to decide what to do. Your help has been essential, I will report everything to our King when he returns. But the war is not won. Those Orcs could come back. Sauron has many legions, he is not defeated. Those creatures could try a new attack. Moreover, a good part of our forest has been destroyed. It seems that an ice dragon has put out the fire. We don't know why he did it, and we don't even know if that creature could become hostile. With a Dragon that roams in our territory and new enemies that could arrive, the alarm is still high. " Feren explained. Both entered the spartan cave, where all the administrative and military decisions were made.

"A Dragon ..." repeated Celeborn. "... Feren, I cannot make decisions within your borders. It is up to Thranduil to rule your people. I think it is time for me to go to Gondor, now. We can't leave Men alone. " replied Celeborn. "I am taking my Galadhrims over there."

"It would be useless." a voice commented. Thranduil appeared behind them. Still in armor, his face was pale, he looked at Celeborn and then at Feren.

"My King!" exclaimed the commander.

"Didn't you hear the sound of the elven horn announcing my return?" asked Thranduil.

"No. No, my lord." answered Feren, a little embarrassed.

"Now there must be silence here." the King said. He turned to Celeborn and put his hand to his heart, and his cousin did the same. "Thank you for dragging your army in our defense." he told him.

"I would not have left you face this war on your own. It is time for Greenwood and Lothlórien to rebuild their alliance." commented Celeborn. "Where is your son?"