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The Last Song of the Ainur	By : TICS Category: -Multi-Age > Het - Male/Female Views: 2084 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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 List
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Chapter Three

"I think she grows fond of you."

"Bah! She stares at me as if I have grown horns and
hooves, R�mil.
'Tis not fondness in those eyes�'tis plotting to determine where in my
hide she is going to stick something sharp," Orophin said to his brother
as they worked coiling long lengths of rope on the ship's deck. It was hot work
as the sun beat down on the whitewashed deck of the ship, and the Elves worked
shirtless, clad only in their leggings.

Nearly every day since Anna had
finally been able to convince Elise and Rebecca that the Elves would do them no
harm, Elise had managed to find a way to sit on the deck, watching
Orophin. Her gaze never faltered,
her wide green eyes staring, following his every move. It was making him distinctly
uncomfortable.

"At least she no longer
screams at the sight of you - a decided improvement," R�mil replied,
piling the last of the rope neatly along the starboard side of the ship. "Perhaps if you ventured to speak
with her�"

"Kindly do not seek to interfere,
R�mil. I am content with her
silence�if only her stare would not penetrate the back of my skull as it does,
I should be more than content."

"You insult me, Orophin! I
only mean to put you at your ease�the woman is plainly taken with you."

"Perhaps it is you who is
enamored. Your attentions to the little one have not escaped my notice,
R�mil," Orophin stated, wiping his hands on his breeches.

"Ah, but you are mistaken,
brother. I have not paid my attentions to her�I have as yet been unable to
catch her! When ere I approach,
she runs from me," R�mil laughed, the twin dimples in his cheeks deepening.
"Tis Haldir who finds himself in the throes of courtship. Those two are
never now found far from one another."

"He walks dangerous ground,
R�mil," Orophin replied, his eyes narrowing. "The woman is human�you well know what that would mean
should he lose his heart to her."

"'Tis his choice,
Orophin. We three have ere been
alone with only each other for company all our long lives. Have you never wished for love,
brother?" R�mil asked, his expression sobering. "What good be
immortality if it dooms us to wander ever alone?"

Orophin fell silent, bending to
busy himself at worrying at the loose end of one of the rope coils. As R�mil walked away, Orophin's eyes
darted to the slender woman who sat near the bow of the ship, watching him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Haldir lay on his bunk, his arms
folded beneath his head, staring at the ceiling. Reverie evaded him, although the soft snores of his brothers
gave evidence to their state of being.
His thoughts of late were tumultuous, centered on the woman and his
growing feelings for her. He was a
warrior who had faced death's cold fingers many times over the Ages, always
unflinching, but his feelings of late frightened and worried him more than he
would ever admit aloud.

It was then that he felt the
tickle in the back of his mind, a whispering long forgotten that had at one
time been as familiar to him as his own voice.

"Haldir�Warden of Old�"

"My Lady?" Haldir
answered, his eyes widening as his lips formed the words mutely.

"You are troubled."

"Aye, my Lady."

"You fear losing your heart
to the human, but your worries are for naught, faithful One."

"I fear not for myself, my
Lady, but for my brothers who would grieve at my inevitable passing."

"Ah, but your fears are
ungrounded, dear Haldir. Have you
never wondered why so many of your brethren never found the ones to make their
souls complete? The answer lies with these women."

"My Lady?" Haldir asked
silently, confused at her words.

"Long ago, shortly after
being banished there by Il�vatar at the end of
the First Age, forbidden to ever leave his cold prison, Morgoth found a crevice
through which he could reach out from the Void. Watching from the nothingness, he beheld Sauron's repeated
failures to destroy the race of Man with amusement, knowing him doomed to fail,
knowing the puppet could not succeed where the master had not.

�Instead he bided his time,
waiting and watching Man, sending one or another a thought from time to time -
an inspirational thought that inevitably led Man to the threshold of
disaster. Many times he tried over
the Ages to have the hand of Man destroy himself through War. In this last
century however, the time came that Man had finally accrued the knowledge necessary
to seal his own doom by virtue of his own discoveries. Morgoth seized his
opportunity, influencing a small number of humans to unleash the evil that
ended the Age of Man. The final
War has been fought not on a battlefield resonating with the clang and spark of
metal against metal, but all across the earth with a poisonous whisper as
deadly as it was silent.

"Il�vatar knew of this
plotting but - unhappy at the course Men had taken unto themselves and saddened
at the evil Men did to one another - allowed it to come to fruition. He, however, would not allow Morgoth to
decree the End of Days. In His wisdom, He set in motion the means necessary to
defeat Morgoth's insidious plan.
These women are the result, Haldir. Whilst still in the womb these few
have been touched by the hand of Il�vatar. That is the reason they did not
succumb to the illness that killed their brethren.

"The White Ships were sent
out past the Circles of the World to collect these scattered Blessed of Il�vatar
to bear them hence to the New Havens where they will be safe. Once again the
Ainur will sing, Haldir. They will
remake the world for a final time, readying it for a new beginning.

"You will not fade, Haldir,
because she will not die. She is
as we are, immortal. Your children will inherit this world, Haldir. Peredhil,
their elven heritage tempering their human blood, but unlike Elrond Half-Elven, no choice will be thrust
upon them for they will already be counted among the Eldar, born of immortal
parents. A perfect blend of both
of Il�vatar's Children�the Thirdborn."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Haldir stood with Anna on a grassy
knoll overlooking the harbor, gazing at the small fleet of White Ships that
floated silently on the calm water. His brothers stood further down on the
beach, greeting a few newcomers, Elise and Rebecca standing with them, adding
their own introductions to the human emigrants. Both women were still a bit
reserved while in the company of the Elves, but were slowly being accustomed to
them, even perhaps, a bit fond of them.

Behind them rose the wooded
hillsides studded with white stone buildings, interspersed with colorful
gardens of sweet smelling flowers. This city, prepared for their arrival by the
Maiar and Valar of Aman, had been christened "Caras Harthad,� the City
of Hope.

Turning to the woman at his side,
Haldir reached to take one of her hands in his own. Meeting her eyes, he touched the side of her face tenderly,
tucking a stray tendril of hair back behind her ear.

"An-na�my An-na," he
said, frustrated at his inability to profess to her the depth of his feelings
as yet. She was learning his
language, but not quickly enough to suit him. He ached to tell her everything he knew�share with her the
vision given him of the future.
Sighing, he said, not certain that she would understand, "You are
my heart, An-na." He brought her hand up to his lips, placing a soft kiss
upon her knuckles.

Smiling, Anna reached up to stroke
the side of his face, saying two words that nearly brought tears to Haldir's
eyes since, though simple and child-like, they told him that she did indeed
understand. "Anna's Hal Dear,"
she whispered.

As he dipped his head to claim her
lips for the first time, Haldir felt a thrumming in his breastbone. A deep, resonant strum that
reverberated through his bones, and gave wings to his heart.

Out beyond the Circles of the
World, where the Age of Man had come to an end, the last song of the Ainur had
begun.

TBC...
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The Last Song of the Ainur

Chapter Three