Adult-FanFiction.org : Lord of the Rings

Hearts of fire, souls of ice	By : Nuredhel Category: -Fourth Age to Modern times and beyond > Het - Male/Female Views: 2339 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings, it belongs to Tolkien, and i do not earn any money from this work of fiction, it is solely written for entertainment and not for profit at all.I do not own Lord of the Rings, it belongs to Tolkien,

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
So, what is gonna happen now? Will Thranduil get to know the truth about her finally? And someone has indeed come up with a most devious plan.
Chapter nine: The song of creation

The room was almost a library, shelves filled with books were covering every wall and she was staring in awe at it all. He had met her by the door and he kissed her cheek and took her by the arm, appeared to be rather proud of this collection. “This room is beautiful”
She meant it, there were no windows there, just some huge chandeliers which were lit now but the room was not dark or sinister in any way. It had color and the design of it was almost as if this was a part of a forest, the shelves and lines looked almost like branches and roots and there was a sort of liveliness to it which stunned her. He grinned. “I am very glad you like it, it is my favorite room.”
She started walking around, a huge table was placed in the middle of the room and it was covered with books and maps in what appeared to be an utter mess. “Doesn’t anybody tend to this place?”
Her voice told of a sense of humor and he caught the friendly mocking within her words. He grinned. “Nay, it is my personal little refuge and I don’t have time to put things back in their place I fear.”
She laughed and walked around the table, some of the maps had to be very valuable and some of them looked very old indeed. She took up a book and looked at the title. “Tales of…I can’t read the rest?”
He snapped the book from her hand and appeared to be a bit embarrassed. “Ah, it is rather worn, it is a collection of ancient…fairytales.”
Nireariel frowned and snatched the book back, opened it. It was written in tengwar and she just had time to read a few sentences before he grabbed the book once more and shoved it underneath some paper. She felt her cheeks burn, it was no doubt about the type of “fairytales” this book contained. “It is very old, and valuable”
His voice was filled with a bit mirth and he had a glimpse of mischief in his eyes. She smiled. “So this isn’t something you read by your bedside at night? You’ve just kept it to preserve it for the future?”
Her voice was very innocent and sweet and he grinned widely. “Yes, exactly! To prevent it from falling into the wrong hands”
She giggled and picked up another book, it was illustrated and she stared at a very good drawing of some animal she never had seen before. She frowned. “This cannot be real?”
Thranduil gestured for her to sit down, his face looked eager and she obeyed, he opened the book up wide and pointed at the illustration. “This book is also very old, made by humans who had never ventured outside of their own countries. They made books like this to show others what they may encounter if they were travelling but as you can see here, they had no idea of the different types of animals they would meet.”
Nireariel turned the page, on the other side she found a drawing of a most peculiar looking beast, it was probably made to look like some sort of deer but she had to laugh at it. “What is that?”
Thranduil pulled his chair closer to hers and smiled. “An elk, but the people who drew this believed that they legs never bent so they would sleep standing up, and if you wanted to kill one all you had to do was to sneak up on it while it was leaning towards a tree sleeping and cut down the tree so the elk fell with it.”
Nireariel felt a surge of eagerness rush through her, this room was filled with knowledge and she was suddenly aching for just that. He saw the light in her eyes and picked up another huge book from the pile. “Let’s start with this one shall we, it is the story of Arda, illustrated.”
She leaned against his shoulder as he opened the book and started telling and she soon became mesmerized by the images he managed to create within her mind. As the night fell over the lands they just sat there and talked and Nireariel had never felt more at peace.
It was way over midnight when Thranduil suddenly realized that several hours had passed, the chandeliers were dark since the candles had burned down and the room had become dark. Nireariel had fallen asleep with her head against his shoulder and he had slept too. They had been too eager to notice how tired they both were. He got to his feet and lifted her gently, she was rather light despite of her height and he kissed her brow and carried her with him towards her and her father’s rooms. He knocked on the door and Astar opened, he stared at them with his eyebrow lifted and Thranduil blushed. “We were reading, I guess fatigue got the best of us cause we both fell asleep.”
Astar nodded and opened the door. “Enter, I’ll show you the way.”
The warrior walked ahead of them into Nireariels own room and Thranduil placed her gently on the bed. She did not wake up and he felt how his heart swelled with a tenderness and love he never before had experienced. “She is like a sponge, she yearns for knowledge. I think we spoke of everything that has happened since the very creation of this world. She is smart, she sees beyond the obvious and knows how to ask the right questions.”
Astar smiled, his smile filled with pride. “Yes, she loves reading. Her mother left her with many books and they have all been read until only the binding were left. You are going to get a queen who is insatiable when it comes to learning new things.”
Thranduil just nodded and bent down, kissed her head gently. “Sleep well my precious, I will see you again tomorrow.”
He closed the door behind him and turned towards Astar. “Tell me, she has inherited the gift from her mother? Could she do the same things?”
Astar sat down by the table and Thranduil sat down too, a bit reluctantly. Astar stared at him and his face looked a bit grim in the darkness of the small room. “Yes, it is inherited. Her mother was not as strong as Nireariel appears to be but they are both twice blessed and twice cursed, as it always has been the case with their kind. My Haldanare was a fantastic healer until she did one terrible mistake, after that she stopped doing it although it was terrible for her. Nireariel was almost doing a mistake just as fatal as her mother when she healed those warriors but she was unaware of what she was doing and that it could be dangerous..”
Thranduil swallowed. “Twice blessed and twice cursed?”
His voice was trembling and Astar looked at him with pity in his eyes. “Yes, she is blessed with the ability to heal and a soul so filled with light and goodness no evil ever will be able to corrupt her, she is cursed with her albinism and a power which none other than the gods really should wield.”
Thranduil was a bit pale. “What power are you talking about?”
Astar leaned over the table, put his chin into his hands and yawned. ”If you are to become her husband you ought to know but I warn you, I have not yet told her of this. So keep your mouth shut.”
He nodded. “I will, Poicano told me you told him, he seemed to be a bit…stricken!”
Astar grinned, there was a bit of mirth in his eyes. “No wonder, he knows a lot and to almost everybody her kin is a legend, a fairytale.”
He tilted his head. “The power she has is one many would wish to own, but it is no gift, it is indeed a curse. Only those with a very pure heart may harbor such power, it will crush the very soul and sanity of all others. “
Astar sighed and leaned back, his eyes closed and an expression of sorrow on his face. “Nireariel is able to stop the dark angel in his tracks, stop someone from dying if someone else dies in that persons place. She can in fact choose who it is who must die, and now I think you understand why it is a curse?”
Thranduil was gasping, his heart beating wildly in his chest and his throat felt like it was bone dry. “Oh gods, that is horrible? She has to live with the knowledge that she has to let someone die in order to save someone else? That is beyond awful, it is…vile!”
Astar nodded his head, the king could see tears in his eyes. “Yes, she can heal with her song but not those who are at deaths door, then she’ll need that other power. She cannot use it often and it takes a lot of strength and will too. She may never have to use it and I pray the Valar that this will be the case. That choice is one I never would wish her to take. Her mother chose to be the price to be paid for our oldest daughter’s life when Nireariel healed her whilst still being in Haldanare’s womb. I did never forgive her for that, it would have been better if I had died.”
Thranduil felt himself shiver, it was indeed a terrible power to carry. “Then tell me, why has she been blessed thus? What is she? I know she is not entirely of our kind, my fea tells me this.”
Astar nodded and grasped Thranduils hand, the warriors own hand was scarred and weak but Thranduil could still sense the strength within his old friend. It was a strength not depending on the hroa but born from the very fea itself.
“You have powers yourself, that is why you can sense this, I bet you even felt it when she sang?”
Thranduil nodded slowly. “I did, and it was, I cannot describe it.”
Astar had a look of pure melancholy on his face. “Yes, it is nothing which can be described, not by the words of mortals nor immortals.”
He sighed and took a deep breath, his eyes seemed to almost glow when he opened them and he stared into the darkness as if he was looking at a long forgotten memory. “I met her mother in spring, I was still rather strong then, not strong enough to continue in the guard so I had to take my leave and find something else to do. I worked as a carpenter and I had cut my leg rather bad. They brought me to her, to Haldanare. The second I saw her I knew without any doubt and with the very core of my fea that she was my one, that we were destined for each other. She healed me and I saw her, I saw her true nature. I was terrified and in awe at the same time. “
Thranduil was just sitting there, waiting for his future father in law to continue. “She was fire and light and passion, the very song of the earth itself and I knew I was nothing compared with her and yet she loved me. I was so blessed, I still am for having spent time with her, and now with our daughter.”
Astar stared at Thranduil. “When Eru created the world with the help of the Ainur, the children of his own mind they sang the song of creation and it was wonderful and their powers touched everything. But Melkor tried to weave his own themes into the song and it created discord and brought the song out of harmony.”
Thranduil nodded. “I know, I have heard the tales.”
Astar sighed. “Then this is something you do not know, for it is not known for others than a very few, Eru had already created some creatures in secret, he knew that Melkor would corrupt the song and so he brought forth five souls of pure light, and hid them from everybody. Within these creatures he stored the song as it was supposed to be, uncorrupted and pure. Within these creatures lay the idea of creation itself devoid of evil and darkness. When the world was finally created and the first born awakened by the shores of Cuivienen he awakened also these five creatures and placed them onto Arda, they did not know of their powers and lived their lives as ordinary elves but the gift was passed down from generation to generation and it was always five of them. In them was the song of the earth preserved and in them it would be stored until the world comes to and end and is remade. The song in them would then be released and the new world would be as Arda was meant to be.”
Thranduil could just listen, he had nothing to say. “But Melkor learned of the five, he feared them and in secret he made sure that their bloodlines were broken, he could not dare to kill them but he made sure that they died without leaving any heirs due to accidents, disease and such. And then only one remained and Eru saw that his plan was in jeopardy and so he took that one which was left and hid her within the very fabric of time itself, in deep hibernation until the time was right. When Morgoth was thrown out and Sauron defeated by the last alliance he thought that it was safe and so she was released and returned to living her life among the mortal and immortal of this world. A child of Eru’s own mind in the body of an elleth, the last carrier of his original song, of the purest of his light.”
Astar smiled. “Melkor tried to intervene rather early, he used his dark spells to make sure that the carriers of this power never would reach their full potential, they are all cursed in some ways. My Haldanare was too proud, too stubborn. That was her curse and the power added to it. Nireariel is the last one remaining, and I do not know whether or not she has the protection of the one who created her kin, all I know is that she is no different than others but also very different. She is one of a kind my king, and more precious than anyone can imagine. In her the hope of a new and better world rests, and within her it can never be corrupted and twisted.”
Thranduil shivered, he now knew why he felt awe when she was near, she carried a small piece of their very maker within her soul and he felt like he was more than just rude and overconfident to ask for her hand in marriage, he was almost committing some sort of sacrilege. But he knew that they belonged together, that he was meant to be by her side. Astar grabbed his hand again. “You cannot let anyone know of this mellon nin, to the others she will still be the daughter of a warrior and a common healer, nothing more. Yes she is blessed with the power to heal and they will show her respect and love and admire her because of this but she is just an elleth, nothing more than that. I know the Valar has chosen you for her, you may keep her safe.”
He swallowed hard, knew that his eyes told how sincere he was. “I will, for her I would lay down my own life without hesitation.”
Astar nodded. “Then love her and cherish her and keep her safe, make her life good and peaceful, show her joy and she will heal you in return. See her as your wife, not as a spirit of the very light of creation.”
He tried to smile and it became a rather shivering smile but he managed to avoid looking too stunned. “I will, she will be my heart, my everything.”
Astar got up, squeezed his shoulder. “I know my friend, and now please forgive me but I am tired and my bones are aching, I need to rest.”
Thranduil bowed and left the room, his head was spinning, he could not believe what he had heard but he knew that it was true. It was too overwhelming for him to wrap his mind around it so he decided that he should try to forget about it, it was for the best. He could never understand the power which was hidden within her, not if he lived until the very end of this world. He went to sleep and while he slept he thought he heard a distant music, so ethereal and unworldly beautiful it brought tears to his eyes even whilst in the midst of elven dreams.
The next morning Nireariel and Astar arrived at the healing ward at the same time, Astar started preparing some rather valuable seed pods and Nireariel was sent to work preparing beds. She was a bit bored and she kept thinking about all the things she and Thranduil had been talking about the night before. She had never known about the fall of Numenor and the history of Gondor or many other of the stories he had told her and she had enjoyed it just as much as he had. They had laughed and relaxed and she knew how he had carried her back to her room. It made her blush but it was very nice of him to take such care of her. Poicano was leaving for the woods, he was going to harvest some herbs which grew on some glades in the west part of the woods and he would be gone for a few days. He had left some of the other healers in charge and Astar had mumbled something Nireariel didn’t hear but she had a strong suspicion that Poicano should have let someone else do the job of harvesting those herbs. Astar did not approve of Poicano’s choice of leaders, he thought that Lumar who was left in charge was unable to distinguish between a ruptured spleen and severe acne. Nireariel had to laugh at her father’s words but she did understand him very well, Lumar was always running around looking confused and he seemed to be unable to remember anything.
When Nireariel was done preparing beds she was told to help sorting out the linen closets and she and two other ellith were sweating and cursing as they tried to count all the sheets and determine if any were so worn they could be shredded into bandages. During the lunch break she started talking with the two ellith and she was stunned to discover that she actually liked talking with others, and they were genuinely friendly and not at all affected by her appearance and the fact that the king was showing her more attention than normal. She had a happy feeling of having gotten two friends and she was whistling when they returned to the boring work of counting sheets and pillow covers.
Then one of the palace couriers came rushing in with a small note, he bowed before Lumar and delivered the note. “This was given to me by one of the guards following Poicano, he forgot something.”
Lumar frowned, Poicano forgetting something? That was unheard of and he opened the note and read it with his usual confused expression. “Astar, come here please.”
Lumar stood there with the note in his hands and he looked as if he was about to rip out his own hair. “What the heck is yellow snake bloom? I have never heard of it?”
Astar looked interested all of a sudden. “It is a very rare flower, it blooms from a thin green vine and it is one of the most powerful anti-infection medicines known to anyone. How come?”
Lumar made a grimace. “Poicano sent me this note, someone has seen this flower blooming by the bogs west of the white cliffs, he wants me to send someone with skills and knowledge to pick some, we need as much as possible he says.”
Astar was thinking rather fast. “That isn’t very far from here but rather secluded, does he say anything about who it was who saw it? “
Lumar shook the note a bit. “Just that it was a patrol? Should we send someone?”
Astar nodded. “Yes, if this flower really is in bloom there we have to go get it, but I wonder how safe it is?”
Lumar shrugged. “It is very safe, nothing lives there except the usual forest animals, it is a bog damn it. Not even the orcs like that kind of environment.”
Astar nodded. “I suppose I could go then, I have both the knowledge and the skills needed to harvest this plant. It can be rather dangerous, its sap is very poisonous if one gets it onto naked skin.”
Lumar looked extremely relieved. “You can? Oh thank goodness, I am not much of a plant gatherer, I prefer my books.”
Astar did not say the words which just popped up in his head there and then, he was smart enough to keep his tongue tied but Lumar would probably never understand his sarcasm anyway. “I will finish what I am doing now and then leave, it will take a couple of hours getting there and I need the night to work. They bloom only at night.”
Lumar looked as if he really didn’t care much, he just nodded. “Then have a nice trip. Should I ask for any guards to follow you?”
Astar shook his head. “No, I think I will be fine, if there are no orcs or anything there it ought to be safe and I work better alone. I’ll just go tell my daughter where I am going.”
He found Nireariel giggling away with the other two ellith she was working with and he was happy to see that she was making friends. He hawked and the girls turned around. “Nireariel, I am going to the woods in order to collect a very rare and precious herb, I won’t be back until tomorrow morning.”
Nireariel looked a bit worried. “Adar, I am coming with you!”
Astar shook his head. “No you are not, it is not dangerous but I cannot be too sure and it is a long walk.”
Nireariel scowled. “You have always told me that the best way of learning is by doing, I need to learn more about herbs and plants. And you know I am able to walk fast. I can be of good help, and keep you company. “
Astar hesitated. “I am not so sure that this is smart.”
Nireariel was fluttering her eyelashes, staring at him with big doe eyes and pouting. “Please Adar, let me help?”
Astar sighed, his walls were crumbing and fast. “Fine, ok Nireariel but put on your cloak and bring some food, your dagger and please wear something less nice than that dress.”
She jumped up and down and grinned like an elfling, then she took off and ran back to their rooms to follow his orders. Astar just grinned and shook his head, she was so utterly charming when she wanted something and it was almost impossible to resist her. He followed her as soon as he was finished with his task, she was already standing by the door with her robe on. It was late in the afternoon but the sun was still up and even a short exposure could cause her painful burns. She had no defense against the sun’s rays. Astar did not need much time to get ready, he just found some good boots and a cloak and then he packed some equipment and bags in a woven basket made to be carried on his back. He took his walking stick and nodded at her. “Let’s go then my dear, we have to hurry.”
They walked out the door and through the winding corridors and paths and as they approached the entrance to the palace they heard a voice calling out. “Astar? Nireariel? Where are you going at this time of the day?”
It was Legolas and he appeared to have returned from a patrol recently because he was still wearing his hunter’s attire and had a bow strapped to his back and his long knives beside it. Astar bowed. “We are going to the bog near the white cliff to gather a very rare and valuable flower, we will be back by sunrise.”
Legolas frowned, he looked worried. “The white cliff? That is a nasty area, not easy to pass through and there are no paths there. You may get lost, or worse.”
Astar made a grimace. “I am used to all sorts of terrain.”
Legolas made a grin. “I do not doubt that but you are not the ellon you once were, and with all due respect, it is a long way to walk for someone with half a left leg. I am going with you just to make sure that you don’t run into any sorts of trouble and I will bring two of the guards along too.”
Astar looked a bit bothered. “Why, there is no need for such fuss, we are only going to pick some flowers?”
Legolas sent them a wry grin. “Maybe, but if something happened to you then my father would explode I am sure and I pity the poor soul who were to tell him any bad news of that sorts. So just to prevent anything like that happening I will escort you. After all, I am his son and he is going to marry your daughter, it is just appropriate that we get to know each other.”
Astar sighed and he almost rolled his eyes. “Right, fine, thank you. I am glad we are just picking flowers, at least they don’t hear everything and run off”
Legolas just bowed. “I am going to send one of the servants to inform the captain of the guard where I am going, then I will join you in a couple of minutes. “
Nireariel felt excited, she was going back into these fascinating woods and she was being followed by Thranduil’s son. She knew he was right, it was just proper that they spoke together and she was curious too, maybe Legolas would reveal some facts about his father she didn’t know anything off? Three minutes after he came running down the stairs and grinned, he had a full quiver of arrows and two guards followed him. They were both rather young and looked a bit frustrated, perhaps they saw this mission as just boring?
The small group left the palace and started walking, it was beautiful outside now but Nireariel did not see that much, she had to stare thought the fabric of the cloak. She followed just behind Astar and tried not to trip or stumble. After a while they left the paths and went into the woods themselves, it was rather dark down between the trees so she could open her cloak and uncover her face. She enjoyed the smells and sounds and Astar relaxed too. He showed her plants and herbs and explained their use and Legolas was paying attention too. He found Astar’s level of knowledge impressive when considering that he used to be a warrior.
They walked on and Nireariel started chatting with the prince and they soon understood that they went along very well. After all, she was young and so was he and they laughed and made jokes while Astar felt like some fossil compared with them. The two guards were just trotting along behind them and they did not look happy at all. They had probably been looking forward to a cozy evening with some wine and perhaps even the company of an elleth.
The sun set and darkness descended and Nireariel took of her cloak, it was heavy and very warm and made her sweat. She was relieved to get rid of it. One of the guards carried it for her and he did not appear to appreciate the extra burden even a bit. It did not even help that she smiled at him and thanked him profusely. The forest changed, the small animal paths disappeared and it became a swamp, pools of stagnant water and small creeks snaked their way between the huge trees and the very air changed. It became very pungent and Nireariel did not like the smell at all, it was something almost rotten and she cringed and covered her nose.
Astar was eager now, he was limping rather badly and he was panting but his eyes were shining. He had already picked up some specimens of some rather valuable species of mushrooms and some pieces of a very dark moss he claimed could do wonders stopping blood. He did also point at different insects and animals and Nireariel was fascinated. Soon they saw the white chalk cliff ahead, it was a very strange sight since it was pure white and it looked almost artificial, like some long forgotten ancient tower, halfway crumbled but still standing. The bog surrounding it was very wet now, more like a lake than a bog and Astar looked a bit confused. “This place is very dangerous, I can see that now. What looks like solid ground is actually afloat on a hidden lake and one can easily fall through and get caught underneath the vegetation. That is certain death.”
Legolas frowned. “It has rained a lot to the north, I guess all the water has ended up here.”
The guards just looked at each other, as if they both wished they were hundreds of miles from this place.
Astar walked forward. “There is one safe path towards the cliff, I can see that it is almost like an island around it. I guess the flowers must be on that piece of dry land, there are some trees there and some bushes too I am sure,”
Astar was leading the way, there was a stretch of solid ground reaching out across the bog and it had perhaps been a small ridge or even the remains of a long forgotten dam. They made it across and Astar looked even more confused. “This is not the right kind of forest for that flower? These trees are wrong, the very flora here is wrong. Has Poicano gone mad?”
Legolas lifted a perfect eyebrow in a most expressive manner. “Did Poicano send you here? Why?”
Astar let his hood fall down, he sniffed the air. “Well, Lumar received a note from him, telling that someone on patrol had seen that flower here.”
Legolas got pale. “There has been no patrols in this area for months, there are no orcs or spiders here.”
Astar gasped. “What?! But why then…”
He cursed and Nireariel had never heard her father use such words before. “A trap, it is a trap! Someone wants to get rid of us”
Legolas sprang into action. “Fast, we have to return to solid ground now!”
The two guards were already on the run with their swords drawn but before they could make even a few feet back towards where they came from one of them suddenly yelped and twitched and fell, an arrow protruded from his chest. The other threw himself down and Legolas moaned and grasped him. “Retreat, now!”
Astar grasped Nireariel, she was suddenly terrified and shivering. They dove in behind some rocks and Legolas was swearing. “Huitho(Fuck), they have an excellent archer whoever they are, we are sitting ducks out there”
Astar growled, he wished he was well enough to fight. “They want to keep us here on the island, I wonder why?”
Nireariel gasped, she tensed up. She could feel something moving in the darkness and she felt a strange smell she never had encountered before. It was extremely uncomfortable and musky and she sneezed. “Ada, what is that stench?”
Astar shook his head. “I don’t know my dear, keep your head down.”
She felt sick to the very bone, who would want to kill them? Legolas had closed his eyes and the surviving guard was crying. “Poor Estarion, he was a good soldier, not the sharpest arrow in the quiver but trustworthy and strong. “
The surviving guard swallowed. “My lord, they will be looking for us right?”
Legolas nodded. “Yes, but not until tomorrow, if we don’t return before noon it will be noticed and a patrol will be dispatched but before that I fear we are on our own.”
Astar cursed again. “Ai nuath, (oh shadows) then we know that our enemy has until sunrise to kill us all.”
Legolas looked grim. “Yes, I doubt that they will let anyone escape from here alive, but why haven’t they attacked us?”
Astar almost growled. “Because they rely on something else to do the job for them.”
The guard crawled between the rocks, sniffed the air. “I think I know what that smell is, and it doesn’t make me any less worried to say the least.”
Legolas looked at him. “What are you talking about Luin?”
The guard swallowed and he looked pale. “I have heard that orcs use it, to attract some very nasty critters. It is a sort of pheromone released from a root, it is rare and only found in the east.”
Astar stared at the young guard, his eyes were dark. “What nasty critters are you talking about?”
Luin was even paler now, he pointed towards the cliff behind them. “That kind of nasty critter my lord!”
Astar and Nireariel turned their heads and Legolas gasped. “Oh den rhacho ‘ni nuath’ (oh damn it to the shadows(hell)!)”
And Nireariel screamed!
Cliff hanger folks, muahaha ha. Oh, what kind of creatures indeed. A small hint, as a kid I was once stung by a slightly smaller version of these, in my toe, it had hidden within my slippers during the night. It swelled up and ached for days and ever since then, well, I can’t say that they are my favorite bugs. Nuff said ;)
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Hearts of fire, souls of ice