11Chapter Two
Dreams
With graceful skips along a steppingstone pathway, the tiniest maiar in all of Valinor sung under the enchanting woodland that linked to the garden of Lady Nienna. Long light hair swayed in her movements, twirling as she spun in short quick nimble turns as did her long midnight cerulean elvish gown rimmed with silver. Leaf shaped ears peaked out of her mass of slight waves pulled into a waterfall braid, glistening in the sunlight that peaked through the treetops.
Small was the maiarling; so young and sweet. She held no depth of evil in her heart, only the occasional mischief and curiosity. Her eyes deep as the night sky, and if you looked closely you can see stars twinkle in their depths.
Bowing to her invisible partner and then lifting her dress in a ladylike manner, she progressed towards the end of the forest entrance. Flute-throated thrushes above distracted the child for a moment as she paused in her daydream sequence. Looking above, she smiled and whispered back a kind greeting.
"'Quel amrun, mellonamin(Good morning, my friends). Cormamin lindua ele lle(My heart sings to thee)!" she giggled when they hopped back and forth along their branches with noisy optimistic chirps. With a curtsey, the maiar bid them farewell. "Tenna' ento lye omenta, mellonamin(Until next we meet, my friends)."
She loved animals as they loved her. Often her only companions when she ventures throughout the realms of her teachers on her imaginary adventures and sketching in her books with sticks of coal. Creative and clever, her mind is her one true weapon.
Among the maiar, she felt as if an out-caste, estranged and never truly fitting in among the few she knew. Perhaps it is as it is from lack of freedom across Valinor. She even wondered why and it was then a thought occurred to her, one that most likely would not be taken lightly with her masters.
Elenriel needed purpose, to find her place, and needed to search beyond the seas and border of Valinor for the answer.
No one left Valinor, only returned from across the seas. This was paradise for the immortal and the few exceptions. So who in their right mind would wish to leave?
The Noldor were exiled for their thirst for revenge when they departed Valinor to Middle-earth rebelling against the Vala. One part of the First age that comprised of many tales Lord Eonwe taught to her. However, her dates are often off. History was never her strongest subject.
Lord Eonwe in his strict lessons and requirements often lectures her for her inaccurate answers and tendency for short attention span. Occasionally, she'll be able to escape his wrath by strategic evasions by slipping out the window, though often failed once he caught on, and avoiding him entirely. That was actually harder than one would think.
Perhaps that is how she developed her new found sense of humor. Mischief is in her creation, which she often used. Either Lord Eonwe would find her legs deep in mud or Lady Ilmare catches her scaling shelves for the jar of pastries before supper; the small maiarling is always finding some way to make the Lord Eonwe's work complicated and much more work.
Aside from the days of mischief, she prayed that someday they would stop treating her like such an incapable bae, though her unusual tendencies never help her case. Small and a child still, she was most certainly not slow. She was beyond her years, and just wished others could see that.
However, as of late, her oddities only increased as she felt a cold uncertainty at the back of her mind that disturbed her deeply. It left her frightened by strange nightmares of fire and cold darkness that could shake her down to her very spirit. When spoken of, she could sense that the Vala were aware. What could they be hiding, she wondered.
Deep down, she knew that something shifted in the universe, something dark and malevolent. Unseen and hiding in the shadows watching. Just waiting for some moment.
Yet these are merely dark thoughts and worries. Within Valinor under the rule and protection of the Valar, she is safe. They all are.
Arriving at the end the forest, she set her satchel on the trunk beside her and plopped down, pulling at the strap of her long silver belt that hung low on her underdeveloped hips. Her dress billowed around her small frame, hair cascading along the ground like a curtain as she sat straight.
Deep blue eyes that sparkled like starlit sky scanned around her, sensing not a thing. 'She should be showing up soon, it's around that time.'
Her long hair swayed with the wind in a dance as she closed her eyes while taking a deep breath of fresh air. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out her leather strapped book and her hard sketching stick to pass the time. Every once in a while, she'll pull back and look at her progression, checking the proportions. As she worked out the details of a beautiful elf, she took this moment to sing of a place she hears in stories, hoping to pass the time.
That was when a beautiful voice danced through the wind, finishing her own light tune.
"O Lorien! Too long I have dwelt upon this Hither Shore
And in a fading crown have twined the golden elanor.
But if of ships I now would sing, what ship would come to me,
What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?"
The song ended with an extended note, as the same voice spoke calmly.
"You are later than usual, lirimaer(lovely one). An lema(Long journey)?"
"Elen sila lumenn omentilmo(A star shall shine on the hour of our meeting), Lady Celebrian." Elenriel greeted with a warm smile filled with excitement and mild mischief. As the figure sat beside her, she turned to face her fully with a sparkle in her dark night blue eyes. "Arwenamin! I discovered more treasures this early morn by the rivers creek within the Lord Orome's forest. If you wish, I shall share my secret treasures with the fair lady? I daresay, Lord of the Hunt will not miss it. Or so...he claimed."
The maiar earned a soft laugh from the elf as she shifted closer upon the grass as if it were a valuable secfret. She recognized her scent quite well, a familiar and comforting feeling washing over her. For some reason, she felt at peace in her presence. A kind and patient elf who she could feel herself around without a critique with how held herself or her performance during her training.
"Sounds to me that it was a gift instead of stolen treasures, lirimaer." the elf maidan laughed, the sound very chime like. "How are your lessons with Lord Eonwe and Lady Ilmare? You are currently learning more of the First Age, are you not?"
Elenriel looked to the elf whose beauty shone brighter every day with extravagant disdain. Her light golden hair waved down her slender shoulders with the common light blue elvish eyes that twinkled with amusement by the maiar's dreamer persona. Today she wore a pale blue dress, one of Elenriel's personal favorites, embroidered with white stitches and layered with a white collar and slip beneath.
"Nothing different, just reviewing. It is rather dull, yet I still seem to get the dates mixed from time to time and names...there are sooooo many elves in the histories of war and beyond! Of course, it's most definitely worse with the mortals. That's ten times as many! Really more, but who can keep count!" Elenriel spoke as she fell back on the cushioned grass. "Though Lord Eonwe clearly skirts around something whenever I bring up Lord Manwe's brother, the first Dark Lord. I wonder why it is such a forbidden thing to inquire. All others know no doubt."
"Perhaps he is simply waiting to teach with the proper subject matter. The Lord Manwe's brother is a topic not spoken of often. A terrible tale, I'm afraid." Celebrian brushed the loose strands of mithril-like hair from the child's face. "I would not dwell on it so much. Perhaps it is something you may ask later on in your lessons. There is purpose for all things, Elenriel."
"...perhaps you are correct to say that, my lady, but I do not understand the constant sheltering and dismissals. Do they not trust me or think me capable?" The small maiar looked forlorn, eyes cast away. "Perhaps I am just whining. Maybe I'm looking far too into everything and imagining things."
Celebrian pulled the child closer to comfort her. "I do not believe that is so, Lord Eonwe, Lady Ilmare, and most certainly the Valar care for you and wish to protect you. Be patient, Elenriel. You are still so young."
Elenriel held a distant look in her eyes and nodded slowly, though it was clear that was not fully believing. Pulling back to look at the girls face, Celebrian gave her own hopeful smile.
"Tell me, mellon nin, is it not a dream of yours to become an Val'istar(archmage)?" Celebrian attempted to change the topic. "You are so talented and gifted."
"Aye, my lady Celebrian. Tis a dream of mine. A goal, if you may call it as such. I may not be one of the entrusted Istari, but I can certainly aim to be an Val'istar." She looked down at her small feeble hands, fumbling nervously as she pondered on her studies. "I feel as though being as I am now is suppressing. There is a budding emotion of unrelenting restlessness within me that forces me to venture into business that is not my own."
"I see." Celebrian laughed lightly in reminiscence to a far off memory. "You sound much like my sons. They are always ever up to trouble and their mischief especially now that they are older, no doubt they still remain the same. I hope…"
"You speak so fondly of them." the maiar noted. "You mentioned once that they are twins. Do you miss them?"
"Terribly, lirimaer. As well as my daughter and husband. However, fate had other plans. After what had happened to me, I could no longer bare to stay any longer in Middle-earth. For I lost all joy even after I was healed physically. My greatest regret is leaving my family." Celebrian smiled softly towards the small maiar. "Yet I find strength in you that brings me hope that someday I will see my family once again. I also have you to thank for healing me, Elenriel. I will forever think back on that fateful day you were upon the shores awaiting."
The child flushed pink, lowering her head to hide the growing shy smile.
"I know that they miss you just as terribly, for I would if I were to never see you again." Elenriel smiled brightly, her small rounded cheeks raising high on her face. Yet a thought suddenly occurred to her. "Family…I don't think that...I have one."
"No, no, my child. Indeed you do. For the Vala, Lord Eonwe, Lady Ilmare, and even I care for you as family." The Lady of Imladris and Lorien held Elenriel's hand for her fullest attention. "Family is something we elves hold dear. Especially our children." She explained lightly, yet a look in the maiarling rose a concern. "What is it my dear?"
Elenriel hesitated. What she knew was not known by the Vala. At least, not that she was aware. Perhaps they did, they knew much and saw nearly everything. For her little mind that still grows, it was hard to comprehend that amount of power and control. Even when they discovered her adventure to the shores of Valinor and the chance meeting with the Lady Celebrians when she arrived.
With one pressed look at the elf, she forced out what she always wished to speak of.
"Well, though they do not say, I know now deep in my heart, that I am not an ordinary maiar…other maiar do not grow, they descended into these bodies, but I did not. I was born and now must grow." She mumbled, leaning against the tree bark as she looked above towards the cloudy sky. "I've never met them, nor know who or what they are…"
"Your parents...Do you wish to meet them, if given the chance?" Celebrian watched closely. Like most maiar, she is not fully accustomed to emotions or really feeling them.
"Amin caela n'noa(I have no idea)." Her eyes lowered in thought, darkening as a strange feeling bubbled. "It's…confusing to think about it."
"Amin hiraetha, n'dela no'ta(I'm sorry, don't worry about it)."
"No," Elenriel snapped, unintentionally. "Amin hiraetha(I'm sorry)."
"It is alright. Tell me." Celebrian spoke patiently.
It was clear in the child's wide eyes how utterly lost and confused she was of her own existance.
"I remember…before appearing before the vala, there was a voice, yet nothing I can recall. Nothing of…them." she looked away ashamed. "I am an enigma. I know not of who I am, or where I've come from."
"Perhaps you are not ready for the truth, but do not fret over it so much." She comforted, a hand resting on her shoulder, grabbing the attention of the young spirit. "Do know this, if it gives you comfort, I am here for you."
Elenriel smiled widely, a warm feeling surfacing. "Thank you, my lady."
She smiled in return, her smile bright and radiant. "Now, enough of such talk, I do believe you are here for more of my stories?"
The maiar laughed lightly. "Indeed! I have grown accustomed, and love all of your tales. I do wish to hear more."
"Let's see…" she thought back. "I have told you plenty enough about my family."
"May I make a suggestion, then?" Elenriel asked softly.
"Certainly, what would you like to hear?"
Elenriel paused, considering her wish. "I have enjoyed your singing voice, so I ask if you would sing to me the tale of Luthien and Beren. Would you please?"
With a smile and not questions asked, the elf lady accepted her request. "Tis a beautiful choice. It seems you have grown fond of the love of Luthien and Beren."
"Aye, it is a curious nature. Love, that is." She sighed heavily. "I wonder. Will I ever find such love as yours or Luthien?"
At this, Celebrian paused in thought, her gaze distant as a soft smile warmed her expression with a radiant knowing smile. She observed the young maiar quietly. There was no question that this spirit wished for love of a true fea-mate.
"I believe you will and so much more." She settled back comfortably beside the maiarling, beginning her song.
"The leaves were long, the grass was green,
The hemlockumbles tall and fair,
And in the galde a light was seen
Of stars in shadow shimmering.
Tinuviel was dancing there
To music of a pipe unseen,
And light of stars was in her hair,
And in her raiment glimmering."
Celebrian sang beautifully in a soft lulling tune, brushing the loose strands of hair from the now laying maiar across the green grass, her fair skin and rosy cheeks radiating with pure innocence as she slept.
"I will miss you, my dear young child. For now, rest until you are called upon, as an adventure is what you will receive in the not so far future."