|
The air smelt clear and fresh the following morning. It drifted into Serondai's room and she awoke gradually, rolling over onto her side. Her eyes flickered open and she waited for them to adjust to the bright morning sun. A gentle breeze blew the drapes on the balcony doors into the air for a second before they floated back down slowly to caress the cold marble floor. She felt a chill as she lifted herself up onto her elbows and so flopped back down into the soft mattress and wrapped the warm bedcovers around her tightly as she released a wide-mouthed yawn.
A beautiful voice carried by the air could be heard in the distance- a song about happiness and love. Serondai smiled, and listened more intently, sitting up to pull her green silk robe off her bedside chair. She pulled too hard and winced as it clattered to the floor. Sliding her feet to the side of the bed, she tested the icy cold floor and withdrew her foot immediately with a shiver. Leaning across the opposite side of the bed to find her shoes, she slipped them on and proceeded to lift up the chair into its original standing position.
The song had drawn closer, and so Serondai glided across the room to the open doors of the balcony and wondered outside. In the distance there could be seen a figure approaching the bridge across the river, leading a resplendently white horse with a gleaming mane and shimmering coat of fur. It was the Lady Arwen, returning from her long stay in Lothlorien. Already Lord Elrond had arrived to greet her and he welcomed his child with a loving kiss on both cheeks and a brief hug.
After they had disappeared from sight, Serondai remained to admire the familiar view of trees in their petticoats of brown, red and gold and the reflection of clouds merged with the mixture of colours from the fallen leaves. The sun flickered between the bows in tiny flashes as they swayed and the birds songs could be heard throughout the morning until late evening when they were replaced by the sound of crickets and grasshoppers. It was a view she never tired of.
There was a light knocking at her door and Glorfindel entered unheard. In his hands he carried a tray of delicious fruits and some treats wrapped up in leaves, and he placed it carefully on her bed before joining her outside. She was entirely oblivious of his arrival, entranced by the beauty of her home.
"My home." she whispered. Glorfindel was glad she had at last accepted her past and begun to love her new home and family as much as he loved her.
"I have brought you some breakfast," he said in her ear, meaning to startle her. He succeeded.
"Glorfindel!" she laughed, "I do so wish you would not frighten me like that." She slid past him, eyeing the food he had brought her hungrily, "thank you for breakfast-I am famished. Did you open my doors?"
"Yes, but it seem a shame to wake you when you looked so at peace and so I thought it best to let you sleep and wake of your own accord, " the elf stood in the doorway momentarily before closing both doors behind him, "Arwen has arrived home. She will request to see you soon, so I advise you bathe and make yourself presentable."
"Are you suggesting I am not?" Serondai asked, picking up one of her soft feather pillows threateningly. Glorfindel raised an eyebrow and grinned.
"Perhaps I." before he could finish, a pillow hit him in the face and fell to the ground with a light thud on the hard floor, "I shall let that one pass for the moment, but I suggest you watch your back young lady. I shall soon have my revenge." Another pillow was flung at him but he eluded it and safely slipped into the hall, laughing loudly as he went.
Serondai picked up an apple and rolled it from one hand to the other, unsure if she indeed felt like fruit for breakfast after all. Deciding she did, she bit into it eagerly, but after only a few bites she tired of it and tossed it back in the basket it had arrived in.
***
Legolas lay wide awake with his head hidden inside his arms at his desk. He had not slept and the exhaustion was creeping up on him. Far away he could hear a beautiful voice and with his refined elf hearing he could just about pick up the words. Cocking his head to one side he listened keenly to them, finding great hurt in what he heard. The song was 'Hon maren ea hlapua'- my heart is soaring. It was the song of two lovers whose hearts were bonded together for all eternity and it made Legolas' heart ache.
He let out an infuriated cry and pushed back his chair, knocking it backwards onto the floor. Picking up the poem he wrote the previous night, he tore it into pieces in his fury and tossed it across the room.
"Serondai."he whispered, sitting on the edge of his bed, suddenly calm, "if only you could recognise my love for you."
He sighed and stood, opening the door to his quarters. In the hall, his friend, Teruthiel who he had encountered upon his arrival in Rivendell, was leaning on the stone grey balcony with the light winter wind blowing gently through his hair. He was taller than Legolas though not quite as large in build, and had long, dark hair falling in waves down his back.
"Ah, he is awake," Teruthiel laughed, standing up straight to greet him. Legolas showed less enthusiasm and smiled weakly, "is something wrong Legolas?"
Legolas bent forwards over the balcony, to gaze out towards the trees, "no," he said after a moment, "I have not slept."
"Is that not a sign of a troubled mind?" his friend asked, folding his arms across his chest. Legolas twisted round to face his companion.
"Everything is well Teruthiel, except of course for my rumbling stomach. I feel as though I have not eaten for weeks," Legolas forced a laugh, "I trust you have not eaten yet?"
"No indeed. That is why I am here, which brings me to the question of what it is we are to eat this morn and where? I also understand the Lady Arwen has returned at last and there is to be a feast held soon in the great hall. Will you join me there?"
Legolas considered this, but his stomach made his decision for him, "yes, I would be honoured to join you."
"I should think so too. I have been waiting here for you for nigh half an hour. I thought you had forgotten our agreement to meet," Legolas gave him a blank expression and grinned guiltily, "ah, so you had forgotten after all. Well, no matter."
Legolas lead the way along the corridor and Teruthiel pursued quickly behind, "I am glad you are such a forgiving soul Teruthiel.very glad indeed."
A New Arrival |
