The Daughter of the Moon Volume I

Chapter 1: Imladris

The ride of the elves of Rivendell went well. Three days later, they finally arrived in the valley of the last simple house, north-west of the Misty Mountains.

The narrow valley lay there before their eyes, illuminated by the warm sunlight.

They crossed the ford over the Bruinen to enter the valley.

The air was pure and sweet. The mountain slopes surrounding the depression were covered with flourishing vegetation.

Autumn was approaching and the leaves of the trees were turning reddish-brown, giving the valley the impression that it was made of gold.

In the distance, the waterfalls formed by the Bruinen river were singing, filling the space with light rustling.

Elenwë laughed in ecstasy at the sight.

-Calwa! (Beautiful!)

Elrond and Glorfindel smiled.

-Glad you like it, Elenwë. This is my estate, Imladris.

Lord Elrond looked at Elenwë's face, which was illuminated with admiration.

They crossed a bridge and soon arrived in the centre of a beautiful square.

A beautiful elf with black hair and grey eyes approached.

-Suilad, Ada. (Hello, Daddy)

-Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo, Arwen.

(A star shines on the hour of our meeting, Arwen).

-Lle anta amin tu? (Do you need help?)

-Sana sina. (Take this.)

Arwen took Elenwë from her father's arms and put her down on the ground. She looked at her and said:

-Mae govannen. Man eneth lin? (Nice to meet you. What's your name?)

-Elenwë eneth nîn. (I am Elenwë.)

-Arwen Undómiel eneth nîn. Iell uin Elrond. (I am Arwen Undómiel, daughter of Elrond.)

-Mae govannen, Arwen.

Arwen, like his brothers, his father and Glorfindel, immediately liked the little elf.

Elenwë was very pretty, with her black hair, pale complexion and large grey eyes.

It is true that she looked like Arwen and therefore a little like Elrond.

She even looked a little like Celebrían, Elrond's wife.

They both had the same white complexion and the same bright eyes, the biggest difference being in the colour of their hair. Her adoptive mother had silvery-white hair.

As soon as she arrived in Imladris, Elenwë felt good there. Elrond's family gave her a very warm welcome and she spent her early years in a peaceful and loving atmosphere.

But one day Elrond's wife Celebrían left for Lothlorién to visit Galadriel. On the way back, she was kidnapped by orcs in the Misty Mountains.

When they found out, his two sons Elrohir and Elladan went to look for her. They saved her, but later she became very ill.

She had been hit by a poisoned weapon and was slowly dying.

Her family, and Elenwë watched over her almost every day in the hope of a miraculous cure. But even Estë la Valar did nothing for her. And she would die little by little.

Finally, one morning in May she decided to leave Middle-earth and go to the white shores, to the Immortal Lands.

Elrond, her twin sons Arwen and Elenwë accompanied her to the Western Sea.

Many elves of the clan also followed them. Lindir, Glorfindel, Erestor, Estel, Gildor and many others who wanted to say goodbye to the Lady of Imladris.

The farewells were heartbreaking, especially for Lord Elrond, who lost his soul mate, his lifelong companion...

Celebrían the sweet, who had taken such good care of her children, who played the harp so well, who loved to sing to lull Elenwë to sleep, said goodbye to them by the sea.

-Namarië. Hebo estel, Hervenamin. Amin mela lle. (Farewell. Keep hope, my husband. I love you.)

And in spite of the strength of these two beings, they could not hold back the floods of sincere tears.

-Namarië, Celebrían.

Thirty years later Elrond sent his daughter Arwen to the lady of the Lothorién to complete her education.

Galadriel, for many years, took care of his little girl, who was slowly recovering from the sad separation from her mother.

Long afterwards, one day in Narquelie, (October), Lord Elrond decided to speak to his adopted daughter.

She had now been living among the elves of Imladris for more than six centuries and it was time she knew that she was not really from here.

-Mara Lomë, Ada. (Good evening, Papa)

-Mara Lomë, Elenwë. Adovan. (Good evening, Elenwë. Sit down.) Which one did she say? (Are you feeling well?)

-Mae Ada. (Yes Daddy)

Elenwë came and sat down next to him on the bench.

With difficulty Elrond admitted to him that she was not his daughter.

At first Elenwë remained silent, shocked by the news. She had always believed that she belonged to Elrond's family, but suddenly she discovered that she did not.

Then, little by little, her eyes filled with tears and she looked sadly at the man she thought was her father.

The Lord of Imladris was touched by the sadness of his adopted daughter.

He approached her and said to her:

-Amin hiraetha (I am sorry), you should have known. Amin mela le, Elenwë, iellamin (I love you, my daughter)

She gently shed a few tears and huddled in the arms of her adoptive father.

Elrond stroked her back gently to soothe him.

-Dolomei, Ada. (I love you, Daddy)

Elrond felt his heart swelling with affection.

Although Elenwë was not from his union with Celebrían, he loved her as much as Arwen, Elladan and Elrohir and he really considered her his daughter.

After a long time, when Elenwë was calmed down, she whispered:

-Amin anta est, kaim. (I need to rest)

But as she said this, her eyes became blurred and she fell asleep.

Her head leaning against her father's neck, she slept, serene.

Elrond looked at her, tenderly.

Don't let anyone come and take her away from him, or he might regret coming!

After a little while he was convinced that she was sound asleep.

The lord of Imladris stood up and took Elenwë in his arms.

He carried his adopted daughter to his room, a splendid room lit by starlight and decorated with delicate plants and flowers. A finely worked wooden balcony overlooked the valley.

He put Elenwë on his bed, covered her with a blanket and sat for a moment on the edge of the bed.

He watched her for a few minutes. The elf's chest lifted regularly and she breathed deeply.

He put one of the elf's black locks back behind her ear.

Finally, reassured by her deep, calm sleep, he got up and placed a light kiss on her forehead.

He murmured:

-Losto mae, iellamin. (Sleep well, my daughter.)

Then he went out without making the slightest noise.