Thorodriel

Chapter 22 - Return to Lothlorien

I can only apologise for how long it has taken to get back to updating this. I have had a lot going on recently and just genuinely have not had the time. I hope you enjoy this update, and I'll do my absolute best to get back into more regular updates! I promise this story has not been abandoned and I have a full plan for how it will pan out!

I have also noticed a lot of the chapters on Wattpad have re-formatted so I have lost the italics/lines so I'm going to go back and make sure they are fixed for you all!

Sorry again, love you all! Thank you for reading!

Thorodriel: Chapter 22

She was falling further and further down, through the darkness. The bottomless pit did nothing to slow her down and she felt the stale air rushing past her ears. Below her, flames danced up the walls of the chasm and demonic roars echoed in her ears. As her stomach dropped she tried to scream, only for no sound to escape. Horrified, she grasped out, clawing at the stone around her trying to slow her descent, but her fingers clutched at air. She hurtled downwards - faster and faster, darker and darker. Until suddenly, she felt the comfort of cool metal brush her fingers.

***

Aeweneth woke with a start, her fingers still grasping at the air around her. Slowly her senses came back into focus and she noticed she was alone, her ears still ringing from her recent burst of power. She felt weak and tired. Shaking her head, she finally took in her surroundings. For the first time in weeks, the young elf lay on a soft bed, below a canopy of trees. A soft breeze blew around her, and the smell of blooming woodland filled her nose and calmed her panicked mind. She had returned. To her kin, Lothlorien was the heart of elvendom on earth; to Aeweneth, Lothlorien was the origin of her nightmares - and she knew that, sooner or later, she would have to face them.

Stretching her legs, Aeweneth carefully shifted out of the soft bed and noticed her clothing had been changed whilst she slept. Her weatherworn, blood-splattered tunic was gone, and in its place was a light blue dress that seemed to float on the wind and glisten in the sunlight peeking through the trees around her. She rolled her eyes knowing this was an outfit only her grandmother could have chosen for her.

"It matches your eyes hína," a familiar voice echoed in Aeweneth's mind.

She turned at the sound and, as always, the image was blinding. Whilst her sister may be the Evenstar, no beauty on middle-earth matched that of Galadriel. The Lady of the Woods was descended from gods, and their ethereal light burst from every pore of her being. It took every ounce of Aeweneth's courage not to cower at the sheer power emanating from the being before her. Straightening her spine, she caught her grandmother's eyes across the room. Blue bore into gray as the pair fully observed each other for the first time in a millennium, refusing to show fear.

"I am no longer a child, haruni." Aeweneth spoke in return, ensuring to keep her gift in check.

She was tired and, after giving up control so completely, she was scared she wouldn't be able to focus correctly. It took all of her concentration to block out the constant stream of thought surrounding her. Galadriel watched the young elf with curiosity and caution.

"No, you aren't," the elder observed, "And yet you willingly lost control in Moria, despite knowing it would put your companions in danger."

Aeweneth's heart broke at the scolding. Even after all this time, she still held onto hope that her grandmother could understand and support her. Just like all those years ago, however, she was left disappointed.

"There were a thousand enemies surrounding us and Mithrandir was gone, there was no hope!"

"You know the risk!"

"And I took it!"

At her Aeweneth's outburst, Galadriel shook her head in disappointment. She saw the fear in the young elf's eyes and tried to soften her tone.

"You do not understand the power inside of you, hína."

At her words, Aeweneth's courage grew, "Maybe if you had taught me all those years ago like I asked - like she begged you to - I would understand!" Tears threatened at Aeweneth's eyes, but she refused to let them fall. After all this time and pain, she needed to voice her suffering. "But instead, you sent me away. I was drowning under the sound of a million voices, and you chose to let me sink."

Galadriel's eyes widened and, for a moment, Aeweneth saw a flash of regret in her gaze, but it was quickly hidden behind the usual facade.

"You were too young," the elder explained, "giving that kind of power to a child was dangerous. I wanted to wait until-"

Aeweneth groaned and pulled at her hair in frustration, "I didn't want the power, I just wanted the noise to stop! I wanted to be able to breath without my skull being crushed by an onslaught of sound. You saw a child, you saw your own blood, scared and in pain, and you turned her away in fear. If you had of just listened, if you had of just tried..."

Her voice caught in her throat with a sob, and the young elf caught her grandmother's gaze once again. Only, this time, reflected back in the gray orbs was anger and hurt.

"If I had of taught you, you would have never left early; you would have never been on that road; and you would have never have been waylaid by those foul creatures."

Aeweneth gulped at her grandmother's words, knowing they reflected her feelings, even if she had not voiced them herself.

"Do not play the if game with me hína, Celebrian was my daughter - my blood- and I live with her torment every day. That regret is mine to carry. But she has sailed and has found peace, and one day I will reunite with her in the blessed realm and only then will I be whole again. Do not guess at fate Aeweneth, it can only lead to suffering and pain. You say you are no longer a child, and yet I see before me the same person as all those millennia ago." Galadriel finished with disappointment, before standing to take her leave.

As she reached the door, Aeweneth voice stalled her.

"I learned how to shut the voices out on my own in the end. When she forced me behind that rock, when she closed me in and trapped me in that godforsaken hole, it's like everything fell silent. The only thing I could hear was her screams."

Galadriel couldn't bring herself to turn and see the pain in her granddaughter's eyes. The elder elf sighed sorrowfully, and offered an olive branch.

"Your companions are safe, but tired and weary. You will find them and your belongings on the forest floor by the stream."

Aewneeth nodded in gratitude, brushing the tears from her face quickly. Galadriel turned to leave once more, only to be stopped by the younger elf's call again.

"Haruni," the heartbreak in the tone caught the elder elf's attention, "I'm sorry for your loss."

Whilst they may not have been on the best of terms, it was known that her grandmother and Mithrandir held a strong friendship and connection. The elder elf nodded to her descendent in mournful understanding, before finally leaving the room and Aeweneth to her troubled thoughts.