Lord of the Rings: The Heir to Lorien

The Feast and a Duel

Great tables had been set in the hall, covered with snowy white cloth. Dishes of all sorts already had been laid upon them, and the aroma of food was making her hungry as she and Arwen seated themselves next to Celebrian. From her viewpoint she could see many folk, Elves, Men, and Dwarves and for a time she found herself forgetting her manners as she stared in wonder at the peoples she had never seen before.

Elrond sat at the head of the table, and Glorfindel sat at his right. At times she could feel Glorfindel's eyes upon her and she would look at him and smile, but sometimes she felt uncomfortable and looked down at her plate. This feeling was alien to her and she wondered at it. She could lift her chin and meet Elrond's with no trouble, but the old friend of her childhood was making her feel shy and unsure of herself, perhaps for the first time in her life.

Arwen nudged her and whispered mischievously, "I did not know you already had a suitor, oh fair sister of my mother."

"What are you talking about?" she whispered back.

"Glorfindel. Look at his eyes when his gaze is upon you," she said, "Look at him and tell me that you do not see it, too."

"You see things that are not there," Celebriel said, but she would not look at Glorfindel anymore, and felt all the more disconcerted.

At length all appetites were sated, and even the hungriest could eat no more. Elrond and Celebrian rose, and sent out of the feasting hall and into a great room lit only by a fire burning in a great hearth set between two carven pillars. Chairs had been prepared for some, others sat on cushions and suddenly the sound of music and fair voices singing filled the hall.

Had she been less fatigued, Celebriel would have gladly spent the rest of the night there, but she found that she could barely keep her eyes open. She did not remember how or when it happened, but somehow there had been someone who had helped her to her room and make herself ready for bed. She then fell immediately into a slumber filled with dreams as sweet as she could have wished for.

But the dreams faded with the morning. When she opened her eyes she looked about her and felt apprehensive in the strange surroundings. "I do not belong here, I should be at home, I never should have left Lorinand," she said out loud.

She sat up, clutching her pillow to her. Was her secret safe, did any suspect? She wondered.

She recalled the last night she had spent in the Golden Woods. She'd been in the company of Amroth, King of Lorinand, and his consort, Nimrodel. They had been a refuge for her, a place to retreat from her mother's people when she felt overwhelmed. Nimrodel's house by the little river Amroth had named for her was quiet and peaceful, and she spent many happy hours in their company.

They had given her a farewell present, now carefully hidden in her baggage. A sword, with the hilts set with yellow and white gems in the shape of a mallorn blossom. They'd also included a new bow and quiver of arrows, such as she'd often carried when she helped keep guard on Lorinand's fences.

"This is our gift to you," said Nimrodel solemnly, "but there is one more, a thing that we have waited to tell you, lest your parents discover it."

"You are to be my heir, Celebriel," Amroth told her, "Nimrodel and I have no children and there is none other to whom I would entrust the Golden Woods." He held up his hand as she started to object, "I know what you are thinking, child, but consider this: there are many among us who  believe that Sauron is only sleeping and biding his time. Remember that Isildur did not destroy the Ring, so Sauron's power still lives. There are rumors about that the Nazgul are in hiding, so great evil still lives in this world."