Lord of the Rings Oneshots

Return to Me P. I | Lindir

  "Meleth, may I speak with you for a moment," you hear a soft voice behind you. Turning from your conversation with Elladan and Elrohir, you see Lindir. His brows are furrowed, causing small creases to appear on his forehead. His lips were pulled into a tight line, nearly white from the lack of circulation. Despite this, a smile immediately lights up on your face, heart beat racing as fast as the first time you saw him.

"Of course." you respond. You reach a hand out to grasp his, but he quickly whirls around, stiffly walking away. You furrow your brows at his sudden coldness, after turning to give the twins a look of confusion, you hurry after him.

The secret council Lord Elrond hosted just finished, a fellowship being formed to destroy the One Ring. Obviously, you volunteered yourself, being a skilled swordsman. The rest of the members consisted of: Frodo, the Ring Bearer; three other hobbits, Merry, Pippin, and Sam; Aragorn; Legolas, the prince of Mirkwood; Boromir, the son of the Steward of Gondor; and finally Gimli; a dwarf with a massive axe. You had two months of preparation ahead of you before the Fellowship set off on it's quest, and you were determined to be ready. Feeling the need to prove yourself more than capable, the human men in attendance had a few words about a woman joining a dangerous quest.

Finally you manage to catch up to Lindir, who was waiting for you in one of the beautiful gardens tucked in Imladris. You take a seat on the cushioned seat, waiting for Lindir to place himself beside you.

He never did.

Instead he simply stared out towards the forest surrounding the elven settlement, hands tightly grasped behind his back. His posture was so straight and stiff it would make a wood board appear wobbly and bent.

"Meleth nin, what's troubling you?" you ask, voice hardly above a whisper. You lean forward to try and grasp any part of him, but you only grasp onto wind. The seconds tick by, time growing slower as the awkward atmosphere around you two increases.

"How could you?" Lindir finally speaks up, his voice only a touch louder than the gentle breeze. Furrowing your brows, you stand up and take a few tentative steps towards him, afraid any sudden movements will make him disappear. He doesn't; he just continues to stare at the flourishing garden below. You grasp his clasped hands in your own, forcing them to untangle and meld with your own. He still refuses to look at you, but doesn't move to pull away either.

"What do you mean?" you ask once more, tone more pleading than previously. You see his stone cold facade slowly crumble. Unexpectedly he swiftly turns so he's face to face with you. As his stern face slowly washes away you notice the deep concern and fear rooted in his eyes.

"You've joined the Fellowship. You're willingly going to Mordor, with the One Ring! Do you know how dangerous that is?" he tells you. You knew he intended for his voice to be much more stern, but the cracks in every other word and watery eyes, he looked more like a kicked puppy.

'Of course, how could I be so stupid?' you mentally berate yourself, he's scared you'll die. Elves are slow to love, but when they do, they love hard. When you're eternal, death isn't something easy to grasp. He's already had to swallow the hard pill that you'll eventually die, being mortal, but he wasn't ready to face that reality yet.

"Yes, but if I can help then I will, even if it means putting myself in danger," you tell him. You manipulate your voice to be less rough than usual and more akin to the tone of the elves. A softer melodic lilt that should make the words not so...harsh. "Meleth nin, I have to do this."

"You don't have to, you're choosing to do this," he said, nearly spitting the words at you. For a moment your temper flared to life, but you managed to contain it before saying something you'd regret.

'He's just scared. That's all this is.'

"I'm a capable fighter, my skills are better served with the Fellowship - protecting the Ringbearer. I mean you saw Frodo – he's never even left the Shire prior to this and now he's walking into Mordor. They need me," you say, attempting to make him see your reasoning.

"And I don't?" he said, his teary eyes searching your face for...something, you're not sure.

"I'm not saying that, I just–" you trail off, unsure of what to say next. Words never were your strong suit, and now it was clearly showing. You take a deep breath before pressing forward, determined to end this squabble. "What do you expect me to do? Do nothing, while everyone is out there risking their lives?"

"I expect you to not throw yourself into unneeded danger!" he finally breaks, his voice coming out much more forceful. You were taken aback for a moment at his anger, yet it didn't take long for your own temper to flare up once again. However, this time you weren't able to contain it.

"Is that so? Shall I just stay here, spending all my time sewing and tending to the household, allowing the big strong men to go to war while I sit by a window waiting for them to march back? Is that what is expected of me?" You reply, ice encapsulating each word, while still managing to keep you tone even. This argument is stupid to begin with, best to not gather a crowd.

This causes him to pause, taking a second to collect his thoughts and think rationally about his reply. That only served to anger you more, how rational he was being during a spat that he started. Finally, after a moment of silence he answers you.

"So that's what this is about. You feel the need to prove a point?" You open your mouth to respond but he doesn't allow you the chance. "You volunteered to join the Fellowship of the Ring to prove that a woman is just as capable as a man? You will put yourself into unnecessary danger, to prove a point only the ignorant do not already know!" His words cut like freshly sharpened knives.

"Lindir I-" you start talking, but swiftly cut yourself off, not sure how to proceed. The prideful side of you that just sees red slowly dims as his words and the very real consequences of your choices sink in. But what's done is done. You've pledged yourself to the cause and have no intention of going back on your words.

"Just promise me when the time comes for the Fellowship to leave, you will stay behind. Stay here with me." he pleads with you, unshed tears clouding his vision. He takes a step closer to you, grabbing your hands in his own.

"Lindir we both know that's not me. I can't sit by and let everyone fight for me. It's my life too, I'm going to fight for it." you reply, the fire and ice gone from your tone.

"I know. I just don't want to lose you." he tells you, leaning close until his forehead is pressed against yours. A smile spreads across your mouth, closing your eyes to fully submerge yourself in the intimate moment.

"It'll take more than Mordor to get rid of me, meleth-nin."

-

It was finally here.

The day the Fellowship of the Ring will set off to Mordor to destroy the One Ring. Your muscles ache from the rigorous training you've been doing; switching between training with Aragorn and Glorfindel. However, you knew it would pay off. While you'd already been a good fighter, especially for a human, you'd become nearly flawless at it, the proof in the moment when you finally managed to disarm Glorfindel without him taking it easy. While you were excited to prove yourself yet nervous for the tenacious journey it's going to be; you were also upset to leave Lindir behind. Everytime you'd see his face, he'd try to hide his worry, but you could see the fear of your potential demise in his eyes. In between cramming in as much training as possible, you were attached to Lindir's hip and his to yours. Every moment felt more precious, the unspoken knowledge that you may never come back looming over you two like a ghost.

Now you stood in the courtyard, the rest of the Fellowship surrounding you. You were standing in between Merry and Pippin, who you'd grown quite fond of, listening to the farewell speech Lord Elrond was giving. The rest of the elves stood behind Lord Elrond, giving their own farewells. As much as you tried to focus on each word coming out of Lord Elrond's mouth, your gaze kept wandering back to Lindir, who appeared to have the same issue as you. While you were confident you'd come back to him, a small portion of you was worried each stolen glance would be the last. Lord Elrond, finished up his speech. The Fellowship turned to leave the elvish settlement, but before you fully turned away you gave one last glance towards Lindir, grasping the ring on a chain around your neck. The beautiful ring was given to you by Lindir, the night before, a promise that'd you'd come back to him.

And you intend to keep your promise.