Luthien

The Return Of The Brother

"Noro lim, Thumean!", I called to my black horse and he accelerated again before he started a high jump over the  tree that had fallen on an old path in the forest. The cool, fresh air wafted gently into my face, I felt free. In the last 15 years I got to know the area around Rivendell like noone else. I could claim to know every corner of the valley, every tree of the forest and every stone personally. Every day I took my stallion Thumean and rode out, always knowing that I would not exceed the borders and that a warm meal and a comfortable bed were waiting for me in the evening. I clearly enjoyed this freedom, but these rides didn't at all satisfy my need for a real adventure.

Lately I've been drawn to the border area more and more often. The temptation was great to simply cross the Bruinen and then explore the vast foreign land beyond. I was not afraid. I was convinced that nothing and nobody could harm me. That was of course a very naive view of things, but within the protected borders I never had anything to fear.

-

When Elrond handed me the sword on my 30th birthday, he smiled at me.  "Let Elladan and Elrohir show you how to handle it," he said gently.

"I know how to use a sword!", as soon as I said that sentence, I knew that I had given myself away. But in that moment the joy outweighed me. Elrond looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "So is it true what Arwen has told me all these years? That you secretly met my sons to fight that night?", he asked with a skeptical grin.

I looked at the floor, embarrassed, like a small child who had just been caught stealing candy from the kitchen. I would have loved to dissappear on the spot.

"It was my idea, neither of them were involved!", I tried to defend the twins.

Elrond laughed.

"The day your mother brought you and your brother to Rivendell I knew what strength you were. However, I would not have suspected that a young woman would be able to manipulate Elves who have lingered in Middle-earth for millennia."

"I didn't manipulate them .... Actually, I hardly had to do any persuasion," I admitted dejectedly and looked down at the floor with a grin. Elrond had seen through me once again, but I would have to have a talk to Arwen, but first I had to find Elladan and Elrohir.

It wasn't difficult to find them, as usual they hung around the practice area and laughed at how they had made Elestar, Elrond's advisor, riot with one of their many jokes. You could really have fun with both of them.

Elrohir was the first to notice me and laughed happily when he saw me.  "We would have expected you earlier. Father said he would give you your present in the morning," he said skeptically.

"I had to wait over an hour for him. He must have received a message from Mithrandir. Unfortunately I couldn't understand what it was about, but Elestar sounded more than concerned.", I explained my delay.

"When does this old Elf not sound concerned? He's close to despair himself when we're running out of ham!" Elladan had to laugh at himself.

"Come on now, let's not waste any time. You still have a lot to learn!", Elrohir shouted and drew his sword.  The steel shone brightly in the midday sun. So far we had only practiced with wooden swords, apart from a few bruises I had not suffered any serious injuries. Now the slightest mistake could mean a bleeding wound. I was a little nervous, my heart was beating faster.

Of course I knew they would never hurt me seriously, but they kept saying that I have to feel my mistakes in order to learn from them. Small cuts were therefore not excluded.

“You see Elladan, I knew she was going to be excited! Probably she doesn't dare to fight with a real sword. ”, Elrohir shouted, laughing, probably also to provoke me a bit. He knew very well that I couldn't leave it like this. They both knew me well. I concentrated, pulled my new sword out of its sheath and stepped a little uncertainly to Elrohir on the practice area, but henceforth decided to convince him that I dared very well.

The sword felt good in my hand, it was light, perfectly balanced, and cut through the air with a bright whir. I admit it was a rather small sword. The blade was narrow and the length was optimal for my size. The smiths must have made the one-hander especially for me, which made me proud. The black handle was adorned with a beautiful silver tendril pattern that gently ended in the lower third of the blade.

Elladan had meanwhile made himself comfortable on a bench on the edge of the square and was watching us, always ready to comment on my attacks and improve myself.

We started with a few slow strokes, so I had at least a moment to get used to the steel in my hand. I hardly had any problems, which is why Elrohir increased the pace significantly after a few minutes.

Elrohir's strikes were hard, he didn't care that I was a woman. I didn't want that either, should I ever get involved in a real fight, nobody would be considerate of me either.

A brief moment of inattention immediately took revenge. Elrohir landed a hard hit on my right thigh.  Fortunately he had only hit with the flat side of his sword, apart from bruises and sore muscles I had nothing to fear.

I noticed Elrohir's look of reproach.

"If he had struck right, you'd have a gaping wound in your thigh, Luthien!", cried Elladan. "Concentrate!"

The missed strike and the criticism spurred me on, but only with difficulty I managed to hit Elrohir on the arm, after quiet a long time. I also hit with the flat side, but with significantly less force.

At first, absorbed in the fight, I did not notice him. I could not have seen him either, as he entered the place from the side I had turned my back to.

"Try to move your legs faster! You are too slow!"

I was indeed slow, I had noticed that myself. But I noticed how I was slowly running out of strength, I could hardly hold my sword up. Even if the sword was light, it was heavier than the usual wooden swords. In addition, my thigh, where Elrohir's sword hit me, began to hurt.

I was too busy parrying Elrohir's quick hits that I needed some time to realize that this comment was not from Elladan. It was a different, yet very familiar voice that called these words to me. Suddenly I stopped, put the sword away, and slowly turned around. I couldn't have imagined it. "Aragorn!"  I exclaimed in amazement. He laughed when I ran up to him and jumped into his arms.  "As I can see you are still fine in Rivendell! You have grown up since we last saw each other.", he replied friendly. He mustered me.  There was a look of concern in his eyes that I didn't like.

"Yes, I'm fine here! What are you doing here? I'm so happy that you are back. I have often thought of you, where you hang around, whether you are even still alive. I was worried!" Words crashed, I didn't know which question to ask first. I was just so happy to finally embrace my brother again after a very long time.

"You don't have to worry about me, I promised you that I will come back. You are all I have left in this world, little sister!", he replied calmly. He smiled at me, but I didn't miss that something was bothering him.

"I think there is someone else who will be happy that you have returned. You should go to her!", I said and couldn't help but grin.

"I will. But first I wanted to see you. We'll have enough time to talk about everything later," he agreed.

"I want to know everything. You have to tell me what you experienced!" To say goodbye, we hugged each other again before Aragorn walked away quickly in the direction of the main house.

I thanked the elf twins with joy and, exhausted but happy, made my way to my rooms, where a hot bath was already waiting for me. The warm water would be good for my aching muscles, and I could sort my thoughts while bathing. Quite a lot had happened that day. My brother had returned.