[Manardariel]

"Andunériel... Gondolin, he..." Anson hung his head, tears steaming down his cheeks. The elf, who had been kneeling next to Elen, stood up. "No," she wispered, shaking all over.

She walked to the rock were he was lying. Marsilion was weeping openly, so were Luin and Peony. Andunériel felt her own eyes fill with tears. The surroundings turned into blurs as she knelt down next to their brave, heroic companion.
******

It was night. Andunériel was alone, sitting on a rock a bit outside the camp they had built. Elen, still a bit weak was sitting by the fire. Peony had only just told her what had happened. About Gondolin. His death.

She started to cry again. Silently, tears ran down her face. She buried her eyes in her robes and wept. Suddenly, someone shook her. "Andunériel." It was Peony.

"I thought you shouldn´t be alone. We all shouldn´t. Can I squeeze in?"

The elf nodded. "Sure." She budged away a bit, and Peony sat down on the rock with her. For a moment they both were silent.

Then Andunériel noticed something. "Look at the fire." she told the hobbit. Peony looked up at her in suprise.

"It reminds me of him." she explained. "It shines far, and brings hope to those that sit by it. And even when we put it out, the memory of the light and the warmth won´t fade, if WE remember it. The fire, the light will shine on in our hearts. If we don´t forget." Peony nodded. "If we don´t forget..." she repeated, trembling. "And we won´t."

Andunériel took a deep breath. She knew what she had to do. She felt stronger. Unflinching she walked over to the fire and adressed the company.

"We will leave at dawn tomorrow, after burrying Gondolin. I hope you understand how important it is that we don´t linger. Especially because of Gondolin. He died to save his home. We must move on. If we don´t, we may fail. And that would be the worst treachery we could think of. You understand that, don´t you? Now try to have some sleep. We leave in the morning."