[piosenniel]

“Pio, you spoke of the time you spent with the Teleri, whom you now say are my kin,” Laurie’s voice rose from incredulity. She continued in a lower tone: “You did not stay with them but returned to this land. A choice you too must have faced, the beauty and peace of the Blessed Land you had; what caused you to return?”

‘The Teleri, the Fallinelli, that I fostered with in my childhood days were not those of Tol Eressëa. They were the ones who had not passed over the Great Sea as yet. They dwelt along the Gulf of Lhûn, the area where the Grey Havens now stand.’ She smiled, remembering her playmates there and the feel of the waves against her skin, the sea’s salty kisses. ‘And some remain there, still.’

It was never my choice to go to the West, Laurie. I had not done with this world yet.’ Pio’s eyes clouded with the memories of that awful day in Gondolin. She and Mithadan and Bird had returned there in a task set for them by Time and Need. A single tear rolled down her face as she remembered the relentless advance of Morgoth’s armies, and the desperation that she felt in her defense of Lady Idril’s house, with its hidden way to freedom. It was the only way of escape for her companions from the Lonely Star, and she would hold the wayo pen for them.
Pio wiped the tear from her cheek and turned to Laurie. ‘I died, Laurie. In a futile battle, against too many shadowed foe. My fëa was summoned there, to the Halls of Mandos. And there I dwelt until my life was understood by me, and then I was called forth to finish the task set for me and my companions from The Lonely Star.’ She shifted in her chair once again, easing the pressure of the babies against her.

‘Valinor! It is a wondrous place, indeed. And hard to leave, once one is there. And so I left reluctantly, intending to go back once my part of the task was done.’ She smiled, and a look of such delight filled out the features of her face that Laurie looked on in wonder, asking ‘Is it Valinor you are thinking on now, Pio?’

The Elf laughed, a silvered sound filling the room. ‘No, not Valinor. I think of my companions from The Star. And of Mithadan, my beloved.’ She turned the lamp up just a little so that Laurie’s face would be free from shadow, her features clear in the soft light. ‘I made another choice, Laurie. I will never again set foot in Valinor. But, instead, I have found my happiness and contentment here, with Mithadan and now with our children. The world is a wide and lovely place. I still have a thirst to drink of it. And now that Aragorn has ascended to his Kingship, there will be more lands than are imaginable open to such as me and Mithadan and Bird.’

She looked at Laurie, gauging her desire for the sea. She reached out for the young woman’s mind with hers, gently.

I think my choice is not for you, Laurialassië. The call of the sea is too strong. Your fëa desires to return to the West, and you would go willingly, where I did not.

Laurie’s eyes had gone wide as she heard these words come quietly into her mind. Pio smiled gently at her, and spoke aloud into the stillness between them. ‘If you will wait until Mithadan has come, and the twins are born. Then I will ride with you to the Tower Hills and down – to the Grey Havens and to Círdan’s ship. And with the call of the Straight Road full upon you, you can make the choice. To watch as the bent sea drops beneath you and sail to Aman, or to return for what time as you desire upon the dusty path that weaves through Arda.’

[ February 16, 2003: Message edited by: piosenniel ]