Friends of Nimrodel: Tapestry of Dreams

[Orual]

Ravion was a little taken aback by Mellonin's curt response. Had he said something? Perhaps he had offended her. What had it been? He didn't know...so he figured the best course of action was to pretend that nothing had happened at all.

Ravion looked up at the sky, and saw that the orange sun was drifting towards the horizon. "Night is coming," he announced. Aeron rolled his eyes.

"Thank you for the startling proclamation," the boy said sarcastically. Ravion cuffed him on the head, and he rolled with it well. He was learning. Aeron rubbed his head a little, but did not make any noises of pain.

"Good job," the Ranger whispered. Aeron rolled his eyes again, but grinned. Ravion smiled at Mellonin, who ignored him. His smile faded, and he went on purposefully to Raefindan.

It was then that his smile faded for true. His red-haired friend was still unconscious, his murmuring and shallow breathing the only signs that he was living. Ravion inhaled sharply to bring down a stab of grief and anxiety, and brushed a lock of red hair from Raefindan's forehead. A forehead that was still warm and dry with fever. The fever was not breaking. Ravion cursed quietly, and brought out some herbs. He tipped Raefindan's head up and put the herbs in the unconscious man's mouth. Maybe it would help break the fever.

"We need to keep moving," he called firmly, trying to distract himself. "Keep going. We can rest after the sun goes down."

[littlemanpoet]

"Deep in my heart are you, Rohan my home,
Far from your quiet fields now I roam.
In a distant land bends my way,
But I shall return to you some day."

Ædegard's hearing was good enough that he could make out the words, though sung as quietly as the winter breeze. He was glad of the darkness, for his chest filled with longing and tears came to his eyes. He wiped his eyes, and the tightness in his chest opened up as he thought about the sweet voice that had brought those words back to him. The maiden of Rohan had heard, and memorized his words! He felt as if he could fly among the stars!

So she was very shy. That was a relief to know. There was hope. He lay down, but sleep was far away. You are not in your right mind! he told himself. Just two days ago, this maiden of Rohan had been on the edge of his awareness, and now she rivaled the quest in his thoughts. Moonstruck is what you are! He rolled over and tried to slow his heart with steady breaths. Admit it, fool of a wheelwright! Love struck is more like it! He pulled a face, then a smile spread across his lips. He closed his eyes and in a short while dozed.

[mark12_30]

Mellonin paced alongside Gond, stroking Raefindan's hair and listening to him murmur. Ravion had picked up the pace yet again, and Gwyllion and Mellonin marched with set jaw ignoring various aches and pains. Mellonin hoped that they would reach the delta soon.

She reviewed Ravion's plan. Seven streams fed the Anduin. The path swung westward to avoid the marshes and swamps. The first stream was not far. She wondered what "not far" meant.

Gwyllion stroked Raefindan's hair. "Listen. He's singing again."

The tide and the moon. Mellonin wanted to learn the song.

No, she didn't.

She bit back tears, and her eyes strayed to the Ranger's back. He was so calm. He handled Aeron well. He was determined to find her brother. And he could be gentle as well as fierce.

"Will he be all right." She regretted saying it. She regretted it even more when the look Ravion turned on her was full of concern. She looked down, but he had seen the tears in her eyes. Inwardly she cursed her clumsiness even as the tears began to roll. She turned her head away.

The strange redhaired man who named dogs Jorje and asked who the king was and did not know how to do simple work-- in just a short time he had become important to her, and now he was, so it would seem, on the brink of death.

You must not die. You must live. Wake up, and let the fever break. Wake up, redhaired man. Wake up, Raefindan, my friend.

She turned her face to the ground, and hoped that no one noticed her tears.

[Imladris]

Gwyllion saw Mellonin turn her face away, and Gwyllion sighed. Raefindan was such a jolly fellow. It would be horrid if he died. Who would tell them all about the strange words he knew?

Creeping towards the woman, Gwyllion saw a tear trickle down her cheek, glinting softly in the lingering light. Touching her shoulder, she turned grasped the end of her shirt and wiped the tears away. Smiling, she said, "Do not cry yet. Raefindan is not dead, thus your tears are early. When he dies, then you must cry. To cry now is to despair of hope, even though there is scarce any hope."

Aeron called over his shoulder, "Crying is silly anyway, whether he lives or not."

Why must he always be so...tactless? Was that any way to treat a grieving woman? No. Merely because crying had not helped him whenever he had cried -- had he ever cried? --, did not mean that crying was silly. "Do not listen to him, my lady," she whispered.

She bit her lips and glanced from the woman to the redhaired man. She remembered Mellonin saying she had been sick. What had happened that shackled her tongue? "What dreams plagued you when you were sick, Mellonin?"

[littlemanpoet]

He slinks behind the big-one-toed-dog. The red man is on that one. He stays to one side. Grainy bigonetoedog how-I-am-fruit misses him. His tail drags in the dust almost. The other mans forget him. He cries with the she-man. Red man is bad feeling in his head. Yorye stays with them. Never leaves!

[mark12_30]

Ravion pointed. "There is the first stream. We'll camp soon." Mellonin couldn't see the stream yet, but she was glad to hear the news. She took a deep shuddering breath and thought of Gwyllion's question. "Dreams. What dreams?" She scrubbed her tears away and composed herself.

"Well, there were dreams of winter. Snow on golden leaves, muffling a wood. Lonely dreams of searching and longing. Then there were dreams of ... of hair in the water; long hair, swirling and moving in the waves; golden hair, dark hair. And then the waves grew wilder, and I thought... I thought I was drowning. And then I realised that I was dreaming of the song that I had taught my brother just before he left... before he disappeared."

"What song was that?" asked Gwyllion.

"The Lay of Nimrodel," Mellonin said. "He loved it. He sang it again and again, and all day at the forge, and we would sing it together at night. We sang nothing else for three days. And then he was gone. I hate dreaming about it. Sometimes I think if I had not taught him that song, he would not have left."

"Would you sing the song for me?" Gwyllion asked, shyly.

Mellonin paused, deciding. And then, "No," she said. "I would rather not. I wish I had never learned it."

[littlemanpoet]

On midsummer's eve they search high in the mountains, near to where the trees give way to the mountain's stark and boney heights. As late afternoon draws toward twilight, they walk in a high sward, feeling the cool, sweet breezes of evening. His heart is hers, and she has known this for months. Still, her duty is to her mistress. But her hope has dwindled. With sun's setting, they stop and watch the stars brightening in the deepened night. Their hands find each other's, and entwine, for the first time. They do not need a roof this night, and lay to sleep among the spikey flowers and grasses and stunted trees of the high slopes. No cloud mars the stars this night. She is sad, and he comforts her, for she does not think her mistress is among the living. Without movement, but in her eyes, he sees the turning in her heart to him, and she wordlessly consents to stay with him, to wife.

[Imladris]

Women. Such sentimental creatures. Aeron rolled his eyes and snapped, "Well that is the silliest thing I have ever heard."

"What do you mean?" asked Mellonin, her brows carving in slight frown. "Can I not be upset?"

Why were his words always coloured with new meaning? Why? Heaving a breath he said, patiently, "Of course you can be upset. But why silently pout at the world because of a little misfortune? The song was beautiful, you said. Why not appreciate it?"

"It brings to mind too many memories."

"Curently it seems that memories are the only thing left to you since your brother has gone," Aeron said. "Content yourself with them just in case your brother does disappear forever."

"Aeron!" Gwyllion snapped.

"I am telling her the truth!" he protested. Who would rather be fed disillusionments instead of the truth? Disillusionments were like cakes that had poison instead of cream within them. Anybody who would rather kill themselves with disillusionments were fools.

"What my brother means to say," Gwyll said, touching Mellonin's arm, "is that Memory fades when it is not visited often. It is like...." she stopped, her teeth gnawing her lips, searching for words, "it is like a flower denied the light of the sun. It is strong and vigorous at first, always there. And then it begins to shrivel, clutching for it's life. It becomes withered, brown, a mere skeleton."

Aeron nodded. His sister understood. "You do not want your brother become dead in both body and spirit do you?"

[mark12_30]

Mellonin turned to Aeron trembling with cold fury. "My brother is not dead, " she hissed. "And if you say that again I will claw your eyes out."

"Calm down, woman," said Aeron with a snort.

"How dare you? How-- dare--"

She flew at him. Gwillion gasped and said "No!" and Aeron dodged as Mellonin clawed at his face. In self-defense he slapped her; she took no heed. Ravion leaped at them, and pulled Mellonin off of Aeron.

"Stop it. Now."

"Raefindan!" Gwillion was wringing her hands as Gond snorted, jigged and shied, and Raefindan slipped sideways. Mellonin struggled in Ravion's grip.

"Get my horse, " Ravion said to Aeron. Aeron lunged clumsily towards Gond's head, and Gond leaped in earnest. Raefindan, arms tied around Gond's neck and ankles tied near the girth, slid sideways and hung against Gond's leg. The horse reared and then bucked.

Ravion dropped Mellonin and tried to soothe Gond, but the horse bucked and screamed. "Whoa. Stand," said Ravion. Jorje whined and barked, and Gond panicked and ran with Jorje running after him. Ravion's shouted commands were drowned out by howls and hoofbeats that receded into the distance.