32. Guardian (Beleg & Lúthien)
Guardian
For years, he had watched over her.
When she was a child, he would secretly follow her when she slipped out at night, to ensure she came to no harm. He would silently look after her as she danced beneath the stars.
When she was a coltish youth, he took her into the forests and taught her woodcraft: the myriad calls of the nightingale, the padfoot ways of the fox, and the rumbling language of the earth.
When she became a lovely adult, who longer needed his protection or instruction, he watched her with delight. She was his princess and pride: a divine mixture of spirit and flesh with a keen mind and laughter-filled eyes.
Then she left.
In the days following her departure, the trees lamented her and the grasses sigh for her footsteps. The foxes sadly asked where she had gone, and the nightingales fell silent.
He withdrew, missing the starry-eyed child, the long-limbed girl, the gracious woman that he loved as a daughter.
But on the day she returned, Beleg (on the northern border, setting a splint for a hawk's wing) was the first to hear, and he smiled when the leaves began to whisper her name.
----
For Ithiliel Silverquill.
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.
