1. Silver and Gold
He comes. To some he was The Wise; the appellation amused him. To foes confronting the fell hand of the argent-crowned warrior lord, he was executioner. To our daughter, he was her healer of hurts, silver-tongued story-singer, patient teacher, proud protector. To me? He was my anchor in Endor, my roots, my nourishment. Upon me alone he bestowed his ofttimes tempestuous, ofttimes tender, ever-impassioned love. Our endless separation has tattered my soul. But now, as his white ship approaches quayside, I savor the first faint brushes of his mind on mine. I clasp my gold-banded hand to hide my trembling. ~~~ She awaits. She stands in solitude amidst the throng, a pillar of white-gowned elegance bewreathed in a rippling aureole, regal in her dignity. Disembarking, I am drawn to face her. Others see the glacial magnificence of towering Taniquetil; but I alone glimpse Orodruin's perilous fires concealed beneath -- and grasp the profound cost of masking such passions behind her public guise of serenity. Her eyes betray her turbulence to me: wrath, sorrow, anticipation... despair? Did you fear I would not come, my love? I raise my gold-banded fingertip to her grave and beautiful face, then caress away the single scalding tear. *** "...there is no record of the day when at last [Celeborn] sought the Grey Havens, and with him went the last living memory of the Elder Days in Middle-earth." The Fellowship of the Ring, LoTR Prologue, Note on the Shire Records
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.
