Title & Chapter Number: Destiny’s Moment 5/?
Author(s): - Author's Index
Fandom: Tolkien
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I am writing fan fiction solely for my own enjoyment and do not claim any copyright or ownership nor do I have intent to make financial gain from Tolkien's wonderful world. Jadriel is my character conceived from my mind. Embrelle is a character who was from the mind of my good friend, Milena, who graciously allowed me to continue the story when she decided not to help with the writing.
Warnings: Het Romance, some violence, rape (only minimally described)
Betas: Dorothy…'The Great'
Cast: Haldir/OFC, Legolas/OFC, Rúmil, Orophin, Galadriel, Celeborn, The Fellowship, other OCs
Timeline: TA around the time of the Fellowship
Spoilers: None
Summary: Feeling saddened by her mother's death and abandoned by her father, Jadriel makes a heart wrenching decision. For Jadriel this moment of destiny comes when she chooses to give up her elven heritage and leave Lórien. She begins a new life as a human and lives as a ranger. She makes a new friend, Embrelle. The present story picks up where Jadriel feels compelled to return to Lórien and is faced with her past in an effort to help the Fellowship.
Notes: Alternate titles I liked: "Jadriel's Choice', and my personal favorite "How to Loose a Marchwarden in 10 Millennia". Dedication: To Dorothy, my beta, who has worked hard to help me correct my many grammatical and spelling flaws and have given me encouragement to keep writing. My deepest heart felt thanks for all her enthusiasm and hard work.
Part V: Melamin
Orophin set the steaming cup of herbal tea beside Rumil, and clamped a firm hand on his slumped shoulder. "Why don’t you go and lie down a while? Dawn is nearly upon us, and you have not moved from Haldir’s side all night."
Rumil’s eyes met his brother’s. "I should be here if he wakes."
"And you will, my Brother. I will call you if anything changes." Orophin gently urged his brother from the chair toward the other bedroom.
"But he lies so still. I have never seen him as such. The Lady did say he would be better. She did say he would awake." Rumil’s strained expression reflected Orophin’s own unspoken concerns.
"He continues in the healing sleep. He will mend." Orophin’s reassurance to Rumil sounded hollow even to him.
"But he is so pale and…"
"Brother, rest now. I will call you in a little while. I will stay close by his bed." With these words, Rumil finally turned to leave the room.
Orophin sank into the chair that Rumil had occupied for the last ten hours and stared at Haldir’s motionless form. He absentmindedly sipped the tea. A million possibilities raced through his mind of the future. What if Haldir was not alright? He shuddered at the thought. Haldir had been the anchor for his two younger brothers since their parents died. Orophin looked to him for guidance and strength. Haldir had been the stabilizing force in their family. Rumil was so very attached to Haldir. What if he were ever to die… if not now, than in battle? How would he fill those shoes of Haldir’s for Rumil? What could he possibly use to fill the hole in his own heart? Where would he find the strength to be the eldest of the family? Haldir had been more than a brother to them. He had been a parent, his childhood shortened. No wonder Haldir had become so stern while he and Rumil remained lighthearted and playful. Haldir had allowed his brothers their childhood and sacrificed his youth to their care. Would he become just as solemn, should something happen to Haldir? Could such an experience change one so drastically? Orophin refused to continue this line of thinking as he sipped the tea and watched over Haldir. He will improve. Nothing will happen to him.
Haldir continued in the healing sleep and with dreams that so vividly replayed his life.
He saw the day his friend decided to return to Lórien. As the village was a dangerous place, Orodreth moved his wife back to Caras Galadhon when Ryanna announced she carried their child. Haldir remembered the birth of Jadriel. She was so impetuous. When Haldir visited Orodreth and his family, she would follow him everywhere. As an elfling, she would bolt in his direction every time she saw him coming to visit. "Haldir! Haldir is back! What have you brought me?" She knew he always had some gift for her. Usually it was a small hand carved doll or wooden charm for her ever-growing bracelet. He often carved on wood to pass the time on the long patrols. Every time she saw him, she regaled him with tales of her conquests while "on patrol at the Northern Fences". She listened intently while he told her his stories. One day she announced, "I want to be a warden of the Guard someday. Will you teach me the bow?"
He smiled pleasantly to his little warden. "Melamin, if your father permits, when you are older, I will show you the ways of the bow." Melamin, as far back as he could remember that was his nickname for his little elfling friend, for she had captured his heart with her endearing ways from the first time she toddled over and called his name. He chuckled every time he saw the futile efforts of Ryanna and Galadriel to try to make this young rambunctious elfling into a young lady of the royal court. Jadriel much preferred running through the forest, climbing trees, fishing and playing war games with the other male elves her age than following in the ways of the elf maidens. He more often saw her in leggings and a woodland travel tunic than a gown. She loved to mimic everything he did. Unwittingly, he had become one of the greatest influences in her young life, sometimes to the dismay of her mother and the Lady but to the great delight of her father. To Jadriel, Haldir was her hero, and she wanted to be like him.
One day he walked merrily down the path that led to her tree. Soon the familiar ambush, "Haldir, Haldir, what have you brought for me today?’
He smiled, and spoke the all too familiar phrase that preceded all his gifts, "Amin caela orasina, Melamin."
"I have this gift, Melamin." These were some of Jadriel’s favorite words to hear from Haldir.
"What is it? What is it?" she teased expectantly. The sight of the new gift stopped her in her tracks, for her eyes never beheld a thing of such beauty.
Beaming from ear to ear, Haldir pulled out from behind his cloak an exquisitely hand carved bow and quiver. They were exactly like his in markings, except smaller. In fact, they were just the right size for an elfling of her age. "These were made by my father many years ago. They were the first set I ever received. Perhaps if you have the time this week, we will test them out." Indeed, they practiced many times when he was in the city. He was amazed at how fast she gained proficiency. She certainly had her father’s blood in her.
One day, he set off toward the Northern Fences with his wardens. Soon after, he sensed that he was being trailed. He stopped in a nearby talan to see if he could discern from which direction the feeling was coming. Just then, she pounced out of the top of the tree nearly knocking him over. "I am a warden of the Golden Wood," she announced proudly. "I want to go with you on patrol."
"Melamin," he whispered to her, "you must return home. Where we go is too dangerous for you to come."
"But you said I shot well. I want to be one of your wardens."
"Jadriel," his controlled demeanor was surfacing with her, "I have not the time to discuss this matter with you. You must go back."
Orophin was one of the many wardens traveling to the Northern Fences that day. It took everything he and the others had not to chuckle aloud at Haldir’s predicament with the small elfling. He finally provided a solution to Haldir’s plight. "If you will give me leave, I will accompany her back to her parents." Gratefully Haldir accepted and amongst feigned protests, Jadriel left with Orophin.
His dream carried him several years later, to one of the darkest days Haldir could remember. An urgent call came for the Northern Fences. A travel party had been attacked and taken captive by Orcs. Ryanna was a member of the party. She had wanted to travel north to see her kin. Hurriedly, Haldir marshaled his troops. Orodreth quickly joined them. Concern for his friend was visible in the expression on Haldir’s face. They both knew they must be swift with their attack as the Orcs were heading for the fortress of Dol Guldur in Mirkwood. If they made the woods, there would be no stopping them. Haldir knew Orcs would slaughter elves but often raped and tortured human women. This knowledge remained an unspoken fear between the two elves.
"We will split up and approach them from three sides. Orodreth, your wardens will approach from the west. Orophin, you will approach from the east. Rumil and my patrols will approach from the south." As they neared the Orc’s encampment, Haldir could hear the plaintive screams of the women. He refused to allow himself to imagine what was happening to them. The darkness of night shielded their approach somewhat but the grasslands provided little cover for the Guardians of Lórien. Soon their position was given away by an Orc sentinel. A savage battle ensued.
"Soora sen!" Haldir bellowed to his elves. "We must get through!"
"Flank them!" the order was reverberated around the battleground.
"Fire!" A volley of arrows landed skillfully on their targets. "Fire!" Another round of arrows opened a small path toward the tents. Haldir grabbed his long sword and fought his way through, leading his wardens. His guardians were able to occupy the Orcs long enough for Haldir to gain entrance to the tent.
The sight he beheld has haunted his dreams even to this day. Two village women lay dead, tortured nearly beyond recognition. In the far corner of the tent, a woman screamed in anguish. The Orc had the helpless woman nearly stripped naked, and was ravaging her on the floor of the tent. Haldir recognized the voice. His heart sank, his fury swelled. He withdrew an arrow from his quiver, then with a coldness in his heart to rival the fury in his mind and the deadly accuracy of millennia of training and battles, he dropped the Orc with one strike to the back of his head. He ran toward Ryanna, stopping only momentarily to assure himself the Orc was indeed dead. He wrapped his battle cloak around her and cradled her in his arms. "Mellonamin, it is all right now. You are no longer alone." Her tortured body was nearly limp. Her eyes were filled with terror.
"Melamin, Melamin, where is she? Is she alright?" These were the repeated nearly incoherent screams of a frightened mother.
"Melamin is safe. She is in Lórien. You are safe. Orodreth is coming to take you home," he whispered softly beside her ear. He drew her near to his body hoping the comfort of the closeness would reassure her and lessen her fretful cries.
She stared into his eyes, "Melamin…promise me you will protect her from this evil." She probed his eyes for reassurance.
He returned her gaze with the words she was seeking. "Ryanna, I will protect Melamin … always." With these words, Ryanna sighed her last breath in his arms. Haldir pressed her lifeless tortured body to his as if he could will the life back into it. "I have failed you, my friend." Tears streamed down his face at the suffering that had resulted from his failure. To this day, he had never stopped blaming himself.
He realized that Orodreth had entered just moments before. "Doila ile, mellonamin" he called softly to Haldir. "Thank you for giving comfort to my wife in her last moments. I am in your debt. You did everything you could. Do not blame yourself. She does not blame you. I do not blame you." With these words, Orodreth gently received the body of his wife from Haldir’s arms. Since that time Haldir had always requested the Northern Fences as his preferred duty region.
Haldir left the tent. Both he and Orodreth dreaded their next duty. Haldir arrived first at the royal talan where Jadriel was staying. He wanted to spare his friend the pain of having to tell his own daughter of her mother’s death. She approached him as always, with open arms, "Haldir! Haldir!" But immediately she could tell something was wrong. "What is it? Why are you so sad?" He could see her mother’s face when he looked at the child. He had never before noticed just how much Jadriel resembled her mother.
"I have come to you with news of your mother." He wrapped his arms around her nearly as tightly as he had held her dying mother. "Your mother was captured by Orcs in the north and killed, Melamin." He whispered the news as gently as he knew how, close to her ear. He held her for as long as she felt the need to cry in his arms, for he knew little else that could be done to comfort a child when a parent was taken in this manner. His thoughts drifted back to the time when the Lady held him in a similar fashion at the news of his own parents’ deaths.
Soon after his wife’s death, Orodreth sank into a deep state of despair. He withdrew from all who loved him. If it were not for Haldir and the Lord and Lady, Jadriel would have felt totally alone. Haldir was true to the promise he had made to Ryanna. He would protect Jadriel always. He showed her how to use a sword and bow. They practiced as frequently as he could be in the city. She had gained a level of skill with these weapons that rivaled any of his wardens. There were a few times he even allowed her to accompany him on patrol. She was as good as any of his wardens. All she ever talked about was becoming one someday. Much to his dismay, Galadriel and Celeborn discouraged her hopes for this.
They became constant companions and great friends. He had been and was still her hero and her role model. She often spent time hunting and traveling through the forest, when he was off duty. She had become so much a part of his immediate family that his brothers had taken to calling her, ai’seler. "Little sister, what is your wager on how long it will take Haldir to ask her out? I am in for not longer than three days," taunted Rumil in full earshot of Haldir. Yes, she had even gotten in on the teasing his brothers engaged themselves in regarding Haldir’s female friends. She often spoke to Haldir of her dreams, the male infatuations of her youth, even her first kiss. He was like the older brother she never had. He always saw her as the little elfling toddling toward him on the day she first called his name. He was even privy to the heartbreak of her first lost romance. He found it hard to listen to her speaking of their physical relationship, because to him she still seemed so much a child. Perhaps this is how it feels to be a parent.
Over the years, she had discussed many of her conquests and failures in romance. Sometimes in more detail than he felt comfortable in imagining. She had always valued his opinion on the matter. She had always teased him about his "vast experience" on the subject. He always found it hard to see her in a sexual relationship. One day she said something that caught him totally off guard and changed his vision of her.
They had finished a session of swordplay and sat down for a drink of water. She began as always, probing him for advice. As usual his advice sounded very much like what a parent would say. Finally in exasperation at the thought of hearing another lecture on her conduct, she declared, "Haldir, we have known each other for nearly eight centuries, do not see me always as a child. I am a grown elf maiden. I am not asking for your opinion on this subject as a parent, I am asking your opinion as an elf male, for I know you have experienced the same type of situation, I have teased you on many occasions."
Shock and embarrassment had washed over him. She was right. He had never seen her as a female. She had always been that endearing little child of his friend. "Well," he started unsure how cold his real opinion would sound or how it would be received. "I think you are wasting your time. He has no real interest." He held her, as was his custom when she felt the need to cry about some sadness in her life. He whispered softly to her, "Melamin, some day you will find your true love." Something changed for him that day. He no longer felt the pressure to be the wise parent. He saw this little elfling at last as an elf maiden. He remembered the first time he had found himself attracted to her as a female. It had occurred many decades after this epiphany.
Haldir experienced this most amazing moment once more as his dream continued to carry him through his life’s events. He had been away on a particularly long patrol. He left the rest of his wardens to go by his favorite swimming hole before returning to his flet. Sometimes a refreshing swim could improve his whole demeanor. Just as his head surfaced from diving into the water, he noticed he was not the only one bathing in the waters of his favorite pool. Out from under the waterfall splashed a beautiful elven maid, merrily tossing the falling water and singing. Her clothes lay in piles on the bank. Her back was to him, and he did not recognize her immediately. He found the view quite pleasurable and was content to relish in the sensation for the moment. Since it was apparent she was unaware of his presence, he decided to settle behind the cover of a large water vine and enjoy his good fortune. When she turned to get out, to his astonishment it was his Jadriel. He averted his eyes from the scene immediately. He did not wish to further insult her by his shameful voyeurism. Once she was dressed, he quickly stole a glance to see in which direction she was heading. He jumped out of the water, dressed quickly and followed her down the path. For miles through the forest he followed undetected, for Haldir was a renowned master of stealth. Her excursion ended at Cerin Amroth … a favorite stop of both, for different reasons. He settled high on a nearby talan absorbing the remarkable view. Jadriel was happier than he had seen her in months, singing merrily and twirling around in her sparkling silver gown. She finally plopped onto a large root overlooking the city and began to intensely inspect something she was holding. She hummed happily. When he thought he could take the distance between them no longer without bursting, he quietly climbed down the mellorn, sneaked up from behind and whispered, "Lirimaer".
She started for she had believed herself to be alone. Lovely one, she mused at hearing the elven endearment. She could think of no one at this time that would address her as such.
"Lirimaer, you should not bath alone in the forest."
The direction of the words had changed. But this time she recognized the voice. "Haldir, I did not know a private bath would risk my virtue." She giggled at his taunting.
Just then he came up from behind and wrapped his arms around in a playful gesture of surprise greeting that he often used on her and replied, "Your virtue has always been safe with me, Melamin. I did not stay when I realized just who was bathing."
"Perhaps it was the view that chased you away." She giggled again.
"The view…" the view was breathtakingly beautiful, it would never have chased me away. He completed the sentence in his mind for he knew not what she would make of such thoughts, and then quickly changed the subject. "Just what has happened to make you so lighthearted today. I have not seen you such … in ages." He smiled at her.
But his eyes gave him away. She knew exactly what he meant to say when he stopped. She saw the way he was looking at her. It delighted her to no end that her long time confidant had finally seen her in this new light. "It is a gift from my father that has lifted my spirits. A necklace… the Jewel of the Golden Star. It is very special to me. It belonged to my great-grandmother. He told me he would give it to me when I became a lady. But if you wish to see it you will have to catch me." With this she slipped through his grasp and ran between the mellyrn.
Haldir knew during the long years of his grief that Orodreth had paid her very little attention. Jadriel relished any attention she was shown from her father. To have received this heirloom and the implied compliment was indeed a reason for joy and celebration on her part. He was thrilled to see her so happy. Her levity was intoxicating. He chased her playfully around the trees for hours. They laughed at the silliness. He danced with her under the sun. They sang merrily. Finally succumbing to fatigue from the revelry, she leaned up against a tree. Still caught up in the merriment, he ran up playfully and said, "Have I not yet earned the right to see this gem that has brought you so much delight?" She offered her hand, and he opened it reverently, peering at the dazzling jewel. "It is beautiful. May I place it on you?"
At his request, she handed it to him. Gently holding each end, he wrapped the necklace behind her neck and hooked the clasp. With both hands still behind her neck holding the clasp, he gazed upon the lovely sight before him and proclaimed, "Ile naa vanima, Melamin" He kissed her more gently then he had ever kissed any maiden in his life.
"You are beautiful, my love," The words of that moment have echoed in her heart forever. Cerin Amroth never held the same meaning to either of them after that day.
~*~*~*~
Melamin – literally means "my love"…but in the context of almost this entire story it is a nickname Haldir uses for Jadriel. It is his ‘pet’ name for her.
Amin caela orasina, Melamin. – I have this gift, Melamin
Soora sen! – Flank them!
Mellonamin – my friend
Doila ile – Thank you
Ai’selar – little sister
Lirimaer – Lovely one
Ile naa vanima, Melamin. – You are beautiful, my love.~*~*~*~
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