Title & Chapter Number: Nienna 5/?
Author(s): - Author's Index
Fandom: Tolkien
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, places, plots, etc., created by the masterful J.R.R. Tolkien in book-land or movie-verse... they're just too wonderful for words. Those that I make up, however, are my own.
Warnings: None
Betas: None
Cast: Haldir/OC
Timeline: TA AU
Spoilers: None
Summary: An A/U… She was said to be one of the greatest beauties on Middle Earth, or so he had heard. Haldir will soon discover for himself what awaits him by the sea...
Notes: I do love feedback and suggestions, so if anyone has anything to say, please feel free to say it, via the board, or by email. Constructive criticism is most welcome…it's how we improve ourselves after all, but flamers, please beware, I can get pretty mean when riled!
Thank You: And definitely not to be forgotten, are the wonderful people who strive to make your story as wonderful as you want it to be. A big thank you to these two people, my beta pals, Mo and Julie!!! You're the absolute best, for without your inspiration and encouragement, this story might never have taken its wings and flown!!!
Chapter 5 - Apologies…
Storms on the open water had always enticed her. They were an unpredictable, dangerous entity, both far and wide reaching; beautiful displays of power, fierce and frightful, though spellbinding and seductive.
Lightning streaked across the blackened sky, deadly and wicked, its force masterful to the beholder, a serpent's tongue separating air from air. And in its heated wake, an angered, bellowing roar spilt from the very heavens to surround the island paradise in cloaked fingers. Countless tears from the Gods then flowed forth, raining fury and cries of the black devil, descended in torrents, reaching the shores and soaking the land, giving life to all living things upon and within it.
A gentle whisper carried over the howling wind, pelting rains and rushing waters. "Nienna…" she heard a low, breathy utterance, exciting and beguiling, partaking of her very innocence. "Nienna," he said again, his essence swept across her skin in a wispy murmur, "no longer let your heart be troubled." A wet tingle caressed her sensitive neck, moving along her shoulders to encase her trembling body, willing her into blissful submission. "Feel my arms hold you, my love. Wrap yourself in my embrace. Feel me," he commanded, "Feel me as I feel you..."
Rapture spread through her suddenly, comforting and soothing, and she felt as though she were floating. . .
Gasping, Nienna awoke with a start, not wafting through the air, but instead lying atop the bedcovers, apparently having lain where she had fallen. Caught in a haze between the waking and dream worlds, she could still feel the warmth of the phantom embrace. Her breaths were panting and urgent, disconcerting and yet… arousing.
She had dreamt of Him again, of the one who would come for her - her salvation. This particular dream, however, she found puzzling. He had not appeared to her, but instead, she had heard his voice. A sultry voice carried to her on the eye of the storm. He, who before had only manifested himself in the murkiness of her mind, this time, had wrapped her in his protective embrace, leaving her heated and longing. Below her breast, her heart quivered and shook, and with each breath drawn, she heaved almost as if in pain.
As always in the stillness of the night when alone did she think of Him, reaching and searching for what she had never known, but could only imagine. Dare she allow herself to hope that He would rescue her from her loneliness and crippling despair? That He would release her from her cage, giving her glorious wings on which to take heavenly flight?
But what if it was only a dream; her mind's bizarre escape from the twist of reality? Fear swept through her ten-fold, and she shuddered under the great immensity of it. No! Her heart protested, nay, screamed in denial. The Valar would not be so cruel as to torture her this way! They simply would not!
Sighing, Nienna banished all thoughts of Him. Maybe for her sanity, or to stamp the grief that such thoughts evoked, for now, they were gone from her weary mind. She wiped the small drop of moisture from her cheek; tears would do her no good. She had to be strong, just as she had tried to be strong her whole miserable existence. Hardly any true friends, and not one of her blood kin had she. With the exception of Dariena and Varyar, she was essentially alone.
Pushing herself to her elbows, her sodden eyes fell to her favorite window seat. Reflecting back on a long ago time when, as a child, she and her father used to sit at that very window, and watch the rain as it danced across the rugged sea. Oddly enough, it was on those fierce beasts of nature, too wild ever to harness with any wizardry or devilry, that her father had freely offered her the comfort of his embrace without making her feel as if she burdened him.
Though conflicted she had been, even at such a tender age, she knew that she shared her father with the whole of a kingdom, but she nevertheless greedily accepted those moments from her early childhood, and tucked them deep in her heart. They were few, yet they were the securest and happiest moments of her life.
A small giggling voice of a long since forgotten child resonated and filled the room around her, and with it, a tiny glint of precious memory from several decades prior, took shape before her very eyes. . .
'Ada?' the little she-elf asked, protectively nestled against her father's broad chest, her face resting securely in the crook of his neck; he smelt of exotic island flowers and rich, woodsy spices. 'Will you tell me a story?'
'A story?' Pulling her closer against him, he tucked her head under his chin. It was one of the few moments when he had held her in his arms. 'Yes, my darling little one, your wish is my command,' he answered, kissing her forehead, smoothing her dark, unruly hair with his cheek. 'Now, what would you like to hear? The story of the giant?'
She shook her head, fingering the rich embroidery of his fine velvet sleeve.
'No? I thought that was your favorite?' he said with surprise, his eyes wide and inquiring. But then he smiled down at her, as only he could. An expression of amusement and adoration marked his handsome face, and in that moment, she knew she would never love anyone as well as he.
Bouncing her on his knee, he laughingly asked, 'How about the story of the wicked dwarf witch? Or, the beautiful maiden and the handsome prince?' And again, she answered him with a resounding no, twisting a long strand of his dark, silky hair around her tiny fingers.
His brows furrowed, and the father sat for a moment, as if in deep thought. Finally he tilted his beautiful face low to hers, peering at her, smiling. 'Well, what does my princess wish to hear tonight?'
In a sweet, unsure voice, no louder than a fleeting whisper, the tentative little one mustered much courage. 'I wish to hear about my mother.'
Clearly unnerved, he leaned back, swallowing hard. Outside, his gaze fell across the angry, choppy seas… so lost and far away now. The small child's bottom lip began to tremble with innocent fear that she had once again upset him.
After a moment, he looked down, and she stared into his pained, watery eyes, feeling her whole world crumbling with dread that she had indeed done something very terrible. But, instead of reprimanding or worse, deserting her, he smiled gently, and kissed the tip of her nose, holding her tight. She had felt him shudder slightly, and draw one shaky breath as if he might have been sobbing. It was then that his pain became that of her own burden with which she would willingly carry.
Finally, he loosened his embrace slightly, his first words brought forth in a quiet, gentle whisper when, at last, he began. 'Once upon a time. . .'
Suddenly, a bright flash of light poured inside, followed by a low thunderous rumble, disturbing Nienna's reverie. The vision slowly faded from her eyes, and she felt a mixture of sadness, yet relief; those memories were too painful to explore very often. Turning her attention to the open terrace doors, in the distance, she could smell the oncoming rain.
Something twisted and coiled itself around her body, binding tightly around her arms and bosom, and Nienna looked down to find that she had not even made the effort to remove her evening gown. For a moment, she wondered if that had not been the phantom embrace she had felt earlier? She frowned.
The exquisite silken finery reeked of Elven brew and lay sloppily against her body, wrinkled to the high heavens. She smiled suddenly and her spirits lifted; as something said the previous night returned to her mind. 'Your behavior disturbs me, young Princess, not at all the poised she-elf I met earlier at dinner.' Yes, she had to agree, the March Warden was correct. She was not the poised she-elf he had met at dinner, but was in fact a far cry from her in most every way.
Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, her stomach heaved its protest, and she moaned, resting her palm against the flat gurgling plane of her abdomen. Cursing herself for her overindulgence of wine elverquisst, she closed her eyes tightly, and waited for the queasiness to subside before deciding some fresh air might do her well.
Steeling her resolve, she placed her feet on the cold marble floor, and slowly padded toward the open terrace, her head pounding in time with each step. Once outside, a cool breeze swept against her, filling her senses of the fresh, ocean air and lingering rain. It was still dark, the occasional flicker of lightning over the still waters illuminating The Ardana, docked in the deep mouth of the harbor like a lone, majestic specter.
Turning her back to the waters, she lean against the stone railing, glancing inside her room. Her thoughts moved to the upcoming day's agenda, and how she would spend it. Would she join the other she-elves for lunch in the courtyard, or would she retire to the library and read? Neither of those seemed appealing. Certainly not blathering with the courtiers! Another idea came to mind, one she liked much better; maybe, weather permitting, she would spend the day in the private gardens, weeding and relaxing by her mother's wishing well?
As the storm continued to bear down, moving toward the small island, another bright flash tore across the dark sky, its light filtering inside her room. A faint glint in the floor beside her bedchamber door caught her eye, and her brow knitted curiously. It was a broken arrow.
She bent to retrieve it, the pounding rush of blood pooling along the bridge of her nose as she leaned over. Reaching between her watery eyes, she pinched off the flow of pain, and stood upright again, cursing herself once more for having drunk too much.
Turning the splintered wood over in her hands, she paced back and forth. Unable to recall too much after she arrived in the guards' lounge, she could only hope that she had not done anything too overtly foolish. Hazy though her mind was, she recalled the game of kholias and taking the Loser's Shot, and of course, missing the target, as always. Amused, she shrugged her shoulders.
But still, as she looked at the arrow in her hands, why did she have a nagging feeling that something was terribly wrong? That something out of the ordinary had happened? The storm was now forgotten as she wore a path from one side of the room to the other. . .
Suddenly she stopped and spun around, her face paled and her eyes went wide. "I… I shot Haldir, the Captain of the Galadhrim with an arrow!" she blurted aloud, slumping on the edge of the bed. She had shot Haldir, Captain of the Galadhrim, with an arrow! She fell back on the mattress with a groan, her hands to her face.
Sighing loudly, she decided that it could get no worse than this! She had nearly injured the handsome March Warden! She had put a hole through his tunic! Again, she groaned, shaking her head, a heavy weight on her chest. She had caused him to drench himself in ale! An image of the mighty warrior's visage all at once appeared before her eyes, covered in the dark liquid and foam, dripping from his hair, from his nose, and from his chin. Despite herself, the corners of her lips twitched, her hand falling to her mouth, and shamelessly, she began to laugh. It was the most humorous thing she had seen in a good long while, if ever! Nienna laughed, rolling from side to side until tears ran from her eyes and down her cheeks.
But as her laughter calmed, a fearful thought sprang to mind, and her eyes once again grew wide and anxious. There was something she had not even considered! What if Haldir decided to tell her father about her late night rendezvous in the guards' lounge? What if Haldir told him that the Princess and Lady of Cirana, his only child, spent most of her evenings with the guards, drinking and gambling? She sat bolt upright on the bed. After what she had done to the March Warden, he would take great pleasure in telling her father! She just knew it! That arrogant, haughty elf would do it for spite!
Forgetting about the arrow beside her, she stood and began to pace again, wringing her hands as she contemplated the best course of action. Finally after a few moments, she stopped and frowned, knowing what she must do.
~*~*~*~
Nienna was unsure what she was going to say to Haldir. She just knew that she had to smooth things over before he had a chance to speak to her father. But Mordor's curses, she felt so foolish! She was doing the very thing she had sworn she would not, which was to go to his room in the middle of the night. This was so embarrassing, and she could almost envision the smirk that would be painted across his beautiful face when he saw her at his door… but it must be done.
Luckily, the visiting Lóriens were not far from her own quarters in the royal wing of the palace. It was still a couple of hours before sunrise, but already servants were preparing for the awakening royals and many dignitaries strewn throughout the large castle.
As she turned the corner of the corridor where the visiting royal apartments were housed, she met a Galadhrim guard, one she was certain she had seen only a few hours prior in the guards' lounge. He bowed and smiled familiarly, bidding her a good morning. She replied kindly in same, but did not slow; too intent on her purpose, she wasted no time and hurried along the lengthy, elegant passage.
At the end of the hall, she paused at the two doors facing each other. The palace had many unseen eyes and ears, and already she was well aware of which apartment had been assigned to the March Warden.
As she stood before Haldir's door, her confidence had petered out, and now she was not so sure she was doing the right thing. Maybe she should turn and leave while she could? He would never know. In fact, not another soul would know - except for the guard down the hall. She peered at him, and to her surprise, he stood watching her, grinning from ear to ear. Inwardly she cursed, realizing that he likely believed she was there to pursue his Captain Haldir! Mandos' bells, but now she would be the laughing stock of the entire Galadhrim army! Could it possibly get any worse!? Yes, it could!
She straightened to her full, regal height, mustering her fiercest scowl, inherited from her father. She narrowed her eyes, her gaze promising the young charge swift and sure retribution if he did not mind his manners. The grin disappeared, replaced by a thin line, and he immediately paled and turned away to resume his duty.
Nienna smiled, satisfied, but her newfound bravado quickly drained when she turned back to the imposing door of the March Warden. She could still walk away. It mattered not if that insolent pup down the hall told Haldir. Why should she even care? But she did…
She chastised herself for feeling so foolish and inept, like a spring elfling. She realized she was forgetting the whole purpose of her being there, and that no matter the damage to her pride, she had to ensure that her father never found out how and where she spent her evenings. For if he did, he would surely lock her in her rooms and throw away the key; she was already a helpless captive of her own island realm, she surely did not need to be a prisoner of her own home, too!
She sighed and drew herself back up again, her resolve settled and her shoulders squared. Nay, she could not take any chances. Pride or no pride, she would speak with him now. After all, he could not eat her!
Hesitating for only a moment, she knocked and leaned in close. Silence. Maybe he was not even there? Shaking her head, he had probably found his way to one of the sniveling courtier strumpets' beds! Then her mouth set firmly, and she knocked again, a little louder this time.
Glancing back behind her, she hoped that she would not wake Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel. That would certainly be most embarrassing to have them find her outside their March Warden's chambers this time of morning, and without an escort! Strumpet indeed!
Inside the elegant apartment, Haldir had awoken to the sound of gentle rapping on his door. Tired and annoyed, he slipped out of bed, almost tripping when he stubbed his toe on an offending table. Half-limping and stalking toward the door, cursing under his breath, he prepared to give the uninvited and unwelcome visitor a piece of his mind for the intrusion.
Reaching the door, his keen battle instincts kicked in, and he stopped, listening carefully to ascertain who was on the other side. He spied his leggings and tunic lying in a pile by his feet, the puncture in his sleeve clearly visible. He shook his head, Princess Nienna's stunning beauty coming to mind… her flustered expression when he left her standing in the guards' lounge.
Against the wall on the opposite side of the door, were his sword and bow. The one-of-a-kind black bow had been a gift from the Lady when he was promoted to Captain of the Galadhrim armies. Hence, it was one of his most treasured possessions. Never used, but always stored in its case; a priceless heirloom it was, much too elegant for him, a mere March Warden. Even now it puzzled him as to why Galadriel had insisted he bring it with him to Cirana. It was not his normal choice of bows - he had a perfectly good bow! This one, he had rarely pulled its string back, and it still needed to be broken in properly.
Suddenly, his attention was piqued when he heard a small rustle of swooshing silk, an indication that it was a female someone on the other side. He grinned mischievously, wondering which bold lady had decided to visit him, and swung the door open wide.
"Princess," he said in surprise, ducking away from her fist as she prepared to rap his door once again. She jumped as if startled, and he grinned, finding her actions amusing.
Her wide eyes fell to his face, but quickly skimmed lower, over his naked body, which he had made no effort to conceal. She turned as red as a beet, and immediately averted her stare to the floor at her feet.
He watched as her mouth opened then snapped shut, opened then snapped shut, obviously caught somewhere between immense embarrassment and shock. Still grinning, he stepped a little closer; her very feminine scent assailing him, he inhaled a little more deeply.
"What a pleasant surprise," he said smoothly, leaning against the door, towering over her. "Has Her Highness come to take me up on my offer?" he asked teasingly, soft and seductive, amused when she glared up at him, her eyes narrowed like sharpened daggers.
"No, I have not come to take you up on your offer, March Warden! Do not flatter yourself!" she sputtered. "I… I merely…" and her voice faltered. Her beautiful green eyes quickly swept over his body and all at once away from him.
Haldir covered his mouth with his hand when she looked away suddenly, crushing her eyes shut, as if to compose herself, her face lit a bright shade of crimson. She began tugging on the long, flared sleeve of her gown with her fingers, yet still, he made no effort to cover himself, not even when she turned to meet his eyes once more.
"I… I merely came here to…" again, her gaze wandered downward before snapping back to his face, "to…tell you that… I…" she stammered, unable to form more than a few words. She glanced down the hall. At the ceiling above them. To the floor at their feet. Anywhere and everywhere, but at the March Warden. Amused, Haldir followed her gaze, wherever she looked.
Suddenly, her eyes locked with his blue ones, glaring and challenging. "How dare you stand there looking as you do in my presence, without even the decency to cover your nakedness!" she exclaimed. It took all his effort to keep from grinning, when she abruptly turned away. "You obviously care naught for who I am!"
Frowning, Haldir looked down at himself. He had never had any complaints about his nakedness before. All at once his eyes brightened, and he quietly turned to his room, but not before glancing at Nienna, who still stood with her back to him. . .
"And if you think for one moment, that you are going to… to bed me, March Warden. . ."
He smiled and disappeared behind the door for only an instant before reappearing. Quietly he slipped out in the hall, where still, she prattled on. "I would just as soon lie naked in a briar patch with an Orc! I hear they are dirty, and they stink, and…" her hands flailing about her head comically.
Haldir tightened his lips to keep from laughing.
"If you think showing me your attributes will change my mind, March Warden, you have another…"
Sidling up close behind her, breathing down her neck and shoulders. She stiffened…
Nienna felt him brush against her back; his breath hot and moist against her neck and shoulders. She dummied up, biting her bottom lip between her teeth to keep from gasping. Her eyes darted to the left, then to the right, and up and down. His body heat cloaking her from head to toe, he was so large and powerful, and she so small and weak! What was she to do!?
And naked no less! He was standing behind her naked! Despite herself, she could not help but imagine his body, in all his male glory, against hers; the hard muscle of his chest, the ripple of his taut stomach, and lower, to the distinct vee of his pelvis and hips, to his… She could almost feel it pressing into the small of her back! The heat from it searing into her, willing and wanting to have her! Her own giddy breaths quickened, and unfamiliar tingles rushed up her body from the tips of her toes, to the tops of her ears!
"Princess," she heard him say and felt his hand light on her shoulder. Without thinking clearly, she spun around, poised and ready to strike at him, if necessary!
To her dismay, even in her fit of fury, she could not help but look down, as if spellbound by this one force of nature to see that which she had never seen before. But to her relieved astonishment, yet tiny disappointment, he had covered himself with his leggings! Confused, she stood with her mouth agape, wondering how he could have dressed without her knowledge. And how did he sneak up behind her? Surely she would have heard him?
"Princess," he said again, obviously concerned, he stepped back away from her slightly, his eyes searching her own. "You must…"
Slowing her breaths. "Must what, March Warden," she repeated. "I came here to ask your forgiveness for earlier in the guards' lounge when I shot you with my arrow, and you… you…" she sputtered, a whole myriad of feelings rushed her at once; anger, frustration, embarrassment, confusion, and even excitement.
His bare skin suddenly forgotten, she inched closer. "I am here in good faith, and you choose to make a mockery of me!" she finally blurted, exasperated. "I am a princess of Cirana and the Lady of this isle! Not one of your silly, over-eager trollops, worshipping at your feet! How dare you show me such disrespect?"
"Your Highness, please accept my most sincere apologies, for I assumed-"
"You assumed what, Haldir of Lórien? That I had come to your rooms to be bedded by the legendary March Warden of Lothlórien?" She raised her chin defiantly, ebbing out on a blustered breath, "Maybe I shall send Valkana to your quarters next time? I suspect that you and she would have much in common. You did seem to enjoy her attentions at dinner last eve!" Gathering the skirt of her gown, she turned to stalk off, but not before adding haughtily, "Good day to you, Captain Haldir of Lórien!"
Until she disappeared around the corner, Haldir watched her storm away, her nose in the air. He stood for a moment, a combination of rapt fascination, amusement, self-admonishment, and confusion swept through his mind, and suddenly, meditation forgotten, he felt the urge to begin his day a little early.
Just as he turned back toward his rooms again, he spied the stunned, but obviously enraptured young warden at the end of the hall. Haldir grinned at his charge before slipping inside and closing the door.
So, it had been Valkana's attentions he had been enjoying at dinner? No wonder Lady Galadriel could not keep a straight face all night! Mandos' bells, if this case of mistaken identity ever got out on him, he would be the laughing stock of the entire Galadhrim army! Thank the Valar his brothers were not there!
~*~*~*~
Celeborn rose from the bed and prepared to pull his leggings on when he felt his wife grasp his arm. "Lie back down, my love," Galadriel said, smiling knowingly sweet.
"But maybe I should check on them," he replied, concerned, for he had been awakened by the princess' heated voice, and his captain's more calm, even teasing timbre. "She sounded quite angry with Haldir."
Galadriel laughed and tugged on his arm again, pulling him down to her face. "Let them be, my husband." Kissing his nose, she smoothed his hair behind his ears. "They are simply testing one another. It is nothing to concern ourselves with."
He seemed to weigh her words for only a moment before wrapping his arms around her, pulling her up to his chest. "You are right as always, sweetness." Reaching under her chin, he tilted her face up to meet his, and just as his lips hungrily met hers, he whispered, "There are other things I would much rather be doing right now. . ."
~*~*~*~
It was near mid-morning when Dariena found Nienna sitting by the Queen's wishing well in the private gardens. It was one of the only places the princess could go to find peace and quiet from the usual drove of courtiers, and their incessant, often nasty stares and whispers.
Dariena understood Nienna's penchant for the well, for she, too, had felt the presence of Queen Ardana there. Often when she needed her own solitude away from the hectic life surrounding the royal citadel, she sought refuge by the wishing well. For Nienna though, Dariena realized it was much more than that. It was the sweetling child's only tangible piece of a mother she had never known - a longing for a closeness that no other, even she, could fulfill.
Sadly, Dariena knew that King Cirdani refused his daughter's questions regarding her mother no matter how meager they were, for his own pain was great and unyielding. Yet the widowed lady did not fault the king for his silence. It had been what sustained him after his life mate's tragic death, just as it had kept her during the loss of her own love on that same fateful day so long ago.
All that Nienna had learned of the late queen, she had discovered from others, including Dariena. It seemed that the day the little princess came into the world, life given to her by her mother's dying breaths, all memories of Ardana had been locked away tightly in her father's heart, and even his own child could not penetrate the wall he had erected. Only Dariena was well aware, with the exception of Varyar, that because of Cirdani's cold indifference and the unrelenting cruelty of others, the princess always carried a nearly unbearable sadness deep within. An unforgivable guilt that she had lived, and the queen, her mother, had died.
"You must let go of your melancholy, young one," Dariena said, approaching the startled princess. "Your mother would not want you to punish yourself the way you do."
Nienna looked up from her reverie. "Oh, Dariena," she said, her eyes tearful, "could things get any worse for me?"
The older lady sat down beside the young princess, smoothing a lock of hair from her face, studying her. "Do you really want me to answer that?" she finally asked solemnly.
Smiling wearily, Nienna closed her eyes and shook her head. "No, I suppose I do not."
Dariena laughed, taking the princess' hand in her own. "What bothers you, my dearest?" Nienna hesitated a moment before turning to her former wet nurse, a tear meandered down her cheek as she did. "Ohhh, sweetling, what is wrong? Why do you cry?"
"I wish I had known my mother, Dariena."
She smiled knowingly, stroking Nienna's cheeks with both hands. "You look so much like her, you know."
The princess shifted uncomfortably. "Yet I know so little about her," she confessed sadly, looking up at the beautiful lady elf.
"Aye, that is true, but what else bothers you, Nienna?" Dariena asked the nearest to a daughter she would ever know.
Shaking her head. "'Tis nothing," she answered turning away to look out over the waters. "Do you believe dreams come true?" she asked after a moment of silence.
"Yes, I do," Dariena said in earnest, and Nienna gazed at her intently. Smiling, the lady bent forward and kissed the princess' forehead, her words soft, yet eloquently spoken. "When I was about your age, I dreamt of my mate coming to me from across the rolling seas, his hair dark as pitch, and his eyes… they were the color of violet." Dariena leaned back as the thought fell away, tucked into a precious memory. Then she pointed to a small overlook on the outer rim of the city. "That is where he asked me to join with him, and on a warm summer evening shortly after he came to Cirana, we pledged our lives to one another," she said, her smile bittersweet. They had shared so short a time together before his death.
Changing the subject, Dariena said, "Did you know that your mother and father used to spend most evenings right here by this wishing well? Your father would sing to her while they danced under the pale moonlight."
"Dariena, was my mother happy, before she…" Nienna suddenly asked, as if desperate to know, her voice shaking with emotion - with the weight of tremendous loss and sadness.
Surprised, Dariena's eyes widened, though she had long ago learned to mask her emotions well, she calmly squeezed the princess' hand and continued to smile. "Your mother hoped for, and received everlasting happiness, dearest." Turning more fully to Nienna. "Always she spoke of the love and devotion between her and your father, and how that affection burned deep in their souls, consuming every fiber of their being."
Dariena looked to the wishing well. "She was different from most elves. Ardana lived each and every day, as if it would be her last," she said, glancing at the princess, adding sadly, "She believed in the curse of men, and that it could befall the first born, too."
"Dariena, you knew my mother perhaps better than any other, save my father." Nienna hesitated for a moment, as if unsure, and once again, she shifted uncomfortably. "Was she… was she happy…" she swallowed, "with me?"
Pulling the princess to her breast, Dariena kissed her as a mother to her child. "Oh, Nienna, never was one more pleased than your mother when she and your father decided to start a family. She loved you from the moment you were created." Dariena smiled, reminiscent of years past. "Many hours she and I spent talking about the births of our babes. And many hours she spent by this well, sending wishes to the Valar for your happiness. More than anything, she wished for you to find a love as great as hers and your father's."
Nienna pulled away from Dariena, her eyes misty. "Thank you," she whispered, "You have been the only mother I have ever known." Finally, tears sprang free from their confines, and she at last wept, something she had refused herself. "I love you so, Dariena."
"Oh, my sweet, sweet youngling, and I love you, too. In fact, I could not love you anymore if you had been born of my own flesh," Dariena replied, embracing the princess.
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