treading water | halbrand & isildur [on hold]

5 | i'll wait

PERHAPS YOU'LL FIND YOURSELF RUNNING BACK HERE ONE DAY.

When the second day on Númenor arrived, Nimriel found herself standing at Galadriel's side in the throne room. Queen Míriel had summoned them to court to discuss not only what she planned to do with them, but to talk about Halbrand's sentence as well. Attacking and nearly killing four citizens was not something to take lightly.

Míriel stood across from the two Elves with all the documents found in the Hall of Lore laid out in front of her. There was a map of the Southlands showing how the landmarks matched Sauron's sigil, Halbrand's mark, and some sort of plan written in Black Speech that Galadriel had to translate for them. Elendil, who was there when she made those discoveries, stood a few feet to the side, overseeing the meeting.

Nimriel was really only there to watch over Galadriel and make sure she didn't offend Míriel and the kingdom any more than she already had. Since Halbrand could no longer be the voice of reason for the trio, the responsibility fell on Nim's shoulders.

"You vex me, Elf," Míriel said, looking up from the documents and up at Galadriel. "I welcome you as a guest, and you gallop off to our countryside to steal ancient scrolls whilst your Southlander companion assaults our citizenry. Is the royal amongst you the only one who knows how to act when treated as a guest in another's home?"

"Queen Míriel, he is understandably quick to temper," Nimriel spoke softly, wanting to defend Halbrand. And maybe she was stretching the truth a bit given the real reason he was thrown in the dungeon. "His people are dying."

"His people?" she questioned.

Galadriel spoke evenly. "We believe the man you hold in your dungeons is no common brawler, but the lost heir in exile to the throne of the Southlands."

"And I suppose Elendil here is a Rhûnic emperor," Míriel said dryly.

Elendil chuckled to himself, seemingly flattered by the implication. "Just a petty lord, actually." Though when Míriel shot him a look that clearly said she was in no joking mood, his crooked smile dropped.

"His people are scattered and leaderless," Nimriel said, trying to get back on track. "But with your backing, they might unite behind his banner and fight."

The Queen narrowed her eyes at her. "What do you mean 'backing'?"

"Sauron was once your people's enemy, as much as mine," Galadriel told her. "I call on you to finish the task left undone. To reforge the alliance between Númenor and Elves, and fight with me to save the men of the Southlands before Sauron claims their lands for his own."

For just a few short seconds, the Queen thought it over before setting the documents down and shaking her head. "In this court, we hear many proposals. I dare say yours is the most surprising and ambitious I've heard in weeks. Nevertheless, Númenor has chosen another path."