[Author's Note: Pic is Caladwen. What do you think?]
[CALADWEN POV]
The sound of my door creaking making me look up from my vanity. A smile rose to my face as I saw naneth coming in with what must be my dress for the royal feast honoring King Elessar and Queen Arwen.
"Hey sweetie," she said, putting a kiss on top of my head after she put my dress on the bed.
Still seated at my vanity chair, I turned my body to give her a hug, letting her comforting rosy scent filling in my nose. When I pulled away a bit, I took a moment to get a good look of her dress.
She was wearing the most exquisite long sleeved silver dress that glinted and changed color to bluish or reddish depending on the angle. The soft material were airy but not thin, and it was cut to mold and fit perfectly to her curves. The neckline of the dress was designed tastefully so that it accentuate her shapely collar bone and neck as she wore her hair up in an elegant but not stiff updo. Two strands of hair as dark as mine spilling delicately at each side of her heart shaped face.
No wonder ada always looked at her like she was the only woman in Arda.
"Wow, nan. You look stunning," I told her, grinning. "Ada would flip."
"Oh, this old thing?" she smirked, hiding the blush that lightly dusted her cheek.
"Please. They're new. They're always new, for grandpa never would let us see another daylight if we come to a feast wearing the same dress."
My naneth's amused laughter rang like bells in my elven ears, and I couldn't help but join her. "Well, look at it this way," she gently turned me to look towards the mirror on my vanity, her dark, gentle eyes searching my face, a tender look on her face, "We'll never run out of dress to wear. It may sound strange but I think making us look good is his way of showing his love." I nodded. "Let's take a look at your dress and put it on, shall we?"
I clapped the tips of my hands and grinned excitedly. As naneth pulled the silky, beige material from its cover, a series of 'ooh's and 'wah!' escaped our lips. Another exquisite dress made by grandpa's trusted seamstress, and this might as well the best design so far. I let naneth help me into the dress, and a tender look passed her expression, looking almost melancholy as she told me how grown up I was.
"Oh come on, nan. It's not like I'm putting on my wedding dress or something of the sort," I comforted her as I saw how emotional she seemed momentarily. "Even if I do, it's not like I'm going anywhere."
"Right," she shook herself. Taking a quick, deep breath. "You're right. I'm just being dramatic. Do you need help with your hair?"
"Yes please, nan. Hannon le."
I closed my eyes as naneth began to gently style my hair. She could easily delegate this trivial task to my handmaiden, but she insisted that she was always the one to do it for me during feasts since forever. In my younger years, I was a shy child, and the thought of getting to parties and feast made me anxious. I remember, she would tell me wild stories of prince and princesses, of fairy tales, or simply talk and sing to me in order to make me forget my worries and comfort me.
But not today. Today, she was silent, a rarity for naneth.
"Are you alright, nana? You're awfully quiet these days," I pointed out, speaking out my concern.
She looked at me through the mirror, giving me a lopsided smile. "I'm alright, love. You know me. It's just the case of Summer coming to an end. I call it the Summer Blues."
I chuckled at these various creative ways my naneth express things.
"Done."
I dramatically tipped my head left and right to inspect my hair, then wiggled my eyebrows as I look to naneth. "Perfect," I said with a funny accent that I copied from my naneth whilst making an 'ok' sign with my right hand.
"Parfaite," she corrected me with her funny accent.
"Parfaite," I attempted to copy her accent and her movement with her hand.
"Parfaite," she tried again.
"Parfaite."
"That's more like it."
As we giggled to each other, ada appeared from behind us– ever the silent walker– making us both jump in surprise.
He chuckled. "The likeness between you two grows uncanny with time," he said with a mischievous tone, then he looked at me appreciatively through my mirror and beamed. "You look very beautiful, Caladwen."
"Thank you, Ada. But we talked about this," I said with a bit of frustration. "You mustn't walk in my room without announcing yourself. Will you knock next time?"
"Pardon me, iell nin (my daughter)," he said as we locked eyes through my mirror. He leaned down to give me a kiss on top of my head, just like naneth did earlier, and I couldn't keep my act on being angry with him for startling me for a hundreth time. "...But in my defense, the door was open."
"Seriously?" I pouted at his excuse. Naneth rolled her eyes at him.
This time, ada did a once over at naneth, as if looking at her for the first time, and gave her a meaningful smile to her that only naneth, him and Eru knew what it meant. "Aren't you a sight to the sore eyes. You look magnificent, meleth nin."
I didn't realize the dreamy smile that had plastered all over my face as I watched my parents interact with each other. I rested my elbow on my vanity, and my chin on my right hand as I watched through the mirror how ada took naneth's hand and twirled her as if in a dance to inspect her dress at complete angle. At the end of the twirl, he pulled her into an embrace that managed to make naneth blush like a young girl.
A twinge of longing passed through me at the sight of my parents. I wonder if someday I would have that kind of love like what they had.
"How can we help you, ada? Surely you're not just here to woo innocent ladies into your arms?" teased naneth.
"There is nothing innocent about you," he accused her seriously, making naneth giggle, then he turned to me, "And I don't have time wooing anyone because Caladwen makes me busy scaring away stupid ellyn trying to woo her."
"You're so mean, Legolas," naneth shook her head in amusement.
"Yeah no wonder I'm still single," I mumbled.
Ada gave me a look, silently telling me that he heard that. I grinned at him.
"Actually I'm here to have a word with your naneth," he smiled at her, then at me through the mirror.
I shrugged. "Alright. I know when I'm not wanted even in my own room," I sighed dramatically and got up from my seat. "I have handsome ellyn to meet at the feast anyway."
Before ada could protest, I already strolled out of my room, giggling to myself. I walked towards the waiting room behind the royal dining hall where the royals were usually waiting to be announced into the feast.
Asher was already dressed in a fine emerald colored silk tunic, and was conversing animatedly with Queen Arwen and the twins while grandpa was talking quietly with King Elessar in the background. When grandpa's eyes caught mine, I saw how his eyes softened and a fond smile gracing his expression.
"You look lovely, my dear," he praised before adding, "But as I remember that dress come with a corsage? It would complete the look."
I felt my wrist and found that I haven't worn it. Such attention to detail. "Right. I left it on my vanity. I'll be back in a moment."
"Don't take long, they're announcing us soon," he called out as I began to take long strides back to my room.
"Alright, grandpa!"
The moment that I neared my room, I noticed that my parents were still talking inside. I was about to knock, but I froze the moment I heard the word 'yrch' (orc) came out of my adar's lips. I should'nt, but I stood still by the door, listening in on their conversation put of curiosity.
"...orcs killing our guards on our borders. This is unacceptable, especially during the stay of Aragorn and Arwen as our guest."
"So what's the plan?"
"We want to keep it as quiet as possible. Alert Aragorn and Arwen, but not worry them too much. Ada will do it, he will attend to the feast to reassure the people while I will call for a meeting and assemble a team to hunt down those orcs."
"You're not going out there, are you?"
"Worry not, my love, I was only going to appoint, strategize and send for orders. I will join you at the feast as soon as I'm done."
"Good. Don't make me wait too long."
"I am tempted on not waiting as soon as I saw you in this dress."
The moment I heard the sound of them kissing, I gagged and decided to come out and burst their bubble before I hear or see things I can't unsee.
"Ugh! Not in my room!" I complained loudly as I strode in, startling them both. Naneth were beet red as she covered her mouth in an attempt to keep from laughing in embarrassment. Ada was unfazed and only looked at me disapprovingly as I snatched my corsage from the vanity and went to walk away.
"We talked about this, Caladwen," he said cooly. "You mustn't walk in the room without announcing yourself. Will you knock next time?" he teased me, copying my earlier words to him.
***
Aww… does our little Asher fall in love?" teased uncle Elladan. Or Elrohir, I was not sure, for they wore the exact same tunic and were hell bent on confusing everyone else in the kingdom which one was which between the two of them.
His twin brother added, "What's her name again? Lilian, like the flower?"
Asher rolled his eyes impatiently. "No," he snorted.
I decided to make him suffer a bit. "You're not a very good liar, you know?" I said, grinning at my twin uncles–my comrade for tonight. I took a small spoon of the delectable honey cake and shrugged. "I saw Asher and Lilian kissing at the stables this morning," I said, giving Asher a knowing look.
The table erupted with laughter and both of my twin uncle whistled at the same time as if on cue.
Asher looked absolutely horrified, which I loved. "Betrayal, sister! How are you agreeing with our childish uncles? You should be siding with me!"
"Like you sided with me when ada prevented me from going on the trip to the festival in Dale this Spring?" I smirked victoriously.
"There were rumors about a band of bandits running around the borders of Dale. You're a girl."
"Hey!" I protested hard, and turned out I wasn't the only one. Arwen, Sylvanna and nameth were all giving a distaste look at Asher. Immediately my poor brother lifted his hands in surrender, much to my amusement.
"That came out wrong. That was not what I was implying," Asher explained himself gently, then gave naneth his puppy eyes, "I meant, we were trying to protect you! Ada would agree with me."
"You and your father are just paranoid. And apparently a bit discriminative as well," said naneth, looking somewhat annoyed.
"No! Oh, come on, nan!" whined Asher to naneth. He always had a soft spot for nana. We both did, and we both could never stand her being upset at us. In this case, I sympathize with him.
But only a little bit.
"Why are you all decided to come at me all at once this night? What is this?? A conspiracy!" Asher complained dramatically. "At my expense???"
We laughed at his misery, and I was glad. Tonight I wasn't the one being the victim of my brother and our uncle twin's endless teasing.
"On a serious note, despite everything," grandpa spoke up, "Speaking from a father's point of view, my dear grandson, I suggest you do not go around kissing an elleth in secret, for any sneaky ellon who do so– his days are numbered in the eyes of the elleth's father."
The royal table came alive again.
"Imagine the trouble Asher would be in if Lillian's ada show up. Maybe he'll kill him in his sleep."
"Maybe he'll ask for a duel, a match to death because of how Asher had stolen kisses from his innocent daughter."
I laughed in amusement, but when I glanced at naneth, she was silent, her expression unreadable as if she was deep in her own thoughts. I leaned to her, whispering in a hushed voice, "If that is how every normal father thinks about her daughter, then with a father like ada, I would forever remain a virgin who's never been kissed."
Something King Elessar said caught my attention, and soon I was distracted again by Elladan's funny comment. Once in a while, though, I kept glancing at naneth. A flicker of concern grew within me when she stared emptily at her plate.
"Would you not eat?" I encouraged her. As if on cue, naneth gave me a stiff, brief smiled and nodded.
At first I thought she was just worried about the orcs at the border. But as minutes passed, I began to worry more for naneth for she was uncharacteristically still and quiet. I leaned down to her.
"Are you feeling well, nan?" I asked.
In her response, she got up without even looking at me, and I blinked, startled. It was confusing.
"Excuse–" naneth opened her mouth but closed it soon before she even finished, then turn away and left as if she had a more pressing matters to deal with other than listening to us on the table. I watched as she strolled towards the door with her eyes forward.
Her behavior was confusing and uncharacteristically cold. I could see in their eyes that this concerned our guests. Remembering my eavesdropping earlier, I tried to do the right thing by making sure not to raise any more concern. I smiled at King Elessar and Queen Arwen.
"Maybe she's just tired and just wants some air. I'll go see her–it's alright, Asher," I added the last bit to Asher as he move to get up from his chair. His icy blue eyes began to cloud with worry as he saw my own worry concealed behind the calm facade I put on for our guests.
Grandpa nodded as he took a sip of wine from his goblet. "You do that and make sure your mother is fine, Caladwen."
"Will do, my king," I promised, then left the table to follow my naneth.
"Nana." I called her as I followed behind her, but she ignored me. "Nan!"
No response. She just kept walking. I watched as she pushed the door and out of the hall, then turned left, as if to make to her chamber.
"Naneth! Wait!"
The red flag in my mind started as soon as she began to jog the moment she was out of the hall. In my absolute horror, her steps looked rather uncanny, almost dragged, before she suddenly collapsed.
"Naneth!" I screamed, my eyes quickly welled up as soon as I saw her lying there on the floor. It was an image coming from my worst nightmare.
I ran to her and quickly knelt by her side turning her body towards me. A gasp escaped me, as I watched how she clawed at her own neck, leaving red marks and scratch at its wake. Her mouth were opened and the sound of her breathing was dragged like she was desperately clawing for air.
She was suffocating. At this point I had lost all my common sense in my grief and terror. I had never seen an elf fading, or someone dying, but to see naneth like this gave me a taste of the pain of losing someone.
I was never felt more terrified of anything in my life.
I began to cry, despreate to help her but I don't know how but to call on her name, though she didn't seem to hear or even see me.
Through the endless torrent of my tears I saw ada coming from the end of the hall, running towards us, a look of bewilderment burned on his expression. He came almost sliding across fhe floor as he knelt, and quickly grabbed naneth's weight from my arms and held her close.
"Leane! Leane, look at me. Breathe. It is not the dress! You're hurting yourself! Stop," he said with distress marked all over his face as he tried to keep naneth from scratching at her own neck. "Meleth nin, look at me. Try to breath and keep your eyes to me. Please," he pleaded, before turning his eyes to me. "What happened?" he demanded.
I shook my head. "I don't know! She was fine just now when we were eating," I cried.
A pair of strong arms pulled me away as I saw Indossa walked past me, and I found myself being held by my brother in a tight embrace.
"Indossa is the best healer in Mirkwood," said Asher with a trembling voice. "He will save naneth. Everything will be alright, little sister."
The last thing I saw before I bury my face to my brother's tunic was the sight of desperation on my ada's face as he held naneth limping body close in his arms.
"Oh Eru Illuvatar. Please keep our nana safe," I heard Asher whispering prayer as we hugged, trying to find comfort in each other just as we were as an elfling.
***
[Author's Note: Sorry not a moving forward kind of chapter but I figured a view from Caladwen's point of view would be fun. Review?]