"What story do you want to hear tonight?".
Luthien felt the safest in her mother's arms. She was always eager to hear stories, but as a little child she disliked the scary ones.
"A good one. Not dark" she murmured, recalling how her mother taught her that she needed to learn the dark stories so she could stop being a captive of her fears. She couldn't be afraid of the night forever. She had to face the night with the knowledge that light would be back again in the morning.
Her mother caressed her hair "Shall we continue your favourite story?".
Luthien just nodded with a grateful smile.
Her mother loved telling the story of the Elf Princess who defeated darkness.
"Where were we?" she asked.
"Beren is captured..." Luthien said with a shiver. That part was frightening and sad.
"Oh yeah. The company was captured by the Necromancer, who wanted to know their secrets. But none of them revealed them. One by one they were slayed. Until only Finrod and Beren were left. When Beren's turn came, Finrod sacrificed himself for him. Beren mourned in the dark, waiting for death. But who came to save him?".
The little girl was petrified by the scary imagines in her mind, no matter how many times she already had been through that dark part of the story.
"Luthien!" she exclaimed with relief.
"Exactly" her mother chuckled "Luthien came and sang outside the dungeons. She persuaded the Necromancer to come forward and he couldn't resist her. Even his master, even Morgoth desired her. And he had promised the greatest reward to any who could capture her. So the Necromancer faced her. And he was defeated. A woman, an Elf Princess, defeated the greatest evil of these lands, second only to Morgoth. She freed us from Sauron, the Abhorred".
Luthien hugged her mother back.
Morgoth was the name she feared the most, although he was defeated too.
But another detail lingered in her young mind.
Even Morgoth desired her...
She frowned "Is it good to be desired even by evil?".
Her mother reflected on it "It can be, if it helps to defeat the evil. And look what she did. A woman. She defeated Sauron".
Sauron, the Necromancer, and who knew how many other names he was known with.
The one with sleepless eyes of flame.
A nightmare that lingered in the shadows, even if he was no more.
Sometime later her short legs brought her to the library, where she admired the papers that were source of knowledge.
"Little Princess, what are you doing here?" Ben, the Master of the library, welcomed her warmly.
She frowned. He liked using that nickname, but it reminded her of what she wasn't.
"I'm not a Princess" she blurted.
He smiled sweetly "To me, you'll always be my Little Princess".
"What is it?" she asked pointing her finger to the old papers he was holding.
"A precious gift from Numenor. They tell the story of the Vala Aulë and his mightest students".
She looked at the writings, that looked weird to her "What alphabet is that?".
"It's an ancient one. But I think I can translate it so you can read it too".
She smiled and left him with his books.
Then an unexpected question rose to her innocent lips and she turned back to the old man.
"Was Sauron one of the mighest students of Aulë?".
Master Ben froze at her question, but he quickly forced a comforting smile.
"He was. Not all the evil is born that way. It's said that he was created good and uncorrupted. Then, as many, he fell victim of the sick need of more power".
Luthien shivered and walked away, promising to herself to keep her father and her family save from that need of power.
They were wealthy and good. There was no need of more power.
"What's wrong my child?" her mother's tender hands wiped her wet cheeks.
She didn't want to share her burden, fearing that her words might offer her, when she was the one who chose her name. But she couldn't bear it anymore.
"What am I compared to that Luthien? I'm nothing".
"You are everything" her mother said strongly taking her face into her palms and making her look into her eyes "To me. To your father and your family. To this city. I want your name to be a blessing to you. To encourage you to face the challenges of life as a warrior, to remind you every day that even a woman can win where men fail".
The girl sobbed. It was too heavy for her tiny shoulders.
"But I'm no elf. I'm mortal. And my brothers say I'm a clumsy fighter".
Her mother smiled softly "Even the best hero was clumsy at first. Your brothers are more clumsy than you and they envy the grace you have when you move. We all took our time to learn to walk. We failed so many times but nobody dared to laugh at our being clumsy, instead everybody praised every little progress we showed. You are learning to walk in life, my little star. Soon you will be running".
Luthien calmed down, no more tears nor sobs.
"I wish I had a name only mine" she confessed in a whisper "Not to be constantly compared to her. My life is just a blink of her eyes".
Her mother scoffed "She was the first Elf who fell for a mortal. And she chose to become mortal to have him back from death. She died as a mortal. Never be ashamed of our short lives, where every single moment is precious, when even elves chose to embrace our mortality".
Luthien looked up at her, suddenly remembering that death was their unavoidable destination, that maybe they never had that conversation. That her mother was dead. And in that occasion she had wished so strongly to seek more power, only to be able to save her from death.
Luthien moved away from her, sobbing again.
"I've tried to do as you said. To face my worst fears, instead of running from them. But I can't stop fearing death. I can't stop being afraid".
"There's nothing bad in it. You'll learn to accept it" her mother tried to comfort her.
"No. I won't".
She kept stepping back and then turned, to run away.
"Luthien!" her mother called her at her back, but she didn't stop.
She ran as fast as she could, air wiping the tears from her eyes, as she ran away the last time she saw her mother alive.
She wished she could run away also from her name, but she couldn't.
"Luthien!".
"Luthien!".
Her name kept being repeated.
"Wake up, please" a voice begged her in the fog of her mind "Come back to me".
In her need to leave, to run away, she suddenly stilled.
She didn't want to run from that voice.
She wanted to run from the pain she was feeling, from death that seemed close to swallow her.
What if that voice would save her from that darkness?
"Luthien, please. Breathe".
Was she not breathing?
Then she remembered the water, the fire, the rocks...
Fear shook her and panic made her wake up.
Her eyes opened weakly, seeing mostly smoke. She breathed smoke.
But in that hell, she saw a beloved face.
"You're here" Halbrand sighed with relief "I've got you. I thought I've lost you".
She tried to pull herself up, to hug him and comfort him, but a sudden wave of pain hit her and she held her breath.
"Stay still. Something's broken" he said holding her down.
Breathing was painful.
"Your armour trapped you underwater as the current pulled us away" he explained with anguish.
She looked at him and noticed blood on his abdomen "You're hurt".
He shook his head "All that matters is that you'll be alright. We need to get away from here".
She looked around, her heart sinking at the sight of the desolation. Life was all burned to ashes around them.
Sound of falling branches kept echoing nearby.
That had to be a nightmare.
She wanted to wake up. When would she wake up?
"We are not safe here. This smore can choke us. Do you think you can walk?".
She coughed and the pain blinded her for a moment.
Breathing was already an agony so how bad could choking be?
But she wanted Halbrand to be safe. So she nodded and they made a big effort to stand up.
They decided to leave their armors.
The heat was unbearable.
Luthien covered her nose with her sleeve but she couldn't suppress the coughs that shook her and worsened the pain she felt in her chest.
They tried to orientate, but all around them was burned.
The whole world couldn't be all burned, so they hoped to find an end to the desolated lands and to find air clean from smoke.
As time passed, it turned darker as night fell so they decided to take a break.
"We'll get out of this. Don't despair" Halbrand said to her, although he was sickly pale.
She leaned against him. She didn't mind the heat, clinging to him was the only thing that made her wish to move on instead of letting herself die.
She nodded and hid her face on his shoulder "I wish you were safe. But I'm glad you're here. I wouldn't get out of this hell on my own. You're saving me. I wish can help you".
She wished to gather all the power in the world just to save him.
Instead she was agonising and powerless.
His forehead pressed against hers "You are already helping me. Alone we would be hopeless. But together we can survive this. We'll get out of here".
She believed him.
Other noises startled her, until something different caught her attention.
Halbrand turned around, then pulled her down on the ground.
"Orcs" he whispered and signalled her to be silent.
They were harmless and hurt. They had no chance to defend themselves.
Again Luthien felt so close to death. She could smell it all around her.
She bit her tongue for the pain and hugged him, hiding her face against his.
They breathed carefully, waiting for the noises to move away.
When they realised they survived it, it felt like a miracle.
They didn't move much from the gathered leaves they used as mattress. They tried to rest, but their aching bodies constantly woke them up.
When it dawned, it felt like the most bitter start of a day.
Even the sun was smoking and Luthien wondered if there was still some place untouched by that destruction.
Halbrand was confident that there was.
And after another half a day wandering slowly on the ashes of the burned woods, finally the smoke vanished and Luthien was in awe to see the blue sky again.
Also breathing fresh air was an immense relief.
She cried with joy, although they were both so exhausted that each step could be the last one.
Halbrand collapsed several times and his skin had an awful color.
She held him up with her last energies, but he was taller and heavier and her legs bent under him.
At least he recovered quickly and encouraged her to go on.
She felt that the next time his legs would give up, she would collapse too and they wouldn't get up ever again.
But that seemed a fair end. To die together. It was better than survive to him.
Suddenly they spotted human silhouettes on the horizon.
After all the horrors she witnessed, the sight of human faces was a miracle.
"Help!" she called too feebly, but someone heard her anyway.
Arondir turned and spotted them.
"There's someone there" he shouted to his companions.
Luthien fell on her knees next to Halbrand, who curled forward. She held him and waited for the people to reach them.
"Help. He's hurt" she begged, surrendering to the arms who took her.
A healer checked Halbrand and tied some cloth to stop the bleeding.
"We'll carry you both" Arondil promised, picking her up in his arms as other men took Halbrand.
She swinged from unconsciousness to moment when the pain blinded her.
Bronwyn, the healer, warned her that she had some broken ribs.
Luthien bet that there couldn't be a worse pain than what she felt.
The group slowly reached a camp.
Luthien asked to be on her feet to stop feeling the need to vomit.
Seeing that people survived the doom filled her with hope and joy.
"Luthien!" a voice roared.
Griff cut their distance and pulled her into a choking hug, sobbing on her shoulder.
She laughed and cried, hugging him back, the joy overcoming the physical pain.
"You're hurt" she said noticing his hiss of pain when she let him go.
"Just a broken arm. Others have been less fortunate. All that matters is that you're alive, little sister" he pressed a kiss on her forehead.
"We need to go back to Pelargir. There are not enough healers here" she said with urgency and turned to watch as Halbrand was carried in a tent.
"I'm glad to see that your friend made it too".
She looked at her brother sharply "He saved my life. He did anything to take me out of that hell when all I wanted was to give up. Now we need to help him".
She marched into the tent to see how Bronwyn examinated the wounds and tried to clean them.
Halbrand passed out, but the pain woke him up regularly.
Luthien sat next to his bed and squeezed his hand, suffering with him.
"I'm sorry. There's nothing more I can do" Bronwyn said with deep sadness after hours of tending at him.
"It's alright. I'm grateful. There are other injured that need your help now more than me" Halbrand said nodding to the agonising people that were heard crying in the camp.
Bronwyn excused herself again and left him.
"You need to come to Pelargir. There must be some medicine that can help you heal" Luthien said helping him drink some fresh water. Her thumb wiped the drops that fell from the corner of his mouth as she felt uncomfortable under the intensity of his gaze.
"You already are the best medicine I can hope for. As long as you don't leave me".
She bowed her head on his hand and kissed it "I'll never leave you, Halbrand. Promise me the same. That you can rest, but you'll come back to me".
He nodded weakly "I'll always want to come back to you. I'll do my best to keep this promise".
"Good" she said simply, struggling not to fall into despair.
Time passed but he didn't improve, and the wound soured.
"You need proper rest, Luthien. You can't stay here when you need to recover too" Griff told her softly when he found her spending the night by the bed, resting her head by Halbrand's side.
"I'm not leaving him. I told you, he saved my life" she rejecyed his hands that tried to pull her away.
"He's right. You need to lay down" Halbrand said, surprising her when she believed he was asleep "I'm not going anywhere".
"Thank you for saving her, Lord Halbrand" Griff said with a bow of his head.
"We saved each other" Halbrand said dismissively.
"If I lay down, the pain won't let me stand up anymore" Luthien hissed to her brother "I'll rest properly when this damned ache dulls a bit".
Griff clenched his jaw and didn't insist. He complainee under his breath as he left the tent "Stubborn as always".
Halbrand chuckled weakly "Our roles should be inverted. Broken bones are worse than flesh wounds. I should be the one watching over you".
"We watch over each other" she said trying to imitate his tone and it made her both chuckle.
Another unexpected visitor arrived in the tent and more hope rose in Luthien as she felt the strenght to stand up.
Galadriel looked deeply relieved to see him alive.
"This wound needs Elvish medicines" she stated after examining the wound "Can he ride?".
Luthien held her breath at the idea of going to Lindon, the Elvish kingdom.
But if it meant saving Halbrand it was alright. She just wondered why Arondil didn't suggest that solution. Precious time seemed wasted in the meanwhile.
As Bronwyn and Arondil left the tent to prepare the horses, Galadriel looked at Luthien.
"You're injured too".
"Broken ribs it seems".
"You should come too".
"No, she has to come back to Pelargir" Griff intervened, marching stifly into the tent.
Luthien was ready to protest, but her brother pulled her to a corner to speak softly with her.
"Do you know what was my worst fear when the world burned around us?" he whispered to her face "I didn't mind pain or death. What I feared the most was to survive and to go back to Pelargir without you. And to face our father's and our family's reactions. And feeling like I failed to protect you. We have to go back home together".
Luthien tried to fight the tears in her eyes. She looked back at Halbrand.
"You can meet again once you are both recovered. But for now, your paths have to separate. Please, Lou" her brother begged.
She swallowed hard and just nodded, moving back to the bed with low head, feeling guilty after she promised never to leave him.
"I'll take care of him. I promise you, Luthien" Galadriel said sympathetically. She rested a hand on her shoulder and Luthien imitated the gesture.
"Thank you".
Griff helped Halbrand to stand up and Luthien hugged him carefully.
"Recover soon, please. We'll find each other soon".
"Of course" he managed a comforting smile "Take care of yourself. I'm looking forward to duel with you again".
She chuckled and some tears escaped her eyes.
She picked a Numenorean cloak and pinned it around his shoulders, letting his gaze burn on her as she took her time to adjust it.
"No, you're not" Griff mumbled and rested his hands on her shoulders to pull her away "All the best for you, mate. Don't you dare surrender to that wound".
"I won't, sir" Halbrand replied, then took Luthien's hand and kissed it "Namarie, Luthien".
Her troat ached and she didn't know what to say.
Galadriel preceded him out of the tent and he followed her.
Griff patted his hands on her shoulders but it wasn't enough to comfort her.
She hugged herself and walked out of the tent, but soon stopped at what she saw.
The survivors bowed when Halbrand walked passed them.
Griff pushed her and she stammered to catch up before the crowd could swallow Halbrand and take him from her view.
"Strenght to the king!" Bronwyn shouted.
Luthien turned to look at her, then heard the other villagers repeat the same and cheering at Halbrand.
Griff helped him jump on his horse while she looked up at him, shocked and confused. He crossed her eyes with sadness.
Griff pulled her away from the horse and she stumbled on her own feet, unable to blink.
Halbrand bowed his head to her one last time, then made his horse follow Galadriel's.
"Strenght to the South Lands!" the villagers were now shouting.
Luthien just wished to be deaf for not hearing it anymore.
A/N
Monday 10th October 2022
"Even Morgoth desired her" is a quote that caught my eyes while I was reading some bits from the book Beren and Luthien some days ago 😁
Beren's friend Finrod is Galadriel's brother, that we also saw at the beginning of the show. "My brother vowed to seek him out and destroy him.
But Sauron found him first" 🥺
I'll post another little update before Friday. I'm so impatient and worried for the final episode 😬 the actors say to expect the unexpected, so if almost everyone expect Halbrand to be Sauron, he will be revealed to be someone else? 😅🙏
Definitely Lou didn't expect him to be claimed not just a King, but King of the lands she just saw burned to ashes, poor thing 🥺💔
One last thing, just a reminder that Griff is played by Sam Claflin 💓