Roswehn slept in the open for two nights, finding providential shelter the first evening in an old abandoned den, the second under the enormous trunk of a chestnut tree torn down by a storm. This last experience was particularly unpleasant because in the rotten wood lived a multitude of little insects.
The next morning Roswehn had woken up with her face full of reddish dots, which probably were the bites of some bugs, and had found a centipede in her pocket.
She jumped up. "You disgusting things!" she screamed, slapping her face to get rid of some ants that were strolling down her cheeks. "How can the Elves say that every life is sacred? I would exterminate you all!"
The prospect of entering Imladris, however, brought her good mood back. She was really close now. It took the whole morning to see one of the beautiful houses of the Elves in the distance, and after midday she finally reached the great ravine above which the eternal elven city had been built.
She prepared to enter the territory of Rivendell. She was more than certain that the Elves would be frightened to see her: after three days spent wandering like a ranger, always wearing the same clothes which were now dirty and ruined, she looked like a real savage.
She crossed the threshold.
The Elven guards approached her immediately. One of the two, without even asking her name, took a small horn that he kept hanging on the waist and played it. The signal that a visitor had just arrived.
"Good morning. Uhm...I am Roswehn Monrose, I come from the realm of Dale, Lord Elrond knows me well. I ask you to admit me in your territory." She started with the usual litany of presentation. The two Elves did not answer, they only stared at her from head to bottom. One finally said: "You are already in our territory. Wait here, and don't move."
After a few minutes, she saw an Elf dressed in purple with a long red-colored cloak that fell elegantly on his back, descending the stairs of what looked like a large house. He had long brown hair and intense brown eyes. He was quite attractive.
Elrond's counselor, she guessed. "I salute you, Lindir of Rivendell." she said.
"You're welcome here Roswehn, daughter of Hannes Monrose. We've been waiting for you for a long time." the Elf smiled, and put a hand to his heart to greet her.
"Lord Elrond had told me you would have soon visited our reign. I know what happened to you." Lindir said. "Your adventure in Arnor and all the rest. I know you suffered a lot. Do you feel better now?"
"Yes, thanks Eru. It was horrible, but I'm trying to forget." she answered, feeling a bit embarassed. Her look was a mess. "I'm sorry for my appearance ... I've been walking for three days until now."
"... you have been walking from Esgaroth?" Lindir was amazed. "Where's your horse?"
"My horse has fallen into the ravines of the Misty Mountains, I have made the mistake of taking her on a narrow path, she has slipped down, with all my possessions, I have no more baggage, and I will have to ask you for clothes and shoes. What I wear is in bad conditions, as you see, I am sorry." Roswehn apologized.
Poor Eléntari. She imagined her mighty body lying on the bottom of that dark ravine.
"Of course! Roswehn, you do not even have to ask." Lindir answered. "We will give you what you need to recover."
"Finally Imladris embraces you, Roswehn of Dale, I thought I would never have had the pleasure of seeing you here." Elrond said, appearing behind Lindir at the beginning of the stone staircase. He immediately gave her one of those warm and reassuring smiles that she had missed so much.
"Lord Elrond!" she exulted, when she saw the wise Elf to whom more than anyone else she needed to speak. "I can not tell you how happy I feel..." she could not finish the sentence. She almost lost consciousness. She was too weak, too tired, too hungry. And she was also pregnant.
"Hurry up! Take the woman to one of our rooms and give her food and water." the Lord ordered.
"Lindir, take care of her." Then he looked at the girl. "Dear Roswehn, you're safe, now ... do not worry, we'll have plenty of time to talk. Now rest, brave girl, rest."
Elrond's counselor asked two guards to carry the mortal woman to a marvelous room. It was large, it had elegant furniture in it, and was very airy; there was a huge bed, a female figure had been carved on its wood, its arms were open, as if embracing the sleeper.
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"We will be at your disposal if you need something. Just call my name, and one of us will come to assist you." Lindir explained, walking around the bed on which the girl was lying. He went on to illustrate the structure of Rivendell, he described the places where she could wash herself, where to have meals, and where she never had to go.
As the Elf was speaking, Roswehn recalled a discussion she had had with Thranduil about Imladris and its inhabitants. The King didn't like that place too much, and had expressed unflattering judgments especially on Lindir. He had called him a potential sodomite and Roswehn was amazed that even the Elves contemplated the concept of homosexuality in their culture. She had asked him if there were subjects with such tendencies among his people, but he had glissed: "I do not know, but I suppose so. In any case, I am not one of them."
Lindir was the equivalent of Haldir in the Lorien and Feren in Greenwood: a personal advisor, a point of reference for the Lord who ruled the inhabitants of that territory, a sort of community coordinator. She also thought that, despite Thranduil's allusions on Lindir's sexual orientation, that Elf was very attractive.
She knew little about him, she only knew that he was a good warrior, with remarkable musical skills and great ability in mediation. For this reason Elrond preferred to keep Lindir beside him, rather than assign him to some legion: he needed a counselor, and Lindir had a good logic and temperance. Very precious gifts in those days.
"Why don't you stay with me a little?" Roswehn asked.
Lindir looked at her, surprised by the request. "Other tasks await me." then he moved towards the exit of the small pavilion. "You need to recover. When you'll feel better, Lord Elrond will talk to you. I guess this is your desire, too." and he left.
Now, she thought, you need to calm down, Roswehn dear. Do not forget that you are pregnant. Do not forget that there is a beautiful Elf waiting for you several miles from here, a true King who is your son's father. Do not forget that if by chance you'll try to cheat on him, his revenge would be terrible. And do not forget that in the Lorien there is another Elf that most likely still sighs for you.
Then she laughed.
Elvellyn. Lover of Elves..
Haldir had had the right idea in giving her that nickname. She looked at the leaf-shaped brooch that his friend had given her and which she always wore on her clothes as good luck charm.
I was born on the wrong side of Arda, I guess.
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"I must admit I had regrets after my departure from Greenwood, maybe I should have stayed with you, as Haldir did, and make sure you were alright before leaving." Elrond told her.
They both sat at the round table prepared for the evening banquet. Lindir stood beside his Lord, and eagerly listened to the conversation. He was intrigued by the mortal who had been possessed by an ancient spirit, had met, talked and challenged Morgoth himself, had attracted the interest of King Thranduil of Eryn Galen to the point of making him get to Rivendell to look for her...something unimaginable until that day. Not to mention that she had managed in less than a day to cross the Misty Mountains alone, while it would have normally taken ten days. When Eru had distributed the predisposition to fall in absurd situations, that woman must have been in the front row.
"You're coming from Dale, you said, so your stay in Greenwood did not last long. Thranduil did not keep you there as a guest? " Elrond asked. He had immediately noticed the King's interest in the girl and encouraged him to open up to her.
"Actually I stayed with them for a month and ... yes, it was Thranduil who asked me to stay, we're a couple now." Roswehn confessed.
Lindir and Elrond looked at each other in amazement. Then Elrond let himself go to a brief laugh. "That's beautiful! So Thranduil put aside his pride, finally! My congratulations, daughter of Monrose. " he complimented. "I do not want to ask you which skills you used to win his heart ..."
"His decision took me by surprise, too.
I thought I was an annoying trouble for him, but his feelings for me were deeper than I imagined. " she revealed, blushing slightly. She had to announce her pregnancy to Elrond, but Lindir's presence blocked her. The Lord of Rivendell seemed to understand.
"Lindir, please, check that the lights around Roswehn's room are all lit. Our human guest fears the darkness." He said.
"I fear the ghosts that darkness brings ...nightmares, bad memories ..." the girl added.
Lindir nodded respectfully and turned away.
"So ... what is it? You and your father have one thing in common: you both are reluctant to confessions." Elrond said, taking an apple and beginning to cut it with a silver knife.
"I'm pregnant." Roswehn said. It was like raising a boulder from above the heart.
Elrond almost let the fruit fall on the ground. He was stunned ... but then his face changed expression, showing disbelief at first, then understanding, and finally joy.
"It's a wonderful thing, Roswehn, I'm happy for you! You have my blessing, a new life coming is always great news!"
he congratulated.
The young woman felt the emotion climb up into her throat. Elrond was the first to have received the good news after Babiyar and after a Dragon ... and was the first one to show sincere happiness.
Then he asked, "And he ... how did he react?"
"He still does not know." she answered.
"What ?! But Thranduil must know ... it's his son, I guess." Elrond said.
Roswehn felt a little offended. "Of course he is. Who do you think I am?"
"Forgive me ... you're right, I expressed myself badly." Elrond smiled, embarrassed. "Why do you keep the secret?"
"I discovered my pregnancy after my return to Dale, I was told by a midwife ... a witch without soul nor honor ... and I'm here to ask you for advice, you're a half-blood, maybe you can tell me how to raise a child that will never have any recognition as a man or an elf, a hybrid ... and I would also like to ask you ... if it is right to keep him...considering the whole situation." Roswehn said.
"...the situation?!" Elrond asked.
"My condition of ... of ... lover, I am not and never will be his wife, you know well, I am afraid of condemning my son and myself to a life of humiliation ... Can you understand what I mean?" she asked, distressed.
Elrond reflected for a moment. "Yes ... I understand, but he is his father, and he has to know: what he will do next, is out of our knowledge. Thranduil could keep you and your son with him or repudiate you, is a choice that belongs to him. About your child's life: your little half-elf will not have a less pleasant or joyful life than any other creature.We are all the same under this sky, dear Roswehn, I am a half-blood who has seen and lived in two worlds and from each of them has taken the best: what will make your son special compared to others, is the right to choose whether to live as an Elf or as a Man, an immortal or mortal life ... but this, if you think about it, is a great gift. He will be happy, when he will understand, and he will be grateful to you. "
Elrond's explanation calmed Roswehn's anxieties a little, as she had imagined. He and Galadriel were two extraordinary rocks to cling to in the storm: all those millennia spent on that Earth had transformed them into immense sources of wisdom and knowledge. Thranduil too had been walking for six thousand years on the green territories of Arda, but he had remained unreasonable, impulsive, obstinate ... almost cynical. And beyond Elrond's convictions, the girl felt a vague fear at the idea of telling him the news.
"Where do you want to go after your stay here?" Elrond asked, bringing her back to reality.
"I was thinking of travelling to the village of Bree, and then I need to visit the Hobbits, one of them perhaps knows some details about something extremely important." Roswehn revealed. She, however, had decided not to tell Elrond of the Ring and the suspicions of Thranduil and Legolas. She did not want to alarm him unnecessarily before those assumptions had not been confirmed in reality.
"What, can you tell me?" the Lord asked anyway.
"Not now, but as soon as I have clearer ideas, you will be the first to know." Roswehn promised.
Elrond contemplated her in silence for a moment. Then he surrendered. "All right, I wish you goodnight, Roswehn, tomorrow you will visit Rivendell ... Lindir will be happy to stay with you all day, and you too, I think." he said, getting up to accompany her to her nice room. "By the way, I would be sorry if Thranduil came here to kill my advisor, so ... do you understand me?"
Roswehn laughed out loud.
At the entrance to that room without doors, he kissed her on the forehead. "Brave girl, your son is lucky."
After Roswehn had entered, Elrond looked at the moon.
Thranduil. I suggested you to open your heart, but maybe I was wrong. Now you will experience a new loss. May the Valar help you and the girl.