CHAPTER ONE - The Nymph
GANDALF THE GREY HAD ALWAYS BEEN A CURIOUS WIZARD, by far the ancient Wizard was the most curious out of the five of them. Though Saruman the White was the most powerful out of the five of them, he had little fun and little to no friends. It was needless to say the two blue Wizards (whose names history forgot), were absolutely batty. Radagast the Brown was a peculiar fellow, weird yet wonderful, to say the least - with a fondness for all living things.
So, needless to say - when travelling through a small forest filled clearing; Gandalf was very curious when he came across the skeletal remains of a Hobbit. This was very unusual because these lands now breathed the remnants of death. Everyone knew the story of the poor, little Water Nymphs of Nymeria Dale that were essentially wiped out by the Orcs. The extinction of the Water Nymphs caused the other races of Nymphs to flee the lands of Middle Earth and go to the Undying Lands.
The old, grey Wizard bent down - inspecting a ruby, red flask that rested on the clothed chest cavity of the clearly, female Hobbit. Gandalf did find it curious though, that the sweet, innocent Hobbit had been decapitated. The bewildered Wizard tentatively picked up, the rusted ruby flask - to see if there were any desirable contents inside, Gandalf attempted to twist it open. However, the Wizard could not open it. He had sensed that a sinewy, mature, magical force was acting on the object; Gandalf had not sensed such a vital force in many years.
Surprisingly, Gandalf had seen magic like this before; fortunately, he knew exactly what to do. Gandalf soon recognised this to be the magic of Nymphs, which he found to simply be extraordinary. He also found it bizarre that a Nymph, had used his or her magic to seal a flask. Now, Gandalf the Grey was desperate to open the flask to see what was inside of it. What would be inside? Ancient secrets of the Nymphs? A prophecy perhaps? Regardless the Grey Wizard wanted to know; he needed to know.
Cautiously, not wanting to break the delicate object, Gandalf tapped it with the top of his staff. The Grey Wizard was clearly not prepared for what was about to happen next, instead of the cap of the flask opening as he thought - it did open, but Gandalf was thrown back by a tough, invisible force. That was unexpected, the Grey Wizard thought. Then he saw her - a woman, that maintained her appearance well.
Across the clearing from Gandalf was a pale skinned girl, in the light of the moving sun, whose skin appeared tinted a light blue. Her eyes were a deep blue, not warm or welcoming in the slightest - they were just frosty, dark, azure eyes. She wore a tattered garment, made out of mist, leaves and crystals - with a pale blue fabric sewn somewhere in between (handmade). Her hair was extremely long, to the extent where it could probably act as a blanket, it was white, sleek and slicked back with water. Gandalf blinked. A Nymph!
"I beg your pardon, Miss," Gandalf apologised wearily, "It would appear I have freed you from this flask."
The Nymph, however, rose to stand, not how a normal Nymph would've done. She rose animalistically, from her legs and onto two feet. "You have not freed me Gandalf the Grey," the Water Nymph hissed, "I locked myself in that flask thirty years ago."
Gandalf gulped slightly, looking down at the ground before meeting fierce gaze, "I apologise for unlocking you from your own magic." The Wizard paused, not thinking about a question he wanted to ask, "If you don't mind me asking, why did you seal yourself away?"
Anger literally bubbled off of the Nymph, "Are you a fool Wizard!" she shouted, clearly irritated. "Are you really that oblivious to what happened here, what happened to my people?" the Water Nymph bitterly inquired through gritted teeth.
The Grey Wizard immediately felt guilty. He did know what happened here thirty years ago. Almost an entire species was killed? How could he be so foolish to not recount such information, that he had recited mere moments ago?
"Once again, I can only apologise, Miss," Gandalf solemnly apologised, "But surely you cannot stay here in this clearing," Gandalf had an idea to make up for his vital mistake, "I'd like to offer you refuge, at Rivendell."
As much as the Water Nymph wanted to stay and mourn, mourn even longer than she did previously - she knew very well she couldn't stay. This Wizard was fairly powerful, as long as she stayed in his presence, she knew she would be protected. "I forgive you, Gandalf the Grey," the Water Nymph admitted hesitantly, "You may call me Nixie."
"You may call me Gandalf," Gandalf replied the same words with a miniature smile, "Then I believe, Nixie, we should be on our merry way." The tall being wondered over to the edge of the clearing, where two massive horses stood, chomping on the grass below.
Water Nymphs were only tiny creatures, the average Nymph being shorter than the average dwarf! Fortunately, Nixie was slightly taller than average Nymph, but it still gave her no favours on mounting a horse. Gandalf already knew Nixie would struggle immensely to get on the horse, so very politely Gandalf helped Nixie onto the horse. The Water Nymph murmured a small thanks to the Wizard and Gandalf bowed his head in response.
Carefully, Nixie stroked the horse's chestnut brown mane - clearly, it had been cut recently. The horse's body was a delightful shade of a beech brown and he had honey coloured eyes, beautiful eyes. Nixie had always envied the Fire Nymphs that gorgeous long, flowing red hair and golden eyes - she loved the colour of gold. "Gandalf, what became of the other Nymphs?" asked Nixie, genuinely curious, cocking her head to the side like a domestic animal.
"They fled," Gandalf said flatly, trotting on with his horse. "They fled to the Undying Lands," he additionally added, turning his head to look at the small woman. In the strangest of ways, he was reminded of a tiny version of Galadriel. The thought of that made him smile wistfully, thoughtfully thinking of Galadriel - his dear friend. "Rivendell is not far, Nixie," Gandalf admitted, "It is just past the Ford of Bruinen," the Wizard pointed to a faraway forest in the distance.
The Nymph nodded her head, the chit chat was kept to a minimum after that. So, they continued down the East Road, past the Ford of Bruinen - in this time Nixie, had fallen asleep on her horse and was now slumped against it. The poor horse was having to gallop rather carefully, in order not to let the Water Nymph fall on the floor. Soon enough, they were at the grand entrance of Rivendell.
Lightly, Gandalf tapped Nixie with the end of his staff - she blinked awake, almost falling off of her horse as a result. But then, she realised where she was; she was in Rivendell. It was a sight to behold - truly spectacular. A white, chalky cliff face stared back at Nixie - grown across it was a beautiful layer of dark, damp green moss. Two, fairly large waterfalls pooled out from the side of the cliff, running down into what she presumed to be many fashionably styled buildings, where it would flow freely down into a river. Water was everywhere; Nixie loved it.
"It's so incredibly beautiful," Nixie breathed out, looking longingly at the water. The water was something Nixie deemed a friend, it comforted her. "Everything looks so perfect, Gandalf."
Chuckling to himself at Nixie's awe-struck look, the Wizard replied, "Indeed it is."
The rest of there small journey consisted of Nixie making star-struck comments about Lord Elrond's City, much to Gandalf's amusement. It was then, Gandalf knew she would fit perfectly well into the Community of Elves. Lord Elrond would not turn such a gracious creature away, Gandalf knew that - but, he wanted to accompany Nixie to the City anyway; he needed to talk to Lord Elrond. Before the reached the petite, white bridge, Gandalf helped Nixie dismount her horse and left both of their horses there.
The pair crossed the white bridge, on either side of them were a statue of an elf guard and the stone platform Gandalf and Nixie stood on was circular. An Elf elegantly paced himself down the white steps in front of the two, he was tall and dark haired with flawless skin - he wore a light brown tunic with a dark, silk, burgundy cape that stayed in place by two identical pins. Of course, the Elf automatically recognised Gandalf but eyed Nixie curiously.
"Lindir!" Gandalf beamed, embracing the elf with one arm - who's attention was still clearly completely focused on Nixie.
The Elf looked at Gandalf once more, then back to Nixie. "Who na-hi, Mithrandir?" [Who is this, Grey Pilgrim?], the Elf inquired.
Luckily enough for Nixie; Water Nymphs were accustomed to speaking many different languages, including Sindarin. "Nixie, i nen gwingil, at cín service, herdir," [Nixie, the Water Nymph, at your service, sir] Nixie replied back pondering over her words to make sure they made sense, she smiled at the much taller Elf.
Upon the discovery of Nixie being a Water Nymph, the Elf's eyes widened. "Impossible!" Lindir exclaimed, going back to common speech. "Mithrandir, is this true?"
Slowly, Gandalf nodded, "It is true, Lindir," the Wizard told the Elf. "I need to speak with Lord Elrond," Gandalf stated firmly, looking at Lindir with a grave expression, "It is urgent Lindir."
A new voice startled Nixie, causing her to spin around from where the voice had come from. Approaching them was a powerful Elf, Lord Elrond. Like Lindir, they shared the same dark hair and fair skin - his attire was grander than Lindir's though. He wore a white tunic, with a fairly simple pattern embroidered into it and a deep reddish-brown robe.
"If it is so urgent Mithrandir, speak it now," Lord Elrond quickly stated, eyeing Nixie wearily. Gandalf and Lord Elrond looked at each other, before they both smiled wide smiles, "It is good to see you Mithrandir!" Elrond exclaimed, embracing the equally tall Wizard, "And I see you have a companion."
Without hesitation, Nixie bowed - though she didn't have to. "Im am pleased na govannon- cin, mui Hir," [I am pleased to meet you, my Lord] Nixie was quick ton introduce herself, she was about to continue her sentence but Lord Elrond stopped her.
"You need not speak our tongue Nymph," Lord Elrond politely said, observing the woman curiously, "The majority of the Elves can speak in common tongue," he reasoned politely. Nixie nodded at this, secretly sighing a sigh of relief. "What is your name, Nymph?"
"Nixie," the Water Nymph replied shortly. "I must say how beautiful your City is, Lord Elrond," Nixie shyly complimented the Elf - but, realistically she wanted to be out of this awful dress that she had made years ago. "If you don't mind me being so forward," Nixie paused, "Do you have any clothes I could change into?"
The Lord chuckled slightly, "You are lucky I foresaw your visit, lissi Nenlilime," he told the Nymph, officially coining her new nickname. The Nymph was quickly trying to figure out what it translated to, but she couldn't quite work it out. "Lindir, find an available room for Nenlilime and please give her new clothes."
A/N: If you wouldn't mind showing support by giving the story a vote, it'd be much appreciated x