The Light Among the Stars by elennalore  

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The Light Among the Stars

Many thanks to LadySternchen for inspiration and to Anna (IdleLeaves) for beta reading.

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Elwë wished to see his friend Finwë again, and after careful preparations were done to ensure the safety of the settlement, he left on his own and travelled eastward.

He wore a brooch that Finwë had made for him when they had been in Valinor — a silver bird with diamonds for eyes and several more gems for decoration. In starlight, the jewellery glimmered against his dark blue cloak like a tiny constellation, and the shade of silver was just like his own hair. Finwë’s hands were able to make such beautiful objects, Elwë mused and touched the brooch gently. He had not yet found his own skill or purpose in Arda, and he felt a little envious of his friend, but the feeling passed soon, as it always did.

Finwë lived on the other side of the plain where ancient woodlands dominated the region. It was a long way, but Oromë had prepared a road for them, and Elwë’s steps were light as he walked under the starlit sky. There was less danger, for the dark creatures avoided Oromë’s paths, and whenever Elwë felt tired he lay down on beds of ferns and slept peacefully in glades.

Nevertheless, his mind had become restless. It was as if he was looking for an answer to some burning question. Perhaps in Valinor there would be answers he needed, but his people still stayed behind River Gelion, and not everyone was eager to leave. Finwë would understand; he would look deep in Elwë’s eyes and soothe his mind. He deeply missed his friend and his always reassuring words, but there was still a long way to go before he would arrive at the place of the Noldor.

The woodland around him had become denser, and it became more difficult to see the path in starlight. It felt damp there, and not a little unpleasant, and Elwë wished that the old trees would not speak so loud to him — he felt like an intruder. This forest had been there a long time, longer than any Elf.

“Let me through, please. I’m just passing through,” Elwë announced in a clear voice, but the forest just groaned in answer. It felt hostile, and he could not tell where Oromë’s road was anymore.

Suddenly he heard a sound from afar, and the oppressive forest slowly gave up. A path widened before him, and Elwë let out a relieved breath. The sound did not cease, though. It was half music, half birdsong; it reminded him of the music box Finwë had made in Valinor. He wondered if it was Finwë playing tricks on him, but it couldn’t be.

“Like nightingales in Lórien!” Elwë spoke aloud in awe. It was too intriguing not to follow the mysterious song, even if it meant straying from Oromë’s road.

The new path went to the heart of the woods, where a curious meadow waited for him under a starlit dome. Nightingales sang in the trees surrounding the clearing, but Elwë’s eyes went to the centre where a shimmering figure stood on a grassy mound — he knew at once that she was one of the Powers. Elwë’s breath ceased, and only the melodious birdsong remained. She extended her arms in silence, and for a moment, he felt trapped, but it was not so. This was the light he had been searching for, Elwë realised, and when he was able to move again, he went to her of his own free will and took her hands in his.

Time passed.

When Elwë opened his eyes, still disoriented after what felt like a long sleep, the light of Valinor shone on him. Her eyes! There lay a mystery, and love, and suddenly Elwë remembered the words that had passed between them through osanwë.

I will be yours as long as you live.

I will never leave your side.

Now that Elwë had fully awakened, he noticed his tangled hair and claw-like fingernails. He didn’t feel thirst yet, but it was only a matter of time. His gaze went from her eyes to the eternal stars and back in confusion, and the first desperate words he spoke aloud to her lacked the poetic quality of their previous dreamlike discussion.

“What do we do now?” he exclaimed. “I don’t even know your name.”

“It’s Melian,” she said, her voice bubbling with joy, and Elwë couldn’t but smile back.

When she pulled him closer, a thrill went through Elwë, and he leaned forward to kiss her. They were definitely married, although how it had happened, he had no clear memory.

“My starlight,” she whispered tenderly and guided him to a nearby brook to bathe. She washed his hair and cut and tidied his fingernails. Cold water felt refreshing and cleared the remains of the enchantment off Elwë’s mind.

“My friend Finwë must be worried,” he said. “I was on my way to see him when...” he paused, suddenly lacking words to describe what had happened to him. “Would you come with me to meet him?”

Melian’s eyes studied him for a long time, and Elwë feared that she would refuse.

“You won’t find your friend; he has gone over the sea.”

Elwë’s hand went to the brooch on his chest but found nothing. Finwë’s brooch was gone. He searched for it in vain, and Melian looked at him with such compassionate eyes that Finwë began to understand that more time must have passed than he thought.

“I need to find my people then,” he declared.

They didn’t have to go all the way back to the settlement. When they came out of the forest, hand in hand, Elwë’s keen eyes spotted an Elven outpost on a distant hill. A vigilant watch was kept around it, for they were stopped by a sentinel long before they reached the summit.

“No step further!”

Elwë couldn’t blame the sentinel for his wariness. They had to be a strange pair: a vagabond and a veiled figure appearing out of a dark forest, tall and perhaps not a little menacing. Elwë was wary, too, but for different reasons. There should have been no Elven settlement in this area; he remembered walking past the same hill on his way to Finwë, and the hilltop had been empty back then.

“What is this place?”

“We are Elu’s folk, the faithful ones. From here, we make patrols in search of Lord Elu, for it is believed that he vanished into the forest not far from here.”

The Elf fell suddenly silent, his eyes widening as realisation dawned. “Lord Elu, it is you!” He cast his spear aside, and tears of joy began to flow.

Only now Elwë recognised the speaker; he had been an elfling when Elwë had left on his journey. “Sarnion! You have grown up! We—”

Sarnion’s eyes turned questioningly to the veiled woman in a dark blue cloak next to Elwë. The hooded cloak and the shadowy veil were garments that Melian had woven from her song before they left the woods, hiding her radiance.

Elwë sensed Melian’s hesitation flutter in the part of their mind they still shared, and even without words, he understood. A choice had to be made. Melian could stay hidden in the shadows, a dark lady of the woods, and let Elwë return to his people and to his previous life. Or she could join him and become a part of his world; but nothing would be the same afterwards. The choice was Melian’s, Elwë decided, and gave her hand a gentle squeeze of encouragement.

Slowly, she removed the veil that covered her face and pulled her dark hood down so that her raven-black hair was released. In her hair, stars glimmered, and the eternal light of Valinor shone on her face. A surge of euphoria went through Elwë; Melian had chosen to stay with him.

“My love,” Elwë whispered and would have been content to kiss her over and over again, but the sentinel’s bewildered look reminded him that a proper introduction was needed.

“This is my Queen, Melian the Maia, whom I met in the woods. She has chosen to become our Lady, and we will learn much from her.”

When they had rested, a great feast was held in the outpost to celebrate Elwë’s return. His people arrived from nearby settlements, and there were more of them this far west than Elwë had guessed. He had not paid much attention to time so far, but now he felt as if he had travelled to the future. Finwë and the rest of the Noldor were gone – they were in Valinor, and those who had met Oromë said that he had confirmed this.

Elwë’s people had lingered in Middle-earth, however, postponing the trip until now. A bittersweet reunion it was, for soon their paths would diverge once more.

It was only as the feast was nearing its end, and everyone in the hall was happy and content, when Elwë rang a glass to get everyone’s attention. His first words were those of gratitude; the loyalty of his people warmed his heart, and he wanted them to know it. But it felt false to delay the announcement. His expression turned grave as he continued his speech after a short pause.

“I won’t come with you to Valinor. I know you are eager to leave already, remembering my words spoken long ago — but I’m not that person anymore. I have found my other half, Lady Melian, and in her light I am content. Today, I leave the thought of Aman behind. You are free to go, my friends, but I have chosen the light among the stars.”

A heavy silence filled the hall; only the crackling of burning wood in the fireplace remained. Then someone shouted fiercely: “We won’t leave you, Lord Elu!”

Others joined in. “We’ll stay with you! She will be our Queen!”

Like a thought that started to gradually take form, the shouts became an applause. A kingdom of their own under the stars, bathing in Melian’s light. It had already begun.

Elwë touched Melian’s mind gently, secretly wondering how much of the enthusiasm in the hall was of her making. Her laugh was like the song of nightingales, and Elwë decided that the answer was irrelevant. She had perhaps spurred them into action, but the outcome depended on them only.

A smile appeared on his face as he said: “My people, we have work to do.”