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━━━━»•» act one. age of ruins

01. the road goes ever on and on «•« ━━━━

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ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ third age ━━ year one

𓇻 lindon; mithlond {grey havens}

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ELGARAIN KNEW VERY WELL PRINCESSES SHOULDN'T THROW TANTRUMS BUT THE NEWS OF HAVING TO LEAVE LINDON JUST MADE HER SO ANGRY. The poor maid had to repack her suitcases at least three times before Elgarain could muster enough decency to not put her clothes back into her closet. It just wasn't fair.

She belonged here. She belonged between the white walls and beneath the pink skies, running along the beach with the salt wind messing her hair. Even now that the kingdom was in ruins after the long fight with the Dark Lord of Mordor, she still belonged in the rubble and the pain that was left.

How could her mother ever even consider sending her away? It didn't matter how many times Aerien had tried to explain it: she was saver in Imladris, Lord Elrond had been the herald of her father and could teach much more than her mother could, she had to start preparing for the throne.

Every reason only fueled her anger.

Part of her knew she should feel honored to be heir to the crown, that she should want to give her people hope and be the same guiding light that her father had been. But a much larger part of her was so completely terrified of the prospect of ruling that it felt as though her heart had been replaced with a rock, sitting heavy and cold in her chest.

She loved to run in the woods, to swim in the ocean, to draw every color of the sky until she was covered head to toe in paint. Who would want her as their queen? How could she possibly live up to the legacy of High King Gil-galad? To her he had always just been adar. With a laugh that reminded her of home and eyes that held the same mischievous sparks hers did. Not many knew of that side of him, it was only reserved for his family and close friends and she missed it with a burning fury.

The very thought of her father made her throat thick and her eyes ache and so she banished it from her thoughts and focused on her anger again. She'd made sure to make her displeasure known. Aerien had told her many times not to blame Gyda but still she couldn't help the flame of anger burning her alive every time she saw the new head of her guard. She had no explanation for it, or maybe her young mind simply didn't feel like acknowledging that being angry was easier than feeling the weight of her grief.

Soft footsteps and the rustling of fabric came from behind her, gracefully coming to a halt beside her. "It's time, Hínya," Aerien spoke softly.

Elgarain tore her eyes away from the wall she'd been staring at and focused her gaze on her mother. "Do I have to?" She muttered, knowing it was pointless to try and struggle but attempting to do so anyway.

A soft sigh left her mother's lips. "You know you do, Elgarain," she spoke, sounding both stern and incredibly sad.

The young Elf could feel tears starting to gather in her eyes. "But then you'll be all alone," she muttered, frantically rubbing her eyes to keep the drops from falling.

Her mother reached out and gathered her small hands in her own, carefully pulling them away from her daughter's face. "We're both going to be just fine," she promised.

For a moment Elgarain simply stared at her mother, before finally throwing herself in her arms, curling up against her chest. A few months ago she'd proudly declared she was too old for hugs, but now she couldn't think of anything more comforting than the feeling of her mother's arms around her. The familiar smell of roses filled her nose and it almost made her cry again, almost.

"Come on," Aerien finally spoke, getting to her feet while holding Elgarain's hand in her own.

Together they made their way to the courtyard where Gyda was waiting for them with five other Elves. All of them had accompanied her father on the long war in the south. And all of them would be more than capable of defending her. Cirdan, with his red curls was swift and steady with a sword. Ithel, although he was the youngest, was more than capable of holding his own. Daros had always scared her a little, with his stern, hawk-like gaze but she'd seen him fight a spear and was happy to have him by her side. The fourth Elf was Galion, a close friend of Gyda and almost just as good in battle. So it really shouldn't surprise her that Aerien had asked him to accompany them, yet Elgarain felt her cheeks burn at the very thought of having to travel such a long way with him. She'd never admitted it out loud, except for once to one of her friends as they spied on the training session, but she thought Galion to be one of the most handsome Elves in Lindon.

Her mother walked with her to her horse, only letting go of her hand when she had to use both to climb into the saddle. She wanted to be mad, to yell and scream and kick until she was told she could stay but she'd made enough of a scene in her room earlier and refused to do it in front of Galion and the other elves watching. So, she simply offered her mother a smile.

Her mother answered her smile with one of her own, though her eyes remained filled with sadness. Then she stepped away from Elgarain's horse and turned her gaze to the rest of the travelling party. "May the grace of the Valar protect you," she spoke, her voice echoing clearly through the courtyard, all sadness pushed aside to present a strong Queen for her people.

And with one last look over her shoulder, Elgarain directed her horse after her guard, leaving the white halls of Lindon's palace behind with an ache in her heart. The road stretched out before them, seemingly endless and for a moment the thought of following it seemed too daunting, too scary. But she couldn't stand still and she couldn't go back and so she did the only thing she could do: follow.

The lands stretching out around them were familiar to her, the woods, the hills, even the Blue Mountains lingering on the horizon in the distance. Elgarain had never met the Dwarves that lived there but her father had told many tales about their beautifully crafted halls and their formidable weapons. But the mountains were to the west and they were heading east, just another piece of home she wouldn't get to see for a long time.

Despite the close relationship between her father and Lord Elrond, she'd never actually seen the valley of Imladris. With war waging on Arda it simply wasn't safe enough to travel great distances and even now with the Dark Lord defeated the land seemed more grim than ever. Elgarain knew she wasn't supposed to be aware of how many dangers awaited them, but she was curious and managed to overhear a conversation between her mother and one of the Elves guarding the border. After Sauron's defeat his followers had scattered across the land, plundering and murdering as they went. Maybe she should've been afraid but it was hard to think about possible danger when she was riding next to Galion. However, her feeling of safety and content was quickly ruined when a voice came from behind her.

"Perhaps the Aranel should be in the middle?"

Elgarain looked over her shoulder, watching as Gyda studied the two of them with ever watchful eyes and she couldn't help but notice the way her hand lingered at the hilt of her sword.

"Come on, Gyd," Galion grinned, "we're still in Lindon, give the Aranel a chance to enjoy the view!"

She could feel warmth crawling up to her cheeks and she softly cursed the way her ivory skin colored so easily. Taking a deep breath she kept her eyes focused forward, trying to pretend she hadn't heard the conversation take place at all.

"So," Galion said, as he turned forwards in his saddle again, "I hear you like drawing?"

A smile formed on her face as soon as she heard the word. "I do," she nodded. Though like was a simple way of putting it. She lived for it. The weight of the pencil between her fingers, the feeling of the parchment beneath her skin as she drew the lines. Everything was so much more simple on paper. The difficulties of the world faded away into nothing more than colors put together the way she wanted them to.

Galion pursed his lips in thought. "I never cared much for it. The pencil seemed to refuse to do what my fingers wanted."

Elgarain frowned. "But you're an archer, you craft your own arrows! Your fingers are far from useless." She hated herself as soon as she said it, for it meant she'd been paying attention to him and he knew it now.

The Elf threw a playful look over his shoulder at Gyda. "You hear that! It appears I'm not so useless after all!"

Elgarain could practically hear the guard roll her eyes but she hardly cared what she was thinking of their cheery demeanor. The road was long and the princess refused to let her guard ruin the little fun she could have.

"Maybe you could try and capture the Captain's hidden beauty," Galion went on. "Sometimes when the light hits just right, I swear you can see her elegance beneath all the scowling."

"Do I need to remind you of the time Elona called you pretty and you cried for hours because you thought she was lying," Gyda called from behind them.

Galion winced and placed his hand over his heart. "I can't believe you would wound me like that my friend!"

A laugh spilled from Elgarain's lips before she could stop it, her clear voice rang through the air like the song of a bird. She couldn't remember when the last time was she'd genuinely laughed, possibly months, since before her father set out to Mordor and never came back...But the Elf beside her had managed to draw the almost unfamiliar sound from her. And it felt so good. Besides, the satisfied smirk Galion flashed her wasn't half bad either.

"I can try," Elgarain offered with a smile. She leaned backwards and rummaged through her saddle bag, managing to get her pencil and a piece of parchment out of it. It took her a moment to figure out a comfortable position on the back of her horse to both ride and draw, but she managed. Her balance had always been impeccable, even for an Elf.

Her eyes scanned the landscape, the peaks of the mountains far in the distance, the trees covering one side of the road and the green hills stretching out as far as the eye could see on the other side. She put her pencil on the parchment and let her thoughts roam wild as she drew the lines.

"I still think Aranel Elgarain should not be riding at the front," Gyda spoke up once again. "Or do I have to remind you of the border attacks? The very same border we are approaching."

Elgarain tried to drown out her voice and kept her focus on the paper in her hands.

"The Captain is right," Cirdan spoke up, "The border patrol found signs of an Orc camp not too far away from these parts."

At the mention of the monstrous Orcs, Elgarain's fingers momentarily froze in place but Galion's response slowly calmed her racing heart. "She's safe next to me, Gyd. At least wait for your overbearing tendencies to kick in after we leave Lindon." He threw a look over his shoulder at the guard. "I hear Hobbits are frightful little creatures. You can scare them off later if you want."

Gyda scoffed while Elgarain fought to hide her smile. She'd read about the peace loving folk of the Shire. Not much was known about them, for they preferred to remain out of sight. Their land was still very young compared to Lindon and the lands of Men, and Elgarain was more than happy their journey would take them partly through the green hills of the Shire.

The soft clattering of hooves on the ground startled her and she looked up from her paper, noticing Gyda had guided her horse next to hers, clearly unable to let the matter of safety go. But Elgarain decided to ignore her and focused back on the paper in her hand.

"You think you can capture my handsome features on that little piece of paper?" Galion's voice suddenly came from her left, startling her and before she knew what was happening she lost her balance, her weight slowly forcing her towards the ground.

Gyda moved quickly and in one fluid motion she reached out and caught Elgarain's arm in a firm grip, her other hand catching the pencil that had fallen out of her grasp. Carefully she pushed the young Elf back in the saddle, a scowl on her face. "Stop drawing and look where you're going," she said, annoyance on the edge of her voice.

Elgarain felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment and glared at her guard while mumbling softly that she wished Gyda had never been appointed as her new protector. With one hand holding the reins she reached for her pencil, hoping to drown out her anger by focusing on her drawings once again.

"If you so much as make one line on that paper so the Valar help me-" Gyda grumbled, her voice low and stern.

Elgarain froze immediately. She hadn't ever heard the Elf speak so sternly before. She couldn't help but look at Galion for guidance, unsure of how to deal with this sudden, almost motherly, sternness.

But Galion simply shrugged and then muttered softly. "Perhaps you should listen, Aranel."

"But-" Elgarain stammered.

"You can draw when we make camp, not before," Gyda said.

The journey was significantly more boring after that. It was as though Gyda's stern voice had even startled Galion so much that he preferred to stay quiet now. Only the guards sometimes spoke to each other but besides their murmurs, the only sound to keep Elgarain company was the wind.

She hated the quiet because without distractions her mind wandered places she was desperate to avoid. The last time she saw her father, the last time she heard him laugh, the future that was now waiting for her in Rivendell and, eventually, as Queen of her people. She was too young, and so afraid that she felt as though the only thing left for her to do was crawl beneath the blankets and cry. She hated that feeling with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. She hated feeling hopeless and yet that was the only emotion that seemed to make sense to feel right now.

The young princess focused her eyes on the horizon to try and distract herself from the ever growing pit in her stomach. Her eyes took in the thousand bright colors painting the sky as the afternoon sun slowly started to settle behind the horizon. Her fingers itched once again for her pencils but she was too afraid of hearing that stern scowl of her guard again. And so she tried to capture the image in her mind to save it for later. The soft pink clouds, the bright orange that set the trees far in the distance aglow and the ball of bright light slowly sinking lower and lower.

She was going to miss this view she realized then. The familiar sight of the forests disappearing into the distance with the mountains looming over them like ever watchful guardians and the vague scent of salt carried by the wind all the way from the sea. Elgarain had no idea what Rivendell looked like but it couldn't possibly be as beautiful as this.

She was startled out of her thoughts when Gyda spoke up from beside her: "We should make camp. Tomorrow we will leave Lindon."

They directed the horses away from the road and into a clearing beneath the trees. Elgarain was more than grateful to get out of her saddle. She wasn't used to riding great distances yet and though she knew her endurance was supposed to be much stronger than that of any other race, she still wished for nothing more than to lay down and close her eyes.

The fatigue hit her as soon as her feet touched the ground and she barely heard Gyda as she ordered the guard to set up camp and make sure their surroundings were safe. She'd never felt this tired before in her life but somehow she knew it wasn't the kind of weariness that sleep would mend.

A shadow fell over her as Galion took a seat behind her on the ground, lembas bread in his hands. "Your evening meal, Aranel," he teased, handing her the flat, white bread.

Elgarain took it and chewed on it, her mind far away. A fact that didn't seem to go unnoticed by the golden-haired warrior. "You know," he started, as he pulled his legs up to his chest and leaned his arms on his knees, "after I fought in my first war, I couldn't sleep for days. Every time I closed my eyes I heard the screams, saw the blood."

She raised her eyebrows at him, unable to imagine a warrior as brave as him ever having to struggle with feeling restless because of the horrors he saw.

Galion noticed her questioning look and chuckled softly. "I know, it's hard to imagine but it's true. It lasted for months until I was so tired I could hardly walk." He turned his eyes to her, a small smile lingering in the corner of his mouth. "And you know who got me through it?"

"No," Elgarain whispered softly.

He pointed at Gyda, who was talking with Cirdan. "Lady sunshine over there."

She couldn't help but scoff at that.

"It is the truth," Galion shrugged. "She is alright once you get to know her."

Elgarain crossed her arms over her chest. "I do not want to get to know her."

"Well, Aranel," Galion said, slowly starting to get back on his feet. "That's your loss." He was about to walk away, but turned back at the very last moment. "It's a long way to Rivendell, if you want to make it more pleasant start by making peace with the person who could make it so." He winked at her before walking away.

She exhaled deeply as she watched him go, her eyes following him as he made his way over to where Gyda was standing. He quickly said something to her before disappearing into the woods, probably to make sure there was no danger lingering nearby.

Making peace with Gyda was the last thing she felt like doing but a very small voice inside of her was scolding her for being so childish. The very same voice who'd told her to stop throwing a tantrum and pack her suitcases and when she truly started listening to it, she realised with a startled beat of her heart that the voice sounded like her father's.

You're of royal blood, Elgarain. It's time you behave like it.

With a huff she got to her feet and made her way across the clearing towards where Gyda was standing. As she caught her eye, Elgarain noticed the way the guard tensed, as though she was preparing herself for another fight. Elgarain straightened her back and came to a halt in front of the brunette. For a moment silence lingered, as Gyda waited for her to speak first and the young Aranel desperately searched for words.

"I-uhm," she coughed awkwardly, wishing she'd thought this through before she came marching over. "I will ride in the middle of the group tomorrow."

Surprise flashed over Gyda's features before she could try to hide it.. "Thank you," she said, keeping her words bare of any true emotions. Then she moved to turn away, before reluctantly facing the princess again. "You do understand why it's important right?"

Elgarain nodded. "I do." She doubted for a second before adding, "you just want to keep me safe."

"The world is still a dangerous place." Gyda stated, a frown on her face as she looked around the clearing they had picked for their camp. "I know you want to be home. But you cannot be there."

Gyda paused for a moment, and Elgarain thought she intended to walk away but the guard only moved a couple of steps to her grey mare.

"Draw these woods, draw the sky of home." She handed her the parchment. "It might be awhile before you can see them again." With those words the guard left, her hand still on the hilt of her sword, the darkness swallowing her figure as she walked towards the outskirts of their camp.

With a small smile playing on her lips Elgarain watched her go, her father's voice echoing through her mind once again. You're of Royal blood, behave like it.

°∴,*⋅✲✦ ( ♕ ) ✦✲⋅*,∴°

𝕬𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝕹𝐎𝐓𝐄 . . .

I had no idea that writing from the pov of a literal child could be so much fun. Throwing tantrums because she's mad? Check. Having one of those awkard crushes on someone much older than you? Check. I can't wait for adult Elgarain, but teenage Elgarain is a joy as well haha. (At least that's my opinion, please love her haha).

Please leave some comments with your thoughts or any feedback you might have! I love to hear from you guys.

xx nelly