[ weapon for the wrong guys, wind turns into blades in her hands, magical and hunted ]
extraits fav de vieux rps:
(lost father found again)
❝ I don’t know how to be that girl anymore. Son poing arrache les larmes de ses yeux. I’m sorry, but I don’t think you’d like who she became. ❞
(we were children when you saved me, then you were my ghost, and now you’d like me to think you are my devil but i never craved another’s touch so much)
❝ Si elle avait mille âmes, elle les lui donnerait toutes ; mais elle n’en a qu’une, alors il la prend milles fois.
Il l’assassine. Creuse la tombe morose et elle contemple, les bras en croix, son ange noir la couvrir de terre. Jusqu’à ce qu’enfin, le souvenir vénusté s’engouffre.
She’s there, barely breathing, barely existing, somewhat unreal, thinking he might still care for he murders her with such devotion. ❞
Description: Elrond reflects on the night before, then Maeria tells the tale of their journey back to Khazad-dûm.
Elrond awoke with a warm weight on his chest, and at first, he was startled, then once he opened his eyes and his gaze fell upon the still sleeping Maeria his heart rate slowed.
She was so beautiful in the morning light. Hair the tawny blonde of a young summer doe, falling in waves over her shoulders and his chest. Her thick eyelashes guarding closed eyes of green with yellow threaded within them, color reminiscent of an early autumn leaf. Her plush petal pink lips were parted slightly as she inhaled, and her fair skin, made fairer he assumed by her time underground, glowed in the soft sunlight.
He remembered their kiss. The way she held onto him like a drowning man clinging to a plank of wood, the way her smell, of honeysuckle and deep underground, invaded his senses until his mind was filled with thoughts of her. Her lips were soft against his, and when she confessed that her heart was his? He could have shouted for joy, waking the entirety of the city.
“My starlight, we must awaken, Durin will not be happy if we are late.” He threaded his fingers through her silken hair, admiring how it slipped through them like water.
She mumbled something and hid her face further in his chest, hiding from the sunlight.
He laughed and stroked her bare arm that rested beside her hidden face. “You do not wish for him to break down the door and find us like this, do you?”
She sat up with a yawn. “No, I do not.” Then she gave him a soft smile. “You are a wonderful pillow; did you know that?”
“I did not, but you are welcome to use me as a pillow any time you’d like, provided we are in a private space.”
She stretched her arms above her head, then slid from the bed. “Do you need to sneak back to your room?”
He stood as well and padded over, embracing her from behind, his chin resting atop her head. “Unfortunately, I must.”
“Where are we to meet Durin?” She asked, resting her arms on his.
A knock at the door jolted them both.
“Maeria, get up, and answer this door, or I’m breaking it down, we need to be ready to leave within the hour.” Durin bellowed.
They glanced at each other, and she quickly slid open her balcony door, giggling. “One moment, my lord, I’m not decent.” She yelled back, frantically pushing Elrond out onto the balcony.
Elrond bent down and kissed her before he slid the doors behind him and disappeared.
Maeria rushed to the door and flung it open. “Durin, please, there are others that are still asleep.”
“Why is your face red? You run over here or something?” He asked, eyebrows furrowed in suspicion.
“Yes, I did. I did not wish for you to break down my door.”
“Ah, well, get dressed, we’re meeting Elrond and Celebrimbor for breakfast.”
“Of course, give me one moment.” She shut the door and quickly changed into her travel gear, shoving her possessions into her pack.
This time they were at a smaller round table since the High King was not joining them.
She was seated beside Elrond and Celebrimbor again, the elder elf much quieter than he’d been the previous night.
Elrond passed her a bowl of strawberries, and she took a few before passing them to Celebrimbor.
“Lady Maeria, I hear you will be returning to Khazad-dûm with Elrond and Durin?” Celebrimbor said.
“Yes, my lord, it is my home, and I am anxious to return to it.”
“Ah yes, the children in your charge, you must miss them greatly.”
“I do, Gerda and Gamil are wonderful children, with such sparks of life within them.”
“They’ll be fine rulers one day.” Durin said, a proud smile on his face at the mention of his children.
“If they take after their father, I have no doubt they will be.” Elrond added, raising his cup to his friend.
Once the meal was cleared away, they all moved to stand and head back to Khazad-dûm, but Celebrimbor held her back a moment.
“I have a son, he is currently not courting anyone, perhaps you would consider returning and visiting with him, I think you two would make an excellent match.”
Maeria smiled politely at him, her eyes drifting to Elrond’s waiting figure. “I thank you for the offer, Lord Celebrimbor, but I believe my heart has already found its home.”
He follows her gaze and sighs playfully. “Of course, the silver tongued herald, my hunch was correct from the beginning.”
She laughed and bid him farewell before catching up with her companions.
They set out the table, Durin tricked the elves into giving him with them.
When they arrive, Gerda and Gamil fling themselves at her and Durin chattering quickly in Stone-Speak about all that has occurred while they were gone. Disa nearly squeals with delight over her new table and Maeria sets to work helping her set the table while Elrond and Durin go to speak with the king.
They’d shown her the mithril on their journey back, and she hoped they would be able to convince the king.
“So, how did it go?” Disa asked, curiosity in her golden eyes.
“It went well, were you not listening to your husband recount all the foods we ate?” She teased.
Disa swatted her arm. “With Elrond, how did it go with him?”
“Well…we may have kissed, and confessed feelings for one another.”
Disa’s smile was so wide, Maeria feared her face would crack in half. “I knew it, I saw him, heard him speak, and I knew he would be right for you.”
Maeria ducked her head and focused on lining the silverware up perfectly. “You will be a wise queen one day, perhaps you can match make your subjects in your spare time.”
“I could, you know, so many young dwarves are complaining about being unmarried.” She pulled freshly baked bread from the oven.
Maeria laughed and took the loaf of bread from Disa. “I’m sure they would enjoy their queen ruthlessly interrogating them in order to find their perfect match.”
They fall back into their old routines, when Durin storms in, followed by a dejected looking Elrond.
The news is clear on their face, the king has refused their proposition. While Elrond and Durin say tearful goodbyes, her mind is racing, if the elves die off will she as well? She has a spark of creation within her, as her brother says, will it sustain her? She focuses on that conundrum instead of the cavern of grief that is slowly expanding in her chest, soon to swallow her whole, at the idea that Elrond will either leave Middle-Earth or die.
Maeria is so lost in her thoughts, she almost doesn’t notice how Elrond has left without saying goodbye. She races out the door, calling out to him.
He is up on one of the higher bridges, and she runs up the stairs, taking them two at a time until she nearly collides with his sturdy form.
“Why did you leave without saying goodbye to me, or the children?” She adds the children on as an afterthought, suddenly fearing Elrond has taken back his heart, intending to save it from someone in Valinor.
There are tears in his warm brown eyes, and he goes to speak, but his voice seems to fail him.
Do not fall in too deep. Her brother’s words ring in her head.
She swallows her grief and forces out the words that will allow Elrond to leave his guilt here, at her feet, to be carried by her forever. While he is free to love again in the golden lands of the west. “I understand if you must think of your future, of the great love you will have in Valinor, if you must take your heart back, I will not be angry with you.”
Tears slide down his face, and she blinks her own back, willing herself to be strong.
He reaches for her hand and places it against his heart. “I can never reclaim my heart, it is yours, and yours alone.”
“But I cannot go with you to Valinor, and the king has denied your proposal. Elrond, please, do not shackle your heart to me when you still have an entire land of maidens to meet.”
“I do not wish to meet them. Maeria, you are all I want.” His voice is pleading, earnest, and breaks on the word want.
Her emotions overtake her, and she kisses him, their tears mix and salt taints their lips, but she doesn’t care. She can’t find the words to express the depth of feelings she had for him, so she prays her actions will be enough.
Durin’s voice rolls through the open air, and they break apart.
“I love you.” She confesses, wondering if she’s gone too far too fast.
Elrond smiles and picks her up, spinning her with a joyful laugh, and her fears leave her mind like shadows fleeing from light.
“I love you too.” He says, kissing her once more before he takes her hand, and they hurry back to Durin’s home.
Tag list: @nyctophilic0vitnir, @elronds-pointy-ears, @thesolarangel, @elrondscalaquendi
Description: With the King's refusal of the Elves proposal and the return of Galadriel and Halbrand, Maeria finds herself trapped between her duty to her brother and her love for Elrond
All her joy is for naught, the king has banished Elrond from Dwarven lands, and stripped Durin of his titles. She sits surrounded by her possessions and knows she must make a choice. Stay with the only family she’s known for the past fifteen years, or return to Lindon with the one her heart sings for?
She cries when she picks the latter, cries when she says goodbye to her family, and is still crying when she meets Elrond outside Khazad-dûm.
His face is filled with distraught, and she wonders how much of it is for himself and how much of it is for her, because in this moment she is selfish and only feels her own grief.
“My starlight, while I am greatly saddened by this outcome, I am beyond grateful you have chosen to stay by my side.” He says, holding his hand out for hers.
Maeria takes it and uses her free hand to wipe away her tears. She won’t let the elves of Lindon see her cry. She owes that much to Durin.
“ Who is that man ?” She asks him in Elvish, when Galadriel returns with a man hunched over his horse following behind her.
“ I do not know .” He replies, striding forward to catch Galadriel and get answers from her.
Maeria hangs back, inspecting the man when her stomach lurches, and she realizes who he is. She’s been in Lindon for not too long now, trying to help Celebrimbor figure out how to use the small amount of Mithril they have to save the Elven race. Her dreams have been dark and filled with flashes of flames, and shouts of battle. Her brother does not speak to her, but she knows he is there.
The healers take the man away, and she makes her way over to Elrond and Galadriel, the former smiles when she approaches and quickly introduces her to Galadriel, who gives her a polite if distracted greeting in response.
“Who is that man?” She asks again, hoping someone will have answers to confirm her own theories.
“He is Halbrand, King of the Southlands.” Galadriel says, her eyes darting to where they took him.
“Surely you jest? We have waited so long for our king.”
Has he really done it?
“This is no jest; I have seen his power with my own eyes.”
Doubtful.
“That is wondrous news.” Maeria says, pushing pure joy into her voice.
“Once he has been healed, perhaps you will be able to see him.” Elrond says, glancing at Galadriel for confirmation.
“If he desires visitors, then yes.”
Maeria claps her hands together, a bright smile on her face. “I am filled to the brim with joy.” She reaches out with her mind and pokes at her brother’s, and he pokes back weakly.
Don’t worry, brother, I will come to you. She promises him, before she pulls out of his mind and lets him rest.
She lets Elrond and Galadriel go off and discuss her journey, promising Elrond she will meet him back in Celebrimbor’s workshop so that they may all go to dinner together.
Wandering off, she veers towards where she feels her brother’s presence and waits until the healers have left to sneak in.
She kneels by his bedside and takes his hand, pressing it to her lips. “ Brother, what happened to you?”
His eyes shoot open, and he slowly sits up, turning to her. “ Maeria, it is good to see your face in the sunlight once more. ”
He’s dirty, and wounded, but she sees the wound has already closed, and his powers are returning in full force.
“ Did the she-elf do this to you?” She asks, anger surging through her.
“ No, no, Galadriel saved me, she is to be my queen. ”
She cocks her head, thinking back on the pure light that radiated from Galadriel. “ She will join you? She is so pure, so good. How did you convince her?”
“ I haven’t yet, but the time will come. Did you— ” He’s cut off by the appearance of the very woman they were discussing.
“Halbrand and… Maeria?”
“Maeria, heard me calling out for water, and she came to help her king.” Her brother said, throwing a dazzling smile at Galadriel.
“You should be resting.” She tells him, when he tries to slide off the bed.
Maeria keeps him on the bed, rising from her knees. “Lady Galadriel, is Elrond with Lord Celebrimbor or with the High-King?”
“The High-King, and he is not to be disturbed.”
“I understand, I will wait in his room for him then.” She bows her head to Halbrand. “My king.”
He smiles at her, “ sister .” He sees Galadriel’s confusion. “It is Sutherlin, a dialect of the far southlands.”
Maeria leaves her brother to his plotting and makes her way to Elrond’s room, deciding to sit on the balcony and wait for him. She fiddles with the ends of her hair, braiding then unbraiding strands, mind churning with anxious thoughts. If Galadriel was going to be his queen, did that mean they were allowed to bring others along? Would her brother even allow her to bring Elrond? He’d always been so wary when men were around her, what if he forbade her from seeing him?
Elrond’s voice pulled her from her musing, and she looked up at see him smiling excitedly at her. “My starlight, you must come and see what the Lord Halbrand has done.”
She wasn’t sure how to feel, her brother told her there would be those that opposed his plans, that they wouldn’t understand, but Elrond looked excited.
“What has he done?” She asked, deciding to ere on the side of caution as they hurried through the halls to the forge.
“He has given the idea of merging the mithril with other ores in order to increase the amount of material we can work with.”
Oh, so he hasn’t revealed his plan yet.
“That’s brilliant, I’m delighted to hear my king is so practically minded, that bodes well for what remains of the Southlands.”
They entered Celebrimbor’s workshop, and she spotted her brother right away. He had an apron on and was speaking with Celebrimbor, both men gesturing excitedly at the ores.
Her brother looked up when they entered, but his eyes then darted over to Galadriel, who stood with her arms crossed against one of the support pillars. She didn’t look like someone who was anxious to rule alongside her brother.
Did Galadriel know she’s to be his queen, or was this something he’s waiting to reveal?
Maeria watched as the elves and Halbrand swarmed around, frustrated that the ores were rejecting each other. She wandered over to Galadriel.
“Lady Galadriel, I wished to thank you for saving our king.” She curtsied to the elder woman.
“Of course, Halbrand is a skilled warrior and a loyal friend, I would not let him die.” There was a fondness in her voice that she couldn’t hide from Maeria.
“I am still thankful.”
They both turned when they heard laughing and shouts of joy. It seems they’d solved their problem.
A messenger came into the workshop and Galadriel excused herself.
“Elrond, please slow down.” She laughed, running after Elrond as he led them into a clearing.
He stopped under a large tree and smiled at her leaning against the tree. He’d been so happy with the development of mithril, everyone had been.
Then the world went dark for a moment, and she felt her brother’s anger, his confusion, his grief. It weighed so heavily on her mind she had to lean against the tree to keep from swaying under the weight of his power.
“Is something the matter?” He asked her, taking a step forward.
She waved him off. “Yes, everything is fine, just felt dizzy for a moment, it has passed.”
Elrond’s eyes were focused on her, a slight bounce in his steps as he began to pace. He nodded, a soft smile on his face. “I have something I wish to ask of you.”
She tilted her head, a curious look in her eyes. “Oh?”
“It is quite serious, and I fear you may find it a bit rash.” There was a nervousness to his smile that set her senses on high alert.
Do not let yourself be pulled in too deep dear sister, there are depths that even I will not be able to pull you from without suspicion.
“Elrond? Have you gotten into the Dwarven ale again?” She teased lightly, smiling at him.
He shook his head. “No, my thoughts are as clear as the rivers of Valinor.”
Maeria laughed and allowed him to take her hand and place it against his heart.
Elrond looked at her for a moment, then spoke. “You are a beauty, plucked from the mortal lands and refined in the mines of Moria, I have searched and found that only mithril mimics the shine of your smile. Your mind is delightful, I am always in anticipation of your next words, or to obtain your thoughts on a subject, no matter how trivial that subject may seem to others—”
“You are too kind.” She said, cutting him off. Her brother was exerting his power, and it made her sick to her stomach. She needed to go to him.
“No, it is you, who is too kind. I have seen you wrestle two dwarven children while keeping the entire dwarven royal family calm in a time of great stress. You have accepted any who cross your path and granted them the consideration others would not.” He covered her hand with his. “And you are strong, stronger than a mountain, stubborn as a mule and you—you are my starlight, my closet companion, please… Maeria, say you will marry me.”
She watched as waited for her answer, his expression earnest and open, eyes full of optimism.
She placed her free hand over her own heart, tears brimming in her eyes. “I am nothing. A peredhel with a mortal mother, and no standing. Elrond, I have nothing to my name. To wed me would be a fall from grace in the eyes of your people.” She said, letting out a shaky breath. “I love you more than anything, but I cannot doom you to a life of disgrace.”
Elrond shook his head. “It will not be, I swear it to you. I am Herald of the King, my father the evening star. It does not matter who you are, or what you have to your name, for you have my heart and that is enough for me.”
We will have to return for Galadriel at another time, she is resistant to my call. We must leave, now. Her brother’s voice was angry, and she realized the fatal mistake she had made.
Maeria closed her eyes, tears collecting on her lashes. She would have to break Elrond’s heart if she was ever to create a place for him at her side. “Please, do not ask this of me.”
His free hand wiped away her tears. “My love, do not fear what others will say, I will not take their words to heart, and neither should you.”
She reached out to her brother. I am in too deep.
She kept her eyes closed and took a calming breath. “You have my heart; it will always be yours. I could no sooner carve your name into it than my heart would already know its owner.”
It was true, she would carve his name into the walls of her room. A reminder of the one she would bring to her side, but it would not be necessary, she would never forget this moment. How much hatred she held in her heart for herself over the pain she was soon to cause him.
His hand, calloused from writing, caressed her cheek. “Then allow me to declare our love, for all to hear.”
“I cannot.” She whispered, all but wincing when his touch left her. “I am sorry, but I cannot, no matter how much I long to.”
His lips brush against hers gently, fleetingly. It is an acknowledgment and a farewell, a parting touch that would linger there for eternity, as if he’d burned her.
She didn’t open her eyes until the sound of his footsteps disappeared. Once she did, she collapsed, the soft grass cushioning the fall to her knees. She buries her face in her hands and sobs. Her shoulders shake as she bends under the weight of her grief. Her hair falling forward and brushing against the flowers.
“Oh, sister, I warned you. ” His voice is kind, not angry like she feared, and his hand is warm upon her back. He crouches down beside her. “We must leave, Mordor awaits.”
She raises her head and takes his hand, letting him pull her to her feet. “Did I do well?” She asked, feeling like a child again, so small and broken standing beside him.
He bends to kiss her forehead, pride in his dark eyes. “You did excellent.”
Tag list: @nyctophilic0vitnir, @elronds-pointy-ears, @thesolarangel, @elrondscalaquendi
Description: Maeria and Elrond debate their separate beliefs, and after Maeria presents him with an offer, Elrond turns to Galadriel for help.
Previous chapter, Next chapter
“You are nothing but an image conjured from my memories. I will not be made to defend myself, or my brother, in my own mind.” Maeria snapped, pulling away from Elrond, and backing up until she hit the far wall.
Elrond composed himself and approached her carefully. “I am sorry, sweet starlight, I did not mean to offend, I am merely worried about you.”
“Why? I am safe, finally home, and I will have a crown soon.” She wrapped her arms around herself, but did not stop him from coming any closer.
He reached out and caressed her cheek gently. “Why ? Because you are not with me, not within my eyeline unless we are asleep, and I wish to be with you, even if you will not marry me.”
Her heart leapt and tumbled over itself as she surged forward into his arms, burying her face in the crook of his neck. “I wanted to, I still want to, Elrond—I am so sorry, I wanted so badly to marry you, but my brother—”
“I know, I found your letter.” He shushed her softly, arms keeping her flush against him as he breathed in her scent.
“Letter?” Her voice was muffled by his night shirt.
“It was under your dresser; you must have forgotten about it.”
She stiffened. He couldn’t know, she scratched out every part where she confessed her true heritage, in every letter. “You must forget about that, if he knows I gave the elves a clue, even by accident…”
He pulled back and cupped her face, ducking her head down to meet her eyeline. “Will he hurt you?”
“No, never, he’ll just be very angry, and he is already upset that Galadriel refused to be his queen.”
“Galadriel is quite upset as well, she feels betrayed.”
“If she had agreed to be queen, this would not have even happened. We could have been married already.”
“How would Galadriel agreeing to help take over Middle Earth do anyone but Sauron good?” Elrond asked, begging her to see reason.
“Because then he would have his light, and she would keep him on the side of good.” She said, shaking her hands in frustration. “I do not know how to make this simpler.”
“How could she trust him, he lied to her.”
“She never asked him if he was Sauron.” Maeria argued, though she knew her argument was weak.
Elrond’s grip tightened ever so slightly on her face. “You know, as well as I, a lie by omission is still a lie.”
“He loves her, I know it.” She said feebly. “If she would just speak with him, I know he could be dissuaded, she must open her dreams to him.”
“What if you are wrong? What if he harms her.” Elrond pressed, feeling as though she were on the precipice of understanding.
Maeria’s gaze dropped to the rug. “If he does, then I will convince him to let me return and tell you all of what I know. But if he does not, then I ask you to consider joining me here. I miss you.”
She thought it was a fair deal, though she didn’t know if she truly had it in her heart to betray her brother.
Elrond lifted her chin. “I will discuss it with Galadriel, but I make no promises.”
“That is all I can ask.” She said, meeting his eyes and attempting to pick out the flakes of gold within them.
“I miss you as well.” He said softly, before his image began to fade away.
“Elrond you are a fool who has been entrapped by a pretty face.” Galadriel snapped, predictably angry at his suggestion to open her dreams to Sauron.
“Let me hear him speak, Galadriel.” Gil-galad urged, motioning for him to go on.
“If Galadriel opens her dream to him, she will be able to glean information from him, and potentially put an end to his plot. If he harms her in any way, Maeria will return here and tell us all she knows.”
“And if he doesn’t then she gives us nothing, and requests that he join her.” Galadriel finished for him; anger clear in her crystalline eyes.
Gil-galad nodded. “Do we have any information on the movements of either Sauron or Adar?”
Galadriel shook her head, lips set in a grim line.
“Then perhaps we shall consider the idea. With someone at your bedside to monitor your sleep and wake you in case of danger.”
“Elrond shall do it. Let him see what his lovesickness has caused.” Galadriel said, her eyes filled with anger and grief.
Elrond knew she was more upset that he had voiced his desire to be with Maeria once more than she was over the plan.
“I will be more than happy to watch over you, my dearest friend.”
Elrond sat in a chair beside Galadriel’s bedside, a book in hand, as she settled in to sleep.
“How am I to open my dreams to him?” She asked, annoyance tinging her voice.
“When Maeria attempts to enter my dreams, I feel a tug that reminds me of her, soft and bright, with the scent of honeysuckle floating around it.”
“Wait for the tug, then.” She deadpanned.
He gave her an apologetic smile.
She waved it off and settled down to sleep.
Galadriel was dreaming peacefully when she felt it. A tentative tug. A calloused hand reaching for hers, the smell of a forge, of ocean air, and a spice that she was never able to get him to name, fills her senses as she turns towards the pull.
“Galadriel.” His voice is soft, that same lightness to it that she came to associate with Halbrand.
“Halbrand.” She answers, the name slipping past her lips before she can correct it.
Then suddenly he’s there, smiling brightly, new shirt and trousers on. He looks healthy, reinvigorated, and she chastises herself for briefly thinking of how handsome he looks.
“My sweet lady of light, how I missed you.” He breathed, stepping closer, his hand hovering over her cheek before he curls his fingers, and pulls back, his fingertips brushing against her skin as he does.
“What is this place?” She asked, looking around. It’s a simply decorated room hewn from rock.
“This is my chambers, in the volcano, Maeria decorated it.”
“So, you admit, the girl is with you.”
He raises an eyebrow. “My sister is with me, yes. As she was always meant to be.”
“I thought I was to be your queen?” She said, fighting back the flare of jealousy that surges.
He pulls out a chair for her and beckons for her to sit. “You are, but Maeria is my devoted right hand. Shaped and perfected by yours truly.”
She sits and he does as well. “So, she has no mortal mother? You lied to her.”
Halbrand shook his head. “Her mother was real, as was her father, their story not so much.” He looked almost regretful for a moment. “I found Maeria and mother in a burned down building, during the war. She was so tiny, having just barely been born before her mother had passed. I protected her, brought her to a sacred place and imbued her with the flames of creation, the very power that created me.”
“But why? How does a mere babe benefit you.” She asked, narrowing her eyes.
“Would you believe me, if I said I saw something of myself in her?”
“No.”
Halbrand laughed. “You were always too clever to believe my lies.” He tilted his head, drinking her in. “Truly, though, I pitied her, so young and already marked for death. So, I took it upon myself to raise her, thought perhaps she would be my route to redemption.”
“You used her like men use whores.” She snarled.
Halbrand’s face twisted in disgust. “She is my sister, I would never.”
“You sent her to seduce Elrond, to glean information from him.” She accused; chin tilted up in defiance.
“No, I sent her to make alliances, which she did wonderfully, with the dwarves that is. Her falling in love with your friend was unplanned, but I think in time it will benefit me.”
Galadriel felt a pang of pity for the girl. “You would toy with the heart of one you created so carelessly?”
“Maeria is strong, and when I gift Elrond to her, she will forgive me.” He said casually, fully confident in his sway over his sister.
“And where will they fit in your plan, if you and I are to rule, then what will they do?”
He leaned forward, a playful smirk on his face. “Do not fret, my queen, no one will challenge your throne. They shall be sent to oversee territories for us. My Maeria can be quite frightening when she wishes.”
Galadriel let her mind picture it for a moment, remembering the rush of power she felt back on the raft, she did wish to be queen, she knew she would be a good queen, a kind and just queen.
“Think on my words, my queen, I will always be here when you wish to talk again.” He leaned further forward, his lips brushing against hers, sending shockwaves through her, a pleasant hum following after. Then he disappeared and she awoke in her bed.
“Leave me.” She ordered.
“Galadriel, are you alright?” Elrond asked, concern coloring his voice.
“Leave me, I need to think.”
Tag list: @nyctophilic0vitnir, @elronds-pointy-ears, @elrondscalaquendi, @dilf-superiority, @jesticace
Description: Maeria is let in on Halbrand's plan, and Elrond gets some assistance from Durin's daughter Gerda.
Next chapter
Maeria sat on the low wall that kept the lava Halbrand used to forge with in, watching as her brother hurried around his smithy until he found what he was looking for.
“Look at this!” He presented her with a piece of parchment.
She took it and looked it over. There were a few scribblings, and some circular drawings. “What am I looking at?”
“My plans.”
“I thought taking over Middle-Earth and bringing order to its lands was your plan?”
He pointed to one of the circles. “Which I will do, with the aid of this.”
“A circle? Are you going to make a disc?” She tilted her head, then her eyes lit up. “Oh it is a weapon! You throw it like a disc, and it decapitates your enemies. Very inventive brother.”
Halbrand took back the parchment. “I never can quite tell if you are being sincere or cruel, when you say such things.”
Maeria leaned back, stirring the lava with her hand, basking in the warmth. “I am being sincere, I always thought that a weapon would be your best way to bring order, there is too much anger associated with you for you to try a diplomatic approach.”
“I can be diplomatic; the people of the Southlands believe Halbrand is their rightful king.”
“But you are.” She said, looking up from the magma to meet his gaze.
“Yes, of course, but not in the way they think.” He said quickly, turning his back on her.
“Why does it matter what they think? As soon as we free them from Adar, they will follow us.” She pulled her hand from the forge and got to her feet, coming to his side at his workbench.
“I am making a ring, one ring that will rule over all others.” He told her, showing her the mold, he had been working on.
“Only one, what will I have then?” It was a dangerous question, and she took a step back as soon as the words fell from her lips.
“Only one, for there will only be one queen, and it is Galadriel. She possesses her own ring of power, remember?” He said, turning to look at her, an unreadable expression on his face.
“I remember, and I am sure it is as beautiful as she.” Maeria said, bowing her head.
He took a step closer to her and raised her head gently. “Do not fret, little one, you shall have your crown.” He pulled another piece of parchment from the pile on his workbench and handed it to her.
On the parchment was a beautifully designed circlet that dipped down in a ‘v’ at the center of her forehead and jutted up on the sides in both a mimic of her pointed ears, and Halbrand’s own helmet. She could see the time and effort he had placed into the design. “It is…so beautiful, what will it be made of?”
“Gold, just as my ring will be.” He motioned to the large chunk of gold, she was surprised she didn’t see before.
“The other rings are made of mithril, will yours be able to withstand a combined assault?” She bit down on her nail, eyeing the malleable metal.
“This is not common gold, it is imbued with the essence of Morgoth, and soon will carry our blood as well.” There was a look in her eyes that set her nerves on edge.
“Blood?” She echoed nervously.
He noticed her hesitance. “I am speaking metaphorically, of course. We will simply add a small amount of our powers into the objects, tying them to us.”
Maeria relaxed and nodded. “When will this need to be done?”
He thought for a moment. “I am still working out flaws in the design, and I still need to breach Galadriel’s dreams. Her anger did not lessen as she slept.”
Part of her wished to bring up her dream, how Elrond seemed more aware than she was, but another part of her thought it was better to wait. She would feel foolish mentioning it to him if it only happened once.
Elrond sat up in Durin and Disa’s guest bed, hand still curled as if holding Maeria’s, but she was nowhere to be found. He uncurled his hand and pushed back his hair, her face still lingering in his mind.
It felt so real, as if she was, there blinking up at him, as she called him her husband in her sweet voice. So beautiful and lyrical that he wondered if perhaps after she was born all music was created in an attempt to imitate the sound. Though it all paled in comparison to the symphony that was his name falling from her lips, the joy each syllable radiated.
He closed his eyes and tried to recall each moment of the dream, searching it for something, anything. Galadriel had told him of how Halbrand invaded her mind, perhaps Maeria could do the same? She seemed so confused, though, when he told her it was all a dream.
A soft knock at the door had him throwing back the sheets and straightening his nightclothes.
The door cracked open, and Gerda poked her head in and motioned for him to close his eyes. He did so, keeping one cracked.
“I’m a dreamwalker.” She whispered, moving around the room in a slow, deliberate manner as if she were underwater.
“A dreamwalker?” He asked, cracking his eye further open.
Gerda nodded. “Maeria told me about them. They’re beings who can walk in and out of your dreams, but it takes a lot of practice, or you get sucked into the dream and forget it’s not real.”
She continued her loop of the room, and Elrond sat up. “Gerda, was Maeria a dreamwalker?”
Gerda pressed her lips together and shook her head.
“No, or you will not tell me.”
She nodded her head.
“Perhaps I shall ask your brother, I am sure he will tell me.” Elrond said, taking his time standing up and moving to the door.
“Okay, yes, Maeria was a dreamwalker, but she wasn’t very good at it.” Gerda said, prompted by the power of sibling rivalries.
He knelt down so he was on her level. “What do you mean?”
Gerda looked at her feet. “Maeria said her brother was better, and that she got lost in dreams, so she stayed in hers unless he asked her to go into someone else’s. She didn’t like doing that.” She hugged the stuffed bear she had closer to her chest. “But she would do it when I had nightmares, even when they were really scary. She would come and defeat the monster with her fire.”
Elrond smiled softly at Gerda. “Thank you for telling me that.”
Gerda nodded and darted out of the room.
He would never understand children, but he consoled himself with the knowledge he acquired. He needed to return to Lindon and find everything he could on the subject of dreamwalkers, if there even was anything. Perhaps this was a dark art, a side effect of her creation. Tonight, if he saw her again, he would try to glean information from her.
Maeria spent the day organizing her brother’s notes while he was bent over his workbench, scribbling then erasing, then scribbling again. Her eyelids were heavy once she finally collapsed in her bed, and she walked right into the awaiting door, skipping past the inn. Her brother was still awake, there was no need for the waypoint.
She was back in her room once more, and she gravitated towards the bed, wanting nothing more than to sleep in a familiar place.
“Maeria, do not fall asleep.” Elrond’s voice jolted her from her path and she turned.
He emerged from the bathroom and cupped her cheeks, eye scanning her face.
“Elrond? You are acting odd, I am tired and wish to sleep.” She tried to pull away from him, but he held her tightly.
“Stay up with me for a moment, I have missed you.” He said, a measured look in his eyes.
“Alright, though, we saw each other this morning.” She sat on the rug with him.
His hands dropped from her face and instead claimed hers, playing with her fingers absentmindedly. “My starlight, I know.”
“You know what?” She looked at him trying to catch his eye, but he refused to look at her.
“I know you are a creation of Sauron, that you left to aid him in his quest, I simply do not know why. He is a foul evil responsible for many deaths.” He said carefully, grip tightening on her as if he feared she’d run away.
“Is this a game? I told you of my mother and my father, of my upbringing.”
He shook his head. “No, Maeria, I have seen the evidence, and perhaps you did truly have parents, a mortal mother, but you are no longer of mortal flesh.”
“Do I not bleed? Not tire and hunger? Do I not feel? I am a person, not a creature.” She said, voice rising in pitch as she stood and began pacing. Why was he saying these things? What did he know?
Elrond stood as well. “You do, you are a person, but my starlight, you have aligned yourself with the Dark Lord, are you aware of this?”
She spun on her heels and glared at him. “He is the rightful king, he will bring order, Morgoth was wrong, but Halbrand—he desires repentance, and this is the way it will happen.”
He grabbed her shoulders. “Maeria, he is evil, he tried to kill Galadriel, left her in the river to drown.”
She feels the tears prick at her eyes. This isn’t how her dreams are supposed to go.
Tag list: @nyctophilic0vitnir, @elronds-pointy-ears, @elrondscalaquendi, @dilf-superiority
Description: Maeria and Halbrand settle into Mordor, while Elrond and Galadriel attempt to piece together where Halbrand and Maeria disappeared to.
Maeria follows her brother in silence, he’s blocked his mind from her, leaving her with nothing to think of but Elrond and the pain she caused him. She’s drowning in it, willingly. Letting it wash over her, pull her further into grief as each step towards Mordor takes her further and further away from Elrond. She wishes she could have told him, could have tried to make him understand, but—
“You must stop. I can feel you lamenting over him without the access to your mind.” Her brother said, a twinge of annoyance in his voice.
“I would’ve said yes, I would’ve been wed. I spent moons upon moons with him, you don’t understand.” She snapped, suddenly angry at him for pulling her away and out of her grief.
“You think I do not understand? I offered Galadriel the entirety of Middle-Earth, and she rejected me.”
“I thought she resisted, not rejected?”
“Same difference.” He grumbled.
“No, you said she would be your queen, and that I would be able to have someone by my side. If she is not your queen, why would anyone trust us?” It’s not like her to question his plans, but something has sprouted within her, and it refuses to die.
He stops and turns to face her. “They will trust us because we are here to bring peace and order, it is what they desire.” His angry expression softened, and he reached out to adjust the hood of her cloak. “I know your heart is heavy, but you will see him again, trust in me. Have I ever let you down?”
“No, never.” And he hadn’t, every promise, ever word spoken to her, he’d fulfilled in one way or another.
He pulled her into his embrace, resting his head on her chin. “Then trust me when I tell you, all will be well.”
She closed her eyes and leaned into him. “I trust you.”
Elrond is distraught. He wandered down the garden paths, replaying Maeria’s words over and over again. He should have pressed further, asked why she could not marry him, perhaps there was a reason, one that she was afraid to share with him.
He pictured the trembling of her bottom lip, the way she refused to look at him, tears slipping past her closed eyelids, how she begged him not to ask her even though her heart would always be his.
A splashing caught his attention and he rushed forward to pull Galadriel from the river, only to discover that she’s also experienced heartbreak. Halbrand, King of the Southlands was no other than Sauron, determined to convince her to rule by his side.
“Where’s Maeria? She may have been tricked by him as well.” She asked, pushing her wet hair back from her face.
Elrond’s shoulders slumped. “I have no knowledge, I asked for her hand, and she rejected it. She sounded so fearful, and I could not bring myself to stay, so I left her in the field.”
“Perhaps she has begun to travel back to Khazad-dûm, or she is hiding in her room, you may check later, but now we must return to Celebrimbor.”
Elrond stood by as Galadriel explained Halbrand’s treachery, and Celebrimbor sprang into action. Soon the rings were created, and he found himself in the archives waiting for a scribe to return.
“Sir Herald, I only found one mention of the surname Aulendil, well, it is less of a mention and more of a note written on a singed piece of parchment.” He gently handed Elrond the blacked piece of parchment.
He’s taken another name, given the babe his, Aulendil, as her family name and the flames as a gift… The rest of the words were burned away, but it’s enough to set his heartrate spiking.
“I will need to study this further.”
“Of course.”
Elrond searched Maeria’s chambers like a madman, pulling out drawers, going through the closet, and tossing the sheets from her bed. There had to be something. She brought all her possessions here from Khazad-dûm, there had to be something she left behind.
Finally, he found a crumpled letter that had fallen underneath her dresser.
My dearest Elrond,
I shouldn’t even be writing this, my brother has strictly forbidden any transfer of information beyond he and I, but I… I want to tell you something, anything, in case I am called away from you.
The next paragraph was roughly scratched out, and he could barely make out the words. Then it cleared up, and he sucked in a sharp breath.
All of that to tell you, that I love you, and I fear my brother will return before I am able to act upon my desires. If that is the case, I must confess something grave to you. I’m afraid that my brother will lose sight of his original desires, I’ve seen the anger growing within him, felt the weight of his powers upon my mind, and I know I will not be able to stop him.
He promised that I will be able to bring someone to my side, I choose you, I’ll always choose you, even if your heart is no longer mine. Even if you have wed another, I am selfish, it’s an attribute of the flames within me I presume. Fire is ever hungry; it devours all in its path regardless of the circumstances. I have given you my heart and you have given me yours, in my family that is not an exchange made lightly.
Know that all I do is to keep you and Middle-Earth safe.
- Your Starlight
He held the letter, tracing the loops and curves of her sign off. She did not have to spell it out for him, it was clear, the brother she’d praised and mourned was Halbrand, and now she was Valar knew where with him.
Elrond held the letter close to his chest and rushed to find Galadriel.
Galadriel read the letter, once, twice, then a third time before frowning. “How do you know she didn’t leave this to deceive you? She is Sauron’s sister; she will be just as deceitful as him.”
Gil-galad hummed, as Galadriel handed him the letter. “How is it even possible for him to have a sister? The legends make no mention of her.”
“Maeria was insistent that she had a human mother and an elven father, is it possible she was stolen as a child?” Elrond asked.
Gil-galad shook his head. “We keep dutiful records of all peredhels, we would not have missed one.”
“Can it be possible that Sauron himself created her, and manipulated her memories?” Galadriel held up the charred slip of paper from the archives. “This paper is not as old as Maeria claimed to be, but it mentions a babe. If she is a part of him, it explains her control over fire.”
“Then perhaps she is not evil? Just misguided?” Elrond suggested hopefully.
“She has allied herself with Sauron, she is tainted.” Galadriel snapped.
“Elrond, you said she believed she and her mother were abandoned by her father, and that her mother died when she was quite young, leaving her in the care of Halbrand?”
He nodded, “she wandered for years after he disappeared, then Princess Disa found her.”
Gil-galad thought for a moment. “The letter seems genuine, and we all are aware of how evil can disguise itself. If she truly was created and raised by this Halbrand, then she knows no other life, we cannot blame her for her attachment to him.”
“Why do I feel Galadriel poking at my mind?” Her brother asked, his eyes narrowing as he entered into her quarters.
She looked up from her embroidery. “Perhaps she is reconsidering her decision?”
“Perhaps you left something behind to alert her of my plan.”
“I would never, what happened to your heartfelt speech about us trusting each other?” She asked, setting down her embroidery and turning to face him.
He looked healthier now that they were in the volcano, he’d rested and regained his full powers, leaving her to decorate her room as she saw fit while he tinkered in his forge.
“I told you to trust me.”
“Look in my mind, you find no evidence of betrayal.” She raised her chin in defiance.
He glared at her, and she felt him shifting through her memories, coming up empty. His eyes softened, and he crossed the room to pull her into his embrace, stroking her hair. “Apologies little one, I am still tired from my travels. I will not doubt you again.”
“You should rest, I’ll be here, working on adding our crest to all my dresses.”
He chuckled and inspected the half finished symbol. “Wonderful work, you are just as skilled as mother was.”
“I am?” She asked, a smile tugging at her lips. He spoke so rarely of their mother, and she treasured each tidbit he gave her.
“Yes, she would be proud.” He kissed the crown of her head, then departed.
Maeria sat at her desk, absentmindedly, pushing the needle in and out of the fabric, until she felt a sharp pain, and immediately brought her finger to her lips, the metallic taste of blood on the tip of her tongue.
Her mind drifted to her family under the mountain, the children were always so worried whenever she would prick her finger, fighting over who could get her a gauze faster. Would they be disappointed in her?
No. She shook her head, banishing those thoughts. She was doing this for them, to create a perfect world, so they could grow and thrive without worry. They would understand. She hoped.
Tag list: @nyctophilic0vitnir, @elronds-pointy-ears, @thesolarangel, @elrondscalaquendi, @dilf-superiority
Description: Elrond travels back to Khazad-dûm, in search of Maeria, and Maeria experiences the strange aftermath of her brother and Galadriel's mental battle.
Elrond had paced back and forth for so long, he feared he may have created a divot in the stone flooring. He gripped Maeria’s letter tightly in his hand. He’d already made it back to Khazad-dûm, traveling faster than he’d ever done before, desperate to press Durin and Disa for any information they may have been holding back. There must be something he missed, some sign, or clue. Evil has a feeling, a sensation it gives off, and he felt nothing from Maeria, though neither had Galadriel from Halbrand.
“My gods elf, calm your pacing, it’s making me dizzy.” Durin’s low, warm voice brought him comfort, and he turned to embrace him.
“Apologies, old friend, I have much energy and nowhere to place it.”
Disa came and embraced him as well, a worried look splashed across her features. “Where is our girl? Where is our Maeria, Elrond.”
He sat on the wooden bench attached to their new table, leaning against its edge. “I do not know, part of me fears she had fled to Mordor with Sauron, another part of me hoped she would be here.”
“Mordor?” Durin said, his eyebrows shooting up, while Disa got a distant look on her face.
He handed him the letter, explaining all the information he’d collected.
Disa read the letter as well, then put her hand to her heart. “I prayed that demon would leave her alone, it seems he has not.”
“You knew about this?” Durin and Elrond asked at the same time.
“No, well, not everything. When I found Maeria she was in the throes of a nightmare and calling out for her brother, she was burning up, and there was this mark, branded on her skin. It cooled when she awoke, but there was a darkness in her eyes.” She wrung her hands, looking back at the letter. “We talked for quite a long while until I brought her back here, she was so frail, and she cried constantly like a babe.”
“Did she speak of anything else?” Elrond asked, kneeling to meet Disa’s lowered eyes.
“She would have other nightmares, and if I asked about them right as she awoke, she would blurt out answers before retreating into herself. Volcanos, drowning, light and dark colliding, a task she needed to complete, and that name you said, Halbrand. She said it once when the children caught her off guard and asked her brother’s name while she was cooking.”
He felt as if he’d been stabbed with a poisoned blade, her rejection, and disappearance was the initial blow, the knowledge of her family name the thrust, and now this. Knowing she was aware of Halbrand’s true identity from the moment she saw him sent the pain radiating throughout his body.
“We had the dark lord’s sister watching our children?” Durin was furious, his hand reaching for his axe.
“No, no, she cannot be. She’s Maeria, our Maeria, we’ve treated her like a daughter, and she’s treated us as parents, we know her heart.” Disa protested, set in her stance like stone.
Elrond wished Disa was right, he’d give anything for her to be right. “We have no way of knowing if she went with Halbrand willingly or not. I too wish to believe that she is the kind-hearted woman we all know and lo—” His grief cut him off, and Disa patted his hand reassuringly.
Of course, he still loved her, how could he not? Feelings did not simply disappear because the recipient of them had disappeared as well.
“What will you do? Trek to Mordor and ask her?” Durin asked, a grief of his own buried deep within his dark eyes.
“I do not know what I will do.” Elrond admitted, the sense of helplessness crashing down on him.
“The hour grows late, why not rest? Then in the morning we can discuss this further. Take Maeria’s room, perhaps she left something behind.” Disa urged, a hand on her husband’s arm.
Elrond nodded and quietly slipped up to her room, careful not to wake the children, relishing in the way Maeria’s bed still smelled of her.
Maeria laid on her bed, staring up at the rocky ceiling, her brother had started to smooth it down for her, but he had more pressing matters to attend to. She’d finished decorating her room, her bathroom, the receiving room, the kitchen, and every other room she was allowed in, yet it was not enough.
She picked up the signet ring that hung from a chain around her neck, and held it up to the torchlight. It was Elrond’s. He’d dropped it in the field. She knew it was traditional for elves to make a hair clasp when they proposed, but she had mentioned her fondness for the human tradition of rings. Maeria guessed he’d listened and that had fueled his reason for bringing the ring. She’d spotted it as she sobbed, and taken it with her in a desperate need to keep some part of him with her.
Thoughts of him just made her sad, even the happy ones, the ones where they shared a meal, or a jest, or a kiss. She pressed the ring to her lips then let it fall beneath her night gown once more and turned over, extinguishing the torches with a wave of her hand.
Sleep came quickly, and she was in that same inn from so long ago, this time her brother was in full view drinking at the bar.
“Is this the waypoint for dreams now?” She asked, sitting on the barstool next to him, a flagon of spirits appearing in front of her as well.
“That is something I am admittedly trying to figure out.” He said, taking a long swig of his drink.
“Is everything alright?” She turned in her seat.
“I am attempting to enter Galadriel’s dreams, but she is much too angry at the moment. I’m waiting for her dreams to calm her before I enter.”
“What do Galadriel’s dreams have to do with mine?” She took a sip of her drink. Dwarven ale with cinnamon and honey, her favorite.
“Our minds are connected, yours and mine, when I connected mine to Galadriel’s it created a nexus of sorts.”
“Oh…so she can see into our minds?”
He scoffed, “no, she refused my offer, this is a one way road between her and I.”
“Ah, okay, well I am going to go to my own dream, I will see you in the morning. Good luck, queen hunting.”
He raised his drink, and she giggled, making her way down the hallway, letting it pull her towards her dream.
A door flew open, and she stepped through, she felt that familiar haziness that washed through her mind, removing any idea that this was anything but reality.
Maeria let out a contented sigh, comfort blanketing her as she rested her head against the door frame, she was home, in Khazad-dûm. Everything was just as she had left it except one thing, Elrond was sitting on her bed, head in his hands.
“Elrond?” She called.
He looked up, a smile blossoming across his handsome face. He stood and rushed to her, pulling her into his embrace. “My starlight, you’re here. Durin said that—”
“Of course, I would be here, where else would I be?” His oakwood eyes were filled with worry, and she cupped his face, brushing a gentle kiss to his lips.
He returned the kiss, pressing her against the door frame, his hands so tight on her waist as if he feared she’d disappear. “I thought you’d gone to Mordor.” He breathed against her lips.
“Mordor? Why would I do that, my family is here, and you are in Lindon.”
He smiled and rested his forehead against hers. “It must have been a terrible dream, brought on by all our travel.”
She caressed his cheekbones with her thumbs. “It must have been, but now we may rest, no more travel for a while. The elves are saved, the dwarves are able to safely mine mithril, and we are married.” The mithril ring on her finger shone in the lowlight, and he took her hand from his cheek and pressed it to his lips.
“My starlight, my beautiful wife, how happy I am to see you.” He led her back to her bed and she sat down, Elrond sitting next to her.
“I am happy to see you as well, husband.” She said, watching as he reverently places soft kisses to each of the pads of her fingers, before kissing down to her wrist.
“I missed you, so much.” He whispered. “I wish I knew where you were.”
She blinked in confusion. “Elrond, silly, I am sitting right in front of you.”
He shook his head, face distraught as he held her hand to his chest, there was no heartbeat. “No, Maeria, you’re gone.”
She jolted awake, wiping away the tears that had slipped down her face. Her brother stood above her, a confused look on his face.
“Are you alright?”
She nodded. “Yes, just an odd dream.”
Halbrand sat on her bed smiling. “I have made progress.”
Tag list: @nyctophilic0vitnir, @elronds-pointy-ears, @elrondscalaquendi, @dilf-superiority
Description: After his encounter with Galadriel, Halbrand decides it's time to push harder, and makes Maeria a promise.
Previous chapter, next chapter
Halbrand loves Maeria, his sister, his creation, but there are times in which he realizes she has more autonomy than he presumed she would. He knew Maeria was the one to ask Elrond to convince Galadriel to open her mind, and he wondered what she offered in exchange. He didn’t think his sister would betray him, nor was Galadriel skilled enough to walk into her dreams and tell her the truth. The truth she thinks Maeria is unaware of.
Halbrand crossed his arms behind his head, looking up at the rocky ceiling. Maeria’s poor mother, one of his people, a daughter of the Southlands, destroyed by Morgoth’s senseless war. He would give Maeria a seat of honor, his recompense for his part in the destruction of her mother’s home.
His sweet little sister, she’d done so well with the dwarves, she deserved Elrond as a reward.
A soft knock came, and he called out to her.
Maeria entered dressed in her nightgown, her eyes cast downwards. “I was wondering if you had made any progress with Galadriel?”
He sat up and pushed back the thin blanket covering him, getting to his feet. “I have, and that is thanks to you, I believe.”
Maeria looked up at him with guilty eyes. “I was only trying to help.”
He ruffled her hair as he passed by her to grab a waterskin. “I know, little one, you did well.”
She visibly relaxed, and he took a long drink before speaking again. “I will not have any more communication between you and Elrond without my knowledge, though.”
She nodded. “Of course, it is a new development, I only wished to make sure I was not truly dreaming before I bothered you with it.”
“You could never bother me, especially if you are wishing to come to me with information.” He said, offering the waterskin to her.
She politely declined, and he capped it before tossing it back into the basket he retrieved it from.
“I will not delay the next time, I promise. But you have made progress?” She tilted her head, a curious gleam in her eyes.
When he molded her, changed her so that she could handle his flames, he was delighted to see he had no need to change the color of her eyes, they matched his so perfectly.
“Yes, as we spoke, I poked around in her mind, I see that her desire for power grows even in my absence. I believe that if we push, she will soon tumble, and your Elrond will follow suit.”
Maeria perked up at the mention of the herald. “Will we be able to wed?”
He chuckled and smoothed down her hair. “You will be able to do as you wish, as long as it serves our cause.”
She nodded happily, and he felt a smidgen of guilt.
You used her like men use whores. Galadriel had said, and he bit his tongue contemplating his next words. “Maeria, are you angry with me?”
Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Why would I be angry with you?”
Halbrand brushed the side of her face with his knuckle, a fond smile on his lips. “Because I left you and have taken you from your love.”
“But I love you most, you are my brother. Moreover, I understood why you left. I was sad, but now we are together again.” She said, smiling up at him the same way she did when she was young.
He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “And I love you most, little one. Know that all I do is to create a perfect world for you.”
“I know.” She smiled, clearly basking in his affection.
“What did you offer Elrond in exchange for Galadriel’s cooperation?” He asked, voice low and deadly serious as he watched Maeria tense.
“It depended on your actions. I told him that if you harmed Galadriel, I would attempt to convince you to let me return and feed them information, but I was going to lie, I would never betray you.” Maeria said quickly, taking his hands in hers pleadingly.
“Go on.”
“If you did not hurt her, I asked him to consider joining me.” She said softly. “I knew you would never hurt her, so I did not think it would be a great gamble.”
“And did he seem receptive to joining you?”
Maeria fiddled with his fingers, his hand much larger than her own. “I am…unsure. For a moment I felt as if I had him, but then he pulled back. I know he wishes to see me, though.”
He hummed in acknowledgment, turning her words over in his head.
She had offered Elrond access to herself in both scenarios, and he wondered if that alone would sway Galadriel. Her dearest friend, willing to join them purely to see Maeria once more, and he would allow it. He would welcome Elrond with open arms to show Galadriel that he didn’t lie when he said he wanted to do good.
“We will push them both then.” He said, a plan forming rapidly in his mind.
“Push them how?” She asked, picking up on his excitement.
Galadriel hacked at a training dummy, sword cutting into the wood and straw as she ran possibility after possibility through her mind. She could take his hand, become queen. She would be a good queen, a just and fair queen. Not only that, but she had grown tired of the politics of this world, of the pain and chaos that ravaged the lands. Adar needed to be stopped, and Halbrand was her best bet at stopping him.
Perhaps she could trick him, make him believe she was on his side, then kill him at his weakest moment. But he had access to her mind, what stopped him from seeing right through her?
Maeria is adamant that he loves you. That is what Elrond had told her.
Could a being so wicked, so vile, even feel love?
She remembered the way his expression changed when he spoke of Maeria. There was a fondness there one cannot fake. But she was his creation, and it is easy to love that which you made in your image.
Halbrand, her Halbrand. The man who rescued her from the sea. Who fought alongside her, who shared that feeling. She still smiled when she thought of their time together, before the ever-present memory of his deceit ruins it as a storm cloud ruins a sunny day.
He loves her. She would need confirmation, proof of his affections, then she would be able to plan and proceed.
A small part of Galadriel whispered that she’s already made her choice simply by seeking him out once more, and she stifled it, sheathing her sword and heading off to her quarters. She will get her answers, one way or another.
Tag list: @nyctophilic0vitnir, @elronds-pointy-ears, @elrondscalaquendi, @dilf-superiority, @jesticace
