Nimuviel’s Diary: Page 9

Iavas day 8, I Randír Îdh Liwurien took me back into the library yesterday eve after we all had our meal and took a lute and a theorbo from the wall opposite the one that holds the shelves with all the scrolls. She was pleased to hear I have some basic knowledge of the music of the strings and practised a simple tune with me, and I learned it quickly because I half-remembered it from the music lessons I had when I was very little (though of course I did not tell her I had learned it before, she seemed so pleased with me). She told me I must practise it today and then tonight she will try to teach me another one. The rain has stopped, fortunately. It made me dreary even if I had no reason to be, for we are still a merry gathering, and more so for the rest that everyone has now had and for the good food that Hiril Aldalin’s pantry holds in abundance. The lady herself is still kept very much occupied with her letters and her administration, and she frowns a lot while writing. It makes me wonder, sometimes, what is written in these letters that causes her to be worried, yet I dare not ask, because although she is most kind and generous with me, she is also stern at times and I know that she would not much appreciate me sticking my nose where it does not belong. In passing on my way from the library to the garden this morning, however, I did overhear her talking to Liwurien, and they spoke of an Elf who had announced his coming to these halls in one of the letters that Liwurien brought from Imladris, and that he was due to arrive in the next few days with news of some import. I wonder if we can all fit in the guestrooms with so many visitors. It is not that we are in each other’s way, at all: the halls and the garden are large enough to provide space for everyone, even if one wishes to be alone, and all members of the company have found such activities as to keep their minds occupied. Serathuil and Galvathalion often sit together and speak quietly of their homeland; Nathoruil plays his harp, alone; the maiden Ashareth goes out for walks in the day and often does not return until nightfall; Celebhir calls in every day and speaks with everyone for a while before returning home again; Llerieth keeps very much to herself, being rather occupied with plants than conversation; Liwurien and Hiril Aldalin are mostly in the study and write letters; the lord Gildin has his own letters to write, which he often does in the garden nearby Nathoruil and his harp. I should go back to practising the lute again, for I could not stand Liwurien’s displeasure should I come short to her standards. I admire her attitude, for she is both stern yet patient, but also kind and skilled in many aspects. I hope she will stay here awhile, for I feel I can learn much from her, and, because of her rather strict manner of tutoring, in small amounts of time as well. Yet my fingers already hurt from the lute strings digging into my flesh.