Mithlond, a blurry time, White Ship’s dock
She promised herself she would not cry. She promised herself she would have been prepared, and strong, and stalwart, and brave. She promised herself she would not beg them to stay.
She was none of those things at the moment. She could barely hold herself from yelling at her mother and father to not board the damn ship. To not leave her for who knows how long. But she decided to stay didn’t she?
The docks were silent at the first lights of dawn, the only sounds those of the elven sailors and helpers fussing around the White Ship that was about to leave the hither shores forever. The sun just about rising above the horizon turned the marble of the buildings to a light pink and gold, as did to the water. Others of their kind boarded already, some, like Mehtarnis and Aicasicil tarried to say their last goodbyes to those who stayed behind.
She watched Histealdo pat his brother on the shoulder and kiss her mother’s hand. She wondered how could her uncle appear so calm and serene, if it was just a pretense to hide his own sadness… well, she never was good at acting anyway. He approached her and gently pushed her to go give her own farewell to her parents.
It was all she needed despite her efforts to crack the stoic mask, flinging to hug them both in a bear hug (she heard the term from some dwarves they met on the road to the Havens and rather liked it).
They both laughed, that laughter that always had a tinge of weariness since she could remember. “Now now, it is alright to be sad, but we are not going to war. We are going to rest. Worry not for us” Aicasicil said, and he in turn huge her so tight he lifted her in the air even. She squeaked, managing to smile a little, for a second. Yes he was right, but neither was he an actor and couldn’t hide the crack of his own voice as he spoke. “I wish we could have persuaded you to come with us. But… you are well adult now. It is your life and your decision to stay, and we respect that. As is my brother’s, stubborn both of you”
“Stubbornness is ingrained in your side of the family” added her mother. She patted Earcalie’s hair, fixing some strands that escaped her ponytail in a gesture that came from force of habit, then sighed. “We have lived through much”
Oh she knew. From barely escaping their home, Ondolinde of many names, to the Great War and the flooding of Beleriand, from serving the last High King, to losing Eregion and witnessing the Last Alliance, so much they lived through before finally settling down, and starting a family so late in their life, a lot later than many other elves would have… she couldn’t blame them for now wanting to… rest. Leave troubles behind. She knew they both were weary of life, she could see it in their moves, the sound of their voices, their demeanor.
By her parent’s tales of bygone days, it was as if she could relieve a dream with them, now in turn she stays behind in hope to change Middle-Earth for the better in her own, small way, as she often liked to say “to be part of the next stories told and her name be among those who fought for Good as they did”. Naive? perhaps, but mother beamed when she heard those words. She would say that again to see her smile.
“When I shall see you next, I will have so many tales to tell you”. Mehtarnis did in fact beam at that. “I know. Yet, whatever happens, I am proud of you, for being you. We will always be”
Oh no. Quickly she scoffed to hide a sob. Thankfully her eyes were still dry of tears. Who was she deceiving though, surely her parents saw through her mask a long while ago… the mask was only helping herself
“I shall haul our belongings onto the ship. I shall return in a moment, ‘Aldo, help me will you? ”. As the ellyn went away, her mother took a little satchel out of a pocket, took a hand, and dropped the content on her palm.
It was a ring. A simple, perfectly smooth ring in a metal she couldn’t identify. Silver, she thought, but turning the metal band in her hands, depending on how it caught the sunlight the surface appeared blue, then white, then turquoise. Nothing like she ever saw before
“What is this?”
“This” mother said “Is a gift your father crafted himself from a special alloy that nowadays is extremely rare to replicate. It is yours now”
“Well… no? Why are you giving it to me? You should keep it if it is so special”. She poked her on the forehead
“Do not be silly. No gift is more rare and spacial than the daughter I am so lucky to have”
“Ammë…” there the tears threatened to fall. Her mother closed her hand around the ring. “Maybe you could gift it to someone else in turn” she winked
“Oh please, now you don’t be silly…” Mehtarnis chuckled. Her chuckled as well with a streak of weariness.
“Let this be a good luck charm then. It survived three ages through many hardships. May it keep you safe from what life shall throw at you”
The elleth nodded, for now stashing the ring in a little pocked inside her tunic. In that moment her father and uncle returned. “It is time”
They embraced, one last time. She felt she couldn’t speak anymore else she break down into tears, and perhaps so thought them, slowly walking up the ramp and onto the ship’s deck. They wore simple traveling clothes of deep blue. Earcalie wondered what they had looked like clothed in the armor of the Heavenly Arch in Gondolin, the same armor that sat on display in the main hall of their house, now just ornament. Fierce surely, yet she was sure that she would always prefer the sight in front of her, of two simple elves among many that meant the world to her.
With their hands raised they stood, and all the other elves who said “Namarie” to their loved ones until the ship was nothing but a dot on the horizon and then… vanished, as if it was magic, on the Straight Road only the Quendi could travel on. Earcalie squeezed the ring inside her tunic’s pocket, turning to finally let go of the tears, sobbing her heart out on her uncle’s shoulder.
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She wore the ring on a chain around her neck ever since, never speaking of it nor showing it to anyone, as her mother said: a good luck charm. While she never said it should be a secret, she felt it was right to be so, as a special link between mother and daughter, until they could reunite on the same shore.
