#happy birthday to our favourite senior dark lord

[lyceana]

Happy birthday to oldetwink! May Harry's beloved Hogwarts caretaker Tom Riddle someday wear leather during their detention sessions~

[klarolinelibrary]

Hi KC Readers,

We have reached the end of the week which means we have new weekly releases for you! The stories below were updated during the week of May 1st - May 7th.

Happy Reading!

FFN

Gods on High

Author: slstmaraudersjple

Rating: K+

Length: 1,257

Summary: "In ancient times, they called her Hera. But when she was born, she was named Caroline." Greek mythology AU featuring Klaus and Caroline as Zeus and Hera.

Date of update: May 1 2021

Klaus POV - The Trouble with Spells (Chapter 23)

Author: ilovetf

Rating: M

Length: 91,722

Summary: The Trouble with Spells as seen through Klaus's eyes and his POV. Over the years, people kept liking this story and some even asked for Klaus POV, so I decided to give it a try. 

Date of update: May 2 2021

Cinderella's Beast (Chapter 15)

Author: Sci-fi Christian

Rating: T

Length: 59,065

Summary: He was a beast. An arrogant beast who carried his comments a little too far one day. Now, he may just discover that she is not what she seems. She's a Cinderella in disguise and his heart is the glass slipper she may leave behind. 

Date of update: May 2 2021

Fortitude (Chapter 8)

Author: G.M.Portraepic

Rating: M

Length: 15,256

Summary: Post TO 5x13: Even in his death, the key to Klaus Mikaelson having everything he has ever wanted, all at once, lies buried somewhere in the world. Can Caroline Forbes find it?

Date of update: May 5 2021

AO3

Without Pause Without Doubt

Author: ThrowMeAStory

Rating: M

Length: 3,679

Summary: 4x16, au. Part 9. Klaroline vs Damon.

Date of update: May 1 2021

Between Reality and Madness

Author: Eliliyah

Rating: G

Length: 8,395

Summary: When Caroline Forbes, Hogwart's resident Potions Mistress, is bitten by a werewolf, her father, the Minister of Magic, immediately orders she be taken away and imprisoned in a so-called "Rehabilitation Facility," mysterious camps from which no wolf has ever returned. Dodging curses, she runs for her life. Her only chance is to find the one person who seems to know a thing or two about wolves: Headmaster Klaus Mikaelson.

Date of update: May 1 2021

Our Time Now (Chapter 2)

Author: perfectpro

Rating: M

Length: 23,970

Summary: Caroline is going to spend her senior year getting into the law school of her choice, leading the cheerleading squad to a nationals title, and passing her sorority presidency to someone who will continue a legacy of excellence. She doesn't have time to take a bubble bath, much less to figure out what's happening with her relationship with Klaus. Not that it's much of a relationship to begin with.

Date of update: May 1 2021

no goodbyes (Chapter 11)

Author: deadofwrite (dead_of_write)

Rating: E

Length: 78,975

Summary: “Last night shouldn’t have happened,” Caroline whispered. Guilt. Shame. Regret. It was all the emotions he feared. And it was written all over her face. aka. a college/cheating au

Date of update: May 1 2021

All You Never Say (Chapter 6)

Author: misssophiachase

Rating: T

Length: 18,967

Summary: One wedding involving a best man and maid of honour who've grown up together but don't know quite how to reconcile their unresolved feelings.

Date of update: May 2 2021

A smutty anniversary (Chapter 8)

Author: kcatdino

Rating: E

Length: 5,414

Summary: Caroline and Klaus celebrate 3 months together with a day full of smut.

Date of update: May 2 2021

Darkness Becomes Thee (Chapter 3)

Author: BelleMorte180

Rating: E

Length: 12,317

Summary: Austria 1300s When Klaus met a young girl on a riverbank, he knew that he would one day come back for her. When he looked into her bright blue eyes, he could see a reflection of his own soul, a darkness that lingered inside both of them. When the young girl turned into a beautiful woman with a thirst for blood, his fascination with her turns into obsession. He wants not only her loyalty but her eternity, a possessiveness that is equally returned.

Date of update: May 2 2021

One of a Kind, Two of a Kind, or the Three Musketeers (Chapter 11)

Author: Phandancee74

Rating: T

Length: 24,114

Summary: Caroline recognizes how hard it is for Elena to be a doppelgänger, her fate predestined as well as her face. It's pretty tough being the last of your kind too though, and Caroline is determined to protect them both, with some very helpful Bennetts on their side.

Date of update: May 2 2021

Klaus’ Thousand Year Plan to be Her Last (Chapter 2)

Author: anncatherine

Rating: T

Length: 2,867

Summary: So these are some missing Klaroline scenes from my Elena/Elijah soulmate fic that I couldn’t include because they either didn’t fit or needed to be form Klaus or Caroline’s pov. I think it would be helpful to read at least the first couple chapters of that for background, but basically at twelve people’s soulmate’s birthday shows up on their wrist.

Date of update: May 2 2021

Cloud 9: A Collection of Klaroline Fusions and Crossovers (Chapter 11)

Author: klarolineagainnaturally

Rating: G

Length: 5,597

Summary: Various fusions and crossovers with Klaus and Caroline including Much Ado About Nothing, Ready or Not, and Tangled!

Date of update: May 2 2021

The Big Bad Wolf (Chapter 8)

Author: MorningStarGirl666

Rating: T

Length: 58,507

Summary: He was the Big, Bad Wolf of this story, there was no doubt about that. But Caroline? She was the light to his darkness, the moon that shone brighter than even the stars in a sky of endless void. Like every wolf, he fell in love with the moon, and every month, he was destined to cry for a love he would never touch.

Date of update: May 2 2021

Destination Wedding (Chapter 5)

Author: PumpkinDoodles

Rating: T

Length: 10,294

Summary: The first rule of going to your ex's wedding is 'make sure you look good,' but Caroline's seriously worried that this British Guy is going to make her late. And she cannot be late to Rebekah Mikaelson and Matt Donovan's wedding at a Virginia winery.

Date of update: May 3 2021

We are young (Chapter 14)

Author: kcatdino

Rating: T

Length: 16,153

Summary:  Basically, Klaroline flirt in front of their kids who they are barely older than, and Landon is appropriately confused.

Date of update: May 3 2021

Road to Ruin

Author: Cupcakemolotov

Rating: ?

Length: 2,122

Summary: Caroline comes home for Elena's funeral two years after she made out of Mystic Falls to NYU, and meets Klaus Mikaelson, one of the enigmatic brother's who claimed Elena as their own.

Date of update: May 3 2021

Time Heals All Wounds (Chapter 2)

Author: khaleesiofthewolves

Rating: ?

Length: 4,393

Summary: Does time really heals all wounds? Deeply scarred by his past, he would beg to differ. Klaus never thought the midnight shift at the hospital would change his life and yet it did. When a certain blonde is brought in with severe injuries, Klaus will learn that sometimes doctors need healing as well. Will their inner wounds and scars help them grow together or just tear them apart?

Date of update: May 3 2021

Caroline in Wonderland

Author: BelleMorte180

Rating: E

Length: 25,491

Summary: London, 1903 On the day of her wedding, a young boy collides into Caroline's legs, all but knocking her to the ground. Seeing that she is dreading walking down the aisle, any moment stalling her from heading to the church is welcome. However, when she follows the young boy down a London street, something impossible happens and Caroline finds herself in a magical world that she had been told about as a young child- Wonderland. She embarks on a journey through Wonderland to find out who she really is, where she belongs and towards a man who she had thought was nothing more than an imaginary friend.

Date of update: May 4 2021

A Bee A Tulip and a Meddlesome Sister

Author: KatherineBee1814

Rating: M

Length: 15,107

Summary: Newly arrived in London from Kent Lady Rebekah Mikaelson quickly catches the eye of infamous Rake and rouge Lord Anthony Bridgerton but Andromeda will be damned before she lets him marry her favourite sibling.

Date of update: May 4 2021

Soulmate visions (Chapter 6)

Author: kcatdino

Rating: T

Length: 11,445

Summary: On your soulmate's eighteenth birthday, you see through their eyes for an hour, but they don’t know. And if your soulmate turns eighteen before you are even born, you never get a vision. Klaus gets his soulmate vision right after he orders Tyler to bite Caroline on her birthday….

Date of update: May 4 2021

White Winds Blow (Chapter 2)

Author: perfectpro

Rating: T

Length: 17,704

Summary: Caroline Forbes waits anxiously in the Riverlands to hear of the return of her betrothed, Elijah Mikaelson, from the uprising against the mad King Silas. Instead, a letter arrives from his younger brother, Lord Niklaus, telling her of Elijah's death and offering to uphold the joining of their houses himself. She will become the Lady of Winterfell, but Lord Niklaus, waiting at the heart tree, is a stranger.

Date of update: May 4 2021

later on, we'll conspire (Chapter 3)

Author: PumpkinDoodles

Rating: M

Length: 7,292

Summary: Caroline asks Klaus to choose her over revenge at the Winter Wonderland Party.

Date of update: May 5 2021

KC Drabbles 2021

Author: CandyCane1287

Rating: T

Length: 8,303

Summary: C1: Hybrid Klaus meets human Caroline earlier and they fall in love. But there’s more. Ps, Katherine didn’t turn Caroline and she’s still human. He used Elena for the sacrifice but Elijah revived her. He got Tyler to bite Caroline but Klaus healed her. Tyler and Caroline broke up cause he cheated on her and they weren’t that in love. A bit of talk of Damon, but doesn’t go into too much detail. I suck at summaries btw.

Date of update: May 5 2021

Revenge of the Fifth - TVD Edition

Author: kcatdino

Rating: M

Length: 4,057

Summary: A star wars AU for vampire dairies for May the Fourth Be with You! Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena are padawan learners at Luke Skywalker’s new Jedi training academy, desperate to prove themselves by taking down some of the new Sith Lords that have popped up. The problem is, those Sith Lords are the Mikaelsons, and each girl has a Mikaelson brother obsessed with them, unwilling to let them come to harm. Will that make it harder or easier for them to triumph over the Dark Side?

Date of update: May 6 2021

The Beach House (Chapter 2)

Author: kcatdino

Rating: M

Length: 3,812

Summary: When Rebekah blackmails Klaus into pretending to be her friend Caroline’s boyfriend for the weekend, he expects sand, sun, and horrible people who never left high school. And while Caroline’s friends may ‘suck’ (her term, not his), he increasingly enjoys the time he spends with the bubbly blonde. But nothing can happen, even while sharing a bed. Caroline might feel bad for dragging Klaus away from his infant daughter for the weekend, but the little intimacies and kisses for their performance build up and start to feel very real. And now she wants him bad. If only Rebekah hadn’t warned him off.

Date of update: May 5 2021

Author: VintageLilac

Rating: T

Length: 156,908

Summary: New York was home to the richest families in the in world. They were the elite and spent their days traveling the world, making money, and earning power. Although Manhattan wasn't just their home, it was their kingdom. Left with little parental supervision, no rules, and copious amounts of money, the infamous teenagers ran the city and as people say, long may they reign.

Date of update: May 6 2021

That Kind Of Power

Author: ThrowMeAStory

Rating: M

Length: 3,375

Summary: 4x16 au, Part 10. Caroline vs Elena.

Date of update: May 6 2021

Reasons Not to Date a Mikaelson (Chapter 5)

Author: kcatdino

Rating: T

Length: 9,517

Summary: Bonnie and Caroline gain a new roommate for their freshman dorm when a vision leads them to tracking down a pregnant Hayley in the Rockies. Also, Bonnie may or may not have raised a certain dead Original instead of Jeremy and Klaus takes a job at Whitmore teaching, to be annoying. He’s very good at it.

Date of update: May 7 2021

LITTLE TENSE (Chapter 3)

Author: wincefish16

Rating: T

Length: 3,592

Summary: Klaroline's life together as they work in Mikaelson and co. Different snippets of their life.

Date of update: May 7 2021

FFN: The Exclusivity Clause (Chapter 3)

AO3: The Exclusivity Clause (Chapter 3)

Author: slstmaraudersjple

Rating: M

Length: 12,529

Summary: When Klaus receives a call that his soulmate has been found after searching for her for almost a century, he sets off to claim her before his enemies can harm her. But his soulmate is human this time around, innocent and irresistible, and his wolf wants nothing more than to mark her. Soulmates Reincarnation AU.

Date of update: May 1st

FFN: Louder Than Thunder (Chapter 39)

AO3: Louder Than Thunder (Chapter 17)

Author: khaleesiofthewolves

Rating: M

Length: 256,589

Summary: All Hell was about to break loose. After dying while protecting a grieving Klaus, Caroline finds herself sent back in time, and she's not who she once was. She's more. Back in Mystic Falls, something else is stirring. After the arrival of a mysterious figure from Klaus' past, it all comes to a head. It really is louder than thunder.

Date of update: May 3 2021

FFN: Caroline the Not So Teenage Witch

AO3: Caroline the Not So Teenage Witch (Chapter 15)

Author: klarolineagainnaturally

Rating: T

Length: 35,304

Summary: Continuing the drabble inspired by Sabrina the Teenage Witch, young witch Caroline Forbes must learn to live with her old flame turned cat. Antics ensue as they try to get along and fix what has been done.

Date of update: May 3 2021

FFN: A Beautiful Symmetry (Chapter 155)

AO3: A Beautiful Symmetry (Chapter 155)

Author: Uppity Bitch

Rating: M

Length: 419,840

Summary: A collection of random AU one-shots featuring Klaroline. Chapter 155: Part 2 — Fright Wedding. This is a sequel to Chapter 141: Fright Wedding. The alliance with the Mikaelson kingdom failed when they declared war, but Caroline was certain Klaus would be an excellent ally. Or hostage. Or possibly something more?

Date of update: May 3 2021

FFN: Royals of New York (Chapter 28)

AO3: Royals of New York (Chapter 27)

Author: VintageLilac

Rating: T

Length: 162,215

Summary: New York's royals spend their days traveling the world, making money, and earning power. With little parental supervision, no rules, and copious amounts of money, their children have New York as their own personal kingdom. May their reign be long and prosperous.

Date of update: May 6 2021

[comeondowntosouthparkrpg-blog]

Bradley Christian

out of character info

Name/Alias: Tots

Pronouns: she/her

Age: 19

Join Our Discord: yea why not lol mine is cursed bitch #0955

Timezone: EST

Activity: it honestly really depends- between 6-8 on a good day tho

Triggers: n/a

Password: Jimmy can fastpass my ass

Character that you’re applying for: Bradley(not THAT one. the one from season 11 episode 2 Cartman Sucks)

Favourite ships for your character: Bradley x Butters, Bradley x chemistry

in character info

Full name: Bradley David Christian

Birthday: December 25th

Sexuality, gender, pronouns: closeted homosexual, male, he/him

Age and grade: 18, senior

Appearance: Temporary face claim is Valter Torsleff. Bradley is a very nervous person and it shows in his nubby fingernails, in the way that his shirts are wrinkled from clutching at them, the dark circles under his eyes and the way they dart around. He’s tall but it’s difficult to tell from the way he hunches over in some attempt to try and hide himself. At his full height Bradley is six foot even. His body is pathetically scrawny making him look like you could easily snap him in two. Seriously, get this kid a fucking sandwich or something.

Bradley has pasty skin, blue-grey eyes and short curly golden blond hair that’s shaved at the sides. He’s always clean shaven and has a gaunt, oval shaped face with a pointy chin. He speaks quickly and mumbles frequently.

His clothing is well put together- mostly because his parents still choose his wardrobe for him. Button down shirts. Nice slacks and shoes. Business casual is the best way to describe his wardrobe. He has a few casual looking articles of clothing(t-shirts that are either plain or have some stupid cheesy christian slogan or a scripture on it, maybe cargo shorts or sweatpants) but he’s very seldom seen wearing these. Usually they’re reserved for when he’s lounging at home or if it’s a required part of a uniform.

Personality: Christianity is Bradley’s whole world. It’s what he sleeps, eats, drinks and breaths. He wants nothing more than for the holy spirit to get inside him( ;) ). He spends hours and hours pouring over the bible, devotionals and other forms of christian media to keep himself in check. Deep down however he’s disgusted by all this and loathes it all but his irrational fear of god and his parents keeps him going.

He’s an extraordinarily anxious and timid person with twitchy hands and is consistently easy to startle. He’s a closeted homosexual, having gone through conversion therapy and been considered cured. Bradley knows he’s gay and he hates this part of himself. He’s full of internalized homophobia. He’ll do whatever he has to in order to try and ‘fix’ this part of himself. So far nothing has worked.

Because of his heavy involvement with the church Bradley is repressed in the sense that he doesn’t know who he is or what he likes that isn’t involved with the church. Any hobbies he has, any personality traits, has to be somehow linked to christianity. It makes him a boring person since he has nothing else to talk about but God. He doesn’t know what else to talk about because he’s never been allowed to think about anything else. Because of this, most people brush him off and he’s used to that. However he has a hard time being as adamant to people about converting them then other people in his church, he’s more timid and is worried about upsetting other people.

History: Having grown up in a heavily conservative, christian home, Bradley David Christian has known nothing but religion his whole life. Within a week of his birth, he had gone to church for the first time and continued to go for the entirety of his life. His parents were completely and totally enthralled with christianity and wanted nothing more than for Bradley to be every bit as religious as them.

His relationship with his parents is… less than ideal to be putting it lightly. They’re controlling and invasive. They put everything under a microscope and leave him with little to no privacy. They choose his wardrobe, choose if he’s allowed to continue being friends with someone or not, go through his phone and social media accounts and so on and so forth. Bradley knows this isn’t normal but there isn’t really anything he can do about it seeing as he still lives with him and is too young to be on his own. So he just tries to appease them and keep them as happy as possible, working to be their wet dream of a child.

The church he went to was very conservative and pushed the ‘Fear the Lord’ mentality leading him to being constantly anxious about having any sort of sin weighing on his soul. The idea of hell is terrifying, and he would do anything to avoid being sent there. Convinced that the rapture could occur at any given moment he worked to have his soul constantly free of sin. His parents had successfully indoctrinated their son into their religion.

As Bradley grew older, he started to notice that he was developing an attraction to the same sex and that terrified him. He prayed to God to fix him and when that didn’t work, tried to hide it. But eventually his parents found out and sent him to Camp New Grace.

The camp didn’t change Bradley(There was a brief period of time where a certain boy with a cute smile and bubbly laugh that made him think maybe it was okay to be gay but that hope was quickly squashed). In fact it probably left him in a worse state than when he first entered. But he could certainly convince himself that it did. Thinking he was cured, he was sent home only to discover, much to his chagrin, that he was still plagued by these demons. But the very last thing that Bradley wanted was to be sent back to that place so from that day forwards he did everything in his power to hide and repress that part of himself. After all, Camp New Grace did always say that being straight, being NORMAL, was a choice. So he could just…. choose to be hetero. He would be his own accountabillibuddy and keep himself in check.

Bradley became an extremely active member of the church, had brief relationships with girls that always ended with frustration and tears, ran the christianity clubs at his school, maintained perfect grades and above all tried to keep his life as free from sin as possible. But deep down he still felt that gnawing guilt in his heart knowing that he really was. The reminder clung at the back of his mind like a tumor. Whispering to him that no matter what he did, he would never be rid of it. It kept him up at night, made his heart pound in his chest when the church talked about the sin that was homosexuality, made him sweat when he tried to deny just how much a boy’s laugh could make his stomach flip or a smile could make his face heat up. But if he could keep himself pure, maybe- just maybe God could overlook that and he wouldn’t be sent to burn in the fiery pits of hell.

A kid could hope.

Sample paragraph: A success story. That’s what they called him. A shining example of how homosexuality was a choice, that Bradley had been able to overcome his sinful urges and become a pure, gleaming light for the Lord Almighty.

The thought burned like acid in his throat, ate at his stomach, twisted his guts into painful knots. He was a liar and he knew it. He knew he was sinning every time his heart flipped when a handsome boy would call his name. Sinning when only thoughts of masculine voices could stir a fire in the pit of his stomach. Sinning every night when all he had was his own thoughts and fantasies.

It was ripping him apart, all the lies, the lust, the desires- he was an abomination wearing the skin of a holy man. Did that make him worse than the average sinner? He prayed, day and night, for forgiveness from a God he both feared and worshiped.

“Bradley, why don’t you share with the congregation how you were you able to overcome these desires?” the pastor asked, a smug gleam in his eye. Wasn’t pride a sin?

“W-well-” His hand twitched as Bradley had to remind himself to not lift his hand and chew at it. Instead he settled for rubbing the back of his neck, fingers catching on locks on the back of his head and anxiously tugging. Scriptures- scriptures- “As Matthew 26:41 says, ‘Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.’. So uh, I prayed. A lot. And the power of prayer… helped me overcome my temptations?"

The priest smiled like Bradley had gotten a correct answer on a test. His anxiety lessened for only a brief moment. The fear, the anxiety was always at the back of his mind. His hand pulled away from his hair to clutch tightly at his chair. This was humiliating. He didn’t want a soul to know about how he had struggled. How he was still struggling. But here Bradley was, in front of a group of kids lying to them about how they too could overcome temptations and sin to become pure in the eyes of God. He licked at his dry lips. “I’ve even uh, been able to have a few girlfriends.” His eyes darted at the kids and saw himself in their faces. “Anything is possible through the power of God.”

The way the priest smiled, his lips curling, made Bradley feel sick. Did he know what was going on in his head? Was he aware of the lies pouring from his lips or was he just proud of his ability to ‘fix’ people? Bradley wanted to vanish from here. Being near one of these conversion therapy places was the last thing he ever wanted but his parents insisted it would be ‘good’ for him to share his story. They’d arranged everything, written the emails for him and sent him here.

“Now, do you still experience those old…. Urges?”

Did the way his head shot up make him look guilty? “What? Uh- no- I mean uh-” Lying. He hated it. “Y-yeah. But I just pray to God in those moments. And he helps me.”

The priest’s face tightened, lips pressed into a thin line and a quick nod followed. Bradley felt like someone had stuck a knife into his stomach and twisted it. Should he have said something different? But the holy man laughed- “Well maybe you should come back and do our little program! Just kidding.” Bradley could taste metal in his mouth at the thought but forced out a laugh of his own.

“M-maybe!"

His limbs felt like tightly wound coils, ready to spring out of the chair and run from here. His muscles were tense and he couldn’t keep himself still. Hands gripping, twitching, leg bouncing, eyes darting. Did he look like a liar or just like someone with stage fright?

“Well, thank you for coming and speaking with us Bradley. God truly has blessed you.” Was it over? Relief washed over him. He smiled and lied once more.

“It was good to be here.”

Headcanons: nervous tick extraordinaire. He constantly tries(and fails) to break his finger biting habit through using fidget toys and fidgeting in other ways but always goes back to it. He has a tendency to pull at his hair as well as recite scriptures from the bible to keep himself in line. Part of why he’s so skinny is because he makes himself so nervous he gets sick and can’t eat or throws up whatever's in his stomach.

Anything else: I hope this meets the length requirements! Hope to hear from you dudes soon, constructive criticism is always welcomed and encouraged even if I’m not accepted!

[joyfullynervouscreator]

Song of Nimrodel pt 2

Imagine Haldir being shocked that you have an interest in him, because he’s nothing like other elves. Imagine Rumil introducing you to his brothers.

Why do small drabbles suddenly demand more chapters??

word count 3026

You were singing, a joyous tune flowing through the mallorn trees.

“You seem happy today, mellon,” someone said. You spun, a happy smile on your face.

“Rumil!” you cried, smiling at your friend. “You’re back from the southern borders!”

“I am, but that is not what put a smile on my nightingale’s face,” he replied. “Tell me why you are singing today, Curulaeril?” You smiled, picking up the skirts of your green dress in a formal courtesy.

“I may have learned a new song to please my Lady Galadriel …” you teased. Rumil scoffed, obviously in disbelief. You laughed, a free and joyous sound as you one more recalled the look in his eyes when he kissed your palm. “Or I may have met a very handsome ellon,” you added coyly, knowing that your cheeks were afire as Rumil chuckled.

“I think I will believe the latter. Who is the lucky one to have caught the eyes of our beloved song lark’s heart?” an elleth interrupted.

“La-Lady Galadriel!” you curtseyed hastily, your patron lady smiling.

“Answer the question, lady Curulaeril,” she continued. “I am always in want of news of new love.” Your cheeks heated further. Beside you, Rumil was quiet. It wasn’t often that the border patrols found themselves in the presence of the Lady of Light; at least, not as often as you did, as the foremost minstrel favoured by the Lady’s patronage.

“Well, it is not love yet,” you admitted, your blush deepening under the Lady’s blue gaze, “for though he has turned my heart to song, I have met him but the once.”

“What is his name, child?” Galadriel asked. You blushed. She was not wrong to call you thus, being many millennia your senior, even if you had recently celebrated your 1200th birthday.

“He called himself Haldir, my Lady, one of your famed Marsh Wardens,” you said with a soft smile. Rumil gasped. You turned to glance at him, but he seemed frozen, unable to speak. “It is silly of me, perhaps, but…” you did not continue, but the Lady’s hand was kind when she raised your face to her ancient eyes.

Do not fear, Curulaeril, beloved singer… none will think you foolish for feeling joy in the company of a worthy ellon. Galadriel smiled as her words sounded in your head. You bowed deeply once more when she let go of your chin, and Galadriel disappeared as silently as she had arrived.

“You fancy… fancy… Commander Haldir?” Rumil croaked. You frowned at him.

“And why should you object?” you asked your friend waspishly. “Do you not think me beautiful enough that he might think fondly of our meeting as I do? Or do you simply consider me unworthy of your commander?” Rumil’s mouth opened and closed a few times, but uttered no words to defend himself against your angry accusation. With a huff, you stormed off angrily. Perhaps you were being foolish, thinking that look on his face meant something, you thought sadly, climbing the long stair to your talan in deep thought.

 “Curu!” Oreliel met you as you stepped onto the floor of your home with a large smile. You ruffled her hair gently, but you were in no mood for company. You felt guilty for snapping at Rumil, but he had touched a nerve you had yet to discover with his thoughtless words. The way he had emphasized you made it sound like your small flame was as preposterous as if you had proposed wedding an Ent.

“I’m not in the mood tonight, Oreliel,” you sighed. Your sister’s face fell slightly, but returned a little when you bent to kiss her brow. “Go back to Naneth, pinig,” you murmured, watching as she scampered along the treetop walkway that connected your home with your neighbours’. With a sigh, you stood to stare across the vastness of the forest, spread out like a golden carpet beneath your eyes. You had chosen this tree because it gave you a clear view of the forest below – the favour of the Lady did have perks, and your home high up in the sky was one such perk – all the way to the river. You stood on the northern edge of Caras Galadhon; if you looked west you could follow the ribbon that was Celebrant all the way to Nanduhirion, and if you turned north you could see the waters of the great Anduin in the distance beyond the hill of Cerin Amroth. Tonight, you faced west, almost dreaming that you could penetrate the dense foliage with your eyes and catch sight of one of the elusive camps of the Marsh Wardens which dotted the perimeter of Lothlórien.  A far-off sparkle was Nimrodel, where you had met Haldir only days ago. You wondered where he was now, whether he was still on guard facing Moria, or whether he had moved further north in the great circle the Wardens used to ensure that no part of the land was left unprotected for long.

 “You have an admirer, brother,” Rumil said quietly, when he returned to the Western border camp. He wasn’t expected back yet – it was assumed that messengers to the Lord and Lady would spend at least a day in Caras Galadhon visiting with friends and family before returning unless their message was urgent.

“You are back already, Rumil?” Haldir queried, before Rumil’s words sank in. His eyes widened and he spun to face his oft-teasing brother. “I have a what?” he muttered, certain he must have misheard. Rumil looked uncommonly serious, however, no glimmer of a jest in his eyes or countenance.

“Remember I told you about my friend ‘Curu’?” Rumil began carefully. Haldir nodded. He did remember Rumil talking about the talented Curu, whom he had met at a feast some decades earlier.

“I do remember that. She is a singer, isn’t she? Favoured by the Lady, so you said.” Haldir searched his memory, but that was all he remembered of Rumil’s ‘Curu’.

“One of our finest voices, brother,” Rumil sighed, wishing that Haldir would actually agree to go to the official feasts every now and again – once a century, even – just sometimes. “She told me you met someone by Nimrodel.”

Haldir wondered if ‘his’ Lirien had told ‘Curu’ of their meeting – why else would Rumil know? Haldir would have been satisfied to keep the encounter as a beautiful memory, to be enjoyed only by him as a shield against the darkness that threatened their borders; a reminder that he was fighting for the beauty of his homeland. “I did,” he admitted. “A Lady most fair, who graced my patrol with her song. I found her by Nimrodel with her daughter,” Haldir had recognised the elleth’s features in the golden elfling, had seen the love she held for the girl in the way she played with her, sang for her. He had watched for some time, enchanted, before he had heard himself utter the next verse of her song.

“Her youngest sister, brother,” Rumil corrected. Haldir’s heart beat slightly erratically in his chest, as a tiny seed of hope burst into vivid life, only to be ruthlessly squashed by his rational mind an instant later. Even if she were not already wed, she would not dream to look at one such as you, his mind snarled. Such beauty will never be yours to claim, only to admire from afar, the same admiration you hold for the Lady of Light herself. “And I heard it – from her own lips, no less – that your meeting stirred something in her heart.” Not true, Haldir’s mind wailed, cannot be true. He knew, of course, that he was not like other ellyn in Lothlórien, his bulky build at odds with the slender bodies around him, corded muscle instead of wiry strength. It had never been said, but Haldir had wondered if perhaps he did not share true parentage with his brothers, who looked little like him aside from their blonde hair.

“You speak fancifully today, Rumil,” he rebuked harshly, feeling guilty for it but unable to stop his voice reflecting the pain of his thoughts. “Perhaps you have partaken too heavily of the sweet wine.”

“This is no jest, Haldir,” Rumil argued, his voice rising in volume as his temper flared. “I heard it. Spoken before me, as clearly as I hear you words now, and said in front of our Lady, no less!”

“A fanciful dream of yours, Rumil, I’ll hear no more of it!” Haldir raged, turning on his heel to march away from his infuriating sibling. Rumil stared after his broad shoulders, sadness in his eyes.

 “Curu!” You recognised Rumil’s voice calling from below with a sigh. Since your argument, you had felt guilty for snapping at him, considering how rarely you actually got to meet because he was so often away with the Wardens.

“Rumil?” you asked, sticking your head over the edge of your talan. “I am sorry, mellon, for my outburst when last we spoke,” you added quietly. “I hope you will not hold it against me.”

“I forgive you,” he replied, a bright smile lighting his features.

“I had thought you returned to the borders by now, Rumil,” you noted when he began climbing the steps that would lead him to your floor, a strange blonde elf following him. Turning away, you picked up a pitcher of elderflower wine, pouring the delicious beverage into three silver goblets you had been given as part of your payment for singing at the silversmith’s wedding feast. “Who is your friend?” you asked, handing each of your guests a goblet and waving them to sit on the scattered cushions. Folding your legs gracefully, you sank down on your favourite cushion, a large and soft pillow made from embroidered green silk in your favourite colour.

“This is Orophin, my brother,” Rumil said. Orophin bowed politely. You smiled, the gracious hostess as ever, though you felt a little discomforted by the intense stare that seemed to take in every part of you, every flaw in your person.

“I am pleased to meet you, Orophin,” you nodded at him.

“As I am you, my Lady.” His voice was pleasant, you thought, though not as deep as the one that seemed to find itself wending through your waking dreams. You thought once more of the mysterious Haldir. You had heard his name mentioned, heard him hailed as a warrior of renown, but you had never met him before that day by the Nimrodel. You did not remember seeing him at feasts; even if you usually sang with your eyes closed, you thought you would have noticed his impressive physique in the crowds or during the dancing parts of the celebrations.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” you asked, fixing your gaze on Rumil who seemed oddly fidgety.

“Well,” he began, trailing off indecisively.

“We wish for a favour,” his brother interjected, elbowing him none-too-gently.

“A favour,” you repeated, feeling confused. “Certainly, I would grant you a favour, Rumil, if you ask it of me. What do you wish me to do?” Your words did not seem to still Rumil’s fidgeting, however, and you frowned lightly at his usually sunny disposition so warped he seemed almost scared.

“We wish you to sing, my Lady,” Orophin intervened once more.

“A special song?” you asked, beginning to think you knew why Rumil was so nervous. “Have you found your own small flame and wish my help to fan it?” you asked, with a pleased smile. “I should be glad to aid you, mellon, why were you so nervous about asking?” You laughed, reaching out to squeeze Rumil’s hand. “What is the song?”

“Lullaby,” Rumil replied breathlessly while beside him Orophin’s smile was like the sun appearing on a drizzly day. “We want you to sing a lullaby.” A peculiar request, you thought, hardly the most romantic of the songs you knew, but perhaps it was special to Rumil’s sweetheart?

 Five days later, you were sitting in a tree, your usual flowing dresses and robes replaced with a more practical tunic of soft linen and wool over a pair of leather beeches. The knee-high boots were technically your naneth’s, but they fit well and you did not have a set of your own, preferring to walk barefoot or wearing your silk slippers. Orophin sat beside you, still and watchful, and Rumil had gone off – presumably to fetch whomever he wanted to woo with your singing. You had practised the song, humming the melody as you gazed down from your branch, hoping to spot Rumil and his ladylove so you knew when you ought to start. Orophin’s elbow in your ribs almost pushed you from your perch, but he managed to right your flailing easily. You glared at him.

“Sing!” he hissed. Your glare intensified.

“Sing all ye joyful, now sing all together! The wind’s in the tree-top, the wind's in the heather; The stars are in blossom, the moon is in flower, And bright are the windows of Night in her tower.”

You sang it slowly, the proper pacing for a lullaby, your eyes closed with the ease of a long habit as you let your voice sound among the trees. Dance all ye joyful, now dance all together! Soft is the grass, and let foot be like feather!

You heard a slight gasp, opening your eyes to finish the verse. You stared.

The river is silver, the shadows are fleeting; Merry is May-time, and merry our meeting.

Rumil had returned, indeed, though he had not brought an elleth to hear you, but his commander, Haldir!

“Yes…” Rumil began awkwardly, though you hardly cared, simply enjoying watching emotions play across Haldir’s face, which was somehow more chiseled than you recalled from the day at Nimrodel. “Err… this is my friend Curulaeril,” he gestured vaguely at you. “And this is my brother.” You turned your head to look for Orophin, but he had disappeared silently. “Haldir.” Rumil added helplessly.

“Commander Haldir is your brother?” you asked. Why had he not to- oh. You kept your face serenely blank, trying to hide the hurt you felt at realizing that your friend really didn’t think you were worthy of his brother.

“You know, when Rumil told me he had found a singing lark in a tree…” Haldir said. You chuckled, keeping the sadness off your face through sheer stubbornness. Leaping from your branch, you bowed to the two Ellyn.

“You did not expect myself,” you replied to Haldir, finding a small smile for him somewhere, but not feeling able to bear looking at the Rumil you had thought you knew, the elf you had called friend. No friend would have made you feel this ill-used, however, you thought, a sudden stab of fury in your gut. “I shall be on my way, Marsh Wardens.”

“I was… pleased to have heard your voice once more, fair Curulaeril,” Haldir mumbled, none of the interest in his eyes that had been present during your last encounter. You wondered if a heart once broken could continue breaking. Obviously, Haldir had no interest in you, and this was Rumil’s tasteless attempt at making a joke at your expense. “Perhaps I will hear you again at the next feast.” You did not think it likely. Even if he showed up, you could probably find a way to avoid him until you moved past your fanciful notions of infatuation. Nodding in polite disinterest, you turned for home.

“At least let us escort you back!” Rumil offered, sounding almost desperate.

“I need no favours from you, Marsh Warden,” you said, making a supreme effort at keeping your voice steady as you began to walk swiftly away from the two brothers.

 “What was this, Rumil?” Haldir asked quietly, looking at his younger brother.

“I just wanted you to meet officially!” Rumil tried. Haldir’s stern look only darkened.

“I specifically asked you not to try to find the Lady from Nimrodel!” he roared. “Did you think – simply because I liked her song and she continued singing in my presence – that she would wish to be so invaded twice?!” Looking at her today, she was still fair, fairer than any he’d seen, but she had not had the same spark of joy as he had cherished at Nimrodel, and now that memory felt tarnished, less beautiful than before. “Why are all your jests so…” Haldir paused, struggling for the right word. “…cruel. What you did to her today was cruel, and what you did to me equally so.”

“But, I-”

“Rumil, I was happy not knowing who she was. She was a pleasant memory, simply a beautiful moment between two elves and you… you ruined it.” Haldir was angry, and sad, and hurt, and he didn’t even know he was able to feel all that at the same time, but mostly he was furious that Rumil had made him a co-conspirator. It seemed obvious to Haldir that Curulaeril – he had preferred it when he could call her Lady Lirulin in his mind and watch her blue eyes sparkle at him – sought peace outside the capital, and Rumil had broken her trust by leading a comparable stranger into her space to gawk at her like she was, well, a caged lark, made to sing on command. Haldir stomped off, calling back over his shoulder, “Go pester Orophin for a while, brother, and do not interfere in my life or hers again. I do not think she will call you her friend after today.” Haldir had caught the flash of betrayal on her face, though she hid it quickly, and the memory pained him more than he wanted to admit, feeling responsible for Rumil’s poor prank.

 You nearly flew through the forest, though this time you did not feel like singing with joy. You felt like crying, but you held back the tears until you had reached your home, dragging yourself up the staircase that had never seemed too long before and throwing yourself onto your bed. The tears flowed freely.

Chapter [1] [2] [2.5] [3] [4] [5]