#rhugar

[elvish-sky]

A Light From the Shadows Chapter 1- Well, That Went Wrong Quickly

Aragorn x Original Character (Aeri)

A.N: Holy crap, I can't believe this is actually happening and I'm actually posting it! This has been my pet project for the past few weeks, and I'm so excited to see where this story takes me. I'm equally excited to hear your thoughts on it- please tell me anything and everything! I hope you love it as much as I do!

Series Masterlist | Wattpad | Ao3

****

“Ouch!”

Calenglîn, lost in thoughts of the abundance of food waiting for her at home, had walked right into something, hitting her nose. She ricocheted backward, sprawling on the ground at the feet of what she now saw was a… human?

He offered her a hand to stand. “So much for the gracefulness of elves.”

She blushed, giggling, as his hand drew her close so that she was gazing up into his eyes.

“Who are you?”

He flashed his most charming smile. “Eddard of Rohan. May I ask your name?”

“Calenglîn. Of Lothlorien, obviously.”

Eddard laughed, and with the sound of his laughter, Calenglîn swore she could hear her future with him calling to her.

Aeri leaned back, the wooden legs of her chair creaking as she shifted, stretching.

In the next room, her mother and father were speaking in low whispers, the kind that adults use when they know something is wrong, but they don’t want you to realize.

Eddard leaned closer to his wife. “There’s something out there. Something evil.”

“It’s Rhugar. I can feel it.” Calenglîn whispered.

Eddard nodded. “We have to leave now. We have to protect Aeri.”

And as the human’s brain whirred with plans to protect his daughter, it also took him back to a day, many years earlier.

The elf grabbed her daggers and bustled into the next room. “Aeri! We’re leaving. Grab all your weapons.”

Aeri leaned back too far in surprise and crashed to the floor.

“What? Why?!”

“No time,” Eddard brushed past her, sheathing his sword and donning his shoes, “we have to go.”

Aeri stood and rushed to her room, grabbing her pack and stuffing mementos inside- the carved oliphaunt that her uncle had brought her decades ago, the lucky rock she’d found in a stream one day, her journal, and of course her twin daggers, given to her by her mother. She strapped them on as she cinched the bag closed, grabbing her cloak from its hook on the wall on her way out.

Aeri emerged into the hallway to see Eddard frantically waving her out the door, eyes wide. Calenglîn was shouldering her pack as Aeri burst outside, hands coming to rest on her daughter’s shoulders.

“What’s going on?”

“Something bad is coming, Aeri, can you sense it?”

Aeri nodded.

Calenglîn continued, “it’s a lieutenant of Mordor.”

Aeri’s fists tightened. “Is he coming for us?”

Eddard’s eyes were sad as he gazed at his wife, as her silence grew and his daughter turned to him.

“Dad? Is he coming for us?”

Eddard nodded.

“So what do we do?”

“We run,” said Calenglîn.

Rhugar knelt, looking at the footprint pressed into the dirt below him.

“It’s fresh. We’re closing in.”

The orcs around him grunted in acknowledgment.

Rhugar stood and unsheathed his sword, gesturing for the orcs to follow him. The elf was so close, he could sense her. The traitorous elf Calenglîn who had eloped with a filthy human, and bore him a daughter.

The daughter and husband that were with her, now.

The husband that he was going to kill, while she watched.

The daughter that he was going to bring back to his master, for his master had not seen the offspring of an elf and a human in a very long time, and wanted to know how she was different.

Wanted to know what she could do.

Wanted to know if she was different enough for them to use.

Aeri crouched behind a bush, chest heaving, a parent on either side. She listened to the rustling of the bushes and the enemies closing in on them, getting closer and closer with every step.

Calenglîn shared a look of despair with her husband over their daughter’s head. She knew their family would not be able to survive this. Someone wasn’t going to make it. She knew that she and Eddard would not, could not survive this. But they could buy Aeri time.

“Aeri,” she whispered, grabbing her daughter’s shoulders. “Listen to me. You go, run, and run far. Go to the cabin. Don’t let them find you.”

Calenglîn pressed a kiss to Aeri’s forehead.

Aeri looked up at her, tears brimming in her blue eyes.

“B-but what will you do?”

Eddard looked his daughter in the eye.

“We’ll be fine, love. Now go.”

Aeri hesitated.

“Now, Aerinithil!”

Eddard gave her a little push, and Aeri stumbled to her feet. She looked back down at her parents. Her mother was smiling at her. It was a sad smile, a smile of all the things left unsaid, a smile that conveyed the pride she had in her daughter. Her father had that same smile, full of laughter and love and hope. Hope that his daughter would survive.

Eddard and Calenglîn nodded at her, their Aeri.

Her father’s hand flicked out in the motion he always used when they were training, the one that meant ‘sprint.’

A drop of water fell on her cheek, and Aeri realized she was crying.

“We love you, Aerinithil,” Eddard told her.

“We always will,” added Calenglîn.

Eddard shaded his hand over his eyes as he waited, periodically lifting it to check the position of the sun. Calenglîn had wanted to meet here, in the spot where they’d met for the first time five years ago.

Eddard had been away for a month on business for his king but had faked his death after completing the mission. He didn’t want to risk his new life. It was one of the many plans he and Calenglîn had put into place over the years to protect themselves.

And there she was, stepping out from behind a towering tree, radiant as always.

“Eddard,” she breathed, and then ran to him and kissed him.

“I’ve missed you, my love,” he told her when she drew away.

“I’ve missed you too.”

Calenglîn took a deep breath. “Are you ready?”

Eddard nodded. “With you, I’m ready for anything.”

“Now go,” Eddard said.

So Aeri went.

Her legs moved faster and faster as she ran further and further, the words her parents had just spoken ringing in her ears as she tried and failed to not think about what she was leaving behind.

Her home.

Her life.

Her family.

The parents who had told her to run.

That’s what they told me.

That’s what they said.

That’s what they wanted.

They had wanted her to go, to save herself, to escape. She was doing what they’d wanted.

And then two screams ran out.

And she stopped.

And turned, running back as the screams of the two people she loved more than anything else, the two people who had each given up a world for her, who had now done that twice, rang through the forest.

She stumbled to a halt in the clearing, dropping to her knees at the sight before her.

There they lay.

Eddard and Calenglîn.

Hands entwined.

Not moving, not breathing, just there.

Aeri crawled over to them, prodding, poking, hoping that maybe the gruesome wounds covering their bodies weren’t fatal.

“Emmë?” she shook her mother’s hand.

Calenglîn didn’t move.

Aeri crawled to her father.

“Dad?” she whispered.

Eddard stayed still.

Aeri pressed two fingers to her father’s pulse. Then to her mother’s.

They were dead.

Hope lost, Aeri sat back onto her heels, looking up at the sky.

And she screamed.

It was a scream of pure pain, grief, and hurt and shame and despair all coming together. Because that’s what it was. Pure, unrelenting pain, deep in her heart.

Rhugar paused at the edge of the clearing, watching her scream and sob.

Metal against steel rang out around the clearing, and Aeri grew quiet. A sword was emerging from its sheath. She turned.

An elf stood over her. He was tall, with reddish-brown hair and eyes the color of a stormy sea, glaring down at her with his sword raised above her head. And he looked familiar.

“Uncle Rhugar?” Aeri whispered.

The day that Calenglîn found out she was pregnant was a joyous one. She had brought Eddard to Lothlorien, he’d been before but they hadn’t been wed then. She wanted him to meet her family.

Calenglîn burst into the room, eyes sparkling as she made a beeline for her husband, one of three other people in the room.

“Love,” she whispered, “I’m pregnant.”

Eddard’s eyes were positively glowing with joy. “Really?”

She nodded. “Really.”

Rhugar watched the couple celebrate, offering his own congratulations, the wheels in his brain turning. He was going to have a niece or nephew. A half-human niece or nephew. He wasn’t sure what he thought of that.

She saw him smirk, then nod, eyes glinting with something akin to malice.

And then his sword flashed down towards her head, and everything went black.

****

everything tag: @entishramblings @itgetsatadhazy @boyruins @anjhope1 @kumqu4t @katbby16 @thewhiteladyofrohan @kirstenscaffeinateddisaster @beenovel @shethereadinghobbit @guardianofrivendell @hey-its-nonny

aeri tag: @grunid

[4mumy]

If your doctor has suggested medication for your baby’s reflux here is what you need to know. 🦠 Proton Pump Inhibitors- Omeprazole and Gaviscon among many are used to help against baby reflux but what they don’t tell you is the side effects from using these drugs. PPI’s work to reduce the production of stomach acids, it does not cure or help with the underlying problem that is causing the reflux in the first place. It’s important to know how the body functions and that stomach acids are there fir a reason. Gastric acid play an important role in your baby’s immunity. It stops bad bacteria from going into the intestines that can cause challenges. Which means your baby is more susceptible to infections while on PPI’s They also disrupts proteins, fats and vitamins from being absorbed efficiently. It’s important to talk to you medical provider or someone who will be able to help you. If your baby is on PPIs it’s important to keep going until you get professional advice. Baby’s need to be weaned of slowly. 🦠If your baby is in reflux medication then it’s a good idea to introduce probiotics. Good gut bacteria to help the decreased levels due to PPI’s Probiotics for breastfeeding mums is also a good idea. 🌿Herbal remedies can also help such as chamomile, Rhugar and other natural options to help your baby through this difficult time. Talking to a herbalist or naturopath can be great options for you. Diet elimination is your last resort as this often isn’t what is causing the reflux however their are babies that do get better by eliminating or I would say reducing dairy or other foods. Please talk to you health care provider to discuss options and never take the answer “Its Normal” when it comes to reflux and your baby. It’s not normal! As I have mentioned before, looking at feeding routines, tongue tie, latching challenges and sleep, all have an impact on your baby’s reflux. #baby #babysleep #babyreflux #babysleeproutine #babysleepcoach #babysleeptips #newbornbaby #newborns #newborntummy #cryingbaby #breastfeeding #breastfedbaby (at London, United Kingdom) https://www.instagram.com/p/Chh4OM3MdDG/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[elvish-sky]

Ooh ok that’s an excellent question!!

For my OCs from ALFTS (Aerinithil, Rhugar, Calenglîn, Eddard), I tried to incorporate both names that I liked and meanings. I used an elvish dictionary to put together the names of the elves (Eddard is just named after Ned Stark lol).

But I guess the most complicated name is Aerinithil which means ‘sea of moonlight’. this name took me almost a week to craft- and i asked for many people’s opinions on it! I started just be finding the prefix- the name Aerin is incredibly special to me, and ‘Aer’ means sea in Sindarin. From there I found the suffix- ithil, meaning moonlight, on the elvish dictionary and put them together!

So yeah. My biggest tips are just to base OC names off of names you love, because it just adds more meaning to the character. And if you’re creating Tolkien OCs- elfdict.com and many other Tolkien dictionaries are fantastic- especially because most of his character names are crafted from his languages!

I hope this helps!

How do y’all choose names for your OC’s? The names I come up with are either too short and modern or too long and clunky

tagging @claraofthepen and @elvish-sky because you two have like the most intricate ones that i’ve seen so far but if anyone has any advice, please tell me!

[elvish-sky]

ALFTS Original Characters

created with artbreeder.com

Aeri Rhugar

Eddard Calenglîn

Familial Connections

Eddard is a human who fell in love with the elf Calenglîn. They got married and had Aeri together. Rhugar is Calenglîn’s younger brother.

Nomenclature

all names are Late Period Sindarin

Aerinithil~ roughly translates to ‘sea of moonlight’.

Calenglîn~ roughly translates to ‘bright gleam’.

Rhugar~ directly translates to ‘evil, sinner’.

Eddard~ no elvish meaning, i just love Ned Stark and thought i’d pay homage to Sean Bean.

@grunid @beenovel @katbby16 @morrigan-of-beleriand @entishramblings

@laurfilijames i figured you might want to see this! :)

[elvish-sky]

A Light From the Shadows Chapter 3- We Always Keep Going, or The One Where Shit Goes Down. Literally.

A.N: Indecision strikes again in the form of me honestly not being able to pick a title for this chapter- so I picked two! Also- I won’t be able to post fics (b/c no access to AO3 or Google Drive) tomorrow or Sunday, which is why this is being posted today. This is the first chapter, and honestly the first thing I've written in so long that I like and am actually proud of. I feel like I might be getting back into the writing groove? Fingers crossed! But, seriously, thank you all for the love and support of this fic. I am so happy you like it <3. Also i’m very excited for your reactions to the canon characters showing up…

Warning: Blood, Angst

A Light From the Shadows Masterlist

Read on Wattpad and AO3

*******

The faint grey light of the moon filtered down into the cell from a small crack in the stone ceiling, barely illuminating Aeri’s face. It cast a shadow across her hands and set the vaguely familiar face of the elf passed out in the cell next to her aglow.

Aeri lay on the cold stone floor, hands and feet still bound. Her fingers flexed as she tried to get some blood flowing to her arms. She’d been in the same position for a very long time- it was so dark that she could not tell exactly how long had passed since Rhugar had dumped the body in the cell next door.

“Where am I?” a weak voice asked.

Aeri started. She turned her head and saw the other elf clinging to the bars separating them, even more, familiar with her eyes open.

She looked so scared, terror illuminating her face just as the moon had moments before.

“Please tell me. Where am I?” She clutched at the bars desperately.

Aeri shifted, trying to move closer. “You’re in Dol Guldur.”

The elf looked horrified. “Really?”

Aeri nodded, and she could see the despair crashing over the elf’s face. She tried to think of a way to distract her.

“Who are you?”

The elf looked away, “I don’t know if I can tell you that.”

Aeri sighed. “Fine. Will it help if I tell you my name first?”

She didn’t respond, so Aeri continued.

“I’m Aerinithil.”

The elf’s spine straightened, eyes widening in shock. “Really?”

Aeri couldn’t help but laugh. “I think I’d know my own name. But how do you know it?”

“You’re Calenglîn’s daughter! The one she had with that human.”

Aeri grew wary. “How do you know my mother?”

The elf had a faint smile on her face, reminiscing. “We were best friends, inseparable until she left with Eddard.”

And then Aeri realized where she’d seen her before.

“...Celebrían?”

The elf nodded. And then passed out.

Aeri scrambled over to her, chains clanking against the rock-solid floor as she crashed into the bars separating them.

“Celebrían!!! Celebrían! Please wake up, please, please, please…”

Aeri trailed off. She’d been shaking Celebrían through the bars and rolled the elf over to see blood spilling through her dress, pooling on the floor underneath her. Aeri parted the fabric at the source, on the left side of Celebrían’s abdomen, and saw a stab wound, bleeding and so clearly infected Aeri was sure the blade that had done it had been poisoned.

“Oh no, no no no no no,” Aeri muttered, scrambling for something to stop the bleeding. She looked down at herself, the ragged hem of her tunic. Quickly, she tore it off and tried to wrap it around Celebrían through the bars of the cell. She succeeded, getting the fabric over Celebrían’s wound and tied it, contorting her arms through the bars.

Aeri heard padding footsteps, the ones that she now recognized as belonging to Rhugar, and panicked. Celebrían was passed out, possibly dying, because of a clearly poisoned stab wound in her side, and Aeri was sure that Rhugar would only make it worse. She had to do something. And she had to do it now.

Aeri knew that the one thing that could help her now was the thing she was terrified to do- at some point when she was bleeding, broken on the floor, something had seeped into her. A shadow. She’d spent the time in this cell learning its language, and now she called them all, whispering, muttering to the very things that had once sought to destroy her.

And they came.

Darkness spread across the cell as Aeri’s hands moved, directing the shadows to cover each wall and crack and crevice until there was no light at all. Aeri realized that she could sense shapes in the darkness- she could feel Celebrían’s hair like it was brushing against her hand instead of attached to the elf’s head a foot away. She was aware of everything happening in the pool of shadow she had created that spanned the two cells.

She sent shadows worming into the manacles on her ankles and wrists, worming their way into the very heart of the metal, and then the darkness expanded, corrupting the metal until it collapsed off of her wrists. She did the same to those shackling Celebrían, heard the clink of the broken shackles on the floor once the shadows had done their work, and called them back to her.

Aeri heard Rhugar drawing closer and closer to the cell, and drew back the shadows so that there was a small circle of light around her and Celebrían, but darkness still separated them from the doorways to both cells.

Rhugar opened the cell door and saw nothing but darkness. The entire cell was just pitch-black- he’d been able to at least see his hand in front of his face when he’d been in here before. But this was different. There wasn’t a little light that made it easier to bear- this was the total absence of light.

“Aerinithil…” Rhugar entered the cell, unsheathing his sword as he moved, trying to find his niece.

Aeri crouched, waiting in the pool of light she’d left for herself and Celebrían. She could feel where Rhugar was in the cell and felt it as he drew closer and closer. Just as she sensed him about to emerge from the dark, she put her hands behind her back.

Rhugar stepped forward, emerging into the light. He threw up a hand to shield his eyes from the sudden brightness.

Aeri watched him, waiting for him to look down and notice him. He blinked, trying to adjust to the light and when he looked at her he grinned.

“Ah. There you are,” he drew closer, “but what’s going on with our friend over there?” He gestured to Celebrían.

Aeri waited as Rhugar padded over to the bars separating them from the elf. Her hands twitched behind her back, flexing.

“Where are her chains, Aerinithil?” His voice had a dangerous edge.

Rhugar turned to look at his niece once more, and Aeri took a deep breath.

She raised her hands, shrugging. “I don’t know.”

It took him a second to notice the lack of manacles on her as well, but when he did, the expression on his face was almost comical. Until it became twisted, wrong, his face echoing the evil in his eyes.

“What. Did. You. Do?”

Aeri raised her unshackled hands. “I learned.”

She brought them together and the darkness rushed in around them, shadows racing forward at her call to bind Rhugar’s wrists and ankles the way he’d bound hers, forcing him down until he was kneeling at her feet.

“Farewell, Uncle,” she told him, and then punched him in the face. Rhugar collapsed onto the floor, unconscious, and Aeri limped past him.

She left her cell and approached the still-locked door of the one next to it. Twisting her hand, she called a shadow and directed into the metal of the lock, corrupting it until it fell apart. She shoved the door open, wincing at the shriek of metal against stone, and saw Celebrían laying on the floor. Aeri rushed over to the elf, kneeling beside her and trying to shake her awake, careful not to touch her wound.

“Celebrían, please, wake up, please wake up.”

Celebrían’s eyes opened. “Aerinithil?”

Aeri nodded, blinking back tears of relief. “Yes, yes, it’s me. Can you stand? We have to go!”

Celebrían winced. “I do not know if I have the strength.”

“You have to.”

Aeri heaved Celebrían to her feet, apologizing as the elf cried out in pain. She slung Celebrían’s arm over her shoulders, supporting her, and they walked out the door together, both limping, Celebrían hanging on to Aeri like her life depended on it.

They made their way down the hall slowly, cautious of any enemies waiting around the corner.

“Do you know the way out?”

Celebrían shook her head.

Aeri sighed, “Me neither. Guess we’ll find out,” and they limped on.

A ways down the hall, an orc rounded the corner in front of them, stopping short at the sight.

“How did you get out of your cells?”

Aeri shrugged Celebrían’s arm off her shoulder, leaving the elf leaning against the wall. She sprang forward and knocked the orc unconscious, much like she’d done to her uncle only a while earlier, and then grabbed Celebrían once more.

They hobbled through the halls together, every time they saw an enemy Aeri would knock it unconscious. Until there were too many.

A horde of orcs was chasing them as they limped as fast as they could through the cold stone hallways, bare feet hurting on the rough floor.

Aeri released Celebrían once again and turned to face them all as they rushed towards her.

She raised her arms, flexing her hands and twisting her fingers

Celebrían looked up at Aeri. “What are you doing?”

“Bringing it all down.”

Elladan sat astride his horse, racing towards the fortress of Dol Guldur alongside his brother. They’d been tracking the orcs that had kidnapped their mother for weeks and were finally closing in.

“Brother!” came a shout from next to him, “Look!”

Elladan looked. The fortress was starting to shake, a rumble sounding through the air. He stopped his horse.

“Should we keep going?”

“Our mother is in there,” Elrohir told him, “We always keep going.”

Elladan spurred his horse after his brother and kept going.

Several minutes later, the twins stopped short in horror. A cloud of darkness was rising from the fortress, filling the sky and casting shadows on the surrounding land. It billowed up and up in waves, blanketing the forest as it spread.

“What do we do?” Elrohir asked.

Elladan held up a hand, “What is that?” and peered into the darkness.

A person, a young woman, was racing towards them at the front of the darkness, another woman cradled in her arms.

Aeri sprinted at the front of the shadows she had summoned, the darkness following at her heels as she ran. Celebrían was cradled in her arms, muttering and groaning as Aeri moved, trying her hardest not to jolt her friend.

She saw two figures astride horses waiting on the path ahead, and slowed for a moment. She could tell they were elves, but after Rhugar’s betrayal, she wasn’t sure who she could trust. And then she drew closer and saw the same features of the elf in her arms in their faces. Aeri knew that Celebrían had twin sons, and these must be them. She started sprinting again.

Honestly, she wasn’t sure how she was managing to carry her friend, as well as keep up the darkness that was currently tearing the fortress apart. She thought it might be adrenaline. But she was thankful for the extra energy as she heard the thunderous noises of the fortress crumbling behind her.

Aeri approached the twins, slowing as she reached them.

Elrohir watched this mysterious woman approach them. She had ears like an elf’s but there was something about her that assured him that she wasn’t, or at least not entirely so. He could see the elf she had cradled in his arms, see that it was-

“Emmë?” Elladan whispered.

Elrohir slid off his horse, walking towards the girl that held their mother.

“Who are you?” He whispered as he got closer.

Through the dust and grime covering her face, he saw a faint smile as she spoke. “A friend.”

Elladan walked up behind his brother. “Thank you for bringing her.”

The girl nodded. “Of course. She has a poisoned wound, so get her to a healer soon.’

“Thank you again,” said Elrohir.

She nodded. “Take care of her,” said the not-quite-an-elf-that-had-pointy-ears, and then she strode into the forest, alone.

Later, Aeri sat on a branch high in an old oak, looking out over the forest. Dol Guldur still dominated the landscape, but it looked much different. Instead of the commanding fortress it had been that morning, it was a crumbling pile of rubble. She couldn’t believe that she had done that.

Holding up her hand, she let a shadow wind around it, wrapping around her right-hand thumb like a ring, shaking. This new power, controlling darkness, was terrifying. She’d brought down a fortress with it in a matter of minutes- who knew what else she’d do? But something inside her called for more- it wanted to be set free, shown to the world in an even greater display than what she’d just done.

Rhugar hauled himself up onto the wall, wincing. He’d been knocked unconscious by that awful niece of his, and just as he’d come to the ceiling had crashed down around him. Small scrapes and bruises covered every part of his body. His head was throbbing, and he reached up to wipe at his face. His hand came away red with blood, and as the pain grew he realized he had a large cut on his face. He grimaced as he stood, surveying the land around him. He was at the top of the ruins now, having spent a long time hauling himself up, and could see for miles. He could also clearly see that Dol Guldur, his base, was completely destroyed. His master would not be pleased, but that would not matter. Dol Guldur could be used whether ruined or not.

Rhugar took a deep breath and began the descent.

Aeri didn’t know whether Rhugar had survived. As much as she wanted him to be gone, some part of her still thought of him as family, remembered the uncle that he once was. But she knew he wasn’t, that he hadn’t been that person for a long time. Something had reached into the inner depths of his soul and turned them rotten.

She climbed down the tree and limped off into the woods, in the direction of the home that, after the deaths of her parents, only she knew about. The safehouse hidden in the far north, above even Erebor, that she hadn’t been to for years. She began planning- how she’d get supplies to withstand the long journey north, acquiring a horse, and how to wipe out the blight known as the servants and master of Mordor off Middle-Earth, once and for all.

Aeri had no clue why the shadows had chosen her, but she knew she’d try to do better with them than Rhugar had done with the darkness inside himself.

*******

A.N: WHAT DO YOU THINK?!?! I’m honestly so excited to hear your thoughts on this!! What do you think of the canon characters appearing? I loved getting to include Celebrían, even if I did have to make a minor tweak to canon to include her (but it was very minor). and what do you think of Aeri’s powers?

Everything tag: @entishramblings @itgetsatadhazy @boyruins @anjhope1 @kumqu4t @katbby16 @thewhiteladyofrohan @kirstenscaffeinateddisaster @beenovel @shethereadinghobbit @guardianofrivendell @hey-its-nonny

ALFTS tag: @lothloriien @laurfilijames @cassiabaggins @claraofthepen @wishingtobeinadifferentuniverse

[elvish-sky]

anyone want to see/be tagged in my OC concept art that i created on artbreeder?

[elvish-sky]

A Light From the Shadows Chapter 2- Wow! An Uncle?! Great! Oh No, Wait, he Sucks

A.N: Ahh, chapter 2!!!! I'm delighted to go deeper into Aeri's story, and I hope you guys are too. Thank you for your lovely responses to chapter 1!

Warnings: Descriptions of blood, torture

A Light From the Shadows Masterlist

Read on AO3, WATTPAD

*********

Aeri was five, feeling the tickles of the grass brushing her feet as she sped across the meadow, running as fast as she could. Footsteps pounded behind her as Eddard chased her. She ran as fast as she could, short legs pumping as she leaped over a log and ducked around a tree, rounding the trunk to find Eddard smiling at her. He grabbed her and hugged her.

Calenglîn watched from the porch, smiling, as her husband grabbed their daughter, tossing her up in the air, the sounds of his hearty laugh and her giggles drifting on the wind. Eddard threw Aeri over his shoulder as she watched, marching them back towards her.

Eddard turned when they’d reached the porch, showing his wife the grinning face of the child slung over his shoulder.

“Look what I caught!” he told his wife.

She laughed, springing off the porch and grabbing Aeri from his shoulder. Calenglîn set her daughter down, gesturing for her to run.

“Go, Aeri!”

Aeri sprinted away again, and Eddard moved to chase her, but was tackled by his wife. They tumbled into the grass together, Calenglîn giggling as she fell on top of him. Eddard gazed into her eyes, reaching up to brush a strand of hair from her face, and kissed her.

“Ew,” Aeri, jealous that no one was paying attention to her anymore, had doubled back to see her parents kissing in the grass.

Eddard chuckled at his daughter, Calenglîn laughing with him as she rolled off and sprawled next to him. She shifted slightly further apart, and gestured to Aeri.

“Come here.”

Aeri did, snuggling in between her parents as they lay in the meadow, watching the clouds roll through the sky above.

Eddard sprawled into the long green grass, Aeri next to him, both of them laughing.

Aeri jolted awake, eyes opening to complete darkness. She blinked, trying to see anything in pitch-black but couldn’t. She shifted, something like stone digging into her back, and something brushed against her wrist.

Aeri tugged at it and realized it was a rope, binding her down. Wiggling her legs, she noted that her entire body was bound down to the stone. She was trapped.

A crushing feeling of hopelessness set in as the memories flooded back. She remembered her parents’ frantic voices as they prepared to leave the cabin, the panic and despair in their eyes as they shut the door for the last time. She remembered their urging for her to abandon them, her frantic flight through the forest, their screams ringing out in the air, the fact that they were-

Dead.

Killed by her uncle.

Aeri tugged harder at the ropes binding her, trying to get free, struggling, pulling wherever she could.

A scraping sound suddenly rang out, and footsteps padded into what she could only assume was her cell.

“Hello, Aerinithil,” a voice rang out into the darkness, “I’m your Uncle Rhugar.”

“I know who you are, you traitor,” Aeri spat.

“Ah yes,” said Rhugar. “But do you know who you are?”

Aeri shifted, trying to face in the direction he was, the sound of his footsteps circling around her reminding her of the hawks she watched as a child, circling before diving down for the kill.

The sound of a blade being drawn rang through the room, and Aeri tensed.

And then suddenly, a little light was let into the chamber and she could see Rhugar hovering above her, knife in his hand gleaming despite the darkness. Rhugar drew closer, knife in his hand still gleaming despite the shadows in the room.

He drew closer, and closer, until he was right above her, knife pointed towards her. Aeri took a deep breath, steeling herself for whatever came next.

Rhugar brought the knife down.

Aeri screamed.

She screamed as the burning knife carved a path of horror into her skin, traced its terrible trail all over her breaking body. She couldn’t bear it, the pain was boring its way into every inch of her, hammering on her insides, crushing her down further and further- until everything faded into black as her mind tried to escape from it all.

Aeri was seven, in her father’s arms, meeting her mother’s family for the first time. The tall, regal elves overshadowed even Eddard, and it was the first time Aeri thought her father was small.

She was passed from elf to elf, saying hello and trying not to get too overwhelmed by it all. She somehow made her way back to father, who put her down.

“Go find your mother, Aeri,” Eddard told her, so Aeri tried.

She wove through the elves, trying not to trip on anything or anyone until she bumped into a tall elf with eyes just like hers.

He looked down at her with a smirk. “Hello, Aerinithil.”

“How do you know my name?”

He knelt, suddenly looking her in the eyes, “I’m your Uncle Rhugar.”

Aeri had told him that he looked like her mother, at which he smiled, and then moved on. She wanted to see her father again, the only other person who felt as out of place as she did, so she set off, weaving through legs and ducking behind skirts.

She reached the railing of the terrace they were, on, and turned. And then she stopped.

An extremely tall elf was facing her, blonde hair in waves that reached down her back, a circlet crowning her head. Ancient blue eyes stared into Aeri’s, as they stood there.

“Wait for the sword that was broken,” Galadriel spoke into Aeri’s head.

Aeri blinked at her in confusion. “What sword?”

“You’ll know.” And with that the blonde elf with eyes older than Arda swept back into the crowd, elves parting around her like the sea as she walked.

Wait for the sword that was broken.

The next thing Aeri knew, she was bleeding on the same stone table that she’d been so brutally cut open on the night before. Blinking her eyes open, she again couldn’t see a thing, wrapped in that overwhelming darkness.

The scrape of metal against stone rang out once more, and Aeri lifted her head. Rhugar was silhuotted in the murky light at the doorway, a shadow perfectly tracing the scar on his face. He padded into the cell, eerily not making a sound as he walked. Behind him followed an orc, with something cradled in his arms.

“There’s someone I’d like you to meet,” Rhugar said.

He walked over and kicked Aeri, knocking the breath out of her chest before strolling back, nonchalantly like he hadn’t just hurt his niece again, and took the thing from the arms of the orc.

Aeri sucked in a breath of shock at the sight. Rhugar held an elf in his arms. Her face was bruised and bleeding, blood covering her fine clothes, and she was clearly unconscious.

“Say hello to your new neighbor.” Rhugar held the unconscious elf up, then threw her into the cell next to Aeri’s, her body crumpling onto the floor.

With that, Rhugar walked back over to Aeri, kneeling beside her. His red hair fell over his forehead, casting his face into darker shadow, his gleaming blue eyes contrasting with the bright hair as the only two spots of color in the room.

“And niece?”

Aeri stared up at him, paralyzed with terror of the man she remembered so fondly from her childhood.

“You are a blight upon the world and blemish upon the elves. You do not matter, to anyone.”

Rhugar leaned down to her ear, and she could feel the brush of his hair against her head.

“You are worthless.”

Rhugar drew back his fist, and Aeri tensed, cringing away from the blow she now knew to expect. He brought it down, striking her cheek, knocking her head back into the cold stone floor. Her face throbbed, head pounding, but she clenched her fists and willed herself not to cry.

He rose, wiped the blood from his knuckles onto his tunic, and left, the cell door screeching shut behind him.

Aeri lay there, broken on the floor, encased in total darkness, barely there anymore. She felt a shadow, a wisp of darkness brush her face, whispering as it covered her. The other shadows did the same, murmuring over her broken body as they patterned her skin.

The shadows whispered to her, tried to break her, but they couldn’t.

Aeri started to learn their language. And as they whispered, murmuring darkness, she began to whisper back.

*******

A.N: OHHHHH BOY! Stuff is HAPPENING!! Anyone have any guesses on who the mystery prisoner is? Or what’s going on with Aeri at the very end? I’d really love to hear all your thoughts!!

Everything tag: @entishramblings @itgetsatadhazy @boyruins @anjhope1 @kumqu4t @katbby16 @thewhiteladyofrohan @kirstenscaffeinateddisaster @beenovel @shethereadinghobbit @guardianofrivendell @hey-its-nonny

ALFTS tag: @lothloriien

@laurfilijames i can’t remember if you asked to be on the taglist or not and i can’t find the post, but let me know and i can totally remove your tag!

[elvish-sky]

8 and 14 for the author asks for ALFTS 😊

hi love!! thank you for the ask, i hope you’re having a wonderful day!

8: Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?

a little! my parents inspired Calenglîn and Eddard’s dynamic- i’ve always loved their love story, and while i couldn’t incorporate the actual events I did want to use a bit of their personalities. And Aeri is based off of me, a bit!

But, actually, this is very funny. Rhugar is actually based on one of my uncles!! I was really mad at my uncle a month ago (actually still am) and needed a villain for ALFTS anyways. So an evil uncle was the natural solution, this way i have an anger outlet when i’m mad at my uncle, and ALFTS has a good villain!

14: Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic?

…uncles suck(i really am still very mad at my uncle. just because you have a toddler does not mean that i have to sleep on the floor without an air mattress for a week)?! no, lol i don’t think there was.

[elvish-sky]

Where did you get your inspiration for ALFTS?

ooh, good question anon!!!

i think it was a combination of a few things- the first was reading other fics that my friends have written for their OCs, and thinking “hey, i want to give Aeri a story like that too, i want to write something that’s worthy of her.” so thats how the idea to write a long fic with her came about.

and as for the actual plot, my two biggest things were that i wanted Aeri to have an opposite, a villain that was hers (if that makes sense) and not just Sauron, which was how Rhugar came to be. I also wanted to have a separate villain because i don’t want ALFTS to be a tenth walker fic, so Aeri needed to have a reason to depart from the Fellowship at certain points.

[elvish-sky]

Give me some facts about your evil dude rugar.....I butchered the spelling I know I am just so tired lol

ah ok let’s see what i can tell you!! also i hope you slept well and are less tired now!!

Sauron saw a lot of potential in him from as early as Rhugar’s childhood and has tried to corrupt him since then.

The only thing stopping said corruption was the influence of Rhugar’s older sister, Calenglîn, but when she married and left with Eddard she was no longer there.

Sauron was able to poison Rhugar’s thoughts (This is around the time that Sauron has taken Dol Guldur over for the first time- not the time during the hobbit, before then) and turn him against his sister, brother in law, and niece.

He has a scar that stretches across his nose from when he first joined Sauron

And lastly- Rhugar is not one of those ‘good villains’. he chose to let himself be corrupted because the thoughts and hate for humans, etc, were already in his brain. so he was a bad person before Sauron, he just would have stayed much less bad without Sauron. but i don’t want to write a sympathetic villain.

oh i hope that all makes sense! i don’t want to give too much of him away yet.

[erosofthepen]

Rhugar is going to bring Aeri so so so much trouble. I hate him. But i loved the pacing of the story, it kept me interested, and the flashbacks between Aeri’s parents were very nicely timed!

A Light From the Shadows Chapter 1- Well, That Went Wrong Quickly

Aragorn x Original Character (Aeri)

A.N: Holy crap, I can't believe this is actually happening and I'm actually posting it! This has been my pet project for the past few weeks, and I'm so excited to see where this story takes me. I'm equally excited to hear your thoughts on it- please tell me anything and everything! I hope you love it as much as I do!

Series Masterlist | Wattpad | Ao3

****

“Ouch!”

Calenglîn, lost in thoughts of the abundance of food waiting for her at home, had walked right into something, hitting her nose. She ricocheted backward, sprawling on the ground at the feet of what she now saw was a… human?

He offered her a hand to stand. “So much for the gracefulness of elves.”

She blushed, giggling, as his hand drew her close so that she was gazing up into his eyes.

“Who are you?”

He flashed his most charming smile. “Eddard of Rohan. May I ask your name?”

“Calenglîn. Of Lothlorien, obviously.”

Eddard laughed, and with the sound of his laughter, Calenglîn swore she could hear her future with him calling to her.

Aeri leaned back, the wooden legs of her chair creaking as she shifted, stretching.

In the next room, her mother and father were speaking in low whispers, the kind that adults use when they know something is wrong, but they don’t want you to realize.

Eddard leaned closer to his wife. “There’s something out there. Something evil.”

“It’s Rhugar. I can feel it.” Calenglîn whispered.

Eddard nodded. “We have to leave now. We have to protect Aeri.”

And as the human’s brain whirred with plans to protect his daughter, it also took him back to a day, many years earlier.

The elf grabbed her daggers and bustled into the next room. “Aeri! We’re leaving. Grab all your weapons.”

Aeri leaned back too far in surprise and crashed to the floor.

“What? Why?!”

“No time,” Eddard brushed past her, sheathing his sword and donning his shoes, “we have to go.”

Aeri stood and rushed to her room, grabbing her pack and stuffing mementos inside- the carved oliphaunt that her uncle had brought her decades ago, the lucky rock she’d found in a stream one day, her journal, and of course her twin daggers, given to her by her mother. She strapped them on as she cinched the bag closed, grabbing her cloak from its hook on the wall on her way out.

Aeri emerged into the hallway to see Eddard frantically waving her out the door, eyes wide. Calenglîn was shouldering her pack as Aeri burst outside, hands coming to rest on her daughter’s shoulders.

“What’s going on?”

“Something bad is coming, Aeri, can you sense it?”

Aeri nodded.

Calenglîn continued, “it’s a lieutenant of Mordor.”

Aeri’s fists tightened. “Is he coming for us?”

Eddard’s eyes were sad as he gazed at his wife, as her silence grew and his daughter turned to him.

“Dad? Is he coming for us?”

Eddard nodded.

“So what do we do?”

“We run,” said Calenglîn.

Rhugar knelt, looking at the footprint pressed into the dirt below him.

“It’s fresh. We’re closing in.”

The orcs around him grunted in acknowledgment.

Rhugar stood and unsheathed his sword, gesturing for the orcs to follow him. The elf was so close, he could sense her. The traitorous elf Calenglîn who had eloped with a filthy human, and bore him a daughter.

The daughter and husband that were with her, now.

The husband that he was going to kill, while she watched.

The daughter that he was going to bring back to his master, for his master had not seen the offspring of an elf and a human in a very long time, and wanted to know how she was different.

Wanted to know what she could do.

Wanted to know if she was different enough for them to use.

Aeri crouched behind a bush, chest heaving, a parent on either side. She listened to the rustling of the bushes and the enemies closing in on them, getting closer and closer with every step.

Calenglîn shared a look of despair with her husband over their daughter’s head. She knew their family would not be able to survive this. Someone wasn’t going to make it. She knew that she and Eddard would not, could not survive this. But they could buy Aeri time.

“Aeri,” she whispered, grabbing her daughter’s shoulders. “Listen to me. You go, run, and run far. Go to the cabin. Don’t let them find you.”

Calenglîn pressed a kiss to Aeri’s forehead.

Aeri looked up at her, tears brimming in her blue eyes.

“B-but what will you do?”

Eddard looked his daughter in the eye.

“We’ll be fine, love. Now go.”

Aeri hesitated.

“Now, Aerinithil!��

Eddard gave her a little push, and Aeri stumbled to her feet. She looked back down at her parents. Her mother was smiling at her. It was a sad smile, a smile of all the things left unsaid, a smile that conveyed the pride she had in her daughter. Her father had that same smile, full of laughter and love and hope. Hope that his daughter would survive.

Eddard and Calenglîn nodded at her, their Aeri.

Her father’s hand flicked out in the motion he always used when they were training, the one that meant ‘sprint.’

A drop of water fell on her cheek, and Aeri realized she was crying.

“We love you, Aerinithil,” Eddard told her.

“We always will,” added Calenglîn.

Eddard shaded his hand over his eyes as he waited, periodically lifting it to check the position of the sun. Calenglîn had wanted to meet here, in the spot where they’d met for the first time five years ago.

Eddard had been away for a month on business for his king but had faked his death after completing the mission. He didn’t want to risk his new life. It was one of the many plans he and Calenglîn had put into place over the years to protect themselves.

And there she was, stepping out from behind a towering tree, radiant as always.

“Eddard,” she breathed, and then ran to him and kissed him.

“I’ve missed you, my love,” he told her when she drew away.

“I’ve missed you too.”

Calenglîn took a deep breath. “Are you ready?”

Eddard nodded. “With you, I’m ready for anything.”

“Now go,” Eddard said.

So Aeri went.

Her legs moved faster and faster as she ran further and further, the words her parents had just spoken ringing in her ears as she tried and failed to not think about what she was leaving behind.

Her home.

Her life.

Her family.

The parents who had told her to run.

That’s what they told me.

That’s what they said.

That’s what they wanted.

They had wanted her to go, to save herself, to escape. She was doing what they’d wanted.

And then two screams ran out.

And she stopped.

And turned, running back as the screams of the two people she loved more than anything else, the two people who had each given up a world for her, who had now done that twice, rang through the forest.

She stumbled to a halt in the clearing, dropping to her knees at the sight before her.

There they lay.

Eddard and Calenglîn.

Hands entwined.

Not moving, not breathing, just there.

Aeri crawled over to them, prodding, poking, hoping that maybe the gruesome wounds covering their bodies weren’t fatal.

“Emmë?” she shook her mother’s hand.

Calenglîn didn’t move.

Aeri crawled to her father.

“Dad?” she whispered.

Eddard stayed still.

Aeri pressed two fingers to her father’s pulse. Then to her mother’s.

They were dead.

Hope lost, Aeri sat back onto her heels, looking up at the sky.

And she screamed.

It was a scream of pure pain, grief, and hurt and shame and despair all coming together. Because that’s what it was. Pure, unrelenting pain, deep in her heart.

Rhugar paused at the edge of the clearing, watching her scream and sob.

Metal against steel rang out around the clearing, and Aeri grew quiet. A sword was emerging from its sheath. She turned.

An elf stood over her. He was tall, with reddish-brown hair and eyes the color of a stormy sea, glaring down at her with his sword raised above her head. And he looked familiar.

“Uncle Rhugar?” Aeri whispered.

The day that Calenglîn found out she was pregnant was a joyous one. She had brought Eddard to Lothlorien, he’d been before but they hadn’t been wed then. She wanted him to meet her family.

Calenglîn burst into the room, eyes sparkling as she made a beeline for her husband, one of three other people in the room.

“Love,” she whispered, “I’m pregnant.”

Eddard’s eyes were positively glowing with joy. “Really?”

She nodded. “Really.”

Rhugar watched the couple celebrate, offering his own congratulations, the wheels in his brain turning. He was going to have a niece or nephew. A half-human niece or nephew. He wasn’t sure what he thought of that.

She saw him smirk, then nod, eyes glinting with something akin to malice.

And then his sword flashed down towards her head, and everything went black.

****

everything tag: @entishramblings @itgetsatadhazy @boyruins @anjhope1 @kumqu4t @katbby16 @thewhiteladyofrohan @kirstenscaffeinateddisaster @beenovel @shethereadinghobbit @guardianofrivendell @hey-its-nonny

aeri tag: @grunid

[cassiabaggins]

First of all PLEASE add me to the taglist of this! Second of all FUCK this Rhugar guy in particular!

This story is so good! Can't wait to read more!

A Light From the Shadows Chapter 1- Well, That Went Wrong Quickly

Aragorn x Original Character (Aeri)

A.N: Holy crap, I can't believe this is actually happening and I'm actually posting it! This has been my pet project for the past few weeks, and I'm so excited to see where this story takes me. I'm equally excited to hear your thoughts on it- please tell me anything and everything! I hope you love it as much as I do!

Series Masterlist | Wattpad | Ao3

****

“Ouch!”

Calenglîn, lost in thoughts of the abundance of food waiting for her at home, had walked right into something, hitting her nose. She ricocheted backward, sprawling on the ground at the feet of what she now saw was a… human?

He offered her a hand to stand. “So much for the gracefulness of elves.”

She blushed, giggling, as his hand drew her close so that she was gazing up into his eyes.

“Who are you?”

He flashed his most charming smile. “Eddard of Rohan. May I ask your name?”

“Calenglîn. Of Lothlorien, obviously.”

Eddard laughed, and with the sound of his laughter, Calenglîn swore she could hear her future with him calling to her.

Aeri leaned back, the wooden legs of her chair creaking as she shifted, stretching.

In the next room, her mother and father were speaking in low whispers, the kind that adults use when they know something is wrong, but they don’t want you to realize.

Eddard leaned closer to his wife. “There’s something out there. Something evil.”

“It’s Rhugar. I can feel it.” Calenglîn whispered.

Eddard nodded. “We have to leave now. We have to protect Aeri.”

And as the human’s brain whirred with plans to protect his daughter, it also took him back to a day, many years earlier.

The elf grabbed her daggers and bustled into the next room. “Aeri! We’re leaving. Grab all your weapons.”

Aeri leaned back too far in surprise and crashed to the floor.

“What? Why?!”

“No time,” Eddard brushed past her, sheathing his sword and donning his shoes, “we have to go.”

Aeri stood and rushed to her room, grabbing her pack and stuffing mementos inside- the carved oliphaunt that her uncle had brought her decades ago, the lucky rock she’d found in a stream one day, her journal, and of course her twin daggers, given to her by her mother. She strapped them on as she cinched the bag closed, grabbing her cloak from its hook on the wall on her way out.

Aeri emerged into the hallway to see Eddard frantically waving her out the door, eyes wide. Calenglîn was shouldering her pack as Aeri burst outside, hands coming to rest on her daughter’s shoulders.

“What’s going on?”

“Something bad is coming, Aeri, can you sense it?”

Aeri nodded.

Calenglîn continued, “it’s a lieutenant of Mordor.”

Aeri’s fists tightened. “Is he coming for us?”

Eddard’s eyes were sad as he gazed at his wife, as her silence grew and his daughter turned to him.

“Dad? Is he coming for us?”

Eddard nodded.

“So what do we do?”

“We run,” said Calenglîn.

Rhugar knelt, looking at the footprint pressed into the dirt below him.

“It’s fresh. We’re closing in.”

The orcs around him grunted in acknowledgment.

Rhugar stood and unsheathed his sword, gesturing for the orcs to follow him. The elf was so close, he could sense her. The traitorous elf Calenglîn who had eloped with a filthy human, and bore him a daughter.

The daughter and husband that were with her, now.

The husband that he was going to kill, while she watched.

The daughter that he was going to bring back to his master, for his master had not seen the offspring of an elf and a human in a very long time, and wanted to know how she was different.

Wanted to know what she could do.

Wanted to know if she was different enough for them to use.

Aeri crouched behind a bush, chest heaving, a parent on either side. She listened to the rustling of the bushes and the enemies closing in on them, getting closer and closer with every step.

Calenglîn shared a look of despair with her husband over their daughter’s head. She knew their family would not be able to survive this. Someone wasn’t going to make it. She knew that she and Eddard would not, could not survive this. But they could buy Aeri time.

“Aeri,” she whispered, grabbing her daughter’s shoulders. “Listen to me. You go, run, and run far. Go to the cabin. Don’t let them find you.”

Calenglîn pressed a kiss to Aeri’s forehead.

Aeri looked up at her, tears brimming in her blue eyes.

“B-but what will you do?”

Eddard looked his daughter in the eye.

“We’ll be fine, love. Now go.”

Aeri hesitated.

“Now, Aerinithil!”

Eddard gave her a little push, and Aeri stumbled to her feet. She looked back down at her parents. Her mother was smiling at her. It was a sad smile, a smile of all the things left unsaid, a smile that conveyed the pride she had in her daughter. Her father had that same smile, full of laughter and love and hope. Hope that his daughter would survive.

Eddard and Calenglîn nodded at her, their Aeri.

Her father’s hand flicked out in the motion he always used when they were training, the one that meant ‘sprint.’

A drop of water fell on her cheek, and Aeri realized she was crying.

“We love you, Aerinithil,” Eddard told her.

“We always will,” added Calenglîn.

Eddard shaded his hand over his eyes as he waited, periodically lifting it to check the position of the sun. Calenglîn had wanted to meet here, in the spot where they’d met for the first time five years ago.

Eddard had been away for a month on business for his king but had faked his death after completing the mission. He didn’t want to risk his new life. It was one of the many plans he and Calenglîn had put into place over the years to protect themselves.

And there she was, stepping out from behind a towering tree, radiant as always.

“Eddard,” she breathed, and then ran to him and kissed him.

“I’ve missed you, my love,” he told her when she drew away.

“I’ve missed you too.”

Calenglîn took a deep breath. “Are you ready?”

Eddard nodded. “With you, I’m ready for anything.”

“Now go,” Eddard said.

So Aeri went.

Her legs moved faster and faster as she ran further and further, the words her parents had just spoken ringing in her ears as she tried and failed to not think about what she was leaving behind.

Her home.

Her life.

Her family.

The parents who had told her to run.

That’s what they told me.

That’s what they said.

That’s what they wanted.

They had wanted her to go, to save herself, to escape. She was doing what they’d wanted.

And then two screams ran out.

And she stopped.

And turned, running back as the screams of the two people she loved more than anything else, the two people who had each given up a world for her, who had now done that twice, rang through the forest.

She stumbled to a halt in the clearing, dropping to her knees at the sight before her.

There they lay.

Eddard and Calenglîn.

Hands entwined.

Not moving, not breathing, just there.

Aeri crawled over to them, prodding, poking, hoping that maybe the gruesome wounds covering their bodies weren’t fatal.

“Emmë?” she shook her mother’s hand.

Calenglîn didn’t move.

Aeri crawled to her father.

“Dad?” she whispered.

Eddard stayed still.

Aeri pressed two fingers to her father’s pulse. Then to her mother’s.

They were dead.

Hope lost, Aeri sat back onto her heels, looking up at the sky.

And she screamed.

It was a scream of pure pain, grief, and hurt and shame and despair all coming together. Because that’s what it was. Pure, unrelenting pain, deep in her heart.

Rhugar paused at the edge of the clearing, watching her scream and sob.

Metal against steel rang out around the clearing, and Aeri grew quiet. A sword was emerging from its sheath. She turned.

An elf stood over her. He was tall, with reddish-brown hair and eyes the color of a stormy sea, glaring down at her with his sword raised above her head. And he looked familiar.

“Uncle Rhugar?” Aeri whispered.

The day that Calenglîn found out she was pregnant was a joyous one. She had brought Eddard to Lothlorien, he’d been before but they hadn’t been wed then. She wanted him to meet her family.

Calenglîn burst into the room, eyes sparkling as she made a beeline for her husband, one of three other people in the room.

“Love,” she whispered, “I’m pregnant.”

Eddard’s eyes were positively glowing with joy. “Really?”

She nodded. “Really.”

Rhugar watched the couple celebrate, offering his own congratulations, the wheels in his brain turning. He was going to have a niece or nephew. A half-human niece or nephew. He wasn’t sure what he thought of that.

She saw him smirk, then nod, eyes glinting with something akin to malice.

And then his sword flashed down towards her head, and everything went black.

****

everything tag: @entishramblings @itgetsatadhazy @boyruins @anjhope1 @kumqu4t @katbby16 @thewhiteladyofrohan @kirstenscaffeinateddisaster @beenovel @shethereadinghobbit @guardianofrivendell @hey-its-nonny

aeri tag: @grunid

[laurfilijames]

OKAY THIS IS SUPER COOL MAIA. The way she can use shadows?!! How bad ass is that? And when she knocked Rhugar out with a blow to the face…THANK YOU!! This continues to be a great story and I always look forward to more!!

A Light From the Shadows Chapter 3- We Always Keep Going, or The One Where Shit Goes Down. Literally.

A.N: Indecision strikes again in the form of me honestly not being able to pick a title for this chapter- so I picked two! Also- I won’t be able to post fics (b/c no access to AO3 or Google Drive) tomorrow or Sunday, which is why this is being posted today. This is the first chapter, and honestly the first thing I've written in so long that I like and am actually proud of. I feel like I might be getting back into the writing groove? Fingers crossed! But, seriously, thank you all for the love and support of this fic. I am so happy you like it <3. Also i’m very excited for your reactions to the canon characters showing up…

Warning: Blood, Angst

A Light From the Shadows Masterlist

Read on Wattpad and AO3

*******

The faint grey light of the moon filtered down into the cell from a small crack in the stone ceiling, barely illuminating Aeri’s face. It cast a shadow across her hands and set the vaguely familiar face of the elf passed out in the cell next to her aglow.

Aeri lay on the cold stone floor, hands and feet still bound. Her fingers flexed as she tried to get some blood flowing to her arms. She’d been in the same position for a very long time- it was so dark that she could not tell exactly how long had passed since Rhugar had dumped the body in the cell next door.

“Where am I?” a weak voice asked.

Aeri started. She turned her head and saw the other elf clinging to the bars separating them, even more, familiar with her eyes open.

She looked so scared, terror illuminating her face just as the moon had moments before.

“Please tell me. Where am I?” She clutched at the bars desperately.

Aeri shifted, trying to move closer. “You’re in Dol Guldur.”

The elf looked horrified. “Really?”

Aeri nodded, and she could see the despair crashing over the elf’s face. She tried to think of a way to distract her.

“Who are you?”

The elf looked away, “I don’t know if I can tell you that.”

Aeri sighed. “Fine. Will it help if I tell you my name first?”

She didn’t respond, so Aeri continued.

“I’m Aerinithil.”

The elf’s spine straightened, eyes widening in shock. “Really?”

Aeri couldn’t help but laugh. “I think I’d know my own name. But how do you know it?”

“You’re Calenglîn’s daughter! The one she had with that human.”

Aeri grew wary. “How do you know my mother?”

The elf had a faint smile on her face, reminiscing. “We were best friends, inseparable until she left with Eddard.”

And then Aeri realized where she’d seen her before.

“...Celebrían?”

The elf nodded. And then passed out.

Aeri scrambled over to her, chains clanking against the rock-solid floor as she crashed into the bars separating them.

“Celebrían!!! Celebrían! Please wake up, please, please, please…”

Aeri trailed off. She’d been shaking Celebrían through the bars and rolled the elf over to see blood spilling through her dress, pooling on the floor underneath her. Aeri parted the fabric at the source, on the left side of Celebrían’s abdomen, and saw a stab wound, bleeding and so clearly infected Aeri was sure the blade that had done it had been poisoned.

“Oh no, no no no no no,” Aeri muttered, scrambling for something to stop the bleeding. She looked down at herself, the ragged hem of her tunic. Quickly, she tore it off and tried to wrap it around Celebrían through the bars of the cell. She succeeded, getting the fabric over Celebrían’s wound and tied it, contorting her arms through the bars.

Aeri heard padding footsteps, the ones that she now recognized as belonging to Rhugar, and panicked. Celebrían was passed out, possibly dying, because of a clearly poisoned stab wound in her side, and Aeri was sure that Rhugar would only make it worse. She had to do something. And she had to do it now.

Aeri knew that the one thing that could help her now was the thing she was terrified to do- at some point when she was bleeding, broken on the floor, something had seeped into her. A shadow. She’d spent the time in this cell learning its language, and now she called them all, whispering, muttering to the very things that had once sought to destroy her.

And they came.

Darkness spread across the cell as Aeri’s hands moved, directing the shadows to cover each wall and crack and crevice until there was no light at all. Aeri realized that she could sense shapes in the darkness- she could feel Celebrían’s hair like it was brushing against her hand instead of attached to the elf’s head a foot away. She was aware of everything happening in the pool of shadow she had created that spanned the two cells.

She sent shadows worming into the manacles on her ankles and wrists, worming their way into the very heart of the metal, and then the darkness expanded, corrupting the metal until it collapsed off of her wrists. She did the same to those shackling Celebrían, heard the clink of the broken shackles on the floor once the shadows had done their work, and called them back to her.

Aeri heard Rhugar drawing closer and closer to the cell, and drew back the shadows so that there was a small circle of light around her and Celebrían, but darkness still separated them from the doorways to both cells.

Rhugar opened the cell door and saw nothing but darkness. The entire cell was just pitch-black- he’d been able to at least see his hand in front of his face when he’d been in here before. But this was different. There wasn’t a little light that made it easier to bear- this was the total absence of light.

“Aerinithil…” Rhugar entered the cell, unsheathing his sword as he moved, trying to find his niece.

Aeri crouched, waiting in the pool of light she’d left for herself and Celebrían. She could feel where Rhugar was in the cell and felt it as he drew closer and closer. Just as she sensed him about to emerge from the dark, she put her hands behind her back.

Rhugar stepped forward, emerging into the light. He threw up a hand to shield his eyes from the sudden brightness.

Aeri watched him, waiting for him to look down and notice him. He blinked, trying to adjust to the light and when he looked at her he grinned.

“Ah. There you are,” he drew closer, “but what’s going on with our friend over there?” He gestured to Celebrían.

Aeri waited as Rhugar padded over to the bars separating them from the elf. Her hands twitched behind her back, flexing.

“Where are her chains, Aerinithil?” His voice had a dangerous edge.

Rhugar turned to look at his niece once more, and Aeri took a deep breath.

She raised her hands, shrugging. “I don’t know.”

It took him a second to notice the lack of manacles on her as well, but when he did, the expression on his face was almost comical. Until it became twisted, wrong, his face echoing the evil in his eyes.

“What. Did. You. Do?”

Aeri raised her unshackled hands. “I learned.”

She brought them together and the darkness rushed in around them, shadows racing forward at her call to bind Rhugar’s wrists and ankles the way he’d bound hers, forcing him down until he was kneeling at her feet.

“Farewell, Uncle,” she told him, and then punched him in the face. Rhugar collapsed onto the floor, unconscious, and Aeri limped past him.

She left her cell and approached the still-locked door of the one next to it. Twisting her hand, she called a shadow and directed into the metal of the lock, corrupting it until it fell apart. She shoved the door open, wincing at the shriek of metal against stone, and saw Celebrían laying on the floor. Aeri rushed over to the elf, kneeling beside her and trying to shake her awake, careful not to touch her wound.

“Celebrían, please, wake up, please wake up.”

Celebrían’s eyes opened. “Aerinithil?”

Aeri nodded, blinking back tears of relief. “Yes, yes, it’s me. Can you stand? We have to go!”

Celebrían winced. “I do not know if I have the strength.”

“You have to.”

Aeri heaved Celebrían to her feet, apologizing as the elf cried out in pain. She slung Celebrían’s arm over her shoulders, supporting her, and they walked out the door together, both limping, Celebrían hanging on to Aeri like her life depended on it.

They made their way down the hall slowly, cautious of any enemies waiting around the corner.

“Do you know the way out?”

Celebrían shook her head.

Aeri sighed, “Me neither. Guess we’ll find out,” and they limped on.

A ways down the hall, an orc rounded the corner in front of them, stopping short at the sight.

“How did you get out of your cells?”

Aeri shrugged Celebrían’s arm off her shoulder, leaving the elf leaning against the wall. She sprang forward and knocked the orc unconscious, much like she’d done to her uncle only a while earlier, and then grabbed Celebrían once more.

They hobbled through the halls together, every time they saw an enemy Aeri would knock it unconscious. Until there were too many.

A horde of orcs was chasing them as they limped as fast as they could through the cold stone hallways, bare feet hurting on the rough floor.

Aeri released Celebrían once again and turned to face them all as they rushed towards her.

She raised her arms, flexing her hands and twisting her fingers

Celebrían looked up at Aeri. “What are you doing?”

“Bringing it all down.”

Elladan sat astride his horse, racing towards the fortress of Dol Guldur alongside his brother. They’d been tracking the orcs that had kidnapped their mother for weeks and were finally closing in.

“Brother!” came a shout from next to him, “Look!”

Elladan looked. The fortress was starting to shake, a rumble sounding through the air. He stopped his horse.

“Should we keep going?”

“Our mother is in there,” Elrohir told him, “We always keep going.”

Elladan spurred his horse after his brother and kept going.

Several minutes later, the twins stopped short in horror. A cloud of darkness was rising from the fortress, filling the sky and casting shadows on the surrounding land. It billowed up and up in waves, blanketing the forest as it spread.

“What do we do?” Elrohir asked.

Elladan held up a hand, “What is that?” and peered into the darkness.

A person, a young woman, was racing towards them at the front of the darkness, another woman cradled in her arms.

Aeri sprinted at the front of the shadows she had summoned, the darkness following at her heels as she ran. Celebrían was cradled in her arms, muttering and groaning as Aeri moved, trying her hardest not to jolt her friend.

She saw two figures astride horses waiting on the path ahead, and slowed for a moment. She could tell they were elves, but after Rhugar’s betrayal, she wasn’t sure who she could trust. And then she drew closer and saw the same features of the elf in her arms in their faces. Aeri knew that Celebrían had twin sons, and these must be them. She started sprinting again.

Honestly, she wasn’t sure how she was managing to carry her friend, as well as keep up the darkness that was currently tearing the fortress apart. She thought it might be adrenaline. But she was thankful for the extra energy as she heard the thunderous noises of the fortress crumbling behind her.

Aeri approached the twins, slowing as she reached them.

Elrohir watched this mysterious woman approach them. She had ears like an elf’s but there was something about her that assured him that she wasn’t, or at least not entirely so. He could see the elf she had cradled in his arms, see that it was-

“Emmë?” Elladan whispered.

Elrohir slid off his horse, walking towards the girl that held their mother.

“Who are you?” He whispered as he got closer.

Through the dust and grime covering her face, he saw a faint smile as she spoke. “A friend.”

Elladan walked up behind his brother. “Thank you for bringing her.”

The girl nodded. “Of course. She has a poisoned wound, so get her to a healer soon.’

“Thank you again,” said Elrohir.

She nodded. “Take care of her,” said the not-quite-an-elf-that-had-pointy-ears, and then she strode into the forest, alone.

Later, Aeri sat on a branch high in an old oak, looking out over the forest. Dol Guldur still dominated the landscape, but it looked much different. Instead of the commanding fortress it had been that morning, it was a crumbling pile of rubble. She couldn’t believe that she had done that.

Holding up her hand, she let a shadow wind around it, wrapping around her right-hand thumb like a ring, shaking. This new power, controlling darkness, was terrifying. She’d brought down a fortress with it in a matter of minutes- who knew what else she’d do? But something inside her called for more- it wanted to be set free, shown to the world in an even greater display than what she’d just done.

Rhugar hauled himself up onto the wall, wincing. He’d been knocked unconscious by that awful niece of his, and just as he’d come to the ceiling had crashed down around him. Small scrapes and bruises covered every part of his body. His head was throbbing, and he reached up to wipe at his face. His hand came away red with blood, and as the pain grew he realized he had a large cut on his face. He grimaced as he stood, surveying the land around him. He was at the top of the ruins now, having spent a long time hauling himself up, and could see for miles. He could also clearly see that Dol Guldur, his base, was completely destroyed. His master would not be pleased, but that would not matter. Dol Guldur could be used whether ruined or not.

Rhugar took a deep breath and began the descent.

Aeri didn’t know whether Rhugar had survived. As much as she wanted him to be gone, some part of her still thought of him as family, remembered the uncle that he once was. But she knew he wasn’t, that he hadn’t been that person for a long time. Something had reached into the inner depths of his soul and turned them rotten.

She climbed down the tree and limped off into the woods, in the direction of the home that, after the deaths of her parents, only she knew about. The safehouse hidden in the far north, above even Erebor, that she hadn’t been to for years. She began planning- how she’d get supplies to withstand the long journey north, acquiring a horse, and how to wipe out the blight known as the servants and master of Mordor off Middle-Earth, once and for all.

Aeri had no clue why the shadows had chosen her, but she knew she’d try to do better with them than Rhugar had done with the darkness inside himself.

*******

A.N: WHAT DO YOU THINK?!?! I’m honestly so excited to hear your thoughts on this!! What do you think of the canon characters appearing? I loved getting to include Celebrían, even if I did have to make a minor tweak to canon to include her (but it was very minor). and what do you think of Aeri’s powers?

Everything tag: @entishramblings @itgetsatadhazy @boyruins @anjhope1 @kumqu4t @katbby16 @thewhiteladyofrohan @kirstenscaffeinateddisaster @beenovel @shethereadinghobbit @guardianofrivendell @hey-its-nonny

ALFTS tag: @lothloriien @laurfilijames @cassiabaggins @claraofthepen @wishingtobeinadifferentuniverse

[laurfilijames]

YES PLEASE TAG ME IN THIS SERIES!!!! I don’t want to miss a thing!!

This chapter was so good! I gotta say, I do appreciate just how wicked you’ve made Rhugar…I love a good, bad villain!

I’m so curious to who is in the cell with Aeri!!! Although I have no guesses…

And don’t get me started on the memories of her and her parents. They were such a sweet and loving family and it hurts my heart that she lost them.

Keep up the amazing work Maia!!!!

A Light From the Shadows Chapter 2- Wow! An Uncle?! Great! Oh No, Wait, he Sucks

A.N: Ahh, chapter 2!!!! I'm delighted to go deeper into Aeri's story, and I hope you guys are too. Thank you for your lovely responses to chapter 1!

Warnings: Descriptions of blood, torture

A Light From the Shadows Masterlist

Read on AO3, WATTPAD

*********

Aeri was five, feeling the tickles of the grass brushing her feet as she sped across the meadow, running as fast as she could. Footsteps pounded behind her as Eddard chased her. She ran as fast as she could, short legs pumping as she leaped over a log and ducked around a tree, rounding the trunk to find Eddard smiling at her. He grabbed her and hugged her.

Calenglîn watched from the porch, smiling, as her husband grabbed their daughter, tossing her up in the air, the sounds of his hearty laugh and her giggles drifting on the wind. Eddard threw Aeri over his shoulder as she watched, marching them back towards her.

Eddard turned when they’d reached the porch, showing his wife the grinning face of the child slung over his shoulder.

“Look what I caught!” he told his wife.

She laughed, springing off the porch and grabbing Aeri from his shoulder. Calenglîn set her daughter down, gesturing for her to run.

“Go, Aeri!”

Aeri sprinted away again, and Eddard moved to chase her, but was tackled by his wife. They tumbled into the grass together, Calenglîn giggling as she fell on top of him. Eddard gazed into her eyes, reaching up to brush a strand of hair from her face, and kissed her.

“Ew,” Aeri, jealous that no one was paying attention to her anymore, had doubled back to see her parents kissing in the grass.

Eddard chuckled at his daughter, Calenglîn laughing with him as she rolled off and sprawled next to him. She shifted slightly further apart, and gestured to Aeri.

“Come here.”

Aeri did, snuggling in between her parents as they lay in the meadow, watching the clouds roll through the sky above.

Eddard sprawled into the long green grass, Aeri next to him, both of them laughing.

Aeri jolted awake, eyes opening to complete darkness. She blinked, trying to see anything in pitch-black but couldn’t. She shifted, something like stone digging into her back, and something brushed against her wrist.

Aeri tugged at it and realized it was a rope, binding her down. Wiggling her legs, she noted that her entire body was bound down to the stone. She was trapped.

A crushing feeling of hopelessness set in as the memories flooded back. She remembered her parents’ frantic voices as they prepared to leave the cabin, the panic and despair in their eyes as they shut the door for the last time. She remembered their urging for her to abandon them, her frantic flight through the forest, their screams ringing out in the air, the fact that they were-

Dead.

Killed by her uncle.

Aeri tugged harder at the ropes binding her, trying to get free, struggling, pulling wherever she could.

A scraping sound suddenly rang out, and footsteps padded into what she could only assume was her cell.

“Hello, Aerinithil,” a voice rang out into the darkness, “I’m your Uncle Rhugar.”

“I know who you are, you traitor,” Aeri spat.

“Ah yes,” said Rhugar. “But do you know who you are?”

Aeri shifted, trying to face in the direction he was, the sound of his footsteps circling around her reminding her of the hawks she watched as a child, circling before diving down for the kill.

The sound of a blade being drawn rang through the room, and Aeri tensed.

And then suddenly, a little light was let into the chamber and she could see Rhugar hovering above her, knife in his hand gleaming despite the darkness. Rhugar drew closer, knife in his hand still gleaming despite the shadows in the room.

He drew closer, and closer, until he was right above her, knife pointed towards her. Aeri took a deep breath, steeling herself for whatever came next.

Rhugar brought the knife down.

Aeri screamed.

She screamed as the burning knife carved a path of horror into her skin, traced its terrible trail all over her breaking body. She couldn’t bear it, the pain was boring its way into every inch of her, hammering on her insides, crushing her down further and further- until everything faded into black as her mind tried to escape from it all.

Aeri was seven, in her father’s arms, meeting her mother’s family for the first time. The tall, regal elves overshadowed even Eddard, and it was the first time Aeri thought her father was small.

She was passed from elf to elf, saying hello and trying not to get too overwhelmed by it all. She somehow made her way back to father, who put her down.

“Go find your mother, Aeri,” Eddard told her, so Aeri tried.

She wove through the elves, trying not to trip on anything or anyone until she bumped into a tall elf with eyes just like hers.

He looked down at her with a smirk. “Hello, Aerinithil.”

“How do you know my name?”

He knelt, suddenly looking her in the eyes, “I’m your Uncle Rhugar.”

Aeri had told him that he looked like her mother, at which he smiled, and then moved on. She wanted to see her father again, the only other person who felt as out of place as she did, so she set off, weaving through legs and ducking behind skirts.

She reached the railing of the terrace they were, on, and turned. And then she stopped.

An extremely tall elf was facing her, blonde hair in waves that reached down her back, a circlet crowning her head. Ancient blue eyes stared into Aeri’s, as they stood there.

“Wait for the sword that was broken,” Galadriel spoke into Aeri’s head.

Aeri blinked at her in confusion. “What sword?”

“You’ll know.” And with that the blonde elf with eyes older than Arda swept back into the crowd, elves parting around her like the sea as she walked.

Wait for the sword that was broken.

The next thing Aeri knew, she was bleeding on the same stone table that she’d been so brutally cut open on the night before. Blinking her eyes open, she again couldn’t see a thing, wrapped in that overwhelming darkness.

The scrape of metal against stone rang out once more, and Aeri lifted her head. Rhugar was silhuotted in the murky light at the doorway, a shadow perfectly tracing the scar on his face. He padded into the cell, eerily not making a sound as he walked. Behind him followed an orc, with something cradled in his arms.

“There’s someone I’d like you to meet,” Rhugar said.

He walked over and kicked Aeri, knocking the breath out of her chest before strolling back, nonchalantly like he hadn’t just hurt his niece again, and took the thing from the arms of the orc.

Aeri sucked in a breath of shock at the sight. Rhugar held an elf in his arms. Her face was bruised and bleeding, blood covering her fine clothes, and she was clearly unconscious.

“Say hello to your new neighbor.” Rhugar held the unconscious elf up, then threw her into the cell next to Aeri’s, her body crumpling onto the floor.

With that, Rhugar walked back over to Aeri, kneeling beside her. His red hair fell over his forehead, casting his face into darker shadow, his gleaming blue eyes contrasting with the bright hair as the only two spots of color in the room.

“And niece?”

Aeri stared up at him, paralyzed with terror of the man she remembered so fondly from her childhood.

“You are a blight upon the world and blemish upon the elves. You do not matter, to anyone.”

Rhugar leaned down to her ear, and she could feel the brush of his hair against her head.

“You are worthless.”

Rhugar drew back his fist, and Aeri tensed, cringing away from the blow she now knew to expect. He brought it down, striking her cheek, knocking her head back into the cold stone floor. Her face throbbed, head pounding, but she clenched her fists and willed herself not to cry.

He rose, wiped the blood from his knuckles onto his tunic, and left, the cell door screeching shut behind him.

Aeri lay there, broken on the floor, encased in total darkness, barely there anymore. She felt a shadow, a wisp of darkness brush her face, whispering as it covered her. The other shadows did the same, murmuring over her broken body as they patterned her skin.

The shadows whispered to her, tried to break her, but they couldn’t.

Aeri started to learn their language. And as they whispered, murmuring darkness, she began to whisper back.

*******

A.N: OHHHHH BOY! Stuff is HAPPENING!! Anyone have any guesses on who the mystery prisoner is? Or what’s going on with Aeri at the very end? I’d really love to hear all your thoughts!!

Everything tag: @entishramblings @itgetsatadhazy @boyruins @anjhope1 @kumqu4t @katbby16 @thewhiteladyofrohan @kirstenscaffeinateddisaster @beenovel @shethereadinghobbit @guardianofrivendell @hey-its-nonny

ALFTS tag: @lothloriien

@laurfilijames i can’t remember if you asked to be on the taglist or not and i can’t find the post, but let me know and i can totally remove your tag!

[gossip-girl-of-middleearth]

Oh no… Rhugar looks like a bad boy version of my fiancé, Rowan @entishramblings

Must resist, must resisttttttt…annnnnnd I’m simping, dammit it’s not my fault something in my youth must’ve caused me to be attracted to morally grey redheads!

ALFTS Original Characters

created with artbreeder.com

Aeri Rhugar

Eddard Calenglîn

Familial Connections

Eddard is a human who fell in love with the elf Calenglîn. They got married and had Aeri together. Rhugar is Calenglîn’s younger brother.

Nomenclature

all names are Late Period Sindarin

Aerinithil~ roughly translates to ‘sea of moonlight’.

Calenglîn~ roughly translates to ‘bright gleam’.

Rhugar~ directly translates to ‘evil, sinner’.

Eddard~ no elvish meaning, i just love Ned Stark and thought i’d pay homage to Sean Bean.

@grunid @beenovel @katbby16 @morrigan-of-beleriand @entishramblings

@laurfilijames i figured you might want to see this! :)

[elvish-sky]

@claraofthepen Ahh thank you!!! and yeah, Rhugar’s gonna cause a whole lot of grief…

A Light From the Shadows Chapter 1- Well, That Went Wrong Quickly

Aragorn x Original Character (Aeri)

A.N: Holy crap, I can't believe this is actually happening and I'm actually posting it! This has been my pet project for the past few weeks, and I'm so excited to see where this story takes me. I'm equally excited to hear your thoughts on it- please tell me anything and everything! I hope you love it as much as I do!

Series Masterlist | Wattpad | Ao3

****

“Ouch!”

Calenglîn, lost in thoughts of the abundance of food waiting for her at home, had walked right into something, hitting her nose. She ricocheted backward, sprawling on the ground at the feet of what she now saw was a… human?

He offered her a hand to stand. “So much for the gracefulness of elves.”

She blushed, giggling, as his hand drew her close so that she was gazing up into his eyes.

“Who are you?”

He flashed his most charming smile. “Eddard of Rohan. May I ask your name?”

“Calenglîn. Of Lothlorien, obviously.”

Eddard laughed, and with the sound of his laughter, Calenglîn swore she could hear her future with him calling to her.

Aeri leaned back, the wooden legs of her chair creaking as she shifted, stretching.

In the next room, her mother and father were speaking in low whispers, the kind that adults use when they know something is wrong, but they don’t want you to realize.

Eddard leaned closer to his wife. “There’s something out there. Something evil.”

“It’s Rhugar. I can feel it.” Calenglîn whispered.

Eddard nodded. “We have to leave now. We have to protect Aeri.”

And as the human’s brain whirred with plans to protect his daughter, it also took him back to a day, many years earlier.

The elf grabbed her daggers and bustled into the next room. “Aeri! We’re leaving. Grab all your weapons.”

Aeri leaned back too far in surprise and crashed to the floor.

“What? Why?!”

“No time,” Eddard brushed past her, sheathing his sword and donning his shoes, “we have to go.”

Aeri stood and rushed to her room, grabbing her pack and stuffing mementos inside- the carved oliphaunt that her uncle had brought her decades ago, the lucky rock she’d found in a stream one day, her journal, and of course her twin daggers, given to her by her mother. She strapped them on as she cinched the bag closed, grabbing her cloak from its hook on the wall on her way out.

Aeri emerged into the hallway to see Eddard frantically waving her out the door, eyes wide. Calenglîn was shouldering her pack as Aeri burst outside, hands coming to rest on her daughter’s shoulders.

“What’s going on?”

“Something bad is coming, Aeri, can you sense it?”

Aeri nodded.

Calenglîn continued, “it’s a lieutenant of Mordor.”

Aeri’s fists tightened. “Is he coming for us?”

Eddard’s eyes were sad as he gazed at his wife, as her silence grew and his daughter turned to him.

“Dad? Is he coming for us?”

Eddard nodded.

“So what do we do?”

“We run,” said Calenglîn.

Rhugar knelt, looking at the footprint pressed into the dirt below him.

“It’s fresh. We’re closing in.”

The orcs around him grunted in acknowledgment.

Rhugar stood and unsheathed his sword, gesturing for the orcs to follow him. The elf was so close, he could sense her. The traitorous elf Calenglîn who had eloped with a filthy human, and bore him a daughter.

The daughter and husband that were with her, now.

The husband that he was going to kill, while she watched.

The daughter that he was going to bring back to his master, for his master had not seen the offspring of an elf and a human in a very long time, and wanted to know how she was different.

Wanted to know what she could do.

Wanted to know if she was different enough for them to use.

Aeri crouched behind a bush, chest heaving, a parent on either side. She listened to the rustling of the bushes and the enemies closing in on them, getting closer and closer with every step.

Calenglîn shared a look of despair with her husband over their daughter’s head. She knew their family would not be able to survive this. Someone wasn’t going to make it. She knew that she and Eddard would not, could not survive this. But they could buy Aeri time.

“Aeri,” she whispered, grabbing her daughter’s shoulders. “Listen to me. You go, run, and run far. Go to the cabin. Don’t let them find you.”

Calenglîn pressed a kiss to Aeri’s forehead.

Aeri looked up at her, tears brimming in her blue eyes.

“B-but what will you do?”

Eddard looked his daughter in the eye.

“We’ll be fine, love. Now go.”

Aeri hesitated.

“Now, Aerinithil!”

Eddard gave her a little push, and Aeri stumbled to her feet. She looked back down at her parents. Her mother was smiling at her. It was a sad smile, a smile of all the things left unsaid, a smile that conveyed the pride she had in her daughter. Her father had that same smile, full of laughter and love and hope. Hope that his daughter would survive.

Eddard and Calenglîn nodded at her, their Aeri.

Her father’s hand flicked out in the motion he always used when they were training, the one that meant ‘sprint.’

A drop of water fell on her cheek, and Aeri realized she was crying.

“We love you, Aerinithil,” Eddard told her.

“We always will,” added Calenglîn.

Eddard shaded his hand over his eyes as he waited, periodically lifting it to check the position of the sun. Calenglîn had wanted to meet here, in the spot where they’d met for the first time five years ago.

Eddard had been away for a month on business for his king but had faked his death after completing the mission. He didn’t want to risk his new life. It was one of the many plans he and Calenglîn had put into place over the years to protect themselves.

And there she was, stepping out from behind a towering tree, radiant as always.

“Eddard,” she breathed, and then ran to him and kissed him.

“I’ve missed you, my love,” he told her when she drew away.

“I’ve missed you too.”

Calenglîn took a deep breath. “Are you ready?”

Eddard nodded. “With you, I’m ready for anything.”

“Now go,” Eddard said.

So Aeri went.

Her legs moved faster and faster as she ran further and further, the words her parents had just spoken ringing in her ears as she tried and failed to not think about what she was leaving behind.

Her home.

Her life.

Her family.

The parents who had told her to run.

That’s what they told me.

That’s what they said.

That’s what they wanted.

They had wanted her to go, to save herself, to escape. She was doing what they’d wanted.

And then two screams ran out.

And she stopped.

And turned, running back as the screams of the two people she loved more than anything else, the two people who had each given up a world for her, who had now done that twice, rang through the forest.

She stumbled to a halt in the clearing, dropping to her knees at the sight before her.

There they lay.

Eddard and Calenglîn.

Hands entwined.

Not moving, not breathing, just there.

Aeri crawled over to them, prodding, poking, hoping that maybe the gruesome wounds covering their bodies weren’t fatal.

“Emmë?” she shook her mother’s hand.

Calenglîn didn’t move.

Aeri crawled to her father.

“Dad?” she whispered.

Eddard stayed still.

Aeri pressed two fingers to her father’s pulse. Then to her mother’s.

They were dead.

Hope lost, Aeri sat back onto her heels, looking up at the sky.

And she screamed.

It was a scream of pure pain, grief, and hurt and shame and despair all coming together. Because that’s what it was. Pure, unrelenting pain, deep in her heart.

Rhugar paused at the edge of the clearing, watching her scream and sob.

Metal against steel rang out around the clearing, and Aeri grew quiet. A sword was emerging from its sheath. She turned.

An elf stood over her. He was tall, with reddish-brown hair and eyes the color of a stormy sea, glaring down at her with his sword raised above her head. And he looked familiar.

“Uncle Rhugar?” Aeri whispered.

The day that Calenglîn found out she was pregnant was a joyous one. She had brought Eddard to Lothlorien, he’d been before but they hadn’t been wed then. She wanted him to meet her family.

Calenglîn burst into the room, eyes sparkling as she made a beeline for her husband, one of three other people in the room.

“Love,” she whispered, “I’m pregnant.”

Eddard’s eyes were positively glowing with joy. “Really?”

She nodded. “Really.”

Rhugar watched the couple celebrate, offering his own congratulations, the wheels in his brain turning. He was going to have a niece or nephew. A half-human niece or nephew. He wasn’t sure what he thought of that.

She saw him smirk, then nod, eyes glinting with something akin to malice.

And then his sword flashed down towards her head, and everything went black.

****

everything tag: @entishramblings @itgetsatadhazy @boyruins @anjhope1 @kumqu4t @katbby16 @thewhiteladyofrohan @kirstenscaffeinateddisaster @beenovel @shethereadinghobbit @guardianofrivendell @hey-its-nonny

aeri tag: @grunid