Subject: Hmm.
Author:
Posted on: 2014-07-11 11:38:00 UTC
That sounds like a challenge. Challenge accepted.
On Celebrian
If you had known then what you know now, you would not have let her go. You would have told her the mountains were too dangerous – insisted her guard was too small – promised her anything to keep her from making that trip. And she would have smiled at you, the way she smiled back then, and told you you were being foolish – that no orcs had been reported in the mountains for centuries.
But you would not have let her go. You would have appealed to her, pleaded with her, perhaps even threatened her. And at last she would have agreed, and unpacked her belongings, and stayed.
And things would have changed for you. No proof would ever have come of your suspicions – how could it, for she would not have gone, and there would have been no-one for the orcs to attack? – and so her claims of foolishness would have been repeated, their playful tone draining away until they stood as stark condemnation of you.
She would have left your bed, your house, and built her own, a lodge like Erendis of Westernesse once held, with only womenfolk permitted to enter. Your daughter would have followed her – and your sons become estranged from her, tortured by her bitterness. They would have turned to you, but you would have brought no comfort, for your heart would have been divided – hating her for her anger, hating yourself for causing it.
And so your family would have been broken, the women hiding away from the world, the men – your tall, proud sons – ranging away from your home for weeks, months, years at a time. You would have dared not ask what they sought, for you would have feared you already knew the answer: that they were delving into the deep places of the world, seeking the orcs that would prove your words had been true, and bring her back to you.
And then would have come the year, the decade, when they did not return, and no trace of them could be found beneath the sun. And you, proud and broken, would have gone to her door to tell her of their unknown fate. And you would have heard her speak, that voice that once sang to the stars at your side:
“I have no sons. I have no husband.”
And so, shattered beyond repair, you would have taken to your bed. And in your heart of hearts you would have made one wish, told one story, repeated one thought, made one promise:
If you had known then what you know now, you would have let her go.
Dark, I know, but it was the first idea that came to mind. I see it as Galadriel consoling Elrond after Celebrian (who had been captured and wounded by orcs) sailed West to Valinor. Because Galadriel is a) a mind-reader, b) gifted with foresight, and c) not exactly all sweetness and light...
hS