Under the Tree by Agelast

Chapter 1

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Once upon a time, there were two little boys whose mother had turned into a bird and flew away.

 

There was much more to the story than that, and much more afterward, but suffice to say that loss of their bird-mother weighed heavily on her sons, who were as alike as two hatchlings from the same egg.

 

Elrond, the one who had pecked out first, thought the explanation was flimsy as any fairy story, and as an excuse for a missing mother, unacceptable. This, he told his guardian one spring day, when they were sitting under a leafy oak tree, waiting for the rain to pass.

 

Maglor, who knew all about the proper shape of stories, looked thoughtful. “Perhaps you are right,” he said. “Will you make a better story for me?”

 

“All right,” Elrond said with a sniff. Maglor looked concerned and offered him a piece of cloth to wipe his nose with. Elrond took it grudgingly, and said, his voice muffled, “If you insist.”

 

“I do,” Maglor replied. He sat on the ground next to Elrond and threw his heavy winter cloak over them both.

 

Elrond thought long and hard before he began. “Once upon a time,” he began, and then frowned. “That’s not right, is it? It wasn’t so long ago.”

 

“Not for us, no, but it will be for your future listeners,” Maglor said. “Go on. The story is the most important part.”

 

“Right,” Elrond said, still unconvinced. “Well. Once upon a time, there was prince who was both beautiful and brave.”

 

“As princes so often are,” Maglor said with a small grin.

 

Elrond looked at him suspiciously, convinced that he was making fun. Maglor, catching that look, schooled his features into utter seriousness. “Please go on.”

 

“Well, this prince was from a great city, surrounded by many mountains. The prince loved his city dearly, but in his heart-of-hearts, he longed for the sea.”

 

The sea, for Elrond, was a terrifying thing, which roared like a lion and got damp into everything. But even he knew that The Sea was different, the thought was bigger than anything else, and it was understandable to have your heart moved by it.

 

“But his parents begged him not to follow his heart; he was their only child. They feared that he would be drowned, as mariners often are.”

 

“A hard position, especially for someone so young,” Maglor said, which earned him a frown from Elrond.

 

“I did not say he was young! And are you going to interrupt me every time I speak, Father-Maglor?”

 

“I swear, Child-Elrond, I will say no more until you are finished.”

 

“No!” Elrond said, alarmed. “Surely not, I want your honest praise -- when I earn it, of course.”

 

“All right, you will have my praise -- if you deserve it. What happened to the prince?”

 

“His city fell to its enemies and many in it died without reason. The prince’s favorite knights died for him, and oftentimes the prince wanted to weep for their loss -- save his mother said that he must now save his tears for the sea. And so he did. But he did not forget them -- the Fountain, the Stricken Anvil, and the Golden Flower, whose valiant deeds are sung even today.”

 

Maglor put his hand through Elrond’s fine, black hair and nodded.  

 

“When finally, having walked across the land, heart-sore and grieving, the prince first saw the sea, he was struck dumb by it. It seemed to him that only the sea was large enough to swallow the sorrow he had for his lost city. And still he wanted to become a mariner and sail upon it. And find, if he could, the cure for all the sorrows of the world.”

 

“Would that he could,” Maglor murmured, but Elrond did not protest to this. Instead, he leaned against Maglor’s shoulder with a sigh.

 

“He struck up a friendship with an old man who lived near the sea and together they built the fairest ship that has sailed upon it. And one day, when the prince was coming back from his ship-building, he saw a girl.”

 

“Really, a girl? Are you old enough to notice girls, Elrond?”

 

“No. But this girl was different. She was more beautiful than anyone the prince had ever seen before, even more beautiful than the prince’s own mother, who was acknowledged to be the very loveliest woman who had ever lived -- in the city, now lost.”

 

“Well, in the wider world, there is more competition over these things,” Maglor said, a touch whimsically.

 

“The girl was also a princess, of a lost kingdom.”

 

“Surely this was not a coincidence!”

 

“No, it was Fate. And recognizing that, the two of them were married right away.”

 

“Fate does have a way of rushing things.”

 

“Hush. The princess bore him two sons, as alike as two hatchlings from the same egg.”

 

“Ah! How fortunate.”

 

“Then, the prince’s mother and father (who never were the queen and king), decided that they would go to sea -- and they did. The prince, distracted by his new role in life, hardly marked their passing. That is, until, years later, he realized that his parents had never come back from their journeys. And the prince’s old sea-longing awoke within him.”  

 

“What did the princess think of that?”

 

“She did not like it, not a bit of it. The princess would rather her husband stay by her side, but her husband would not stay. Every year, he set out to sea, and every year his voyages became longer and longer until one day, he did not return. She feared him drowned, and so she took her two sons, who were now old enough to walk, and they went up to the tallest tower in the harbor. From there, they looked out to see if they could find the prince. But they never could.”

 

“And then what happened?” Maglor said.

 

Elrond frowned. “Then the enemies came and the harbor burned. The princess turned into a bird and flew away. And her sons were lost, only to be found by one who had set the flame. And the princess never, ever returned to her sons. And neither did the prince.”

 

There was a long silence before Elrond said softly, “I am not as good as you are at telling stories.”

 

“No, Elrond, you did very well  --”

 

“Do you think I left something out?”

 

“Nothing important,” Maglor said at last, and carefully placed a kiss on the top of Elrond’s head. “Come along now, Elrond, the rain has stopped.”

---

Chapter End Notes

Thank you to my beta, Elleth!