There a Pretty Lady Is by StarSpray

dewy riverbanks

Nellas darted through the trees, laughing for the sheer joy of running, and of clear skies and cool shady forests, until she heard the lazy sound of flowing water ahead. She slowed, but only a little. The river was not large, and she was sure she could make it across in one flying leap, if she timed it right.

But at the last moment she set her foot on a branch slick with that evening's dew, and instead of flying across the water Nellas tumbled down into it with a shriek that startled a handful of birds into flight. The water was cool rather than cold, and it was not deep, but the current was stronger than Nellas had thought, and she tumbled along the muddy bottom for a time before the water slowed and allowed her to regain her bearings.

She surfaced to a face-full of lily pads and laughter like rain on the river water. Nellas twisted around as she coughed and spluttered, trying to find the laughter's source while she caught her breath. She caught a glimpse of something yellow as it slid into the water, and a moment later something grabbed her ankle, tugging her down among the lily roots. Nellas kicked free, and found herself face to face with a lady, with sun kissed skin and golden hair that floated about her head like a feathery cloud. She flashed a toothy grin before vanishing into the deeper shadows of the pool.

Nellas swam back to the surface, and then to the grassy bank, clambering out of the pool before she could be pulled back in. As she pulled off her sodden shoes and tried to wring out her hair, Nellas watched the water. She had met old Iarwain, of course, but he had not mentioned any lady who dwelt by one of the river's pools. Yet as she looked around she saw no house, no sign of encampment, nothing save a delicately carved brush lying abandoned on the grass.

The woman emerged from the pool as Nellas started to get to her feet. She laughed and splashed onto the bank. "I thought at first you were an unusually large fish," she said, "and then perhaps Iarwain playing at one of his games, but I see now you are neither! What makes an Elf maid go swimming all clad in dusty leathers in my lily pool?"

Nellas couldn't help but join her laughter. "I fell in," she said. "I beg your pardon, lady, I did not mean to disturb your lily pool."

"You are certainly pardoned, of you shall be if you tell me your name, and sit with me a while in the sunshine to tell me of your travels."

Nellas sat down again, as the lady took up her comb and ran it smoothly through her long golden hair. "I am Nellas," she said. "I came from Doriath, west of the Ered Luin. What is your name, lady?"

"My name?" The lady laughed. "I am the River-daughter, and rivers don't give names, but receive them. Iarwain calls me Goldberry, and I like that well enough." She looked at Nellas with eyes clear as the water in the lily pool, growing dark with the coming twilight. "Will you stay a while with me by my lily pool, Nellas of Doriath?"

About them dew gathered on the soft grass, the drops glinting gently like tiny stars, and a nightingale sang sweetly in the trees. The wind whispered in the willow branches, and the smell of lilies wafted lazily over them from the pool. It was a peaceful place, a place of joy and bright laughter and light on the water—and of course there was Goldberry herself, lovely as springtime with a smile bright as the moon. "I would like that very much," Nellas said.