Tales of Fear and Woe by lightofthetrees

Chapter 6: Blood is thicker than water

A young Galadriel experiences a vision of the Kinslaying at Alqualonde. 

Artanis loved pretending she was one of Ulmo’s maiar when she swam. Today, she imagined her hair, long and blue, trailing out behind her and the Tree-light gleaming upon her silver scales as she propelled herself through the water with her legs. She was the fastest swimmer of all the maiar, and the most powerful. She could summon storms more terrifying than Ossë’s, but she could be as gentle and kind as Uinen, helping lost fishing boats find their way to safe harbor.

She surfaced, laughing to herself and delighting in the feeling of warm Tree-light against her skin and the way her hair fanned out behind her. Ango and Aiko played in the waves nearby, splashing one another. She was considering joining her brothers in their game when she noticed something colorful beneath the water – perhaps there was an object buried in the sand on the sea-floor! As a maia, she knew she must investigate.

Artanis drew in a deep breath and dove downwards. The water she was swimming in was not too deep, but it still took her a good bit of effort to find what she was looking for. It was a conch shell, bright pink and white. She grinned and dislodged it from the sand surrounding it, then pushed off of the sea-floor with her feet.

That was when she felt the hand grab her by the ankle. That was when the sky above her and the sea around her changed. All at once it was night, and she could taste iron as well as salt on her lips. She suddenly found herself near a series of piers whose supports made the darkened ocean look like a forest.

Flames flickered above the surface of the water, and she could hear muffled shouts and splashes as other elves jumped – no, fell – to join her beneath the waves. Some were Noldor, dressed in shirts made of interlocking rings of mail, with the star of her Uncle Fëanáro on the tabards they wore over top. Their eyes went wide as they hit the water, flailing against the pull of their heavy clothing as they sank. Others looked like her Telerin kin, and though their clothing was lighter, she realized that they were bleeding. Someone had cut them on their arms, their faces, their shoulders, their bellies, and the water around them became even darker in the flickering torchlight.

One of the sinking elves clutched at her and she screamed, filthy water rushing into her nose and mouth. When she looked down, she could no longer see the sea-floor. Instead there were just Noldor in their strange metal clothing – sinking, sinking, sinking. And there was a hand on her ankle, its grip like iron when she attempted to shake free of it, and it was dragging her down along with the others. She kicked and kicked, but still the Noldo would not let go. She thrashed with her arms but could get no closer to the ever-receding surface.

Then everything was gone.

When Artanis awoke, Ingo was holding her close, singing softly, and she was wrapped in one of the blankets the Arafinwions had brought with them to the seashore that morning. It had been intended for basking in the Tree-light, but Artanis found that she was grateful for even the small bit of warmth it provided, for she was shivering.

“Ingo?” she asked, searching for his eyes. She found them, and they were gentle but very, very worried. He stopped singing once he noticed she was awake.

“I’m here, Artanis,” he said.

“Your hair is wet,” Artanis noticed, squinting up at her brother. “Did you save me from the water? Uncle Fëanáro’s servants were trying to drown me!” She shook her head. “But you weren’t there.”

Ingo frowned, but then he nodded. “You were having a vision, little sister. What you saw was not real.”

“Oh.” That had only happened once before. It had been like a dream, except she’d been awake when it started and she’d fallen on the ground. Atya said later that she shared his gift. Foresight. She would see things from other times, or things that only might happen.

She shuddered and hoped that what she had seen would only be a might.

Chapter End Notes

I know these ficlets were meant to be published at Halloween time, but it's been a crazy semester and I had some inspiration for the prompts I didn't finish before. So here you go! :) Spooky fics in December.