The Singer's Girl by Lady MSM

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

    By the time I'd finished packing, the sun had started to set and the feeling of determination I'd felt earlier in the day had begun to wear off. Feelings of determination do that, I've noticed.
    I mean, there was always the possibility that Maglor had died, or gone crazy, or met another girl-hell, there was always the possibility (I thought with a gulp) that he'd married another girl. And I would be leaving behind my job and my friends and my apprentice, and I could die or go crazy myself...
    Oh, to hell with that, I thought. I'd rather give it a go and have an adventure than sit around here being bored and miserable. If I don't find him I don't find him and that'll be that.
    So I girded my loins, hoisted my bag over my shoulder and started down the path out of my woods for the last time.
    I'm leaving now, I informed any of the animals I was acquainted with who I came across. I wish you luck.
    Will you return? one fox asked me.
    Perhaps, I replied. Unlikely.
    You will be missed, said the fox, and disappeared back into the forest.
    I sighed. It was sad saying goodbye to the animals, certainly, but it was a hell of a lot easier than saying goodbye to Vanafinde would be. I got the feeling she wouldn't really understand the situation.
    Vanafinde was already in her nightdress when she answered the door. "Oh, hullo, Andril," she said, yawning. "Sorry I look like this, I was planning to go to bed early. Do you want to come in?" She looked confusedly at my packed bags. "Why do you have all your bags with you?"
    I took a deep breath. "I'm leaving, Vanafinde."
    "Oh, all right. When will you be back?"
    "Maybe never," I replied. "Vanafinde, I'm not going to visit Nerdanel and Romenella. I'm going to Middle-Earth to find Maglor. He'll need me now that the war's over."
    The expression on Vanafinde's face went from bewilderment to pure fury. "You're leaving?" she hissed. "You're ridiculous! I thought we were friends, Andril, and now you're abandoning your home and your job to chase after some lunatic prince who probably won't even remember you..."
    "He is my fiancé, Vanafinde," I interrupted sharply. "Which means he's my family, the only family I've got. Not to mention that right now, I'm really the only family he's got. You think I'm not worried about this? I'm terrified, Vanafinde. But the fact of the matter is, you don't need me. He does. So I'm going to go rescue him."
    There was a long silence, during which I got increasingly nervous. I knew I was leaving, but at the same time I knew I couldn't leave without Vanafinde's support.
    At last she sighed. "Fine, I suppose you know what you're doing." She laughed and shook her head. "But your children are going to be incredibly strange, you know that?"
    I laughed too. "I know, my dear, I know." I hugged her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Vanafinde."
    "Thank you, too," she said with a sad smile. "Try to come back someday, all right?"
    "I will," I said. "Goodbye, Vanafinde."

    I'd been planning to walk to Tirion, but fortunately I came across a farmer driving a wagon of vegetables to the city and managed to catch a ride with him. I felt a bit guilty about waking up Nerdanel and Romenella before the sun was even up, but I figured that since it was Nerdanel's son I was heading off to rescue I owed them an explanation and a goodbye.
    Nerdanel was surprisingly calm about the whole business. "Good luck, dearie," she said with a nod. "When ye find him, make sure ye feed him. Sure and he never did eat enough when he was under stress."
    Romenella, as usual, went for the bawling-her-eyes-out approach. "Oh, Andril, you're so brave," she sniffed. "I wish I could do what you're doing. If only it weren't too late..."
    "There, there," I said, patting her on the back. "At least Celegorm's probably going to get reembodied in Valinor. That'll make things a lot more convenient for you."
    She nodded and hurriedly wiped away her tears. "I'll really miss you. You've been like a sister to me, you know."
    "Same here," I said, giving her a hug. "And Nerdanel...this may sound odd, but you've really been like the mother I never had. Even though you're actually younger than me."
    "Sure and I'm just the motherly type, I suppose," said Nerdanel with a smile. She patted me on the cheek. "Now go off, girl, and rescue that damn son of mine. You can take one of the horses from the stable."
    I nodded and silently left the house. Saying goodbye probably would have made me burst into tears, which would have been pretty inconvenient at the time.

    The journey to Alqualonde took about three days, during which I was in such a hurry that I barely stopped to eat or sleep. By sunset on the third day, I finally arrived, exhausted and stinking, at the city gates. The guards gave me odd looks but didn't question my entrance.
    My first order of business was to find an inn near the seashore, where I sold my horse and inquired of the landlady how I might find passage to Middle-Earth.
    "Are you crazy, girl?" she laughed. "You want to go to Middle-Earth? Love, no one wants to go to Middle-Earth, everyone's coming from there...or have you been living under a rock for the last ten years?"
    I rolled my eyes. "I'm aware that this is an odd request. I just want to know if it can be done."
    "Not without help from Osse himself," said the landlady sharply. "Now are you going to order anything, or just stand there asking me ridiculous questions?"
    I ordered some supper and sat down to think. Evidently getting passage to Middle-Earth wasn't going to be an easy task, but I'd expected as much when I set out on this quest and so the landlady's reaction wasn't much of a surprise. The trouble was figuring out what to do now. Sailing myself over was out of the question, as I had no idea how to sail a boat and a one-person craft would be smashed halfway across the sea anyway. Paying a captain to take me east would cost a fortune, and even with my accumulated life savings I was no millionaire. And as far as I knew, unless you were a bird, the only way to get across the sea was to sail. Heavens, the landlady had been right, I really couldn't do this without help from Osse himself...
    I paused with my fork halfway to my mouth, and grinned.
    Well, it was worth a try.
    
    In the wee hours of the morning I tiptoed out of my room at the inn and headed down to the beach. The lights around town had finally gone out, and I could carry out my plan without fear of being seen.
    The only noises as I walked down to the shore were the waves and the, which was cold for the time of year. I wrapped my cloak around me, took off my shoes, and stepped carefully into the edge of the sea.
    I took a deep breath and began yelling.
    "Osse!" I cried. "Lord of the Seas! I am in need of your assistance!"
    There was no response. Feeling a bit foolish, I nonetheless carried on.
    "Please, Lord Osse, listen to me and give a poor girl some help," I said in a slightly more pleading tone. "I'm at your mercy here."
    Still nothing. I began to feel fairly annoyed.
    "Oh, come on, Lord Osse, I know you can hear me. You're a god for Eru's sakes, and here I am standing ankle-deep in this freezing cold water practically begging you for a bit of a favor, and I know I'm nothing special but at least I respect you enough to ask politely, which ought to be worth something..."
    I was cut off by the wind, which had rapidly increased in speed and volume. The sea looked like someone was stirring it with a giant spoon, and the water that had been up to my ankles was now halfway up to my knees. Though I could barely see through the sand that the wind whipped into my eyes, I could make out a tall, dark figure rising up through the water.
    "Speak," said Osse.
    It's difficult to describe exactly what he looked like. He was rather -blurry around the edges. I could make out that he was about three feet taller than me, with a long beard and some kind of blue glow emanating from him. I felt like I ought to say something, something respectful and humble...
    Unfortunately, all I could think of to say was, "I can't believe that worked."
    "Do not waste my time with thy foolish comments!" boomed Osse. "Thou hast called me from the sea in an exceedingly rude manner which I ought not to have acknowledged at all. I would advise thee to spend the few minutes of my attention with which I grant thee to prove that thy troubles are worth my while."
    "Right. Sorry," I said. "Well, I'm aware of how odd this sounds, but I need to get across the ocean. Eastwards across the ocean. To find my fiancé."
    "And why cannot this fiancé of thine return of his own volition?"
    "Er, well..." I said. "My fiancé is Maglor Feanorion."
    "Oh," said Osse with a note of disapproval in his voice. "I am very familiar with that name. He and his family have committed crimes that thou dost not know of, child."
    "Oh, I'm aware of all the scandalous details," I replied. "And I think he's been an absolute idiot, but the fact is that I love him and I really think he needs me at a time like this. And I've heard you're tough, Osse, but I know you're fair, and I think you'll be able to help me out."
    There was a long silence, during which I was certain I was going to be drowned and tried to come up with some profound last words.
    "Art thou aware," said Osse finally, in a gentler voice, "that if thou moves goes after Maglor, the same curse that is on him will be on you, and you will be unable to return until he is permitted to?"
    I squared my shoulders and nodded. "That seems reasonable. So you'll help me?"
    "I shall do what I can," said Osse grudgingly. "Because I believe loyalty should be rewarded. And a woman who is willing to risk her life to attempt to rescue someone who the rest of the world reviles certainly has loyalty, if not common sense."
    I couldn't help it. I beamed at him.
    "Thank you, thank you so much," I gushed. "So what form exactly will this help take?"
    "I am sorry," said Osse. "I believe my time is up."
    There was a deafening crash of waves, and then he was gone, the sea returned to its earlier calm. Wiping away the tears that had somehow appeared in my eyes, I whispered a silent prayer of thanks.
    And then I curled up on the beach and slept for a long, long time.

Chapter End Notes

Yes, I know it's ridiculously far-fetched. Don't give me that look; you think this is an easy job?