Trinkets by Independence1776

Not Just Rumors

Nerdanel spies something rare on the plains of Aman. Ficlet. Rated General.

Nerdanel brushed the loose strands of hair out of her face and crested the hilltop, looking out over the gently rolling hills and then down at the bottom, hoping for a creek to cool off in. The day was hot, though the light breeze from the north felt nice. But she wasn’t the only creature here. She slowly sank to the grass so as not to startle the herd of horses grazing at the bottom of the hill. But that didn’t stop several of them from lifting their heads in alarm. Nerdanel inhaled sharply. She’d thought they were only rumors.

Unicorns.

They looked almost like normal horses-- same coat colors (though there were more grays than usual), same general body shape, same behavioral patterns-- save for the short horn on every single head. Even the foals had little nubs.

After the alarmed ones settled down, she pulled out of her pack her lunch-- dried fruit and meat-- and her sketchbook and pencils after she finished eating. She stayed there for the rest of the afternoon watching and drawing them and planning her next statue.

Chapter End Notes

Unicorns may not exist in Middle-earth, but there’s nothing that says they can’t exist in Aman. From ‘Of Eldamar’: “For all living creatures that are or have been in the Kingdom of Arda, save only the fell and evil creatures of Melkor, lived then in the land of Aman; and there were also many other creatures that have not been seen upon Middle-earth, and perhaps now never shall be, since the fashion of the world was changed.”

(In case you’re wondering, this was written mostly as a reaction against the outcry of Mary Sues riding into Middle-earth on such uncanonical creatures that pervaded the fandom-- and unfortunately still does-- when I entered it in the summer of 2004. Which I’m not going to get started on, save only to say that Mary Sues harm no one and that there’s nothing wrong with power fantasies.)