Flame to Smoke by Celandine Brandybuck

Story notes: _Benn_ (pl. _binn_) and _bess_ (pl. _biss_) are the Sindarin words that mean "man" and "woman" respectively, in the general sense, not referring specifically to mortal Men. I use them to indicate a male Elf or a female Elf when I feel that the English terms might be misleading. I also attribute certain properties to _lembas_ that are not attested to by Tolkien; for that and other reasons this story should be considered AU. It is in essence bookverse, however, not filmverse; thus Haldir does not fight at Helm's Deep, and Melpomaen (though of course borrowed from the film of FotR originally) neither appears at the Council of Elrond nor escorts Arwen to the Havens. There are cameos by several other familiar figures, however. I hope that the present story stands on its own despite its strong connections to tales earlier told.

The last line is a paraphrase of Ruth 1:16-17, and Melpomaen did say it to Haldir quite early on in their partnership, as related in _Passages_. A _yén_ is 144 years of the sun. _Meldanya_ is the Quenya word meaning "my beloved," which I choose to use in preference to Sindarin as an adopted endearment, probably brought in by Galadriel and Celeborn when they came to Lothlórien. Bilbo, incidentally, insisted that he ought to have a few moments, since most of the story takes place in his adopted home of Rivendell, though I tried to tell him he was a distraction from the main story. You know how stubborn Hobbits can be, as bad as Dwarves in their way. And, oh yes. The title is a quote from Shakespeare.

Flame us! Yay!
The Staff

Disclaimer: We do not own this; it owns us.