Between Dawn and Dusk

IV: Letting the Sun Rise

by Lily Frost

              "Quit fidgeting!"

              "You are pulling it, naneth!"

              "Yes, out of your face." Galadriel said, dragging the comb through her daughter's stubborn locks one last time and then surveying the slighty-wet curly mass and sighed. "It is as neat as it will get."

              Celebrian smiled in relief that the yanking was over. Galadriel now started braiding the silvery tresses with deft fingers, working tiny white alfirin, niphredil and lake pearls into a complex weave, leaving little ringlets to fall about her bare shoulders.

              "Leave more down."

              "Like this?"

              "Yes, around my face." Celebrian said, and paused. She gave her dress sleeves a venomous tug, uncomfortable in the fancy, white gown with its lace frills and several dozen silk skirts. It felt monstrous and heavy, the bodice squeezing the life-breath out of her, slender though she was. She was drowning in white silk. A smile slunk across her lips at the mental image of Elrond lifting layer after layer of it away only to find nothing beneath it all, and his bride gone into thin air. Where was she? Celebrian momentarily entertained the idea of running away. But she couldn't do that. She loved Elrond, did she not?

              Loved him with all her heart.

              Nevertheless, she was afraid, deep inside she worried that she was not good enough for him. What if he didn't show up? What if she did something wrong, tripped or forgot her vows, despite them being printed on her heart itself. Or if she...

              "Are you nervous, daughter mine?" Galadriel interrupted, as if reading her thoughts. (She did not normally, and Celebrian was very good and veiling them.)

              "No." Celebrian replied, though her voice belied her word.

              "No, little star?" Galadriel asked, a smile upon her lips, "Not nervous on your wedding day?"

              "Well, a little." Celebrian admitted, at the bemused tone of her mother's voice.

              "Do not be. You will be now, it is natural, but you have no reason to be."

              Celebrian raised her knees to her chest, the dress bunching between her body and them, and gazed at her reflection in the vanity in front of her, Galadriel's other mirror, a sheet of some type of metal or glass polished until it could reflect images with perfect precision. It was dwarf-made, and given as a gift to the Lady of the Wood a long age ago. Her own reflection stared back at her. She touched her now complete hair gingerly, and gave her head a shake to settle it.

              When Celebrian looked back, her breath caught in her throat. Her feet dropped to the ground, skirts swishing, and her reflection continued to stare back at her; wide-set eyes, of the most vivid blue, stared back at her from a pale face with a strong nose and jaw and high cheekbones. She was utterly elven. Suddenly, she felt young, realized her youth in sharp contrast to Elrond's age; would she voice this? Did she want to share this with her mother... of course.

              "Elrond is so much older than I am."

              "Ah, but the youth of men is brief."

              Celebrian's eyes glimmered, touched with the rebellion that had been so prominent in her childhood. "Do you disapprove of Elrond because he is half-human?"

              "He is a good, just, and wise man. Your adar would agree."

              "But do you both feel he is a good choice?"

              Galadriel hesitated; in truth she had hoped for something to develop between Celebrian and Legolas, the son of Thranduil, for the sake of uniting Lothlorien and Greenwood, which were near to one another. Imladris was so far! But it was a peaceful place, and, though not as great as the woods of Lorien, it had it's own beauty. Her daughter would bring her silvery laughter to those halls, a queen among elves!

              Galadriel bent down, and held her daughter in a tight hug. "We love you. If it is your choice, then it is the only choice we would ever consider. If you love Elrond, and Elrond loves you, so be it. The unification of our two lands pleases us, but Imladris at times seems so far away, and it is difficult for us to let you go..."

              "I shall be sure to visit back here, whenever I can, and you can visit Imladris as well..."

              "So long as we know you are happy, we are happy too."

              Celebrian pulled away from her mother, and had a bit of moisture wiped away from her face, blushing a little bit at being caught as such.

              "You look lovely." Galadriel told her. "You are lovely." She added, and kissed her on the forehead. "Now, shall we go and get you wed?"

              "Let us go." Celebrian declared, her voice suddenly strong, queen-like, and stood up to take her mother's arm to be led out; two queens, side by side.

fin