FLICKERS ON THE WATER

by Soledad

Disclaimer: The characters, the context and the main plot belong to Professor Tolkien, whom I greatly admire. I’m only trying to fill in the gaps he so graciously left for us, fanfic writers, to have some fun.

Rating: given individually to each piece.

Archiving: my own website, Edhellond and Gildor’s Library. Everyone else, please, ask first.

FOREWORD

Flickers on the Water is a series of Silmarillion-based drabbles, featuring characters from both the First and the Second Age. There is no connection whatsoever between the individual pieces, save the fact that they all take place in my personal settings. Theoretically, they should be canonical, aside from the emphasis on characters or events I found particularly interesting.

FLICKER #1: THE EASTERLING’S WIFE

Rating: G

Summary: Aerin’s thoughts after Túrin had slain her husband, Brodda. Told from the beholder’s perspective, not from her own. 105 words.

Author’s note: J.E.A. Tyler assumed that Aerin was slain by the enraged Easterlings after Brodda’s death. The UT contradicts this, but I found the theory intriguing.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Túrin fled in the night, driven by rage and sorrow, leaving Aerin behind with the bloody corpse of her husband. He had had his vengeance, and she was now utterly alone.

Brodda had been a harsh man, enemy of the Edain, willing ally of Morgoth. But she had found a purpose in his house, helping her own people – Túrin and his mother among them.

She had never loved him, nor the children he had sired, but now she had no-one left.

She heard the uproar from the outside and knew they were coming. She rose and opened the door, welcoming the first strike.