Chapter Text
It was the beginning of summer when Tamuril and Arwen arrived in Lothlórien. Arwen was on one of her usual trips to stay with her grandparents, to spend time with her beloved mother’s side of the family, and Tamuril had tagged along for a little change of scenery. As much as she loved Rivendell, she was growing far too used to her routine and was steadily becoming more and more restless by the day. Elrond, seeing it, had decided that it would do her good to change things up a little, visit another realm, and Lothlórien had always sounded so pretty and Arwen always came back with such fond memories that Tamuril had not taken too much convincing.
Since her mother was killed by orcs when she was but a child and Lord Elrond had taken her under his wing, Tamuril had grown into a bright, joyful half-elven woman. She adored animals and had a keen interest in writing poetry, and in reading, often spending lots of time in the library with Elrond, who had become half father-figure, half friend to her over the years. Tamuril also loved music and she enjoying singing, her voice a thing of true beauty. Many dinners passed where Elrond would ask her to sing along with the harpists and she was always more than happy to oblige. Tamuril was always laughing and exploring the gardens. She was just happy.
The journey to Lothlórien had been longer than she had anticipated. Tamuril had not truly ever left the borders of Rivendell, leading quite a sheltered life there under Elrond’s care. Sure, she had wandered into the wilds with Elladan and Elrohir but they had still stayed rather close to the valley. Besides, there had never been much real reason for her to leave, even within the borders there was all the wildlife she could wish for and pockets of wilderness to explore. Tamuril had never needed to leave home.
Still, she was not without a sense of adventure and as much as the trip was longer and more winding than she would have imagained, the sense of wonder she felt at all these new sights outshone any exasperation or exhaustion she may have felt. The world was indeed wide and beautiful and she decided quite quickly that she was going to accompany Arwen on her trips to her grandparents realm as often as the other woman would have her.
When they finally reached the borders, they dismounted their horses and left them to linger in the grass. Tamuril was loath to leave Willow, her beloved mare, but the guards assured her that she would be quite safe and happy with the others, meandering around by the river and munching on grass.
The woods of Lothlórien were so beautiful and so quiet. Tamuril moved away from the group after one of the guards had ventured further into the forest to announce their presence (though they never needed to bother as eyes had seen them approach from miles back). She slipped behind a tree and ventured a little further into the wood.
“Tamuril!” Arwen’s voice followed her as the older she-elf came hurrying after her. “Come on, there will be plenty of time for exploration when we reach Caras Galadhon.”
“I just want to see!” Tamuril insisted, lifting her hands to the tree trunk, running her fingers across the bark. She smirked as she looked up high into the foliage and then she grabbed hold of one of the branches and began to swing herself upwards.
“Tamuril!” Arwen sighed, shaking her head. Sometimes Tamuril got ideas into her head and would simply not be swayed to give them up. Arwen crossed her arms, trying to look as stern as her father would when scolding her as a child, but she couldn’t hide her amusement as she watched the elf she had come to see as a sister.
Tamuril chuckled as she climbed higher, coming to stand on a high branch. “Míra (lovely).” She breathed, looking around at the view from up high. In the distance, she was pretty sure she saw some movement in other trees, higher up, but she was distracted suddenly.
“My Lady!” A voice from below called and Tamuril glanced down. She had expected to look upon the face of one of the Rivendell guards but instead her gaze locked with the eyes of a fair haired elven male whom she had never seen before. “I was not made aware that there would be a half-squirrel in the company arriving from Rivendell.”
Tamuril immediately started laughing and the elf below broke out into a wide smile as he looked back at her. “If you would please return your feet to the ground, we will be escorting you through the woods now.”
“Well then, good sir, please turn around while I do so.” Tamuril called back, tilting her head, an amused smile still tugging at her lips. “Or do you wish to stare up my skirts as I climb down?”
With a smirk, the elf below gave her a little raise of his eyebrows and then turned so he was facing away from her.
Tamuril chuckled again, reaching for the branches that had supported her ascent into the tree. However, climbing up turned out to be much easier than climbing down. What started well enough soon turned into a mishap as Tamuril quickly lost her footing. She cursed as she felt herself falling through air but before she had too long for the panic to truly set in, she was caught, strong arms catching her firmly by the waist and setting her safe and sound upon the grass.
Arwen had been standing off to the side watching the exchange with mild amusement but she had turned to converse with others in their party and greet the Lothlórien elves, satisfied that Tamuril was now safely reigned in. She turned back when she heard the commotion as Tamuril fell, her eyes wide as she hurried back over. “Gods, Tamuril! Are you alright?!”
Tamuril was stunned briefly, blinking back up at her saviour - the golden haired elf who had been teasing her beforehand. His reflexes had served him well enough to spin around and catch her before she could hurt herself.
“Tamuril.” He smiled, testing her name in his mouth. “Meeting you has been quite the event. I am Haldir.” He let go of her, inclining his head just slightly as he stepped back, before he turned away to address his men.
Tamuril watched him go, her face flushing just slightly before she tore her eyes away and turned, finally, back to Arwen. The other woman was standing with an amused look in her eyes as she regarded Tamuril.
“What?!” Tamuril gave her a gentle nudge, shaking her head.
“Nothing.” Arwen replied innocently, giving her a soft smile as she led Tamuril back to the group so they could begin the final journey through the trees.
The journey through the wood was relaxing and easy enough. They took one rest, where Tamuril was pretty sure that she kept feeling eyes on her. Once, she glanced up and caught Haldir’s head turning. His expression remained neutral but she could have sworn there was the faintest flush of colour to the tips of his ears. Then they were off again soon enough. Tamuril found herself enamoured with the scenery, quite unlike Rivendell, and when she first set her sights upon the heart of the realm, she could scarcely believe her eyes.
“Welcome, nitya rasillo (little squirrel)...” Haldir spoke again then, turning to glance at Tamuril with a smile as he took in her awe of the realm he so loved. “...to Caras Galadhon.”