A/N: This short story is based on an artwork which I really like, found at a site called GFX artist by the user Enayla. All the work is really good, though this story is based on one called “The melody of your demise.” I tried to put in a link, but when I uploaded the chapter it vanished, so that’s the best I can do. I advise you all to look, it’s definitely worth it!!!!

Elladae, Robert, and their daughter Aleana are my own creations, as is their world and my idea of magick, though Mithril and Mallorn both belong to Tolkien. I have to say that Elladae and her family are my favourite of all characters and worlds I have ever created, made for an RPG. Do you think I should do more stories around them?

Bonus points for anyone who knows where the quote in this story is from!

Also, the song in this story is “Time to Say Goodbye” by Sarah Brightman and some random Italian guy…

Memories

Quando sono solo
sogno all’orizzonte
e mancan le parole

The village was still, the houses dark and quiet as their inhabitants dwelled in the world of dreams. A full moon shone down out of the crystal sky, bathing the tiny village with light. An owl hooted softly and spread its wings to fly away, but not a soul stirred in the sleeping village.

Not a soul, that is, but a single cloaked figure, who stepped out of the back door of the furthest house and moved towards the beckoning woods. Her step was soft and graceful, not a single blade of grass broken, and her deep blue dress trailed behind her and picked up the dew. As she reached the well-worn path leading into the forest she let down her hood, leaving her long black hair free for the moon to bathe in it’s silver light.

Si lo so che non c’è luce
in una stanza quando manca il sole,
se non ci sei tu con me, con me.

She walked down the dirt path swiftly and surely, though the branches of the trees hid the moon and her eyes were blinded by darkness. This was a path that she had taken many, many times, and she knew it better than her own home.

Before she knew it, her feet had brought her to a silver bridge crossing a small river near where it formed a crystal pool, the waters shimmering in the moonlight. It seemed like only yesterday when they met, and looking into the smooth surface she saw the image of a younger version of herself.

*********

A young girl bathed carelessly in the river, safe in her shelter of the forest with the sun shining overhead. No one dared venture into the forest – everyone knew it was filled with witches and devils. Looking up the river in the direction of the sparkling waterfall surmounted by the crystal city, she smiled. Yes, the forest was the domain of the Sorcerers and Sorceresses, and there she would always be safe.

Her form was small and delicate, barely 5’2” with long black hair hidden behind delicately pointed ears. She had a grace and ethereal beauty unlike the other inhabitants, and some whispered that she was an elven foundling. But it did not matter to her that no one knew who she was or where she came from, the Crystal City was the only home she had ever known, and she was happy there.

Suddenly, her keen ears heard a sound and she spun around to face the trees from whence it came. Her blue eyes, the colour of the crystal water, scanned the trees for any movement, moving towards the banks to grab the Mithril sword that she had received for her sixteenth birthday, scarcely a week beforehand. Slipping on a white dress, she started to move towards the trees with sword drawn, and then she saw him.

He was tall and strong without being bulky, his long blonde hair tied into a simple ponytail. Frowning, she looked at his clothes, when the axe in his hand gave away that he was a Human. Startled, she began to back away, hoping to escape him and lead him away from her family. What was a human doing this deep in the forest? For the first time in her life, she knew fear.

Everything might have gone very differently, if at that very moment she had not tripped over a branch and fallen to the ground, breaking her delicate ankle. Trying to be brave, she drew her sword and held her breath, waiting for the death that would soon take her. For a minute she cowered, her eyes tightly closed, when she realized that she had not yet been decapitated. Tentatively opening one crystal blue orb, she stared into the concerned blue eyes of the stranger.

He held out a hand to her, which she stared at with hesitation. Was this a trap? Why wasn’t he going to kill her? Then he opened his mouth, and his soft voice bewitched her. “Are you alright, miss? I’m sorry I startled you, I never expected to see a creature so beautiful in such dark and dismal woods.”

Quietly, she asked, “Why haven’t you killed me?”

Shocked, the stranger stepped backwards, shaking his head. “I would sooner kill myself than a beautiful person such as yourself. What are you known as, little water nymph?”

“I’m called Elladae,” she replied softly. “It means the Dark Star in the old elven.”

The stranger smiled and helped her up, supporting her weight as he carried her to a log and sat her down, tending to her injury. “I’m Robert Greenway, and I couldn’t possibly leave you out here alone. Do you have a family I could take you to?”

“Ye…” she started, then stopped herself. She could not lead this stranger to the crystal city – no matter how nice he appeared, all humans hated magic, and would destroy them if they could. She would rather die than reveal their secret. “No. I was just traveling to the village to find work.”

Robert frowned, knowing very well that she was lying to him, but decided not to question her. “Then I guess you’ll have to come home with me until you’re healed. Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you.” Gently he lifted her small form into his arms and carried her back to his home, where the villagers were stunned to see such a beautiful creature. Some called her a devil, an evil fae, but to Robert she was his little Nymph, and he would not let anyone hurt her.

Su le finestre
mostra a tutti il mio cuore
che hai acceso,
chiudi dentro me
la luce che
hai incontrato per strada.

********

Smiling, Elladae looked up the river in the direction of the Crystal City where she had once lived, and continued to walk up the path. It was growing rougher as she progressed, but it was no challenge for her agile feet, used to picking out the easiest path in rough terrain. Walking through the woods, she wondered how Robert could ever have found them dark and dreary. Though she lived in the village now, the woods would always remain her first home, the place where she belonged.

Con te partirò.
Paesi che non ho mai
veduto e vissuto con te,
adesso si li vivrò

Walking past the familiar trees, she reminisced over their strange courtship. True to his word, Robert had protected and helped her, and by the time she was fully healed she no longer desired to return to the Crystal City. Instead, she chose to stay with him, sacrificing her schooling and friends for the love of a human. Her friends thought her crazy, loving one who was unmagickal, but she knew better. Robert understood her like no one else had, he accepted her with her magick, and he made her feel like part of a family. He was her true love, and nothing could part them.

Finally, her surroundings reminded her of where she really was. The twisted tree trunks had given way to an open clearing covered with silver flowers that glowed in the moonlight. Bypassing the early mounds and broken stones, she made her way straight to a slab at the very back of the clearing, next to a silver Mallorn tree. It seemed well cared for, unlike most slabs there – the polished stone glistened in the moonlight, protected from weeds, and in a pot at the foot she placed a bunch of pure white roses as she read the inscription.

Robert Greenway

1234-1261

Loving husband and devoted father

“Death cannot stop true love – all it can do is delay it for a while.”

A tear glistened in her sapphire eye and fell down her cheek, dropping onto the polished marble which marked his last resting place. Softly, she asked, “Why did you have to go, Robert? You promised we would be together forever!”

Con te partirò
su navi per mari
che, io lo so,
no, no, non esistono più.
con te io li vivrò…

But she knew that he had had no choice in the matter. It was in the nature of her husband to fight against injustice – indeed, that was one of the main reasons she loved him so. She had just never expected him to die so young, when they had had all their lives ahead of them. A twenty-five year old widow, she was left with a seven year old daughter, a house on the edge of the forest, and a lifetime of memories.

Quando sei lontana
sogno all’orizzonte
e mancan le parole,
e io sì lo so
che sei con me,

Drying her eyes with her hand, she looked at the inscription. He had chosen it, as she held his hand and watched the life ebb out of him through the gaping hole in his side. “Death cannot stop our love,” he had said, as he wiped away her tears and kissed her pale cheek. “I will never leave you, not while you still remember me. And we will meet again one day.”

Smiling, Elladae kissed the ring she still wore on her hand, and softly talked to her husband. “I will never forget you, Robert. I wish you could see our daughter, she’s grown so beautiful. She looks like me, but she has your gentle soul. She turns eleven tomorrow, and I’ll take her to the Crystal City to train as a Sorceress. She’ll be a powerful leader, just like you said she would.”

tu mia luna tu sei qui con me,
mio sole tu sei qui con me,
con me, con me, con me.

Then she took out her harp and sat on his tombstone as she did every sunday night, playing the song which he used to love so much. As she played, she could almost feel his spirit whispering in her ear, telling her that he loved her. And she knew that he was watching over her, protecting them from harm. He would always be with her, because she would always remember him.

Con te partirò.
Paesi che non ho mai
veduto e vissuto con te,
adesso si li vivrò.
Con te partirò
su navi per mari
che, io lo so,
no, no, non esistono più,
con te io li rivivrò.
Con te partirò
su navi per mari
che, io lo so,
no, no, non esistono più,
con te io li rivivrò.
Con te partirò.
Io con te!