Chapter 3

She let go of my hand, and I hung my lamp on my belt and followed her as she took hold of Syvaroth’s uneven trunk and began to climb. At first, there were only bare branches until I could see the first silky leaves, telling us we were getting closer to the crown. I’d thought we would halt here, but she kept climbing, sometimes disappearing between the branches, and I was forced to follow until we were high enough for the massive white flowers to appear. They were large enough to stand in, with a soft scent that filled the air, stirring something I could not name. I knew why our people came here. Is that what she wanted, too…?

When she finally halted, waiting for me on a branch wide enough to lie across, I made my way up next to her, watching the still dark sky between the leaves. She gestured for me, and we continued out onto the limb, and I followed her until we were out of the leaves. Below, the dark city spread out, with only a few lights marking its place in the landscape. I sat down next to her, watching the faint glow of a new dawn appearing on the horizon and painting the sky in soft red and violet hues. How could something so beautiful destroy everything we loved…?

“It’s gorgeous,” Tauriel whispered as the first rays of sun danced on her face.

“It is… Beautiful and terrifying at the same time…” I added.

I leaned back, inhaling the fragrance of the flowers, and the fear and tiredness I’d felt slowly eased.

"I will miss it…”

“Me too…”

I glanced at her. It had been such a long time since we spoke anything other than practical matters. Even if these few words we’d exchanged could hardly count as conversation, they carried more weight than all the talk we had shared as we volunteered. I missed it, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d dared to ask her to spend time with me like this, like we used to do. Was it a year ago, when most of our friends and their families had left? I still remembered following them to the large transport skid, watching it take off as we waved goodbye, wishing them good luck on their journey through the stars. Or was it earlier, when we were old enough to understand that one day we would leave everything behind?

I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with the soft scent, and watched the empty city below us. It was so quiet, and soon even we would be gone, taking the last ship to Yavannael, our new home. I wonder what it would look like…? Tauriel had tried to show me the images from that distant world, but I’d always refused to take a look.

I glanced at her fiddling with the wrist pad that controlled her suit. She’d peeled back most of the fabric when we started to climb, leaving only a short strip around her hip and another one across her chest, but the slender garment still felt wrong and out of place against the soft leaves of Sylvaroth. Why did she have to be like this…? I had hoped that this day would become a beautiful memory I would carry in my heart on our Journey. She would have worn a white gown, shimmering against her dark skin, just like our forefathers had donned when they were forced to leave Elarion behind, not a suit that reminded me of the inevitable end of all the things I held dear. I wanted to remember what we had while there was still time, not dwell on the impending fate drawing closer with each passing day as the sun slowly expanded and its core burnt hotter, marking the end of its final cycle.

"Ninareth, we are leaving tomorrow…" Tauriel whispered.

“I know…”

I unfastened my shawl and folded it on my lap, exposing my bare shoulders to the warm sun dancing for the last time.

“How do you feel…?”

“I don’t know… How do you say goodbye to this…?”

I shook my head, and she lay down, gazing at the horizon as the sunrays sparkled on her dark skin.

“I don’t think you can…"

A shadow of sadness shot across her face.

“Aren’t you excited about the Journey?” I asked.

She rested her chin on her hands and looked at me.

“I am, but I will miss everything we will leave behind too…"

Deep inside, we weren't that different, even if we had different ways of saying goodbye… I hesitantly reached out and sang,

I will cry seeing you go

but the light we once shared …

Her fingertips touched mine, and her voice rang in the air,

will shine brightly in my heart

keeping me warm through the night

The world fell silent, and the gentle Flow of Sylvaroth pulsated around us. I watched the rays of the sun shimmer in her silver hair as I gathered the courage to sing an Aelindë that had come to me during one of those long summer nights we’d spent gazing at the starry sky, but I had been too afraid to sing back then. Today was the last chance to share it with her before we embarked on our journey through the stars. I hesitated for a moment before interlocking my fingers with hers and letting my voice ring in the air.

I believed you wouldn’t care

and out of fear, I stayed silent.

Now my eyes shine brightly

Under the starry summer nights.

She stood up, her hand still woven into mine, and she pulled me to my feet.

Autumn leaves turn red and yellow

as we walk holding hands

When winter comes

your smile will keep me warm

I followed her back along the branch, and she halted by a half-open flower shimmering in the air. Its soft fragrance was almost intoxicating, and specks of pollen swirled in the air around us, painting my white gown in pastel hues.

“We don’t need to if you don’t want…" she whispered, gazing into my eyes.

I held her gaze and brought her hand to my chest before letting go of her fingers and brushing a speck of pollen from her cheek. Her hand stayed, resting on the silky fabric of my gown, and a gentle breeze swirled in her silver hair as I slowly took it off and hung it from the branch next to my crystal lamp.

Her dark skin was spotted with golden pollen, and I took her hand in mine. We stepped into the blooming flower, my feet sinking into its soft centre, and she knelt down, scattering golden dust in the air, and I watched as the huge white petals slowly closed around us, shielding us from the light of a sun coming to an end.

“Aelira na melin Tauriel.”

I whispered the word of power, weaving her name into the Flow.

.

“Aelira na melin tu, Ninareth," she whispered into me, putting her hand on my chest, and I let my forehead touch hers as I slowly opened myself to her Flow.

Soft dust swirled around us as we lay down, illuminating the empty world with its golden rays, and her fingers intertwined with mine. I tasted the glimmering powder from her lips as her arms wrapped around me, painting my bare skin with pastel shades, and the visions of our bodies, clad in starlight, floated in the dark void of space, surrounded by a myriad of stars accompanying Aeltharion on its Journey towards our new home as the dying sun consuming our world filled my senses.