((This beautiful piece is from the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. I love that game myself, because I think it is simply beautiful and well thought out! Composed by Koji Kondo, Toru Minegishi, and Asuka Ohta. No Copyright intended, and I use this only for private non-profit purposes.))
Third Age 3021, Mithlond
The white ship, the very last one, swayed to and fro, the swan prow gracefully moving up and down the water, as if a real swan were carrying all the last willing Elves of Middle-Earth towards Valinor. Daerundros held her breath: She would be going to Valinor.
She looked back to Middle-Earth, the land where she had lived in, grew in, travelled in. However, she was not feeling joy at sailing west, she felt sorrow, sorrow for leaving her "sister" behind.
A frown of sadness upon her face, she moved sadly about the harbour, watching Círdan, the Ship-wright, carefully move up to the ship, with figures whom she could not fathom. She had to go now. Daerundros slowly ascended the ship, her eyes still moving to the Land she had loved and lived in. With a sigh, she started to turn her back, but...
A gleam of Pale White-blond hair caught her eye, and she gasped.
Staring across the Harbour, smiling, yet with tears streaming down her cheeks, was Minyelaire, clad in odd white garments, her spear shining in the sun. Daerundros wanted to yell one last final goodbye, but she could not do so, her voice too weak to say anything, instead, she mouthed words.
"Farad vaer, Thêl vuin, Farad vaer..."
Minyelaire grinned at Daerundros, and swift as a hawk, she ran up to the now departing ship, trying to grasp Daerundros' hand for one last time.
"Thêl vuin..." Minyelaire trailed off. The ship moved slowly away from the ground base, and Minyelaire saw herself dangling off the edge of a ship, Daerundros' hand the only thing able to prevent her from falling in the water. Suddenly, she tried to tug on Daerundros' arm.
"What? No... no!" Daerundros snarled, "You are not ruining this for me!"
"But sister..." Minyelaire glanced at Daerundros, hurt and shocked, "Do you not wish to stay in Middle-earth?"
"No." Daerundros' voice was cold and icy. Minyelaire let out a sob.
"I will miss you..." Daerundros looked at Minyelaire in surprise, and she hoisted Minyelaire up, close to her, to hug her one last time.
"I will see you again," Daerundros smiled, "I am sure we will."
Minyelaire looked up at her, a true smile now forming upon her face. They were now leaving the docks of Mithlond--
Suddenly, Minyelaire's hand slipped from Daerundros' grasp, and she landed on the edge of the dock, smiling and waving at Daerundros in farewell.
Daerundros could not help but smile and cry at the same time, but she slowly stiffened herself. Minyelaire would not want her journey to Valinor to be sullied by tears. She went to the cabins, tired and at loss for words, she went to sleep, but not before feeling fresh wind in her face; The ship had now hoisted itself up in the sky, by the Straight Road.
______________________________________
Daerundros woke up. Elves could be heard shouting in joy, in merriment, and the ship swayed gently now.
Yawning slightly, Daerundros stood up and moved to the upper decks. What she saw would never prepare her.
The Land lay in beauty, the purity and being of it, radiant and shining. Flowers, trees, everything fair and beautiful, were scattered about the long fresh grass, covered in fresh dew, young and alive.
Here and there Elves were moving about, reunited with families, surveying the Blessed Realm, or simply taking in the sheer beauty of the land.
"Where in Aman are we?" Daerundros asked, bewildered.
"On a dock, Alqualondë, I daresay." An Elf with silvery hair said. Daerundros peered about, and judging from the amount of Silvery hair there was among the Elves, she guessed that it perhaps was Alqualondë.
Daerundros moved about the ports, going about and smiling to herself, accompanied by the Silvery Elf, who was watching her in admiration. A road, made out of stone, lead from Alqualondë to a forest.
"Where does this road lead to?"
"To Tirion, city of the Noldor." The Silvery Elf said.
"City of the Noldor..." Daerundros trailed off. Suddenly, without another word, she moved across the road and sprinted towards the forests. She did not notice that her shoes had mysteriously disappeared, and she was running with the wind, her bare feet hardly making any noise against the stone. She also did not notice that the Elf with the Silvery hair was no longer with her. She was on her own in the forest.
Daerundros was thoroughly enjoying herself in the forest, smiling as she examined the nature. The trees were lively and majestic, a masterpiece created out of soil and grass. She surveyed the trees eagerly, before she came upon Tirion, the city of the Noldor.
At once, she recognized two Elves out of a crowd of Eldar, waving at her and smiling. A small child Elf stood next to them.
"Ada!" Daerundros cried, overjoyed, "Nana!" She ran to her parents, giving them earthy hugs, while the child peered up at Daerundros, surveying her with keen interest.
"Nana," The child tugged at Candeth's dress, "Who is this?"
"Araweniel, this is your older sister, Daerundros."
Astonished, Daerundros looked at the child. She had golden hair that came down to her hip, her features all to similar of Daerundros' childself. It was like a replica of Daerundros, only with her Vanyarin features more prominent.
"Muinë nésa...." Daerundros mumbled, looking at Araweniel in surprise. She had never had a sister, and this came quite the shock to her. Her parents smiled at Araweniel.
"Why do you not play with some of the other children?" Turon said, hugging his daughter. The family watched as Araweniel nodded and smiled, her eyes fixed upon Daerundros, as she moved to a group of children who were singing and laughing.
"This is my sister..." Daerundros began again...
"Daerundros..." Turon said, "I - We - are sorry."
Daerundros whipped her head up, her short hair swaying to her movements. Candeth began;
"We did not wish to leave you..."
Daerundros silenced her mother, and pulled her parents into a long embrace, happy to finally be reunited with her family.
"I missed you..." She sobbed. Turon chuckled.
"Where is the stout warrioress that I saw?" He laughed. Indignant, Daerundros pouted, but before she could reply, she heard something calling faintly, "Come here..."
"Someone is calling for me," She mumbled. Turon and Candeth smiled at each other, seemingly understanding the situation, "Go, find her."
Confused, Daerundros moved to the Forest, looking about the trees.
"Here!" Someone hissed faintly. Alarmed, Daerundros peered around, but gasped in shock, speechless as she recognized the figure hiding between the bushes. Her heart nearly stopped and her mouth fell open.
Minyelaire, again.
"Sister... you did not sneak up on the ship, did you?" Daerundros eyed Minyelaire suspiciously. She could have sworn that she saw her waving off the docks, and could not fathom a possible way for Minyelaire to have found her way to Valinor.
"No." Minyelaire said, "I am as shocked as you are. One moment, I was watching your ship disappear, the next moment I blink, I found myself here, in this forest..." She trailed off:
"So this is what Valinor is like?"
"Do not worry, sister. There is plenty more to see." Daerundros chuckled.
Minyelaire snorted, but laughed, "It feels so... lively."
Daerundros could not help but smile. However, once she tried to touch Minyelaire's arm, she gasped. Her hand moved through Minyelaire's without a visible touch.
"A vision?" She mumbled, rubbing her eyes.
"I do not know, but the spirits..." Minyelaire said, "Perhaps..."
"Then let us talk, and talk, and talk!" Daerundros laughed. She would use this one last moment to talk with Minyelaire before they were seperated forever.
Minyelaire and Daerundros walked off, watching the stars above them shine, as they faded into the forest, talking and laughing audibly. However, Minyelaire slowly became more transparent as time passed, and Daerundros clung on to their final moments dearly, refusing to let Minyelaire go.
Such things are not meant to last forever, sadly. Minyelaire sighed as she started fading from sight.
"Nínion an gwannad dhîn." Minyelaire said. The Avar was barely recognizable now, almost nothing more than a mere shade, and Daerundros wept. Swiftly, like an animal that ran through the carefree wilds, Minyelaire disappeared and faded from view, her hand the last thing Daerundros could see before Minyelaírë Loteriel Shiannafèya evaporated, gracefully moving up the sky before a breath of air kissed her transparent form, and she vanished. The wind rushed, and Daerundros stood there alone for a long time, tears streaming down her cheeks. She sighed and headed back to Tirion to find solace and comfort in her parents.
They would not meet again until the second music of the Ainur.
