The Hidden Pool

[Ellroher]

Ellroher just smiled, "My dear, I am an Elf of many talents and skills. You just never asked." The stunned look on her face had been priceless. It was a beter reaction then he could have hoped for. He looked at the fiddle in his hand for a moment then explained. "I should have never stoped playing. His memory is kept alive when I play this fiddle, I should never have tryed to forget." Turning back to his wife, Ellroher kissed her cheak and said, "You did. I wanted to join you when you played your flute. It always seemed like I was set aside, like all I could do was listen and not join in making music. Rediculus I know, but that was how I felt. So, I found my fiddle and began to practice again in secrit." He tucked the fiddle under his chin and drew the bow across the string. He played a short but quick tune then layed it down. "Now, I won't feel left out and can join you in making music that will set all the elves of Imladris dancing and singing again."

[Eglaneth Alatáriel]

"Oh? I wonder what those other skills and talents are," Alatáriël said. Alatáriël reached for Ellroher's hand and held it lightly, as if though a sign of comfort. "You play in his honor, but when you had stopped playing, it went against his honor. If you continue to play, he will know that he has not been forgotten."
Alatáriël smiled when hearing that it was her that inspired him to play once again but found it rather silly that he felt left out when he couldn't play with her and only listen. "But I loved it when you listened to me play," Alatáriël said. "There is no reason why you should feel like that. It's a wonderful to have someone sit before you and listen to you while you play instead of just sitting on a balcony and playing to no one in particular, but now I have someone to make music with."

[Ellroher]

Ellroher patted Alatariel's hand, showing that he was comforted by her words. "Yes. And his memory will never fade again." Ellroher looked embaressed and said, "I know. But sometimes you get feelings like that. You can't explain why you feel that way, but you do. But I do love listening to you play." He gave her hand a quick squeaze and added with a smile, "You can play for me anytime you want. And now, I can return the favor." He raised his bow again and pulled it across the strings and began to play. He glanced up at Alatariel and gave her a wink. "Do you remember this song, my love?" Ellroher continued playing, as the music took him back to what seemed like so long ago, yet was really not that long. The music he had first heard at Dunharrow and had gone to find it's source.

[Eglaneth Alatáriel]

"It happens to us all sometimes," Alatáriël said. "A times you can understand why you the way you do and sometimes you cannot, not everything has answers." Alatáriël squeezed his hand in return. It did not matter to her if he returned the favor or not. It wasn't really that important to her personally, but to her husband, it was. She watched as Ellroher began to play another song. She listened carefully to the music, trying to pick up anything familiar in it. Although it took a minute or two, when she realized what song it was, she smiled. The first song he heard her play and he learned how to play on his fiddle.

[Ellroher]

Ellroher glanced up from his fiddleing at Alatariel. The smile on her face told him that she knew what he was playing. Turning back to his playing, Ellroher changed the tune slightly. He had been playing the part that Alatariel had played. But that part was for a flute to play. The tune for him was slightly faster, and more of a support to the main song. Ellroher waited for his wife to raise her flute to her lips before falling compleatly into the song.
When the song finaly came to an end, and Alatariel had finished the last note, Ellroher layed his fiddle down and smiled. The sun had compleatly disapeared and the moon and stares shined in the sky. "That was beautiful. We really make a good team, don't we?" Ellroher laughed and added, "All we need is a drum to keep time, and we could have all of Rivendell dancing." He looked at his insterment for a moment then sheepishly reaplyed. "Well, maybe not. That was pretty much the only song I have practiced. But I think I might be able to remember another one."

He picked up the fiddle again and began to play. At first, it was broken. As if Ellroher was trying to find which tune it was he wanted to play. He started one song, then changed to another. Finaly he began to play smothly. His foot kept time as the bow moved up and down accross the string. The tune he played was an old Rohan dance. He had learned it at the wedding feast of Goldwine. The memory made Ellroher smile. Soon he could not sit still and stood up, still playing. He began to shift from one foot to the other, untill he was almost dancing himself. He suddenly let out a great laugh and began to play harder. In his minds eye, he could see Goldwine and his bride, dancing around and around the bon fire. "Those were happy times." Thought Ellroher as he finished playing. He looked over at his wife and corrected himself. "No, these are happy times."

[Eglaneth Alatáriel]

Alatáriël laughed at Ellroher's comment about the drum. She leaned back against a tree and watched as he began to play another song. She observed his movements and knew well what was going on in his mind. Happy memories of his long years in Rohan were in his thoughts. He had spent nearly half of his life there and had made a lot of memories there. A lot of his happiest times were there so Alatáriël often knew when his second home was in thought.

Seeing her husband dance and laugh as he played had inspired Alatáriël. She stood up smiling and began to dance along to the music, jumping and spinning around. She thought herself a better musician than dancer, but she enjoyed all arts.

Alatáriël closed her eyes as her own memories came to thought, dancing in the gardens when she was small. Her mother loved to dance and Alatáriël would often dance with her in the gardens. In her mind, she saw herself as a tiny Elfling dancing with her mother. She smiled and nearly laughed in the childlike tone she once had. However, the memory left her thoughts when the music ended. Ellroher finished his song and Alatáriël smiled.

[Ellroher]

Ellroher was both surprised and happy when Alatariel suddenly stood up and began to dance to his playing. He had never seen her do that before. Of course they had danced together many a time. But he had never seen her dance by herself. It had captivated him. But perhaps what had surprised him the most was when she started laughing. For a moment, it sounded childlike and carefree. He smiled and said, "Alatariel, I never knew that you were such a great dancer." He reached out and took her hand and asked, "My love, are you alright? I have never seen you so merry before. Had I known that my fiddle would have had such an effect on you, I would have brought it out on the night we first met." He smiled at her, realizing that he kept falling more and more in love with her.

[Eglaneth Alatáriel]

Alatáriël loved the look on Ellroher's face. She knew she had taken him by surprise. She smiled back at him and spun around once more. He nearly caught her by surprise when he suddenly reached out and took her hand, questioning if she was well. Alatáriël smiled and laughed.
"Of course I am," she replied. "It was not your fiddle that brought me to dance. It was watching you dance that had inspired me to do so." She kissed her husband's hand softly then gave it back to him. "I hardly ever dance in that matter, which is why you have never seen it. My mother loved dancing and I use to dance with her often, but when she and my father left Middle-earth, I rarely ever danced. I had the memories in mind while I was dancing tonight."