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randomplaces2013-02-11 08:51 pm
random_xtras) wrote in randomplaces2013-02-11 08:51 pm
Entry tags:
D'Coda
(LoTR fanfic, written 07-09-05) Gandalf makes one last visit before leaving Middle Earth
There was a stirring in the shadows under the trees and the sound of footfalls, padded by the leaves of years gone by. Shadowfax tossed his head gently and moved sideways, bright eyes fastened on the forest.
"Easy, friend." The old man on his back absently rubbed his hand over the silken shoulder and the great horse stilled as though turned to stone, his neck arched proudly.
The stirring of the trees increased as the footfalls became louder and the old man smiled as a mighty figure came into sight. "Well met, Treebeard…." He broke off and looked with wonder at the being who ran easily at the old ent's side.
It was a girlchild, but of no race that the old man could recall seeing before. Her skin was a soft, dark brown, as of polished wood. Her hair, which flowed freely over her shoulders in tumbled waves, was of a greyish, mossy gold. There was an air of permanence to her, almost like the feeling one had gotten around elf children, but she was far too tall and sturdy to be a child of the Eldar.
"Well met, Gandalf!" boomed Treebeard, creaking to a stop and making a slight bow. "Hoom! It is good to see you again, old friend."
The white wizard blinked from his musing and smiled up at the guardian of Fangorn. "Yes, it is good." He turned and looked back over the fertile fields of Rohan, face going slightly sad. "Very good."
Treebeard looked down at him, his large eyes full of knowledge. "You have come to say goodbye."
Gandalf started and turned back to him. "Yes," he said wistfully. "I'm going Home. My work in Middle Earth is finished, and now I may rest. But I will miss this place, and the people I have known."
"Will you not meet them again?" asked the clear voice of the child, surprisingly deep, but still sweet.
Gandalf smiled, his dark eyes twinkling as he looked down at her and saw the green lights dancing in the backs of her large brown eyes. "Yes, indeed I shall, and someday all of Middle Earth will be reborn. It was only the sentimental musing of a tired old man who has seen too many summers come and go."
She cocked her head, smooth forehead creasing. "My father says that you are more than an old man, and you have not seen as many summers as he."
"Haroom, D'Coda, that is enough," boomed Treebeard fondly. "One mustn't be hasty, especially when speaking to an elder."
The little girl looked up at him, blinking, then turned back to Gandalf and grinned in response to his.
"How did you come to be a father, Treebeard?" asked the wizard. "Or is that tale too long to tell?"
"Haroom, hoom, no." The old ent turned and looked into the forest, then moved slightly so that he stood in the sun. "It is rather too hasty to even be called a tale. You remember how we cleansed Isngaurd with the river?"
"Very well," said Gandalf, slipping down from Shadowfax's back and bidding the horse to be at liberty. "You must have found many things washed up from those holes and cellars."
"Hoom hom." Treebeard's old eyes crinkled slightly at the corners as he watched his friend seat himself on a mossy bank in the sun. "Indeed, we did. Young Pippin and Merry were very excited."
D'Coda stood and looked at Gandalf in wide-eyed wonder for a few minutes, then glanced up at her father and walked over to the wizard, cautiously bending herself down to sit next to him on the bank and smoothing the mottled green smock she wore.
He smiled at her, then looked up as Treebeard gave a rumbling chuckle. "I remember. The rascals."
Treebeard nodded. "Yes, how are they doing?"
"Very well." Gandalf's eyes went far away. "They've become leaders among their people."
"Hoom, hoom, I'm glad. But I was telling you of how we came to find the child." Treebeard turned so that he too was enjoying the soft sunshine. "Yes, it was shortly after I had freed Saruman and you had ridden by on your way to take the young hobbits home that we began to notice the trees speaking of something that had come from one of the holes under Isngaurd. They couldn't tell us what it was, and the creature was too wary for us to catch a glimpse of it. But we were not worried overmuch, for the trees liked it, and it never harmed them." He bent his head to look down at D'Coda, who was lightly tracing the leaves of a wild strawberry plant with one finger. "Haroom. Then one day Bergalad was up on the far wall, checking some saplings he had planted there after a storm, and he heard something crying. When he went to see what it was he found a small brown creature with mossy hair bending over one of the little trees that had been broken by the wind. She was frightened of him at first, but he spoke to her gently and showed her how the sapling could be bound so that it could heal, and she came to him. Haroom, hoom. He brought her to me, asking what she was, but I could not tell him. Hoom, hoom, hom, ha. We held a council and decided that I should keep her till we could discover her race."
Gandalf gave him a look full of surprise. "You don't know what she is?"
"Haroom, hoom, no. Do you know? Have you seen her like before?" Treebeard leaned forward as much as he was able.
"I have never seen her like before," said Gandalf gravely. "But her race is unmistakable, Treebeard. Do you not recognize your own kindred when you see them?"
The old ent was frozen in astonishment for long minutes, but then he spoke. "She is no ent."
"No. She is no ent." Gandalf looked at the child, who had turned to frown at him questioningly. "Has she no memory of her life before she found herself in Saruman's dungeons?"
"None," said Treebeard. "She remembers only waking on the hillside above Orthanc, wet and hungry."
Gandalf reached out and gently took her chin in his hand, turning her face toward him and noting that though she resembled a maid of perhaps ten summers she would be nearly at a height with him when she stood. Bending his head, he looked into her eyes and felt himself nearly topple into a bottomless well of innocent wonder overshadowed by the murmuring of trees and flowers.
Gasping, he pulled away, then looked up at Treebeard with a broad smile. "As I said, her race is unmistakable."
"But…." Treebeard's deep voice trembled, and the trees behind him shuddered in sympathy. "That would make her…."
"She is an entmaiden," said Gandalf, nodding.
The old ent swayed like an old tree buffeted by a hurricane, then gave a rumble of rage. "How many lives of trees did she sit in the darkness as we went about our lives all unknowing? Saruman shall pay for this outrage!"
"He has paid," said Gandalf calmly. "He can pay no more, for he is no more."
D'Coda gave a little cry of dismay, her hands to her face as she stared at her foster father fearfully, and Treebeard seemed to suddenly suck all the anger and discord of the trees into himself. "Haroom, I am sorry, little one."
She stood uncertainly, hands half lifted, and he scooped her up and held her close, murmuring in the ancient tongue of his people, their people.
Gandalf watched for a few minutes, then turned his head toward the West and stood slowly.
"It is time to go?" asked Treebeard softly from behind him.
"Yes. I feel Galadriel and Elrond calling me." He lifted a hand as Shadowfax trotted up, resting it on the great horse's cheek. "Goodbye, my friend."
"Haroom, don't be hasty. Goodbye is forever." Treebeard's eyes shone. "Surly we shall meet again at the end of the world. Say rather 'fare well'."
"Yes," Gandalf smiled faintly, glancing at the ring that glimmered on his finger. "Fare well, till we meet again. May your trees always be healthy, Fangorn, and may you see your children and grandchildren grow strong."
"Haroom hoom, hom hoom, harummba." Treebeard bowed stiffly, then turned and walked back into the shadows of the trees, his child still held tenderly in his arms.
Gandalf watched him go, then turned and leapt astride Shadowfax, turning him toward the Shire for the last time.
There was a stirring in the shadows under the trees and the sound of footfalls, padded by the leaves of years gone by. Shadowfax tossed his head gently and moved sideways, bright eyes fastened on the forest.
"Easy, friend." The old man on his back absently rubbed his hand over the silken shoulder and the great horse stilled as though turned to stone, his neck arched proudly.
The stirring of the trees increased as the footfalls became louder and the old man smiled as a mighty figure came into sight. "Well met, Treebeard…." He broke off and looked with wonder at the being who ran easily at the old ent's side.
It was a girlchild, but of no race that the old man could recall seeing before. Her skin was a soft, dark brown, as of polished wood. Her hair, which flowed freely over her shoulders in tumbled waves, was of a greyish, mossy gold. There was an air of permanence to her, almost like the feeling one had gotten around elf children, but she was far too tall and sturdy to be a child of the Eldar.
"Well met, Gandalf!" boomed Treebeard, creaking to a stop and making a slight bow. "Hoom! It is good to see you again, old friend."
The white wizard blinked from his musing and smiled up at the guardian of Fangorn. "Yes, it is good." He turned and looked back over the fertile fields of Rohan, face going slightly sad. "Very good."
Treebeard looked down at him, his large eyes full of knowledge. "You have come to say goodbye."
Gandalf started and turned back to him. "Yes," he said wistfully. "I'm going Home. My work in Middle Earth is finished, and now I may rest. But I will miss this place, and the people I have known."
"Will you not meet them again?" asked the clear voice of the child, surprisingly deep, but still sweet.
Gandalf smiled, his dark eyes twinkling as he looked down at her and saw the green lights dancing in the backs of her large brown eyes. "Yes, indeed I shall, and someday all of Middle Earth will be reborn. It was only the sentimental musing of a tired old man who has seen too many summers come and go."
She cocked her head, smooth forehead creasing. "My father says that you are more than an old man, and you have not seen as many summers as he."
"Haroom, D'Coda, that is enough," boomed Treebeard fondly. "One mustn't be hasty, especially when speaking to an elder."
The little girl looked up at him, blinking, then turned back to Gandalf and grinned in response to his.
"How did you come to be a father, Treebeard?" asked the wizard. "Or is that tale too long to tell?"
"Haroom, hoom, no." The old ent turned and looked into the forest, then moved slightly so that he stood in the sun. "It is rather too hasty to even be called a tale. You remember how we cleansed Isngaurd with the river?"
"Very well," said Gandalf, slipping down from Shadowfax's back and bidding the horse to be at liberty. "You must have found many things washed up from those holes and cellars."
"Hoom hom." Treebeard's old eyes crinkled slightly at the corners as he watched his friend seat himself on a mossy bank in the sun. "Indeed, we did. Young Pippin and Merry were very excited."
D'Coda stood and looked at Gandalf in wide-eyed wonder for a few minutes, then glanced up at her father and walked over to the wizard, cautiously bending herself down to sit next to him on the bank and smoothing the mottled green smock she wore.
He smiled at her, then looked up as Treebeard gave a rumbling chuckle. "I remember. The rascals."
Treebeard nodded. "Yes, how are they doing?"
"Very well." Gandalf's eyes went far away. "They've become leaders among their people."
"Hoom, hoom, I'm glad. But I was telling you of how we came to find the child." Treebeard turned so that he too was enjoying the soft sunshine. "Yes, it was shortly after I had freed Saruman and you had ridden by on your way to take the young hobbits home that we began to notice the trees speaking of something that had come from one of the holes under Isngaurd. They couldn't tell us what it was, and the creature was too wary for us to catch a glimpse of it. But we were not worried overmuch, for the trees liked it, and it never harmed them." He bent his head to look down at D'Coda, who was lightly tracing the leaves of a wild strawberry plant with one finger. "Haroom. Then one day Bergalad was up on the far wall, checking some saplings he had planted there after a storm, and he heard something crying. When he went to see what it was he found a small brown creature with mossy hair bending over one of the little trees that had been broken by the wind. She was frightened of him at first, but he spoke to her gently and showed her how the sapling could be bound so that it could heal, and she came to him. Haroom, hoom. He brought her to me, asking what she was, but I could not tell him. Hoom, hoom, hom, ha. We held a council and decided that I should keep her till we could discover her race."
Gandalf gave him a look full of surprise. "You don't know what she is?"
"Haroom, hoom, no. Do you know? Have you seen her like before?" Treebeard leaned forward as much as he was able.
"I have never seen her like before," said Gandalf gravely. "But her race is unmistakable, Treebeard. Do you not recognize your own kindred when you see them?"
The old ent was frozen in astonishment for long minutes, but then he spoke. "She is no ent."
"No. She is no ent." Gandalf looked at the child, who had turned to frown at him questioningly. "Has she no memory of her life before she found herself in Saruman's dungeons?"
"None," said Treebeard. "She remembers only waking on the hillside above Orthanc, wet and hungry."
Gandalf reached out and gently took her chin in his hand, turning her face toward him and noting that though she resembled a maid of perhaps ten summers she would be nearly at a height with him when she stood. Bending his head, he looked into her eyes and felt himself nearly topple into a bottomless well of innocent wonder overshadowed by the murmuring of trees and flowers.
Gasping, he pulled away, then looked up at Treebeard with a broad smile. "As I said, her race is unmistakable."
"But…." Treebeard's deep voice trembled, and the trees behind him shuddered in sympathy. "That would make her…."
"She is an entmaiden," said Gandalf, nodding.
The old ent swayed like an old tree buffeted by a hurricane, then gave a rumble of rage. "How many lives of trees did she sit in the darkness as we went about our lives all unknowing? Saruman shall pay for this outrage!"
"He has paid," said Gandalf calmly. "He can pay no more, for he is no more."
D'Coda gave a little cry of dismay, her hands to her face as she stared at her foster father fearfully, and Treebeard seemed to suddenly suck all the anger and discord of the trees into himself. "Haroom, I am sorry, little one."
She stood uncertainly, hands half lifted, and he scooped her up and held her close, murmuring in the ancient tongue of his people, their people.
Gandalf watched for a few minutes, then turned his head toward the West and stood slowly.
"It is time to go?" asked Treebeard softly from behind him.
"Yes. I feel Galadriel and Elrond calling me." He lifted a hand as Shadowfax trotted up, resting it on the great horse's cheek. "Goodbye, my friend."
"Haroom, don't be hasty. Goodbye is forever." Treebeard's eyes shone. "Surly we shall meet again at the end of the world. Say rather 'fare well'."
"Yes," Gandalf smiled faintly, glancing at the ring that glimmered on his finger. "Fare well, till we meet again. May your trees always be healthy, Fangorn, and may you see your children and grandchildren grow strong."
"Haroom hoom, hom hoom, harummba." Treebeard bowed stiffly, then turned and walked back into the shadows of the trees, his child still held tenderly in his arms.
Gandalf watched him go, then turned and leapt astride Shadowfax, turning him toward the Shire for the last time.
Reviews
i loved the description & you characterised treebeard perfectly, he would talk like that and he would make a good dad [ well, if you had all the time and patience in the world that is!]
-I only popped by to leave a thank you for your kindly reviews on my stories. I never expected to find such a charming and delicately written peice, full of life and character like this. I am very impressed with the warm and poetic nature of your writing, you really have a talent for storytelling. Thank you for sharing this with us. Lamby
-Aww, super-kawaii! *adds to faves* I love Ents! This is so amazing... I'm just wondering how you pronounce D'Coda, is it like Dakota? I'm so mad nobody's reviewed this yet. People just love to review all the Leggy stories and they skip over the Ent ones! Arg... oh well. This is an AWESOME story so good job!
Meg