The Keeper of Time

Restless, Frances had given her stained clothes away to the elvish maiden, and gone wandering through the city. Floating away in her flowing dress, she went through many places without any clue about where she was going. Her bare feet were tasting the earth, crunching scattered leaves, touching the rough bark of Mellyrn trees and caressing the winter grass. But none of it felt real. And then when she realised that she was hopelessly lost the lady Galadriel appeared in front of her.

The ethereal elf did not utter a sound but Frances followed her nonetheless. She led her to a private garden adorned with a lovely fountain. Galadriel stood there and the light she radiated was nearly too much to behold. In her arms lay a pitcher of water, and she poured some of the transparent liquid into the fountain.

— "Well met, Keeper of Time."

The radiating presence before her was calling her back to reality. There was no escape from her icy gaze, no way to retreat within herself while the Lady commanded her mind to stand forth. Frances curtseyed.

— "Mae Govanon, my lady."

— "This mirror," she said, "shows things that were, and things that are, and things that yet may be. But even the wisest cannot tell which of those it may be."

Puzzled, Frances turned her gaze to the elf. From the very beginning she had never managed to shake the uneasiness that surrounded her, and she knew that this weird feeling came from her. Galadriel was neither good nor bad, even if immensely powerful. Contrary to her granddaughter Arwen, the Lady of the woodland realm was absolutely neutral. Frances had never enjoyed defying others, especially when facing such a dangerous being, for dangerous she was. But neither was she in the habit of backing down. And so she waited for Galadriel to state her intentions.

Suddenly the elf smiled, and her warmth engulfed Frances. Gone were the fear of spiders and the dark thoughts that had plagued her mind. Was she being tricked by the witch, or helped? She could not say. But still her heart seemed to expand, and the walls of silence were crumbling down around her. Panic should have seized her, for without those protections, Frances would be bound to face her fears and acknowledge the trauma she had just been through. But she felt strangely at peace.

— "Do you wish to look in the mirror?"

— "Should I?" she answered genuinely.

— "The choice is yours."

For eternity Frances rolled the questions and possibilities in her mind. The mirror would show her what she wanted. But it could also show her what she feared, what she wished for, or anything that could happen in another place and time. How would she sort it out if there was no way no know what was true?

What if she missed something, if the tide of the war could be changed by learning a very small detail? It was one of the most difficult decisions of her life. Eventually though, she came to a very simple conclusion. The choices of this life were hers, and there were still many possibilities to explore. She could not afford to be led astray by her fears and hope. Life was full of surprises, and as the Keeper of Time she was sometimes granted intuitions that helped her greatly. Best not to parasites those intuitions by some makeshift magic.

— "Then I think I shan't. Thank you very much. But I would, however, hear with great pleasure anything that you can tell me about the Keeper of Time for you know what I am."

Galadriel, if surprised, did not flinch an inch. She only set down the bucket on her arm, staring at Frances with intensity.

— "You see," continued Frances, "this pretty necklace didn't come with its user manual and Lord Elrond mentioned that you might know something more than his extensive library did not."

This time, the Lady of the wood smiled. It had been a long time since she had encountered such freshness, and she decided to settle down on a stone bench. She motioned to the girl to sit next to her, and waited for her to decide whether she would trust her to be this close or not. Frances held her breath as they sat, her back as stiff as a board. Had she offended the Lady with her sarcastic speech? The power emanating from Galadriel made her body hum to a point that it felt like she was riding a dolphin in a storm.

— "I can help you but a little for I was gone from Aman when the first Keeper of Time was created, and therefore did not witness it firsthand. Will you hear it anyway?"

Frances' eyes widened at the question. Of course she would hear it. Galadriel was the first one not to answer 'I don't know what you are talking about'.

— "Please, will you share it with me?"

— "The story I am about to tell you is a very ancient one, and much of it has been lost over the years. What you found in the library was but a remain of the tale which was passed over the years."

— "How so?"

— "In the dark times of Morgoth, when the fortress of Angband had not yet been destroyed and only the lights of the trees illuminated our dwellings, men were born under the stars. They were the second race created by Eru, mortal beings but so passionate. And yet they did not see the light. The Valar had not yet decided how to subdue Melkor's power, but the men greatly suffered from his presence. There was no day, only eternal night, and Morgoth's creatures lurked in the dark. In the meantime, amongst my people, my uncle Feanör had created jewels of pure light and beauty, the Silmarils. He had captured the trees' light within, and Morgoth craved for them so intently that he massacred many of the Noldori to steal them away. The spider Ungoliant helped him in his quest, and ruined the beautiful trees of Aman in doing so. The world was cast in darkness, and both sombre beings escaped to middle earth to hide the Silmaril and their light"

Frances shuddered at hearing about the giant spider. Damned beasts !

— "The Valar asked Feänor if they could use the Silmaril to revive the trees, but my uncle refused them. His pride had blinded him, and he fomented an expedition to get the precious jewels back."

— "You do not approve of this," bluntly stated Frances.

Galadriel shot her a guarded look that made the young lady cringe.

Oops, I might as well have shut my big mouth.

— "I was young at the time, and was in need of wiseness. Much happened between Feanör and The Teleri, the people of my mother. He set sail for middle earth, and perished against the Balrogs of Morgoth without recovering the jewels. Linked to his disgrace by family, I myself decided to cross the great iceland in the company of my brother, and we settled in Beleriand. And then from here I can only relate what I have been told, for I was not present. The Keeper of Time, and this jewel that you wear, was created by Aulë himself. As Feänor had managed to capture a piece of the trees light, Aulë took upon himself to enclose the power of life into this rock. He presented it as a gift to the Valar, and for a long time they were afraid that another war would rage for this jewel. In the end, they decided that they could not wield it, for they were far too powerful to do so without interference to the worlds."

— "A bit like the ring? I know that Gandalf refuses to touch it…"

Galadriel seemed to shudder at the thought, but it was so slight that Frances wondered if she had dreamt it.

— "Yes. And beyond. Even if this power is way beyond the rings. The Valar decided that only a pure heart could use such a gift. Aulë travelled the world in search of a heart, and it took him many years before finding what he was looking for. He eventually met a young elleth whose intentions were as bright as the light of the day. He gave it to her under the promise that she would not roam this world until Morgoth was vanquished."

— "How so?"

— "I believe you already know the answer to that."

Frances' brows furrowed, and she realised what Galadriel meant.

— "And so the jewel took her away from this world."

— "And so she let it guide her life, and disappeared from middle earth. The girl went whenever she was needed, and her actions would always trigger a chain reaction. You see, the Keeper of Time has her own free will, but the Valar give her the possibility to alter things ever so slightly to those events would change. It is a choice that is given to her, but with little control from the higher beings. The Keeper of Time alters everything around her without even knowing it, and she chooses the moment when she wishes to pass on this power."

— "It is always a she?"

— "It has always been, for men cannot be given such a power without being corrupted by it. Women know much about love and sacrifice for only them can wield the power of life."

Frances reflected on this for a while. In all the worlds and ages she had visited, the power of life always resided in women. And to give birth many would die, but all were ready to make this sacrifice for their children's sake. The Valar choices made sense, but it still felt unfair to the good men she had known to be deprived of such power.

— "What if Aragorn had been the one to wield it? Of all men he for sure would never be corrupted by power…"

— "The choices of the Valar are not mine to discuss," Galadriel answered cryptically, a smile creeping up her flawless features.

— "And yet, would you confide such power in him?"

Galadriel suddenly stood, her eyes boring holes into hers.

— "I have confided in him something much more precious to me than this jewel," she said stiffly.

The young lady could not help but shudder. For a while she had forgotten that Arwen was Galadriel's granddaughter. There was some hidden sadness and rancour to let the Evenstar go to her death for love, a feeling that she had seen on Lord Elrond's face whenever he contemplated the young couple.

But aside from this very elvish dilemma, something else was bothering the Lady of the woodland realm. Despite all her realness and beauty, Frances felt a pang of bitterness in her. But there was no time to dwell on this, and Galadriel parted with her with a few wise words:

— "Now I have told all, Keeper of Time. Be true to yourself and you will achieve the Valar's will."

— "I thank you for enlightening me for it was much needed."

— "Rest now," said the Lady, "no harm shall befall you within the border of Lothlórien."

It was the same words that she had told the company upon their arrival. And then she kissed her on the brow, and Frances realised that the great shadow of fear was slowly clearing away from her thoughts. She left the garden and let her feet wander on their own, but she soon realised that they had carried her back to the fellowship's camp. The hour was late, and they were quietly smoking before turning in for the night. Seeing its members brought balm to her wounds. Had Galadriel worked some magic on her soul, or had she buried her fear of spiders so very deep within herself? Only time would tell. Nonetheless, she felt like a ticking time bomb.

Frances' light feet did not make a noise on the soft ground, and yet upon her arrival all eyes turned to her. A great silence fell upon the company, and no one felt bold enough to break it. Truth be told, she did not feel like speaking. Did all of them know how weak she had been, had Legolas and Gimli told the story in depth to their companions? They were a fellowship, and the expected them to keep no secrets. Then why did she feel so ashamed? She took upon herself to break the heavy silence, her voice wavering as she said:

— "Well, do you mind if I stay with you tonight? I won't be a bother, I'll just settle on the ground right there."

A concert of protestations echoed in the forest. The elven Prince, though, ignored them all and settled the matter. Reaching for her hand, he dragged her to his cot. Then, as gently as one would manipulate a baby, he wrapped the warm blanket around her shoulders. Frances looked up, gazing in awe as his features glowed in the falling night. His voice was soft, and so low that only she could hear.

— "I shall not sleep this night, and keep watch. Good night, fair lady."

His hands did not leave her shoulders until she was lying down on the mattress. His scent enveloped her as her fiery hair spread on the pillow. Frances could feel the warmth of his fingers, and soon weariness overtook her entirely. A few moments later, she was sleeping soundly, all thoughts of spiders gone from her mind.