A Thread, Pulled, by Elleth

[ladyelleth.livejournal.com]

B2MeM Challenge:
N38: AU Card: Lúthien never loved Beren
Format: Drabble
Genre: AU
Rating: Teens
Warnings: Character death, non-graphic
Characters: Lúthien, Daeron, Beren, Finrod, Maedhros, Morgoth, (Vairë)
Pairings: N/A
Summary: Vairë weaves her tapestry...
Note: I borrowed some phrases from the Lay of Leithian.


A thread pulls from the tapestry, and silver shears are quick to clip it.

The minstrel cries, "An evil walks the wood, away!" The maiden flees, hides herself in Thousand Caves, still hemlock in her hair. Above, the slow, dull thread of mortal feet falters, ceases as he falls. Doriath's archers swiftly restore peace, and take the ring from mortal hand. "A common thief," they say, dismissing,"'tis Finrod's sigil."

Thus, in Nargothrond still music plays. On Himring, Maedhros sits in gloom for years on end. In Angband, Morgoth is sensing uproar in the fabric of the world – he laughs.

Comments

[dwimordene-2011.livejournal.com]

Hm... testing, testing...

[dwimordene-2011.livejournal.com]

Damn. Okay, I think LJ ate my comment. *grumbles* As I was saying, before technology so rudely interrupted:

You make good use of the point that, as the meme now goes, "One does not simply walk into Doriath"! The minstrels calling the guards, who do what guards do, separate the lovers before they can ever meet, implying a whole new story drawn from Vairë's loom will be needed if Morgoth is not to have the last laugh. And well done, that line about "a common thief!"

I do not remember whether Lúthien is shown in the Silm wearing or associated with hemlock, but this symbol of death and mortality remains appropriate, given that it seems certain many, some of whom might have lived in the original story, will die now as a new story rises in place of Beren and Lúthien.

[ladyelleth.livejournal.com]

Technology, unfortunately, has become such a necessary evil (and LJ has been glitching for me all day).

Thank you! The whole new story - I tried to include that, if only by hinting at the changes their lack of meeting would effect - Maedhros wouldn't pick himself up to begin working on the Union of Maedhros, but on the other hand Finrod wouldn't die, Celegorm and Curufin wouldn't incense Doriath... there would be no line of Half-Elven from Lúthien's side, so no Elrond, Elros, possibly no Númenor... in fact it's probably one of the most monumental changes that could be wrought in all of Tolkien's legendarium.

I do not remember whether Lúthien is shown in the Silm wearing or associated with hemlock
Not in the published Silmarillion, surprisingly - but Canto III of the Lay of Leithian (and the LoL Recommenced) as well as Aragorn's song mention hemlock (Lúthien hiding in the bushes, actually) - and the moment that allegedly inspired the fictional meeting, of Edith Tolkien dancing, also happened in a hemlock clearing, so no small surprise that it features so strongly. I always did love the mortality symbolism that it represented (especially regarding Lúthien's story, it's such a perfect and somewhat unassuming detail), so it seemed apt to include it here as well. :)

[engarian.livejournal.com]

Loved the angle that you took on this. It always has seemed so unlikely that an elvish beauty would fall in love with one of the great unshorn/unwashed of the second-born. Yet, in canon, it happened. What changes would have occurred outside of canon....

- Erulisse (one L)

[ladyelleth.livejournal.com]

Stranger things have happened, I suppose. ;) A mythopoetic standpoint lends a good deal of credence to their lovestory, but that's pretty irrelevant here. Justifying the change is a bit hard beyond "the prompt said so", since it's all there on paper. A fun experiment to play with. And changes outside canon... oh. Just imagine Edith had pulled a muscle or sprained her ankle and didn't dance, who knows what might have been written instead.