Beauty and a Beast

Arryn’s eyes were filled with sadness, anger, and frustration.

“Me? I’m…that…..thing…”
She asked, in disbelief.

“I am sorry Arryn, but you are…”
Arryn backed away slightly, from the Lady of Light.

“That’s impossible. I can’t be the Dark Daughter…I just……..can’t be. I’m just a Ranger……A Ranger of the North, That’s all I am…That’s all I ever wanted to be. Now I’m that thing? I can’t be that thing……It’s impossible, if I knew I was that thing, I would’ve known, but I have not shown signs of being it.”

“I know, but have you noticed that whenever you get angry, something inside you seems to snap?”
Lady Galadhriel asked her.

Arryn closed her mouth to ponder her point. This had happened to her, like when the troll hit Aragorn in Moria, she felt as if something inside her had snapped.

“Yes…”
She said, her voice sounding very distant.

“That was the barrier that contains Nyx inside you. She is slowly released, whenever you become angry. Arryn…you are the one who is releasing her into this world. If you allow her to consume you, Arryn will cease to exist, and she will be locked inside Nyx. Meanwhile, Nyx will be released, and all will fall into doom, and despair.”

Arryn took a deep breath, and she took in everything that Lady Galadhriel had said to her.

“Arryn…one more thing, if Nyx is released, you can control her actions for a few moments, only if they are solely important…”

“When will I know when that time comes?”
Arryn asked, panic laced in her voice.

“You will know, my child…”
Lady Galadhriel said to her, before they both disappeared.

************

Arryn found herself, alone, in a small glen. She looked around, and she saw dead plants surrounding the glen. For a strange reason, her heart sank, maybe it was due to the fact, that she had experienced death, when she was only but a small child. She walked over to each of the plants, and she touched each of them. At her touch, the plant, would be restored to health. She sat down in the middle of the glen, on a white marble bench, and all around the dead plants bloomed to life. Something compelled her, as if she was possessed, she stood up, and she walked over to , and she looked down at the reflection in the rippling water.

At first she saw herself, and she breathed in a sigh of shaky relief. Just then, the image in the water began to change, and the water rippled. Arryn gasped at what she saw, and she desperately wanted to look away, but she found herself, gazing back into the water. Her fair skin was a snow white. Her eyes were a fiery red, and her hair was as black as a raven. She couldn’t accept the fact that, the person staring back at her, was herself. Burn marks appeared on her reflected face, and the water went from a clear blue, to a fiery, bloody red. A different face imaged into the water, a face very well known to every being in Middle Earth, and of course, herself. A face, she thought long gone, and dead. The Witch King of Angmar was staring right back at her. She tried to avert her gaze, but her eyes were frozen on the pond, with the Black Speech repeating in her head.

“Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul,
ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul...”

*One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the Darkness bind them.*

She somehow managed to step away from the pond; but then, he said something that captured her attention. So what, Lady Galadhriel had told her was true. She really was the ‘famous’ Dark Daughter of Mordor. One of the most feared people in all of Middle Earth. The image vanished, and she found herself staring back at herself. What she saw, scarred her mind, she looked evil. What the Dark Daughter was supposed to look like.
She backed away from the pond; scared at what she had seen. She kept backing away from it, until she reached a moss covered wall, and she sank down in front of it. She brought her knees up to her chest, and she covered her knees with her arms. She sat there in silence, before she looked up, and she saw a fountain. To make sure, that she wasn't’ seeing things, she stood up, and she walked over to the fountain, and she peered into the water. She still had the pale white skin, the fiery red eyes, and the raven black hair.

She touched the rippling water, and it was still.

“Arryn, what are you doing?”

She heard someone say. She looked over to see Legolas, leaning against a nearby tree, watching her intently.

“I….uh…”
She turned to look back at her reflection; only to see that it had turned back to normal.

“Uh…”
She stuttered, turning back to face him.

She couldn’t tell him. She couldn’t tell anyone. She looked back at the water, and she saw herself. The lie she had lived for so long; she smacked her hand down on the water, rippling the image, causing the water all over the ground, and the dress skirt. She turned back to face him. Angry tears streaming down her pale cheek.

“Mani Raika, Arryn?”
He asked.
*What’s wrong, Arryn?*

“I hate who I am.”
She said, plainly.

“Why would you ever say something like that Arryn?”
He asked, moving closer to her, until he rested his hands over her shoulders. Her skin was so cold, compared to his normal temperature.

“I just hate what I look like, that’s all…”
She said, looking at her now clenched hands.

“Arryn…”
He said, gently.

“Why would you say something like that?”
He asked, as he touched the side of her face.

“Because, it’s all true…I’m not what I thought I was…”
She said, looking at the ground, allowing a few stray tears leak from her eyes.

“Arryn...”
He said, quietly. She looked up at him.

“Look at me.”

“I am.”

“No. You’re not. I mean it. Like really look at me….”
Her eyes were sad, and he found himself getting lost in a sea of green.

“What do you see?”

“Beauty…”
He replied, and she looked at the ground, embarrassed, her pale cheeks going a bit red.

“I mean it.”
She said, seriously.

“I meant it…”
Arryn wanted to believe what he had said, but what he thought was beautiful, was a lie. She shook her head, and she slipped out from his grasp, and she walked away from him.

“I am no good with women…”
He sighed, as he followed her.