18. Of Times There Were Before
Today's Challenge (Day Ten):
Start a story or poem with Charles Dickens' famous opening line from A Tale of Two Cities: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."
Of Times There Were Before
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…" Cross-legged on a cushion after Rusnathron's dinner, Legolas takes a draught of his wine.
"On Tol Eressëa the Ring-Quest is but legend and rumour," the Noldo admits ruefully; "for though the periain Bilbo and Frodo dwelt here awhile, Master Frodo little desired to speak of it."
"No wonder!" Gimli interjects gruffly. "It had cost him dear enough!"
"Hardship, peril, battle, bearing the fate of all Middle-earth," Legolas says softly; "and yet Dwarf, Elf, Men and Halflings forged bonds of fellowship beyond any breaking."
Rusnathron nods. "So I see."
~~~
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.
