Disclaimer: I don’t own “The Lord of the Rings” and I have made no money off of this story so please don’t sue me!

~~*~~

Celebrían wrapped her arm around her friend’s shoulders as they watched the sea-gull fly eastward, his burdened fluttering in the breeze behind him. Limidhren pushed back a stray hair from her face as she breathed a prayer to Lord Manwë, to permit what she was attempting and for Lord Ulmo to watch over the gull as it flew.

“Come, we have watched the Sea enough for one day,” Celebrían said quietly. “It is time to eat and rest.”

Limidhren nodded, and with a whispered, “I love you.” And with that she turned to follow Celebrían back to the Elven city…

~~*~~

III 2760
Mithlond

Gandalf the Grey was enjoying the hospitality of Círdan, the lord of Mithlond (or Grey Havens in the Common Tongue) in the Shipwright’s private study when there was a knock on the door. Both paused in mid-conversation as Círdan had left specific instructions they were not to be disturbed until it was time for the evening meal. One look out the window told both that the day was far from the conclusion the evening meal brings.

But realizing something important must have happened, Círdan called out without any annoyance, “Enter.”

An Elf entered carrying a brown sack in his hands, and he stopped with a bow before the seated Círdan, “Forgive me for the disturbance, my lord, but it was though prudent that you be informed another one has been found on the shoreline.”

The Shipwright closed his eyes, and nodding he held a hand out to take the sack from the Elf, “Thank you, Nólaquen.” Círdan waited until the other had left before looking to Gandalf again, “As of late, many sea-gulls have been found along the shoreline, dead.”

“Dead?  From what?” Gandalf asked, standing up to join Círdan at a nearby table.

“As near as we can tell, they have died of exposure,” Círdan replied.

“Their deaths of exposure are not the most unusual thing about these birds,” Círdan said, and he began removing the sack from the dead gull. “But as you can see…” He finished pulling out the carcass to reveal a dead sea-gull with a leather thong tied to its leg and on the thong a piece of parchment had been secured. He gently unknotted the leather, and pulled away the parchment, “As you can see, Mithrandir, someone has been using these birds as their messengers.”

The ancient Elf carefully unrolled the soggy parchment, and sadness crossed his features, “It is as I thought.” He showed the paper to Gandalf, who saw what ink was left on the paper was illegible. “These gulls are dying in vain but the one who is using them to deliver these failures does not seem to care if it cost the bird their lives.”

Gandalf touched the bird before opening his hand to the parchment, “Or perhaps, Master Círdan, they do not know that their actions are killing the sea-gulls.”

“Hmmph, perhaps,” Círdan muttered.

~~*~~

My Dearest Love,

I hope and pray that this will find you well, if in fact it is permitted by Lord Manwë, to find you at all…

Perhaps our Lord will see that I do not mean to distract you from your mission in the Eastern lands, and will permit you for a short time to remember the one who writes these words to you, if only for a short time…

Oh my dearest love, how I miss you – I know I wholeheartedly agreed to our parting so that you could travel into the lands where mortals dwell and help them fight the Dark Lord. I understood but  yet I did not understand that your task would be a long and drawn out one. Otherwise I would have never permitted you to leave our home without me at your side…

Yes, gladly would I have taken on the elderly form of a mortal woman had it meant I could have remained by your side for these seventeen and a half centuries you have been absent…

Gladly, my love, gladly…

But that is behind us now, and somehow I must continue to survive our separation until the day your work in the East is completed. Once it is, my love, I pray you will not delay your departure from yonder shores, do not delay thy homecoming to my arms any longer than necessary or I shall perish for the want of thee.

I love thee eternally, Olórin, and I pray that thy homecoming shall not be long delayed…

Your Loving Wife,

Limidhren

***

The End

Special Note: Limidhren is my creation and I ask that she not be used without my prior permission.

All right I admit the concept that Gandalf is married and left his wife behind in the West when he came to Middle-earth is an unique one -- and I am not quite sure where it came from...

Still, we know that the Valar have spouses, and for some reason I thought I read somewhere that the Maiar also had spouses as well...

In any case I hope no one is offend at the idea and I sincerely hope that the Professor is not turning over in his grave at this moment  because I gave Gandalf a wife!