'Sometimes we must forget all we are and give up all we know to become all we were meant to be. Ask the butterfly, Melian said to Tinuviel. Do you think she would be able to soar between flowers and visit nearby lands if she still thought of herself as a caterpillar? No, my lellig, she would not. Her wings would only serve to cripple her if she thought such a thing. She has to forget the life she once knew to truly blossom, just as you must do and live your life with your mortal Beren.’

It was one of the first lessons her naneth would ever teach her about the stages of life. Just as Yavanna has since the time she was a young henig. Each bark of a tree captured the memories of the past, and leaves rustled whispers of the Valar and Yavanna’s guiding hand. She recalled the first time she felt Yavanna’s presence. Her emerald dress puddled into the lush field and roamed far past her almond-shaped eyes.



“We are not meant to stay, as we are Luthien. Each season carries a lesson that forges in our souls until we become what the Valar has intended. “A warm smile tiffed the corner of her all-knowing lips, and her hair whipped around her face and held the most beautiful color of gold, like the wild wheat fields.

“Look at the oak tree you dance and sing with. It was once the size of the tip of your slender finger. It was an acorn that broke free during Quellë and sailed across these lands until rain spilled from frothy clouds and sank into the soil beneath your feet. It slept in its satin embrace until Tuilë breathed life into the sapling. Each season, it grew bigger and taller until it outstretched across the fields and then sent messages back home to its Naneth telling its tale through multicolor leaves. It settled where the great Valar intended and provided shade, a home to the many birds and squirrels that roam across this grove. We all have a grander purpose, Luthien.” She paused, sighed, and just as a mist would feel, she strummed her fingers through Luthien’s starry tresses and warmed her violet eyes. “Such as you have, dear little henig. Don’t be afraid, and know when the wind blows at your feet to follow your call.”




Luthien spent much of her time in the forest surrounding her home in Doriath, singing with the nightingale’s, sparrows and dancing with every tree and busheling. She even spoke to the buzzing bee as it tickled and wrinkled her button nose, listening to all the places it had been. It was a hazy Lairë day when she would meet the fuzzy critter she would name Vorea, meaning fuzzy in her language. He made himself known and slithered upwards on a blade of grass where Luthien rested her head. For the next week, they would share many laughs and sample an assortment of flowers in the wild fields as if they were nature's cupcakes baking under the morning star. Luthien carried him from one petal to the next, tasting each one until they had their sugary fill. She couldn’t have been asleep for more than a few hours, she thought when she spilled over on her side under a canopy of trees. The heat of the day and all the succulent nectars they had sampled lulled Luthien into Laire midday dream.



At first, she thought her vision was still just blurry when she saw it. An oval fuzzy cocoon where a friend was when she fell asleep. But as she ran the tips of her fingers along the edges of her almond-shaped eyes, tears welled at once, seeing the horror that she would see. “Vorea! What has become of you? Speak to me. Are you in there?” She whimpered and cried. “Please? Do you need help? Perhaps I can peel it away. But not one answer or even a breath was given in response. Utter panic, sadness, and anger at herself for falling asleep trembled upon her, and she did not know what to do. So she gingerly broke off the thin branch in which he hung and quickly but carefully went in search of her mother for help for her little friend.

Her naneth was tending to her gardens on this day in the healing house at the far end of the palace, where she said the vegetation grew best without all the noise and chaos sometimes visitors would bring. Such as the beauty held in the distant valleys that remained untouched, seldomly traveled on. These were among the lushest and most colorful of all the lands. Luthien burst on the vine-patterned wooden doors leading into her naneth's oasis, tears running wildly from her young sorrowful eyes. And she could barely catch her breath, and her lips quivered between hitched breaths as she tried to express to her naneth what had happened.



“Naneth, oh Naneth. I had only fallen asleep for a little while, and and and… “ Luthien tightened her eyes tightly and tried to catch her breath as her puffy pink lips, reddened by her upset, pulled to an O with small, laced breaths . “When I awakened, he was like this!” She held out the branch and opened her guilt-stained eyes again. “It’s all my fault Naneth. When we travel in our days, I promised him I would keep him safe.” Mellian smiled softly and compassionately and curled her fingers around the branch, then placed it in the warm, freshly churned soil where it would be safe and secure .

Then she crossed her legs, settled upon the plush grass beneath her slender angelic frame and pulled young Luthien into her lap. “There, there, my beautiful henig.“ Luthein found her words and demeanor soothing, comforting as she shivered, still crying but melded in her naneth's arms. “You listen to me Luthien,“ she said as she threaded her fingers down her long locks and made tiny circle along her back. “You have nothing to feel guilty of . It’s his circle of life. What was meant to happen for him. Just as you are learning with Yavanna, and why I let you go to the forest as much as you do in your days to learn what you must. It’s just like the changing of the seasons . A metamorphosis we all must journey upon. “ Mellian placed her tiny finger under Luthien's chin and raised her watery gaze to meet her own, for she would heed her words, knowing in the future she may need them when she too much chose her path without fear remembering this moment she hoped .

“Even I had to change my path my young flower. Sometimes we must forget what we were to become who the Valar meant us to be. We are all a intricate thread in this tapestry of life. A quilt that spreads across all of Middle Earth. We are all connected, and with each joy and sorrow we feel, it drizzles into the streams and serves a purpose far greater than we can imagine. Your friend, my henig, he is transforming and becoming what he is meant to be too. He will soon emerge once again, but he will not look the same except his eyes. His eyes will tell you he is still your caterpillar friend. His purpose is to spread love and beauty. Pollinate across our fields and into the secret groves too . He will carry on his lips and nose the tiny molecules of flowers and scatter them like diamond droplets so they can grow all over and bring beauty and sweet treats to our world.’



Slipping Luthien off of her lap as she adjusted her legs and settled on her knees. Melian smoothed her soft palm over Luthien's head, threaded her fingers in her long, dark hair, and began to separate each cluster of hair and braid as she spoke once again. “You see Luthien, one day in the future you will transform and have to become what you are meant to be, and at times this can cause some pain. But just as your dear friend and I had to do as well becoming your Nadar's wife and not return to where I came from. You will crystallize and be as intended. You will know the moment, my little one. It will be redefining, exciting and scary too. But it will not be a choose. It will be the only path you were meant to be on. You will recognize it as if may even come in the form of a love's eyes and tug the heart strings of your soul.”

“I do not want you to be scared, and when this moment happens, remember my word and what you will see when your friend emerges from his cocoon. Remember it Luthien, and be the butterfly. Find your purpose , know thy heart and soar.”



It was eons ago since her naneth had this conversation with her. But when Lord Beren came to court on that fateful day and her, nadar sent him away on what everyone thought to be a quest leading to his final breath. Melian then pulled Luthien by her trembling hand and lead her into her healing garden again.


"Sometimes we must forget all we are, to become all we were meant to be. Ask the butterfly, Melian said to Tinuviel. Do you think she would be able to soar between flowers and visit nearby lands if she still thought of herself as a caterpillar? No, my lellig, she would not. Her wings would only serve to cripple her if she thought such a thing. She has to forget the life she once knew to truly blossom, just as you must and live your life with Beren."



She did not speak the words out loud. Luthien shared her Maia blood as well as her elven gifts, which magnified every whisper and breath, even perched between closed lips. Melian cupped her Iellig's tender hands in her own and sighed as one silvery tear cascaded down her twilight coloured eyes. "Be Vorea Luthien. Be the butterfly. Its time."

Her words were but a few, but Luthien understood their meaning and nodded as her heart swelled knowing her naneth recognized the love she had for the mortal Beren. With this, Melian released Luthien's hand from her own and placed a sachet with many herbs and necessities needed to travel as she leaned in to kiss her Iellig's cheek and whispered, "use the door leading to the great forest. No guards will be there. But you must go now.. Guren *níniatha n'i lû n'i a-govenitham.  Melin Luthien."

King Thingol never knew of his wife's betrayal. Although he suspected her involvement in some way. Nor did Luthien ever tell on how she truly escaped. But when she returned she cried in her naneth's arms and thanked her for her gift and allowing her to sprout her wings and find her own way.