[The Silmarillion] Romimus

The sky was extremely blue, and Ana's scorching white light pierced through the thin clouds and shot directly at the Numenor fleet on the sea. The sailors with sunburned skin were laughing loudly while working under the scorching sun, everywhere on the deck Faces brimming with joy and pride—their army had just won a big victory, and even captured alive the legendary monster in the rumors, hey, isn’t this nothing extraordinary?

But in one corner of a ship in the center of the fleet, the atmosphere was completely different.From the day the ship left Middle Earth, no matter day or night, there was a slender figure standing there, her head, face and arms wrapped under an opaque light-colored cloak, like a sculpture, with her back to the sailors looking into the distance looking at the sea.Four or five meters away from her as the center, there seemed to be an invisible wall of air, and everyone on the boat avoided that small area in unison.

However, curious sneak peeks and private gossip are still indispensable.

"Who is that?" A young sailor asked softly. He had just joined the Gondor Navy for less than a year. Even in an environment surrounded by ordinary soldiers, he was the least senior. The woman frowned slightly, "Has she not eaten or drank water in the past few days? Is this all right?"

The other two sailors beside him, one is a strong man in his prime, and the other is a dark-skinned old soldier who is playing dice in a leisurely way. Hearing this, they looked at each other and laughed loudly at the same time. laugh it out.

"I didn't see it, you kid is quite good at pity and cherish jade." The middle-aged man said, and slapped the young sailor on the back with his rough and wide palm.

"Well, it's normal at this age. I think I was just past my blood when I was young..." The old soldier mentioned the year with nostalgia in his eyes. Don't mess with it, or you'll be involved in this life. The woman you mentioned, well, is a ruthless character. At the beginning, even the elves were fascinated by her. We mortals still have some self-knowledge, and it is better not to overstep the barrier .”

The young sailor looked back in surprise and forgot about the figure: "Is she Romimos?"

The old soldier had a secret expression on his face: "That's right, Romimus doesn't need me to tell you more, right? One of Morgoth's most insidious and cunning men in the past, he has been doing all kinds of evil in Middle-earth for so many years. Haha, it's not that we are Your Majesty has been captured, and I'm afraid the days to come will be sad."

"However, I heard that this is a beautiful woman." The middle-aged man said, and sighed depressingly, "I thought I could see what this girl looks like, damn it, it's wrapped thicker than a coffin, Can you see a ghost?"

"Hey, be careful with your words and deeds." The veteran said solemnly, "Even if this person is a prisoner now, he is still His Majesty's prisoner to put it bluntly. If you dare to touch a finger and let His Majesty know, it will be no good for you. "

"I don't dare, I just want to know what the rumored fairy thinks." The middle-aged man said, but he still glanced at Romimos unwillingly, and said sourly, "Besides, even if Let me touch, I may not be willing."

"Aren't you saying that grapes are sour because you can't eat grapes? It's too against your will." The young sailor laughed loudly, and was kicked by the middle-aged man in a gesture of anger.

"I'm serious, look at that body, I'm afraid it's as thin as a shoulder pole." The middle-aged man insisted, "For a woman, it's better to have big breasts and big buttocks."

"I heard that Romimos can change her shape at will." The young sailor said, "She should look like an Eldar now, but their body proportions are more slender than humans, not to say that they are just a handful. It's a skeleton."

So he took the third blow from the strong man.

"Of course, the plump figure of a human woman is also beautiful..." the young sailor said, rubbing the back of his head.

"So I really didn't realize it," the middle-aged man scolded with a smile, "You are a pervert at such a young age, and you have nothing else on your mind all day long, only thinking about the girl's body."

"I don't," the young sailor blushed, "I just... think they're beautiful..."

"I understand." The mature man nodded perfunctorily, looked at the young boy, suddenly thought of teasing him, grabbed his shoulders, and whispered in his ear, "Then do you want to know that Romimos has How pretty?"

"Hey—" the veteran warned aloud.

"It's all right, just take a look, and don't make a big fuss about it later." The middle-aged man waved his hand disapprovingly, and continued to encourage the young sailor, "You go find a way to let her take off that thing on her face, even if it's just Seconds will do."

"That's not good." The young sailor hesitated, but in fact he was very moved by the proposal, and was also very curious about Romimos' real appearance, "That's Romimos..."

"What are you afraid of? No matter how vicious she is, she has already become our prisoner, can she still eat you?" The middle-aged man patted his chest, "And don't you still have me? We are right behind you, we promise nothing will happen. .”

Still the young sailor hesitated.

"Well, let's make a bet." The middle-aged man took out his trump card, "As long as you can make her show her face, the 50 yuan will be yours, how about it?"

The young sailor was taken aback for a moment, then bit his lip: "You must not go back on your word."

Although he agreed, his heart was still empty. The young sailor walked towards the figure, his heart was beating like a drum, he was uneasy but couldn't help but look forward to it. It was a long distance away, and he hadn't seen anything yet, and his face was already getting hot uncontrollably.

Three steps away from Romemos Station, the young sailor suddenly felt a little regretful, and even wanted to retreat. This was not only due to his fear of this mysterious and dangerous witch, but also because he suddenly began to worry that she had a long-standing reputation. Can her beauty really be that amazing?

He didn't doubt that there was a beautiful woman under the turban, but there were differences between beautiful women and beautiful women in terms of fat, swallows and thinness, and Romimos, according to the folklore that was exaggerated, should be one of the beauties. Such a beautiful woman, but what would a woman who is so beautiful look like?

Before that, the most beautiful person he had ever seen was Tar-Myriel, Queen of Númenor now, who had come to see Pharazon and the fleet off before they set off.At that time, he was already fascinated by the queen's beauty, but could Romimos be more beautiful than Queen Miriel who was "more beautiful than silver, ivory, and pearls"?

What if the other person's beauty is just exaggerated?Or, what if the other person is indeed beautiful, but not as beautiful as he expected?Sometimes the reason why a beauty is beautiful is because she is just a hazy image. When the dream is really materialized and fixed, it may not be so beautiful.It would be fine if the other party was an ordinary beauty, but she was rumored to be the most beautiful woman in Middle-earth after the death of Princess Lucian. Would he really take the risk to break this illusion?

The young sailor thought so much in just a few tens of seconds, but the middle-aged sailor behind him became impatient and kicked his ass with his toe: "Look at you, move more quickly, or do you want to go back on your word?" ?”

"Come back if you are afraid, so as not to cause trouble." The veteran persuaded, "It's not worth it if you can't get your life for a few dozen dollars."

But the more they said that, it made the young and vigorous young man break his heart and make up his mind.

"That, ma'am... ma'am..." However, he still showed timidity when he opened his mouth. The young sailor stuttered, not knowing where to put his hands, and finally got the courage to meow like a kitten. of.

Unsurprisingly, there was no reaction from the other party.

"You...you, hello..." Swallowing, the young sailor took another half step forward, stretched out his hand tremblingly, and lightly touched the other person's shoulder with the back of his hand, but unexpectedly the other person also Turning around at this moment, he was so frightened that he immediately retracted his hand, but he moved too fast in a panic, and instead pulled a corner of the opponent's scarf away.

The wind at sea was very strong, without the wrapping of the headscarf, the other party's soft black hair flew up again as she turned around, covering half of her face, only revealing her white and smooth forehead and a His eyes were like golden lake water reflected in the setting sun, and the lower half of his face was faintly visible in the misty hair.

"Are you calling me?" she asked, calmly brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

There was no response, as if the people around her were silenced for an instant, their mouths were slightly opened, and they were stunned in place at a loss.

I don't know how long it took before the old sailor came to his senses and covered his eyes with trembling hands: "Don't dare to look, don't dare to look..."

"Fuck, you don't dare to look and cover your eyes, what's the point of stopping others?" The middle-aged man slapped away the sudden hand that blocked his face.

"I'm doing this for your own good." The old sailor shuddered, "This kind of woman is a fairy, a goblin, and we mortals wouldn't be able to look at her for the rest of my life. Year's birthday!"

"If I could keep looking at her, I would be happy to die now!" said the middle-aged sailor, continuing to look at Romimos with his obsessive and greedy eyes, for fear of wasting the beautiful scenery by blinking too much.

And the young sailor stood there without saying a word, and the sun was shining brightly, but he felt dizzy as if struck by lightning that appeared in the daytime out of thin air. His whole body was hot, but his back seemed to be soaked in ice. Shaking like water, the scream was blocked in his throat, preventing his heart from beating straight out of his throat.

Romemos was accustomed to their reactions, raised the corner of his mouth in disdain, then put on the scarf again and walked away. The men subconsciously took half a step to keep her, but they all stopped there. , knowing that this can only be a delusion, I can only watch her go away helplessly, and after a while, I just wake up from a dream, and I am all covered in cold sweat.

"Fucking...fucking..." the middle-aged man muttered to himself, fumbled in his pockets randomly, and gave all the money on his body to the young sailor, still restless, as if he had been put in Turning around like a crab on the steamer, it seems that there is a gas stuck in the chest, eager to express but can't find the outlet.

"What a crime!" The old soldier spat at him, and went to pull the young sailor who was still there, "Son, good boy, go to sleep right away and forget about it..."

For young people, this is harder than climbing to the sky. Without warning, they are blinded by the spring breeze and hit their heads by stars. They wish they could read it 24 hours a day, and even their dreams are full of that wave of light. It's good to remember the moving eyes like this for a lifetime. If one day the image becomes blurred in his mind, then in the eyes of young people, it will be more painful than losing money or even life.

From that moment on, this obsession was deeply rooted in the young sailor's heart, and it was never released until his death.

As dusk fell, the sailors had a short break after a whole day's work. They gathered on the deck in twos and threes, drinking and bragging with the warm orange sunset.

But the young sailor rejected the invitation of his companions, avoided everyone, and squatted alone in a relatively quiet corner, scribbling with rough straw paper and charcoal pencils in his hand, he was too involved in it, Didn't even notice someone standing behind him.

"Is this me?" she asked.

The young sailor's pen fell to the ground with a snap, and his shoulders trembled involuntarily, but every other muscle was stiff and unable to move, even turning his neck.

Romemos bent over and picked up the pen and handed it to him: "Can I have a look?"

The young sailor's face was bright red. He felt that he couldn't do it with these few strokes, but he couldn't refuse the other party's request.Romemos simply regarded him as acquiescing, reached out and took the few pieces of paper, flipped through them casually, bent the corner of his mouth noncommittally, and returned them to him, "Thank you."

"No no no!" The young sailor was extremely ashamed, "I couldn't draw even a tenth of your expression at all."

"I know, but it's not your fault, no one can draw it."

"Yes, even the greatest painter's works will be eclipsed in front of you." The young sailor was full of admiration, "But I will try my best to restore your beauty on paper, as long as my pen can express your beauty." It is a great honor for me to score one of them...Of course, if I can get your permission..."

"I don't care," said Romemus. "So you are a painter?"

"No, not yet." The young sailor waved his hands in a panic, "But my childhood dream was indeed to be a painter."

"When you were young?" Romimos glanced at him out of the corner of the eye, "How old are you this year?"

"Two, 21..."

"Tch." Romimos laughed, "Isn't 21 too young?"

"Among humans, I'm already an adult." The young sailor raised his chin nervously and bravely.

"That's still very young in my eyes." Romemos said, "So, you have given up painting now? It's a pity, but by the standard of around 20 years old, you are actually pretty good at painting."

"Really?! My father used to be a great painter." The young sailor's eyes lit up for a moment, but then went out again, "But my mother expressly forbids me to paint. When she was young, she married my father because of his talent. I gave it to him, but soon found that it was not a steady income, and the monthly expenses were like water, and since my father passed away in an accident, the thing she hates the most now is the painter."

Romemos was less interested in these parents' short stories: "Oh, is it?"

"To tell you the truth, I still want to be a painter until now, do you think I should try to keep painting?

What does it matter if you persist or not?Is she being regarded as some kind of life mentor?

"You ask me? Then there will only be one answer." Romimos narrowed his eyes lazily in the cool sea breeze, "In my opinion, there is no shortage of sailors in this world, but there are talented artists. You can’t ask for it.”

"But our family had a very good life...well, it was difficult. I was able to join the Númenor fleet because my mother begged many people to be reluctantly selected. Now she hopes that I can stay here in peace and earn money. It's better to be a part-time official for a living..."

"Then you shouldn't ask my opinion," Romemos said bluntly, "and you don't have to make excuses for yourself."

"This is not an excuse." The young man murmured, "What I say is true."

"Even if it's good, but in my opinion, these are not reasons at all. If you really want to do something, then you should throw away all unnecessary burdens and only have the purest desire that cannot tolerate any impurities. , it will encourage you, urge you, torment you, make you reckless, and make you suffer from pain and restlessness if you deviate from it even a little bit, and this can be called a dream." Romemos said that the young sailor was almost on the tip of her knife. With a look in his eyes, he jumped off the boat directly.

"I, I'm already saving money, I think, when I save a savings first..."

"That's your business." Romemus said disapprovingly, got up and walked away, "but I'm afraid you can't become a really great painter."

When Romemos saw him again, she was already at the port of Romenna. At that time, she was about to disembark to find Sauron, but she stopped in surprise because of a loud cry from behind, and turned to look back. , and saw the young sailor flying straight in front of her with exaggerated movements.

"My name is Antonio!" he cried to Romemus.

……so what?

Romemos raised half of her eyebrows. To be honest, she didn't really care what the other person's name was.

"I will draw it!" Antonio was a little out of breath because of the violent running just now, "Your beauty, I will let people all over the world see and remember it forever!"

Before Romemos could react to this inexplicable declaration, a hand reached out and grabbed his ear.

"Hurry up and return to the team! What are you yelling about here, don't you want to hang around anymore?" The captain cursed and dragged Antonio away.