A Name for Kelly
They found her sleeping in the mist below a small waterfall several miles outside Imladris. They nearly mistook her for the rotting carcass of a young doe, for she was adorned in animal skins, and her long hair was the color of the dead leaves on the forest floor.
They knew that she was not native to this land, or she would not have dared to sleep unhidden as she was from the dangers of the world. The three who found her spoke in hushed tones, their shadows cast over the slender body. They decided, after some discussion, to make camp around the very tree whose roots made this girl's nest.
All that night they sat together be their fire, taking turns watching her and the dark woods; for still there were strange things roaming the countryside, unnatural monsters never meant to tough this earth's soil, all the more dangerous now that their master had been defeated.
When dawn came, she opened her eyes and sat up. She looked at her three guardians with a hint of fear, thinking perhaps that they were her captors rather than bearers of better fortune.
The three companions each in turn met her eyes, but saw nothing in them. Puzzled, they invited her to join them and return to Imladris. Her reply was a single incline of her head, just enough to communicate her intention.
Until they reached Imladris, she never spoke a word.
***
The second time she awoke, she was in the company of two of the three hunters who had returned from their expedition bearing far more intriguing prey than the arrow-impaled and gutted corpse of some unfortunate boar or rabbit - the hunters' usual catch. Only this time, rather than a cold, uneven forest floor, she found herself in the silky sheets of a bed in the Last Homely House, residence of Elrond.
Rested and with a clearer mind than she had had during the journey, she was of a mood to look at the smaller of the two hunters with clear distaste. He was a dwarf, after all, and thus a natural enemy of her people. What could he be doing here, in a place so obviously Elvin?
The taller of the two chuckled quietly, seeing the expression on her face. She returned his good humor with a look that was part disbelief, part disgust, and part curiosity.
To this the Elf did not respond, but instead began his dialogue to include a question of his own. "We meet again, my lady. I am Legolas Greenleaf, and this is my dear friend, Gimli, son of Gloin. I hope you are now rested enough to tell us, if you would, what you are called, so that we may tell Lord Elrond whom he has taken under his roof."
For the first time, the two hunters heard her voice. Neither found anything extraordinary about it, save that it had perhaps just a hint of an unfamiliar accent. "Do you not wish," she said, "to know my story?"
"Not now," said Legolas. "We have as much to explain as you do, I am certain. There will be time enough for stories once we have seen to your well-being. Now we wish only to know your name."
Her sharp stare dulled. She closed her eyes and whispered something.
"What was that?" Gimli asked, turning to Legolas.
Legolas first nodded to the girl in understanding, then said to his friend, "She is Arost, one of the nameless. I know only a little of her kind. She has traveled far from her home, for those of her culture dwell in Haradwaith, south of Gondor, in a place where Elves and Men often share the same land. Without her elaboration I can tell you only that youths of her culture must earn their Elvish names... But I thought," he looked meaningfully to the girl, "that they went by other names until they earned their proper ones."
"True," said the girl. "My father was Gwanunig. I am therefor called Gwaniell."
Gimli made a face of dislike. "Another one! I would like to know, Legolas, what posesses you Elves to go flitting about with such impossible names. Have you nothing better to do with eternity, like... oh, I don't know... searching for Entwives or learning to see the future?"
Legolas was going to say something wise and vague about the future being in greater hands than theirs to know, but the girl spoke first. "The village Men called me Kelly."
"Kelly, then," Gimli said, passified. "A very good name that is, indeed. More sensible than most of the Elf names around here, anyway."
Legolas responded to this comment by nudging the dwarf hard in the ribs with his elbow. Gimli grunted and nearly toppled off his chair.
"Fine manners these Elves have," Gimli grumbled, his eyes twinkling with a barely-suppressed smile. "Speaking of which, where's Haldir got to? I thought he just went off to... What **did** he say he was going off to do?"
"He did not say," Legolas corrected Gimli. "And knowing Haldir, he is likely to come and go as fancy takes him. I have never known him to act otherwise."
"Oh, I don't know," Haldir interrupted from the doorway. "I like to think of myself as having a **little** bit less flightiness than a fledgling swallow."
Legolas stood from his chair. "Haldir!" He smiled. "Come meet Gwaniell, called Kelly... an Arost from the South."
Haldir stepped to the foot of the bed and gave a graceful bow, understanding in an instant even more fully than Legolas had the meaning of the name... or lack thereof. "Charmed, my lady."
"Legolas went and told the girl we didn't want to know what she was doing sleeping in the woods dressed like a discarded orc," Gimli huffed. "And knowing how you Elves take things, I expect that means nobody in Middle-Earth is going to get a reason out of her for another 200 years or so, and even then you'll have to catch her talking in her sleep."
Kelly stared in wonder at the scene before her, astounded that a dwarf was allowed to speak as he did with such callous disrespect. Haldir's reaction to her expression was similar to Legolas's, if a little more light-hearted. He laughed, but stopped himself when he felt Legolas's hand on his shoulder.
"Forgive me, my lady," he said to Kelly. "We are so used to accepting the dwarf as one of our own that we often forget how peculiar the arrangement may seem to outsiders."
Kelly nodded, accepting his apology, though her face showed that she did not understand it.
"You may come to understand," Legolas told her. "For now..."
Haldir interrupted -- he was very talented at that. "There is a bath and new clothing in the next room, if you would like to get yourself cleaned up. You may wander the House as you wish. We have business elsewhere."
"What business?" Gimli demanded. "We haven't got any..."
"We have business with Elrond," Haldir insisted, nudging the dwarf towards the door.
"But..."
Legolas took the hint. "You know Lord Elrond does not like to be kept waiting," he said.
Gimli crossed his arms. "But I never heard of any..."
Before he could say another word, Legolas and Haldir placed themselves on either side of the dwarf, hoisted him up by the collar of his tunic, and took their leave of the guest chamber.
***
With the dwarf gone, Kelly breathed more easily. Legolas had told her she would come to understand. Understand what? Elves were Elves and dwarves were dwarves and that was all there was to it.
She puzzled over the matter as she undressed and eased her body into the steaming bath water. She had escaped the cruel desert heat and crueler prejudices of her people only to find herself in a stickier mess than when she began. All she wanted was a normal life. She wanted things to be the way they were supposed to be.
And fraternizing with dwarves did not, by any definition, constitute normalcy. Not to Elves. She was born to a race too proud for that, or so she thought. Yet somehow, she held less disdain for the two friends of the dwarf than she expected she would.
"That would be wrong-in-the-head Kelly all over again," she sighed to herself. "What am I coming to now? What is the **world** coming to? Dwarves living with Elves? Why, it is unheard of!"
"Unheard of? True..." Kelly was startled by the voice behind her. All these Elves popping up in doorways unannounced! Such absurdity would never have lasted long in her village.
The tall woman fairly glided into the steam-fogged room carrying an armful of towels, which she set down on a ledge beside the tall mirror. She continued speaking, heedless of Kelly's obvious annoyance at being overheard and interrupted. "But as unheard of as those three are, sometimes the better pathways are unpaved. Is this not so, my dear?"
"I suppose..." Kelly said hesitantly.
"I am Perannui." The strange Elf sat on the edge of the tub. She kept her eyes lowered, her manner almost that of a servant, but a quiet smile danced constantly at the edges of her lips. "There is a spark in you, Kelly. Did you not leave your village because you felt their ways were wrong?"
"I did," Kelly admitted, "but I did not think I would find... what I find here."
"Life is unexpected, and you are very young," Perannui said. "You will learn." As she spoke, she cupped her hands into the water and wet Kelly's hair, then with her skilled hands she carefully brushed out the dirt, bits of leaves and bark collected there for many days of traveling.
"I thought I wanted to learn," Kelly said regretfully. "Now that I'm here, though, I am not so sure."
"Think," said Perannui, "about why you left. What of your village did you think so wrong?"
Kelly knew the answer to this without an moment's thought. "Where I come from," she explained, "Elves and Men live side-by-side. We work together, learn together, and despite the attempts of many to keep our bloodlines pure, it is not uncommon for an Elf and a Man to sleep together and bear children. This is not wrong; I have had human friends and even played at loving a human boy once. But Men so quickly grow old. I am still a child to you, to all my people, and already I have seen too many playmates become bent and wrinkled, then crumble into dust. Too many times I have seen the huge vultures circling the tent of a loved friend whose life was simply too short."
"And is this wrong?" Perannui queried.
"I felt it was. I am not certain, though. I am young, and my village is all I have ever known."
Perannui laughed, but the sound was not harsh as it had been with Legolas and Haldir. Perannui's laugh was an expression of joy and understanding. Her laughter came as bubbles in a stream when the water runs over rough stones. The water embraces the newness, and laughs because it loves life. "You come to us to learn," Perannui said. "Blessed child! We shall have much to teach you." She stood, having finished cleaning Kelly's hair. "You are welcome here for as long as you wish to stay. Such are the words of Elrond, Lord of this House."
And she was gone, as suddenly and silently as she had entered.
***
Haldir found Kelly wandering aimlessly about the open terrace of Elrond's home. Adorned as she now was in the style of Imladris, and with her hair braided properly in Elvish style rather than entangled with a mess of leaves and twigs, her race was apparent by more than just her tapered ears. Haldir bowed to her.
"Why do you keep doing that?" Kelly asked him. "I am not a princess, neither of my own land nor yours, though your people dress me like one. I certainly hope it isn't a custom here to bow to everybody one comes upon. That's just... well... silly."
For once, Haldir didn't have a good answer. Instead, he simply resolved silently to stop bowing to her whenever he met her. He had to admit, it was rather silly.
"You lower yourself on other levels," Kelly continued, leaning against the polished marble rail, "but Elves are still a proud race. It is just not fitting to go about bobbing up and down for no apparent reason like a hen picking at grain ."
Haldir twisted his mouth into a half-smile. "Wise words for one who comes here so resolved to know nothing," he said.
Kelly glared at him. She knew how he had heard her story. Elves are not expected to keep secrets from each other unless asked specifically to do so, and Kelly had never even implied that Perannui should not repeat what she was told. But how could Kelly explain that her lack of knowledge was not quite in any category specified by schools? How could she tell this brazen hunter that her wisdom was little more than guessing mixed with common sense? She did not know how to make clear the void inside her heart, nor did she see much good in glaring. She turned her venomous eyes instead to the valley below.
Her poisoned gaze had struck Haldir more deeply than she knew. A seasoned warrior and expert tracker, he would never have noticed a similar look from other races. But Kelly was as much an Elf as he was, and although she was not aware of it, that meant that she had power to say with her eyes what those of other races could spend a lifetime screaming without being heard by the sensitive Elvish ears.
When he went to stand beside her at the rail, she shrank from his touch. "I am sorry, my lady," he said, though he did not try to lay his hand on her arm. "Even those who are not new to this earth can make mistakes. Please believe me; I did not wish to offend you."
"My lord," Kelly said, her voice only a little less spiteful than her eyes had been, "It is not merely your words that offend me."
"Then what..."
"Hal-dir!" Gimli shouted as he scrambled onto the terrace. "There you are! We've been looking all over for you."
"Have you now?" Haldir turned to Gimli, amused. "And where, prey tell, is your tall shadow?"
Gimli frowned. "Well, that's really hard to say. He was just here a moment ago..."
Haldir squeaked as Legolas pounced him from behind. "Prancing knave!" he shouted as he wrestled with his attacker. "Off, thou spiny sorcerer! Off, I say! Go, hence, begone! Be not here, but somewhere in the vast Elsewhere to which I have no access! Get OFF, you troll! You ought to know better than to act that way in the presence of a... lady..."
Haldir and Legolas sat up, their wrestling match put on hold for the moment. Kelly was gone.
***
"Why is it," Gimli grumbled, "that whenever some dark creeping thing shows up in the woods, we have to go and kill it? I don't remember volunteering for Elrond's personal elite assassin unit."
"You didn't," Legolas said. "You were at lunch. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to volunteer on your behalf." He strapped his quiver of arrows to his back.
"How thoughtful of you," Gimli muttered.
Haldir entered the room then, his bow already strung. "Temper, temper!" he scolded. "I thought you liked a good fight, master dwarf."
"Hacking the head off a slimy creature of darkness is hardly a good fight, particularly not after you and Legolas have already stuck the thing full of enough arrows to make it look like a bloated porcupine." Gimli twirled his axe. "Chopping trees for timber is more exciting than picking off Sauron's stray minions. There's no honor in denying your enemy the chance to defend himself."
"Ah, but you're so **good** at fighting off those big, nasty trees," Haldir cooed.
"Watch it, Elf," Gimli said, holding his axe threateningly. He was more than a little startled when Legolas calmly plucked it from his hands. Gimli spun around to find himself face-to-face with Legolas's belt buckle.
"Trouble, master dwarf?" Legolas asked. He slung the axe over his shoulder. "Nice weapon, this. Too bad it is more useful for chopping trees than enemies. You have no reach with this thing. Your trouble, master dwarf, is that you insist on facing you enemies head-on, and screeching like a Nazgul as you do." He returned the axe to its rightful owner. "With arrows, the enemy is dead before they know they're being hunted, and you are alive for that much longer."
Haldir balanced effortlessly on a bedpost. There was a note of seriousness in his usually light tone. "Indeed, Gimli, you would do well to bring your arrows. We do not know what sort of creature of darkness we are going to fight yet. It may be something you would rather not be caught facing alone."
Gimli grudgingly went off to find his bow and arrows, muttering under his breath mostly in a language neither Elf understood, though they both very clearly heard the word "pansies" used several times before the dwarf was out of the room.
Legolas picked up his bow. "Well," he said, "better to follow him than trust him to come find us."
Haldir nodded his agreement, and the two left the room arm-in-arm, singing a war song obviously not sprouted from the tender poetic hearts of Elves.
Only when their song could no longer be heard did Kelly slip in through the paneless window. She was beginning to grow fonder of Legolas and Haldir; the friendship between them was admirable even among her people. But her distrust of the dwarf had not diminished.
Looking around the room, a radical idea came into her mind. It was nearly foolish, something the elders of her village would have put down as a stunt unworthy of one of her maturity. And yet...
The room held a fair number of weapons for her to choose from. She refused to touch the ones which seemed to belong to the dwarf. She took for herself a shortbow and quiver of arrows, and strung a fine hunting knife around her waist. Thus adorned, without even a second layer of cloth to protect her from enemy strikes, she slipped back out the window and followed the 'elite assassin unit.'
***
She managed to follow them undetected more by sheer luck than skill. She was hardly an experienced tracker. She had never in her life seen a forest before a few short months ago. Yet she was Elf in blood and instinct, so whether it was by that instinct or simple chance, she managed to stay downwind of the three hunters. She ran silently, keeping pace easily with the Elves and their pet dwarf.
They forged ahead for nearly three hours, going always at a slow jog. When the three hunters finally stopped and stared ahead in bloodthirsty vigilance, she crept to the side, leaving a wide berth with the intention of going at the enemy from behind.
The enemy in question was an orc, starved and weary but still immense, and more than strong enough to easily defeat a single Elf or dwarf in hand-to-hand combat. It now stood with its back to Kelly, resting from its endless march. Its sweat-soaked skin shone naked in the mottled sunlight. Unclothed and panting, it seemed an easy target.
Kelly crept slowly down the shallow slope leading to the small clearing where the monster stood. She went unnoticed by the three hunters on the opposite hill. Their attention was not on making plans for attack. Kelly spared an instant to glance up to them. Distracted, of course. She would show them.
Just yards away from the orc, she reached behind to draw an arrow, but remembered what the dwarf had said. "There's no honor in denying your enemy the chance to defend himself." No honor, indeed. She would prove to them that she had more honor than these sneaking dwarf-friends. Without rustling a leaf, she laid her bow and quiver on the ground, and drew her hunting knife.
She crouched on the dark, leaf-covered earth, her muscles tensed as she prepared to strike. Yes, she would allow this enemy a chance to defend himself; but not much of one. Even she knew how was utterly stupid it was to assume that just because the monster was standing still, he couldn't move with lightening speed if he wanted to.
She took a deep breath. It was now or never. She leaped to her feet with a high-pitched cry, hurling herself at the lone orc. The three hunters saw her blade flash in the dim light.
"Kelly!" Legolas cried. Beside him, Haldir let out a hiss.
"The fool!"
Kelly was surprised to find herself staring into the beast's eyes. In slow motion, her blade found the flesh of its palm as it grabbed her weapon. Letting out a roar that shook the trees, it flung her aside. She did a backwards somersault and landed sprawled on her back. She desperately felt the ground, searching for her weapon as the orc lumbered towards her. She saw at last that her knife was still clasped tightly in the orc's hand. The blade was still firmly embedded in its flesh. Blood dripped steadily from its injured arm. Kelly scrambled backwards, tripping on her long gown.
The orc reached her before she had a chance to stand and run. It lifted its good arm and again roared, showing its yellowed fangs. For a moment Kelly wondered if this beast was not really a bear given its twisted man-like shape by some sick magician. She did not have time to wonder for long before the orc lowered his arm and thumped her hard on her side, sending her rolling several yards before being stopped with a jolt by a tree.
She opened her eyes, dizzy now and in severe pain. Through the haze she saw the orc lift its injured hand and inspect it curiously. It opened its clenched fist and shook the knife out, then looked again. Finally realizing that it was injured, it let out a scream of rage and began towards her again, snarling with each step it took. She counted them, knowing that its footsteps were now ticking the last seconds of her life. One, two, three...
And then another roar interrupted the beast's low mumbling. Kelly watched, unmoving, as the dwarf came into view. He shouted at the beast. Kelly knew he spoke words, but she heard them only as if listening with pillows over her ears. It was enough to distract the orc from its prey. It turned to face the dwarf, and only after he had looked into the beast's eyes did he thrust his axe forward with all his fearsome strength.
After two more strokes, the beast lay dead.
Gimli was beside her an instant later. Haldir and Legolas were right behind him. The dwarf helped Kelly ease herself into a sitting position, the put one arm around her shoulders to support her.
"Why... did you do that?" she asked, wincing with pain from her bruised ribs as Legolas knelt and laid his hands gently on her side to search for broken bones. He found none and announced such with a simple gesture.
"Do what?" Gimli asked.
"You saved me. Why?"
"You were in trouble. Why shouldn't I have saved you?" Gimli looked into her penetrating eyes. For a long time, they sat together, staring into each other. Gimli was the first to move. He cleared his throat and looked away. "Besides," he muttered, "we were supposed to kill that thing anyway... It was... good of you... to distract it for us. All part of our plan."
Kelly smiled. She looked up at the threesome. Now Haldir had seated himself beside Gimli, one hand on the dwarf's shoulder. His eyes were anxious despite Legolas's assurance that she would be all right. Legolas was beside Haldir, is arm around his friend's neck. They truly were three brothers-in-arms.
"I think," she whispered, "I understand now."
***
Perannui tended Kelly's wounds with soothing, sweet smelling paste made from ground plants with foreign-sounding names. Haldir had asked to be allowed to tend her wounds, as he had some knowledge of healing skills; but although there were many taboos even the eldest of Middle-Earth's children could learn to violate and accept, Perannui could not permit Haldir to nurse a maiden. Not when the maiden, in truth, needed little tending.
Haldir was understandably miffed on several levels, but he got away with only mild teasing from Legolas and Gimli. Both of them would have given a great deal to be allowed to tend the brave woman's wounds, had they any more than basic knowledge of healing skills.
Elves do not need to sleep, but Perannui insisted that Kelly would rest all night. Without visitors. The three friends would have argued until sunrise had not Elrond intervened and taken Perannui's side after hearing the whole story. Legolas, Haldir, and Gimli were obliged to be content to sit outside her door and sulk until dawn, when Perannui came out and announced that she was going to fetch some medicinal tea for Kelly and would let them in when she returned.
As Perannui's footsteps disappeared down the hall, Elrond returned. "I trust you three know what you must do?" he said.
They exchanged glances. "No," Haldir replied truthfully. "What is it?"
He told them.
***
Perannui returned to find the three of them whispering excitedly to each other. Gimli looked mildly indignant, but only to save pride and avoid agreeing completely with a couple of Elves. Perannui laughed, again the laugh of one who embraced life and loved it for all it was. She greeted Haldir and Legolas by name, then said, "Are you boys and your little brother ready to come in quietly and not make a fuss?"
Gimli huffed. "It isn't my fault I was born short, ma'am."
Legolas placed a hand on his friend's head to quiet him. "We are ready, Perannui."
"Wonderful." She led the way through the door. The three friends stopped just inside the doorway and watched as Perannui gave Kelly the goblet of steaming liquid. "It is hot," she warned. "Be careful."
"I shall," Kelly assured her. Satisfied with the present situation, Perannui left through another door. Kelly turned her eyes to the others. "Well, what is it?" she demanded, her voice sharp but playful. "It is not polite to crowd the doorway."
"She is well enough to bark again, I see," Haldir observed.
"Indeed, and her eyes have their old flash in them," said Legolas.
Gimli paused, furrowing his brows. "An Elf's an Elf," he declared finally. Legolas gave his arm a firm punch. "Oof! ...But... she does look a bit more... glowy..." Gimli punched Legolas back. "So there."
"Eloquence beyond expression, master dwarf," Haldir said, chuckling.
Legolas stepped forward, rubbing his arm where Gimli had punched it. "Actually, we do have a purpose," he began.
"Yes," said Haldir. "A very good one, too."
Kelly took a sip of her tea then set the cup down on the small table beside her bed. "A good purpose," she repeated. "I am sure I can imagine no better purpose than standing in my doorway as if you haven't got any idea where you are or where you are going."
"We were just getting to it," Gimli said defensively.
"It is taking you long enough," Kelly shot back, but her reply was accompanied with a good-natured smile towards the dwarf.
"Legolas, you do it," Gimli commanded.
Legolas blinked. "I thought Haldir was going to start."
"I thought Gimli was," Haldir objected. "You are the best speaker, Legolas. You do it."
Legolas shook his head. "I may be the best hunter, but I am not the best speaker. Haldir, you begin."
Haldir chuckled. "You hunt like a drunken sow. Speak, good prince, or we shall be here all day."
"A drunken sow!" Legolas exclaimed. "I shall make you do it just for that..."
"**I'LL** do it!" Gimli broke in. Then, stepping forward, he made a bow to Kelly and spoke. "My lady, we have come to show you the end of your quest..."
Haldir stepped forward as well, letting his hand rest on Gimli's shoulder. "You have truly broken free from the shackles of misunderstanding put on you in your village."
Now Legolas joined them. "You have understood us, accepted us as one soul if not one race, and so you have shown wisdom beyond expectation."
"For knowledge," Gimli said.
"For strength," Haldir continued.
"For wisdom," Legolas added.
Then together, they murmured in the language known by all elves and now in part by one dwarf, "Istwen we name thee: she who knows friendship. Wear this name with pride, our sister."
Kelly, now Istwen, lowered her head, smiling. "I thank you," she whispered.
And she understood.
They found her sleeping in the mist below a small waterfall several miles outside Imladris. They nearly mistook her for the rotting carcass of a young doe, for she was adorned in animal skins, and her long hair was the color of the dead leaves on the forest floor.
They knew that she was not native to this land, or she would not have dared to sleep unhidden as she was from the dangers of the world. The three who found her spoke in hushed tones, their shadows cast over the slender body. They decided, after some discussion, to make camp around the very tree whose roots made this girl's nest.
All that night they sat together be their fire, taking turns watching her and the dark woods; for still there were strange things roaming the countryside, unnatural monsters never meant to tough this earth's soil, all the more dangerous now that their master had been defeated.
When dawn came, she opened her eyes and sat up. She looked at her three guardians with a hint of fear, thinking perhaps that they were her captors rather than bearers of better fortune.
The three companions each in turn met her eyes, but saw nothing in them. Puzzled, they invited her to join them and return to Imladris. Her reply was a single incline of her head, just enough to communicate her intention.
Until they reached Imladris, she never spoke a word.
***
The second time she awoke, she was in the company of two of the three hunters who had returned from their expedition bearing far more intriguing prey than the arrow-impaled and gutted corpse of some unfortunate boar or rabbit - the hunters' usual catch. Only this time, rather than a cold, uneven forest floor, she found herself in the silky sheets of a bed in the Last Homely House, residence of Elrond.
Rested and with a clearer mind than she had had during the journey, she was of a mood to look at the smaller of the two hunters with clear distaste. He was a dwarf, after all, and thus a natural enemy of her people. What could he be doing here, in a place so obviously Elvin?
The taller of the two chuckled quietly, seeing the expression on her face. She returned his good humor with a look that was part disbelief, part disgust, and part curiosity.
To this the Elf did not respond, but instead began his dialogue to include a question of his own. "We meet again, my lady. I am Legolas Greenleaf, and this is my dear friend, Gimli, son of Gloin. I hope you are now rested enough to tell us, if you would, what you are called, so that we may tell Lord Elrond whom he has taken under his roof."
For the first time, the two hunters heard her voice. Neither found anything extraordinary about it, save that it had perhaps just a hint of an unfamiliar accent. "Do you not wish," she said, "to know my story?"
"Not now," said Legolas. "We have as much to explain as you do, I am certain. There will be time enough for stories once we have seen to your well-being. Now we wish only to know your name."
Her sharp stare dulled. She closed her eyes and whispered something.
"What was that?" Gimli asked, turning to Legolas.
Legolas first nodded to the girl in understanding, then said to his friend, "She is Arost, one of the nameless. I know only a little of her kind. She has traveled far from her home, for those of her culture dwell in Haradwaith, south of Gondor, in a place where Elves and Men often share the same land. Without her elaboration I can tell you only that youths of her culture must earn their Elvish names... But I thought," he looked meaningfully to the girl, "that they went by other names until they earned their proper ones."
"True," said the girl. "My father was Gwanunig. I am therefor called Gwaniell."
Gimli made a face of dislike. "Another one! I would like to know, Legolas, what posesses you Elves to go flitting about with such impossible names. Have you nothing better to do with eternity, like... oh, I don't know... searching for Entwives or learning to see the future?"
Legolas was going to say something wise and vague about the future being in greater hands than theirs to know, but the girl spoke first. "The village Men called me Kelly."
"Kelly, then," Gimli said, passified. "A very good name that is, indeed. More sensible than most of the Elf names around here, anyway."
Legolas responded to this comment by nudging the dwarf hard in the ribs with his elbow. Gimli grunted and nearly toppled off his chair.
"Fine manners these Elves have," Gimli grumbled, his eyes twinkling with a barely-suppressed smile. "Speaking of which, where's Haldir got to? I thought he just went off to... What **did** he say he was going off to do?"
"He did not say," Legolas corrected Gimli. "And knowing Haldir, he is likely to come and go as fancy takes him. I have never known him to act otherwise."
"Oh, I don't know," Haldir interrupted from the doorway. "I like to think of myself as having a **little** bit less flightiness than a fledgling swallow."
Legolas stood from his chair. "Haldir!" He smiled. "Come meet Gwaniell, called Kelly... an Arost from the South."
Haldir stepped to the foot of the bed and gave a graceful bow, understanding in an instant even more fully than Legolas had the meaning of the name... or lack thereof. "Charmed, my lady."
"Legolas went and told the girl we didn't want to know what she was doing sleeping in the woods dressed like a discarded orc," Gimli huffed. "And knowing how you Elves take things, I expect that means nobody in Middle-Earth is going to get a reason out of her for another 200 years or so, and even then you'll have to catch her talking in her sleep."
Kelly stared in wonder at the scene before her, astounded that a dwarf was allowed to speak as he did with such callous disrespect. Haldir's reaction to her expression was similar to Legolas's, if a little more light-hearted. He laughed, but stopped himself when he felt Legolas's hand on his shoulder.
"Forgive me, my lady," he said to Kelly. "We are so used to accepting the dwarf as one of our own that we often forget how peculiar the arrangement may seem to outsiders."
Kelly nodded, accepting his apology, though her face showed that she did not understand it.
"You may come to understand," Legolas told her. "For now..."
Haldir interrupted -- he was very talented at that. "There is a bath and new clothing in the next room, if you would like to get yourself cleaned up. You may wander the House as you wish. We have business elsewhere."
"What business?" Gimli demanded. "We haven't got any..."
"We have business with Elrond," Haldir insisted, nudging the dwarf towards the door.
"But..."
Legolas took the hint. "You know Lord Elrond does not like to be kept waiting," he said.
Gimli crossed his arms. "But I never heard of any..."
Before he could say another word, Legolas and Haldir placed themselves on either side of the dwarf, hoisted him up by the collar of his tunic, and took their leave of the guest chamber.
***
With the dwarf gone, Kelly breathed more easily. Legolas had told her she would come to understand. Understand what? Elves were Elves and dwarves were dwarves and that was all there was to it.
She puzzled over the matter as she undressed and eased her body into the steaming bath water. She had escaped the cruel desert heat and crueler prejudices of her people only to find herself in a stickier mess than when she began. All she wanted was a normal life. She wanted things to be the way they were supposed to be.
And fraternizing with dwarves did not, by any definition, constitute normalcy. Not to Elves. She was born to a race too proud for that, or so she thought. Yet somehow, she held less disdain for the two friends of the dwarf than she expected she would.
"That would be wrong-in-the-head Kelly all over again," she sighed to herself. "What am I coming to now? What is the **world** coming to? Dwarves living with Elves? Why, it is unheard of!"
"Unheard of? True..." Kelly was startled by the voice behind her. All these Elves popping up in doorways unannounced! Such absurdity would never have lasted long in her village.
The tall woman fairly glided into the steam-fogged room carrying an armful of towels, which she set down on a ledge beside the tall mirror. She continued speaking, heedless of Kelly's obvious annoyance at being overheard and interrupted. "But as unheard of as those three are, sometimes the better pathways are unpaved. Is this not so, my dear?"
"I suppose..." Kelly said hesitantly.
"I am Perannui." The strange Elf sat on the edge of the tub. She kept her eyes lowered, her manner almost that of a servant, but a quiet smile danced constantly at the edges of her lips. "There is a spark in you, Kelly. Did you not leave your village because you felt their ways were wrong?"
"I did," Kelly admitted, "but I did not think I would find... what I find here."
"Life is unexpected, and you are very young," Perannui said. "You will learn." As she spoke, she cupped her hands into the water and wet Kelly's hair, then with her skilled hands she carefully brushed out the dirt, bits of leaves and bark collected there for many days of traveling.
"I thought I wanted to learn," Kelly said regretfully. "Now that I'm here, though, I am not so sure."
"Think," said Perannui, "about why you left. What of your village did you think so wrong?"
Kelly knew the answer to this without an moment's thought. "Where I come from," she explained, "Elves and Men live side-by-side. We work together, learn together, and despite the attempts of many to keep our bloodlines pure, it is not uncommon for an Elf and a Man to sleep together and bear children. This is not wrong; I have had human friends and even played at loving a human boy once. But Men so quickly grow old. I am still a child to you, to all my people, and already I have seen too many playmates become bent and wrinkled, then crumble into dust. Too many times I have seen the huge vultures circling the tent of a loved friend whose life was simply too short."
"And is this wrong?" Perannui queried.
"I felt it was. I am not certain, though. I am young, and my village is all I have ever known."
Perannui laughed, but the sound was not harsh as it had been with Legolas and Haldir. Perannui's laugh was an expression of joy and understanding. Her laughter came as bubbles in a stream when the water runs over rough stones. The water embraces the newness, and laughs because it loves life. "You come to us to learn," Perannui said. "Blessed child! We shall have much to teach you." She stood, having finished cleaning Kelly's hair. "You are welcome here for as long as you wish to stay. Such are the words of Elrond, Lord of this House."
And she was gone, as suddenly and silently as she had entered.
***
Haldir found Kelly wandering aimlessly about the open terrace of Elrond's home. Adorned as she now was in the style of Imladris, and with her hair braided properly in Elvish style rather than entangled with a mess of leaves and twigs, her race was apparent by more than just her tapered ears. Haldir bowed to her.
"Why do you keep doing that?" Kelly asked him. "I am not a princess, neither of my own land nor yours, though your people dress me like one. I certainly hope it isn't a custom here to bow to everybody one comes upon. That's just... well... silly."
For once, Haldir didn't have a good answer. Instead, he simply resolved silently to stop bowing to her whenever he met her. He had to admit, it was rather silly.
"You lower yourself on other levels," Kelly continued, leaning against the polished marble rail, "but Elves are still a proud race. It is just not fitting to go about bobbing up and down for no apparent reason like a hen picking at grain ."
Haldir twisted his mouth into a half-smile. "Wise words for one who comes here so resolved to know nothing," he said.
Kelly glared at him. She knew how he had heard her story. Elves are not expected to keep secrets from each other unless asked specifically to do so, and Kelly had never even implied that Perannui should not repeat what she was told. But how could Kelly explain that her lack of knowledge was not quite in any category specified by schools? How could she tell this brazen hunter that her wisdom was little more than guessing mixed with common sense? She did not know how to make clear the void inside her heart, nor did she see much good in glaring. She turned her venomous eyes instead to the valley below.
Her poisoned gaze had struck Haldir more deeply than she knew. A seasoned warrior and expert tracker, he would never have noticed a similar look from other races. But Kelly was as much an Elf as he was, and although she was not aware of it, that meant that she had power to say with her eyes what those of other races could spend a lifetime screaming without being heard by the sensitive Elvish ears.
When he went to stand beside her at the rail, she shrank from his touch. "I am sorry, my lady," he said, though he did not try to lay his hand on her arm. "Even those who are not new to this earth can make mistakes. Please believe me; I did not wish to offend you."
"My lord," Kelly said, her voice only a little less spiteful than her eyes had been, "It is not merely your words that offend me."
"Then what..."
"Hal-dir!" Gimli shouted as he scrambled onto the terrace. "There you are! We've been looking all over for you."
"Have you now?" Haldir turned to Gimli, amused. "And where, prey tell, is your tall shadow?"
Gimli frowned. "Well, that's really hard to say. He was just here a moment ago..."
Haldir squeaked as Legolas pounced him from behind. "Prancing knave!" he shouted as he wrestled with his attacker. "Off, thou spiny sorcerer! Off, I say! Go, hence, begone! Be not here, but somewhere in the vast Elsewhere to which I have no access! Get OFF, you troll! You ought to know better than to act that way in the presence of a... lady..."
Haldir and Legolas sat up, their wrestling match put on hold for the moment. Kelly was gone.
***
"Why is it," Gimli grumbled, "that whenever some dark creeping thing shows up in the woods, we have to go and kill it? I don't remember volunteering for Elrond's personal elite assassin unit."
"You didn't," Legolas said. "You were at lunch. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to volunteer on your behalf." He strapped his quiver of arrows to his back.
"How thoughtful of you," Gimli muttered.
Haldir entered the room then, his bow already strung. "Temper, temper!" he scolded. "I thought you liked a good fight, master dwarf."
"Hacking the head off a slimy creature of darkness is hardly a good fight, particularly not after you and Legolas have already stuck the thing full of enough arrows to make it look like a bloated porcupine." Gimli twirled his axe. "Chopping trees for timber is more exciting than picking off Sauron's stray minions. There's no honor in denying your enemy the chance to defend himself."
"Ah, but you're so **good** at fighting off those big, nasty trees," Haldir cooed.
"Watch it, Elf," Gimli said, holding his axe threateningly. He was more than a little startled when Legolas calmly plucked it from his hands. Gimli spun around to find himself face-to-face with Legolas's belt buckle.
"Trouble, master dwarf?" Legolas asked. He slung the axe over his shoulder. "Nice weapon, this. Too bad it is more useful for chopping trees than enemies. You have no reach with this thing. Your trouble, master dwarf, is that you insist on facing you enemies head-on, and screeching like a Nazgul as you do." He returned the axe to its rightful owner. "With arrows, the enemy is dead before they know they're being hunted, and you are alive for that much longer."
Haldir balanced effortlessly on a bedpost. There was a note of seriousness in his usually light tone. "Indeed, Gimli, you would do well to bring your arrows. We do not know what sort of creature of darkness we are going to fight yet. It may be something you would rather not be caught facing alone."
Gimli grudgingly went off to find his bow and arrows, muttering under his breath mostly in a language neither Elf understood, though they both very clearly heard the word "pansies" used several times before the dwarf was out of the room.
Legolas picked up his bow. "Well," he said, "better to follow him than trust him to come find us."
Haldir nodded his agreement, and the two left the room arm-in-arm, singing a war song obviously not sprouted from the tender poetic hearts of Elves.
Only when their song could no longer be heard did Kelly slip in through the paneless window. She was beginning to grow fonder of Legolas and Haldir; the friendship between them was admirable even among her people. But her distrust of the dwarf had not diminished.
Looking around the room, a radical idea came into her mind. It was nearly foolish, something the elders of her village would have put down as a stunt unworthy of one of her maturity. And yet...
The room held a fair number of weapons for her to choose from. She refused to touch the ones which seemed to belong to the dwarf. She took for herself a shortbow and quiver of arrows, and strung a fine hunting knife around her waist. Thus adorned, without even a second layer of cloth to protect her from enemy strikes, she slipped back out the window and followed the 'elite assassin unit.'
***
She managed to follow them undetected more by sheer luck than skill. She was hardly an experienced tracker. She had never in her life seen a forest before a few short months ago. Yet she was Elf in blood and instinct, so whether it was by that instinct or simple chance, she managed to stay downwind of the three hunters. She ran silently, keeping pace easily with the Elves and their pet dwarf.
They forged ahead for nearly three hours, going always at a slow jog. When the three hunters finally stopped and stared ahead in bloodthirsty vigilance, she crept to the side, leaving a wide berth with the intention of going at the enemy from behind.
The enemy in question was an orc, starved and weary but still immense, and more than strong enough to easily defeat a single Elf or dwarf in hand-to-hand combat. It now stood with its back to Kelly, resting from its endless march. Its sweat-soaked skin shone naked in the mottled sunlight. Unclothed and panting, it seemed an easy target.
Kelly crept slowly down the shallow slope leading to the small clearing where the monster stood. She went unnoticed by the three hunters on the opposite hill. Their attention was not on making plans for attack. Kelly spared an instant to glance up to them. Distracted, of course. She would show them.
Just yards away from the orc, she reached behind to draw an arrow, but remembered what the dwarf had said. "There's no honor in denying your enemy the chance to defend himself." No honor, indeed. She would prove to them that she had more honor than these sneaking dwarf-friends. Without rustling a leaf, she laid her bow and quiver on the ground, and drew her hunting knife.
She crouched on the dark, leaf-covered earth, her muscles tensed as she prepared to strike. Yes, she would allow this enemy a chance to defend himself; but not much of one. Even she knew how was utterly stupid it was to assume that just because the monster was standing still, he couldn't move with lightening speed if he wanted to.
She took a deep breath. It was now or never. She leaped to her feet with a high-pitched cry, hurling herself at the lone orc. The three hunters saw her blade flash in the dim light.
"Kelly!" Legolas cried. Beside him, Haldir let out a hiss.
"The fool!"
Kelly was surprised to find herself staring into the beast's eyes. In slow motion, her blade found the flesh of its palm as it grabbed her weapon. Letting out a roar that shook the trees, it flung her aside. She did a backwards somersault and landed sprawled on her back. She desperately felt the ground, searching for her weapon as the orc lumbered towards her. She saw at last that her knife was still clasped tightly in the orc's hand. The blade was still firmly embedded in its flesh. Blood dripped steadily from its injured arm. Kelly scrambled backwards, tripping on her long gown.
The orc reached her before she had a chance to stand and run. It lifted its good arm and again roared, showing its yellowed fangs. For a moment Kelly wondered if this beast was not really a bear given its twisted man-like shape by some sick magician. She did not have time to wonder for long before the orc lowered his arm and thumped her hard on her side, sending her rolling several yards before being stopped with a jolt by a tree.
She opened her eyes, dizzy now and in severe pain. Through the haze she saw the orc lift its injured hand and inspect it curiously. It opened its clenched fist and shook the knife out, then looked again. Finally realizing that it was injured, it let out a scream of rage and began towards her again, snarling with each step it took. She counted them, knowing that its footsteps were now ticking the last seconds of her life. One, two, three...
And then another roar interrupted the beast's low mumbling. Kelly watched, unmoving, as the dwarf came into view. He shouted at the beast. Kelly knew he spoke words, but she heard them only as if listening with pillows over her ears. It was enough to distract the orc from its prey. It turned to face the dwarf, and only after he had looked into the beast's eyes did he thrust his axe forward with all his fearsome strength.
After two more strokes, the beast lay dead.
Gimli was beside her an instant later. Haldir and Legolas were right behind him. The dwarf helped Kelly ease herself into a sitting position, the put one arm around her shoulders to support her.
"Why... did you do that?" she asked, wincing with pain from her bruised ribs as Legolas knelt and laid his hands gently on her side to search for broken bones. He found none and announced such with a simple gesture.
"Do what?" Gimli asked.
"You saved me. Why?"
"You were in trouble. Why shouldn't I have saved you?" Gimli looked into her penetrating eyes. For a long time, they sat together, staring into each other. Gimli was the first to move. He cleared his throat and looked away. "Besides," he muttered, "we were supposed to kill that thing anyway... It was... good of you... to distract it for us. All part of our plan."
Kelly smiled. She looked up at the threesome. Now Haldir had seated himself beside Gimli, one hand on the dwarf's shoulder. His eyes were anxious despite Legolas's assurance that she would be all right. Legolas was beside Haldir, is arm around his friend's neck. They truly were three brothers-in-arms.
"I think," she whispered, "I understand now."
***
Perannui tended Kelly's wounds with soothing, sweet smelling paste made from ground plants with foreign-sounding names. Haldir had asked to be allowed to tend her wounds, as he had some knowledge of healing skills; but although there were many taboos even the eldest of Middle-Earth's children could learn to violate and accept, Perannui could not permit Haldir to nurse a maiden. Not when the maiden, in truth, needed little tending.
Haldir was understandably miffed on several levels, but he got away with only mild teasing from Legolas and Gimli. Both of them would have given a great deal to be allowed to tend the brave woman's wounds, had they any more than basic knowledge of healing skills.
Elves do not need to sleep, but Perannui insisted that Kelly would rest all night. Without visitors. The three friends would have argued until sunrise had not Elrond intervened and taken Perannui's side after hearing the whole story. Legolas, Haldir, and Gimli were obliged to be content to sit outside her door and sulk until dawn, when Perannui came out and announced that she was going to fetch some medicinal tea for Kelly and would let them in when she returned.
As Perannui's footsteps disappeared down the hall, Elrond returned. "I trust you three know what you must do?" he said.
They exchanged glances. "No," Haldir replied truthfully. "What is it?"
He told them.
***
Perannui returned to find the three of them whispering excitedly to each other. Gimli looked mildly indignant, but only to save pride and avoid agreeing completely with a couple of Elves. Perannui laughed, again the laugh of one who embraced life and loved it for all it was. She greeted Haldir and Legolas by name, then said, "Are you boys and your little brother ready to come in quietly and not make a fuss?"
Gimli huffed. "It isn't my fault I was born short, ma'am."
Legolas placed a hand on his friend's head to quiet him. "We are ready, Perannui."
"Wonderful." She led the way through the door. The three friends stopped just inside the doorway and watched as Perannui gave Kelly the goblet of steaming liquid. "It is hot," she warned. "Be careful."
"I shall," Kelly assured her. Satisfied with the present situation, Perannui left through another door. Kelly turned her eyes to the others. "Well, what is it?" she demanded, her voice sharp but playful. "It is not polite to crowd the doorway."
"She is well enough to bark again, I see," Haldir observed.
"Indeed, and her eyes have their old flash in them," said Legolas.
Gimli paused, furrowing his brows. "An Elf's an Elf," he declared finally. Legolas gave his arm a firm punch. "Oof! ...But... she does look a bit more... glowy..." Gimli punched Legolas back. "So there."
"Eloquence beyond expression, master dwarf," Haldir said, chuckling.
Legolas stepped forward, rubbing his arm where Gimli had punched it. "Actually, we do have a purpose," he began.
"Yes," said Haldir. "A very good one, too."
Kelly took a sip of her tea then set the cup down on the small table beside her bed. "A good purpose," she repeated. "I am sure I can imagine no better purpose than standing in my doorway as if you haven't got any idea where you are or where you are going."
"We were just getting to it," Gimli said defensively.
"It is taking you long enough," Kelly shot back, but her reply was accompanied with a good-natured smile towards the dwarf.
"Legolas, you do it," Gimli commanded.
Legolas blinked. "I thought Haldir was going to start."
"I thought Gimli was," Haldir objected. "You are the best speaker, Legolas. You do it."
Legolas shook his head. "I may be the best hunter, but I am not the best speaker. Haldir, you begin."
Haldir chuckled. "You hunt like a drunken sow. Speak, good prince, or we shall be here all day."
"A drunken sow!" Legolas exclaimed. "I shall make you do it just for that..."
"**I'LL** do it!" Gimli broke in. Then, stepping forward, he made a bow to Kelly and spoke. "My lady, we have come to show you the end of your quest..."
Haldir stepped forward as well, letting his hand rest on Gimli's shoulder. "You have truly broken free from the shackles of misunderstanding put on you in your village."
Now Legolas joined them. "You have understood us, accepted us as one soul if not one race, and so you have shown wisdom beyond expectation."
"For knowledge," Gimli said.
"For strength," Haldir continued.
"For wisdom," Legolas added.
Then together, they murmured in the language known by all elves and now in part by one dwarf, "Istwen we name thee: she who knows friendship. Wear this name with pride, our sister."
Kelly, now Istwen, lowered her head, smiling. "I thank you," she whispered.
And she understood.