Nerina's blonde hair streamed through the forest like a river of sunlight. Dashing from place to place, the she-elf chased the horizon. She was restless and bored of the slow-moving company behind her. To Nerina, this journey was torturous. She had never known anything but the freedom and adventure of a childhood lived in the safety and beauty of Mirkwood, but in these foreign lands she was reprimanded for leaving sight of the band of scribes, courtiers, and advisers traveling with the king. Her ocean-colored eyes scoured the land in front of her, looking for any sign of excitement. Her feet came to a halt at a crossroads.
The journey to Gondor from Mirkwood had been a slow one. Her father, King Legolas, had insisted she go; being the future queen he felt it important that she learn the art of diplomacy. Orcs had been spotted in the area. Though it had been twenty-one years since Sauron's defeat, they still terrorized small villages and the wilderness of Middle Earth. King Aragorn had grown quite concerned with recent attacks. He sought to unite all the kingdoms in an effort to rally against the orcs, setting up way stations along the various roads and sending out ranger parties to eliminate orc packs.
Lost in thought, the she-elf did not notice the company of elves appear behind her.
"Nerina, you need to stay with the company." Legolas instructed, observing his daughter staring into the distance.
"Ada, I am trained in the art of battle; you need not worry." She replied, walking back to her kin.
"Trained warrior or not, these woods grow increasingly dangerous! Orcs are gaining numbers in these darkening lands."
"I do not see what King Aragorn hopes to achieve by calling this meeting. If it were up to me, each realm would deal with the orcs on their own. Tis' too much bureaucracy for me."
"Nerina, things are not always so simple. One day you will take my place and it is important to me that you form a stronger bond with King Aragon and his family. They have been one of our greatest allies and he is a dear friend. I want you to grow in the ways of leadership so I won't be worried in my old age."
Nerina opened her mouth to respond but her nose caught scent of something strange on the wind. Immediately her head snapped in the direction of the foreign smell.
"Ada, look smoke on the horizon, a fire!"
She took off in the direction of the smoke, thirty horses charging behind her. Nerina reached the rim of the next hill swiftly. Below her, the princess was greeted by the sight of a thick cloud of black smoke hovering over a small village. Flames leaped up from the few buildings that remained standing. A horrid smell danced its way through her nostrils; burnt flesh. Nerina reeled in shock when she realized the dim shapes in the smoke were the corpses of several fallen villagers scattered on the ground. She covered her mouth and began searching for any survivors, a mix of shock and grim determination driving her. This looked like no orc attack she had ever seen before.
Her father dismounted his horse and covered his nose and mouth with his cloak. Ignoring the smell of charred flesh, Legolas motioned for his soldiers to follow him silently. After drawing his bow they quietly crept through the outskirts of the village, looking for any remaining danger.
Nerina entered the main square; her heart broke as she saw the burnt and charred bodies of a child clinging to its mother, forever frozen in a last embrace of fear. Suddenly a flash of light caught her attention, but she had no time to react. A screech filled the air, piercing her ears. It shook the earth like thunder.
She never saw her attacker land the hit which sent her violently flying through the air. Then, every nerve in her body came alive as if consumed by fire. She landed, yards away; the muscles in her body refused to move. She lay there listening to the screaming of men and horses throughout the village. Nerina made an attempt to call to her father; her voice came as barely a whisper. Once again, she felt her body being lifted into the air, but before her eyes could adjust in the midst of smoke she lost all consciousness.
Legolas lay in a mangled heap against the smoldering ruin of a demolished house. He tried to make sense of the chaos around him. Immediately, he felt the searing pain in his right leg and looked down to see blood pouring from him. A piece of metal had pierced through his thigh and remained lodged in place. Panic began to spread through his whole being upon realizing he could not move. However, blood loss and shock soon consumed him and his eyes drifted shut as his body slumped over.
The first thing Legolas noticed as his eyes opened was the feeling agony from the gaping wound in his leg. As his senses began to clear, he was shocked to discover he was no longer in the razed village. He set his face against the pain and attempted to rise, thoughts of Nerina flooding his mind. He called out for her relentlessly, exerting every ounce of energy he could into moving his body, but to no avail.
"Your highness! Lie still; you've been badly wounded." his healer instructed.
Legolas' head shook side to side in confusion.
"Where am I? Where is my daughter?! I must find her."
Aragorn burst through the doors of the infirmary, rushing to his friend's side.
"Legolas, lie still."
"Aragorn! What happened? Where am I?"
"Peace my friend, you are here in Gondor; your company was attacked. I sent scouts to find you. When you did not arrive on the set date, I feared the worst. Legolas, we couldn't find Nerina. Her body was not in the village. We are making every effort to find her. I have ordered the land one hundred miles around the perimeter of the village be searched. I'm sorry."
"This was no orc attack, Aragorn! I have to find her!"
"We will Legolas I promise, but you will be of no use to her traipsing around bloody and injured. Let your leg heal. In the meantime, I will do everything I can." Aragorn assured him, placing a firm grip on his shoulder.
Legolas relented and leaned back against the pillow. He stared out the window as his heart longed to know his only child was safe. But he couldn't vanquish the fear at the back of his mind; as the darkness overcame the sun, night consumed the day.