Finding Daisy
(A/N at bottom)
For you, I'd wait 'til kingdom come,
Until my days, my days are done.
Say you'll come and set me free,
Just say you'll wait, you'll wait for me.
-'til Kingdom Come, Coldplay
"Daisy!" The shout rang through the quiet morning, frightening several birds. A blonde, scowling female elf threw her hands up in exasperation. Standing outside the large hall and yelling, she got more than a few strange looks. "Daisy!"
A faint crash came from somewhere in the distance. Seconds later, a petite girl with unruly piles of black hair came running, almost crashing into the elf. Sheepishly looking up into the eyes of her adoptive mother, Tuarwen, Daisy gulped.
"Tuarwen, I-"
"Where have you been?" Tuarwen's voice was as clear and cold as ice.
"I agree- I mean, what ar- you look nice today!" Daisy stuttered, looking around frantically, as if searching for an escape route.
The older elf sighed, taking in her appearance. Dirtied dress, red cheeks, hair tumbling down her shoulders every which way. "You've been tree climbing again, am I correct?"
Daisy nodded, biting her lip.
Tuarwen had never been quite sure what had compelled her to take in the child. Perhaps it was pity, for the half-human, half-elf creature that didn't quite belong anywhere. Maybe it just that her mother, Valaina, had been a good friend of hers. The lovely elf had sailed years ago, broken-hearted by the death of Daisy's father. Her daughter, not being fully elven, could not follow, and was left on the shore, an orphan.
What kind of selfish being does that to a child? Taurwen had wondered. She still did.
Tauren had never been a mother herself, due to a lifetime of bad luck. And then Daisy had ran to her, sobbing, and she had put her arms around the girl, and she remembered thinking, I suppose now is as good a time as any.
Yes, Taurwen was fond of the orphan, that was so painfully out of place here, surrounded by beautiful beings that reminded her daily how very different she was. How abnormal.
What kind of a name was Daisy anyway? Not an elvish one, that was certain. But when Valaina had come back to Rivendell after many years away, Taurwen's door was the first one she had knocked on.
[ ]—[ ]
"Cormamin lindua ele lle!" Taurwen cried joyfully, opening the door. She faltered in her greeting however, at seeing the state of the once lovely elf.
"Oh Taurwen!" Valaina cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. A small bundle was wrapped in her arms, and it was... moving?
"Is that- a child?" Taurwen gasped, ushering her inside. "I- where have you been? I haven't seen you in many years, Lirimaer."
"I made a mistake, mellon."
"Is that yours?" Taurwen indicated the moving bundle.
Valaina's bottom lip trembled. "Her father was mortal." Seeing the shocked look on the older elf's face, she adjusted the bundle of blanket so a tiny head was visible.
As were the tiny, rounded ears and freckles, things no elven baby normally had.
"Aiya!" Taurwen cried in surprise, her calm demeanor shattered. Turning away from Valaina, she fought a silent battle with herself. Something told her that this day would change her life drastically. A small cry came from the doorway, making her glance over.
"She's hungry." Valaina explained, hushing the child.
"I'll make us something to eat, and you can explain the whole thing." Taurwen decided, then thought of something. "And what is the child's name, mellonamin?"
Valaina was looking down at the baby in her arms, hair covering half of her face. "Her name? Daisy."
[ ]—[ ]
Daisy hurried away from the seemingly lost-in-thought Taurwen, cringing in embarrassment. Nice going, Daisy. She already had a reputation for being the most scatterbrained maid Rivendell had ever seen; did she really have to live up to it every day?
She could name several elves off the top of her heard that would love nothing more to see her mess up. Sometimes it felt like the world was just waiting for Daisy to make a stupid mistake. To tauntingly ask if she was getting in touch with her human side.
By now Daisy knew all the insults. Half-breed, Freak, and so on.
It wasn't that she didn't pay attention; more than she was just focusing on other things. Daisy had a habit of tuning out the world around her, a strategy she had discovered against bullies when she was younger. The girl would get a faraway look in her eyes, and you knew she was somewhere else, not hearing a word you were saying. Tuarwen found it especially annoying, and had resorted to shaking Daisy whenever it did happen.
Whenever Daisy messed up too bad, or some self-righteous elf went a little too far with the jeers, she would remind herself, this isn't permanent. Even at a young age, Daisy was absolute in the belief that one day, she too would leave, and find a place she truly belonged. A place to call home.
"A!" Daisy hissed, almost tripping over the hem of her dress. It was a pain, she'd much rather be in pants and comfortable riding boots. But a maid in breeches would certainly be going too far, even for her.
One of the many mirrors on the walls caught her eye, and she turned to look at her reflection. Daisy had gotten a pretty face from her mother, that much was true, with rosy cheeks and dark brown eyes. Her hair was a different story. She had grown it out to cover her human ears, and it fell to her waist, a sea of wild black curls. If there was one single thing daisy knew of her father, it was that he must have had curly hair, for Valaina's had been as straight as any normal elf's. Daisy's hair was what made her stick out most of all; the rest of Rivendell had perfect hair. That, and the fact Daisy was abnormally short. Scowling at her reflection, she moved on.
Daisy cursed out loud, realizing she had forgotten the list of bedrooms needing to be swept in her hurry to get away from Tuarwen. Going back now would be painfully awkward, and she didn't have it memorized either. Daisy was about to hit something when she heard the soft sound of someone skipping, most unusual for an elf. Breaking into a beaming smile, she turned around to find her friend Gweneth coming down the hallway.
"Mellon nin, were you missing this?" The pretty brunette asked, holding out a sheet of paper.
Daisy laughed, pulling her into an embrace. "What would I do without you?"
Gweneth Linderdraw had been a dear friend of hers for as long as she could remember. On her first day of being a maid, all the other elven girls had whispered about her rounded ears and dusting of freckles, but not Gwen. She had come right over, slung her arm over Daisy's shoulder, and told her not to mind them. They had been best friends since, and were seldom seen without the other when they had free time. Gwen was short for a elf, almost as short as Daisy, with glossy brunette hair and grey, friendly eyes. She was always up for a adventure, and didn't mind looking silly along the way.
Gwen handed her the list, eyes sparkling mischievously. "I shudder to think of it. Hurry up and finish, then meet me by the training fields when we're done for the day. That guard I was telling you about always practices there at night!" She swooned dramatically right there on the spot.
Daisy rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Guess I'm not getting any sleep tonight." She had unfortunately inherited the need to sleep from her human father; Daisy could go a few days without it, but not long.
Her friend smirked and patted her back. "It's so weird you have to sleep. Anyways, what rooms do you have?"
Daisy scanned the list apprehensively. "I have most of the western wing, a few of the high-elves chambers, and- oh no." Her stomach sank. "I have some prince's bedroom. I think it's the one that's visiting from Mirkwood, Legolas, and it's all the way on the third floor! I hate going up there! I think Cilneth just waits for me to come by so she can torment me."
"Cilneth totally has it in for you. I wonder what that prince is like? Try and finish as fast as you can, and I'll be waiting for you at the usual spot. Good luck!"
Daisy watched her friend leave, then hurried to the west wing. I'll need it.
Several slow hours later, Daisy only had one room left, the one on the third floor. She made her way cautiously up the stairs, hoping she wouldn't run into anyone.
Unfortunately, luck didn't seem to be on her side today. Cilneth, one of the respected elves visiting from Lothlórien was coming down the stairwell, chattering with two of her friends. Daisy's insides shriveled into a ball of hate just hearing her voice.
Ever since day one, Cilneth had disliked Daisy, and the feeling was mutual. The elf was tall, with silky blonde tresses and ice-blue eyes. Ice like her soul, Gwen had joked once, making Daisy snort. She wasn't laughing now, however.
Moving respectfully to the side, Daisy made sure her long hair was covering her ears.
Don't notice me, don't notice me, please don't notice me...
"Well what do we have here?" Cilneth, her bright blue eyes staring at Daisy as if she was some kind of vermin. "The freaky half-human."
Damn.
The one on her left, a pale light-haired beauty, sniggered. "I can't believe they let it have a job."
Daisy felt her face burning. She walked quickly past them, but not before the blonde threw one last remark. "Her mother was such a slut, I wonder how many other little half-humans are running around Middle-Earth."
Daisy whirled around, eyes flashing daggers at the elf. The unconfident, lowly servant now looked as though she was about to explode.
The third girl, a quiet brunette, touched the leader's shoulder. "Come on Cilneth, lets go."
Cilneth turned to look at her. "Why should we Arwen?"
Arwen was saved from answering when someone came hurriedly down the stairs, making them all pause. Daisy wanted to sink into the ground. Great, another person to add to my humiliation. When she saw who it was, she was even more embarrassed. Oh god, it's the prince of Mirkwood.
He was wearing brown leggings and a fitted grey jacket, and holding a bow in one hand, a quiver in the other. His long blonde hair was falling around his face messily, and his piercing eyes opened wide in confusion when he saw the scene in front of him.
Cilneth reacted first, batting her long eyelashes and smiling sickeningly at the elf. "You must be Prince Legolas, I've heard so much about you."
Legolas nodded, smiling, though he looked a little distracted. Daisy started inching her way past them, hoping Cilneth would be too preoccupied with the handsome prince to notice. She was almost there...
"We were just remarking on this strange creature. half-human, half-elf, an awful mixture don't you think?"
Legolas's eyes found Daisy for the first time, surprised. "Half-elf?"
Cilneth smirked, her tone venomous. "Oh yes. Her mother was Valaina Pelior, of the Grey Havens. Her father, some poor man that didn't know what he was getting in too." Her cronies tittered behind her, their laughter echoing off the high ceiling.
Daisy had never hated anyone as much as she did in that moment. How did the witch even know that? She imagined grabbing Cilneth's long blonde hair and yanking it, curling her fingers around her throat...
"Valaina Pelior? Your mother was a very good friend of mine. I was sorry to hear she had sailed." Legolas said, breaking Daisy out of her trance. Cilneth looked positively furious at this new information.
Not trusting herself to speak, Daisy gave a quick, sharp nod and hurried up the stairs, heart pounding. Her mother had been friends with Prince Legolas? She had certainly never mentioned it before. Trying to calm her racing heartbeat, Daisy took slow breaths as she walked up the stairway. She had also inherited the annoying proneness to panic attacks from her father. The last one had been years ago, but Daisy didn't want to take any chances. Her thoughts all tumbled around her head aimlessly, making it ache.
It had been rather nice how Legolas hadn't teased her like most elves she'd met had. Being a prince, it was a wonder he wasn't spoiled rotten. As Daisy finally made it to his room, all nice thoughts about the prince of Mirkwood stopped immediately as she saw the state of the room. Groaning slightly, the half-elf realized she would be more than a little late meeting Gwen.
The maid found her friend sitting on one of the low branches of a birch tree, absentmindedly braiding her long dark hair. The light of the full moon cast shadows on the ground, giving it a spooky air. When she saw Daisy, Gwen's face lit up.
"Finally, I've been waiting forever! What took you so long?"
Daisy jumped onto the same branch as the other elf, swinging her legs. "I had a run-in with some of the high-born. I swear Cilneth has a balroq inside of her. Prince Legolas ran into us just as I was about to take a swing at her, and said he knew my mom, crazy stuff. And then of course he had literally demolished his room, more work for me. I'll never understand why royals think it so hard to pick up after themselves."
Gwen nodded sympathetically. "Well it doesn't matter anyway, the guard didn't even show. Was Legolas as handsome as everyone says?"
"Not really." Daisy lied. "Seemed likable enough, but after I cleaned his room I'm inclined to think otherwise. Honestly, it looked as if he had been using the wall tapestry for target practice!"
Gwen burst into uncontrollable giggles, and Daisy laughed along with her. It felt good to forget her worries, even if was just for now. Sitting on the birch tree, looking at the stars, and laughing with her best friend, the world seemed much brighter than it had this morning.
Gwen narrowed her eyes creepily, and flipped her long blonde hair over her head in a ridiculous impression of Legolas. "I'm the prince of Mirkwood, and I can't be bothered to walk down to the archery fields, so I'll just use my room as one!"
Daisy almost fell off the tree, her face flushed from laughing. "You should have seen Cilneth around him! Oh Legolas, there must be a bug in my eye with all the eyelash fluttering I'm doing!"
The two friends chortled hysterically, their imitations getting more and more wild. At one point Gweneth had almost gotten Legolas's hair down perfectly, and was loudly telling about all the things she'd shot, while Daisy was practically crying, partly from laughing and partly from eyelash fluttering. They were both having such fun that they didn't hear someone coming up the path until a loud chuckle came from behind them.
A tall, handsome man was standing behind them, looking very amused. Gwen's jaw almost hit the ground as she tried in vain to fix her hair, and Daisy's face turned the color of a ripe tomato. Both looked positively mortified.
"Don't stop now, it was very entertaining. Knowing both Legolas and Cilneth, I cannot say you were not very far from the truth, at least in Cilneth's case."
Gwen and Daisy stared at him, dumbstruck. A strange man, a human, that knew high-born elves? A few seconds past before Gwen said the first thing that popped into her head.
"You're very dirty."
Daisy elbowed her friend in the side, trying not to laugh. "You're one to talk." It was true. In their antics, both had gotten quite disheveled.
But the man only laughed, a deep, friendly laugh, that put the maids to ease. "I have been on the road for many days. This has always been my favorite spot, I didn't except to find anyone here. If I might enquire, who are you?"
"I'm Daisy."
"Gwen."
"And I am Aragorn. I have nowhere currently to be, and am most eager to hear more of these imitations. Mind if I join you?"
His eyes suddenly turned to Daisy, who realized that her ears were showing. She quickly pulled her hair back over them, but the damage had been done.
For a second didn't speak. Then, he smiled, a genuine smile both from his mouth and eyes. "Don't worry, you are not the first half-elf I have met, and I find their company quite enjoyable."
Daisy grinned back at him, and Gwen positively beamed. That was how they found themselves sitting on a branch in the dead of night, making fun of royals with a man named Aragorn who did the best Elrond voice either of them had ever heard. As they talked late into the night, Daisy turned to Aragorn and said something that would later prove to be quite true.
"Aragorn, I think we are going to be very good friends."
Elvish Translations
Cormamin lindua ele lle! ~ My heart sings to see thee!
Lirimaer ~ Lovely one
Aiya! ~ Oh!
Mellon ~ Friend
Mellonamin ~ My friend
A/N After cringing at the state of this fanfic, I've decided to re-edit the whole thing. Several names have been changed, as they were painfully unrealistic. I added tons more detail, and just overall improvement. The story really gets going at chapter 3, I promise.