Time Eternal
Chapter One; A Mission to Mirkwood
Two plain mirrors stood parallel to each other. They were placed on a vast, endless sea of white, swirling clouds. A young elf girl's black gown contrasted beautifully with the white. Her long, black locks swayed gently in the slight breeze that blew around her. She glided noiselessly and stopped abruptly in between them. The raven haired elleth turned slowly to her right, gazing solemnly into the mirror.
A small boy with tousled blonde hair smiled through his toothless gap. He waved happily his smile widening. He cried out the elleth's name.
"Liliana!"
Liliana could not hear him, but she knew it was her name. A single tear rolled down her pale face.
"Kizen…" She whispered. "Please come back!"
The clear image of Kizen started to fade, his smile disappearing. Liliana quickly turned away, hiding her face in her arm. When she looked up again, her mirror itself was gone. She turned franticly to the left. Dark green eyes that matched Liliana's were looking disapprovingly at her. And she knew all too well what the stern look was for.
She backed away, turned and bolted. Liliana ran in the opposite direction, and she didn't stop. The further she got away from the mirror, the darker it became. Suddenly, the vast white turned bloody red. Liliana screamed, and the seemingly solid ground beneath broke into a million pieces, like what would happen if glass shattered.
The elleth found herself falling, falling. Faces of people, man and elves alike, appeared. They taunted her, saying that she was useless, nothing but a common thief.
And she knew they were right.
"AHH!" Liliana yelled as she shot up in her makeshift 'bed'. Her hands griped her twin blades, from under her pack, which current duty was serving as a pillow. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest. The strong grip she had on her weapons loosened.
"It was only a dream… a horrible dream…" She repeated in her head. "Just a dream." Lilana sighed and got up.
Liliana is a forest elf. She had deep, intense green eyes. Her hair was a long, wavy, a golden color that shined vibrantly in the sun. She despised dresses and skirts. They were not easy to travel in or hide. Instead, she wore black trousers that ended just above the knee, and a midnight black tunic that cut off on her lower thigh, held to her waist by a brown leather belt. Liliana also wore black on her feet. Boots that were tall enough to reach her ankles.
In Middle Earth, women were despised for cross-dressing. They would get noticed. To solve this problem, she bought a long, black cape to cover herself.
It worked wonderfully.
The hood made a dark shadow that veiled her pretty face. Liliana flipped her cape up over her head, and packed up her small camp. She knew exactly what she needed to do today. She wasn't Liliana. She was an elf on a mission. A mission to Mirkwood.
"Okay, I need to find a…" She paused to pull out a small piece of paper given to her by the red head messenger. It read,
The King is hiding a very valuable item in his bedchambers. A small jewel, in a box. Find it and bring it to Bree.
-J.P
Lilana sighed. In his bedchambers? Really. That was the most common place to hide things, and the kind of rooms Liliana broke into the most often. Where the people slept, they think it will be safe. Liliana scoffed. Dumb people. She continued down the road, never stopping to ask for directions. She had been to Mirkwood when it had been Greenwood. It was sad, really. That the place darkened after the death of the queen.
Liliana passed a small town, and then remembered someone. A young girl had, years ago, helped her when she stumbled recklessly into her home. Just for old times' sake, she passed by where that little wooden cottage once stood.
Liliana smiled as she recalled all the times she had come to visit that woman, Rosalie. She was even there, at the mortal's deathbed, to comfort her before the next life. Liliana frowned at the thought and basically ran the whole way to the gates of Mirkwood. She had no trouble getting in, of course. Elves stick with their own kind. The guards had ever so foolishly, once they saw she was one of them, let her in.
Inwardly, Liliana smirked.
"Fools."
The dark haired guard heard her, and raised a questioning brow. But Liliana had already disappeared, gliding swiftly along the smooth roads. Heading north, where the magnificent castle of the great elven city, Mirkwood stood.
After slipping past several guards, she finally made it to the inner court. Surprisingly, no one was there. Liliana, not wanting to jinx it, ran as fast as her legs could carry her to the royal's chambers. She stopped right in front of a massive wall, covered in dark green vines.
Liliana climbed, and gracefully swung herself up on the elegant vines that had conveniently lead to the King's quarters. She dropped silently onto the balcony, hoping no one was inside.
LILANA POV:
No one was in the King's room, thankfully. I held my breath, just looking at this room. It was simply stunning. Large banners hung on the walls, supported by wooden stakes. A portrait of King Thranduil, standing next to the queen hung over the fireplace. The fire danced and sparked, calling me to dance with it.
I giggled, and then mentally slapped myself for it. I had just told every elf in a two mile radius I was I here. I quietly flitted about the room, searching for a box of some kind. After I didn't find it, I stealthily snuck to the balcony again, hoping to go unnoticed.
Out of nowhere, an arrow was in my face, and a very angry archer behind it.
"How dare you sneak into my father's room?" He spoke in elvish.
I froze. His what?! A little voice in the back of my head made itself useful and said,
"Thranduil only has one child. Legolas prince of Mirkwood." It said in a very annoying high pitched voice.
"What do you think, prince?"
His actually had the nerve to growl at me. And I, acting like the fool I always am, got offended.
"GO AWAY!" I yelled the end of the sentence, jumping away from the weapon. I somehow landed behind him, and started running as fast as I could. The next instant, I felt a searing pain rippled through my body. I looked down, and in my chest, I saw an arrow.
"No." I exhaled. Falling to the ground, I whimpered. The world was getting blurry, at my vision was darkening. A shadow stood over me. I reached out to it, my eyes void of any hope for help. Just before I fainted, I mumbled something. "Kizen."
LEGOLAS POV;
The trespasser fell, and I ran over to him. A black cloth covered his face, and the black cloak he was wearing was sprawled out underneath him. As I looked closely, I saw this man's chest was unusually large. The shock of what I saw when I lifted the cloth brought me to my knees.
This was no man. This is a woman!
Again, I looked closer. My hand flew up to my mouth. She was also an elleth! Her ears were pointed, and when my fingers grazed them, she flinched. My attention quickly turned to her wound. It was not fatal, but she needed a healer.
I called for help, and several maidens surrounded me instantly. The confusion that followed was but a dream. Elves were shouting, debating on how to get her to a healing house.
"Carry her."
"No! We must first get the arrow out."
"Are you blind? She needs a healer now!"
"Just get her there!"
Lilana woke up. Her blank eyes darted about the room, only glancing at the handsome furniture. An elf nurse was fidgeting at the foot of the bed.
"Um… I will be back soon." She whispered, staring at her feet. She scrambled out of the room. Liliana shook her head. That had to be the clumsiest elf she had ever seen.
Uncoordinated.
True to her word, the shy elleth came back into the room, followed by a familiar blonde. Liliana shrank back as far as she could into the soft pillows. It was him.
"Eep."
She sank even lower, (if that was possible) when he approached her. His eyes seemed cold and distant, and they were glued to her covering form. Liliana muttered a nervous hello, before getting upset.
"Why did you have to shoot at me?" She demanded, sitting up. He was taken aback by her abruptness, but quickly recovered.
"Well, my lady, you were the one who was sneaking around the palace grounds."
Liliana smirked, and tried to get out of the bed. But when she did, waves of pain rippled through her. She fell back, grimacing. Her face spoke volumes as she shot the ellen a look he would not soon forget.
"I hate you." She stated simply as she lifted her bandages to examine the wound. Totally ignoring Legolas, she asked the lady,
"How long have I been out?"
He replied,
"Four days."
At that, Liliana nearly jumped out of her bed, but was held back by a strong arm.
"Nay. Stay here. I need to speak with you."
She snorted.
"You have been talking to me for the past few minutes."
He nodded, giving her a quizzical look.
"What were you doing in my father's room?"
"That, my dear prince, I cannot tell you… Well, if you must know, I was exploring the great Mirkwood." She was unfazed by the look that would have melted any man.
"Really now? Well, soon you will see the King."
"Thranduil?"
He growled. "It is KING Thranduil."
Liliana held up her hands in mock surrender.
"Fine! Okay. It's King Thranduil. Whatever blows your dress up?"
Legolas frowned. "This is not a dress."
The poor elleth in the corner cleared her throat quietly. Heads turned to her, and she began to speak.
"The King wanted to see Lady Liliana as soon as she had wakened up."
Legolas walked quickly out of the room, but before he did, turned to the nurse.
"Eruanna, please help her to the throne room."
She nodded respectfully and curtsied. Liliana looked to her hopefully, wanting nothing more than at the moment to jump out of bed and tackle Legolas.
"Oh, and miss, how did you know my name?"
Eruanna blushed. "You were mumbling in your sleep."
"Oh. Well, what do I need to do?"
Eruanna smiled and held her arm out.
"First, I will dress you, then we will," She took a deep breath, "See the king."
Liliana had met King Thranduil once before, thousands of years ago. And she did not want to wear a dress to top it all. Eruanna lead her to the other side of the room where a small chest was. She unlatched the golden lock, and out came a navy blue gown. Eruanna smiled.
"This one should fit nicely!" She exclaimed, laying it out on the bed. It was very modest, like most dresses like elves here wore. Strapless, long and light, it was perfect. Like it had been made for Liliana. She was helped into it, carefully avoiding her sore middle.
To put it simply, Liliana looked like the goddess she was born to be. It fit tightly around her waist, and hung loosely over her bare feet. Two black slippers were thrown at her, but Liliana had major trouble pulling them on. When she was ready, Eruanna was beaming.
"My masterpiece is complete!" She squealed.
"What an elfling." Liliana laughed, shaking her head in mock disappointment. It was comforting to her to be about to laugh and not worry. Eruanna and Liliana were the best of friends in five minutes.
"Now we shall be off, it is time." Eruanna helped Liliana off the chair, and she leaned on her the whole way to the big, intimidating wooden doors. Liliana took a deep, calming breath, not even glancing at Eruanna, pushed to great doors open.
Liliana felt as if the world was watching her as she walked, her head held high, and bowed before the king.
"Hello, Thranduil. It has been awhile."
"Liliana, what have you done this time?" He shook his head. The court was confused. Their king knew the thief?
"I broke into your room and your son caught me." She smiled. Thranduil chucked briefly, his hand close to his face.
"That must be the reason my things have been going missing of late."
Liliana cocked her head, her flaxen hair falling behind her.
"That was not my doing, sire!"
Suddenly, a messanger burst into the room, waving a letter around.
"The One Ring has been found!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXX
Cliffhanger! Okay, I hope you guys liked it, and I will be looking forward to reviews and such.
Bye!