Prologue

A young elven child sat huddled amongst the boughs of a tree, eyes closed against the twilight sky. He looked young, even for an elf, and was half a head shorter than the other children... then again, he was also several hundred years younger than the rest of them. An owl hooted in the distance, and the child stirred slightly.

He opened his bright eyes sluggishly, and a stray bit of star light caught his hair before he slipped down from between the branches. He stood barely 3 feet tall off of the ground, arms drooping around him as he glanced back over his shoulder. Sighing, he moved forwards, his keen ears catching the sound of water trickling in the distance.

Who am I..? he thought bitterly. Who are elves to think themselves better than others... we hate dwarves and are hated back. We chastise men for their foolishness... but do we have the right to?

The sound of water slowly grew louder, until it became very evident that the trickling was in fact a river. And me being a Prince... I have less right to hate them, to disrespect them, then anyone else. Don't I..? The trees seemed to part around him as he stepped over the final roots, until the river laid in front of him. It gushed sluggishly, a slightly greenish hue in it's depths. But this'll solve everything... with this, I won't have to worry about respect or disrespect, hatred or even love. With this, I can just live in peace.

The prince was often left alone in his thoughts, and didn't get along with the older kids; they only acknowledged him with curt remarks whenever he happened to do better than him in their studies... which was nearly every day. He was among the best bowmen in the younger classes, and because of his lineage had started learning lore at a very young age. Plus with his princely title he was often teased and thought to be favoured; his father would assure him that this was only a phase in the other children's lives, but he wasn't so sure.

The greenish river was a feared thing to the elves of his city; it was said for a long, long time that those that drank from the river would fall into a deep sleep, and never wake again... but the Prince knew that it wasn't true. He had drunken from the water before, hoping, wishing, wanting desperately to not have to deal with the hardships that constantly surrounded him, but what seemed like moments after closing his eyes against it's bitter taste he woke up again, only to find that a week had past and no one had taken serious notice to him being gone.

It hadn't taken long before he drank of the water again.

Kneeling by the river's bank, the young prince tried to find his own reflection. It was lost to the depths of the river, as he knew it would be... and with a look akin to happiness, he bent down to cup a sip in his elegant hand.

"You could get into trouble if anyone found out you know," a soft voice spoke behind him. He snapped around to look at the speaker, a guilty gleam in his eye. Standing next to the trees that he'd just past was a girl; a woman really, though she barely looked older than a girl. Her beauty surpassed all but the Lady Galadriel herself.

"I know," he muttered. She tilted her head, firey tresses woven with silver spilling over her shoulder as she stepped towards him. "But... this is the only way to get away from it. This is the only way to just skip over all the looks and ignorance."

She pursed her lips, but smiled soon after. Rushing forwards she grabbed his hand, pulling him to his feet. "Let me show you something."

She dragged him back through the trees, to a path parallel to the river. The path wove and wound through the semi-darkness of the night, until the canopy above completely covered them from view... then the little prince could rely on only his fair sight to keep him from stumbling over his own feet.

And then suddenly the trees were gone, and in front of them was a crystal clear lake. The stars sparkled like jewels in it's surface, and the trees closed around them on all sides, as if protecting the waters from the dangers of the forest.

"It's wonderful," he said finally. His eyes were glowing, and another owl hooted in the distance. "But why did you bring me here?"

"Because, young prince," she said, the wisdom of all the ages in her voice. "This place reminds me of Rivendell... and the Valleys of Rivendell have the most beautiful trees, and the grass is always green and the sky is always blue. Every night the house of Elrond is full of laughter and song and..." she tapered off, seeing the look of longing on the Prince's face. "Do you wish to see the Valleys of Rivendell, my Prince?" He nodded, and she smiled. "Aa... well, here is a promise. One day, when you are older and have learned much more about the world around you, I will take you to Rivendell and introduce you to Elrond and his children. The Evenstar is not that much younger than you... well, not in Elven terms anyways."

"There are other terms?" He asked automatically.

She laughed, stepping away from him and closing her eyes. "There are so many terms in the world, Prince... but that can be learnt another time. For now, you must be good. If you are not good I will not take you to Rivendell."

"I will be good," he promised. "But if I do not have fun there, I will have to punish you."

"Alright, Prince," she said with a smile. "Be good, and one day I will take you to Rivendell."