Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it! So far, the only thing I own is Lúthien…(
Chapter I—Lúthien
Legolas Thranduilion, Prince of Mirkwood, sat upon his horse, observing the calm forest, a feeling of uneasiness upon his chest. He had known the forest for centuries, having been born in it 150 years previous, and he could feel something amiss. Slowly he brought his horse down the hill and into the forest. After some time riding his Elvin ears perceived a young woman scream. He rushed his horse in the direction of the scream, realizing, as he grew closer to the source of the voice, that it was an elf that had screamed. Being the prince he was, Legolas knew to help any elf in his realm that needed him, and readied for battle, loosening the straps holding his daggers in his belt. But when he reached the clearing where he had heard the scream he found no need for the daggers anymore.
Standing in front of him was a young elleth, bloodied sword in hand. Her hair was long, reaching lower than her waist, and very black. Her face was pale, unnaturally so, and her eyes were big and blue, almost calling to him. She was tall and well formed, and she held herself proudly, even now, when here eyes were full of fear, probably because of the dead orc at her feet. Legolas' eyes traveled down to the orc, and found a deep gash in its chest. The elleth had killed him quickly and painlessly with one sword stroke. He got down from his horse and walked towards the elleth, but she, still in shock, turned to him with her sword raised in a combat position.
"Tira ten' rashwe, Astalder!" (Be careful, valiant one!)
The elleth's eyes, which had been cold with fear, seemed to soften at Legolas' voice. She looked at Legolas' eyes and dropped her sword, only to fall into unconsciousness seconds later. Just before passing out though, a soft, almost silent call exited her lips: "Mithrandir!" Legolas' strong arms wrapped themselves around her before she could hit the floor, piercing herself with her sword. Careful not to harm her he picked up her sword and carried them both to his horse. He sheathed her sword and sat her in front of him, putting his arms around her waist to keep her safely on the horse. Soon they were galloping to the Mirkwood Palace, where, hopefully, the elleth would receive any medical care she needed.
Legolas paced his room restlessly. As soon as he'd gotten to the palace he'd taken the elleth to the healers' wing, and he had been immediately kicked out. Legolas yearned to know whom the elleth he had found was, and why she was alone in the Mirkwood forest. After a while of pacing somebody knocked on his door.
"Yallume! How is she?" (Finally)
Legolas opened the door, expecting one of the other elves from the palace. Instead he found himself face to face with Gandalf, looking at him gravely.
" 'Quel re, Legolas. A word, if you please?" (Well met)
Legolas nodded and moved from the doorway to allow Gandalf entrance. Gandalf walked in silently and sat on one of the chairs in the room. He waited until Legolas sat down and then observed him for some time. Finally he sighed and spoke.
"I hear you were the one who found Lúthien. Is that true?"
Legolas, assuming Lúthien was the elleth he had found in the forest, nodded. Gandalf observed him for some more time before speaking again.
"Legolas, what happened when you found her? Was she hurt? Why was she in such a state of shock?"
"I do not know, Mithrandir. I mean, she was standing before a dead orc, whom I am pretty sure she had killed, but that is about it. I do not find that situation as something worth going into shock."
Gandalf's eyes widened as Legolas spoke. Suddenly he stood up and began cursing at himself.
"Nadorhuan! Dolle naa lost! Amin feuya ten' lle! She's off facing orcs and you are on the other corner of the land, smoking a pipe!" (Cowardly dog! Your head is empty! You disgust me!)
Legolas looked at Gandalf startled. To him the old wizard had always seemed rather calm and composed.
"Mithrandir? Are you all right?"
Gandalf turned to look at the elf, his eyes burning like pits of fire. He looked like he was going to scream again, but decided to rather sit down.
"I'm fine, Legolas. I'm just not very happy with my actions."
Legolas nodded, still somewhat confused.
"Mithrandir, who is that elleth? Why was she out in the forest by herself?"
"Her name is Lúthien. She is a green elleth, from Rivendell. Even though she has not spent much time there as of late…I should sent her there sometime soon…But anyway, I had sent her here to find you, which I guess she did do after all…How are your dungeons? Still in the same gray, moldy state they were in when your father kept Bilbo and his friends in them?"
Legolas looked at Gandalf surprised. The Mirkwood dungeons were not the most pleasant ones around…In fact, they were quite the opposite, and the elves usually decided not to keep anybody in them. Gandalf knew this, as Legolas was sure of, so why was he inquiring?
"Yes, Mithrandir, they are still quite uncomfortable. But, why do you want to know? You know we do not like to keep prisoners there, as it is cruel. And, even if you DID want us to keep a prisoner, shouldn't you be talking with my father? He is the king, not me."
Gandalf nodded. He stood up and nodded at Legolas.
"You are quite right, but your father does not like to be reminded of the condition of his dungeons, as you very well know. I wanted to know if they were still the same. Now I will go ask him if he could keep a little prisoner there for me, until things settle down. I will see you soon."
With those words Gandalf left, and Legolas suddenly realized he still did not now if Lúthien was all right. Sighing he decided he would go check up on her after the evening meal. If the healers had let Gandalf in, surely they would allow their own Prince to see her.
But his wishes to see her were not granted, when he found out she had left with Gandalf shortly after Thranduil had agreed to keep Gandalf's prisoner for a while. When Legolas found out he felt like screaming in frustration, but held it back. He once again went to pace in his room, wondering just who Lúthien was.
The years passed, and Legolas pushed Lúthien's name to the back of his mind. Soon, however, he found himself once again watching the forest from atop his horse, only this time, he was saying goodbye. Gollum had escaped the Mirkwood dungeons, and Legolas was to go to Rivendell to inform Lord Elrond. The ride would be swift, hopefully not taking any longer than a few days, and Legolas hoped he would get a chance to see his friends, Arwen and Aragorn. Finally, after a last glance at the forest, he turned his horse around and started galloping away and towards Rivendell.
While Legolas came closer and closer to Rivendell, Lúthien was sitting restlessly at the library of said place. Gandalf had left weeks ago, promising to come back soon, but there was no word of him. Frodo, the hobbit Gandalf was supposed to arrive with, had gotten to Rivendell, followed by Aragorn and three other hobbits, but none of them had any word of Gandalf, and that worried her. She sighed and put down the book she had been reading. Gandalf had left a long list of books she should read from the Rivendell library last time she'd seen him, and she had followed it strictly. She was almost done with the last one, but could not find the calmness needed to concentrate. Gandalf did not break his word. He had promised her he'd be back with Frodo, but he was nowhere to be found, and that had been keeping her awake more nights than not. She stood up to head to bed, her blue eyes tired, but stopped dead on her tracks when she heard a horse down in the yard.
Lúthien, with high hopes of it being Gandalf, ran down to the yard, only to find herself face to face with a tall blond elf with beautiful grey eyes sitting proudly upon his horse. Lúthien did not need anybody to tell her this was a member of the Elvin royalty, as she could feel the royal aura around him. She dropped into a low curtsey and stayed down until the elf sighed.
"Mani naa lle umien? Tampa tanya!" (What are you doing? Stop that!)
Lúthien slowly rose from her curtsey, still keeping her head down.
"Elen sila lumenn omentilmo. Creoso, heru en amin." (A star shall shine on the hour of our greeting. Welcome, my Lord.)
Legolas sighed. Most of the time he could keep his royal identity a secret, and most people would not act any different than they would if he were their brother. And yet, here he was, with a young elleth he had never met before in his life curtseying and not looking at him. Then again, she probably was a low elf, one of the servants of Elrond, which would explain her being up so late.
"Stop that! Get up and move it! Just take me to my rooms, and stop this damn nonsense before I strike you!"
Lúthien felt scared. She had merely been following her instincts, but the elf did not seem to appreciate that. In fact, he seemed angry, and Lúthien felt herself stiffen thinking he might strike her. But he was a guest to the house of Lord Elrond, and of a higher standing than her, so she decided to do as he said. She shakily took his horse to the stables and led him to a garden where he could sit while she ran to tell a servant of his arrival. After the servants were informed she led him to his room, from where she finally went to bed. In the meantime Legolas called for a servant to bring him a lamp to write a letter to his father. When he saw a different elleth than the one that had received him he felt confused.
"Excuse me, where is the other servant? I would like to apologize. I believe I might have been rather harsh towards her."
The elleth bringing the lamp looked at him as if he was making no sense.
"You know, the elleth that received me and led me here. She had long black hair, reached about my chin?"
Suddenly the servant's eyebrows shot up until they reached her hairline, and she dropped the lamp, glass spreading everywhere. Legolas started cursing, but stopped when he realized the look the elleth was giving him.
"What? Did I say something wrong? I am sorry; I'm not usually like this…. I am just horribly tired."
"I can tell," said the servant slowly, "that you are very tired indeed. Otherwise I do not see how you would confuse Lady Anwamanë for a servant. Even less treat her like you did."
Legolas was already in bed, having given up on writing to his father that night, and barely caught what the servant said. Already drifting off into sleep he decided he'd ask somebody else the next day. After he fell asleep the servant left the room, slowly shaking her head.
"A servant indeed…I wonder what everybody will say when I tell them this!"
The next morning Legolas arose late, and looked around surprised until he remembered where he was. He sighed contently at having finally arrived at his destination and went towards his bags to change his clothes. Then he left his room and, since breakfast was long gone, decided to go down to the kitchens to get something to eat. Once there he found the same servant that had taken the lamp to him the previous night.
"Excuse me, could I have a word with your?"
The servant looked at Legolas and nodded when she recognized him.
"I know last night I showed a great lack of knowledge, but I would like to evade that mistake again. Could you please tell me whom Lady Anwamanë is?"
The servant nodded, almost looking amused.
"You are a friend of Lord Aragorn, are you now?" at Legolas' nod she shook her head, "I am sure he must have talked to you about her…Are you not aware that Lúthien Anwamanë is Mithrandir's student and practically his daughter, as well Lord Aragorn's "adopted" sister? I cannot believe you disrespected her so, treating her like a servant…I do not think I have ever met anybody who'd dare disrespect her…or who'd want to actually."
"Why would they not want to?"
"Well…"the elleth thought about how to answer for a second, then looked up at Legolas, "you are Lord Aragorn's friend, so you should know well that he is very protective of those he loves. Let's just say that there are few people he cares as much about as Lady Anwamanë. He is very…fierce when it comes to having people respect her. Then there is Mithrandir, which is much the same. I still remember the time one of the elves though he could have his way with her…I do not think he has recovered quite yet. But, above all that, Lady Anwamanë is one of the gentlest creatures alive. She does anything that is asked of her with no complain, she respects all creatures of the Middle Earth, and she is, altogether, the sweetest elleth I have ever known. Anyway, good luck to you on whatever brought you to Rivendell…if I were you I would try and apologize to her as soon as possible…"
The elleth winked at him and gave him some ale and a basket with bread and fruit and sent him on his way. Legolas just wandered around Rivendell, lost in his own thoughts. He did remember Aragorn talking excitedly about his "little sister," and Arwen telling him of the young girl whom Mithrandir had raised in the arts of the Istar (wizard). For a long time he had wanted to meet her, and he could not believe when he finally had he had treated her like a mere servant. Still lost in his thoughts he did not realize when he came upon Aragorn and Lúthien in one of the gardens. Aragorn was facing away from him, talking animatedly with Lúthien, and so he did not realize, but Lúthien did, and stiffened, remembering the previous night. Slowly she stood up and fell into a curtsey, and Aragorn, surprised, turned around to see whom she was curtseying to with such fear in her eyes, only to be severely surprised to find his lifelong friend standing there.
"Selli, why do you curtsey like that? Why won't you meet my friend's eyes, looking away with such fear?" (Sister)
Lúthien still looked to the floor, not rising from her curtsey, her eyes filled with fear. Aragorn turned to look at Legolas, feeling anger rising in him.
"Legolas, you would not happen to know what is causing my sister such distress. Would you?"
The last phrase was spoken coldly, as if Aragorn could barely constrain his anger.
"Well…I might have a slight idea," he said, as he slowly backed away. He did not like the look in Aragorn's eyes, having seen it various times right before battle.
"Legolas, tell me!"
Aragorn's eyes filled with a strange fire, his fist tightening around the hilt of his sword. Legolas looked around wildly for an escape route, but found none.
"I arrived late last night, and I was very tired…just as I arrived…uh…someone came down to the yard and curtsied. I was not in the mood for formality…you know how I get when I am tired…and I was horribly tired—I had been traveling for three days nonstop! — So I might have said some things I should not have…maybe even made a small threat?"
At this point Aragorn exploded. He unsheathed his sword and in two seconds he was pinning Legolas up against a wall with his sword at his neck. Legolas looked down at the sword, his face filled with fear. Aragorn pressed the sword slightly against his neck, not quite drawing blood, a set expression on his face, when a voice stopped him.
"Otorno! Tampa!" (Brother! Stop!)
Aragorn slightly lightened his hold on Legolas, and the elf soon backed away from him. Lúthien stood a few paces behind Aragorn, and he looked at her concernedly.
"Selli, lle lakwenien? Si nadorhuan—"(Sister, are you kidding? This cowardly dog—)
"—is your best friend. He did not strike me, nor did he touch me in any way. He just spoke to me in an inappropriate manner. Eru knows that happens constantly! Now, the both of you shake hands and make up!"
Aragorn glared at Legolas, and Legolas tried to smile shakily.
"Sister, a man who threatens my family is no friend of mine."
"I have forgiven him already," Lúthien said calmly, "why can't you do the same?"
Aragorn looked at Lúthien's saddened expression and nodded. He turned to look at Legolas and extended his hand for the elf to shake. The elf smiled and walked over, shaking Aragorn's hand like nothing had happened between them. Even if he would never admit it, Lúthien could see Aragorn was happy. Legolas had been his friend for years, and it would be an utter shame if they were not to continue in that friendship. Lúthien would have never forgiven herself if Aragorn and Legolas stopped being friends because of her. Sighing she turned around and silently left in the direction of the library, where she would re-take her reading. Maybe Gandalf would come back soon, and if he did he would be very displeased to see she had not finished the reading he'd assigned her.
Down in the garden Aragorn was talking with Legolas, somewhat colder than usual, but still in a friendly manner. Soon the conversation steered to Lúthien.
"So," asked Legolas, "what is your sister's first name? I have only heard her referred to as Lady Anwamanë or Sister."
Aragorn raised an eyebrow and looked at Legolas off the corner of his eye. He had received many letters from Legolas talking about the mysterious elleth he had found in the forest, before he had pushed those thoughts back in his mind.
"Lúthien. Her name is Lúthien."
Suddenly Legolas' eyes shot open. He remembered the young elleth in the forest, how she had called for Gandalf, and how he had come and taken her away…It all fit, she was Lúthien, the elleth from the forest!
