Dreams of Oloriel

Chapter 1

"Legolas." A faint voice called, as if from far away. Legolas turned towards where he thought the voice was coming from. "Legolas." Now it was coming from a different direction.

Legolas started walking in the direction of the voice, but could not see anything. A pale white mist covered his view of anything farther than a few feet. "Ya naa tanya?" He called out. Instead of an answer, the person called his name again. "Legolas." It came from behind him, and this time sounded closer.

He turned around and saw a bright light moving closer. It continued calling his name. As it came within ten feet of him, he saw that it was not a light. It was a woman. She was dressed in a gown of white, which sparkled like a million diamonds. Her hair was the most beautiful brown he had ever seen. It fell in soft waves to the middle of her back. But her eyes were what Legolas noticed the most. They were a soft honey color, and they stared into his own blue eyes as if they were staring into his soul.

"Vedui', Legolas." The woman said, flashing him a smile with the brightness of a thousand suns.

"How do you know my name?" He asked. "And what is your name?" The woman smiled at him in such a way that it was almost as though she held a secret that she longed to tell but knew could wait.

"Is that so important?" She asked him, stepping closer. Legolas noticed something hanging from her neck, a ring hanging from a chain. She moved until she was standing right in front of him, then leaned up and kissed him. It was the most intense kiss Legolas had ever experienced, and he longed for it to go on forever. But all too soon, the woman pulled away from him. He reached out for her, but she started to walk away.

"Wait!" Legolas called. He tried to run, but his feet would not cooperate. The woman turned back to look at him, and gave him a smile.

"Do not despair." She calmly said. "I will return, if you have the faith and the hope to wait for me." With that, she disappeared into the mist. Legolas stood planted in place, watching her grow fainter and fainter, until he lost all sight of her. Then, a blinding white light filled his vision. He smiled at the thought that maybe she was returning.

"Sunlight." Legolas Greenleaf groaned as he squinted his once closed eyes against the bright morning light pouring through his window. He stayed like that for a few minutes, finally realizing that it was a losing battle. He surrendered himself to the morning, opened his eyes, and stretched his long arms above his head.

The past night's dream came rushing back to him as he fully awoke. It felt so real, Legolas thought to himself. He could still see her, as clear as if she were standing right in front of him. He could still hear her voice. But who was she? Legolas didn't feel as if he could just forget about the dream. Especially when he remembered the necklace she had been wearing, and the ring that was on it. It somehow seemed familiar, but not as if he had seen it. He thought he had heard about it before. He decided to ask his father about it as soon as he could. Maybe even the Lady Galadriel would know about it.

At the smell of breakfast and the growling of his stomach, Legolas quickly dressed and headed downstairs to eat. He was determined to get his father's advice on the dream, and if possible, be granted permission to travel to Lothlorien to visit the Lady Galadriel.

~*~

"So, what exactly are you hoping the Galadriel will be able to tell you?" Nolequan, one of Legolas' greatest friends, asked. Legolas' father had given him permission to travel to Lothlorien, but only if Nolequan accompanied him. He knew well enough that his son had a skill for getting himself into trouble.

"I'm hoping she can tell me more about the ring.and the girl." Legolas said. He had already told his tall, dark-haired friend about his strange dream and what information he had gathered from his father.

"Have you had this dream before?" King Thranduil asked his son. Legolas nodded. "A couple months ago. Only it was not so strong nor so real." He answered.

"And you say the ring was gold, with a blue stone, and that it hung from the girl's neck on a chain?" Legolas nodded. He watched as his father sat there, pondering. After a few minutes, he looked up at his son. "I suspect it may be one of the three rings, which Sauron presented to the elves. Galadriel has Nenya, crafted of mithril and a white stone. Gandalf had Narya, with its stone, as red as fire. But Vilya, which belonged to Gil-galad, has never been found. It has not been seen since his death, since the end of the Second Age. You were not even born then."

"What shall I do?" Legolas asked, trying to take in this new information. It was true that he had not yet been born when Isildur took the One Ring from Sauron. Legolas had only 720 years, which was still a young age for an elf.

"You will journey to Lothlorien." Thranduil decided. "There you will not only find Galadriel, but Elrond also, who is visiting. He was Gil-galad's closest friend, and was with him at his death. He may be able to help you understand the dream, for I do not know enough about the three rings to be of much assistance."

Legolas and Nolequan had set out from Mirkwood only three days ago. They traveled quickly, not only because Legolas was eager to get to Lorien, but also because it was still dangerous to travel far these days, for Orcs and goblins still prowled the forests and grasslands. He hoped to arrive in Lorien by the next week.

~*~

"Do you think there's more of them?" Nolequan whispered to Legolas. Both elves had brought their horses to a stop and had hidden among some bushes. They were now staring wide-eyed and whispering urgently about a rather large group of goblins on the road before them.

"I'm not sure." Legolas whispered back, as he tried to keep his body as motionless as possible. "I don't know how many usually travel in a group. By my count, there appears to be 30 goblins."

Legolas and Nolequan had been fortunate enough so far not to have run into any trouble. They had made good time so far on their journey, and were already over halfway to Lothlorien. But their good luck had quickly gone downhill. They had already been attacked by a small group of Orcs. Now they had almost stumbled upon the band of goblins resting on the side of the main road.

Can we sneak past them? Legolas wondered to himself, just as Nolequan whispered the same question to him. Legolas smiled to himself. One of the reasons they were such good friends was that they always seemed to be able to read each other's thoughts.

"We'll have to try," Legolas said, "And hope that this is the only group of goblins." They quietly left their hiding places and gathered their horses, who had become nervous and agitated. Legolas whispered soothing words into their ears, as they carefully led them away from the goblins. They mounted their horses, and started to ride away.

Swish. Legolas heard the unmistakable sound of an arrow flying through the air. He quickly turned his horse, just as a goblin arrow whistled past the side of his face. "They've found us!" Nolequan shouted, as arrows came flying at them from all directions. The two elves hopped off their horses, which quickly bolted. Legolas notched an arrow and Nolequan drew his knives. The goblins attacked and the one quiet forest was filled with the shrieks of goblins, whistling of Legolas' arrows, and the slashing of Nolequan's knives.

Legolas pulled back his bow and planted an arrow into a goblin's eye. He looked around for Nolequan and saw him struggling with three goblins. He turned to go help him, when a sudden pain raced through his shoulder. He pulled an awful goblin knife out of his shoulder and stuck it into its owner's neck. Checking that there were no more of the enemy around him, he hurried over to his friend.

Nolequan was being kept busy by three large goblins, one of which had a long, sharp-tipped spear that it kept threatening him with. He managed to chop off one of the goblin's heads, but moaned in pain as the second one kicked him in his ribs. He struggled to stay on his feet, but soon saw that the last two goblins were racing towards him. He braced himself for the attack, then sighed in relief as they fell to the ground, Legolas' Mirkwood arrows sticking out of their backs.

"Are you alright, mellon?" Legolas asked as he rushed over to his friend. "Are you hurt badly?"

Nolequan gazed down at his hands, covered in dark goblin blood, then up at his fair-haired friend. Legolas had a scratch on his face and his left shoulder was covered in blood. He gave his friend a huge grin and said, "It seems I should be asking you the same question. No matter where I go, as long as I'm with you, I'm bound to end up in trouble." Legolas laughed as he reached down and helped Nolequan to his feet.

~*~

Ya naa tanya?-Who are you?

Vedui-Greetings

Mellon-Friend