Chapter 1: Finding Cartel (Rose)
Cartel was short for an elf. In fact she was probably chest high on a normal elf. In truth she didn't know what she was. She had pointy ears and long black hair like an elf. But she was short and had a temper like a dwarf. No one knows where she came from. You see Thrandruil found her in winter on his elk. Thranduil's heart filled with sorrow for her. So he adopted her and named her Cartel for she was lain near a lone rose bush with one single flower. For Cartel means Rose in elvish.
Cartel was stubborn even as a child. She would climb trees and wouldn't come down till her older brother Legolas came up to get her and even then she would tease him "Can't catch me I'm in the trees." Then she would laugh as he tried to get his footing on the lowest branch. In her teens Cartel became interested in fighting and forged objects such as beads. Even though Thranduil had forbade it she would sneak off to make her own weapons. She was quite the little forger even at a young age. On her first try she made a pair of identical swords which she had to give to Legolas to keep him quiet about her nightly forging trips.
Thranduil couldn't stop Cartel from doing what she what she wanted, so he told Legolas "Take Cartel hunting with you tomorrow see if she wants to fight then." Thranduil came to regret that decision. It turns out Cartel was a natural at hunting she was light on her feet, silent, and of course deadly. Instead of using a bow and arrows like her brother she used a dagger. As soon as she had the animal in her sight she aimed perfectly and killed the animal with one shot. Legolas impressed asked Cartel "Why don't you make a pair of swords for yourself?" All Cartel could do was look at him as she replied "I did, they are in my room hidden from view."
Legolas now surprised at how prepared Cartel was. He decided something, Cartel was going to be his hunting partner no matter what his father said. But Thranduil did not object to it. In fact he was relived that Cartel could do what she wanted without punishment. After the siblings left their father to his thoughts. Thranduil pondered at a question that had plagued him since Cartel was a child. "Why was Cartel such a good hunter, fighter, and forger?" The reason he pondered such a question was that elves were natural hunters, but need to be trained when it came to forging and fighting the two skills that came easy to a dwarf. Cartel was a curious case indeed. But he thought nothing of it.
