Disclaimer: I own nothing that belongs to Tolkien.

Author's Note: Constructive criticism is welcome, flames are not.

I am not sure if Mireiswen is a Mary Sue. There are so many different definitions for one. I didn't write her to be a Mary-Sue and I hope she's not, but if she is then, oh well.

This story is set three years before LOTR. The town in which Mireiswen lives is located several days South of Mirkwood.This chapter is kind of short, but it's just an introduction. Oh, and Legolas doesn't come in till chapter 4. Sorry girls! Now without further ado...on with the story!

Chapter 1: Country Life

November morning wind swept through the boughs of the trees and somewhere far off a bird called out . A girl of seventeen walked slowly down a dirt path in front of a small forest. She gazed onward and spotted her destination. A few hundred feet ahead of her, some ways off the road, lay a medium sized cottage nestled on several acres of land. As she came closer she noticed smoke billowing out of the chimney. Her family was awake. The girl, whose name was Mireiswen, slowed her pace even more as she became lost in thoughts of her life.

Mireiswen herself was about five foot six inches in height, for a human average, with honey blonde hair that fell to her waste and azure blue eyes. She had pale, almost white, skin and a voluptuous look about her. She wasn't thin, but not in the least bit big. She had a curvy hourglass figure. Mire, as she was more commonly called, was generally sweet and polite, but she was quick to anger and extremely stubborn. This made it hard for her to get a beau, as most of the young men in town were looking for the meeker, kind tempered girls.

She lived with her mother, younger sister, two horses, and her eight year old cat, sage. It was a rather foreboding looking feline. Large in build with dark gray tabby marked fur and only one eye. A makeshift patch covered the one it was missing. Their two horses were Luna, a light gray horse with a dark gray main and tail, and Flora, a buckskin colored one. Mireiswen's sister, Elendawen, was but six. She was a small thin built child, with long deep brown hair and gray eyes that portrayed no emotion she did not want others to behold.She was rather introverted and rarely spoke to anyone except her family. Most people in town thought the young child odd for these reasons, but Elen was extremely witful and talented for a girl her age. Unfortunately Mire and her mother were the only ones previewed to this side of her.

Mire and Elen's mother, Narathiel, was quite a beauty. She had long curly light brown hair and golden brown eyes. Narathiel was kind hearted and giving to no end. Rarely seeing fault in anyone. She had been a young mother, having Mireiswen when she was only twenty, but to those around her she seemed to never age. Mireiswen's father died four years ago during an orc attack at the town borders. Since then, money had been tight. Her mother took a job at a local book store for a means of income. They lived some three miles out of town, so they were quite secluded from the town's people. Mireiswen was brought out of her reverie by the voice of her mother calling from the front porch of their home.

"Mire, Mire!" Her mother yelled "Why do you insist on going for a walk every morning? Come now, hurry inside, the chill is picking up."

Mireiswen half ran the rest of the way and shuffled through the door behind her mother. The sweet scent of honey bread and porridge filled her senses and, famished from her walk , she made her way directly to the kitchen. After breakfast Mireiswen went about doing her mid-morning chores. Wrapping a cloak around herself, she headed out to the well to fetch some water.As she came upon the old stone watering hole, she glanced up towards the brush surrounding her, where in the spring roses would bloom. A memory long forgotten, stored in the farthest reaches of her mind, took form.

A young girl of seven walked with her mother, hand in hand, through a glade near a well. Spring warmth surrounded them.

"Mama look!" The girl called out, pointing towards a rose bush.

They came upon it, taking in the splendor of the freshly opened buds. One in particular caught their eye. A rose like never before seen. It was sapphire blue in color.

"Stay here Mireiswen" The woman half whispered.

She knelt before the bush and picked the rose. Pulling it towards her, she took in it's scent. It seemed by all accounts a normal flower, with the exception of it's magnificent color.

"You're bleeding!" The child whimpered.

Her mother looked at her finger, which was pressed into a thorn on the rose's stem, and dropped the flower. After studying the cut for a brief moment, she concluded, "It's nothing my dear, just a scratch." The woman quickly picked the rose up and put it, discreetly, in her apron pocket.

Now that Mire thought back to that day, she realized they had never again spoken of the rose. She pondered this as she made her way back to the house, with a bucket full of water. As she was pouring the water into a wooden pitcher her mother stepped through the door, dressed for work.

"I was wondering," Mireiswen said looking towards her, "Whatever happened to that blue rose we found when I was but a child?"

Narathiel visibly stiffened. "I am not sure of what you speak," she lied.
Mire could see she wasn't telling the truth. Her mother was a terrible liar . 'But why would she lie to me about something so insignificant?' Mireiswen thought. She'd let it go for now and enjoy interrogating her mother later. She wouldn't of had time to question her anyways, since her mother said a hasty goodbye and left for town. Now Mire would have to occupy the rest of the day with Elendawen.

A/N: So what do ya think? Keep in mind, this is my first fanfic. Review, please!