~Lonely Hunter~
'she will fool you into thinking she loves you, & when you come to realize it, she'll leave you all alone, not giving you a second thought'
~Part I~
~The Beauty of Hunting~
That Sunday morning was the best Adalyn ever had. Not because her father was back from his meeting with the White Council, but because she would get to go outside of Lake-Town, and hunt with her father in the woods, near the Woodland Realm. Adalyn bounced up and down on her little feet, her two side braids moving to the rhythm of her jumping. Adalyn was right in front of the front door, and she smiled, a smile of pure joy and excitement. She never would have thought that orcs were going to murder her entire family in front of her very own eyes, and left the place burning.
Adalyn was 9 yrs. old, her birthday on December 22nd. She had an older brother, Jonathan, and a younger brother, Thomas. Jonathan was 18 yrs. old, and Thomas was only 4 yrs. old. Her father, Alan, and her mother, Deilana, had been happily married for 20 years. Adalyn's mother, Deilana was an elf, and her father was a strong Man, and he worked with the White Council, since he represented the Man.
Deilana was an elf from the Woodland Realm, but then left for Rivendell. Both Lord Thranduil & Lord Elrond were very fond of Deilana, since she was one of the most skilled fighters and healers in both Kingdoms. Deilana was skilled the best with a bow and arrow, but preferred throwing daggers or knives. She would take Adalyn to both kingdoms, to visit her people. Adalyn enjoyed both Lords, and she would play with the young Legolas whenever she was visiting the Woodland Realm, and if not, then she would play with Lord Elrond's daughters in Rivendell.
Adalyn was the only one out of her siblings who liked to visit both kingdoms. They were a part of her anyways. Jonathan would tag along, and he would practice fighting with Legolas, but that was the only thing he really liked. Fighting. Thomas visited once or twice, and he would always eat the herbs if they were in his reach.
Alan, her father, was good friends with Lord Elrond, and he was even closer wit Lord Thranduil. They had known each other for as long as they could remember.
Adalyn would practice shooting arrows, wielding daggers, sword fighting, and throwing knives, but what amused her the most was the whip. No elf used it, only for torture, which they rarely did. They still kept it in their weapons room, and Adalyn would rush for it, and she would start twirling around, her whip flying, beating down invisible creatures in the forest near the kingdom. Until now, did she realize these creatures actually did exist in that very forest.
Deilana would sometimes stay for the night, Alan's sisters taking care of her two sons, whilst she stayed with Adalyn in the elves kingdom.
Adalyn adored her mother. She had more of her mothers features though. But she had the height of both parents. Adalyns skin was a milky yet creamy pale white. Her eyes constantly changed from an ocean blue, to forest green, or a stormy gray color. Adalyns lips were always a pale peach, full of color though, her eyelashes as black as can be, and her hair was a pale blonde, almost like Legolas's but a bit darker. Her height was, 5'6 ft., which was quite tall for most Man girls. She had long thin, but strong hands, with nails always clipped short. Adalyn always liked to make her eyes dark with a special black paint for the eyes, that most She- Elves used.
Adalyns mother would laugh whenever Adalyn dressed up in her elvish gear or clothes. She prance around the little home of theirs, tripping, but always getting back up, and singing again. Her favorite was the "Elbereth Gilthoniel" one that her mother sang to her at night, before tucking her in bed. It went like this;
A Elbereth Gilthoniel,
silivren penna miriel
o menel aglar elenath,
na-chaered palan diriel
o galadhremmin ennorath
nef aear, sí aearon,
Fanuilos, le linnathon
Nef aear, sí aearon!
(O Star-queen Star-kindler,
Glimmering white, sparkling like jewels
the glory of the heavens slides down from the firmament.
Having gazed afar at the distance
from tree-tangled lands of Middle-earth
on this side of the ocean, here, great ocean
Fanuilos, I will sing to you
On this side of the ocean, here, great ocean!)
Adalyn fell in love with her mothers voice all over again. It was soft, and gentle, but full of power and strength. Deilana taught all her children the elvish language, and so did her husband Alan. He would sometimes speak with Deilana in elvish, and he always ended their conversations or even arguments with a soft little kiss on her nose, which would always cause her to shiver and giggle.
On that day, you can imagine how excited and happy Adalyn was, to go hunting with her father, & for her father to come back. She hadn't seen her father in a week, which was unusually quite long for a White Council meeting. Adalyn had prepared her small daggers, and her own bow and arrow, made by the people of the Woodland Realm. She also had the delicious bread dough her mother made, with freshly made cheese, and some eat for her fathers sake. Besides the food, there were herbs for tea, from Rivendell, since everyone in their family loved the unique and exquisite herbs made by the peaceful elves. There was a small tea pot, made for traveling, with already hot water in it, along with honey in a jar, for sweetening. Finally, two normal butter knives for the cheese, and napkins, hand woven from her mothers beautiful yet skilled hands.
Adalyn had it all set, and just had to wait. Just had to wait. It was that simple, right? Not for a small child though. Adalyn grew worried, and she rushed to her mothers bedroom, a look of worry on her face.
"Mama! Father is not home yet. What if something happened to him!?" Adalyn exclaimed quickly, and she drew a sharp breath. Deilana laughed, a laugh of sincere pleasure, and stood up from the little stool she had recently been braiding her hair while sitting on. She wore a pale blue dress, that had light green silk ribbons entwining themselves across her chest, and white sewn designs along the arms, and on sides of the skirt of the dress.
"Ada, do not worry. Your father is the sort of man who always catches himself in other things. He will be home sewn, i know it." Deilana smiled when Adalyn played with her seamstress.
"You sure, Mama?" Adalyn asked quietly, red color creeping towards her cheeks.
"Of course, my little elf. Now come here, let me braid your hair. It is a terrible mess." Deilana told her daughter, and Adalyn ran across the room, and jumped into her mothers lap. Adalyn giggled loudly when her mother lifted her hair up from her shoulders, her mothers cold fingers making her neck tingle. Deilana laughed again, and she kissed the top of Adalyns head.
She combed through her daughters blonde hair with a brush, and she started braiding it from the sides in little strands, until they reached each other, and she entwined them together, making another braid out of the little ones. Soon the braids were done, and Adalyns hair was beautiful. The braids were from each side of her face, and they went to the back, and soon fell down the back. Deilana took the flower from the little flower pot on the little table and she placed it in her daughters hair on the side.
"Now... you look like a real elf princess." Deilana said, smiling, with tears in her eyes. Adalyn smiled back, and she leaned in to her mother, letting the comforting warm arms hug her body.
"I love you Mama." Adalyn whispered. Deilana kissed Adalyns hair, and she whispered back,...
"I love you even more, my little Hunter."
13 Years Later
The Lonely Hunter, or Black Rose as everyone called her, closed her eyes, sighing. When the bartender put the beer in front of her, loudly, the Lonely Hunter opened her eyes, and she let out a breath.
"You sure you wanna drink dat, lass? Might be a bit too strong!" The bartender told her, and he widened his eyes when the Hunter grabbed hold of the beer, and took a huge swig out of it, as if she drank beer every day. The Hunter smirked when the bartender tried to find something else to look at, but the Hunter already noticed his blush, and she gave a small wave, causing him to blush even more.
"Its alright mate. I usually drink beer after a rough night." The Hunter told the bartender. The bartenders shoulders relaxed upon hearing this, but tensed again when he thought whether every night was rough. As if reading his mind, the Hunter told him that it didn't happen often, and he relaxed finally. The bartender walked towards the side of the counter that the Hunter was sitting down at.
"And what, may I ask lass, is your name?" The bartender asked, his voice filled with curiosity. The Hunters grip on the beer mug tightened, and she whispered, avoiding his eyes;
"Cerys. Just Cerys." Cerys, reached into her capes pocket, and pulled out 3 gold coins, and let them drop into the bartenders hand, which was wide open on the counter. Cerys got up abruptly, and grabbed her bag, then started to leave the bar, but stopped when she saw a tall gray figure seated with what appeared to be a dwarf at a small table. Cerys hid behind a tall wooden pole near the exit, and listened to the serious discussion that the two were having.
"I will do as you wish, Gandalf. But how will I get the burglar?" The dwarf asked, annoyance clearly in his voice. Gandalf chuckled, and he leaned across the little table.
"I already have that figured out, Master Thorin. All you must do is come to the Shire, Bag End to be more exact, and find a green round door with a blue glowing mark on it. No worry, you'll know it when you see it. Tell the dwarves the same, just leave the ponies elsewhere." Thorin nodded as Gandalf explained what to do, and when Gandalf finished, shaking Thorins hand, he grabbed his sword and bags, stood up, and simply gave Gandalf a nod, then walked out of the pub, a cautious look on his face as he left.
Cerys waited a couple of seconds to pass, and when she counted to ten, she turned around, and headed back to where the wizard was seated. The wizard seemed surprised as Cerys slid into the small chair, acting natural. Cerys kept her hood up, but some of her hair fell down in straight strands near the sides of her face. The wizard shook of his surprised expression, and he gave Cerys a small smile.
"The Lonely Hunter. Or Black Rose, I presume. Or is it... Cerys?" The wizard asked, and he pulled on his beard. Cerys gave the wizard a glare full of hatred, but she covered it up with a forced smile.
"Cerys will be fine, Mithrandir." Cerys said, and she smirked when the wizard choked on his own ale. Cerys let her hood fall down, and she watched recognition creep into the wizards face.
"Adalyn. I haven't seen you since-" The wizard started, but got interrupted by Cerys.
"Mithrandir, if i were you, I wouldn't deem it wise if you mentioned my... old name, or my past. If you want my help on this quest, simply ask me, and get it over with." Cerys stated, and she pulled her hood back up over her head, and started fiddling with the butter knife that had been layed out. The wizard gave her a small smile, and he reached over the table, and gave her cold hand a squeeze.
"I understand, Cerys." The wizard said her new name with a hint of sarcasm, but she didn't notice. Cerys stared at her reflection in the spoon, and gaped at the little scar above her higher lip. Her brother gave it to her, when they fought against each other, before her family got killed by orcs.
"And, yes, you were right. I would like to ask you to come and join me and the Company on this adventure of ours. With a Hobbit of course." The wizard said, and he inhaled the smoke from his pipe. Cerys bit her lower lip, and twirled the spoon between her fingers.
"You may leave as you wish, and do as you want, but at least try not to get on the dwarves nerves. Especially... Thorin." The wizard said, smoking his pipe again. Cerys smirked, and she placed the spoon back on the table.
"Of course Mithrandir. When do we start?" Cerys said with an amused smile.
-What do you think?! Review, Favorite! I like the constructive criticism. Please review though so it keeps me going! Love you guys!
-Lola. Luciana. Drozda
-ave atque vale