Hello everyone! Sorry it took so long to post this. I have been rather busy lately. I'm hoping the next few chapters will come along sooner but no promises. On a more positive note, I have been thinking about this story a bit more lately and have a better idea of where I'm going to go with it. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy what I can provide for now!
Hundreds of years passed, and the war of the One Ring was over. It had been many months since Legolas had left his home in Mirkwood to join in the Fellowship of the ring, and Indilwen was eager to hear of his return. When the elven horns sounded his arrival, Indilwen ran from the tree she had been reading in, down to the great hall of Greenwood. Despite her swift pace, she seemed to be one of the last to turn up. All the elves of the kingdom understood though, for Indilwen was uniquely flawed. Indilwen's legs could not carry her such distances as quickly as many of her kind, as she was extremely small for her age. Not much younger than her half-brother (only about a hundred years), she stood at a remarkable four feet nine inches, while others her age and many younger than her towered over her at around six feet. This did not bother Indilwen, though for a time, it raised great concern in the heart of her father.
Indilwen had not always been that way. She had grown quite normally for a time. It was only one spring morning, when Indilwen strayed a bit too far from her home and ended up in a wide open field, that things would change. Legolas had been spying on her from a tree, making sure she didn't get into any trouble, and watched on as she stepped out father into the grassy pasture. He saw her bend down and pick up what looked like a black, metal arrow from the ground, where it had rested, long forgotten. She stared at it for a while before running back into the woods. Legolas followed her from the trees, until she stopped at the base of one with white bark. She climbed the tree, disappearing from his view in the heavily laden branches. It would be a while before Indilwen would come down, but when she did, a strange, blank stare covered her face. She raised her hand to her cheek, where a faint scar had formed. Finally returning to Greenwood, Legolas narrated all he had witnessed to his father. Noticing the worry growing on his father's face, he pleaded to him to explain what it all meant.
"Indilwen had repressed all the memories she had of her mother. Now faced once again with the evidence of her traumatic experience, I fear she will be scarred. No elfling should have witnessed violence like that so young…," Thranduil's voice trailed off. Though none noticed any emotional change in Indilwen, slowly, all began to realize that something had forever been altered in the elf-princess. That day, Indilwen stopped growing. She still aged like the rest of her kin, but she remained the height of her younger self.
Indilwen waited on the sidelines, watching her father embrace Legolas. She then ran forward and hugged him tightly around the middle. He laughed at her informality, as did most that watched on. Indilwen was the spark of life that most of her kin needed during the time that Sauron's shadow had fallen over their homeland. As the royal family retired into a quiet chamber to talk, Indilwen gave a quick wave to her closest friend and loyal guardian, Voronwë*. He smiled in return, thinking back to when Indilwen was just a young elfling; back to when he had carried her down from a white tree. She had been so small back then, so trusting. Not much has changed he thought to himself as she disappeared behind heavy doors. As he and other elves started to depart, he paused to notice one elf that remained unmoving, still staring at the closed doors through which Indilwen left. His name was Thandion**, and he was well-known for his skills in battle. Thandion could sense another's eyes on him and looked towards the elven ranger. They locked eyes for a moment, before Thandion turned curtly and left. Voronwë followed him with his eyes, confused by the elf's actions. He shook his head, dismissing them, and went on with his day.
It was a few quiet years later, just when Indilwen had drained every story of Legolas's many adventures from him, that Indilwen would have a story of her own. There was a buzz that passed around the kingdom that a messenger had come from Gondor. When the news reached Indilwen, she snuck to the room beside the one she knew her father would bring the messenger. When she heard the door in the other room open, she leaned her finely-tuned ear towards the wall. She listened impatiently as her father offered the messenger some elven wine. A short while later she finally heard the words she wanted to hear.
"So why did your King send you here?" The rough voice that replied seemed out of place following the velvet texture of her father's.
"King Ellesar wishes to welcome Legolas to Gondor to celebrate the birth of the new prince. He also bids welcome to the house of the Elvenking," Indilwen smiled widely at this. She held back a scoff as she heard her father mutter something about the "the race of men wanting to steal his son back just when he returned". She remembered that elves had a harder time grasping the passing of time, since it seemed to move so slowly to them.
"Fine. I will relay this message to my son. One of the guards will show you to your room," Thranduil replied. And with that, the door reopened and the room fell silent. Indilwen waited a bit before leaving the room she had been in. That night, Indilwen wandered in search of Legolas. She found her half-brother sharpening his knives under a tree. He looked up and smiled as she approached. She sat beside him, picking up one of the knives, admiring the way it reflected the occasional star that shined between the branches of the overhead tree.
"Did you hear the rumors of a Gondorian messenger?" she said nonchalantly, turning the knife in her hand.
"Yes," he replied. Indilwen's eyebrows furrowed a bit, frustrated by his fruitless response.
"Have any idea as to why he came?" She probed, glancing at him in anticipation.
"Yes," He replied again. Indilwen frowned. She turned her head towards him, clearly annoyed.
"Would you mind sharing them?" She responded. Legolas looked at her, an insightful look on his face.
"From what I hear, I shouldn't have to. Do you really think Ada can't tell when you eavesdrop on his conversations?" Indilwen looked down, a sheepish grin on her face. Legolas turned back to the knife in his hand. "Besides, did you honestly think I would leave you behind this time? You have more than deserved to finally step out beyond the boundaries of your home…If that is what you want," Before he knew it, Indilwen's arms were wrapped tightly around his neck, knocking him unexpectedly onto his side.
*Pronounced (Vore-on-way), Meaning "Faithful"
** Pronounced (Thahn-dee-on), Meaning "Shield"