Silver pool of knowledge
by whenineternal
Chapter 1
It is nearing midnight when we find ourselves looking at a dreary buildning made of some stone that I have never before seen, set in a dirty street. Lord Celeborn`s silver clothing certainly don`t fit in here.
It isn`t the first time I have seen Celeborn in his riding outfit, but I am just as impressed by the firceness of his sword and the elegance of his bow every time I see it.
As I stare at him the words Lady Galadriel said, for my ears only, when we parted in Imladris comes back to me and i wonder what she meant by them.
`It`s good to take chances, little greenleaf, try and maybe you will find pleasure in it´.
It is true that I have always admired Lord Celeborn. Always watched how his demeanor could change from anger to concern as it often did when I came storming in and disrupting the council, with my clothes torn and tears welling up in my eyes after the older elves had picked on me.
I was never very good at hiding my infatuation with the lord and some thought it to be weird. He is after all several millenias older than me; he is even older than my own father. Now usually this have nothing to say since we elves are immortal, but that I was a mere elfling at the time no one believed me to grow up in that way so fast, and the older elflings would tease me and say I was abnormal.
An odd and unsettling sound reaches my ears and I am drawn roughly out of my memories. What I see when my eyes focus on the buildning in front of me, scares me to the point of me drawing the bow from my back and putting an arrow in it, stretching the string to it`s fullest.
The whole movement is done, almost faster than the human eye can see and I see a small smile on Celeborn`s face when I glance at him out of the corner of my eye. The familiar feeling of warmth spreads through my body again, starting from my chest as I know by that smile that he is proud of how my skills have developed.
I remember he once telling me, when I was little, that I would be the best archer in all of Middle-Earth, and this is what I have been working for, to make Lord Celeborn proud.
In the place before us, there is now another house and I watch facinated as a gate pops up from the ground.
Lord Celeborn moves towards the door but I linger behind, not feeling completley safe by this odd magic. I put the bow and arrow back in their place but keep my ground, still. Lord Celeborn notices that I am not following when he reach the door and turn to look for me. A warm smile lifts the corners of his mouth and he comes back to me.
"Tolo hi" he says and i am comforted by the gentle tone of his voice and how the Sindarin flows of his tounge like velvet.
Slowly I follow him, but the hand on my lower back that is applying gentle pressure makes not only my walk speed up, but my heart as well.
Celeborn knock three times on the wooden door when we reach it and not a minute later a redheaded plump women answer it.
At first she looked quite shocked, but now she looks suspicious and I can see one of her hands are going into her pocket, and I can bet she is gripping some kind of magic stick, the one that Lord Celeborn told me about in one of the many hours we sat together and talked about, well he told me about, this place.
I can`t blame her though, we are both wearing cloaks with our hood drawn up, leaving our faces in shadow now with no light to see, and these are the beginning of dark times, I would have been suspicious as well.
"Tiro na i ninniach vanui" Lord Celeborn says and I have to stifle a laugh. I understand as much that it must be some kind of code, but it is the weirdest code I have ever heard. Who talks about rainbows in this kind of situation?
The women`s look of sceptisime disappears and is replaced by one of awe as she stares at us for another second before she shakes her head and let us pass.
The hallway we enter is creepy and sends chills down my spine and I shudder.
Since Lord Celeborn has his hand still resting on my back, he of course feels it and he pulls me closer without saying a word.
I smile a little and relax more when not only the warmth of his hand, but his body temperature is past on for me to share.
The woman, who on the way has timidly introduced herself as Molly Weasley, leads us down a staircase, and from the open door at the bottom we can hear hushed voices.
They stop immediatly when we enter through it and at least seven heads snap up to look at the doorway. They are all different but one sticks out the most. It is a women with purple hair, a couple shades sharper than the flowers that grow everywhere in Mirkwood.
An old man stands from the table and hurry around it to stand in front of Lord Celeborn and greet him in elvish fashion.
I fidget immediatly when Lord Celeborn`s hand disappears from my back so he can greet the old man back and lower his hood.
Silently I step a little behind Celeborn, trying to hide and hoping they will forget me. If it is one thing I am, it is shy, especially when it comes to people I don`t know and I have after all not met a human before.
But of course they wont, Celeborn would never forget me, and they must have seen me by now.
"Welcome, Lord Celeborn of Lothlorien, we are so glad that you would come" the man says and his voice is old and wise, reminding me a little of Mithrandir.
"Mae Govannen Albus Dumbledore, Elen síla lumenn' omentielvo" Lord Celeborn says and then turn to me, knowing that I stood behind him now of course.
"This is Legolas Thranduilion, prince of Eryn Lasgalen" he introduce me and without hesitation now, I lower my own hood.
Albus Dumbledore looks me over, lingering on my eyes, before moving to greet me as well.
After the introduction`s of everyone I sit with Celeborn at the long wooden table.
I look around while the others talk, not obligated to join in any council here. It is nothing like the kitchen at home, or in Imladris. Those are much bigger and brighter, and in Mirkwood it has a river of sorts running around it at chest-level, elf-made of course, and quite useful.
But even if it lacks colour like in Mirkwood, and the brightness of Imladris it has, in a way, it`s own charm. The pots hanging on the wall, the large oil lamps hanging from the ceiling and the rickety benches with the stove made out of stone.
`Haldir says hi little one, and the twins want`s you to know they already miss you´.
The voice surprise me and I jerk a little in my seat before a smile comes to my lips.
Lord Celeborn looks at me with that concerned glint in his eyes and I probably look quite sad now. "Legolas?" he ask me and I turn slightly wet eyes to look at him.
"Lady Galadriel" is the only thing I say, but he seems to automatically know that she has sent me a message fom my friends and puts a hand on my shoulder. He massages it a little while turning his head back to Dumbledore. "You said there were rooms ready for us?" he asks and Dumbledore is just as fast to his feet as before.
"Yes, if you will follow Sirius he will show you, I better get back to the school" he says and with a quick nod to Lord Celeborn and one for me, he is gone.
Sirius stand as well, but with a much more languid pace and walks to the door with a gruff `follow me´ and a wave of the hand.
Lord Celeborn help me up from the bench, even though it`s not necessary, and keep his hand on my shoulder as he steers me in front of him.
The purple haired woman, Tonks, as she told us to call her, shouts a goodnight when we have come almost all the way up the stairs.
Sirius leads us up more stairs from the hallway we entered in earlier and I study the walls as we go. There is a thick layer of dirt many places, and spiderwebs hanging from the lamps. There are no pictures but my eyes land on several heads of some creature, hanging on the walls and I jump.
Lord Celeborn turns his head to look at me and then follows my line of sight. I can tell he isn`t so fond of them either, by the way his hand thighten it`s hold on my shoulder.
"I would have Legolas in my room, I do not mean to offend, but I do not know you of the race of men and can therefor not fully trust you" he says and my heart speed up. What am I supposed to do now, sleeping in the same room as him? I wouldn`t be able to keep my wandering eyes to myself and it will just be humiliating for me.
"I understand, I don`t trust everyone that comes and goes in this house myself. But let me tell you, so you don`t think worse about me than you probably already do. My family are dark wizards, not me. Not that I would call them family, filthy deatheaters" Sirius mumbled the last part to himself but our sensitive elven ears catch it and it make me wonder what a deatheater was, it sounded pretty nasty.
The room we were lead to is big, but dark and it has two beds, a nightstand for each and a dresser. In the furthermost corner of the room is a dirty mirror.
"I will leave you to your own then" Sirius said and like Dumbledore earlier had done, he left with a short nod to the both of us, and then we were alone.
Lord Celeborn put a travel bag, that I hadn`t noticed before, down on the bed and look around the room. I only sit on my bed and study him. He glows like all elves, but in the dark of this room he seems to shine with the power of the stars.
The silver hair, so rare amongst elves, is as majestic looking, set with the grey and silver of his clothes, as it has always been when I have seen him, either in peaceful Imladris or amongst the beautiful trees of my home.
I have yet to see him in his own home, my father thinks I am still too young to be traveling far and haven`t allowed me to visit the Golden Wood.
I must have been long gone because he has turned to me without my noticing. I blush when he smiles at me, obviously catching me staring at him.
He comes over and crouches down in front of me. This is it, he is going to tell me nothing is ever going to happen between us and that I am a fool for hoping.
But he does nothing like it, quite the opposite in fact. He kisses my forehead and I hear a breathed "Ai lässe" against my skin and smile.
Translations:
Tolo hi: Come now
Tiro na i ninniach vanui: Look at the beautiful rainbow
Mae Govannen: Well met
Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo: A star shines on the hour of our meeting
Lässe : Leaf (and is used now as a petname)
Okay let`s see how this will turn out… a little anxious about this one
