Chapter 2
A blond elf walked through the trees near Fangorn Forest. Her eyes flicked around curiously. They were bright green.
She watched the area around her warily, uncertainly. She knew that there was a chance of orcs, although in Fangorn, that was unlikely. The orcs knew that the trees would kill them, and if they didn't they would find out soon after entering.
Besides, in the past year, the orcs had essentially disbanded. They were now scattered, disorderly. They had been ever since the fall of Sauron and Mordor.
Because Sauron had been defeated, it was now safe for herself and her mother to come out of hiding, which they'd been doing for the past thousands of years, ever since she was fifteen. She recalled their nearly unsuccessful escape from Mordor. The orcs had nearly caught them that day, or night, or whatever it had been. You couldn't tell in Mordor, it was too dark.
Here, it was lighter, more natural. She'd never seen it until she was sixteen, but fell in love with the trees immediately, upon first sight. Now she doubted she could ever bear to part with them.
For a moment, she wondered what had happened to the sister she hadn't seen in centuries. Had she fallen along with Sauron, or realized her mistake and left him? She wondered if she'd ever know. She barely remembered Lithil. Lithil had black hair. That was the only physical difference between them that she remembered. Lithil, or Morwen as Sauron had taken to calling her, had also been incredibly curious and had taken to archery and sword-fighting rather quickly when Sauron had begun to teach her. Sauron had managed to sway Lithil rather quickly, but upon discovering that she herself was more interested in healing and had no talent for fighting like her sister, he'd begun to ignore her, focusing only on Lithil. She wondered if Lithil could remember her. She doubted it. Sauron would probably stomp any of those memories out of her head. Lithil would probably remember her mother, though, as Sauron would need to find some way to explain her existence.
"Merilineth?" asked a familiar voice. One of the few voices she'd known since leaving Mordor, and the only one that had been there constantly.
"I'm here, naneth. What is it?" Merilineth asked her mother.
"There are orcs nearby, I wanted to make sure you were all right."
Merilineth sighed. "Naneth, please remember that even if I don't like fighting, I am still fully capable of defending myself."
"I know that," her mother replied, concern in her blue eyes. "But I worry about you. As far as I know, you're all I have left."
Merilineth closed her eyes for a moment. She knew that her mother, Ithiloth, was right. Lithil had been left in Mordor with Sauron, as they couldn't get her out. Ithiloth had been captured and forced away from Sarnril, her husband, and they had no clue where he was.
"I promise you, I'll be careful mother," Merilineth vowed, clasping her mother's hand. "You won't lose me." Her mother sighed in relief. Merilineth was thoughtful for a moment before speaking again. "You know, naneth, now that Sauron is defeated forever and the war is over, we could look for them, adar and sister."
Ithiloth nodded. "I know, but where would we begin? We have no idea where to look."
"We could look for adar in Lothlorien first. That was where you last saw him," Merilineth mused.
Ithiloth sighed. "That implies that we should search Mordor for Lithil, as that's where we last saw her."
Merilineth was doubtful. "If Lithil came to her senses, she'll have left Mordor. I don't think we should look for her there. Besides, how would we get there?"
"True." She sighed. "If only you hadn't had such a difficult life."
Merilineth shook her head. "No, if anything, this life has made me stronger."
Rana sighed as she crossed the courtyard of stone one week after the dream. Unsurprisingly, there gad been more dreams, as there had been for a few months, but none like the one a week ago. She glanced at the white tree, the tree of kings. It was truly majestic with its blossoms and white branches. She passed the tree, headed for the far end, where she'd be able to look out over the Pelennor, to Osgiliath, and beyond. She knew she would glimpse Mordor, the dark land that was now abandoned and empty. At the moment she didn't care though. She needed to clear her head, and didn't feel like riding.
She was trying to avoid riding alone as much as possible. She felt that if she were to ride alone, temptation would win over and she'd ride away from Minas Tirith, from Gondor even, in search of her family. The result was that Morbein was annoyed with her for not riding as often as she had before. But then, Morbein had always been a stubborn mare, to the point where Rana sometimes wondered if her personality had somehow rubbed off on her horse.
As her gaze fell on where the ruin of the abandoned land of Mordor lay, the thoughts all came back to her. Her long life there, her mother that she barely remembered, the father she'd never known, the sister she'd entirely forgotten until nearly a week ago. It was too much. She wanted to look away and try to force the thoughts from her head, but she could do neither.
"Are you all right?" How had she not heard him coming? Rana shut her eyes and didn't respond. The last thing she wanted was to lie to him. "Rana?"
"Yes, Legolas, I'm fine," she whispered as his arms wrapped around her waist from behind, knowing it was a lie. But she didn't know how to explain the truth to him.
She allowed herself to relax in his arms, trying to clear her mind of the thoughts that were still swirling in her head. She tried to focus on just herself and Legolas and the moment, eventually succeeding. She sighed contentedly. Two years ago, if anyone had told her she'd end up being in love with Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood, she would probably have killed them. And yet, there she was, wrapped in his arms and happily in love with him.
"You know you can tell me anything, right?" he murmured. She could feel his breath close to her ear as he whispered the words.
"Yes," she whispered in response, her heart racing. He suspected that she was keeping things from him. She should have known he'd notice. He knew her just as well as Malinaduial did, and there was no keeping secrets from her best friend. Why should Legolas be any different? But at the same time, Legolas meant more to her, making telling him things a little more difficult.
"Gi melin," Legolas murmured softly to her.
"Gi melin," she murmured in response, turning in his arms to face him. She could see concern in his bright blue eyes, confirmation of her suspicions that he was worried about her. She forced a smile, hoping it was convincing but doubting it. "I'm fine Legolas, really, I am."
She could see in his eyes that he doubted her, didn't believe her. But he said nothing, just continued to look at her with concern in his eyes. He probably wanted to say something to her about what was wrong, but was waiting for her to tell him there was something wrong.
He eventually sighed, then spoke. "We'll probably be able to leave soon to search for your parents."
She was surprised at the words, as she hadn't been expecting them. "Really?" she breathed. She couldn't believe it. Ater a year, the journey to find her family would finally begin. Almost doubtingly, she searched his eyes but found only honesty.
He nodded, a little concern still in his eyes. "You're sure that you're all right?" he asked again after a few moments. From his voice, she could tell that he didn't fully believe her.
She nodded in what she hoped was a convincing way. "Yes, Legolas, I am fine."
He studied her doubtfully for a moment before speaking again. "If that changes you'll tell me, right?" he asked.
"Yes," she replied. She was lying to him and she knew it. She felt guilty about it, but she didn't know how to explain it to him. And to make things worse, he could probably tell that she was lying. She closed her eyes and looked downward, knowing that he knew her too well for it to work. He could probably see her nervousness in her eyes as well as she could see the concern in his.
Legolas sighed. "Rana, I know you're upset about something. Please, tell me."
She sighed and took a deep breath. There was no avoiding telling him now. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I didn't know how," she whispered. "I keep dreaming of Mordor for some reason. It's been haunting me for the past few months. It's mostly memories. And then a week ago I dreamt of something that wasn't a memory. I think it was my mother, and someone else, I think she may have been my sister. They were trying to escape. But it was so long ago, I was about fifteen when my mother left, and I rarely saw her or my sister, who I've almost entirely forgotten now, I just don't know..."
Legolas held her close, knowing how upsetting it must be for her to keep dreaming of Mordor, the last place in Middle Earth she wanted to remember so frequently. Her arms were around his neck, her head resting gently on his chest. He raised one hand to gently stroke her hair, tucking a loose lock back behind her ear, away from her face.
"Everything's going to be fine, I promise," he murmured. "We'll find them, soon most likely. I promise." He gently kissed the top of her head.
"Gi melin, Legolas," she whispered.
"Gi melin," he murmured in response. Their lips met. The kiss lasted a few seconds before they pulled apart, still in eachother's arms.
Rana sighed. She felt safe there, wrapped in his arms. He loved her, and that would never change. They would soon be able to leave to find her family. Everything was fine.
Translations:
Sindarin- English
Gi melin- I love you
Naneth- mother
Well, I didn't reach my goal of 2000 words, but more than 1600 is close enough. I think I might be starting to get the hang of the romance thing. Although the second I get into it I don't know how to get out. It's a trap for me. So I still need to work on it. Review please! They make me happy. Also, thank you for positive feedback on the last few chapters. As with all first chapters to my fanfics, those chapters were major nail-biters when it came to reviews.
