Chapter 3
Crystals
….
"Why do you want to leave Middle-earth?" Legolas asked her. She sighed, but remained silent. "I don´t believe you´ve seen many fights, not wars at least. You´re young, so why do you want to leave your sister and father?" Fast she pulled her knife and laid it on his neck.
"Do you wood-elf never stop questioning?" She asked. She sighed. "Let´s just walk in silence, I enjoy the silence, so we´ll walk in silence, Elf!" She walked first. Legolas smiled for himself.
…
Legolas looked at Élchalad as she slept peacefully across the fire between them. It had grown colder for each hour, Élchalad did not freeze that easily, but it was worse with Legolas. Even he tried not to show it.
He took the blanket closely around him and looked up at the stars. They were so clear here; it felt like he was under another sky than home.
The day after they continued to walk. Élchalad walked first, Legolas was behind her. "How long are you going to stare at me, Elf?" She asked him. Legolas did not answer. She stopped, and so did he. Legolas looked down, it went almost straight down. "Oh no…" She whispered. She slide down the snowy hill, Legolas followed her close behind.
"Élchalad?" Legolas called after her. They got to the bottom; tall pointy spikes were over them. Élchalad ran between them and then Legolas saw it. He saw her kin, the Elves of the Stars as they called themselves. Five of them were lying dead there with three Orcs.
Élchalad checked every one of them. They had not been here for long. "I´m sorry for your loss, Élchalad," Legolas said. "Did you know them well?" She did not answer. She looked through their pockets, looking at everything they had. Legolas kneeled down next to her as she desperately searched for something. "Élchalad? What is it?" He asked kindly.
She looked at him, into his eyes. "Nothing," she answered and stood up. Legolas did so to and grabbed her arm. "It is nothing."
"It is something," he said. "Tell me, what is it?" He asked again.
"It is something every Elf of the Stars have," she said to them. "Something that can tell the direction to my people. It is gone from their bodies."
"Do you think the Orcs know how to use them?" He asked her.
"If they are smart enough, yes," she said. "That is how the Orcs that attacked us got so far into the land. But I did not search through their belongings." They looked at each other. "I will help you first till tomorrow, then I must be on my own way. I have to go back to the Orcs, to see if I can find the stones. If not all five of them are there, then I must warn my people."
Legolas nodded. "We go right away," he said.
"What? No, it is not necessary," she said. "If my people find you, I am not sure what they will do to you. As we haven´t had a visitor for thousands of years, and of all the Elven realms. We don´t trust wood-elves." Legolas was already on the way up; he stopped and turned to her.
"If they do find me, then they do. There is nothing you need to do about it. I´ve saved your life, and you have saved mine. You saved me from drowning, poison and get lost in your land." He smiled to her. "It is at least something I can do." She smiled back and nodded.
"All right, but it is this way," she said and pointed the other direction. She went first to the Elves, having them laid properly, with their hands together on their chests. Legolas then helped her move the Orcs away; she then lit a fire and burned the Orcs.
"What about your kin?" Legolas asked, as Élchalad was about to leave. "You´re not going to bury them?"
"No, let them look up the stars as the snow will bury them," she said. Legolas was about to ask about the snow, until he saw one snowflake before his eyes and more was coming. He looked up at the sky and then back at her. It looked like her eyes were colder, bluer. She turned fast around and began walking.
…
The fire went out by the cold storm that went through the snowy land. Élchalad and Legolas had sought cover in a forest. They both foresaw the storm coming and had to walk three hours off track to get to a forest.
"How come you don´t freeze?" Legolas asked her. She was looking at the burned out fire, across from him. He had all the blankets around him up to his ears.
"I´m used to the cold," she answered. Legolas chuckled.
"No Elf can be used to this cold," he said. Élchalad did not answer to that. She looked at him, he was looking at her. She saw how cold he was; he would not survive the night. She stood up and sat down next to him. "What are you doing?" He asked as she took off the most of her clothes. She cuddled up within his blankets, holding around him, lifting his shirt up so she could place her hands under it.
"You´re ice-cold," she said. "You need to get some heat in you, or you will die within few hours." Legolas took his arms around her. "Just don´t tell anyone."
"Thank you." She barely smiled by it.
Élchalad woke up having the morning sun shining on her. She looked at it as it shone through the forest; it was so beautiful, with the mist and everything.
She was so lost in thought she forgot how close she was too Legolas. She looked at him and saw how he looked, he was so pale and he had frost on him. She pulled him away, he did not wake up. "Legolas?" He did not response. "Oh no, what have I done?"
…
Legolas slowly woke up and moved his muscles. They were stiff and cold; it felt like he has been frozen for a long time. He looked down at himself. He was lying on the back with Élchalad in his arms. He did not have any shirt on, she didn´t have any on either, but they were both covered with all the clothing they had.
A fire was burning next to him. The sun was up. Legolas looked down at Élchalad again and couldn´t help but smile. He took away one of her golden hair-locks from her face, she then woke up.
She looked up at Legolas; she wanted to smile, but frowned instead. "I-I´m sorry, Elf," she said. "I needed to do something, you were all frozen."
"It´s no need to apologize, Élchalad. It is understandable, I wouldn´t have done the same, undressing you…" he said. Élchalad smiled.
"How are you feeling?" She asked. "Move your muscles, can you move them all?" He did not answer at first, he moved the muscles, he then nodded. "Good." She got her tunic and took it before her and sat up.
Legolas could see her back and saw all the markings. They were beautiful. "What are those?" He asked. "The markings?"
"I thought you said you knew," she said.
"I´m sorry, please forgive me, my lady. I did not mean to look," he said and turned on his side, his back to her to let her dress. She took on her tunic and stood up.
"They are not markings from the Dark Lord," she said to him. "They are markings from the Stars. They who are our Lord and Lady, They who were captured by Sauron… They did not get markings like I have. They do have paler skin, but that is just it." She turned to him. "Us Elves have coloured our skins like this, it is not permanent. Like in feasts or when we´re going out in fights, just to show we are Elves of the Stars."
Legolas looked at her as she talked. "But I was born with mine, the only Elf. Even my sister don´t have or my father or mother," she told him.
"You´re touched by the stars," Legolas said. She was surprised he would say that. Legolas stood up and got a good look around. The mist was still there. "Your land is very beautiful, Lady Élchalad." She smiled.
"Thank you, E- Prince Legolas."
…
Legolas looked at the traces of where Élchalad had left. She was going to scout the area, to check for any Orcs. He could see her there in the distance, at the exit of the forest, in the mist. She had been circling this small forest for hours now. He had no idea what she was doing.
The Elven Prince looked at her when she returned. "We´re safe now. We stay here till you get better," she said to him. She sat down next to him. "How are you? Are you feeling all well?"
"You don´t need to worry about me."
"I`m not," she said quickly. "I don´t want you to slow us down." Legolas smiled. "Cut the smile off would you?" It went silence, which they both enjoyed. "How is it in Greenwood?" She asked him. "What is it looking like?"
"Greener," he said and looked at her. She smiled. "Do you ever get summer here?" She shook her head. "Never?"
"No, sometimes we do go south just to enjoy it. The snow doesn´t reach our home forest, but the air is still cold," she told him. "Tell me more of it." He could tell she really wanted to know about his home.
"Nothing is like it, my home. Every place has its beauty, but Greenwood." Legolas could imagine it before his eyes.
"It is home," she said. Legolas nodded, agreeing to that.
"If your people needs to be warned, will you still take the ship?" He asked her.
"Depends what will happen next. If it´s needed, I will defend my home," she told him. "The truth is that I don´t know what I will do, what I want. I said I wanted to take the ship was because of my mother. I miss her. Though I do know whatever I do will not bring her back."
Legolas took her hand and squeezed it. They both smiled to each other before they both stared back at the fire.
Legolas woke up early and looked up at the stars before they will let the sun shine on the earth. He looked over at Élchalad. She was sleeping not far from him; she had her face to him. He looked at her hand that suddenly got paler; he then saw the ground underneath it turn slowly to ice.
Élchalad woke up and looked at her hand. She moved it and all the ice disappeared. She looked up at Legolas; he had seen it, for he now looked up at the stars. She turned on her back and looked up.
"Beautiful, is it not?" She asked him. Legolas did not answer. "The stars I mean."
"Yes, they are," he replied. "What are you?" He finally asked.
"An Elf of the Stars," she answered simply.
"What else?" She turned over to him.
"Are you afraid?" She asked him. He looked at her.
"No, but I am curious." Élchalad let out a sigh. "Does any of your kin…" She shook her head.
"Just me, not even my mother or father," she answered. "I´m just… Not normal." Legolas smiled. He reached his hand to her and took her hand.
"No one is perfect, Élchalad," he said to her. "You´re special." Élchalad frowned, looking deadly and icy on him. It was not he said, but she felt something. She sat up and almost panicked. "Élchalad?"
"We got to go!" She said and stood up to begin getting better dressed and packed. Legolas helped her.
"Why? What is it?" Legolas asked her.
"My Elves are north of here, just outside of the ice wall," she said to him and they went south. In the opposite direction of the Elves.
"Ice wall?" Legolas asked. He stopped when he saw the wall of ice. It went higher than him. "You made this?" He asked her. She looked at him guilty. "It´s amazing." He touched it. Élchalad looked at him shocked. Did he say it was amazing? She thought of this like a curse. She then turned to the wall, placed a hand on it and then it melted.
"Come on," she said and they ran out of the forest.
…
Élchalad ran first and kneeled down next to the dead Orcs by the cabin. It had been snowing, but they weren´t fully covered by it yet. Élchalad hated it, even Legolas, to search what they had. "What does it look like?" Legolas asked her.
"A crystal, you will know it when you find it," she said. "Hardly think that Orcs have any Elven made." In one of the pockets, she found a small crystal that fit right in her hand.
"Found one," Legolas said. She nodded when she saw the crystal.
"That´s two out of five." They searched through everything; Élchalad went through what Legolas had done. "It´s missing three crystals," she said hysterical. She throws her arms up in the air. "Three crystals!" She began pacing back and forth. Legolas grabbed her, making her stand and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"We´re going to find them, don´t worry," he said.
"Well I am worrying!" She yelled at him. She took one of the crystals up in the air. "If you see through it, you can see the stars and that is the right way to get through our land." Legolas took the crystal and looked in it, he did not see any stars. But when he faced west, he saw the stars.
"Then you will be leaving," Legolas said. She looked back at him. She took his hand just to get the crystal.
"I know a shortcut, I will take you there and then you have to be on your way." He nodded.
xXx
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