Caran stood in front of the gate of Rivendell. She was clad simply in a pair of thick brown pants, sturdy brown boots, and a green tunic, an interesting design of leaves up the sides. She wore a thick, warm cloak lined with thick fur over her other articles of clothing, a gift she and the fellowship received from Elrond. Leather bands were present on her wrists to protect them from the backlash of her bow. At her waist she had strapped a belt to hold her throwing knives, her bow rested over her right shoulder, her quiver hidden in a pack resting lightly on her back. Her spear, Caran's most treasured possession, she had clasped firmly in her left hand.
She knew she was fairly heavily armed despite the fact that the company did not march to war, but hoped more for secrecy, but old habits die hard. She had learned to fight with all of her weapons, and depending on the situation, preferred each in certain cases. She would not have it any other way. In any case, it was never certain what was going to happen, and it was her philosophy to be prepared for any situation that may arise, rather than being severely unprepared.
It was the day they were to depart, and she was the first to arrive, ready and eager to go. Elves wishing to bid them farewell, in addition to her companions, started to trickle in slowly, until at long last Caran was surrounded by the other nine member of the fellowship, who were encircled by a large group of elves. She smiled as she saw Aragorn carrying the sword which had been foraged anew. Rather than Aiglos fighting along Narsil once more, it would be Aigloas and Anduril, for Aragorn had given the sword a new name. Caran was pleased with this. She knew Aragorn was nothing like his ancestor, he had more heart, more self control and would not take the ring for his own. She thought the change of name set him apart from that past, and that was a good thing.
She stood quietly, waiting patiently as Lord Elrond spoke to them as a whole. The last of his words making the biggest indent on her memory.
"The Ring-bearer is setting out on the Quest of Mount Doom. On you who travel with him no oath nor bond is laid, to go further than you will," he said, his voice ringing out through the crowd. Caran knew she would not turn back. She would follow Frodo for as long as she could, protecting him to the best of her ability.
"Farewell. Hold to your purpose. May the blessings of Elves and Men and all free folk go with you." Caran nodded in Lord Elrond's direction, and then in turn nodded to each of his children, who she had been somewhat acquainted with, before turning and following the fellowship on the beginning of their long, treacherous journey.
There were no cheers as they left, no smiling, no laughter. There was a hint of sadness in the air. It was an overall gloomy affair as they walked on and out of sight of the last homely house in Rivendell.
While they had left Rivendell that day early in the morning, it was now approaching the late afternoon. They had covered many miles and Caran could tell the hobbits were weary and hungry.
"Gandalf!" She called ahead, her voice carrying just enough for Gandalf to hear it. "We should take a break and have a quick meal to replenish our strength," She told him, glancing meaningfully at the hobbits.
He looked around for a moment before nodding. They were in as appropriate a place as ever to halt for the present, as the few trees and underbrush would prevent them from being sighted by unfriendly eyes.
Caran couldn't help but smile as she heard a sigh of relief emit collectively from the hobbits. Judging by the similar smile on Legolas' face, she assumed he had heard the same.
Rather than sitting with the hobbits as she had intended, she moved towards the blonde elf's side. While he was of her race, she had not taken time to acquaint herself with him. She intended to remedy that.
"Legolas," she said softly as she found an acceptable seat on a rock next to him. It was not comfortable, but she and her company were roughing it. It would do. "Caran," he mimicked in the same tone, the smallest trace of a smile on his lips.
"Tell me about yourself.""You know who I am," He countered.
"Yes, I know you are Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood, son of Thranduil, much as you know I am Caran, daughter of Gil-galad. But your title, your parentage… they tell me nothing about you, just who you will live up to. So tell me about plain Legolas, not prince Legolas. I want to become acquainted with the true you. Not the image you must live up to."
Legolas stared at her for a long while, a queer look stretching deep into his blue eyes. For a moment Caran had the slightest thought that she may have asked too much, until a smile broke out onto the young princes face.
"You are interesting indeed," he said, his eyes alight with wonder and curiosity. She was a curious elf to behold and he endeavored to learn more about the heir of Gil-galad.
"Very well, I shall tell you of plain Legolas, but only if you tell me of plain Caran in turn." he said, unable to hold back a small smirk as he spoke.
"I have always been plain Caran. Until now, few knew of my true lineage; I could count them on my hands. I had only the image of an elf to live up to. But yes, I shall tell you of myself as well."
Legolas paused for a moment, thinking, before he finally began to speak.
"Well, I suppose I have spent most of my life learning to fight. I started with the bow and my knives at an extremely young age. I'm not even sure when. Before I turned one hundred," he told her, smiling.
"I have spent a large portion of my life patrolling the forest of Mirkwood. It has grown dark these past few hundred years." "I have been in your forest before. I have witnessed this darkness you speak of. I am particularly fond of the spiders," she said, grimacing at the one encounter she had had with them.
"But Legolas, I did not ask what you did. I asked about you. Why did you start to learn to use your weapons at such a young age? What's your favorite color, food? What do you like to do when you are not carrying out your duties to your realm?" Caran asked, positioning herself on the rock so she was now facing Legolas.
"I am so used to performing my duties that those are the first things I think of," he told her, grinning slightly.""It would appear this quest is much needed. I need to get out more," he said, to which Caran nodded and smiled.
"I started training so young because my father thought it was a good idea. He wanted me to prefect marksmanship so that I was able to protect myself from the growing dangers in middle earth. Judging by how the realm I reside in today is, it was a good idea. As for my favorite color, I cannot really choose one in particular. I love the color of nature; the woods, the animals, the water… all of these encompass a great variety of colors, and so to choose one would be inaccurate. I am sure you understand this."
"I do. I am very much the same. Although, I could very easily tell you that gray is my least favorite color, as I am not the fondest of stone structures, many of which are in fact gray."
"A favorite food is another thing I cannot name. There are far too many things I enjoy, and far too many that I have yet to try. But I do enjoy trying new things, and I have always been fond of exploring and learning of new people, cultures, the like," he finished, smiling.
"See. That's more like it. That's exactly what I wanted, to hear about Legolas and not the prince."
"And now will you return the favor?" Legolas asked, looking a Caran curiously, very interested to learn more about the beautiful elf.
Caran was about to answer, but stopped short, her ears twitching, head turning around instantly in the direction she had heard a branch break, just on the outskirts of where they had made their temporary camp. Legolas had heard it as well, and was staring intently at the trees and underbrush, his bow in his hands, an arrow notched. Likewise, Caran had a throwing knife clasped tightly in her hand.
Their defensive stances had caught the attention of the rest of the fellowship, who were now on high alert as well. Gandalf was immediately at their sides, the others a bit farther back, but still in hearing distance.
"What is it?" Gandalf asked, his hand resting at the hilt of his sword Glamdring. "I am not certain. All I heard was a branch break," Caran told him, her watchful eyes never leaving the area they were trained on. "It could be just an animal," Legolas said, though he did not release his bow.
"But it could also be an enemy," they heard Aragorn whisper.
They fell silent after Aragorn spoke, all eyes fixed on the bush. It only took a few minutes for the bush to rustle again, only to have a small deer jump forth and run in fright, passed the fellowship.
"All that for just a deer!" Pippin commented, very relieved, as he watched the creature bounce off. "It could have been more. It is always better to ere on the side of caution," Boromir told the young hobbit.
"Boromir is correct. It could have been something that bore a threat. As luck would have it, it was merely a deer. However, I feel uneasy about this place. Let us move on," Gandalf said, sheathing the sword he had drawn as the bush had rustled.
"Looks like we will have to continue this conversation later, Legolas," Caran looked at the blonde elf, grinning. She liked to keep an air of mystery about her. She found it highly entertaining, and in these days, entertainment was hard to come by. Legolas, on the other hand, did not look quite as pleased.
"That is highly unfair. Shouldn't I get compensation for answering your questions?" Legolas asked her, arms over his chest. He was attempting to intimidate her into answering, but she saw right through it.
"Oh, I will tell you when the next chance arises. I prefer to be more alert when we are actually on foot. However, the compensation you seek, you have already had," she smiled knowingly.
"What do you mean?""Back in Rivendell when I had a little chat with the hobbits you and Aragorn listened in on a conversation that you were not privy to."
"You heard us?" Aragorn questioned, his face laced with confusion.
"Despite the fact you were raised by elves, you are not so light footed as we," she laughed softly.
Gimli let out a snort , patting Caran on her back as best he could.
"I think we'll get along just fine, Lassy."