Chapter Four: The Teller of Tales
The moving van took Lacey and her Mother far, far away from the safe walls of their grandmother's castle.
It stopped in the city, where to two unpacked the boxes and moved the furniture into a tiny flat.
Lacey felt tired all the time now, as her magic was all but gone. There was a tiny amount that still remained in certain places, like the park.
She would play there every day and when she was alone, she would practice her aim by making the stones on the path dance.
Sometimes, Lacey would find magic in people as well.
A young girl named Tish proved that to be correct. She was a vibrant young thing with a head full of black hair and brown eyes.
She never saw Lacey do magic, but at a sleepover, Lacey was able to lift all the furniture in the room because Tish's supply was so powerful.
Life passed as usual for many, many years. Lacey alternated from school and home like any other student who went on summer vacation.
And yet, all was not well.
Lacey's footsteps rang out loud and clear for any enemies to immediately locate their position as her and the party of Elven Guardsmen moved through the forest. The company of tall, blonde Elves gave her looks of disdain at her sluggish, tired movements and she returned them out of spite. Lacey was tired beyond all reason and very, very sore.
In her head, Lacey counted the weird things that had happened to her in the last day. She had fallen from the sky twice, had been gossiped about by two twin Elves, had learned the Elvish word for stop and was now being led through the forest to the Elf capitol or something to go on trial. Her life was great.
Lacey didn't really know what to think of the little voice in her head that told her that she was lying. It definitely wasn't hers. Something in her soul told her that the voice was good, not evil and that she should trust it. Then again, Lacey didn't really even trust the something in her soul. She was afraid of hearing the voice again, as while it was quite soft and not entirely unpleasant, it pierced her mind and seemed to see into her heart.
She didn't want to be found out and possibly killed, for it seemed as though that was what Ardan wanted, or something similar. The whole company seemed to despise her, except for Haldir, who had, thus far, been very kind. Thanks to him, she was no longer cold, although fear did freeze her heart and twist her stomach into knots of anxiety. It was not his fault, Lacey was sure, as he had been unimposing and nice as could be. His teal eyes held no distrust, which made her feel like less of a stranger.
Despite that, Lacey knew that it was not real. Haldir was a collection of pixels on a telly screen, he didn't have feelings, he didn't have the capacity to be kind or mean as she did. It was sad to know that, as it made it harder to be kind to him in turn. She thought he could not appreciate it.
Still, it was nice to be treated the way she was by him, as he had told her that her fear was unneeded, that the Lady was kind and would respect her privacy. She doubted he believed that she posed a threat, which did make her feel good. She'd always been judged on first glance. The way her hair sort of went everywhere no matter what and the way she preferred worn-out clothes as opposed to not made people make her out to be some kind of dirty hermit, which was almost true, as she was a hermit but was relatively clean for her kind. Haldir didn't seem to care that she looked very, very homeless while the other Elves turned their noses up.
Lacey didn't really believe Haldir when he said that the Lady of the Wood would not not judge her, as it was Ardan who mentioned the that she, Galadriel, was one who could see into her soul. To be honest, she wasn't quite sure if she believed Ardan either. After all, nobody could really read someone's mind, could they?
Lacey could barely stifle her loud shout of happiness. It suddenly dawned on the red-haired young woman that she was among the Elves, the most magical of magical beings ever! This Galadriel person who could read minds was surely a magic well! All Lacey had to do was focus, maybe, and she'd be back home in her living room before any judgement could be passed or harm done! Life could go on as usual.
It seemed as though her sudden happiness made Alya curious, as she found her way over to Lacey, who was still grinning like mad.
"Why do you smile?" She asked in a light voice and Lacey shrugged, trying to buy some time to make up a lie.
"I'm among the Elves." She replied. Alya's brown furrowed slightly.
"You have not seen out kind before?" She asked and Lacey shook her head.
"Nope." She replied simply. "Never." Alya gave her a proud look.
"The Elves of Lothlorien remain mostly to themselves, few of the race of Man has seen us." Lacey didn't really like her tone, but didn't want to argue and get an arrow between the eyes.
"Sure." She said, completely unsure of how else to answer.
"What is it you do?" Alya asked Lacey, which was surprising as nobody in the party had thought to ask her about her back story before now, they just assumed she was lying by where she came from.
"I'm a tale-teller." Lacey replied, picking a random job. "Songs and stories from far-off lands, those are my specialty." Alya looked almost interested.
"And what business did you have in the Golden Wood?" She further questioned.
"I intended to go to a city of Man, but instead, the boat carrying me across the Narrow Sea was hijacked by a band of pirates. They set a course for a new destination and I jumped ship. I ended up lost, here." Alya cocked her head to the side.
"Did you intend to go to Rohan?" She asked and Lacey nodded, deciding to take a chance. "The horse lords' do love new tales, or so I hear from travelers'." Alya said and Lacey scowled.
"Are all travelers treated in this manner?" She inquired and was rewarded by Alya's light laugh. If she was Ardan's twin sister, she had a considerably better sense of humor.
"No, Lacey of Winterfell." She said. "But not all travelers are found by the Marchwarden high in a tree with no horse and from a land that is unknown to us." Lacey could understand their treatment of her, but she didn't like it.
The rest of the short trip passed by in silence as the blue glow in the distance grew brighter and brighter. Lacey was lucky, she found, as she landed quite near the heart of Elvendom on earth. The faint gleam shone between the yellow trees, casting long shadows. The path began to wind around the trees, which grew progressively larger. Lights shone from inside some of the big, smooth trees and Lacey realized that they were houses.
Faces as beautiful as her escorts' peered at her from behind small glass windows set into bark and wood. Some looked wary of the stranger in their midst, most looked curious. All were lovely, however, and Lacey did not see a single elderly Elf.
She almost felt bad about looking as unclean and horrible a she did. Lacey wanted to rub the dirt off of her arms and out of her hair in a vain attempt to look a little nicer. She kept her head inclined towards the ground, she couldn't look at these people, if she did, even her eyes felt dirty.
Gradually, the slope of the path increased and Lacey soon found herself taking steps upwards onto large, suspended planks of wood that lead to the largest tree in the entire forest; right in the center. Glass now made up much of the houses as the homes got larger. Light blue gemstones were set into the uniform panes divided by bleached-white wood. It was so incredible to behold.
Above her head, Lacey saw that giant tree branches extended up like arms reaching for the sky. They held the same golden leaves that were now tinged with blue from the odd moonlight. Lacey had never fully see the moon. The skyscrapers of the city blocked out mostly everything, even sometimes the scorching sun, and at her grandmother's castle, the bright green trees from the forest blocked out the sky as well.
Lacey decided that she didn't like the moon. She seemed very vain and proud. As if to comment on her thoughts, a soft wind blew up through the trees against Lacey's face, pushing her hair back, out of her eyes. Lacye smiled, the wind had always been her friend. It poured through her window at night when it was too hot and always pushed her kite a little higher than that of the other children. Lacey was glad that she was still with her.
Eventually, the path evened out and became flat again. Lacey found herself standing on a large disk of white wood with short stairs ascending upwards in front of her. Plants grew from two pots on opposite sides of the stairs and a set of arches made a large doorway for people to walk through. Lanterns holding the same blue light swayed in the comforting breeze. Lacey found that the gust helped to loosen the knots of anxiety in her stomach.
The younger Elf, Suidan, left the company to walk up the stairs and out of sight. Lacey assumed that he was the one who would call the Lord and the Lady of the Golden Wood.
It seemed as thought Lacey was correct, as a few moments later, her and the scout patrol were joined by two new people. Suidan walked down the steps again to stand by Ardan as two figure moved gracefully behind him. One held the others arm as they descended, and Lacey saw that one of them was a man.
He had long hair, much like every other Elf in this city, and just like everyone else, it was silvery-blond. His eyes, however, were a piercing grey, and he looked at Lacey in a way that made her feel as though she were invisible. He was clad in robes as light and stormy as his eyes and he had a regal air, while he wore no crown. This was the Lord of the Wood, and the name suited him well.
The woman on his arm, however, was not merely the Lady of the Forest, no, she was the Lady of Light, for she radiated it. A soft, warm glow came from her pale, flawless skin. Her hair, like spun gold and much yellower than her husbands fell in waves down to her slender hips. A simple gold circlet framed her face and slightly pointed ears and instead of grey robes, she wore a blinding white dress made of no fabric that Lacey had ever seen. It was her eyes, however, that startled Lacey. They were as light and blue as the sea, and contained in them were all the stars in the sky.
She did not look through Lacey as her husband did. She allowed a ghost of a smile to pass over her lips as a voice again whispered something in her head.
Welcome, Lacey Maccabee, to my kingdom. Lacey shuddered as the voice penetrated her mind, digging deep. While the Lady was lovely, Lacey found that no matter how hard she tried, she could not trust the voice.
"Who is she?" The Lady asked in Sindarin. Lacey again felt stupid for not knowing.
"She tells us that her name is Lacey Maccabee." Haldir replied in the soft language.
" And what business have you in the Golden Wood?" A voice spoke, this time out loud in the Common Tongue and Lacey looked to Lord Celeborn. He sounded as though he did not fully care, as his words were almost lazy and slow. Lacey shook her head and simply assumed that he just talked that way. It took her a moment to reply, as she was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she had forgotten he had asked.
"Oh! I am a story-teller my Lord. The ship I was sailing from was hijacked and I ended up here." This answer made his eyes focus in on Lacey a little more and she felt her fear grow colder.
"And what land do you hail from?" He asked and Lacey had to remind herself to breathe.
"I am from Winterfell my Lord, up north, across the Narrow Sea." It was Lord Celeborn's Lady who spoke next in fluent English with only a slight accent.
"Suidan tells me that he believes what you say, for far-off lands are not unheard of." Lacey could do nothing but nod. "Tell me, do the people in your land know of us?" Lady Galadriel asked and Lacey shook her head.
"A few do, my Lady. The ship was taken by pirates who set a course for a different place, I escaped and washed up here." She nodded and then looked to Lord Celeborn.
"Do you have kin who may come looking for you in Winterfell?" The Lord asked and Lacey shook her head.
"No. They are all dead." The Lord nodded as if to say that he was sorry for her loss.
"And you are entirely alone?" Galadriel asked this time and Lacey nodded.
"Completely, my Lady." She replied.
"Very well. In light of the circumstances, would you be willing to be our story-teller for a time? The Elves enjoy new entertainment." Lacey's eyes widened and she nodded.
"My lady, I am homeless. It would be an honor to tell my stories to your people." The Lady's smile became a bit more pronounced, but the feeling of someone poking around in Lacey's head became greater and Galadriel's smile fell.
"I do not belive that you are a threat to us, Lacey of Winterfell, but I would like to ask you a few more questions." Lacey nodded as she felt her fear return. Galadirel looked to her husband and to the Elf scouts. "Leave us." She commanded in a light tone and they did so. Lacey took a shaky breath as the Lady of Lothlorien turned.
"My Lady?" Lacey asked as Galadriel began to walk back up the stairs.
"Follow me, for we have much to discuss." She said, her voice grim. Lacey nodded.
We do, don't we? Lacey couldn't help but think. She never expected the reply she got.
Yes, we do.