Disclaimer: I do not own any of the recognisable characters in this story, and make no money from them. This story is purely a work of fanfiction and written for fun. However, I do own the OC's, and I ask that you don't use them in your own writing without consulting me first.

Finally, an update. It's only being about two months. Between re-writes, looking for part-time work, moving into my own place, starting studying again, Plot Bunnies abandoning this story (and then this Universe) and taking off chasing geese (which resulted in plans and several chapters for another LOTR-related Universe), Plot Bunnies going on strike, Plot Bunnies coming back from strike and falling into the Silmarillion fandom (hard), and did I mention study?, the last few months have been ridiculous.

But, when I refused to let the evil Plot Bunnies post the Silmarillion related Mairon/Sauron redemption AU story that they wrote in four days flat (when I was trying to study, I'd have you know), they finally agreed to finish this story before starting another one. I think I like these new Plot Bunnies. They can apparently be reasoned with…

A/N

I debated for ages whether to have Celebiel's or Coliel's chapter first. Coliel is older than her twin by six minutes, but the main event of her chapter takes place chronologically after this one. In the end, I decided to go chronologically by events, not ages, with the twin's chapters.

This chapter is very long, but nothing in it could really be cut out. I hope you enjoy a long chapter!


Chapter 9: Celebiel

Celebiel was born six minutes after her twin sister. Almost from the time she took her first breath, they all knew she had inherited her grandfather's temper. Within two hours of her birth, she'd punched Legolas in the face, kicked Coliel when the older twin had rolled over in their cradle to cuddle up next to her, and bitten Tathardis a little bit too hard while she was feeding. Yep, Thranduil thought with no small amount of dread, she had Oropher's temper all right.

It didn't help she was the first child since Belegon to inherit Oropher's silver locks. Even though she had her mother's olive complexion, there was no denying she had Sindar blood. Or, more specifically, Oropher's blood. Her silver hair, determined expression, and grey-blue eyes spoke for themselves, even at such a young age. And Oropher's reputation was still alive and thriving, even centuries after his death.

Her Maia ancestry also spoke for itself, even though her abilities didn't manifest until she was almost forty-four. This fact, coupled with the fact she'd never shown any inclination of having powers before, led Thranduil to conclude she had not had access to her abilities from birth like the others had. The potential for them had been there, but they'd laid dormant for forty-four years. Why this was the case, Thranduil did not know. However, given how it happened, he later realised that her abilities had manifested in full, at a time when they were most needed.


Coliel and Celebiel were playing outside in the forest. Being forty-four, they were considered old enough to leave the safety of the palace gardens without supervision. So long as they let their mother or father know what they were doing, and did not go far or stay out past dark. The spiders that had taken up residence in the southern forest had not yet made it this far North, and the enchantments Thranduil had placed on their part of the forest ensured orcs and other undesirable creatures did not find their way through. While the forest was not as safe and friendly as it had once been, these precautions ensured the northern part was still safe enough to allow the elflings to play in the forest unsupervised.

One day, in the golden twilight of autumn, that suddenly changed.

The young twins were playing in the piles of dead leaves that littered the forest floor. The trees, who hadn't yet lost all their leaves, encouraged them. They waited until the elflings weren't looking, and dropped more leaves on their heads, along with creating piles of leaves that hadn't been there a moment before, just to annoy them. This had been going on for some time, and both elflings were getting tired. They were just discussing heading back home early today, when the trees around them suddenly went still and quiet. It was so unnatural for them to be completely still, that the twins looked up in alarm.

Hide, hide, hide, HIDE!

The elves didn't stop to ask questions, and fairly flew up into the tree's branches. They'd never known a tree to be so panicked before. Not long after they were safely hidden, they heard growling and cursing in a language they did not understand. And it was getting louder. Coliel grasped her twin's hand, a shiver of fear working its way up her spine. Celebiel squeezed her hand reassuringly. She was, truth be told, rather excited, eagerly watching to see what was coming their way.

However, when she saw what had caused all the commotion, Celebiel had to bite her lip so as not to make a sound. Never in her life had she seen such an ugly creature. It was so monstrous in appearance, that she could hardly bear to even look at it. Her twin felt the same. One glimpse, and Coliel had closed her eyes tightly. While these creatures were revolting to look at, Celebiel found she couldn't look away. She was completely fascinated by them, and quickly realised they must be orcs. They had been told enough tales of previous battles (which many family members had participated in) to have a rough idea of what orcs looked like. However, even Golwendir's most outrageous stories hadn't prepared her for just how ugly they were.

The orcs did not stop nor pause; it was obvious they were simply passing through. There was not many of them, and they soon disappeared, heading south-east. After waiting a while to make sure there were no more, the twins decided it was past time to head for home. The forest, which had been so warm and friendly before, suddenly seemed a cold and scary place. They both longed for the safety of the palace, and the security being with their family brought.

Coliel led the way through the treetops, being desperate to get home as fast as possible. The orcs had seriously scared her. Celebiel, while following at a more normal pace, saw the patch of fungus first, and called out to her sister in alarm.

"Colie, slow down! You'll fall!"

Coliel turned around to answer her sister, about to say that she was okay and would not fall. However, at the exact moment she looked back, her foot landed on the fungus, which was very slippery. Before she realised what was happening, she was in free-fall, and dimly heard Celebiel yell her name as the ground rushed to meet her. The tree tried to catch her, but it was not quick enough, having also been shaken by the appearance of the orcs. Coliel landed heavily on her back in a pile of leaves. She laid there for a few moments, winded, before she slowly sat up and winced at the ache that was spreading through her whole body.

"Colie! Where are you?!"

Coliel looked up, and could just make out her sister's silver hair amongst the trees branches as she made her way towards her. She had been a couple of trees ahead of the younger twin.

"I'm okay! Coming back up now."

Coliel was shaking so badly from both the orcs and her fall, that she had to stop and take a few deep breathes to try and calm down. She did not trust herself not to fall out of the trees again in her current state. Closing her eyes, Coliel concentrated on her breathing, as she rested her forehead against the tree.

She was fine. Everything was fine.

Her sister's panicked voice suddenly startled her out of her thoughts.

"Colie, BEHIND YOU!"

The sheer terror in her sister's voice had Coliel spinning around before she had even fully registered what had been said. She had never heard pure raw panic in her sister's voice before. And, when she saw what had panicked her sister, Coliel screamed in terror.

An orc was standing less than three feet away from her, a menacing grin on its face as it swung its weapon low.

The sensible thing to do would have been to run or climb back up the tree. But Coliel's limbs had frozen in fear, and she found she was unable to move. Dimly, over the blood pounding in her ears, Coliel heard Celebiel scream again, before her right leg erupted in pain. Coliel collapsed to the ground with a gasp, as everything around her seemed to slow down. In a haze, she watched Celebiel leap out of the tree and land on the orcs shoulders, digging a small knife into its eye as she did so. A knife she wasn't supposed to have, Coliel thought vaguely. Ada said they were still too young to carry weapons around. Not that Celebiel cared, she was determined to be a warrior when she grew up. Just like their older siblings were…

"Colie, your leg!"

Her sister's voice seemed to be coming from the other end of a long tunnel. However, the renewed pain that erupted in her leg seconds later made her scream again, and snapped her out of the haze she'd been in. She blinked back tears o as she tried to figure out what had just happened. The orc was lying half-buried under a thick branch, black blood trickling from its face.

Coliel blinked again.

"It's dead? How?"

Celebiel was busy trying to stop the bleeding from the wound on Coliel's leg.

"The tree helped me kill it. You are hurt!"

Coliel winced as her sister secured her belt above the gaping wound to cut off the blood flow, and slow down the bleeding. It didn't stop it completely, and, now that her head was clearing, the older twin knew she needed proper medical attention as soon as possible.

"Cel, you have to go and find Ada. I can't move, or it will start bleeding bad again."

Celebiel looked at her sister with conflicting emotions. She too, had realised this wound needed proper attention. But, she also knew that Coliel needed someone with her, to keep her mind off things.

"I don't want to leave you. What if they come back?"

Coliel shook her head.

"You don't have a choice. I need help. Find Ada, and bring him back here as fast as you can. I will be fine."

Celebiel looked at her sister's pale skin and pain-filled eyes. She was beginning to suspect that blade had been poisoned. There was no other explanation for how quickly Coliel's health was deteriorating.

"You are not fine. I know! I'll get the trees to send a message to Nana!"

Without waiting for an answer, Celebiel leapt up, and run over to place her hand on the tree next to the one Coliel had fallen out of.

"Can you send a message to Nana? Tell her to tell Ada to come quickly; he is desperately needed."

Of courshshshshshe!

All the trees around them immediately responded, and started passing the message from tree to tree with a lot of shooshing. They were horrified by what had just happened, and were eager to do anything they could to help. Confident help would soon arrive, Celebiel run back over to her twin, to see if she could do anything in the meantime.

By this point, Coliel was even paler then before. While the bleeding had practically stopped, Celebiel could see the bone in her sister's leg, the cut was so deep. It was gaping and ragged around the edges, and smelt funny. The smell caused Celebiel to feel slightly nauseous. Coliel was obviously feeling much worse. She was firmly not looking at her leg, and her normally dark olive skin was practically white. Celebiel grasped her hand reassuringly; it was limp and clammy. Celebiel tried to send some of her own energy to her sister to help her handle the pain. They had always been able to comfort each other in this way, though Celebiel found it much easier to transfer energy to Coliel then vice-versa.

As she was doing it, Celebiel suddenly felt a strange sense of calm overtake her. She went from not knowing what to do, to knowing exactly what she had to do, in the space of a couple of moments. Gently letting go of her sister's hand, the silver-haired elf knelt near the injured leg without saying a word.

Coliel watched her warily through pain-filled eyes. Her complexion had lost so much colour in such a short amount of time, that her skin was now practically grey.

"Cel, just leave it. Ada will be here soon. He will fix it."

Celebiel did not respond in words. Instead, she placed one hand on either side of the wound, and suddenly pushed it together. Coliel gave a shriek of pain and almost passed out as fire erupted in her leg. For several moments, it was pure agony. Then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone, a numb sensation taking its place. Opening her eyes (which she couldn't remember closing), Coliel looked down at her leg.

And froze in shock at seeing nothing but a small scratch sitting where the deep wound had been.

Looking at Celebiel, who was still kneeling near her leg, Coliel managed to gather her thoughts enough to speak.

"What did you do?"

Celebiel looked at her sister with glazed eyes.

"I healed you."

Without further warning, Celebiel's face suddenly lost all its colour, and she collapsed in a heap as she lost consciousness. Coliel gave a cry of alarm, and placed two fingers on her sister's neck. After a moment, she felt a pulse beating steadily, and breathed a sigh of relief.

She had no idea what had just happened, but they were both alive, at least. And, while she was still weak and shaky, she was starting to feel a bit better. For now. Coliel used the last bit of her strength to lift Celebiel's head off the ground, and rest it in her lap. That simple action sapped the last of her energy, and she longed to slip into oblivion like her sister had. But, to do that would leave them vulnerable to anything. While she was helpless right now, she couldn't put her sister in more danger by not looking out for her. She must stay awake until help arrived.

Help was not long in coming. The trees had worked at double their normal speed. Very soon, they let the young elf know that her Ada was on his way.

Secure in that knowledge, Coliel waited until Thranduil burst into the clearing, before she finally gave in to the pull of unconsciousness.


Celebiel woke with a yell, and sat bolted upright in bed, her heart still pounding from the nightmare. Dimly, she realised she was not in her bed. It took a few desperate moments of trying to focus on her surroundings, to realise she was in the healing ward of the palace. Which meant she had been injured in some way, though she didn't remember being hurt…

Celebiel gasped, and went cold all over, as the orc attack came back to her with startling clarity. She did not fully remember what had happened, but she did know her sister had been dying. She had healed Coliel, though the rest of that memory was a blank. She had no idea what had happened while she'd been unconscious. Before she could go into full-blown panic, a soft voice broke into her muddled brain, and she felt a familiar hand on her chest.

"Easy Celebiel. Everything's fine. Breath for me. You are okay. Coliel is okay. Calm down. It's okay."

Ada. Ada was here, which meant they were safe.

Celebiel instantly relaxed, and her eyesight fully cleared. Looking around, her eyes fastened on Thranduil. Despite his reassuring words, her father looked very worried.

"Celebie!"

Celebiel suddenly found herself engulfed in the embrace of her twin sister, who was hanging onto her with a strength she hadn't known Coliel possessed. As she hugged her back, Celebiel felt her heart-beat slowly return to normal, and a sense of calm settle over her.

Ada was here. They were home. Everything was okay.


After helping Coliel to lay down on the bed next to her twin, Thranduil decided it was time to ask his youngest about what had happened out there. He'd heard Coliel's account of events (and had his private melt-down from finding his two young daughters lying unconscious next to a dead orc), and decided it was time to hear what Celebiel remembered as having happened. He was sure certain points would differ somewhat from what her sister remembered. And, he needed all the information, to figure out exactly what had happened.

Thranduil smiled at Celebiel.

"Coliel has told us you healed her leg wound. Can you elaborate on how you felt, and what happened, starting from the time you managed to slow down the bleeding?"

Celebiel nodded slowly.

"Yes, at least, I think so. Some things are fuzzy, but I remember what I was feeling very well. I remember trying not to panic after sending a message to Nana, and looking at the wound and feeling helpless. Then…"

Celebiel hesitated as she thought back on just what had happened. Thranduil waited patiently.

"After this panic, I suddenly felt a great sense of calm. I knew what I had to do. It was not a conscious decision; it was almost like I was a passenger in my own body. I felt very focussed, and did not have to think about what I was doing. My hands glowered gold, and the light covered the wound. I felt…warm. And calm. And focussed. And like it would all be okay. And, when I next looked, the wound was almost healed. Just a small cut remained. I cannot remember anything else after that."

"That is because you were unconscious. You might have saved me from dying of poison, but you scared me half to death instead, fainting like that!"

Coliel hugged her twin fiercely; she was very shaken by the whole ordeal. Celebiel grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry sis, I did not mean to scare you."

Coliel did not reply; she just tightened her arms around the younger twin. Celebiel hugged her back before she looked at Thranduil with her large grey-blue eyes. Eyes that were so much like his own, but much more expressive then his had ever been. She still did not let go of her sister, and Thranduil suspected she would not be letting go for some time. He made a mental note to tell the cook to send in enough food for two elflings when the evening meal was ready.

"Ada, what exactly happened?"

Thranduil smiled. Neither daughter was in danger anymore, and, after hearing about Celebiel's experiences, he knew exactly what had happened. And it pleased him no end.

"It seems, my dear, that you have healing abilities similar to mine. I experience much the same thing, when I heal people."

Celebiel's eyes widened, as the full implications of her father's words set in.

"You mean I do have special Maia-abilities from great-grandmother?"

Thranduil nodded.

"Yes, you do. And those abilities saved your sister's life. You not only healed the wound, you somehow managed to stop the poison from working."

Celebiel grabbed her sister in sudden panic.

"You were poisoned!"

Coliel smiled.

"Yes, but you stopped the poison spreading. And Ada completely healed me. Why did you lose consciousness on me? That was scary!"

Coliel's voice was more than a little bit accusing. She had it together now, but had been seriously shaken up. It had taken both Thranduil and Tathardis forever to calm her down when she'd woken up in the healing ward to find her sister was still unconscious in the next bed. She had refused to leave her side since, and Thranduil had stayed with her. Tathardis had been called away a few minutes before Celebiel woke, to deal with an urgent matter that had suddenly come up. Her daughters were safe now, and someone had to ensure the kingdom continued to run until the King took over the reins again himself.

Celebiel frowned.

"It's not like I can control it; I did not mean to faint. Ada, why did I faint?"

"Because you exerted too much energy all at once, dear. Your body shut down to recover. It has happened to me before. I was unconscious for days."

Thranduil did not mention the circumstances surrounding that incident. About how he'd brought Belegon back to life, but almost killed himself in the process. Dagorlad and what had happened there. was not something they ever talked about, nor dwelt on. The loses sustained there were still too painful for them all.

But, Thranduil knew he would not hesitate to do it again if any of them was in danger. He had no self-preservation instincts where his family was concerned. They came first. They always had, and they always would.

Just like he had always come first with his mother.

The sound of both twins talking at once brought his attention back to the present.

"I wasn't unconscious for days!"

"You were! You were unconscious for a whole night!"

"That's not days! That is one night."

"Still counts!"

"Does not. A day is one whole moon-and-sun cycle!"

Thranduil smiled softly, as the twins continued their loud discussion of what qualified as a day. They did not normally disagree about things, but had had a big scare. They all had. This part of the forest was supposed to be safe. Thranduil knew he had to find out how those orcs had gotten through the protective magic he'd set up to shield the Northern Forest. Something had failed, and it was up to him to find out why that was.

Though he needed to make sure his family was safe first. And, right now, their forest was not safe. Not until he figured out what had happened.

Maybe it was time to respond to the letter that had been sitting on his desk for weeks.


Twice the number of elflings apparently means twice the drama. Poor Thranduil. I think his heart probably stopped when he ran into that clearing to see both his young daughters lying pale and unconscious next to a dead orc…

This is the point when their forest really started to change for the worse, and becomes Mirkwood.


Preview of Chapter 10: Coliel

Tathardis's eyes went big.

"Of course. What happened? How do you know?"

Lanny shook her head.

"Tell you in private."


Next chapter will be up in a couple of days. I want to have this story fully posted by next weekend, so I can start posting my Mairon redemption one.

So, what did you think of this chapter?