The first gleams of sunlight dashed through the sky like thin threats of gold, as the dawn painted the skies in various shades of pink and violet. The dark veil of the night had not yet completely faded, contrasting obscure and peaceful against the awaking day. The morning breeze carried the beautiful melodies of birds, distant and soft, like awaking from a long dream. The dark shadows of the trees had turned different shades of purple, mirroring the dawning sky.
Elerrina sat still on the damp grass, dark green eyes dazed into the dead fire. She had returned to sit by the, then vibrant, fire after Elladan parted into the forest. She had not tried to go back to sleep, so she had focused on watching the hot red flames dance in orange and red over the cracking wood; their sparkling dance slowly shifting into a melancholic waltz until it vanished into the wind, leaving a delicate trace of grey smoke as their only memory.
It had not taken long until the sun had started to rise in the sky. She had sat there for two hours at the most, but it felt like an entire night. Elerrina heard Elrohir start to stir on the spot on the grass near to her left, where he was sleeping. Elladan had not yet returned.
She heard Elrohir slowly stand up and make his way to where she sat, his light footsteps echoing on the damp grass. She did not turn to look at him, her eyes still fixed on the dead fire, Elladan's words from the night before still ringing fresh in her right ear.
"Slept well?" He asked as he sat by her side.
"Mhm" She lied easily. Elrohir looked around, suddenly noticing the absence of his twin brother.
"Where's Elladan" She felt a shiver run down her spine as she remember how close said elf had been of her the night before, how his eyes had pierced into her very soul.
"He took off a couple of hours ago. I don't know where he went."
Elrohir smiled and nodded his head.
"He tends to do that when he cannot sleep. He will be back soon; he usually comes back at sunrise."
At that precise moment Elladan appeared through the dense forest, walking elegantly with his characteristic smirk on his face. Elerrina instinctively lowered her gaze to the dead fire once again, embarrassed from the conversation of the night before. Or perhaps she was merely scared to accidentally meet his gaze, scared to find out if his eyes would be secretive and silent once again, or if they would still be burning liquid silver that pierced through her body.
"Oh, there you are!" Said Elrohir grinning mischievously at his twin. "We were just talking about you"
"I am not surprised. Ladies love to talk about me" She felt his eyes flash to her and perfectly pictured his grin mocking her as he sat next to his brother. "They are always following me"
Oh no, he did not just say that! Elerrina had to contain herself from jumping at him. Was he really going to play these games with her? He was testing her. He knew that she was proud enough as to not mention their little conversation in front of Elrohir.
She knew that he had spoken the truth, and that she had deeply thanked him, clearly showing that she did not hate him, but she was not going to admit that to anyone. He wanted her to react at his comment, he knew she was embarrassed and was taking advantage of it. And on second thought, now she knew why she disliked him. If she had hated him before, it was nothing compared to how much she hated him at that moment.
Elrohir, on the other hand, seemed clueless that his brother's words carried another meaning and only smacked the back of his brothers head as he laughed.
"Come on, let's get going." Said Elrohir as he stood up. Elerrina quickly jumped into a standing position, eager for the conversation to take a different direction.
"If we set out now we will reach Imladris by nightfall. Perhaps we might even run into a patrol since we are so close to the borders." Elrohir had already started to get his horse ready, and Elerrina had closely followed behind, hoping to be told to ride with the green-cloaked elf.
With an elegant movement, he swiftly jumped to the back of the horse and extended one hand for her to take. They are definitely taking turns on who rides with me, she thought as she gratefully took hand and was helped to mount on the horse.
Elladan, who had remained comfortably sitting on the grass, groaned and lazily stood up and walked towards his horse. It was not long before he was also siting gracefully on his horse and started marching at front, leading the way.
They walked for a couple of hours through the green vegetation. Elerrina noticed that the trees became even more alive as they came nearer to the elven sanctuary. Every now and then the twins would start a small conversation between them, and she was glad that Elladan had seemed to lose his interest in embarrassing her.
Suddenly he stopped, a hand raised for them to follow his example. Elrohir stopped just to the right of his twin. In the silence, Elerrina heard the unmistakable sound of horses approaching at a fast speed. Her heart skipped a bit as panic ran through her body, imagining the worst. However, the twins' faces did not show any sign of alert as they waited, unmoving, for the approaching sound.
In matter of seconds horses started to appear through the trees, their elegant, tall riders dressed in light cloaks, so much like the ones the twins wore. She had no doubt that they were elves.
Their long braided hairs hung like silk curtains around their faces, in different shades of browns and gold. Their beauty made Elerrina suddenly feel very conscious of her own loose and tangled locks, as well as her human-styled plain dress.
She watched the elves slightly bow their heads in greeting at the twins, some of them adding a "My lords". She saw the twins answer with a silent nod, and then felt extremely observed as the eyes of the newcomers wondered upon her.
"Elladan! Elrohir!" Called the elf at the front on the group, who seemed to be the one in charge. His golden hair fell on his strong shoulders and back, and his blue eyes reflected the smile on his lips as he addressed the twins.
"Glorfindel!" Said Elladan, his smile mirroring the on of the golden haired elf. "What news on the borders? A large group of orcs heads west, we ran into them. Their behavior was strange; they destroyed a village of the men, not three days ago. We ran into the fresh ruins."
Elerrina saw a worried expression take possession of the elf's face.
"Strange indeed. We need to report that in Imladris. We have encountered no orcs. Everything seems to be at peace. We are heading back into the valley, I believe we will reach Imladris before sunset"
"It seems we will be traveling together then" Added Elrohir behind her. Attention was drawn upon the green-cloaked twin as he joined the conversation, and, to Elerrina's despair, eyes turned to face the speaker. It just happened that she was sitting right in front of him, locating her in the target of curious eyes.
"I see you two have made a new friend?" Asked the golden-haired elf. If there were some eyes not looking at her before, now they definitely were. Not sure of were to look, she gazed at the blue eyes of the elf who had spoken, it seemed what would be polite.
"This is Elerrina." Answered Elrohir. Understanding that there would be no further explanation on the matter from the twin, the golden haired elf simple nodded at her and started leading the party forward.
The twins took position at the front of the group, by the side of the blond elf. It was almost impossible to distinguish whether he or the twins lead the party that slowly descended towards a clear river. To her surprise none of the elves on the group seemed to doubt the authority of the twins. They looked so different now, surrounded by so many of their kind. Her kind. They looked respected, even though they looked far younger than many elves in the group. And, for the first time, seeing the two identical elves powerfully guiding the group, made Elerrina realize that she knew nothing about the elves with which she had spent the last three days.
As Elerrina looked up from her thoughts she caught Elladan's grey eyes fixed on her, staring. A smirk sparkled in his eyes as his lips curved upwards in a mischievous smile.
I hope you like the story so far! Let me know what you think of it!
Love,
Elena
