I am so sorry my dears! I hope this chapter is worth the wait. As usual, review replies are below:
Bella-me09: thank you for your review! I hope you like this one
Wise Owl Eyes: Thank you lovely! Here's the chapter you've been waiting for a while now! xD
dirtdevil76: they certainly are hun! From the next chapter, things will start to pick up :)
SilverMoonrise: I'm glad you liked the introduction of Silivrenniel! She'll be a big part of the story soon :P, sorry I kept you waiting so long for this chapter!
RandomReader56: It's okay, I have a tendancy to let things get to me easily.. I am however getting help from another writer who is giving me some fabulous ideas to bounce off of :)
A huge thanks to Dworkin who is being super amazing and helping me out xD... I've used one of your ideas in this chapter (kind of, but we find out next chapter :P)
Onto the story!
Chapter-Ten: Meetings
I waited for Lady Galadriel and Lord Elrond to come back with my mother and Kili respectively. I sat chewing my nail while waiting for them, until I tasted the copper tang of blood. In my nervousness, I had bitten my nail to the quick. I frowned as I looked at the small trickle of blood.
Thankfully there was a jug of water on the table, along with some cups. I poured water from the jug into a cup, and then used the cup to pour water over my finger, washing the blood away. I shook my hand slightly to get rid of the excess water. It had stopped bleeding but was still sore.
As I was lost in my own little world, I hadn't realised that Lord Elrond had returned with Kili and Lord Celeborn. It wasn't until I felt hands close on my shoulders that I realised I wasn't alone. I tilted my head back, so I could look into Kili's eyes. He had a small smile on his face, looking down at me with soft eyes. They also held a sparkle, which made me grin.
"You ready?" his normally gruff voice sounding soft and full of concern.
"As ready as I'll ever be." I sighed. "I'm glad that you are with me though. I would not be able to do this alone."
He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "There is no-where else I would rather be. I will be by your side no matter what." He promised.
As he leaned back to stand straight again, I heard two pairs of footsteps. Both Lord Celeborn and Lord Elrond were in my eyesight, so I knew it was neither of them. I stood up suddenly, almost knocking Kili to the floor. Thankfully his quick reflexes allowed him to use the chair to balance. If I hadn't been so scared, I would have laughed.
Lady Galadriel came round the corner, followed by a woman about my height. She exuded strength and confidence. Arathorn's oldest sister was looking at me with pride in her eyes. I felt Kili put his arm around my waist, showing me that he was there to support me.
'Would you like one of us to stay with you, my child?' Lady Galadriel spoke in my mind.
'I am fine, my lady. I have Kili. If I do have need of you, I will call' I replied, still feeling extremely nervous.
The Lady of Light nodded softly, and gestured to Lord Celeborn and Lord Elrond. They all stepped away and into one of the many corridors of Imladris.
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As I looked upon the woman who claimed to be my mother, I realised that while our eyes were the same, our build was almost identical, except I was more slender due to my elvish blood. She was the same height as me, with wild, curly dark brown hair, reaching just below her shoulders. It was lightly streaked with grey, showing how old she was.
Taking in the woman before me, her kind, soft eyes that were the same as mine, I found it hard to believe that she could have abandoned her child. While looking at her, I saw an aura of maternity around her.
"Why did you leave?" was the first thing I asked her, wanting the answer to the question I had been asking myself since I was a child.
"I was scared of what would happen." She told me. "I may have been welcomed by the elves with open arms, but apart from your father, I was alone." She explained.
I sighed in frustration. I had no idea that it would be this difficult.
"But I was a month old when you left!" I exclaimed. "Surely if you were that scared, you would have left sooner."
"I had hoped the more time I spent with you, the less likely I was to leave. You were a treasure. When you were born, you had a full head of blonde hair, an identical shade to your fathers." Her eyes gleamed slightly as she remembered the day I was born. "You opened your eyes and they were just like mine. I knew that one day, when you were grown, you would be a vision. Looking at you now, I see I was right."
"When you left us, where did you go?" I wanted to know what had happened after she disappeared into the night without a trace.
"I made the trip to Fornost, to be with your uncle, and that's where I stayed. He would often journey to other cities or places, but I stayed. When I got there, however, I realised how much of a mistake I had made by leaving you."
"What do you mean?" I tilted my head slightly in confusion, linking my fingers with Kili's for extra comfort.
"I should have taken you with me. My mistake was thinking that running away and leaving you was the answer. But it wasn't. I should have been stronger and stayed with you. I couldn't come back as the orcs were wandering the Ettenmoors as they owned it. It was far too dangerous to make the trip alone."
"I wish you had stayed." I voiced my thoughts. "Ada was great, and he looked after me, but he was always busy. I know he loved me and did everything he could, but it was hard. I spent most of the time with Lady Galadriel as he was always on patrols. When he died, I felt that I was alone." I continued, trying not to cry. "I grew up without a mother, and for any young girl, it's always a challenge."
"I look at you now, and see a strong, beautiful young woman, in love, and I am proud of you. Leaving you was my biggest regret, and I hope now that you see why I left. Maybe one day you will see Fornost, and meet the rest of your family." She smiled at me.
I felt more at ease now that I knew. While she had loved me, having a child had scared her. Although I disagreed with her actions, I could only imagine what my life would have been if she had stayed. But somehow, I knew that I was stronger for it.
I never had a proper mother figure growing up, even though Lady Galadriel always looked after me when she could, but I couldn't help but think maybe this was my second chance. I felt like a large weight had been lifted off my shoulders, and that maybe it wasn't too late. Although I still felt resentment towards my mother; I wouldn't lie and say it was all sunshine and daisies, I understood.
"Do you think maybe we could start again?" My mother asked me, eyes hopeful.
I sucked in a breath. I had been waiting for her to ask this question. When Lady Galadriel first told me my mother was here, I decided that when she asked, I would say no. But now, after I had a chance to talk to her, my answer had changed. While it would probably be hard to see her as my mother, I knew that we could at least be friends to start with.
I felt Kili put his chin on my shoulder, standing strong by my side. I was grateful that he was there. He had known how important it was for me to reconnect with my mother, and I hadn't heard a peep out of the normally rambunctious dwarf.
"I would like that."I smiled, watching my mother's face light up as I spoke my answer. She held her arms out to me, and I slipped out of Kili's arms into her embrace. She felt warm, and I strangely felt safe in her arms.
After a few moments, I pulled away and looked into her eyes. "I am glad that Lady Galadriel pushed me into this." I admitted.
My mother laughed at my statement as we pulled away from each other. I found my way back into Kili's arms again, and looked up at him, a large smile on my face.
"Mother, this is Kili, the wonderful dwarf who has begun to court me," I told her, introducing Kili.
"So you are the reason she has such a bright aura." My mother smiled. "I am Eruraviel." She dipped her head slightly in acknowledgement.
"Pleasure to meet you." Kili said, I guessed he was feeling a little awkward at the situation.
After a few moments of idle talk, the Lady and Lords of the Elves came back to the cliff, Lady Galadriel had a soft smile on her face.
"We had better be going back now." I looked at Kili. "No doubt everyone will want to get ready to leave in the morning."
My mother nodded to me, and hugged both Kili and I. "Look after each other." She told the both of us. "I want you to come visit when all this is over."
We nodded in unison. When all this was over, I wanted to journey over Middle Earth. I had been confined to the Woodland Halls for too long. I wanted some more adventure.
She moved towards Lord Elrond, who I assume was going to guide her back to the land of the waking. I had visited the elves many times in my sleep, so I could make my way back without any problems. It was very obviously my mother's first time in a waking dream. We said our goodbyes, and she and Lord Elrond disappeared into the citadel.
That left Kili and I with Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel, who now I noticed, were both holding things in packs. They both stood in front of us, Lord Celeborn in front of Kili, while Lady Galadriel was stood in front of me.
"My child, these are gifts for you and your intended. May they serve you well in the harsh times to come. Your courage will be tested, and there will be times when you feel all is lost. But do not give up hope. Aa' lasser en lle coia orn n' omenta gurtha. Vanimle sila tiri, astalder." (May the leaves of your life tree never turn brown. Your beauty shines bright, valiant one.) The soothing voice of Lady Galadriel spoke to the two of us, as she and her husband handed us the packs.
I nodded in thanks, looking at the elves that had raised me through my 'teen' years after the passing of my father. I had no idea what would happen on the last part of the journey to Erebor, and I was scared that I wouldn't see them again. I stepped forward and threw my arms around the Lord and Lady of light, who both returned the embrace.
"We will see one another soon, dear one. Do not despair." Lord Celeborn rested his hand on my cheek in a fatherly way. "I am proud of how far you have come."
I nodded, tears running down my face. "Goodbye ada, atara." (Father, Mother) I spoke, the sadness coming through my voice.
"Callilah, seldë, cormamin niuve tenna' tae lea lle au'." (Callilah, child, My heart shall weep until it sees thee again) The lady of light said to me, her own eyes suspiciously misty.
As I leaned out of the embrace, I took Kili's hand once again, and we made our way towards the fountain. As we sat on the ledge the feature, we looked at each other and closed our eyes.
Hand in hand we made our way back to the waking world, with our hands clasped, and gifts in our other hands.
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And there you have it! Callilah has met her mother! I know that the Rangers actually stayed in Eriador, but I thought I would switch things up a bit. I thought of having Callilah's mother as Arathorn's sister, because there are few of the Dunédain left, so I would have thought that Callilah would be related to Aragorn somehow :P.
The reason why Callilah has called Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel, father and mother is because to her, they were the closest thing she had to 'normal' parents, so feels a very deep affection for them.
The reason why I brought in the part about the packs, is a little bit of imagination. As Callilah can literally force herself to dream of Galadriel and have these conversations with her, it makes a little bit of sense that she would be able to bring something back from these 'waking dreams'
Hopefully the next chapter won't be take me so long. I now that I haven't touched on that exactly was in the packs, but that comes next chapter haha.
(Long author's note, I'm sorry!)
Until next time,
Love, peace and happiness,
Emma
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo