Scarletbow

By: The 80lb Carrot

Disclaimer: They aren't mine. I couldn't have written them as well. Areyin, however, is my own creation.

Summary: Arwen had a little sister--a runaway and a rebel destined never to rule.

Rating: PG-13

AN: Yes I read the books. In fact I read them in fourth or fifth grade. I am now in high school. But I saw the movie . . . three times in the past three weeks. Which one do you think I am more familiar with? Good guess. So sorry if this relies more on the movie than the book. Starts as the Fellowship is being formed. Skips the messy bits. Starts up again when Legolas gets home. Got it?

AN2: Areyin-- Air-yin

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The journey was much shorter than he ever remembered, it took not even a week. Perhaps it was because he took the shortcut across the land on horseback instead of trekking on foot over mountains and mines with a following troupe of eight to slow him down. Nevertheless he made it to the wood of Galadriel in record time, riding hard straight through the trees and not stopping even for the archers who tried to bar his path. Instead he merely saluted them and ducked around, headed directly for the castle he knew to be at the center of the forest.

There at the gate he dismounted, tying his horse where he knew it would be found and cared for. They had all recognized him, he had come through there not a year before with Frodo Baggins, the ring-bearer himself. All those in the Fellowship now had free passage through Lothlórien: Gimli, the dwarf with whom he had become friends; Aragon, the human he had come to respect; Merry, Pippin, and Sam, three of the hobbits, all friendly in their own way; of course Frodo who had saved them all; and Gandalf the Gray even though he had not passed through the country with the others. Of all who had journeyed into the wood, Boromir was the only one not to survive. He had died trying to protect Pippin and Merry, but had succumbed to the power of the ring and tried to take it from Frodo. Legolas had always respected the dead, but as he lived Boromir had never found favor with the elf.

He loped through the palace in the trees, his long legs carrying him across the ground at an unnatural speed. Unnatural for humans, that was, for an elf it was second nature. Right as he left he had sent a message off to his father in Mirkwood telling him that he had been delayed and was headed back to Lothlórien. He gave no details, promising to fill him in as time went on. But at the moment he was in search of the Lady Galadriel and was thus headed towards the main chamber of the enormous castle.

She found him first, heading him off in the hallway as he ran. Not a word passed between them, but she knew of whom he sought and turned down a winding staircase. Legolas followed close behind, keeping his mouth shut and his impatience under control. He was led through passageways he had never known existed, that he had never discovered during his brief stay a year earlier. Passageways of unimaginable beauty and complexity, and yet so fragile it seemed that should one silvery twig break the whole thing could come tumbling down. He stared in awe, and nearly ran into the sorceress when she halted near the center of the hall, directly in front of a door. Silently he thanked her and she floated off to her own business, her long, white gown trailing behind her and yet never gaining a single smudge of dirt.

With one hand he pushed the door open and peered inside. It was a spacious room, not so unlike the one he had used back in Rivendell. The ceiling was high and arched, made of the same ivory wood as the rest of the palace. A delicate lamp hung from it, shedding a soft glow over the interior. Across the far wall was a large window with a spectacular view to the outside forest. The floor was carpeted with a soft fabric the color of fine sand and all the furniture of the room was clothed in different shades of the same hue. In the center of the huge bed lay Areyin, curled up and asleep with the thick blankets bunched tight under her chin. Smiling softly he crossed the room on silent feet to side beside her, one hand reaching out to brush a lock of golden hair from her face. His fingertips had barely touched her skin when her hand grabbed his and her eyes snapped open, staring him straight in the face.

"You came quick," she whispered mischievously, grinning.

Legolas nodded. "I got your message not long after I got to Rivendell. I rode here as fast as I could."

Her smile matched his. "You didn't have to do that. I bet you didn't even get to see your father."

"No, but I did see yours."

Areyin sighed as she pulled herself to a sitting position, the blankets piled around her waist. "What did he tell you?" she asked, her red eyes locking with his blue. Her eyes had never ceased to amaze him. Most of his race had cerulean eyes, like the sky or the water, but hers were the complete opposite. Around the dead black pupil danced shades of red, orange and yellow, leaping and sparkling like flame. They were just so *different*. The only he had ever seen like them belonged to the mind-reader living on the edges of Rivendell.

"That he had sent you out on a quest, he would not tell me what of," he told her, matching her gaze evenly. "And I believe that is why you have called me here."

With another soft sigh she pulled herself over to side beside him. "I couldn't let Elrond know."

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cliffhanger, i know. but chapter 5 shouldn't take too long, its already planned out in my head. have fun, read and review. and i no longer need a beta-reader!!