Chapter Seven
Callysta hid herself behind a bush and squinted her eyes to see ahead. She could make out a small barn in front of her. The door stood ajar and two figures were bent over a table inside. The light she saw came from a large lamp, which stood on the table. She found that one of them was Legolas and the other was also an Elf but she knew not his name.
"My heart lingers not under the trees of Mirkwood or the white beeches of Imladris. It yearns for the roar of the rolling Sea and the cries of the gulls. I must leave for the Grey Havens. Nothing holds me here now." Callysta heard Legolas said.
The other Elf replied, "My heart perceives that your heart's desires are yet to ripe. It may be that a long journey lays ahead of you ere you may set your eyes upon the shores of the Grey Havens."
Legolas said something more but Callysta could not hear his words. So, she leaned forward further to catch his voice. She brushed her face against some flowers on the bush and inadvertently, inhaled the pollens. If there is one thing Callysta could not suppress, it's a sneeze. And sneeze she did. Even as she was rubbing her nose, she felt someone lift her up from her hiding place.
She cringed when she came face to face with Legolas. His expression could have curdled milk. Behind him, she saw the other Elf approaching them. There was a smile on his face and somehow, Callysta felt much better when she saw that.
"What are you doing? Eavesdropping?" Legolas asked, shaking her a bit.
She turned back to him and gulped, "Er, no…you see, I was just taking a stroll after dinner, just enjoying the fresh air. That's all but I'm going back now! So, good night!" She tried to wriggle out of his grasp but he held her with a vice-like grip.
"Not so fast, what have you heard?" He demanded.
"Heard? Nothing! Well, except the calls of the night birds and the chirps of the cicadas."
Legolas' eyes narrowed dangerously, "Don't play games with me. What have you heard?"
Callysta glanced at the Elf behind them, he was of no help. Looking back at Legolas, she swallowed thickly and said, "Please don't hurt me."
"I won't if you tell me what you heard."
"Just some things about Grey Havens and the Sea and gulls." Callysta said.
"Well, you heard nothing."
"What?" It was Callysta turn to be puzzled.
"All that you have heard is of no consequences to you and you will not breathe a word about it." Legolas told her.
Callysta was silent, thinking fast in her head.
"Did you hear what I say?" Legolas asked, in a stern voice.
Callysta nodded her head furiously, as though she was a schoolgirl getting chastened by the Headmistress. Satisfied, Legolas released her.
As she walked away, she felt a surge of anger in her. Anger at Legolas for humiliating her in front of another Elf. She paused in midstep and spun around to face Legolas. Her hands balled into fists at her sides.
"Aren't you a little too old for childish games, like running away from home? Even if I were to babble, I hardly think Elrond would be interested in such games." Callysta said, her words meant to incise and hurt but Legolas just smiled.
As Callysta turned away, he spoke up, "You're right. I hardly think Elrond would believe the words of a rogue."
Callysta felt all the blood drained from her body and if she had not leaned herself against the tree beside her, she would have fallen. Slowly, she turned around again. Her face chalk-white with fear. Legolas saw the reaction and smiled.
"Did you think you had me fooled, Callysta? Maybe you have charmed the socks off Elrond and Figwit is too blinded by his love and gratitude towards you to see your little scheme but not me. I have watched you from the first day itself and I've learnt enough to know that you're a phony." He said, approaching her.
"Then, why didn't you just kill me or tell Elrond about it?" Callysta asked, defiantly.
"Rest assured that I would have but because you have saved Figwit's life and because of a dream I had, I spared you." Legolas replied. And maybe because in spite of myself, I have fallen in love with you, he thought.
Callysta said in a caustic tone, "Oh, I am touched by your gallantry. Though, I am surprised you would waste your dreams on me."
"Do not belittle the Elven dreams for they serve as prophecies to those who know how to interpret them." Legolas warned her.
"So what are you going to do about me?" She asked.
"To keep you safe and alive, as I was told in the dream. So, do not tempt me to act otherwise."
"Believe me, I won't. I value my life too much for that." Callysta replied.
Therefore, a silent pact was made between them. To keep each other's secrets. And by doing so, their fates are invariably bound up with together.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Callysta was resting in a gazebo, feasting her eyes on the view below when she caught sight of a man that made her heart froze. She hid herself behind an arbour of creeping wistarias and roses, craning out her neck to get a better view. The man had greasy, unruly hair and a giant frame. She felt her mouth went dry. It was Ceren, no doubt. However, he was not alone. She wondered how he could've known that she was in Rivendell.
Jyohen must have informed him, she thought.
In fact, he was being surrounded by six Elves, all with their arrows pointed at his throat. Callysta could only guess how desperate he must be to come looking for her in Rivendell. As she watched, she saw Legolas strode up to the burly man. His expression was hard and stern, his blond hair streaming behind him. He looked every bit the Elven prince he was.
Callysta could not hear what they were saying but at the end, she saw Ceren looking up at her, a bitter smile on his scarred and pockmarked face. It was then that it struck Callysta that Legolas might have betrayed her. She would be sent back to Ceren. She shuddered at the thought but she guessed it would be better than a death sentence, which she was sure Elrond would deal out if he knew.
She turned back and ran down the steep path, leading to her room. She would only have little time to pack before Legolas hand her over to Ceren.
Pack? What's there to pack, you came with nothing and so, you will leave with the clothes on your back, she told herself.
Callysta walked slowly into her room. She lingered her gaze on every object and ornament in the room. She ran her fingers along the soft as gossamer quilt on her bed and sighed, "Better get used to sack cloth and hard ground."
She felt the tears stinging her eyes. "So, maybe that's the end of Roselips. She was found out and returned to her poor dirty home. She never saw the young man again." By then, the tears were falling freely from her eyes.
That was how Legolas found her when he came into the room.
"What are you doing?" He asked.
Callysta sniffed, getting up from the bed. "I'm leaving but I couldn't find my red travelling gown. I don't want to take anything that doesn't belong to me but at least, that gown is mine."
"I think the yellow one you're wearing suits you just fine."
Callysta stared at him and her voice came out choked, "I am in no mood to parley words with you. I must thank you for not exposing me to Elrond and I know you can't wait to get rid of me but please don't make this harder for me than it already is."
"You're making it hard for yourself."
"Yes, yes! It's all my fault! All my fault that I'm a rogue, all my fault that you despised me so. So, I'm leaving and I pray to God with all my heart that you will never have the misfortune to see me, Ceren or my kind ever again." She exploded, but as she brushed past him, he grabbed her arm and turned her around.
Legolas said in a harsh whisper, "You women are so quick to jump into conclusions, it's a wonder both your legs are not broken and battered. Still, if you prefer a life of looting and plundering than what you have now, I suggest you make haste because the last time I saw Ceren, he was well over the border of Rivendell. I suppose he has a great need to get away from here, since his welcome would be a death penalty should we find even a shadow of him lingering in Rivendell or anywhere near…you."
Callysta stared at him with wide-eyed incredulity. Legolas had saved her.
"And so, Roselips and the young man lived happily ever after." She murmured.
"What?" Legolas frowned.
"Nothing." She smiled, and gave him a hug, "Thank you."
He pulled away and shrugged, "I am merely following what my dream had asked me to. Keep you safe and alive." And that was like a cold splash of water on her face.
"Oh." was all Callysta could utter.