Author's Note: I'm planning to post at least a chapter every other day, if not every day so stay tuned, this will move pretty fast! Thank you for all the reviews!!!!
Chapter 6: Melding
"I asked a question, child. You should answer and tell me who you are and why you're standing here all alone? This isn't a place for children."
Legolas did not know what to do. He froze hoping there was a slim chance the human would get bored and back off. The Prince waited, without any change in his situation. He felt his shoulders being grabbed by the large man standing in front of him.
"You need to learn some manners! First rule being always answer a question that is asked of you!" The large man began to shake the thin child, hoping to scare some response from him. Legolas only tried to hide under his cloak further.
"Mog! Release him!"
"Stay out of this, Jaden."
"Come now, are you really so bored with fighting every man that comes in here you must how resort to harassing children? Are you really that desperate? Because if you are, I have a worthy opponent for you."
"Who would that be, old woman?"
"Me!"
The man loosened his hold on Legolas, but did not let him go. Mog stood there staring down the woman. This woman was well known for her temper and her ability to handle herself. This was her bar and he did not want to be kicked out of his favorite bar forever, so he decided to submit. For the moment.
"Fine, Jaden. You may have him." He bent down and whispered quietly into Legolas' ear, his Elven hearing being mainly responsible for his catching every word spoken to him.
"This is not over, brat." The man, who was more hairy than any other man Legolas had ever seen, turned and left the bar.
This left Legolas with one dilemma, the woman standing in front of him. She was obviously not going to go away, and he did not know what to think of her. She did make the man release him.
"Now, little one, you got yourself into quite a mess there for a minute, didn't you?"
No answer.
"Do you have anyone caring for you, or looking after you?"
No answer.
"Do you have somewhere to go?"
No answer.
Jaden sighed. This was not the first runaway she had encountered, but certainly the most mysterious. He would not even let her look upon his face, but his slight frame was visible through the clothes that hid him. He might have been on his own for quite some time, she thought. He might have been a victim of a crime, or an escapee from a labor camp. Either way, she would look after him for now, just as she had done with every child she had found that needed her. After the death of her own children, she took it upon herself to help any children that came across her path.
"I bet you haven't eaten in a while. Would you like something to eat?"
Legolas perked up a little. He was hungry and this woman seemed friendly. Of course, it would take some time to fully trust her enough to even let her see what he truly was.
"So, you are hungry. Come. I have someplace special for little boys, somewhere away from the annoying adults."
He had to laugh a little. She called him a boy. He had never been called a boy before, it felt strange.
Jaden led him into a place behind the kitchens. A small tucked away room. The Elf did not want to go in at first, it seemed a perfect place to corner him where he could not find any help. On second thought, he was cornered in the open and no one rose to his rescue, save her.
'Lesson 1, Legolas,' he thought to himself, 'do not trust humans to necessarily come to your aid.'
The woman turned to get some food out of the kitchen. Legolas finally looked up enough to see her.
She was an older woman, but she did not look frail by any means. He looked strong and weathered, like the older trees in Mirkwood. She looked like she had seen a lot of adventure in her days. But her eyes were what caught his attention, they had a soft glow to them and appeared very kind. He had not seen eyes that looked like that on a human before. Her shape was thin, but muscular. Even under the flowing light colored dress she wore, he could see that she could take care of herself.
She began walking towards him again and he looked down. She set down a plate of apples and cheese with some bread.
"There you go. If it's not to your liking I can find something else, but this is pretty standard food around here."
Legolas eyed the plate and finally lifted his eyes to look at her eyes staring at him.
The woman was fascinated by the large eyes that now finally gazed at her. Their color was amazing and their depth spoke of something more than the view of a child. They spoke of wisdom, and of sadness. They spoke of a horror and nightmares in the night. She wondered what this little one had been through, and she decided to make it her goal to find out.
Eventually.
For now, she needed him to trust her enough to at least eat the food she presented him.
"Don't worry. It's good food, see?" She picked up a piece of apple and took a bite. Legolas decided to follow suit and also picked up a piece of apple and began eating it.
The first bridge was crossed, but there were many more that lay ahead.
After he had finished eating, she decided to lead him upstairs, to a place where he could sleep for the night. He still followed her, but kept his distance. She was still not to be fully trusted, even though the food tasted good and it felt good not to have his stomach aching, she could turn on him.
'Lesson 2' Legolas had realized already in his short time among the people, 'humans can be smarter than they appear.'
The room she pointed him to was a small room with a little bed. It was obviously a child's room. There were colors painted on the walls, even though they were faded. The window looked out over a garden where there were a couple trees growing.
Legolas couldn't be happier to see the trees. It seemed that there needed to be more trees in the human city.
"This can be your room tonight, little one. Make yourself at home, I'll see you in the morning. Sleep well."
She left him standing there, alone in the middle of the room, shutting the door behind her.
Legolas did not know what to think. He walked over to the window. After staring at the trees, he noticed his friend the moon was smiling down on him. The moonbeams almost felt warm on his skin.
Legolas lay down on the bed and had his face on the pillow. For one moment, the stress, the exhaustion began to overtake him. He had managed to keep them at bay for so long. Now that he was finally off his guard the impact of the last several days came rushing back at him.
The fire, his father's death, the image of the burning palace as he was held in Shierra's arms, the feeling of loss as he was left alone, the fear from being grasped by the man, it all came rushing back at him.
The pillow became wet by Legolas' tears, he could not hold the grief back any longer, these feelings were too strong for even an Elf to contain.
He cried in the night, the moonlight coming in through the window being of little comfort.
Legolas was so overwhelmed by his emotions, he did not hear Jaden return to the room with a glass of water. She had heard him crying through the door and decided to make an excuse to sit with him now. He did not need to be alone, nor should he be.
She walked up to the bed and sat down on the edge of it and began rubbing his back. His defenses lowered, Legolas did not mind the contact and found it very soothing. Sleep began creeping up on him.
Jaden decided that he should not sleep with his head covered and drew back his hood.
"So, this is your secret, little one."