~Chapter Four
Legolas followed close behind me as I turned Cerin around, heading in a different direction. I caught a glimpse of the confused look on Legolas's face but I decided not to address it. My secret place was safe for now.
I guided Cerin up a hill, so tall it was only a foot shorter than the trees in the forest. I shaded my eyes from the bright sun so I could see where I was going; I did not know the way. In front of me and to the right, I glimpsed flashes of gold and white. "This way, Legolas," I said, sending Cerin back into a gallop. She dodged around the trees as I held onto her mane, glancing back at Legolas. His horse was bending down to eat a weed off the forest floor. Legolas brought its head back up and in a moment was riding beside me again.
Abruptly the trees thinned and then disappeared to make way for gently rolling hills, covered in lush green grass. Flowers studded the hills all the way up to the hill in the middle, with its gold and white trees. I felt a small burst of pride at having found the Cerin Amroth without getting lost. Smiling, I slid off the horse and let Cerin graze in the nearby grass. Legolas did the same. I slid the pack I had brought off my shoulder and pulled a thin blanket out of it, spreading it out on the grass. There was nothing else in the bag except a light lunch. I closed it up again and stood, gazing out across the clearing. Legolas took a small pipe out of his pocket and began to play as I walked among the hills, patting Cerin absentmindedly on her shoulder. The songs my mother used to sing to me swam through my mind, lingering pleasantly with the pipe music. But even as I remembered the tales Galadriel told me long ago, a sense of foreboding and darkness clutched at my heart, making the sun grow dim and the golden mallorn trees fall into shadow.
There was an evil in the world, in this place, that I had never noticed before. It hid behind the trees, dashed behind the ruin of Amroth's house, tinted the flowers gray. It was the Ring, I was sure of it. The Ringbearer had come to Lórien and drawn the black veil over the sun. I grew quiet, the pipe music ringing unpleasantly in my ears. The sounds echoed off the trees, making the sounds seem louder then they already were.
Then, suddenly, the music stopped. I looked at Legolas, who was looking at me. A concerned, curious look flashed in his eyes for a moment although his face betrayed nothing. He held the pipe in his lithe fingers as if he was to raise it to his mouth again but he didn't. He only looked at me.
"What is it, Niphredil?" he asked quietly, still holding the pipe. His head tilted at an angle as he gazed up at me from where he sat on the blanket. I pushed my dress out of the way and sat facing him.
"There's something different about this place than when I last came here," I murmured, looking about at the trees and the flowers. There was a flash of recognition in Legolas's eyes but he said nothing. I leaned forward slightly and rested my elbows on my knees. "It's as if…" I continued, looking down at my hands, "it's as if the Ring has made everything different, brought a darker tint to everything. You've brought a great evil to Lórien, Legolas," I said, looking up at him. "It's even more evil then I could have possibly have imagined."
Legolas exhaled, a sigh as light as a feather floating away on the breeze. He looked away, toying with the pipe in his fingers. "I know," he finally said, looking at me once more. "I know. It is more powerful and evil than our wildest dreams and we have been forced to bring it here." Clouds moved across the sky in silence, and we sat saying nothing. I pictured my mother's ring on her finger, Nenya. I had never seen Nenya as evil.
"It's all so confusing, Legolas," I said, intertwining the fingers of my right hand with the fingers of my left. "I couldn't imagine loving and hating something at the same time, all while feeling some unbearable desire for it. That's how my mother says it is," I said, pausing. "My mother has seen it firsthand, by herself and in the Mirror."
"The Mirror," Legolas murmured, "how does it work?"
"The Mirror." I said, shaking my head slightly. "I have been told that the Mirror shows many things- things already past, things happening at that moment, and things that have not yet happened."
"You mean you've never looked into the Mirror?" Legolas said. I shook my head.
"I've never used the Mirror. My mother seems to think that the Mirror is like the One Ring- confusing, powerful, and addictive." I replied. "She herself is a Ringbearer- one of the Three."
"Three Rings for Elven-Kings under the sky," Legolas murmured.
I smiled darkly. "One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them in the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie."
Legolas smiled, a cross between a grimace and a grin. My own attempt to smile back was weak and fruitless, and my gaze returned to my hands. "Are you scared?" I asked him. Legolas closed his eyes, just a moment longer than usual.
"Yes," he replied after a pause. "Yes. I don't want to go to Mordor and I really never did." Seeing the confused look on my face, he smiled briefly and went on. "I felt it was my duty, the chance of a lifetime- protect the Ringbearer and travel to the fire of Mount Doom! Go to Mordor! Protect something evil and desirable!" Legolas stopped, shaking his head and smiling a strange sort of smile; his smile was sad. "I don't know if I should have said yes. To me, it was either go or wait for Sauron to kill me."
"Oh," I said quietly, glancing up at the sky. Small, low hanging clouds were scudding across a navy-blue sky. A dark, black cloud loomed in the distance, threatening inevitable rain and wind. "Legolas, look!" I said, pointing and gathering the blanket from under him at the same time. Legolas thrust the pipe back into his pocket and swung his half of the blanket out from under him, bringing it to me in a fold. Our fingers brushed for the briefest moment but I had no time to dwell on it right now. The storm was closing, fast.