Chapter Twenty-Six: Of Witches and Darkness

Elorelei walked outside, pushing down the tears that came too often. Her feet led her into the forest where three horses, all of them white with black manes and tails, waited, a mare and two steeds. The steeds, Ilexim and Rydar, were Iledian's colts. The older mare was Iledian.

"Hey, old girl. How're your boys, eh?" Elorelei smiled, scratching Iledian affectionately behind the ears. One of the steeds trotted up to her, seeking attention, too. "Hey, Rydar, you big baby." Rydar, who she had ridden in on, was the faster of the twin steeds, but not by much. As for Ilexim, he stood alone, looking at Elorelei sadly. Andulin had been his trainer and rider. He loved Elorelei, but he missed the one he called master.

He drank a little water then closed his eyes, kneeling in the grass. Elorelei let him grieve, she needed to grieve as well. Iledian whinnied at her colt, but he gave no reply. Rydar snorted, shaking his head, then tried to nudge his brother to his feet.

"Leave off, Rydar. He'll be fine in a little while." Elorelei whistled for the horse to come back to her and he did.

"What's wrong with that one?" Legolas's voice made her jump, but Ilexim turned to look at the elf.

The familiar scent Legolas had made Iledian prance for a moment, trying to recall the smell as friend or foe. Once she settled on friend, she trotted over and sniffed Legolas closer, Rydar in tow. Ilexim watched from a distance, ears facing their direction.

"Ilexim was Andulin's horse. He's taken his death very hard," Elorelei explained, wishing she could do something about it. Just as she did, Ilexim stood up and Legolas saw he was as magnificent as his brother was. His coat was a glossy, silver-white, and he matches Rydar in every speckle of gray on his coat. His only discerning trait was one blue eye, and one brown eye. Rydar had both brown eyes, like his mother. Ilexim was a little more muscular than Rydar, and coincidentally, more of a fighter. However, his demeanor was much more uncertain and listless then his two family members now. Legolas kept at a distance, waiting for the horse to approach him.

Elorelei frowned. She had been going easy on him since... Maybe it was time. "Ilexim, come here." The horse looked at her in surprise. He hadn't heard a command from her since his master died. He debated on whether or not to follow it, but his mother whinnied again, so he did as asked.

Legolas reached out and stroked Ilexim's muzzle, but there was no reaction. Ilexim stared curiously at Legolas, blinking his large, odd-colored eyes. This person didn't look, smell, or act like his master. Good, no painful reminders. He nudged Legolas then tossed his head.

Elorelei put some oats in Legolas's hand, and he fed the horse. Rydar stood back, looking pleased to see his brother taking interest in things again.

After groping aimlessly around his mind for a subject, Legolas spoke. "Are you… are you ready for the Conversion?" True, they weren't suppose to talk about it, but it was the only thing he could think of that put solid ground between them.

"I'll have to be." Elorelei shrugged, slapping Ilexim's haunch and sending him off into a small run. "But I don't know what my transformation power do when combined with the spell."

"Probably nothing. The Light didn't affect it."

"No…" She agreed, but she sounded doubtful. "Legolas, I need your help."

He snapped to attention. "What? What is it?"

She paused, sinking into the more serious depths of her personality. "I need to… No, I don't need to. I WANT to call the woman that gave me this." She held out the silver chain and eagle pendant. It showed no signs of wear, but he could be sure it had been worn.

He didn't want to ask why; it was none of his business. "What do you need me for?"

Elorelei winced, visibly. Inside, she felt a varied array of mixed feelings. "For the magic, I'll need the presence of someone whom I would trust with my life and something they gave me out of love."

Legolas, despite all his attempts at fighting it, blushed. "What did I ever give you?"

She pulled something out of her cloak, smiling at his boyish reaction. "This."

He nodded, smiling back. "My ring." A thought passed through his hand and he barely grabbed hold of it. "Oh!"

"Oh what?"

He suddenly looked frantic. "I must write home, I need to return the bow you told me to look after."

Elorelei brightened at its mentioning. "Yes, how did you like it?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, I locked it away in our maximum security vaults."

"You mean you never unwrapped it from the cloth?"

"You never gave me permission to."

Elorelei laughed. Rich, calming laughter that suited her extremely well. "Legolas, sometimes I fear you are to loyal for your own good. Yes, please send home for it as soon as you can."

*~*~*~*

The night that Elorelei suggested they try the call was dark, nearly pitch black. Right away, Legolas had his misgivings.

"Perhaps another night, one that's not so dark. How will you see?"

"Lumos." Elorelei mumbled, resulting in a large ball of light hovering over their heads as they trekked through the forest.

Legolas smirked, trying not to show his appreciation of her magic. "Thanks, Princess." The nickname slipped out as easily as if he'd never stopped saying it. He didn't try to correct himself.

Neither did she. "Anytime, Princey. Here, this will do nicely." The place she'd stopped wasn't so much a clearing as it was a small circle of trees. He was grateful they'd chosen to leave the horses, because the two elves could barely fit in themselves. Elorelei seated herself cross-legged on the ground, and Legolas mimicked her. He waited silently for her instruction while she fished the ingredients out of her pocket. Privately, he wanted to tell her how young this made him feel and how happy time alone with her made him. Still, somehow, he knew she wouldn't hear any of it.

She removed her cloak to a sleeveless black shirt. She looked like a floating head and arms in the darkness. She put Legolas's ring on her right hand and took his hands in her own.

Legolas watched her mutter the incantation, concentrating on it as best he could. He felt lost in the ancient chant, but at least he stayed where he was. Even though they gripped hands tightly, Elorelei slipped into another world entirely.

*~*~*~*

"Laika!! RUN! Please!" Andulin called through the snowstorm. He clawed at the snowdrifts, but he must have known it was hopeless. "Please, get out of here!!"

Elorelei shoved away the hands of warriors trying to hold her back. "NO!!" She lunged forward, trying desperately to reach his hand.

Andulin felt a new fear wash over him. He would not let his wife die trying to save him. "STOP!! Vandelar, stop her!!"

Elorelei lashed out at Vandelar, but he grabbed her firmly around the waist. She thrashed and tears she was completely unaware of ran down her face. "NO! Let me go!! ANDULIN!!" She screamed, her voice swirled with the wind and warbled away. Somehow, she broke free again, and lunged. She almost fell into the drift with him, bringing them face to face. He was up to his chest in the snow now, and whatever was pulling him wouldn't let go. She grabbed and pulled but it just wouldn't let go. Its unlimited strength would take her husband from her and there was nothing she could do about it.

Andulin held her face with his hands, smiling with defeat. He pulled up just enough to brush her cheek, coated with frozen tears, with his lips. "Go to your prince, my lady."

Elorelei shook her head. She couldn't go back to Legolas yet. That would mean accepting Andulin has left her. "No, please, not yet, Andulin." Her voice begged him.

"Laika… Elorelei… Go to him. Be with someone you love, instead of alone."

"I love you." She insisted, pulling hopelessly once more before giving up.

He was up to his neck now. "I love you, too, Elorelei." She smiled through her sobs. In her heart, she could be sure now. Andulin loved her, not who she tried to be. She pushed herself back up, feeling Vandelar seize her ankles. But she held Andulin's hands until his fingers slipped from hers and he disappeared entirely into the snow…

*~*~*~*

Elorelei lay on the ground, staring upward into the blackness. She didn't know where she was or why she was forced to relive the death of her husband. Sobs came and went, racking her body in waves of despair.

"Don't cry, my lady."

She turned her head, her ears unwilling to believe what she'd just heard. "Andulin?" The figure in the dark nodded. "Andulin!" She stumbled to her feet and ran to him. Please, don't be another trick. She pleaded.

Andulin smiled sadly as he wrapped his arms around her. "Yes, I'm here."

She stood there with him, crying tears of joy until she had none left. She could hold him in her arms, and smell his scent of wilderness around her, and see his beautiful royal blue eyes looking at her with love, acceptance, and grace. How many times had she asked the Valar to take away everything she had just for one more night to be with him? To feel him. The men and herself wrote songs to honor him, but she couldn't live with the memory of a song. "But… where is here? And how are you alive?"

He looked at her in a way that made her heart drop to her feet. "I barely have the heart to tell you, but I am dead."

She looked up at him like a child who simply didn't understand the concept of death. "What?"

"My soul has passed on into the next world, Elorelei, and I am not yet reincarnated. I'm not sure I will be. I exist only in two places."

Elorelei looked down. "Which are?"

"Your memory." He looked around into the darkness.

"So… that's where we are? That's why I had to watch you die all over again?" She asked, feeling her desperate happiness melt away. Andulin nodded. Her eyes glimmered. He had said two places, hadn't he? "Where's the other place?"

He gave her a kindly look and put one hand over her heart. "Here."

Elorelei smiled at him and threw her arms around him again. "I did love you, you know."

He gave her a chuckle. "Yes, but never the way you love your prince."

That startled her. "What?"

"No time. You must move on. She heard your call and is waiting."

"How do I get-" But Andulin rippled into thin air and Elorelei stood in a meadow. No trees were to be seen, no flowers, just a grassy plain. "There?"

"You should not be here, child," said a familiar voice. "You have great things to accomplish." It was the old woman, only not so old now. There was less gray in her hair, and she stood erect, with no bend in her back.

"I needed to speak with you," Elorelei replied seriously.

The woman sat in the grass. "Allright then. Speak. And don't ask questions you don't want answers to."

Elorelei stared at the odd woman. She had just been about to ask who she was, but voted against it. "Why did you give me this necklace?"

The woman shrugged. "You needed it and I needed to get rid of it. Sorry if that answer is too simple for you, but I did warn you." She said, voicing Elorelei's thoughts.

"Very well. But about my Conversion-"

"Yes, your eagle form will have an effect. No, I'm not sure what it is. Now, if you're ready, I have questions for you."

Elorelei was stunned by the directness of this woman, but recovered herself before it became noticeable. "Okay, I'm ready." She sat herself in front of the old woman, putting on a shield of blank expression.

"Good. The Prince, why will you not admit your feelings for him?"

The Princess almost lost her composure just as soon as she gained it. "Leoglas is just a friend, nothing else. And even if he weren't, I don't think that's any of your business."

"I believe it is, my dear. Remember, you called me, I didn't have to answer. And I can keep you here as long as I wish. Then you'll get nothing accomplished."

Elorelei scoffed. "What have I to accomplish?"

"I'm asking the questions here, dearest." She was so frank, so firm, so forthright, but hiding what she wanted to hide effectively. The only person Elorelei knew that was remotely like her was herself. "You, young one, will eventually hold the fate of two worlds in your hands, so I suggest you get used to the idea of greatness. But if you don't accept what's in your heart, you will fail your set tasks."

Elorelei stared. She simply couldn't believe what this woman was telling her. It bounced around her leaf-shaped ears, but never quite reached her brain. "Valar bless me, I think I'm finally in over my head."

"Oh, no."

The woman's tone was more irritated than afraid, so Elorelei didn't take it seriously. "What now?"

"That Prince boy. I suppose you must be on your way."

Again, Elorelei was whirled away so quickly, she didn't have time for goodbye.