Chapter 4: The Mad Tea Party

Legolas couldn't help but stare at her.

Karalynn was looking down at the plate before her as if she had never seen food before. But inspite of her distraught expression, she was very lovely to look at.

Absolutely enchanting, in fact.

The color of the dress seemed to give a strange sheen to her eyes- there seemed to be a hint of blue to their gray depths. Kythe had pulled back her hair, exposing Karalynn's long, elegant neck and though the collar of her dress was conservative, her arms were bare. Legolas could see that the rest of her skin was smooth and unblemished. She did indeed resemble an elf and she was a sight that he could not take his eyes from. A human with the beauty of an elf.

Her face was luminous and pale though her cheeks were lightly darkened by shadows.

How long had it been since she had last eaten a meal?

There was a trace of a frown on her lips and Legolas realized that he had only seen her smile once in nearly two days.

The table had been quiet for almost the entire meal.

When Legolas had entered the diningroom with Karalynn in hand, everyone had stopped speaking and looked up to study the mysterious, gray-eyed woman. For a moment, there had been an awkward silence as Kythe, Faran, Fortinbas and his siblings had looked over Karalynn with typical elfin interest. He knew that most humans took this the wrong way, for the faces of elves often revealed nothing to them but an impassive haughtiness. Only his father had not stared at her, choosing simply to smile and nod at her before turning back to his meal. Legolas knew that his father had done this out of kindness and for that he was thankful.

Karalynn's hand had trembled slightly as Legolas led her to her seat beside him at the head of the table.

"Father, may I present to you our guest, Karalynn." Legolas had said, when he pulled out the golden gilded chair for her.

King Thranduil had smiled at her again and she had bowed her head to him quietly. At that point, Legolas, along with everyone else, had noticed that a faint sheen of sweat had appeared on her brow. She was nervous and tense and the temperature of her skin had lowered slightly as Legolas held her hand.

Kythe, Faran and Fortinbas had averted their eyes but his brothers had not.

"Karalynn, the two elves who sit across from you are my brothers." he said, as he had moved to sit down beside her. "The one next to my father is Daurwyn and the one next to him is Lohr."

Karalynn had raised her eyes and to his surprise, she seemed to grow paler and her eyes had widened slightly. Legolas could not figure out why she had seemed so uneasy- his brothers were not at all threatening and they were gifted with handsome features as well.

Karalynn had bowed her head to them as well.

"Pleased to meet you, King Thranduil." she had said so softly that it was almost a whisper. "And you, Daurwyn and Lohr. Thank you for having me as your guest this morning."

Daurwyn, sensing her uneasiness, had smiled kindly but said nothing. Lohr had grinned openly at her. He was only a youth still, barely forty years old and he still had yet to learn how to control his impulsive nature.

"Kythe was right." he said, smiling at her as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "You're very beautiful, Lady Karalynn. It's unfortunate that you've lost your memory but I'm glad that Legolas found you yesterday..."

"Lohr!" Legolas said, frowning. "That is not something you say to a guest in this household! Especially in front of an audience. Apologize this..."

Lohr's smile had disappeared and he stood up quickly, bowing his head in shame.

"I apologize, my lady." he muttered.

Legolas had thrown a glance at Karalynn and found that her cheeks had become a brilliant crimson. She had said nothing and stared at the plate of food in front of her.

"Karalynn, we are happy to have you here this morning." his father had broken in, smoothly, in a low voice. "Please, do try to feel at ease. Lohr is still a child and is sometimes prone to outbursts of that nature. However, I'm sure that he did not mean to dishonor you or embarrass you. After this meal, I would like to speak to you in my study. We can discuss your situation and perhaps find a solution. But for now, let us forget those matters and enjoy this meal."

Karalynn had nodded and continued to stare at her plate.

And the rest of the morning had passed in that same manner.

Now, Legolas looked down at her plate and saw that she had barely eaten. In fact, he had only seen her pick up her fork twice during the meal and the rest of the elves at the table were almost finished, including himself.

"Karalynn, are you enjoying your meal?" he asked, leaning towards her.

Karalynn raised her eyes and looked at him.

"Um, yes." she said weakly. As if to prove it, she took a piece of meat from her plate and raised it to her lips, chewing it quickly and swallowing.

Legolas suddenly realized that the added pressure of being in front of more different faces had only added to her discomfort. Not only had she lost her memory, she was being forced to eat with creatures that she hadn't even known existed until a few hours ago. Legolas glanced at his father and it was almost as if his father had known all along what was wrong with the girl. His wise blue eyes met Legolas' own as soon as he had looked up and Thranduil nodded slightly at him as if to punctuate his thoughts.

"Karalynn, would you like to have your meal elsewhere?" Legolas asked her quietly. "I can have a table set up in your room."

She shook her without looking up.

"No, Prince Legolas." she muttered. Now her voice was a whisper and no human ear could have detected it. "I do not want you to go to the trouble of all that."

" 'Tis no trouble at all." he said. He touched her arm and to his surprise, she recoiled slightly. "You need your strength and you have not even taken a bite of your..."

"Thank you but no." she said.

"Really, Karalynn, it is no..."

And then to everyone's surprise she stood up, knocking her chair to the floor. Her face was now a ghastly shade of white and her eyes grew wide at the sound of the clatter she had caused. Everyone stared at her in shock and even Thranduil's face was marked with emotion.

"I'm so s-sorry!" she cried out, covering her mouth with her hand. The other hand clutched her stomach and she backed away in horror. "I c-can't... I h-have to...excuse me!"

She turned and ran towards the door, stumbling once in her haste.

Legolas glanced at his father and without saying a word, got up to run after her.

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( ...Oh God, oh God, what have I done?... )

Karalynn's thoughts were hysterical as she ran down the hallway. Her shoes clattered loudly and she kicked them off, not wanting to cause even more of a commotion than she already had.

The meal had been torture for her.

She was ravenous by the time Legolas had opened the doors to the dining room but when she had seen the people, no- the elves, that were seated around the grand table, the hunger had left her body instantly.

They were like dolls!

Perfect and beautiful and absolutely frightening! It was like having a meal with living statues. Only their eyes had seemed alive. All of their faces had been still and smooth and expressionless and... oh, the horror of being watched by a table of dolls! And to make matters worse, strange phrases and half-stories had pounded in her head relentlessly, screaming for her attention. She literally felt as if her head were about to split into two.

Kythe had smiled at her often and for awhile, that had been enough to settle Karalynn's jangled nerves but finally she could not take it anymore. The mixture of hunger, terror, and nervousness had made her light-headed and weak.

Though she had taken only a few bites, she felt as if she were going to empty the contents of her stomach at any moment.

She had to leave the table before that happened.

She ran and ran, not knowing where she was headed. She only knew she had to get as far away from those creatures as possible.

Karalynn made a sharp left and ran out of the hallway and into a grassy field. In the near distance, she could see the edge of a forest and that looked like heaven to her. She wanted to hide so badly. To go to sleep and wake up where she belonged, where there were no elves or kings or....

"Karalynn!"

She only had a second to register that someone had said her name before a hand grabbed her arm and spun her around.

Legolas' blue eyes were dark with worry as he looked at her and she tried vainly to pull her bare arm back from his soft hand.

"Karalynn, everything will be okay." he said firmly as she struggled away from him. "Come, let me take you to the..."

" 'There was a table set out under a tree in front of the house, and the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea at it: a Dormouse was sitting between them, fast asleep, and the other two were using it as a cushion, resting their elbows on it, and talking over its head!' " Karalynn said the thoughts in her mind out loud. "I don't know what it means! But these thoughts keep... and dolls at the table and... I don't know where Middle Earth is and..."

To her dismay, Legolas grabbed her other arm and his grip was like steel in a velvet glove.

"We'll help you figure it out." he said. "All of it. But later. You have to eat, Karalynn, you need your strength. I'll have your food sent to your room so that you can stay in bed and I'll stay...."

But before he could say another word, she doubled over in pain and emptied the meager contents of her stomach onto his body.

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A/N: Read and review please...