"My love is fare my love is kind, my love is pure and true. And though he has no simple care, his eyes stay bright and blue."

CHAPTER 6: A Precious Jewel

Jonathan stood in front of his bedroom closet mirror. His wife had it installed when they first moved in. She couldn't leave the house unless she saw her full appearance, okaying every last inch of her womanly figure.

Now it was Jonathan checking his stature. He started at his large feet. He'd taken off both shoes and stocks, and for the first time, noticed the thick dark hair pinned to his skin. His eyes trailed up his long legs. Not very muscular, he thought, and tried to ignore the way his huge knees made his legs look disproportioned. He then patted down his blue plaid boxers and decided to skip to his hips. He went straight to the stomach. He cursed himself for letting his gut start to grow. He then searched his arms, which he decided weren't too heart breaking. Really somewhat nice. He hadn't lost the muscle from his early days of working in the yard trying to impress his father, and out due his older brothers.

The last item of body he studied was his face and hair. Women had called him handsome before, and even at his age, they still turned their heads towards him. His eyes were piercing, and full of forgotten memory, and his cheeks were soft and strong. His hair, though with little gray, was still full on top of his head.

He went back to his eyes. They were too confused. To laden with anger and bitterness. His body was perfectly normal, despite a few areas of imperfection, and from his outward appearance, no one would ever guess his inside was so black. Black from his past, black from the present, and now, black from newfound future.

The future: Something he'd always seen with and open eye. Never once did it look dark to him. But now, the blackness inside began to take over both his mind and his eyes. And for the first time in years, he began to cry.

The grown man fell to his knees, and let the tears wet the floor. His wailing could be heard all around the house, but none came to him. None called to him. His whole life had showed to be perfect. Perfect house. Perfect wife. Perfect care. Time Magazine had even named him, Mr. Perfect. And somewhere along the line, even he believed it.

He knew he was empty. He had always known deep in the back of his mind. But he never let himself believe it. He'd run from it his whole life. And now it was catching up with him. Now, it'd stopped him dead in his tracks. Now it'd pinned him on the floor, and it screamed at him, and covered him, and drew tears from his eyes, and pulled painful cries from his lips. It crippled him to the very state of a child. It brought him to a place he'd always swore he'd never be.

He crawled up onto his bed, and sank beneath the covers. He hid his head under his pillow, until he felt suffocated, and then picked it up, and threw it at the mirror. His sobs began to cool, and he started breathing in deeper. His eyes pulled down heavy like rocks, and he drifted off into a deep, inviting sleep.

Darkness surrounded him, but off in the distance, a white light like snow on the mountains shown bright. He ran to it, and as he got closer, the light grew, and it wasn't long before he was standing right in front of it.

Peace overcame him. He dropped his shoulders, and his legs felt lighter than air. A gentle breeze blew against him like feathers, and he lifted his hands to shield his eyes.

He felt a serene presence approach him. The feeling was so pure and genuine that he couldn't help but let soft tears fall from his eyes like a light rain on a summer day.

The light began to dim, and when he moved his hand, a woman stood before him. She stood tall, her height matching his own. Her skin was a soft pale glow, and her hair fell to her waist; dark as the night that hangs over our dreams. The air around her seemed to sing. Her beauty was powerful, and it shook the earth around him.

But it was her eyes that pierced him. Her eyes that made the hairs on the back of his neck raise and sent chills down to his toes. They were not the eyes of any human he'd ever seen before; They glowed. They spoke. They read his every thought. They sparkled like gold.

With strong effort he looked harder, and he realized the two circlets that made him feel so unworthy, weren't just sparkling, they truly were the color of gold.

He stood motionless. She stepped to him, and placed a hand over his heart. Words flowed from her, but her lips had not moved. Not once.

"It is not over yet."

"What?" He asked, starting to feel confident. It seemed as if a wall of protection was building up around him.

"You know of what I speak."

"The story."

"Yes." The sound of her voice flowed like music, and it seemed to be more in his mind then around his ears. "She is still lost Jonathan. She needs you to love her."

"How can I love her? I don't even know her."

"But you do. You've become part of her, and she of you. You've been brought into her very being. You must believe in the magic."

"What magic?"

But she didn't answer. After his question, she began to fade. Her light, her hair, her eyes. It all went dark, and left Jonathan alone in the blackness.

He opened his eyes, and looked to his clock. It read 3:30 pm. He'd only been asleep for half an hour. He felt tired, but he knew what he had to do.

He threw on a robe, and ran to his study. This time he locked the door, and as he sat in his chair he promised himself he would not get up until he finished.

****************************************************

Adah flew back to the city. Her toes scratched against the concrete steps as she hastily ran up them. The wind blew back her hair, and tears stung her face.

She screamed Elrond's name, as her mind revealed flash backs of Legolas shaking helplessly in her arms. "Elrond!" She screamed again.

She saw two children playing on the street between some trees that grew at the city walls. "Please," she begged. "Where's the king?"

They stared at her wide-eyed, never having spoken to her before. They quickly gathered their play items, and ran from her.

"No wait." She called after them. "Please! I need to see the king."

She turned and ran to his council room. But he wasn't there. Nor was he in his thinking room, or bedroom, or the food hall. No one would help her. No one would speak to her. And her mind continually replayed the incident in her head.

She stopped in front of the schoolroom, too weak to go on. She fell to her knees and wept. "You have failed him Adah." She cursed herself in elvish tongue, and placed her hands over her eyes.

She felt helpless as her friend stood somewhere in the fields, in some pain she didn't understand, and here she was, unable to find any help. A scattered crowd had grown around the crying child, and she turned to face each and every one of them.

She stood to her feet and screamed out. "You don't know what it is you hate." She paused for a minute, as words flowed through her, coming from someplace unknown. "If you knew, you wouldn't be so hostile." Again she paused. She didn't understand her words, but her anger clouded her mind so thoroughly that she continued to scream at them all with such passion, the sun began to hide behind the clouds, and a chill spilt over Rivendell.

She stood tall, and seemed to tower over them all. None moved, none even breathed. All except Adah. "I hate you all. You are nothing in my eyes, and one day I will leave this place, and forget every last one of you. And one day I will die, in peace, but you will live till the end of all time in torment of the memory of me. I curse you all. A time will come when the guilt will come over you so strong, you will purposely seek the companionship of mortals. Some will fall in love with them, and some will bind themselves with them. And then they too shall pass away and you hearts will break." Here she stopped. She thought of Legolas, and for the first time, all selfishness left her, and she cared only for him, and his safety.

She turned to run back to him, but a hand on her shoulder stopped. She wiped her shoulder away from the hand, and spun around to find Adalin Tucknin behind her. "What is it child?" He asked calmly and something in his voice soothed her.

"Legolas." Was all she spoke, and he took her hand and commanded she bring him to the prince.

***

Arwen found Legolas standing with his arms pulling tight to his sides. His fists were clenched, and his feet seemed to be digging holes into the ground. But it was his face that stopped her dead in her tracks. His face appeared whiter than snow, and his blue eyes glazed like water. Tears stained his cheeks, and his lips pressed tightly together.

She ran to him at once. "Legolas." Her heart pained at the site of him, and tears escaped her eyes unnoticed. "Legolas." She cried again, and reached out to his arm. At her touch he instantly fell to his knees and then struggled to lay himself face up on the ground.

She continued to stroke his face, and kept asking him to tell her what had happened, but he would not speak. She kept her palms to his face, and laid her cheek over his heart. She cried, and begged for his peace. Her tears seeped through his clothes and on to his chest.

Never before had she been pressed with such an event. She hadn't been sure what to do. She hardly even knew the prince. They had been friends once in childhood, but time passed, as it does for elves, and their friendship faded. But now her concern for Legolas was as if she was losing a loved one.

She lifted her head back up and connected her eyes to his own. They stared back and forth at each other, and his body seemed to calm.

Legolas' wits were not about him, and his mind was racked with confusion, but the princess' eyes held him tight, and using all his effort, he remained there. He grasped her presence, using it to keep from falling into the shadow he felt grasping from behind him.

The fire inside his chest began to cool, and his heart began to beat at a slower pace. He felt control slowly slip back to him, and he reached up and placed his hands on her arms.

She felt his grasp, and looked to his hands. They were soft against her skin, and his grip was as light as a feather.
"Arwen." He spoke finally.

"Legolas!" She cried, and a smile stole her lips. She embraced him, and joy passed through her as she felt his heart beat at a regular pace in his chest. He lifted himself up and they sat silently together in the grass until Legolas felt inclined to speak. "She was so hurt. Years of so much pain built up, never ceasing." Tears began to well up in his eyes. "Her eyes. Never have eyes pierced me so, and she is but a child." He paused again as he stared regretfully into the trees. "I couldn't help what I thought next." He looked Arwen straight into her eyes, and fear darkened his own. "I wished her dead."

Though the day was warm, his body felt cold, and Arwen felt herself freeze. "For so many reasons, I'm not sure. I wanted her pain to end." He continued. "I thought I was helping, but I saw her, and nothing, nothing I've done has ceased her pain. It broke my heart to see her that way, and that scared me. It was as if, because her heart was broken, so was mine, and I felt the bitter taste of death upon my tongue."

He spoke no more after that, and Arwen felt there was nothing she could say to comfort him. So they sat there side by side on the grass until Adah and Adalin appeared.

Legolas confirmed the spell had passed. Relief came over Adah, but Adalin still made Legolas lean against him as they walked. Adah fell breathless to her knees as she watched her teacher and her prince disappear into the city. Arwen looked down and met the child's gaze. She tried to read her, but Adah seemed to be falling into a daze. Her eyes squinted smaller and smaller until all went black and she collapsed to the ground.

***

Adah awoke to find herself in her own bed, covered in light satin sheets. Elrond was standing in a corner by the window, staring out, lost to the sounds around him.

Adah felt tears close to her eyes, and there was a softness close to her heart as she thought of Legolas. She sat up and drew her feet over the side of her bed. She looked over and saw a golden jewel placed on her bed stand. "How did I get here?" She asked.

Elrond did not look at her and answered with little emotion in his voice. "Arwen carried you."

Adah felt confused and her head began to ache. She picked up the golden jewel and studied it. It was a thick bracelet that clasped at the top with two leaves that fit together at their curves. "I've seen Legolas wear a jewel like this." She said fingering the gold.

"Indeed," He answered. "It is the crest of his family line. This was the very one he wore and he leaves it to you."

"Leaves it?"

"Yes for he has gone."

She jumped to her feet. "Gone where?"

"Home, to make amends with his father."

"But he didn't say good bye."

"Nay, and he will not."

"I don't understand."

Elrond turned to face the child and dropped to his knees so he could be eye level with her. "There are many things you won't ever understand, if you keep hold of your stubborn heart." He placed his hands firmly on her shoulders. "Adah, your time with Legolas has come to an end, for the truth has finally been revealed to his heart. You know how your friendship would have ended. Whether you pretend otherwise or not, you have foreseen it. And now, so has Legolas. It is for his own good that he left. You must see that. For once Adah, if you truly care for Legolas, think of him and let go."

She did not move. She did not breathe. No tear fell. The wind was still and Elrond felt her eyes entrapping him. Though she looked as cold as water, fire burned inside her, and for a moment, no sound could be heard in Rivendell. For a moment.

She turned to the mirror above her table, and as she screamed like a wild beast snared in a trap. She threw the crest upon it, shattering all the glass into tiny shards. Her screams could be heard all over the kingdom, and the elves of Rivendell feared a wild woman had entered their home.

Rage filled Adah as she tore apart her room. Elrond tried to calm her, but she would not have it. She tore her bed sheets. She threw her shoes out the window along with her other beautiful things, but she left the crest among the glass.

When at last her room was destroyed, and Elrond stood back defeated, she lay on her floor by her window and sobbed. She cried for some giant bird to come and carry her away.

Elrond approached the child. "If you will, there is something I would like to show you."

She pretended not to hear him, but something in the tone of his voice drew forth her curiosity, and a need she did not understand built inside her. She stood and followed him out of the rubble.

They journeyed to the stables and Elrond set Adah atop of a white horse. "His name is Otho. He is young and will grow as you do. He is yours for all your days, and will bear you wherever your heart desires, when the time comes for you to leave here."

Adah's eyes grew wide and she stared at Elrond, but spoke nothing.

"But this is not what I wanted to show you." He whispered something to the stable boy, who, after bringing Elrond his horse, departed.

Elrond clicked his tongue, and both horses began to move. They carried the king and the child along out of the city, into the trees towards the river, and far into Rivendell, farther than Adah, in all her exploring, had ever gone.