It was a quiet night in Mirkwood, and Kalina, the visiting 108-year-old
noble from Lothlorien, and a relative of Galadriel, was outside playing
hide-and-go-seek with Mirkwood's prince. She had stolen some of Legolas's
breeches earlier so she could run more easily. They had developed a special
bond in the nine years she had been there. She was an outgoing girl who
could care less what anyone thought about her, and she always got her way,
from staying up later than was proper for a girl her age to getting extra
sweets from the cooks. And right then she didn't feel like being 'it'.
"You're always so mean to me. It's your turn to be it, not mine." She started sniffling, and had almost worked up a tear before the 119-year-old Legolas said, "Fine, I'll be it, Kal. AGAIN." She noticed the stress on the last word, but decided to ignore it. She was instantly happy again, and jumped up and hugged him.
"Thanks Leggi, I knew you would. Now start counting." She ran off into the trees laughing.
"How do I get myself into these situations?" he asked himself. Unknown to them, a man was hidden in the bushes.
"It's the boy's turn to hide, I'll just grab him and run," he muttered.
When Kalina ran into the forest, the man mistook her for the little prince, and grabbed her. Seeing that his captive was going to scream, he pressed a knife to 'his' throat. "Scream, sonny, and it'll be your last." The terrified Kalina went limp, truly believing that the man was going to kill her.
Back in the clearing, a voice called out, "Ready or not, here I come!" Kalina lifted her head. If only she could warn him, but how? The best way to help him would be to go along with the man's little game, and get away from Legolas. HE had a future to be worried over. But then, didn't she?
In an attempt to let the elves know that she was in trouble, she made the man drag her, and she tore apart her silver locket, dropping half of it on the ground. It was her most beloved possession, because it was her last gift from her mother. She was loaded onto a flat on the river, and bound. Worn out with the shock of everything, she fell asleep.
*
Back in the clearing, Legolas was searching through the brush and calling out for Kalina to come out, and that she had won. He went deeper into the forest, and found the tracks Kalina had left. Following them further, he figured out what had happened to her. He ran off for the palace.
"Father, she's been kidnapped! We have to get her back," he said quickly, but it was so quickly that no one could understand him.
"Calm down son, whatever it is, it can't be that terrible. Now where is that pretty little girl that you were playing with? Why don't you both just run along-"
"Father, she's gone. She got kidnapped when we were playing just now." The king's eyes widened. He muttered something that sounded like, "Galadriel will have my hide for this." After a moment he ordered that a search party go out to find her.
"Don't come back until you've found her," was his order. Legolas tried to sneak out with the search party, but didn't make it, and was escorted back to his father.
"You'll just have to be contented with waiting," his father told him when he was brought back. He did wait. He waited for days. Days turned into months, and months into years. Years into decades, and decades into centuries. The only thing the search party found was half of the locket, which he wore around his neck until a century after she had disappeared. He half-forgot about her after that, but was reminded of her every time he looked at his dresser, where her half-locket lay. Sometimes he wondered what happened to her, that is, when he wasn't absorbed with the crowd of girls that follow after him always.
*
In an underground cavern, far from Mirkwood, a pale, weak, thin Kalina looked up through the bars in the ceiling of the mud hole she'd been in for so long. She couldn't see anything, for it was pitch black. It had always been pitch black; as far back as she could remember. So long, so long and they still haven't found me. I lost track of the years a long time ago, not that I was ever really sure that I was correct in my time-keeping anyways. You can't tell time down here in this hole. She sighed, thinking of the only way out- surrendering her memory to self-proclaimed magicians who would probably kill her. She stroked her hair. It was extremely long, she could wrap it around her ever-shrunken waist many times. The men had only allowed her to cut her hair eight times, so it was still very long. How old am I? she thought. It seems as if I have been down here forever, and all of the ages have passed me by. Well, that's enough waiting for me. The elves will never find me here, anyway. She shuddered to think of all the things the humans had done to her to try to make her submit to their will. Well, it had worked. She hoped that they would be happy.
That night:
Kalina was sitting in the middle of a large candlelit circle of 'priests' and 'priestesses'. They had taken her necklace, her old dress, everything that reminded her of her old life. They had given her a new, clean dress, and she had washed and had her hair cut. She felt so much better. The priests started chanting, and suddenly her mind became blurry. She tried desperately to remember anything from her past- Lothlorien, Mirkwood, elves, her old life, her father, her deceased mother, Legolas, his father, anything. It all became foggy. All she knew was what the enchanting voice above her said.
"What are you thinking of? There is no such thing as Mirkwood, or Lothlorien, or your father, or that little prince. The only world that exists is Bedis. The only people that exist are the warriors of the Bedism. Your name is not Kalina. What kind of a silly name is that? Your name is Kaie. Now Kaie, forget your silly little stories." Kalina didn't realize that she was being brainwashed, but no one that is being brainwashed realizes it. The priestess stood towering above Kalina. "Now Kaie, go follow to the good servant to your room. You will begin your archery and sword lessons tomorrow." Kalina stood, looking as if she was in a trance (but of course, she was). She went to her room silently, and as soon as she hit her bed, she fell into the first real sleep that she had had in over a thousand years.
*
Back in Mirkwood, Legolas sat up with a jerk. He looked around to see if something was wrong, but found nothing, and went back to sleep with troubled dreams.
*
A/N: Please review, I beg of you.
"You're always so mean to me. It's your turn to be it, not mine." She started sniffling, and had almost worked up a tear before the 119-year-old Legolas said, "Fine, I'll be it, Kal. AGAIN." She noticed the stress on the last word, but decided to ignore it. She was instantly happy again, and jumped up and hugged him.
"Thanks Leggi, I knew you would. Now start counting." She ran off into the trees laughing.
"How do I get myself into these situations?" he asked himself. Unknown to them, a man was hidden in the bushes.
"It's the boy's turn to hide, I'll just grab him and run," he muttered.
When Kalina ran into the forest, the man mistook her for the little prince, and grabbed her. Seeing that his captive was going to scream, he pressed a knife to 'his' throat. "Scream, sonny, and it'll be your last." The terrified Kalina went limp, truly believing that the man was going to kill her.
Back in the clearing, a voice called out, "Ready or not, here I come!" Kalina lifted her head. If only she could warn him, but how? The best way to help him would be to go along with the man's little game, and get away from Legolas. HE had a future to be worried over. But then, didn't she?
In an attempt to let the elves know that she was in trouble, she made the man drag her, and she tore apart her silver locket, dropping half of it on the ground. It was her most beloved possession, because it was her last gift from her mother. She was loaded onto a flat on the river, and bound. Worn out with the shock of everything, she fell asleep.
*
Back in the clearing, Legolas was searching through the brush and calling out for Kalina to come out, and that she had won. He went deeper into the forest, and found the tracks Kalina had left. Following them further, he figured out what had happened to her. He ran off for the palace.
"Father, she's been kidnapped! We have to get her back," he said quickly, but it was so quickly that no one could understand him.
"Calm down son, whatever it is, it can't be that terrible. Now where is that pretty little girl that you were playing with? Why don't you both just run along-"
"Father, she's gone. She got kidnapped when we were playing just now." The king's eyes widened. He muttered something that sounded like, "Galadriel will have my hide for this." After a moment he ordered that a search party go out to find her.
"Don't come back until you've found her," was his order. Legolas tried to sneak out with the search party, but didn't make it, and was escorted back to his father.
"You'll just have to be contented with waiting," his father told him when he was brought back. He did wait. He waited for days. Days turned into months, and months into years. Years into decades, and decades into centuries. The only thing the search party found was half of the locket, which he wore around his neck until a century after she had disappeared. He half-forgot about her after that, but was reminded of her every time he looked at his dresser, where her half-locket lay. Sometimes he wondered what happened to her, that is, when he wasn't absorbed with the crowd of girls that follow after him always.
*
In an underground cavern, far from Mirkwood, a pale, weak, thin Kalina looked up through the bars in the ceiling of the mud hole she'd been in for so long. She couldn't see anything, for it was pitch black. It had always been pitch black; as far back as she could remember. So long, so long and they still haven't found me. I lost track of the years a long time ago, not that I was ever really sure that I was correct in my time-keeping anyways. You can't tell time down here in this hole. She sighed, thinking of the only way out- surrendering her memory to self-proclaimed magicians who would probably kill her. She stroked her hair. It was extremely long, she could wrap it around her ever-shrunken waist many times. The men had only allowed her to cut her hair eight times, so it was still very long. How old am I? she thought. It seems as if I have been down here forever, and all of the ages have passed me by. Well, that's enough waiting for me. The elves will never find me here, anyway. She shuddered to think of all the things the humans had done to her to try to make her submit to their will. Well, it had worked. She hoped that they would be happy.
That night:
Kalina was sitting in the middle of a large candlelit circle of 'priests' and 'priestesses'. They had taken her necklace, her old dress, everything that reminded her of her old life. They had given her a new, clean dress, and she had washed and had her hair cut. She felt so much better. The priests started chanting, and suddenly her mind became blurry. She tried desperately to remember anything from her past- Lothlorien, Mirkwood, elves, her old life, her father, her deceased mother, Legolas, his father, anything. It all became foggy. All she knew was what the enchanting voice above her said.
"What are you thinking of? There is no such thing as Mirkwood, or Lothlorien, or your father, or that little prince. The only world that exists is Bedis. The only people that exist are the warriors of the Bedism. Your name is not Kalina. What kind of a silly name is that? Your name is Kaie. Now Kaie, forget your silly little stories." Kalina didn't realize that she was being brainwashed, but no one that is being brainwashed realizes it. The priestess stood towering above Kalina. "Now Kaie, go follow to the good servant to your room. You will begin your archery and sword lessons tomorrow." Kalina stood, looking as if she was in a trance (but of course, she was). She went to her room silently, and as soon as she hit her bed, she fell into the first real sleep that she had had in over a thousand years.
*
Back in Mirkwood, Legolas sat up with a jerk. He looked around to see if something was wrong, but found nothing, and went back to sleep with troubled dreams.
*
A/N: Please review, I beg of you.