*Disclaimer: I wish I was brilliant enough to have thought up LOTR, but I wasn't. So Tolkien gets the credit for that. I did, however, come up with this story all by meself. I guess that says something, right? Anyway, getting back to the disclaimer, Tolkien owns it all, I'm just a fanatic fan fic writer, so don't sue me. Enjoy!
A History Lesson
Amariell was just putting away the last of the dishes when she heard the horse hooves outside. Smiling, Amariell wiped her hands on the rag next to the sink and stole a quick glance at herself in the mirror.
Arcollo looked up from his workbench in the next room as his daughter dashed past him and flung open the door. Suppressing a smile and shaking his head, the craftsman waited to hear the elated cry of his daughter as she flew into the arms of the Prince of Mirkwood. Arcollo had not doubt that it was Legolas Greenleaf who just arrived. "Legolas! Oh my love, I was wondering when you would show up." Arcollo smiled this time as he was reminded of the way his wife used to greet him while they were courting. He was suddenly saddened by the memory of his wife, who had long since passed. Arcollo's wife, Rïana, had passed away while bringing their son, Allon, into the world. That was almost two thousand years ago, now. He could still hear his wife's laugh and see her sweet face in his mind. He sighed.
"Father, look who has come to wish you a joyous day of birth." Arcollo stood up and turned to greet Legolas. The instant he looked at the young elf, he knew something was wrong. While the fair haired prince wore a smile that could charm an orc, Arcollo could feel that he was holding something back. He did not think that whatever was wrong was for his ears, so he said nothing. Still, the ripple of worry and apprehension that passed over Arcollo's body gave him pause. He frowned quickly, then regained composure.
His fleeting expression was not lost on Amariell, or Legolas for that matter. "Father? What is wrong?" His daughter asked, eyeing him with concern. Arcollo noticed that Legolas looked away and shut his eyes for a moment. He looked almost guilty, Arcollo thought.
He smiled at his daughter and touched her cheek affectionately. "I am fine, my dear." He turned to Legolas and inclined his head. "Greeting, Legolas. I am glad you could make it."
Legolas smiled, all traces of his past expression gone. "I am sorry I was not here sooner." He hesitated. "I had a pressing matter which required my attention. I hope you had a joyous day of birth, Arcollo."
Arcollo nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yes, Amariell made sure of that. She prepared me a lovely supper and we had an excellent time talking. Didn't we my dear?"
Amariell smiled and kissed her father's cheek. "Only the best will do for you, father." She turned now to her lover, taking his hand and guiding him into the next room. "So, what was the pressing matter, Legolas? Was it the same one that Pellen came to get you for?"
Legolas tensed at her question and Arcollo saw it. Arcollo followed the two into the next room and sat down in the nearest chair. He very much wanted to hear what this pressing matter was. It must have been very distressing, indeed, for it made Legolas cringe slightly. Arcollo guessed he was the only one who saw the elf's facial expression because his daughter said nothing. Legolas sat down next to Amariell and opposite Arcollo. He rested his hands on the table. He stole a quick glance at Arcollo, whose expression remained unchanged. "Well, Amariell, it appears I will be going on a little journey to Rivendell."
Amariell's face lit up. "Rivendell? Oh, that's wonderful, Legolas. My brother is still there. Oh how I envy you, my sweet." She was talking a mile a minute and she turned now to face her father. "Did you hear that, father? Rivendell! Oh I so desire to go to Rivendell."
Arcollo nodded and smiled at his daughter. Something was definitely not right. Legolas again closed his eyes and breathed an inaudible sigh. Amariell was still looking at her father to see his reaction. He decided it would be a good idea to speak. "That is exciting indeed. When do you leave?"
At his question, Legolas stiffened. "Tomorrow." He replied, his voice tight.
The smile that had lit Amariell's face just a moment before vanished as she looked at Legolas now, mouth agape in disbelief. "Tomorrow? As in the morning, tomorrow?" Legolas nodded, but did not look at her. "Why are you leaving so soon?"
Arcollo, noticing how tense the elf prince was, spoke up. "Amariell, Legolas is the Prince of Mirkwood. When he is called upon to perform his duty, it must be taken care of immediately. Rivendell is a far journey from here, my dear. I am sure there is a time limit on whatever it is he needs to do, thus he must leave as soon as possible."
Legolas nodded and gave Arcollo a look that was a mixture of relief and guilt. "Yes, Amariell, your father is right. I have a limited amount of time."
Amariell's eyes glistened. "How long will you be gone?"
Legolas looked at her finally and shook his head. His eyes were sad. "I do not know, my love."
"What do you mean, you do not know? How long is this business going to take? Will you be there for a little or a long while?" Her voice grew more frantic with each question.
Again, Legolas shook his head. "I do not know, Amariell. However long it takes to complete my business is how long I will be in Rivendell." He glanced across the table at Arcollo before he asked his next question. "Which is why I want you to come with me."
Amariell's eyes lit up again. "Really? I am allowed to accompany you?"
Arcollo gazed apprehensively at Legolas, who caught his look, and nodded. "Yes, Amariell. You may accompany me if I choose to take you."
"Why do you want to take my daughter to Rivendell, Legolas?" Arcollo asked.
Legolas returned Arcollo's stare, but did not let his worry show through. "I wish to show her Rivendell, sir. Also, I know she greatly desires to see Allon."
Arcollo was not convinced. "How is it that you are allowed to bring her with you? I am sure this business is of an official matter."
"My father bade me pick four riders to accompany me. Your daughter, if you so allow, was my first choice."
Amariell gasped and flung her arms around Legolas. He smiled lovingly at her and held her tight as he looked back to gauge Arcollo's reaction. It was Amariell who spoke. "Oh father, please. Legolas wants me to go with him and I do desire to see Allon and Rivendell. You know how lonely I have been since my brother left. Please let me ride with Legolas to Rivendell."
Her eyes were big and pleading as she implored her fathers permission. Arcollo sighed and folded his hands on the table top. He did not answer his daughter, instead he looked across the table at Legolas. "You are keeping something to yourself, Legolas. I can sense it. This journey to Rivendell is not for pleasure, or even for a diplomatic visit. You need to got to Rivendell for other matters." At the elf prince's bewildered look, Arcollo continued.
"You must appreciate why I am asking you this because you know I do not want to see any harm come to my daughter. What is it that you hold back, Legolas? Why are you going to Rivendell?"
Legolas supposed he couldn't have taken Amariell with him without telling her father the reason why he so desired her company. Arcollo was, after all, an elf and able to sense emotions just like all elves. What choice did Legolas have but to tell him the truth? Either he would let his daughter go with him or he would not. Besides, it was not as if Arcollo knew about the finding of the ring of power.
"I have been chosen by my father to represent the elves of Mirkwood at a meeting of the Council of Elrond."
There was a long silence that stretched between the two elves. Amariell looked from Legolas to her father and back many a time. She had no idea what this Council was, but by the looks that both her father and her love had plastered on their faces, it wasn't good.
Finally Arcollo spoke, his voice even. "Then the ring of power has been found?" Legolas stared, flabbergasted across the table at the elder elf. "How…?" Legolas could not even finish his question.
Arcollo nodded his head gravely. "It is as I feared. I knew something was not right. I felt it in the air, in the wind as it passed through Mirkwood. The same feeling I had over three thousand years ago. The shadow has returned, has it not?"
Legolas regarded Arcollo solemnly. "It has." Was all he said at first. Then, "You were there? At the Last Alliance of Elves and Men?"
Arcollo nodded again, but before he could answer, Amariell cut in. "Wait a minute. What are you two talking about? A Council, a battle that happened over three thousand years ago, a ring?" She was extremely confused and did not try and hide it.
Arcollo spoke. "Amariell, do you remember what I told you about that battle, the Last Alliance?"
Amariell nodded. "Yes. You told me that the elves and the men of Middle Earth banded together to stop the Dark Lord Sauron. He wanted to rule all of Middle Earth, right?"
Arcollo nodded and sighed heavily. "We thought we had succeeded. Then Sauron's ring of power was taken by the Númenor King, Isildur. The only way to truly destroy Sauron is to destroy his ring. The ring was not destroyed, thus the evil of Sauron has been allowed to endure."
Amariell looked to Legolas now. "This ring of power, you will find it in Rivendell?"
Legolas shook his head. "No. The ring was found in a place that was most unexpected. It only travels to Rivendell so that the Council might decide what to do with it."
"It must be destroyed, Legolas. That is the only way. I'm sure Lord Elrond knows that." This was from Arcollo, who had gotten out of his chair and now paced the length of the room. He turned to Legolas.
Legolas met his eyes and inclined his head. "He does, but has called a meeting regardless. This ring holds the fates of all in Middle Earth. Men, elves, and dwarves alike. That is why Lord Elrond wishes to include all of Middle Earth in the decision. There will be representatives from each race at the meeting. Destroying the ring is not what is under debate, Arcollo. It's how to go about it that needs to be determined."
Finally, Arcollo nodded. He leaned up against the wall at the far end of the room. "I cannot deter you from going with Legolas, Amariell. You are of age now and able to make your own decisions. The journey to Rivendell is long and hard. Now that the ring of power had been discovered again, I fear it is also dangerous. But, you have been training and have become skilled with a bow and arrow. If you wish to go, I cannot stop you." Amariell rose from her chair and went to her father. She clasped his hands in her own and looked upon him with love. "I will go and help Legolas in his quest. As you were at the Last Alliance, so I will be at the meeting of the Council." She kissed his forehead and smiled. "I love you father and will send word to you as soon as I arrive at Rivendell." Arcollo embraced his daughter, clutching her back and holding her tightly to him. "Like father like daughter I suppose. You were always the adventurous type, my dear Amariell." He kissed her cheek and caressed her face with his hand. "Go now and ready a light pack."
Amariell smiled brightly and kissed her father's hand as she left his embrace. She nodded at Legolas as she left the room and went to her own. Legolas got up from his seat and approached Arcollo. The elder elf was still staring after his daughter, who had long since disappeared around the corner.
Legolas placed his hand lightly on Arcollo's shoulder. "Do not worry for her safety. I bring with me the best archers in Mirkwood. She will be well protected." He assured the craftsman.
Arcollo turned a troubled gaze on Legolas. The younger elf sensed hesitation within Arcollo. Now it was his turn to be mysterious. "I am not worried, Legolas. It is her destiny."
"Her destiny? How so?" The fair haired elf asked. Arcollo shook his head and looked away. His secret had been kept for so long. He had told no one of his daughters true heritage and the reason he had found her in the first place. Allon did not know his father's secret, nor did Amariell herself know. She was meant to go with the Elven Prince, that much Arcollo knew because he had been told. A long time ago he got a visitor, when Amariell was still a young girl. This visitor was the same person whom Arcollo saw the day he found Amariell, under the tathar tree. The hooded figure told Arcollo that the discovery of the young girl was not an accident, that she was meant to be found and raised by him. Amariell was part of a broader plan, the stranger told him, part of a much larger picture. Her true heritage the stranger had not told Arcollo, but he had said she would come to know of her past through a most unlikely source. Perhaps this source was located in Rivendell? The stranger also explained to Arcollo that a new age was approaching them. The time of the elves was drawing to a close and that a new race would have to step in and take up as leader of all the other races of Middle Earth. Arcollo had not really understood what the stranger meant by that, but he was beginning to get a better idea. Perhaps it was Amariell's people who would be taking over as leaders of all the other races. The stranger had only appeared to Arcollo twice, yet he now felt the same presence he had the day of the visit. Yes, indeed, Amariell was meant to go to Rivendell with Legolas.
"Arcollo? How is this her destiny?" Legolas implored of the elder elf.
Not looking at him, Arcollo answered. "I cannot say for certain. I do not know for certain. Amariell is meant to go with you to Rivendell." Now he turned to Legolas, who looked all the more confused. "See she gets there, Legolas. But do not mention what I have just said to you. I do not want her to know. Not yet."
The elf prince nodded, still confused. He was about to ask Arcollo another question, when Arcollo grabbed his forearm to stop him from speaking. Legolas turned and saw Amariell standing on the other side of the table. She had tied her long, curly hair behind her and wore riding clothes in place of her dress. She carried her bow and arrow and a small pack on her back. "We better get going back to the palace, Legolas. We need rest if we are to leave tomorrow."
Legolas left Arcollo's side and picked up the cloak he had slung over the back of his chair. Putting it on him, he gestured for Amariell to hand him her pack. "I will put this on my horse and wait for you outside."
The smile Amariell gave him as she handed over her pack thanked him wordlessly. Legolas took her pack and left the room. Amariell walked to her father and embraced him. "I promise I will be careful, father. I will send word as soon as I arrive and I will be with Allon. Everything will be fine."
Arcollo smiled sadly at his daughter. He wanted so much to tell her the truth. He wanted to tell her about the cloaked visitor when she was younger and about the premonition he had been given. Instead he hugged his daughter tighter and kissed her cheek. Pulling away, he said, "I love you, Amariell. Stay alert on the journey, keep a sharp eye out at all times. Stay close to Legolas and don't stray. Make sure you give your brother my greetings."
Amariell nodded and kissed her father one last time on his cheek. "I will, I promise. I love you so much, father." She smiled. "I'll be back before you know it."
Arcollo smiled and released his daughter. He watched as she turned and left the room. He heard the door close behind her and he sank down into the nearest chair. He sat there for a long time, listening to the sounds of his now empty home. Arcollo knew, in his heart, that he would see his daughter again. He just knew it wouldn't be for a while.
*grins wickedly Guess what I have in store for my lovelies in the next chapter??? Let's just say it involves a certain blonde, NEKKID, elf prince ;) Perhaps with a BIT of persuasion, I can get the chapter posted more quickly…………………
