A/N: Hey, I'm back! Sorry to leave you all in a bit of a cliffhanger, but I
was going to update before I went home for the week, but something came up
and I then I left before I had another chance to update. Anyway, thank you
to all my readers and here is the next installment.
By the way, hopefully this will be finished before the 30th of this month because that's when my exams start and I am not going to allow myself to be distracted by this. If this fic isn't finished by then, I will postpone the posting until my exams are finished (which is the 13th of November).
Chapter 24: The Realm of the Fairies
Celebfaer awoke to find herself resting on a bed of leaves. Looking down, she did not recognise the leaves from any tree that she knew, from Lothlorien or Rivendell and when she looked up the trees were so large that she could not see the top of them. Sitting up she looked out from where her bed lay to see a dwelling that was almost as large as a City.
The dwelling looked very much like Rivendell, but from her memory she would not have been close enough to get to Rivendell in less than a month and unless she had been unconscious for more than a month it was impossible for her to be there. All the roads in the City seemed to lead up to one house that was more like a mansion in that it was large enough to be seen from this side of the City.
Then Celebfaer looked down further and she noticed the people walking around the City for the first time and she gasped in shock. The people were clad in a very fine material that shimmered as they walked and was so thin in some places that it may as well have been a nightgown. The women wore backless dresses, the men shirts that were as low cut at the back as the women but what had caused Celebfaer to cry out was that their clothing was backless for a reason. From the shoulders of each person there, sprouted two identically beautiful wings. The wings had all sorts of intricate patterns on them and she could not believe the beauty that they held.
Not believing what she was seeing, Celebfaer looked around once more, then she lifted her hand up to brush her hair away from her face. Seeing that her arm was bare and that her hair was not held back by a hood, Celebfaer looked down at herself and she noticed that she was clothed as the other beings were. Except that her dress was silver, very similar to the one that Elrond found her in, yet this one had no tear marks in it and the material felt like silk against her skin. Her wings were laid bare for all to see their tattered and lifeless state and she wished she could find one of her cloaks to cover them so that none would see her ugly wings.
Celebfaer's gasp had got the attention of a Fairy sitting not to far away and so the female fairy came over to where Celebfaer was sitting causing Celebfaer looked up at the creature, unable to believe that she was finally among the fairies.
The fairy was dressed in a dress similar to Celebfaer's but green in colour and she smiled warmly at Celebfaer.
"Are you real?" Celebfaer asked her, looking at the fairy before her in wonder and the Fairy laughed.
"Yes, indeed I am. As real as you are yourself. After many years of endless searching we have finally found you Rydia." The Fairy replied, watching Celebfaer with interest and Celebfaer frowned at the name the Fairy gave her, but before she could ask, the Fairy continued again. "Come, your mother awaits your arrival."
As she followed her guide, Celebfaer looked around the dwelling, and her memory started to return to her and it felt as though someone had smacked her over the head with a stick. Trying to steady herself from the jolt, Celebfaer stopped, so her guide stopped too, waiting for her to recover. She had finally remembered who and mostly what she is and what that meant.
"My mother?" Celebfaer asked, then she closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them once more, not being able to believe the words she was about to say. "The Queen?" She said uncertain and frightened, but the Fairy just nodded in response.
"She is busy with some Fairies that wish to leave the realm, but she will see you when we arrive at the castle, Princess."
When they made it to the middle of the City, at the big building that Celebfaer had noticed when she had woken up, her guide led her inside. Celebfaer looked around once again, in wonder for the design of the building and the craftsmanship all around her surpassed any skill that she had seen any Elf posses, even the great Elves, such as Galadriel would not be able to design something that beautiful. The sights took her breath away and by the time the two arrived at the hall, where the Queen greets guests, Celebfaer felt as though her head would explode from all the beautiful things that she had just seen.
The fairy that led her into the 'castle' told Celebfaer to wait while she went in to announce her arrival and a few seconds later the fairy came back mentioning for Celebfaer to enter.
Entering the room, Celebfaer felt very exposed because of the clothes that she wearing. They were in the Fairy fashion, so the garments showed quite a bit of flesh, but Celebfaer was not used to it at all and she found herself wishing that she had her cloak so that she could at least cover herself and her wings. It didn't help that every pair of eyes in the room was watching her.
She walked into the middle of the room, then bowed low to the people in the room. Her bow was as low as she would have bowed to the Lady Galadriel herself and then Celebfaer looked up to take in all the people that were in the room.
The female Fairy that sat on the throne could almost be Celebfaer's twin, except that her eyes showed far more wisdom and she had clearly come to her full age, the lines on her face suggesting that she had also grieved much and seen much in her days upon the earth.
Next to that Lady sat another female Fairy, that Celebfaer was sure had not been alive when she had been in the dwelling for she had no memory of the girl, that was clearly younger than Celebfaer herself.
"Rydia. My firstborn child, you have indeed returned to us after many years of us thinking that we would never find you. We had almost given up hope. But you have returned to us changed and frightened by what you see around you." The Queen said and Celebfaer tried not to show how uneasy she felt that all the people were watching the exchange between her mother and herself. The Queen sensed Celebfaer's unease and she turned to all that were present. "My servants, advisors and loyal friends, I bid that you leave me some time to talk to my daughter for it has been many a year since we have spoken and she has changed much in her years away." She said and the people she spoke of walked out of the room.
Only two remained in the room, the female that sat next to the Queen and the male that sat beside her, and both looked at Celebfaer with great curiosity. The male she thought looked familiar, though she could not yet place him in her memory.
"Elysa, I wish to be alone with your sister for a while. You will be able to talk to her later though as I wish for you two to get to know each other and become friends. Sabin, will you escort your wife out to walk in the gardens please?" The Queen said and the male stood up and Celebfaer instantly remembered who he was and why he was so familiar.
Before she had left the realm that day to talk to the water spirit, Celebfaer had been promised to be married ten years after her coming of age at 1000 years old. It would have been a 500-year courtship and Sabin had been the one that had been promised to her. As he escorted Elysa away from the hall, their eyes met and Celebfaer remembered everything that she knew about him.
When they were gone, the Queen stood and approached Celebfaer.
"Rydia, you have returned and now the City will have its proper first daughter of the Queen." The Queen said and Celebfaer looked at her in shock. Her mother had just told her that she was now the correct heir to the throne of the Fairies. "My child, speak for your silence I cannot bear."
"My queen, I shall serve you as you wish, but I cannot accept the position of heir. I am but a simple Fairy, looking for a place in the world. I see that you are my mother, the resemblance we have is to close not to be, though I wish only to be known as Celebfaer and not to have such a burden placed upon my shoulders. Burdens such as the one you wish to give me mother, are never to be taken lightly and I wish first to be taught how to regain all of my memory, or taught how an heir should act before I can take on this role. Long it has been since I dwelt in this place and I fear I have forgotten all the rules." Celebfaer said nervously and the Queen smiled at her.
"Daughter you have gained much wisdom in your years away from this realm. Tell me, where have you been hiding for over 2000 years?"
"I have dwelt in a wood called Lothlorien, and the Lady of the Wood taught me much, trying to help me regain my memory for I lost it when Orcs attacked me on that fateful day."
The Queen paused, shock evident on her face. "You have dwelt with the Elves for over 2000 years? Yet we have not been sought out by them, or hunted by any. Tell me how is it that you kept your identity a secret for so long?"
"The Lady bid me wear a cloak that covered my wings and a hood that covered my hair and ears. She took me on as her scholar and many just assumed I were an Elf and accepted it."
So, the Queen talked to Celebfaer for quite some time, hearing of her travels to Rivendell and back and the Queen in return told Celebfaer of what had been happening in the Fairy world. Celebfaer could not bring herself to mention the Fellowship and the quest that they had succeeded in. Bringing up the Fellowship would have caused Celebfaer great pain because she would have to remember Legolas and the grief of losing him was still too new.
Eventually Celebfaer was shown a room, where once she was undressed, she instantly fell into a deep sleep, exhausted from talking and still weary from the blow to her head.
Celebfaer found out that Elysa was in fact her sister, though she was just over 500 years younger than Celebfaer herself because the Queen, fearing that Celebfaer was dead had needed another daughter to take over the throne. The circumstances of her birth were not the kindest that Celebfaer could see and Elysa she soon found out did not like Celebfaer in the slightest. Nor did she want to.
In her first few days back in the City, Celebfaer was allowed to wonder around as she pleased, so she wondered in the streets of the actual city itself not wanting to be surrounded by the castle for she felt hemmed in when she was in there. Within a few days she had seen everything that there was to see, so she started to wonder outside the City, trying to work out where they were in Middle Earth. But the City was surrounded by forest that appeared to go on forever. The trees were large and dense, but Celebfaer knew that they could not surpass the beauty of the mallorn trees of Lothlorien.
The Fairies generally kept to themselves and when she walked past most stopped to watch her. Somehow it had been made known to the rest of the dwelling that she had been living with Elves for the last 2376 and most of the Fairies did not like that. Most thought that the Elves, knowing that Fairies existed would come and hunt them down and make them come out into the world, but Celebfaer knew different. So she did not have many friends, or any at all for that matter, most of the Fairies were simply curious about her. Sabin, her sister's husband was the only Fairy that did not frown at her or avoid her when she walked near. He was the closest thing she had to a friend in the whole city. Most people also believed that the Elves were the ones that had mutilated her wings and so they stayed away, thinking she was cursed.
She saw her mother every night at dinner and every morning for breakfast, but she rarely saw her sister for her sister despised her and wanted nothing to do with her. Although when Elysa was not around, Sabin would come and talk to her of trivial things just so that she was not completely alone.
By the way, hopefully this will be finished before the 30th of this month because that's when my exams start and I am not going to allow myself to be distracted by this. If this fic isn't finished by then, I will postpone the posting until my exams are finished (which is the 13th of November).
Chapter 24: The Realm of the Fairies
Celebfaer awoke to find herself resting on a bed of leaves. Looking down, she did not recognise the leaves from any tree that she knew, from Lothlorien or Rivendell and when she looked up the trees were so large that she could not see the top of them. Sitting up she looked out from where her bed lay to see a dwelling that was almost as large as a City.
The dwelling looked very much like Rivendell, but from her memory she would not have been close enough to get to Rivendell in less than a month and unless she had been unconscious for more than a month it was impossible for her to be there. All the roads in the City seemed to lead up to one house that was more like a mansion in that it was large enough to be seen from this side of the City.
Then Celebfaer looked down further and she noticed the people walking around the City for the first time and she gasped in shock. The people were clad in a very fine material that shimmered as they walked and was so thin in some places that it may as well have been a nightgown. The women wore backless dresses, the men shirts that were as low cut at the back as the women but what had caused Celebfaer to cry out was that their clothing was backless for a reason. From the shoulders of each person there, sprouted two identically beautiful wings. The wings had all sorts of intricate patterns on them and she could not believe the beauty that they held.
Not believing what she was seeing, Celebfaer looked around once more, then she lifted her hand up to brush her hair away from her face. Seeing that her arm was bare and that her hair was not held back by a hood, Celebfaer looked down at herself and she noticed that she was clothed as the other beings were. Except that her dress was silver, very similar to the one that Elrond found her in, yet this one had no tear marks in it and the material felt like silk against her skin. Her wings were laid bare for all to see their tattered and lifeless state and she wished she could find one of her cloaks to cover them so that none would see her ugly wings.
Celebfaer's gasp had got the attention of a Fairy sitting not to far away and so the female fairy came over to where Celebfaer was sitting causing Celebfaer looked up at the creature, unable to believe that she was finally among the fairies.
The fairy was dressed in a dress similar to Celebfaer's but green in colour and she smiled warmly at Celebfaer.
"Are you real?" Celebfaer asked her, looking at the fairy before her in wonder and the Fairy laughed.
"Yes, indeed I am. As real as you are yourself. After many years of endless searching we have finally found you Rydia." The Fairy replied, watching Celebfaer with interest and Celebfaer frowned at the name the Fairy gave her, but before she could ask, the Fairy continued again. "Come, your mother awaits your arrival."
As she followed her guide, Celebfaer looked around the dwelling, and her memory started to return to her and it felt as though someone had smacked her over the head with a stick. Trying to steady herself from the jolt, Celebfaer stopped, so her guide stopped too, waiting for her to recover. She had finally remembered who and mostly what she is and what that meant.
"My mother?" Celebfaer asked, then she closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them once more, not being able to believe the words she was about to say. "The Queen?" She said uncertain and frightened, but the Fairy just nodded in response.
"She is busy with some Fairies that wish to leave the realm, but she will see you when we arrive at the castle, Princess."
When they made it to the middle of the City, at the big building that Celebfaer had noticed when she had woken up, her guide led her inside. Celebfaer looked around once again, in wonder for the design of the building and the craftsmanship all around her surpassed any skill that she had seen any Elf posses, even the great Elves, such as Galadriel would not be able to design something that beautiful. The sights took her breath away and by the time the two arrived at the hall, where the Queen greets guests, Celebfaer felt as though her head would explode from all the beautiful things that she had just seen.
The fairy that led her into the 'castle' told Celebfaer to wait while she went in to announce her arrival and a few seconds later the fairy came back mentioning for Celebfaer to enter.
Entering the room, Celebfaer felt very exposed because of the clothes that she wearing. They were in the Fairy fashion, so the garments showed quite a bit of flesh, but Celebfaer was not used to it at all and she found herself wishing that she had her cloak so that she could at least cover herself and her wings. It didn't help that every pair of eyes in the room was watching her.
She walked into the middle of the room, then bowed low to the people in the room. Her bow was as low as she would have bowed to the Lady Galadriel herself and then Celebfaer looked up to take in all the people that were in the room.
The female Fairy that sat on the throne could almost be Celebfaer's twin, except that her eyes showed far more wisdom and she had clearly come to her full age, the lines on her face suggesting that she had also grieved much and seen much in her days upon the earth.
Next to that Lady sat another female Fairy, that Celebfaer was sure had not been alive when she had been in the dwelling for she had no memory of the girl, that was clearly younger than Celebfaer herself.
"Rydia. My firstborn child, you have indeed returned to us after many years of us thinking that we would never find you. We had almost given up hope. But you have returned to us changed and frightened by what you see around you." The Queen said and Celebfaer tried not to show how uneasy she felt that all the people were watching the exchange between her mother and herself. The Queen sensed Celebfaer's unease and she turned to all that were present. "My servants, advisors and loyal friends, I bid that you leave me some time to talk to my daughter for it has been many a year since we have spoken and she has changed much in her years away." She said and the people she spoke of walked out of the room.
Only two remained in the room, the female that sat next to the Queen and the male that sat beside her, and both looked at Celebfaer with great curiosity. The male she thought looked familiar, though she could not yet place him in her memory.
"Elysa, I wish to be alone with your sister for a while. You will be able to talk to her later though as I wish for you two to get to know each other and become friends. Sabin, will you escort your wife out to walk in the gardens please?" The Queen said and the male stood up and Celebfaer instantly remembered who he was and why he was so familiar.
Before she had left the realm that day to talk to the water spirit, Celebfaer had been promised to be married ten years after her coming of age at 1000 years old. It would have been a 500-year courtship and Sabin had been the one that had been promised to her. As he escorted Elysa away from the hall, their eyes met and Celebfaer remembered everything that she knew about him.
When they were gone, the Queen stood and approached Celebfaer.
"Rydia, you have returned and now the City will have its proper first daughter of the Queen." The Queen said and Celebfaer looked at her in shock. Her mother had just told her that she was now the correct heir to the throne of the Fairies. "My child, speak for your silence I cannot bear."
"My queen, I shall serve you as you wish, but I cannot accept the position of heir. I am but a simple Fairy, looking for a place in the world. I see that you are my mother, the resemblance we have is to close not to be, though I wish only to be known as Celebfaer and not to have such a burden placed upon my shoulders. Burdens such as the one you wish to give me mother, are never to be taken lightly and I wish first to be taught how to regain all of my memory, or taught how an heir should act before I can take on this role. Long it has been since I dwelt in this place and I fear I have forgotten all the rules." Celebfaer said nervously and the Queen smiled at her.
"Daughter you have gained much wisdom in your years away from this realm. Tell me, where have you been hiding for over 2000 years?"
"I have dwelt in a wood called Lothlorien, and the Lady of the Wood taught me much, trying to help me regain my memory for I lost it when Orcs attacked me on that fateful day."
The Queen paused, shock evident on her face. "You have dwelt with the Elves for over 2000 years? Yet we have not been sought out by them, or hunted by any. Tell me how is it that you kept your identity a secret for so long?"
"The Lady bid me wear a cloak that covered my wings and a hood that covered my hair and ears. She took me on as her scholar and many just assumed I were an Elf and accepted it."
So, the Queen talked to Celebfaer for quite some time, hearing of her travels to Rivendell and back and the Queen in return told Celebfaer of what had been happening in the Fairy world. Celebfaer could not bring herself to mention the Fellowship and the quest that they had succeeded in. Bringing up the Fellowship would have caused Celebfaer great pain because she would have to remember Legolas and the grief of losing him was still too new.
Eventually Celebfaer was shown a room, where once she was undressed, she instantly fell into a deep sleep, exhausted from talking and still weary from the blow to her head.
Celebfaer found out that Elysa was in fact her sister, though she was just over 500 years younger than Celebfaer herself because the Queen, fearing that Celebfaer was dead had needed another daughter to take over the throne. The circumstances of her birth were not the kindest that Celebfaer could see and Elysa she soon found out did not like Celebfaer in the slightest. Nor did she want to.
In her first few days back in the City, Celebfaer was allowed to wonder around as she pleased, so she wondered in the streets of the actual city itself not wanting to be surrounded by the castle for she felt hemmed in when she was in there. Within a few days she had seen everything that there was to see, so she started to wonder outside the City, trying to work out where they were in Middle Earth. But the City was surrounded by forest that appeared to go on forever. The trees were large and dense, but Celebfaer knew that they could not surpass the beauty of the mallorn trees of Lothlorien.
The Fairies generally kept to themselves and when she walked past most stopped to watch her. Somehow it had been made known to the rest of the dwelling that she had been living with Elves for the last 2376 and most of the Fairies did not like that. Most thought that the Elves, knowing that Fairies existed would come and hunt them down and make them come out into the world, but Celebfaer knew different. So she did not have many friends, or any at all for that matter, most of the Fairies were simply curious about her. Sabin, her sister's husband was the only Fairy that did not frown at her or avoid her when she walked near. He was the closest thing she had to a friend in the whole city. Most people also believed that the Elves were the ones that had mutilated her wings and so they stayed away, thinking she was cursed.
She saw her mother every night at dinner and every morning for breakfast, but she rarely saw her sister for her sister despised her and wanted nothing to do with her. Although when Elysa was not around, Sabin would come and talk to her of trivial things just so that she was not completely alone.
