A/N: Just a quick note this time. Celebfaer will start the journey to get her wings cleansed, but she just needs to find her bearings first. She is still searching for a place where she belongs and I want to develop the Fairies and their traditions and stuff a little more first. Anyway here is the next installment.





Disclaimer: The only thing in all of this chapter that is not purely a creation from my own imagination is the character Legolas and any other references to Middle Earth. Celebfaer, Sabin, Elysa, the Queen Asura, Mildred, Julyan and any other non-recognisable characters are my creations. Enjoy them.



Chapter 25: Questions and Training



Celebfaer was sitting in the gardens of the castle but five days after her arrival at the fairy City, a little overwhelmed by everything that she had seen. Her mother had tried her best to help her fit in, giving her the same style clothes as every other fairy, but Celebfaer thought most of these to be indecent. So much so that Celebfaer had taken the dress that covered the most of her body and requested that her mother get more decent gowns made. She felt strange, not wearing the cloak and having that much of her body exposed for all to see made her a little uncomfortable.

She could not believe how fast things had happened. A week ago, she had thought only to find her people and she did not even know how to do that. However, they had somehow found her, brought her into the City and then she had regained some of her memory and was unable to believe that she was indeed the daughter of the Queen. That she was the first-daughter had come to even more a shock for she had wished to find her people and just live the rest of her days in peace in a small house at the edge of the City. But her birthright would not allow that. Her mother made sure that she had everything she wanted and she knew that it was a matter of time before they would begin training her again, for she had unlearnt all the fairy ways and was now more like an Elf than ever.

Celebfaer was a little disheartened for already she was starting to miss the Elves, and there were many questions that she needed to be answered before she would begin to consider accepting that she was the heir to the throne.

Sitting in the garden was calming as there was no one that could stare at her and give her those unapproving looks that she got from many of the Fairies in the City itself. She was alone and there was no one to hassle her.

Sabin found her there deep in thought and he smiled when he saw her. Elysa, his wife had finally given him some time to himself, where he did not have to run any errands and he had wanted to see Rydia. There were things that had to be said between them and he knew that the longer he left it, the harder it would be.

"Rydia?" He called entering the garden, but she did not answer, so hesitating slightly he called the name that she had called herself when she arrived, weird as it sounded and he hoped that she would respond to him. "Celebfaer?"

Celebfaer turned around, wondering who it was that was calling to her, for no one in the realm dared to call her by her elvish name. When she saw that it was Sabin she smiled for though she knew he that he would have tried, even if he knew that had pronounced it wrong. The tongue of the Elves was hard to learn and pronounce right without practice, though fairies were good with languages, it was difficult for them to pick it up on hearing just one word.

"Sabin. What brings you here?" She asked looking around. "And where is my sister, should she not be at your side?"

"Nay, Elysa has given me a few hours to myself, as she wishes to meditate in her room." He replied walking over to where she sat. "And I wish to talk to you of the past." He added then he sat down next to her on the garden chair overlooking the whole garden.

"The past? Not many wish to know me now, let alone talk of my past. They say the Elves were the ones that destroyed my wings and that they bewitched me. Do you wish to try and cure me of my bewitchment?"

"Nay. I believe that you speak the truth and that it was Orcs that destroyed your wings and that the Elves showed you nothing but kindness in all your years there. I wish to talk about the day you left the City and did not return." He said slowly and softly so that she almost did not hear him.

"Sabin, what is there to say? My mother sent me to talk to the Water Spirit and gather news. It was a test for me I am told, a test to see if my skills were as good as I thought they were. Obviously they were not because I did not sense the Orcs until they were upon me."

"I should have been there with you Rydia." He said and she looked at him, questions in her eyes.

Although she remembered things about him there was a lot that she still did not remember clearly and this comment startled her. She knew that they had been promised, but that did not mean that he was to accompany her everywhere. In her knowledge that was only allowed once they were wedded. The bonding of two fairies was rather different to any other bonding of all the races. Once wedded the two fairies would share a mind link and for the first fifty or so years of their bonding, they would not leave each other's side for more than a few minutes.

"We were only promised Sabin, not wedded."

"That is true, but that day before you left, my mother had a premonition and she told me that I should not let you go out of the Realm by yourself. But your mother called me to her before you left and she too gave me an errand to run, which is why I was not there to protect you from the evil that was done to you and your wings."

"Sabin, it has been many years since that day and you should not carry guilt, for I would not have allowed you to come with me either. My mother appointed the errand to me and it was a test of my skills, so I would have wanted to go alone. Had I paid more attention in my classes as a child I would have known how dangerous it is outside the realm and I would have known what Orcs were. It was not your fault." She said reaching out and touching his hand. "You make my sister happy Sabin and you are worthy of a wife as grand as Elysa. The Valar has a plan for all." She said and Sabin frowned.

"You are wise beyond your years Rydia. I look forward to your friendship and if you shall allow me I will look to you as a sister."

"You are my brother by marriage Sabin and at this moment I could not ask for anything other than friendship from you. To call you brother would surely be too much as I am yet to accept that I am the first-daughter. I need to relearn much of what I have lost and only then will I call you brother and accept the responsibility of the first-daughter." She said.

A brief silence fell then, but as Sabin stood up to leave, she spoke once more.

"I have questions that I wish to know the answers of. You may not be able to help with many of these questions, but there is one that plagues my mind and I wonder if you can answer it, or guide me towards the answer."

"Princess if I know the answer, you shall be told it. Ask your question."

"How did the fairies find me and bring me here? I have no memory of a journey to this city."

"The Queen went to talk to the water spirit a month before we found you and when she came back she told all that she had heard word of you, and knew where to find you. It had been a very long time since any had wondered past our borders to talk with the spirits and the Queen was shocked to find that they roughly knew your location. Immediately four search parties were sent out in search of you with the instructions that we were to make certain it was you before we approached and that we were not to give away the location of the realm. Rydia, when we spotted a cloaked figure beside the river, they did not know if it was indeed you. I told them that it was you for I would know you anywhere, and your face had not changed. But as you wore a cloak they could not be entirely sure and were not willing to merely take my word for it. They wanted to see your wings to make certain that it was you. So we attacked you from behind, merely as a precaution and for that I hope that you can forgive us. To get you back to the realm it was necessary to keep you unconscious so that you would not see the location of the City. You are of our folk and therefore should be told the secret but when we took you could not be sure if you would accept that so easily and we could not risk the chance that you would run once you found out where you were." He said, bowing his head as though he was ashamed of it.

"Thank you Sabin. I understand now and I thank you for your caution. Had I have seen you I also may have been compelled to attack you, merely because I would have mistaken you for foes." She said and he smiled, then he stood up straight once more, his wings fluttering slightly, obviously happy.

"I am glad that we understand each other." He said and then he walked from the garden.

Celebfaer continued to sit in the garden for the rest of that day, deep in thought. She was glad that Sabin had cleared a few things up, but there was still many things that she wished to know and she could not feel at ease in the presence of any fairy, not even Sabin or her mother, until she had the answers she needed.

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

A week or so later, Celebfaer was wondering around in the forest - that reminded her so much of the wood that surrounded Caras Galadhon the elven city in Lothlorien - when suddenly she stumbled on a small clearing. The clearing was small and had a yard full of horses to the side of it but on further examination, she realised that it was a training ground for the members of the Queen's guard. Not only the Queen's guard trained there, but so did all small male Fairies that were old enough to start their training in the forms of battle.

That had been another thing that she had learnt. When she had been with the Fairies for her first 500 years of life they had been peaceful people, that would only use their spells and summons for good or in self defense. But in the 2000 years that she had been away, things had changed. The male fairies now were trained in the skills of fighting with a sword from the moment they learnt telepathy. All this had been because one day the City had been attacked and the Fairies only just managed to win; though they lost many friends that day. More women had died, so the male fairies now wanted to train so that they could protect the women. After that day they had placed a barrier around the realm and made sure that only fairies that dwelt in the City knew the way to pass through it.

But Celebfaer was yet to see where the male fairies trained or how they trained.

She was about to walk out and explore the field a little more closely, when she saw some fairies walk out to the field, carrying swords. They all stood and listened to one of the men before they teamed up in pairs and started to practice.

Watching them she could not believe the skill that they had, for their swords moved so fast that she could barely keep up with them and she was surprised that the defenders swords moved just as fast, making sure they did not get even the tiniest scratch. By looking at them Celebfaer could tell that these young male fairies where all between 1000 - 2000 years old, which shocked her because they were still quite young and therefore should not be as skilled with the swords as they were.

She was so busy watching the men practicing that she did not notice the older Fairy approach her until he was beside her and he spoke.

"Princess Rydia, the forms of battle interest you?" He asked, bowing his head slightly, cocking an eyebrow in question and she turned to look at him.

He had short dark hair, with a blue sapphire of the Queen's guard studded into his left ear. His eyes were blue though, which was unusual for a fairy and she looked into them and instantly thought of Legolas. Quickly, she lowered her eyes from his face, hoping not to see the blue eyes again as she fought a stab of pain in her heart and tears that threatened to fall. He had an air about him that reminded Celebfaer of a strung bow, ready to fire at the blink of an eye. Yet, she could sense that he was still a young fairy for he was not older than herself.

"Not as much as one of the Queen's guard. However, I thought that we Fairies were not ones to meddle in the wars of Men and Elves." She said answering his question, which only caused him to smile.

"In such times as these we can no longer rely on only our magic, so the men are trained in the sword in case we should be attacked again. We will not be caught by surprise once again." He said proudly.

"May I ask you for your name sir?"

"Indeed you may Princess." He said, bowing to her as though she were the Queen, which shocked her a little. "I am called Mildred and I serve the Queen Asura with every breath of my life."

"You are married to the battle already? One so young......." She started and Mildred stood up straighter then looked into her eyes.

"I am 2467 years of age my Lady." He said proudly cutting her off in mid sentence. "My parents were taken from me when I was but a babe and I was put under the care of the head of the Queen's guard. I have no real family, but am very skilled with the sword. It is my blood, and my life." He said.

"That is quite upsetting Mildred. A young one such as yourself should not be troubled with thoughts of battle. Tell me have you ever fought anything other than another student?" She asked him and he laughed.

"I am the head of the team that patrol the woods in search of Orcs that managed to get past the barrier and often I wonder out of the realm in search of evil that I can sharpen my blade on." He said, a passion for killing evident in his eyes and it scared her, but she merely nodded then smiled at him.

"Mildred." She said as though trying a new word on her tongue. "I shall remember your name and on a day when I have nothing better to do I shall travel with you on one of these journeys." She said and he looked at her in surprise.

"A female? It is not proper for a female to fight in battle, unless it is her spell and callings that are needed, the men are to do all the combat fighting."

"I have also been trained in battle and though I do not love it as you do, I am able to defend myself when the need arises." She said and he bowed to her.

"I am sorry my Lady for I meant no offense." He said and she laughed.

"I am not offended Mildred and you should feel as though you can speak freely around me. I should like to see you with your sword, for your students move with more grace and speed that even the Elves would be hard pressed to beat." She replied and he smiled.

"I taught them all that they know." He said, then he mentioned for her to follow him and they walked over to where the younger Fairies were practicing.

"Julyan." Mildred called when they got there and a Fairy that would have been no more than 500 years younger than Mildred stepped forward as the rest of the students stopped. "Princess Rydia wishes to see a demonstration and as you are the best we have in this group, I ask you to practice your sword with me." He said and the younger Fairy nodded.

"Yes Master Mildred." He said, then he readied his sword as Mildred drew his.

"You do not practice with practice swords?" She asked and Mildred shook his head.

"As part of their training, they must learn the control of the sword and when they beat another Fairy the control they learn will stop the blade before it draws blood." Mildred replied then he readied his sword and took up his normal stance then he looked to one of the other students.

"Set, go!" The other student said and Julyan and Mildred started their battle.

Their blades were moving so fast that all Celebfaer could see was the flash as they moved and she could hear when they clashed.

They fought for no more than five minutes because Mildred soon grew tired of toying with the student and within a second after that, Julyan, without realising what had happened was on the ground, Mildred's sword millimeters from his throat.

"I yield." Julyan said quietly and then Mildred re-sheathed his sword and helped the younger Fairy up.

"Well fought Julyan." He said then the told them to go back to their practicing.

"I understand your love for the battle now Mildred. For you love your students as well and that is where you will stay forever until you grow old and die." She told him and he shrugged, then bowed to her once more.

"Your presence here has been uplifting Princess and if any other time you would come to the training yard we would enjoy your presence once again." He said and she nodded, taking that as her dismissal.

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

After she had been given her two weeks of adapting to Fairy life, her mother told her that she was to continue training with her former teacher because they could not risk her walking around 'untrained' in her spells and callings. She had purposely not told her mother or any other Fairy that she was able to control her spells or any of the spells that she actually knew. So, her days were taken up with more training and learning and she held most of her abilities back. She found herself unable to put her complete trust in the Fairies as the minute she had restarted her training, they had treated her as though she were merely a child and still only 500 years old.

When her tutor, or teacher as her mother called him, would show her something, Celebfaer would pretend to stumble on it for a few days before she could actually show him that she knew it. Her mother came to the first few sessions and she could see the disappointment in her eyes for the queen knew that Celebfaer should have already learnt the things she was being taught. All the abilities of a fairy - spells, summons and callings - are with the fairy the moment they are born and their potential is also with them from the day they are born.

Celebfaer didn't know why but she feared that if they knew that she had learnt all her spells already, then they would demand to know everything she knew. She thought she might need that advantage over them, seeing as they insisted on treating her as though she were still 500 years old.

So, she took their instructions and started to learn a lot more about all the spells that she knew and the history behind them, instead of just knowing what they were and what they did. When she did try to ask about the more powerful spells, they told her she wouldn't learn them for quite some time so she shouldn't worry about them until she needed to.

Though there was one thing they made her remember and practice often was her telepathy. She was getting rather good at it and within a matter of weeks she was able to talk telepathically to anyone she pleased, no matter how far away they were. It was the one thing that she enjoyed because with the telepathy she was superior to most of her teachers, so they left her alone with it.