Chapter Eight
Kayla sighed as the cool night breeze ruffled her hair slightly from her seat on the rock in the forest clearing. "Are you here tonight?"
"I am here my Queen."
"Would you stop with that?" she said with the slightest irritation. "I'm not a queen." it irked her to no end that he had called her that for the past few days in a row.
A small chuckle as the dark man came from the trees and seated himself beside her. "As you wish. I know you fear the water."
"How nice to see you have tact." she muttered crossly. "I fear nothing." the slightest trace of arrogance came through in her voice.
"But you do, as much as you deny it. I was called Annatar, the Gift-giver, by some once. I can make your fear go away. Then you can step closer to your desire."
"My desire? And just what is my desire?"
"To see this world. You cannot do that trapped behind those waters."
She smiled slightly at the displeasure in his voice at 'those waters'. "Now who's talking? Perhaps I was sceptical of this gift you propose to give me?"
"And if I did assuage your fear Lady; what then?" there was a gleam in his eye that she hadn't seen in a long time; one of a truly cunning mind.
"Don't call me 'Lady' either. And if you did do this thing, that I don't need anyways," she rolled her eyes in mock exasperation. "Then perhaps, and I do stress the perhaps, we could work something out. I know you want something in return Lord." she said the last word with a tinge of sarcasm.
"Very perceptive for an Elf." he murmured in approval. "I will give you this gift from me. And then perhaps then you will do something for me."
"I could say the same of you." she said with a small secretive smile. "You have the look of an Elf and yet you don't. You are something more that you don't want to tell me yet."
A faint red glow came to his eyes. "And would you fear me if you knew what I truly was?"
"Why would I? I could have refused to even meet with you further after that one night. I can sense darkness around you, true. . .but from where I grew up, everyone had that same darkness around them and they were good people."
The man didn't say anything for a few minutes before he turned to face her. She looked him squarely in the eye, a calm expression on her face. He slowly raised his hands to her temples, pressing the pads of his fingertips harder. Kayla closed her eyes at the enveloping sensation of the water closing around her.
Looking over at Midori, Kayla watched as she gazed over the stuff on her bed before she selected a few and packed it away tightly and securely.
"Are you almost done? We still have to show Galadriel and Celeborn this letter." she asked, waving around the parchment.
Midori flashed her a look before she returned to her work. "Go alone if you don't have the patience for me. I will not leave half prepared simply because you wanted to hurry." She paused for a minute before she lowered her voice. "Is he still outside my door?"
"That's where he was last when I came in here." Kayla said as she leaned forward. "Why did you freak out that day at the river?"
Midori didn't reply lapsing into a shroud of silence. She looked critically at the pack before she gave a tiny disgusted sigh and took all the things out. Kayla rose with an explosive sigh and stalked out the door.
"Tell me when you've finally finished packing. I'll tell them alone." she stated. "Don't worry Haldir, I'm going to talk Galadriel and Celeborn." she said as she closed the door behind her, glancing at the guard leaning against the wall.
"I would not advise that Lady-"
"I'm going to talk to them." she pegged him with a hard stare.
Haldir didn't say anything before he nodded his head. Kayla walked down the hall feeling slightly anxious; maybe the reason why she wanted to leave was to see if she really could cross the river with no ill effects. 'Not that it bothered me anyways.' The thought came right on the heels of the first one. She slowed down, seeing a guard outside door.
"Can I help you Lady Arlonniel?" the guard asked with a smile.
"Yeah," she said masking her frown. "Are Galadriel and Celeborn in there?"
"They are. They are currently talking to Prince Legolas and rather-"
"Is it possible that I could get in there? Please?" she gave him a rather soft look and a dazzling smile.
A look of hesitancy crossed the guard's face. "I gather it's rather important. . ."
"It truly is. Their opinion should be consulted immediately." Kayla nodded her head. "I won't take too much time, I promise. Simply a bit of their time and I shall leave again."
"All right. But not too long." the guard said as he stepped aside. "I'm sure Lady Galadriel will be pleased that you take these matters seriously."
"Thank you." she said as the guard opened the door for her.
Kayla didn't say anything as she walked down the short hallway, hearing voices coming from the room ahead, an unfamiliar one speaking now.
"The darkness in Mirkwood grows by the day. The spiders come closer than they have ever dared and there are things in the Dark Lord's haunt of Dol Guldur. Orcs were seen leaving and they speak of Wolves that grow larger as the sun passes overhead. Surely this speaks of-"
"Arlonniel."
Kayla watched as the Elf speaking turned around suddenly, clearly surprised by her appearance. "I'm very sorry to disturb you." she said as she walked in, the paper now tucked behind her back in a single hand.
"It is quite all right. Legolas, this is our daughter Arlonniel. Arlonniel, this is Prince Legolas, son of King Thranduil of Mirkwood." Celeborn said as he rose.
Kayla watched as Legolas walked over, her throat suddenly dry and her heart stilled.
"Vanimle sina tiri. [1]" he murmured, bringing her hand lightly to his lips.
Kayla couldn't stop the flush that came to her cheeks; that certainly sounded like a compliment. Perhaps not a very wise one from the slight glance that passed between Celeborn and Galadriel. "I am very pleased to meet you as well Prince Legolas. I shall not take more time than needed."
"What is it Arlonniel?" Celeborn asked stepping out from behind the table.
"I found a message from Strider when I came back from the river." she held it out to him. "He wishes for us to meet him at Weathertop in three months."
Galadriel came around also, reading beside Celeborn as his eyes scanned over the page. She waited patiently as a somewhat displeased look came over Celeborn's face.
"The land is not safe to travel, even if it is you and Carardaiel together."
"But we need weapons. My sister says she needs to make her sword." Kayla said; he didn't need to know that Midori would be going somewhere else to do that while she explored for a bit.
"We have weapons here." Galadriel said. "Take from the supplies and you can be on your way."
"Surely you do not approve of this." Celeborn said giving her a sharp glance.
"They were bound to leave at some point Celeborn." Galadriel gave him a kind look. "They will come back this time."
Celeborn gave a small snort of disapproval before he looked back at Kayla. "You may go but you are to keep a close eye on your sister. She is much too troubled to be working and traversing across the land, but if she wishes to travel..."
Galadriel nodded her consent. "You must keep watch Arlonniel; anything can happen once you leave the protection of these woods."
Kayla nodded her head glad that they were actually allowing her to leave. It would have been easy to leave but they would have most likely sent a company of warriors after them. 'And just what could they know that I don't?'
Kayla watched as Legolas stepped in, talking rapidly to Galadriel and Celeborn in the fluid tongue. A few seconds silence descended before Celeborn spoke, a not too thrilled tone in his voice. Legolas nodded his head every so often, saying something that seemingly appeased Celeborn and Galadriel. Finally Galadriel turned to her.
"It seems that Prince Legolas has volunteered his services Arlonniel. He will escort you to wherever you wish to go."
"You would do that?" Kayla looked at him with a rather surprised expression. "You must have other things to do."
"If you wish." Legolas said simply.
"Could you take me to this Mirkwood? It sounds rather interesting." she asked looking at the prince.
"Yes, I could."
"And you should see the other Elven kingdoms." Celeborn said as he looked back down at the piece of paper that had taken his child away. "I gather you are prepared and ready to leave?"
"Yes. Me and my sister, we are both ready." for some odd reason, she couldn't see herself calling Midori Carardaiel. "I'm sorry to have disturbed you. I'll let you continue talking." she turned to leave.
"Stay Arlonniel." Galadriel said, leading her back to the table. "If you desire to go to Mirkwood, you should know of its dangers."
"All right." she came back and took the seat at the end of the table.
Kayla listened as Legolas talked and Galadriel and Celeborn advised him but none of it really sank into her head. She couldn't wait to seat herself on a horse and go riding once more, to feel the wind in her hair and be out in the wide open spaces. And she couldn't wait to see the river Anduin once again.
Scuffing her booted foot against the stable post Kayla looked up expectantly, hoping to see Midori come walking through any minute now. The reins tugged out slightly as her and Midori's horse moved around anxiously.
"Are you sure that Lady Carardaiel was prepared?"
Kayla looked over at Legolas who was also waiting with the reins of his horse in hand. "She was. She told me to go ahead and she would be down shortly." she looked back at the doorway. "I don't know what's taking her. Perhaps I should go and see. . ."
Just as she spoke Midori came and stood in the doorway. "I apologize for keeping you waiting. I had misplaced something important."
Kayla shook her head. "Let's just go all right?" she held out Midori's reins.
Midori nodded her head before giving a low whistle and stepping out of the way as Kuroi came trotting forward eagerly. 'Showoff.' Kayla mounted her own horse before trotting it out. She kept her eyes on the path as the horses picked their way through the trees, the grass going from tufts at the tree bottoms to spread out across the ground. A deep sigh suffused through her once they broke the cover of the trees, the scent of water delicate upon the air.
"This is what travelling is about." she said in a murmur as she trotted the horse through the shallow ford and continued on the other side. "Isn't it Midori?"
"Yes." came the somewhat absent reply.
Glancing over, she saw Midori looking around as if trying to get her bearings. She shrugged it off, figuring Midori was trying to decide the best direction to leave in. The soft creak of leather intermingled with the gentle jingle of metal as they crossed the countryside. Kayla smiled faintly as a gentle wind started up, blowing wisps of her red hair into her face. She tucked it back behind her ear, glad to be out beneath the open sky. A muttered, and rather colourful, curse came from behind her before Midori swore once more violently to herself. Kayla sighed as she heard a rather abrupt ripping sort of sound.
"Now what did you do Mi..." she trailed off as she reined her horse to a halt, staring in amazement.
There sat Midori with a rather triumphant look on her face as she glared down at the thick long braid in her gloved hand. Kayla watched as the wind caught it whipping the free ends around wildly.
"Why?" Legolas voice was rather surprised but not as much as Kayla's
"It bothered me." Midori said as she stowed the length in her saddlebag.
Kayla shook her head as she turned and continued. "It's also a liability in battle. A very wise move."
"That, and other reasons that a smith would have." Midori said as she clucked to her horse. "Now is when I shall take my leave of you."
"The world is dangerous Lady Carardaiel. We shall follow you to where you wish to go."
"Prince Legolas, where I wish to tread, you will have no desire to follow. I seek the Dwarves and I know of the long running hostility between our race and theirs. Let me be to find my way in peace. I have heard of a colony of Dwarves somewhere to the Northwest of here and that is where I shall be if you need me.
"Let us follow you to some point. I said that I would-"
"Prince Legolas, you and Kayla continue on to Mirkwood. I need this time alone very much. I have not had a quiet moment for myself since I came back and that is what I need. I shall be wary of Orcs, Wolves, and whatever else shall come at me. If they do, they shall highly regret it, just ask Kayla. Perhaps I shall bring you two back something but for now, this is simply a temporary goodbye."
Kayla watched as Midori bowed slightly and started her horse off in a brisk trot. Legolas started after her but she started her horse and cut him off.
"You can't mean to let her leave like that?" he gave her an incredulous look.
"I do." Kayla said as s he glanced back at Midori's shrinking figure. "Come and don't look back if it disturbs you so much Prince. I'll explain it as we go."
Kayla started, not looking back at Legolas. A few minutes later his horse pulled up beside hers, a somewhat guarded look in his eyes.
"Perhaps you should explain your sister now Lady Arlonniel. It is bad enough I took on two charges and let one of them simply ride off to Valar knows where."
"Call me Kayla. No Lady or Princess." Kayla said in a quiet voice. "I have never been one for titles."
"Very well Kayla." Legolas said, saying her name slowly as if it was foreign to his tongue.
She gave him a smile before she looked ahead, composing her thoughts. "Where Midori grew up, they have a very different sort of society from where I grew up. That's why we barely know each other and what we do know is minimal. The culture was highly xenophobic and-" she broke off when she saw the confused look on his face.
"Soceeety? Curlter? Zeenophobeec?" Legolas spoke the words slowly, his mind trying to grasp their meaning.
"Society made of many people in cities in a great country."
"Like Gondor."
"Yes. Culture is all the things that make a society; things like arts, music, books, that sort of thing."
"Ah. And what of that other word, zeenophobeec? I have never heard that word before."
"Xenophobic," she said, enunciating slowly on the word. "means you have a fear of outsiders, of strangers."
"Ah. So Lady Carardaiel grew up in a fearful place." Legolas said with a nod of his head.
"You could say that. I don't know much of its history but when they finally allowed other men to come in, things didn't go so well at first. From the beginning, I think, there were clashes because the ones who came told the ones who were there what to do."
"They tried to conquer the land." a slight frown passed over Legolas' face. "What kind of place did you grow up in?"
"Probably one far more violent than Midori's." Kayla said. "Anyways, bottom line is that Midori values her peace and solitude as much as certain things and tries to get as much of it as she can."
"Oh...she prefers her own company to that of others?"
"I guess you could say that, in a manner of speaking." Kayla said. "And that's Midori in a somewhat small nutshell. Mind you a somewhat one-sided nutshell."
Legolas nodded before he spoke again. "And what of you Kayla?"
Kayla gave a somewhat wistful sigh. "That's a very long story and not for this journey Prince Legolas. It's far from what you want in a tale."
Note
[1] Vanimle sina tiri - Your beauty shines bright