Chapter 3
Disclaimer: See Ch. 1
Many days passed as the two elves traveled, the desolation of the outskirts of Mordor left both ill spirited. Both were weary of the other for many days but soon after they passed into the land of Gondor they began to grow accustom to each other.
Legolas pulled back slightly on the reigns, Fainu had fallen asleep earlier in his arms and was now nestled against him. Every so often she'd whisper softly in dark elvish, he looked down at her and smiled slightly, she looked innocent, none of the blood that she shed showed in her eyes or face. He slid off Felwin and laid her down on his mantle before building a fire. Happy that she would be safe for a while he left to catch some food.
It was easy enough to find food in the forest, but far more difficult to catch it considering he was out of arrows even if he was grateful that the last one had been used to save him he still wished for a full quiver. After he had caught a bird to cook he found some berries before returning to the edge of the forest where he had left Fainu. The dark elf was still sound asleep and didn't even stir when he put more logs on the fire. He sat against a tree and plucked the bird, the entire time watching the girl that had saved his life, unlike all the other elves that he knew she slept with her eyes shut. He but the small bird over the fire to cook and leaned back allowing himself to rest for the time being, they had traveled well into the night without stopping for food during the day's travels.
Fainu's nose twitched, she could smell something strange, and she opened an eye to see the bird, cooking ready to be turned. She slowly sat up and looked at Legolas who was resting against a tree, she could tell that he was a sleep even if his eyes were open; she went to the fire and turned the bird. She looked at the small pile of berries that Legolas had gathered, then at the mantle he had placed her on. She picked it up and dusted it off before putting it over him. With that she returned to the food and waited for it to finish cooking. The fire hissed every time fat dribbled down onto the burning logs before it would flare up. Once she was happy with how the bird looked she took it off of the fire. She moved to where Legolas was sleeping and sat beside him.
"Wake up Legolas." Fainu said calmly. The pale elf shook his head and looked at her then at the finished bird, it was smaller than most of the other meals they had found but then she knew Mordor better so she had hunted with the knives she had taken.
"Thanks." Legolas pulled out a small package and took out two small pieces of lembas.
Fainu stared at the small biscuit blankly as he held it out to her. Before taking it carefully. She looked it over before looking back at him. "What is it?"
Legolas smirked slightly. "Lembas, elven way bread. It tastes good but gets repetitive if it's all you can have. And there are some desolate places that we will have to cross to get to my home."
Fainu nodded and took a small bite of the biscuit; it tasted like a warm place, welcoming and friendly. "It's good."
"I'm glad you like it. There may be days when that is all you'll be eating." Legolas touched the bird; it was still warm but not to hot to hold for a long time. He pulled it off the stick and used his knife to cut it in half. He handed her half, Fainu looked t him closely then moved to the other side of the fire where she quickly ate the small piece of meat. Legolas watched her carefully noting how she watched him rather than her food. Once she was finished the meat she nibbled on the way bread. Her sharp eyes watching his every movement, Legolas didn't know why she was watching him so closely now after she had trusted him with the horseback riding and had slept in his arms.
"Are you ever going to tell me about why you saved me?" He asked finally how she was acting towards him confused him. At times she seemed to be happy and content to be near him then other times she was on edge almost ready to attack him.
"Umm." Fainu looked up at him, her blue eyes reflecting the firelight. "Your remind me of someone." She finally said.
"I remind a dark elf of someone? Don't you normally only associate with your own kind?" Legolas asked frowning slightly.
"Of course that's all we normally associate with, but you look like him with the exception of your hair and cloths, you act like him, you even smell like him." Fainu said angrily then shut her mouth realizing what she had said.
"He? What was he to you? Since you're so protective of him." Legolas asked slowly pulling off another bite of meat from the bone.
"It doesn't matter. It's not like you are him." Fainu said looking down and curling her legs up to her chest.
"It does matter I want to know who I remind you of so that I know what I shouldn't do in your presence." Legolas said calmly.
"Propose." Fainu growled under her breath, glaring at him.
"I remind you of the elf you're engaged to?" Legolas said a he tried to cough up the piece of meat he'd swallowed whole when he heard what she said.
"Was engaged to. He died almost five centuries ago." Fainu whispered struggling to keep her voice in check.
"Oh. I'm so sorry." Legolas said realizing that why she had been moody with him. "How did he die?"
"He was killed defending me when I was still the proper young elf." Fainu smirked slightly at the last part.
Legolas lowered his head, everything fell in place now. She hadn't killed him before because she had reminded her of the one that she'd loved and she'd saved him because she had been able to and she had wanted to make up for the death of the person she loved. "I'm sorry." He whispered, he moved over to the small elf and put his mantle back over her shoulders. He stayed beside her, not knowing what else to do, he had never heard of any elf surviving the loss of their mate. Normally the other passed on into the Vala's halls not long after or so his father told him. But the dark elves seemed so different, they had been Morgoths servants in the first war and they had escaped from the Dark Lord. Somehow he had tainted them and he felt guilt suddenly for all the times head heard stories about the dark elves and how viscous they were and believed them with out a second thought.
"When I was younger I was told stories about dark elves and I believed them. But from what I've seen today I don't know what is true anymore." Legolas whispered.
"Don't worry about it too much I've been told some things about pale elves." Fainu smirked. "What are you even called?"
"What do you mean?" Legolas looked at her.
"In all of our stories your kind is known as pale elves, we are dark elves but I'm sure that you aren't actually called pale elves." Fainu snorted at the thought of a rave of elves being called pale.
"No, there are lots of types of pale elves. I'm a Sindarian Elf, there other types of elves, some even look like Dark elves but they aren't." Legolas said calmly.
"Sindarian." Fainu smirked, "I can see why it was changed to pale if it was ever known. That would be difficult enough to get right simply speaking it." Fainu said laughing slightly.
"Is it true that you can smell twice as good and a wolf?" Legolas asked.
"I don't know, the only wolves that I've ever seen were the dead ones that had carried orcs. I can smell things really well though; I woke up when the meat started to cook. It was different then anything else I'd smelt recently so it woke me up." Fainu said calmly. "And yes I can see in the dark as you've seen already. If that is in any of the stories that you were told as a child. By the way how old were you anyway you talk about these memories as if they were a distant memory."
"How old do you think I am?" Legolas asked looking at the smaller elf he thought of her as close to a thousand years old but then appearances could be deceiving when it came to elves.
"Well over a thousand but that's all I'd even be able to tell by how much you've told me." She said looking closely at the elf that sat beside her.
"If I were only well over a thousand I would feel young." Legolas laughed. "I'm close to three thousand years old."
"And how old do you think I am then since you asked me to guess your age?" Fainu looked at him.
"I'd have to guess over a thousand as well." Legolas said calmly.
"Ha! The only Dark elf older than one thousand years old is my father. The rest don't get that old. Orcs or other pale elves kill them. I've seen my kind being slaughtered by other elves it is not a pretty sight. The only reason my father has survived is because he never leaves the chambers. The darkness wards off any enemies because it's humid in there so flames go out and like you elves are blind. I'm hardly six hundred years old, I'd probably die in another hundred years or so anyway." Fainu frowned at the though
"You picked your life mate in under a hundred years?" Legolas froze. "Where I live you aren't considered an adult until you're well over a hundred."
"Yes but I'd also assume that most of your kind lives to well over a thousand. We hardly ever make it to a thousand." Fainu said absently looking up at the sky, for once it wasn't over cast by the billowing fumes of Mount Doom or one of the lesser vents that spewed dark gases ash high into the air. Legolas followed her gaze.
"Have you seen the stars before?" Legolas asked softly.
"Only once, when it gets dark we cast a spell that seals the doors and they can only be opened from the inside the caverns. The hills swarm with orcs and goblins at night. Somehow we survived the night, it was the only time I ever saw the stars. I didn't appreciate them then." Fainu smiled at Legolas suddenly. "I'm almost glad I'm exiled. My father didn't exactly value me for anything. I don't think he would have flinched if I had been in your place on that platform on the lake."
"That would have never happened if you lived where I do. The worst that would ever happen to you there is you might see an orc. Normally the women don't leave the city so very few have actually seen them." Legolas said calmly.
"I would go insane if I were guarded that closely." Fainu laughed.
"Perhaps you would. You seem to be able to defend yourself well enough that you would get bored sitting around talking." Legolas smirked at the thought of Fainu in a long formal dress that the elven women normally wore where he lived and her acting like a proper lady, especially after the way she'd defended herself and him. "We should rest. We will be moving early tomorrow." He said finally standing up and walking over to the tree where he had fallen asleep earlier.
Fainu nodded absently and looked at the stars above her for a few more minutes before curling up in a small ball near the fire and falling asleep. Noises from the wood kept her from falling into a deep sleep, every time something strange made a noise near them she would open and eye then close it. Finally she fell asleep enough that she simply heard the noises but didn't pay them any heed. Finally she woke to the sound of soft footsteps. She was sure that they came from Legolas because no Orc moved so silently, and if a dark elf wished they would not move so noisily. She opened her eyes to discover a thick gray mist in the air that blocked her vision; she had never been in such a thing that it almost frightened her that something was wrong with her eyes. Suddenly she saw a shadowy figure moving towards her and she jumped back.
"Your high strung this morning." Legolas said softly leading Felwin.
"I can no see well right now." She growled aggravated wiping at her eyes.
Legolas stepped closer to her, and laughed slightly at the sight as she rubbed her eyes and blinked. "It is fog. You can't make it go away by rubbing your eyes, it's not even you're eyes that are the problem." He stopped beside her and scratched its muzzle softly.
"Fog? We don't get fog where I live." She frowned.
"No? I thought with that huge lake in the cavern it would." Legolas said climbing onto Felwins back. He put his hand down for Fainu to grab, she sighed and jumped up onto the horses back in front of him.
"The lake is spelled so that very few people can withstand it. I don't know if I would have survived it." Fainu said calmly. "It doesn't give off this fog substance."
"You mean I basically did something that couldn't be accomplished by other elves?" Legolas asked slightly frightened.
"Most die when they first jump into the water. I figured you were as good as dead but when you started to swim to the edge I knew that you were at least going to need help once you got out." Fainu said softly. "Can you see through fog?"
"No I can't." Legolas said calmly letting his horse take it's own path through the fog.
"But how-"
"Felwin knows the way in the fog he doesn't need to see to be able to find Mirkwood." Legolas said calmly.
Fainu nodded and watched the mists swirled around them. She thought that she could see things through the mist but then they would disappear. Legolas watched her, she seemed to be in awe of fog, and at the same time she seemed frightened by it. He knew that soon the mists would vanish and she would see the flat plains that they should be in, already the fog was beginning to thin. The sunlight shot through the mist making bursts of color appear as the small droplets disappeared in the sun. Fainu looked around rocks that lay scattered across the grassy plain; the long grass brushed the bottom of her bare feet. She thought that it was extremely neat, she had never seen grass that long nor had it ever been soft enough to tickle her feet she lifted her legs slightly so that the grass wouldn't reach her.
"Why are you lifting your feet?" Legolas asked feeling the slight shift in weight.
"The grass tickles the bottom of my feet." Fainu said shaking her head slightly.
Legolas glanced down; he hadn't noticed that she wasn't wearing any shoes. "What happened to your shoes?"
"They got left back in the caverns in my room when my father told me what was happening to you." Fainu said softly.
"When we get to Mirkwood perhaps I can talk my father into giving you some boots that will fit you." Legolas said calmly as Felwin walked towards his home.
"Mirkwood? I have never heard of that realm before you spoke oaf it, Lothlorien I have heard of before the Lady of the Woods there hunts us regularly now." Fainu asked looking back over she shoulder at him ever so slightly. She disliked being at such close quarters with other people but she was beginning to loathe him for reminding her of Kallieere.
"Lady Galadriel, and Lord Celeborn, I could see why they would, they dislike any creature other than the fairest." Legolas said calmly, "We will be traveling far from their realm."
Fainu stayed silent, she knew those names and she was trying to remember where she had learnt them. "Galadriel." She whispered under her breath. She played with the bottom of Felwins mane as she repeated the name in her head.
Legolas was caught off guard when she jerked back. He didn't even know that he had relaxed his grip on her until she was on the ground. He stopped Felwin and looked down at her, her eyes were wide and darted back and forth scanning everything around her. "Fainu? Are you alright?" The dark elf glanced up at him for a second before darting into the tall grass and away from him. He turned Felwin towards the place where the dark elf had been only seconds before. He gazed over the plains looking for any indication of where the young elf had gone. His misty eyes frantically darted over the long grass when there were no movements or sounds in the grass other than the wind. His head jerked towards a slight cry to his left. "Fainu?" He slipped of Felwin's back and led the horse in the direction of the noise. He traveled for the rest of the day before he came upon the dark elf. She was curled up on the ground, an arm covering her head as if she had been attacked. He knelt beside her and put a hand beside her lips, afraid that she had been killed the way she laid so still. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the soft puff of warm air on the back of his hand. He gently lifted her up she was limp in his arms, he gently lifted her onto Felwins back, she was cool to the touch.
"What devilry touched you in the open that you would fall like this?" Legolas asked the unmoving elf.
"Angry star fields." Fainu mumbled quietly so that even Legolas with his sharp elven hearing was not fully sure of what she had said.
Legolas climbed up behind Fainu and wrapped an arm around her and softly whispered to Felwin and they raced across the grassy field towards the Realm of Galadriel, even if Fainu was hunted by the Lady's guards she would need to be healed and he was now closer to Lothlorien then home she had traveled to far south. It would still be many days but now since he did not know what had happened to Fainu, nor why he would rather race to the Golden forest then waste another day traveling back the way he had come to go to Mirkwood then attempt to get through it safely with the orcs that still roamed about for another day before reaching his home.
That night he didn't stop, Felwin knew the way and he would be able to hold the dark elf while he rested his mind as long as she didn't wake up. He woke half way through the night, he was well into Gondor and Fainu was still limp in his arms. Again he looked her over, trying to find a wound or something to indicate what had happened but the only thing that he found was her skin was getting paler and paler. He frowned he didn't know of anything that could do this to an elf, unless it was magic but then he could do nothing nor could his father, Galadriel and Elrond were the only ones that he knew could heal. He pulled out his small water pouch and poured a few drops in Fainu's mouth, he didn't dare get her to eat lembas while she was like this. He nibbled on one of the biscuits and shifted Fainu slightly so that he could hold her with the other arm. He was worrying about what would happen to Fainu if Galadriel deemed the dark elf was too dangerous to help.
He didn't remember most of the trip it went by in a blur, of sleeping while Felwin walked on to Lothlorien and cantering towards the forest while he was awake. Fainu was getting worse and wore as time wore on she no longer looked alive and if it weren't for the slight movement of her chest with her breathing he would have assumed that she was dead. He was relieved to see the edge of the forest in the distance. He pulled Felwin into a trot and began to check Fainu again, she hadn't changed much in the last day but then he didn't know if she would still be alive she got any worse than what she was now.
Legolas pulled Felwin to a stop just outside of the forest, arrows were trained on him and the elf that he held. Legolas tightened his grip about the dark elf's stomach and raised his chin slightly.
"Why do you bring such a vile creature to the Realm of the Lady?" One of the archers asked.
"I bring not a vile creature but a friend that is more worth while than all the riches and knowledge of even Lord Celeborn." He glared at the archers who held arrows drawn ready to kill the elf he held tightly.
"You value this 'friend' that much?" The older elf raised an eyebrow at the Mirkwood prince, and then motioned to an elf hidden in the forests. Legolas watched the pale elf slip deep into the forest to bring tidings to the Lord and Lady of Lothlorien.
Disclaimer: See Ch. 1
Many days passed as the two elves traveled, the desolation of the outskirts of Mordor left both ill spirited. Both were weary of the other for many days but soon after they passed into the land of Gondor they began to grow accustom to each other.
Legolas pulled back slightly on the reigns, Fainu had fallen asleep earlier in his arms and was now nestled against him. Every so often she'd whisper softly in dark elvish, he looked down at her and smiled slightly, she looked innocent, none of the blood that she shed showed in her eyes or face. He slid off Felwin and laid her down on his mantle before building a fire. Happy that she would be safe for a while he left to catch some food.
It was easy enough to find food in the forest, but far more difficult to catch it considering he was out of arrows even if he was grateful that the last one had been used to save him he still wished for a full quiver. After he had caught a bird to cook he found some berries before returning to the edge of the forest where he had left Fainu. The dark elf was still sound asleep and didn't even stir when he put more logs on the fire. He sat against a tree and plucked the bird, the entire time watching the girl that had saved his life, unlike all the other elves that he knew she slept with her eyes shut. He but the small bird over the fire to cook and leaned back allowing himself to rest for the time being, they had traveled well into the night without stopping for food during the day's travels.
Fainu's nose twitched, she could smell something strange, and she opened an eye to see the bird, cooking ready to be turned. She slowly sat up and looked at Legolas who was resting against a tree, she could tell that he was a sleep even if his eyes were open; she went to the fire and turned the bird. She looked at the small pile of berries that Legolas had gathered, then at the mantle he had placed her on. She picked it up and dusted it off before putting it over him. With that she returned to the food and waited for it to finish cooking. The fire hissed every time fat dribbled down onto the burning logs before it would flare up. Once she was happy with how the bird looked she took it off of the fire. She moved to where Legolas was sleeping and sat beside him.
"Wake up Legolas." Fainu said calmly. The pale elf shook his head and looked at her then at the finished bird, it was smaller than most of the other meals they had found but then she knew Mordor better so she had hunted with the knives she had taken.
"Thanks." Legolas pulled out a small package and took out two small pieces of lembas.
Fainu stared at the small biscuit blankly as he held it out to her. Before taking it carefully. She looked it over before looking back at him. "What is it?"
Legolas smirked slightly. "Lembas, elven way bread. It tastes good but gets repetitive if it's all you can have. And there are some desolate places that we will have to cross to get to my home."
Fainu nodded and took a small bite of the biscuit; it tasted like a warm place, welcoming and friendly. "It's good."
"I'm glad you like it. There may be days when that is all you'll be eating." Legolas touched the bird; it was still warm but not to hot to hold for a long time. He pulled it off the stick and used his knife to cut it in half. He handed her half, Fainu looked t him closely then moved to the other side of the fire where she quickly ate the small piece of meat. Legolas watched her carefully noting how she watched him rather than her food. Once she was finished the meat she nibbled on the way bread. Her sharp eyes watching his every movement, Legolas didn't know why she was watching him so closely now after she had trusted him with the horseback riding and had slept in his arms.
"Are you ever going to tell me about why you saved me?" He asked finally how she was acting towards him confused him. At times she seemed to be happy and content to be near him then other times she was on edge almost ready to attack him.
"Umm." Fainu looked up at him, her blue eyes reflecting the firelight. "Your remind me of someone." She finally said.
"I remind a dark elf of someone? Don't you normally only associate with your own kind?" Legolas asked frowning slightly.
"Of course that's all we normally associate with, but you look like him with the exception of your hair and cloths, you act like him, you even smell like him." Fainu said angrily then shut her mouth realizing what she had said.
"He? What was he to you? Since you're so protective of him." Legolas asked slowly pulling off another bite of meat from the bone.
"It doesn't matter. It's not like you are him." Fainu said looking down and curling her legs up to her chest.
"It does matter I want to know who I remind you of so that I know what I shouldn't do in your presence." Legolas said calmly.
"Propose." Fainu growled under her breath, glaring at him.
"I remind you of the elf you're engaged to?" Legolas said a he tried to cough up the piece of meat he'd swallowed whole when he heard what she said.
"Was engaged to. He died almost five centuries ago." Fainu whispered struggling to keep her voice in check.
"Oh. I'm so sorry." Legolas said realizing that why she had been moody with him. "How did he die?"
"He was killed defending me when I was still the proper young elf." Fainu smirked slightly at the last part.
Legolas lowered his head, everything fell in place now. She hadn't killed him before because she had reminded her of the one that she'd loved and she'd saved him because she had been able to and she had wanted to make up for the death of the person she loved. "I'm sorry." He whispered, he moved over to the small elf and put his mantle back over her shoulders. He stayed beside her, not knowing what else to do, he had never heard of any elf surviving the loss of their mate. Normally the other passed on into the Vala's halls not long after or so his father told him. But the dark elves seemed so different, they had been Morgoths servants in the first war and they had escaped from the Dark Lord. Somehow he had tainted them and he felt guilt suddenly for all the times head heard stories about the dark elves and how viscous they were and believed them with out a second thought.
"When I was younger I was told stories about dark elves and I believed them. But from what I've seen today I don't know what is true anymore." Legolas whispered.
"Don't worry about it too much I've been told some things about pale elves." Fainu smirked. "What are you even called?"
"What do you mean?" Legolas looked at her.
"In all of our stories your kind is known as pale elves, we are dark elves but I'm sure that you aren't actually called pale elves." Fainu snorted at the thought of a rave of elves being called pale.
"No, there are lots of types of pale elves. I'm a Sindarian Elf, there other types of elves, some even look like Dark elves but they aren't." Legolas said calmly.
"Sindarian." Fainu smirked, "I can see why it was changed to pale if it was ever known. That would be difficult enough to get right simply speaking it." Fainu said laughing slightly.
"Is it true that you can smell twice as good and a wolf?" Legolas asked.
"I don't know, the only wolves that I've ever seen were the dead ones that had carried orcs. I can smell things really well though; I woke up when the meat started to cook. It was different then anything else I'd smelt recently so it woke me up." Fainu said calmly. "And yes I can see in the dark as you've seen already. If that is in any of the stories that you were told as a child. By the way how old were you anyway you talk about these memories as if they were a distant memory."
"How old do you think I am?" Legolas asked looking at the smaller elf he thought of her as close to a thousand years old but then appearances could be deceiving when it came to elves.
"Well over a thousand but that's all I'd even be able to tell by how much you've told me." She said looking closely at the elf that sat beside her.
"If I were only well over a thousand I would feel young." Legolas laughed. "I'm close to three thousand years old."
"And how old do you think I am then since you asked me to guess your age?" Fainu looked at him.
"I'd have to guess over a thousand as well." Legolas said calmly.
"Ha! The only Dark elf older than one thousand years old is my father. The rest don't get that old. Orcs or other pale elves kill them. I've seen my kind being slaughtered by other elves it is not a pretty sight. The only reason my father has survived is because he never leaves the chambers. The darkness wards off any enemies because it's humid in there so flames go out and like you elves are blind. I'm hardly six hundred years old, I'd probably die in another hundred years or so anyway." Fainu frowned at the though
"You picked your life mate in under a hundred years?" Legolas froze. "Where I live you aren't considered an adult until you're well over a hundred."
"Yes but I'd also assume that most of your kind lives to well over a thousand. We hardly ever make it to a thousand." Fainu said absently looking up at the sky, for once it wasn't over cast by the billowing fumes of Mount Doom or one of the lesser vents that spewed dark gases ash high into the air. Legolas followed her gaze.
"Have you seen the stars before?" Legolas asked softly.
"Only once, when it gets dark we cast a spell that seals the doors and they can only be opened from the inside the caverns. The hills swarm with orcs and goblins at night. Somehow we survived the night, it was the only time I ever saw the stars. I didn't appreciate them then." Fainu smiled at Legolas suddenly. "I'm almost glad I'm exiled. My father didn't exactly value me for anything. I don't think he would have flinched if I had been in your place on that platform on the lake."
"That would have never happened if you lived where I do. The worst that would ever happen to you there is you might see an orc. Normally the women don't leave the city so very few have actually seen them." Legolas said calmly.
"I would go insane if I were guarded that closely." Fainu laughed.
"Perhaps you would. You seem to be able to defend yourself well enough that you would get bored sitting around talking." Legolas smirked at the thought of Fainu in a long formal dress that the elven women normally wore where he lived and her acting like a proper lady, especially after the way she'd defended herself and him. "We should rest. We will be moving early tomorrow." He said finally standing up and walking over to the tree where he had fallen asleep earlier.
Fainu nodded absently and looked at the stars above her for a few more minutes before curling up in a small ball near the fire and falling asleep. Noises from the wood kept her from falling into a deep sleep, every time something strange made a noise near them she would open and eye then close it. Finally she fell asleep enough that she simply heard the noises but didn't pay them any heed. Finally she woke to the sound of soft footsteps. She was sure that they came from Legolas because no Orc moved so silently, and if a dark elf wished they would not move so noisily. She opened her eyes to discover a thick gray mist in the air that blocked her vision; she had never been in such a thing that it almost frightened her that something was wrong with her eyes. Suddenly she saw a shadowy figure moving towards her and she jumped back.
"Your high strung this morning." Legolas said softly leading Felwin.
"I can no see well right now." She growled aggravated wiping at her eyes.
Legolas stepped closer to her, and laughed slightly at the sight as she rubbed her eyes and blinked. "It is fog. You can't make it go away by rubbing your eyes, it's not even you're eyes that are the problem." He stopped beside her and scratched its muzzle softly.
"Fog? We don't get fog where I live." She frowned.
"No? I thought with that huge lake in the cavern it would." Legolas said climbing onto Felwins back. He put his hand down for Fainu to grab, she sighed and jumped up onto the horses back in front of him.
"The lake is spelled so that very few people can withstand it. I don't know if I would have survived it." Fainu said calmly. "It doesn't give off this fog substance."
"You mean I basically did something that couldn't be accomplished by other elves?" Legolas asked slightly frightened.
"Most die when they first jump into the water. I figured you were as good as dead but when you started to swim to the edge I knew that you were at least going to need help once you got out." Fainu said softly. "Can you see through fog?"
"No I can't." Legolas said calmly letting his horse take it's own path through the fog.
"But how-"
"Felwin knows the way in the fog he doesn't need to see to be able to find Mirkwood." Legolas said calmly.
Fainu nodded and watched the mists swirled around them. She thought that she could see things through the mist but then they would disappear. Legolas watched her, she seemed to be in awe of fog, and at the same time she seemed frightened by it. He knew that soon the mists would vanish and she would see the flat plains that they should be in, already the fog was beginning to thin. The sunlight shot through the mist making bursts of color appear as the small droplets disappeared in the sun. Fainu looked around rocks that lay scattered across the grassy plain; the long grass brushed the bottom of her bare feet. She thought that it was extremely neat, she had never seen grass that long nor had it ever been soft enough to tickle her feet she lifted her legs slightly so that the grass wouldn't reach her.
"Why are you lifting your feet?" Legolas asked feeling the slight shift in weight.
"The grass tickles the bottom of my feet." Fainu said shaking her head slightly.
Legolas glanced down; he hadn't noticed that she wasn't wearing any shoes. "What happened to your shoes?"
"They got left back in the caverns in my room when my father told me what was happening to you." Fainu said softly.
"When we get to Mirkwood perhaps I can talk my father into giving you some boots that will fit you." Legolas said calmly as Felwin walked towards his home.
"Mirkwood? I have never heard of that realm before you spoke oaf it, Lothlorien I have heard of before the Lady of the Woods there hunts us regularly now." Fainu asked looking back over she shoulder at him ever so slightly. She disliked being at such close quarters with other people but she was beginning to loathe him for reminding her of Kallieere.
"Lady Galadriel, and Lord Celeborn, I could see why they would, they dislike any creature other than the fairest." Legolas said calmly, "We will be traveling far from their realm."
Fainu stayed silent, she knew those names and she was trying to remember where she had learnt them. "Galadriel." She whispered under her breath. She played with the bottom of Felwins mane as she repeated the name in her head.
Legolas was caught off guard when she jerked back. He didn't even know that he had relaxed his grip on her until she was on the ground. He stopped Felwin and looked down at her, her eyes were wide and darted back and forth scanning everything around her. "Fainu? Are you alright?" The dark elf glanced up at him for a second before darting into the tall grass and away from him. He turned Felwin towards the place where the dark elf had been only seconds before. He gazed over the plains looking for any indication of where the young elf had gone. His misty eyes frantically darted over the long grass when there were no movements or sounds in the grass other than the wind. His head jerked towards a slight cry to his left. "Fainu?" He slipped of Felwin's back and led the horse in the direction of the noise. He traveled for the rest of the day before he came upon the dark elf. She was curled up on the ground, an arm covering her head as if she had been attacked. He knelt beside her and put a hand beside her lips, afraid that she had been killed the way she laid so still. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the soft puff of warm air on the back of his hand. He gently lifted her up she was limp in his arms, he gently lifted her onto Felwins back, she was cool to the touch.
"What devilry touched you in the open that you would fall like this?" Legolas asked the unmoving elf.
"Angry star fields." Fainu mumbled quietly so that even Legolas with his sharp elven hearing was not fully sure of what she had said.
Legolas climbed up behind Fainu and wrapped an arm around her and softly whispered to Felwin and they raced across the grassy field towards the Realm of Galadriel, even if Fainu was hunted by the Lady's guards she would need to be healed and he was now closer to Lothlorien then home she had traveled to far south. It would still be many days but now since he did not know what had happened to Fainu, nor why he would rather race to the Golden forest then waste another day traveling back the way he had come to go to Mirkwood then attempt to get through it safely with the orcs that still roamed about for another day before reaching his home.
That night he didn't stop, Felwin knew the way and he would be able to hold the dark elf while he rested his mind as long as she didn't wake up. He woke half way through the night, he was well into Gondor and Fainu was still limp in his arms. Again he looked her over, trying to find a wound or something to indicate what had happened but the only thing that he found was her skin was getting paler and paler. He frowned he didn't know of anything that could do this to an elf, unless it was magic but then he could do nothing nor could his father, Galadriel and Elrond were the only ones that he knew could heal. He pulled out his small water pouch and poured a few drops in Fainu's mouth, he didn't dare get her to eat lembas while she was like this. He nibbled on one of the biscuits and shifted Fainu slightly so that he could hold her with the other arm. He was worrying about what would happen to Fainu if Galadriel deemed the dark elf was too dangerous to help.
He didn't remember most of the trip it went by in a blur, of sleeping while Felwin walked on to Lothlorien and cantering towards the forest while he was awake. Fainu was getting worse and wore as time wore on she no longer looked alive and if it weren't for the slight movement of her chest with her breathing he would have assumed that she was dead. He was relieved to see the edge of the forest in the distance. He pulled Felwin into a trot and began to check Fainu again, she hadn't changed much in the last day but then he didn't know if she would still be alive she got any worse than what she was now.
Legolas pulled Felwin to a stop just outside of the forest, arrows were trained on him and the elf that he held. Legolas tightened his grip about the dark elf's stomach and raised his chin slightly.
"Why do you bring such a vile creature to the Realm of the Lady?" One of the archers asked.
"I bring not a vile creature but a friend that is more worth while than all the riches and knowledge of even Lord Celeborn." He glared at the archers who held arrows drawn ready to kill the elf he held tightly.
"You value this 'friend' that much?" The older elf raised an eyebrow at the Mirkwood prince, and then motioned to an elf hidden in the forests. Legolas watched the pale elf slip deep into the forest to bring tidings to the Lord and Lady of Lothlorien.