Once Upon An Age
Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Tolkien's work but I do own anything that isn't real, etc. Basically I own anything I thought up. Don't know if this idea has been used before but **** happens. (Evil grin).
Chapter Four: The Gate to Annwn.
By Beltane, Elle had recovered enough strength to walk on her own and hoped that she would be able to complete the task she had set for herself. She knew that it would not be easy but all her sought after knowledge of witchcraft and the other realm, Annwn, would help her to prevail. Camlin had tried everyday to get her to turn back and wait until she was fully recovered but her heart told her that she had to do it now or they would never find Valinor.
Arwen had helped her to prepare for her task and said nothing.
"This is your last chance to turn back Elle." Camlin said as they walked towards the gate where people could come in and go out of 'The Sanctuary'.
Looking up and seeing the open gate with Arwen waiting by it, Elle couldn't help but wonder if she was making the wrong choice. "No, I must do this or we will never leave this place."
Smiling to her, Arwen nodded, "Is it time Elle? You said midday because midday is a between time."
The sun was high above them. a rare clear and sunny day. and Elle indicated that with her head. "It is time. Arwen, Camlin, I will be back soon I hope. Remember what I told you and remember that I love you both."
She pulled herself away from them and walked to the gate. Holding her hand out to the gate, she focused her mind on the thought of Annwn and her desire to reach it. Holding onto those thoughts, she walked through the gate..
Camlin and Arwen both cried out when Elle disappeared from their sight. When she had turned to the gate and held out her hand, a faint blue glow had surrounded her in a thin circle and her shape had grown fuzzy but once she passed beneath the arches of the old gate, she had disappeared entirely.
And Annwn beckoned to her. A land of forests and green fields, of magic and strange creatures, Annwn was. When Elle opened her eyes and looked around, she struggled with the idea that it had actually worked and that she really was in Annwn.
"By the stars, it worked! It actually worked! I hope Arwen and Camlin saw me disappear or step through or whatever." She laughed loudly, "Now I just have to find my way to the court of Arawn."
There was a faint rustling noise behind her and a blond man who looked incredibly like Camlin stepped out and stared at her. He was dressed in green breeches and a tunic with a long bow in his hand and a quiver slung over his shoulder. His ears were pointed like the Elves and his blue eyes captured Elle's own gray ones.
He stared at her more intently, "Arwen? By the Valar! Arwen!" He ran over to Elle and hugged her tightly before pulling back to look at her. A look passed his face before he stepped back from her. "Wait, you aren't Arwen Evenstar! Who are you?"
She struggled to stay upright, "I am Ellette, daughter of Arwen. who are you and where am I exactly?"
"You are the daughter of Arwen?" He frowned. "When I left for Valinor, Aragorn had died and no daughter named Ellette did they have. You lie!"
"I am descended from Aragorn and Arwen but I am a direct throwback to Arwen.. Is this Valinor? Fair gods, is this Valinor? Have I found the Undying Land?" Elle broke into a smile despite the pounding in her head.
"No, this is not Valinor but merely the land of Arawn. I am Legolas Greenleaf, once the Prince of Mirkwood and while I reside in Valinor most of the time, I often come here to visit with Arawn for a friend is he of ours." The Elf told her, still unsure of whom she was.
"You are Legolas? Aye, I can see it now. I will tell you what brings me here so strangely."
"Please do." Legolas waved a hand at her and waited for her explanation.
She was disturbed by his likeness to Camlin but ignoring that fact; she managed to explain to him what she was doing there. "Arwen and the three hundred or so Elves who still reside in Earth as Middle Earth is now called want to return to Valinor but have been unable to find a way. I stumbled onto them and they knew who I was and that I was one of them. something I had never thought of. Well, I also believed that we would find Valinor somewhere in Annwn, which is something you just confirmed for me. Well, I want to bring them through to Annwn and then onto Valinor. a task that I believe Arawn will be able to help me with."
Legolas raised an eyebrow at her, his mind turning over her words and considering them, "I see. And you are telling me that Arwen Evenstar is still alive? I believed that she had given up her immortality when she chose to remain behind with Aragorn?"
"She chose to remain behind but never to give up the life of the Valar. that is something we are all thankful of because I owe her my life." Elle told him.
"What do you mean?"
"She and Camlin saved my life when I came to them. I had been poisoned by something when I entered what is left of Moria and Camlin knew enough about it to save my life otherwise I would have died. To Arwen I owe my life and to Camlin I owe my heart."
He laughed, "How long have you know this Camlin?"
"Nigh on two weeks. Why?"
Looking her over again, Legolas smiled, "Elves mate for life and we do not know we love someone in a time as short as two weeks. No, wait a hundred years or so before you proclaim that your heart belongs to Camlin. Remember, the soul has but one mate though many might be looked upon with love."
Silenced by thought, Elle wondered if what he said was true. Could she believe that she loved Camlin when in fact he was not the one for her? Could thankfulness cause her to think she loved Camlin? Lifting her eyes to study the Elf prince before her, Ellette was again struck by his likeness to Camlin.
"Can you help me at all Legolas Greenleaf? Can you take me to Arawn?" She asked.
He nodded, "I can. Follow me Ellette Evenstar to the Faery court of Arawn, king of Annwn."
Following him through the forest, the strange sights she saw enchanted Elle more than anything she had seen before. It was not long before a group of small flying lights joined them, fluttering around Legolas until he stopped and looked at Elle with a smile.
"Arawn knows of your coming. These Faeries just told me that he knew you had come into Annwn and that you would stumble upon my path. It seems he's rather curious about you."
The Faeries surrounded Elle until she could not see Legolas. When they pulled away from her, she was left standing where she had before but now she was wearing a long shimmering dress made from living flowers and vines as well as leaves. To her eyes, the sky seemed almost violet rather than blue and Legolas smiled at her, his eyes taking in the sight of her elegant but delicate figure.
"Yes, he is very curious about you it seems. I've never seen any other dressed as you are.." Legolas inclined his head to her before walking off again.
Feeling uncomfortable in the living dress, Elle followed him again until they came to a magical glade. At one end of it, in front of several old trees was a throne carved from the living wood. So alive was it that there were ferns growing on it and roses adorning the back. The man sitting on it was pure beauty.
Arawn lifted his head and stared at her, the ever-changing green eyes taking in her inner glow and the tiredness in her eyes. "Legolas, it took you long enough to bring Eolande to me. Welcome Ellette Arwen Eolande to Annwn. You know who I am and therefore, we need no introductions."
Elle felt faint and the last thing she knew was Legolas's arms encircling her as she collapsed.
~*~*~*~*~*~
When she woke up, Elle took a moment to remember where she was. Sitting up, she discovered that she was still in the living dress and that she was lying on a bower of flowers beneath tree ferns. It was very beautiful and when she looked around, she was amazed by the small glade she was in. From the tree hung vines covered in flowers and growing around the boughs of the trees were climbing roses. Managing to stand up without disturbing anything, she noticed that hanging around the bower were more roses of the deepest hue of red and that the ground was covered in small white flowers.
"The sleeper awakens!" Legolas spoke from somewhere in the trees behind her.
She turned around slowly, fearful that she might harm herself if she was not careful, "What happened?"
He emerged from the trees, still dressed in the same green tunic and breeches he had been in before, "You fainted. it would seem that you were very ill still when you came here. Not that it matters anymore as Arawn has healed you of it. Did you sleep well?"
"I think so.. Did you tell Arawn why I had come here?"
"There was no need as he already knew. You are a very lucky young woman Ellette; Arawn is an honorable king unlike Gwyn Ap Nudd who also rules parts of Annwn. Had you stumbled upon Gwyn's court, you would never have left." Legolas told her, his blue eyes locked on her own.
Something clicked in her mind and Elle pulled her eyes away from his and shivered. She thought of Camlin and suddenly realized what was wrong with her. Blinking back tears, she shook her head and turned away from the Elf prince.
He approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Ellette, is something the matter? You are shivering!" He cried out when she shivered again.
Pulling away from him, Elle longed for 'The Sanctuary' and wished that she had never seen Legolas. "I am fine. I just miss Camlin and you look so much like him."
Legolas took her hand and pulled her against him, "Never fear that I should try to steal you away from your Camlin. I do not think I need to do that." He smiled at her sadly. "Now come, Arawn is waiting for you."
Leading her through the trees to the glade that he had brought her to before, Elle felt the warmth of his hand and sighed. When Arawn saw them coming, he stood and waited for them to reach him. Examining the troubled expression on Elle's face, he smiled to himself.
"So you want to ask a boon of me Eolande? Tell me what it is and I will tell you what I shall do." He took her hand from Legolas and led her over to a chair, which had appeared.
"The boon I would ask of you is more for my friends and kin than for me. I would have you open a gate for the Elves who remain in Earth so that they can make their way to Valinor. There is nothing more that I desire than to see them happy and safe, away for humans and from war and evil." She stared into his eyes, marveling at the depth of the green hue they were at the moment.
Arawn pursed his lips, studying her thoughtfully. "A mighty boon you ask of me for I do not control Valinor. I can bring them forth to Annwn but from there they will have to sail to Valinor under Legolas's guidance."
Nodding, she thanked him with all her heart before saying, "You are so very kind and so very powerful."
"But that is not all. In return for this, you will stay in Annwn as a guest to my court until Legolas returns from Valinor. You will not find any rest in Valinor just yet." He inclined his head to the blond Elf, "He has never found peace there. unlike his dwarf friend Gimli."
Legolas stirred from his thoughts and stared at Arawn strangely, "I have found peace in Valinor my friend and you know it."
"Perhaps you had once found peace, but you will no longer find it there and we both know it." The Faery king laughed.
From her seat among the flowers, Elle swore that she saw a huge bird circling above them in the sky. It dipped its wings before disappearing from sight. She glanced back at Arawn and Legolas who were arguing still.
A purple Faery flew towards her, its tiny wings a glittering screen of purple and black. Landing on her head, the Faery started to do something to her long black hair as others flew over to join in.
Sitting there patiently, Elle waited for the two males to remember that she was there. Humming a tune she'd heard in 'The Sanctuary' softly, Elle's eyes shut of their own accord and she thought about Arwen and how much she was going to love what Elle had done for her. When her eyes fluttered open, Elle found herself back in the bower she'd found herself in before but this time she had roses growing through the length of her hair like a crown.
"I've really got to stop falling asleep.." She muttered, standing up and looking around.
The living dress was still on her only it had grown more complex and the flowered vines were weaving their way down her arms, covering every inch of her skin like. like a second skin. As much as she liked the dress, Elle was beginning to worry about it as the dress was growing on her and would disturb even the insanest of people.
"Legolas? Are you in the trees waiting for me to wake up again?" She asked, looking around and waiting to see or hear a response.
None came and she realized that she was totally alone. Sighing, she decided that she was free to think about things as they had turned out. which wasn't really the way she wanted them to. at least, not entirely.
"Why wouldn't I find peace in Valinor? And why doesn't Legolas find peace there either? Why does Arawn want me to stay here? Oh by the Valar, I am confused!" Her voice whispered around the glade and she returned to her bower and sat. "Well I guess this is a nice enough place. very different and to extremely beautiful. I guess I could live here for a while."
There was a slight stirring in her glade and a white unicorn walked out of the trees and started to graze in the glade. When it noticed her, the unicorn snorted almost thoughtfully before approaching the bower and nudging her gently.
"You're beautiful aren't you?" She stroked the unicorns' neck gently, her hands running through the silken mane and over the glittering coat.
Snorting again, the unicorn stared at her with stunning green eyes, which reminded Elle of Arawn's eyes, and she pulled back with a gasp.
There was a footstep from behind her and Arawn appeared from the forest. Looking at Elle and the unicorn, he smiled, nodding his head.
"You know Eolande that unicorns only ever go those females who are pure, innocent and virgins. You are the first to enter Annwn of that description for a long time."
"Is that why you want me to stay here in Annwn while the others go on to Valinor? Would you keep me from my people?" She asked, her voice wavering.
He shrugged, "Not really but I have my reasons and keep them to myself I shall. Never you fear because you will find out in the end what those reasons are. Now, you should best come with me after you have had some more rest because I believe that a week has already passed in Earth and your Elvan kin are in danger but not just yet."
She cried out, "They are in danger! How can I rest when you tell me they are in danger?"
Walking over to her, Arawn took hold of her hands and drew her up onto her feet, "Allow me to say one last thing before you lay down and rest again."
"Speak Arawn."
He kissed her lips gently and wrapped his arms around her as she fell. Laying her down on the bower, he brushed his fingertips over the side of her face and murmured, "Sleep well violet star."
