A Pale Moon Rises
Disclaimer: Anything in here you don't recognize, I own. The rest belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien.
Chapter 1
It was a dark night and a pale moon rose over the trees. No stars shown to lighten the mood of the eternal darkness. A rider, hooded and cloaked on a stunning grey horse, galloped through the trees. They headed towards the underground city of Mirkwood, home to Prince Legolas. As they neared the city their pace quickened and the intensity of the night grew. An air of urgency drifted over the ground like fog after a storm. A creature screamed in the distance as horse and rider disappeared into the tunnel that would lead them to Mirkwood and the entity of their journey, King Thranduil.
Outside his room, Legolas could hear the sound of the gates opening and the guards yelling. "Who could we be expecting at this hour?" he whispered to himself as he stood from his chair. He placed his book on his dresser and pulled out a clean tunic, dressing as fast as possible. Upon opening his door Leglolas could see a cloaked rider jump from a massive grey horse and sprint in the direction of the king's chambers. 'This must be important' he thought. The elf prince abruptly sprinted down a hidden corridor that would lead him directly to his father's chambers.
Once he had reached his father's quarters, Legolas decided to stop and take a breath so it would not appear that he had been in any sort of rush to hear the news. Before he even lifted his hand to knock, he could hear an obviously feminine voice come from inside the room, "...the western defenses have been taken my lord. King Aragorn of Gondor calls for your aid. And his majesty makes a special request for..." Legolas decided that he need not hear any more and with that knocked on the door and entered.
Whatever conversation that had previously taken place ceased and all eyes turned toward the door. The king, upon seeing that it was Legolas, drew a breath and resettled himself on the thrown. After bringing his full attention to the dimly lit room Legolas greeted his father and said, "I received word that there was an urgent message and was told of this meeting in your chambers." Knowing full well that he did not send any one to alert his son to the fact that vital news had been brought to his attention and that despite what he wanted his son would find out sooner or later, Thranduil allowed the falsehood to slide. "Legolas, this is Anastasia, she rides from Gondor with pressing news from King Elessar." At that moment, the stranger that stood before his majesty twisted around to reveal a pair of vibrant green eyes set under long, dark lashes. The deepness and intensity of her gaze captivated the elf. As he followed the delicated curves of her face with his eyes he noticed, under the dirt and mud left from the long ride, a slight dusting of freckles that lie across a faintly curved nose spanning from one soft check to the other. Her hair, cut off at the shoulder, under normal circumstances would have been silky and straight brown but was now mused and dirty from the long ride. "Good evening my lord." The words slipped past her lips as a gentle breeze over a field of flowers.
Still concentrating on the beautiful woman, so called Anastasia, that stood before his father, Legolas nodded his greeting to her and said nothing. As Anastasia began talking again the elf was lost in a whirl of emotions radiating from her direction. Under a mask of strength, confusion, fear and worry Legolas could sense that she was sad, as one is in mourning. He wondered what had happened to her that would make such a striking woman so miserable. He was soon interrupted from his thoughts when Thranduil said, "Legolas, do you accept this charge from King Elessar?" Legolas had not heard one thing that was said, but just hearing the name of his friend he knew that he would get the chance to see him and thus replied "Yes, I accept this task." At that, arrangements were made for Anastasia to spend a day in Mirkwood and leave at dusk the following day, along with Legolas and a battalion of elvish warriors.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Hey! This is my first fanfiction, so no flames please. Thank you to my beta reader, Jack-Sparrow-Lover. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter...and I hope you will read more when I update. *smiles*
Disclaimer: Anything in here you don't recognize, I own. The rest belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien.
Chapter 1
It was a dark night and a pale moon rose over the trees. No stars shown to lighten the mood of the eternal darkness. A rider, hooded and cloaked on a stunning grey horse, galloped through the trees. They headed towards the underground city of Mirkwood, home to Prince Legolas. As they neared the city their pace quickened and the intensity of the night grew. An air of urgency drifted over the ground like fog after a storm. A creature screamed in the distance as horse and rider disappeared into the tunnel that would lead them to Mirkwood and the entity of their journey, King Thranduil.
Outside his room, Legolas could hear the sound of the gates opening and the guards yelling. "Who could we be expecting at this hour?" he whispered to himself as he stood from his chair. He placed his book on his dresser and pulled out a clean tunic, dressing as fast as possible. Upon opening his door Leglolas could see a cloaked rider jump from a massive grey horse and sprint in the direction of the king's chambers. 'This must be important' he thought. The elf prince abruptly sprinted down a hidden corridor that would lead him directly to his father's chambers.
Once he had reached his father's quarters, Legolas decided to stop and take a breath so it would not appear that he had been in any sort of rush to hear the news. Before he even lifted his hand to knock, he could hear an obviously feminine voice come from inside the room, "...the western defenses have been taken my lord. King Aragorn of Gondor calls for your aid. And his majesty makes a special request for..." Legolas decided that he need not hear any more and with that knocked on the door and entered.
Whatever conversation that had previously taken place ceased and all eyes turned toward the door. The king, upon seeing that it was Legolas, drew a breath and resettled himself on the thrown. After bringing his full attention to the dimly lit room Legolas greeted his father and said, "I received word that there was an urgent message and was told of this meeting in your chambers." Knowing full well that he did not send any one to alert his son to the fact that vital news had been brought to his attention and that despite what he wanted his son would find out sooner or later, Thranduil allowed the falsehood to slide. "Legolas, this is Anastasia, she rides from Gondor with pressing news from King Elessar." At that moment, the stranger that stood before his majesty twisted around to reveal a pair of vibrant green eyes set under long, dark lashes. The deepness and intensity of her gaze captivated the elf. As he followed the delicated curves of her face with his eyes he noticed, under the dirt and mud left from the long ride, a slight dusting of freckles that lie across a faintly curved nose spanning from one soft check to the other. Her hair, cut off at the shoulder, under normal circumstances would have been silky and straight brown but was now mused and dirty from the long ride. "Good evening my lord." The words slipped past her lips as a gentle breeze over a field of flowers.
Still concentrating on the beautiful woman, so called Anastasia, that stood before his father, Legolas nodded his greeting to her and said nothing. As Anastasia began talking again the elf was lost in a whirl of emotions radiating from her direction. Under a mask of strength, confusion, fear and worry Legolas could sense that she was sad, as one is in mourning. He wondered what had happened to her that would make such a striking woman so miserable. He was soon interrupted from his thoughts when Thranduil said, "Legolas, do you accept this charge from King Elessar?" Legolas had not heard one thing that was said, but just hearing the name of his friend he knew that he would get the chance to see him and thus replied "Yes, I accept this task." At that, arrangements were made for Anastasia to spend a day in Mirkwood and leave at dusk the following day, along with Legolas and a battalion of elvish warriors.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: Hey! This is my first fanfiction, so no flames please. Thank you to my beta reader, Jack-Sparrow-Lover. Hope you all enjoyed the chapter...and I hope you will read more when I update. *smiles*