Title: Two Different Worlds - Chapter 2
Author: cali-luv, also known as Bri. Thanks to my "beta-er" Justin! Much love.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Stellua, Selleya, Elaina and all of the other characters I created on my own. -J.R.R. Tolkein owns everything from the 'Lord of The Rings' series. -Tamora Pierce owns everything from the 'Immortal' series.
Rating: Was PG-13, but this chapter is rated R due to harsh themes.
WARNING: This chapter contains elements that are inappropriate for children. Read with caution. Nothing too bad, just sad and slightly disturbing conversations about Daine and someone else's past.
***********************************
Daine sat in silence as the beautiful horse below her picked its way through the forest. She looked down at the strong muscled arms holding her against his chest. The arms of her equally beautiful rescuer. Rescuer, Daine thought. She wrinkled her nose at the word. I'm not accustomed to being . . . rescued by handsome men. Usually it is I that is doing the rescuing.
Though despite the strangeness of the events, Daine decided she didn't really mind being safe in someone's arms. Her thoughts were interrupted by the impatient snort of the horse below her. Daine closed her eyes and asked the horse gently, What is the matter my friend? She felt the surprise in the horses mind at being talked to so directly. The horse replied, What is this? A two-legger speaking horse-talk? Daine frowned a little at that. I am not a normal two-legger, she said. I might as well be a four-legger. My name is Daine, what is yours? The horse snorted again.
A four-legger? And I might as well be a dwarf. There was a pause in which Daine felt the horse considering her carefully. My name is Stellua; I am Prince Legolas's personal mare. It is very . . . interesting to meet you, Daine. Daine smiled warmly at Stellua's acceptance, and patted her neck.
Legolas watched the silent exchange keenly. When Daine patted his horse's neck he smiled and said, "This is Stellua, Daine. She is the daughter of my father's horse, Selleya." He fondly reached an arm down and rubbed the mare's side.
"She is a beautiful horse indeed." Daine said. She suppressed a smirk when Stellua stiffened and raised her neck with pride at her words. Yes, I am magnificent, am I not? I was the prize youngling of a prized mare. And now I am even more beautiful than even she. Legolas rolled his eyes and grinned lopsidedly as he stopped Stellua and dismounted.
"She knows that she is beautiful as well. I spoiled her too much, I dare say." He reached up a hand to help Daine to the forest floor, but she jumped down easily. She smiled up at him and said, "How do you know? Does she parade around like that all the time, snorting and prancing?"
Legolas looked to Stellua who was twitching her tail at flies. "Well, yes she does. But so do many of the bigheaded palace horses. " He then looked back at Daine, "But the biggest clue is that she tells me how amazing she is every chance she gets."
Daine furrowed her brow at him. How is it that he hears animals? Is that even what he means by that? She thought to herself. She then asked him, "She . . . tells you this?" Legolas smiled even broader and replied, "Yes. Among other things. For instance, how strong her legs are, and how the sun catches her glorious mane just right around noon. Oh, and we must not forget, just how incredible her family heritage is." Stellua snorted and pawed the ground indignantly, and Daine laughed despite her confusion.
"Tell me, Legolas. How is it that you can hear her saying this?" Legolas thought over his reply while he rifled through his beautifully designed saddlebags. "Would you like water or wine, Daine?" He asked, as he brought out an array or fruits, cheeses, and breads.
"Just water, thank you." She smiled graciously, taking the water skin and drinking deeply. He watched her and waited until she finished. When she had, he started with the story. "When my father was much younger, he was leading a troop of Mirkwood soldiers home from a victorious battle. On the way, he somehow got separated from the group, and ended up lost in these woods. He had been wandering for hours, and stumbled upon a young witch- child, beaten and starving. She must have been about, six or seven in mortal years. She had with her a young horse, only a few weeks old. My father gave the witch-child, Elaina, his rations of elven bread and water."
As Legolas spoke, Stellua came over to them and lay down next to Legolas. Legolas paused and dug through his bags again. "The horse was Selleya, then?" Daine asked intrigued. "Indeed," replied Legolas. He found what he was looking for, and pulled out two apples from his saddlebags. One of them he gave to Daine, and the other he held out to Stellua. She sniffed it, and ate it in two delicate bites. Thank you, she said, butting his shoulder with her beautiful head. He smiled and rubbed the star on her face, and then turned back to Daine.
"My father watched over Elaina until he was sure that she was at least healthy enough to travel. When she was, he took her and the baby horse back to Mirkwood Palace with him." He paused to take a bite of cheese and bread. "Did the witch-child, Elaina, ever speak to your father? Tell him why she was in such a state?" Daine asked, lying on her stomach in the grass with her head cupped in her hands. She didn't know why, but Legolas intrigued her immensely. She felt as though she could learn a lot of things from him. She trusted anyone who could love an animal as much as Legolas loved Stellua.
"No," Legolas said through a mouthful of cheese. Daine laughed at his bad manners, and he swallowed and grinned sheepishly at her. "I'm sorry, I forgot myself. Pardon my bad manners." "It's fine," Daine said, still laughing. "Makes you more personable that way. I never was one for the rules of etiquette."
Legolas's grin broadened, and he continued his storyteller demeanor. "No, Elaina didn't speak to my father until she and the horse had been safe inside Mirkwood for a number of weeks. She was a broken little thing, very thin and frightened of the lightest thing. She would often be found staring out the window with unshed tears in her eyes." There was a sad silence for a while, then Daine asked, "And what of the baby horse, Selleya?"
Stellua's ears pricked up at the mention of her mother's name. She obviously liked this part of the story. "Elaina refused to be separated from her. She had begun to make progress, saying broken phrases and communicating with my father. But when one of the stable boys had tried to take Selleya to the blacksmith to be fitted for shoes, Elaina snapped. She cried and cried and refused to eat the whole time that Selleya was gone. When she had come back, Elaina isolated herself in Selleya's stall." Legolas paused, taking another bite of food. "My father came to see her, and she finally talked to him. By this time, a year had passed and the baby horse was full-grown. Elaina was about eight. Anyway, my father came to speak with her after the shoe-smith incident. She ran to him, and told him her whole story with out so much as pausing for breath."
Daine leaned in even more, and asked, "So who was she? Was she really a witch? What happened to her, that she was found in such a state?"
Legolas smiled sadly, and continued, "She is Elaina Starlay. Yes, she really is a witch." Legolas paused again; taking a deep breath as though what he was about to say would pain him deeply. "A week or so before my father had found her, Elaina's village, where she had lived with her magical family and neighbors, had been plundered and destroyed by a group of humans, and their pet band of orcs." Legolas spit out the words 'humans' and 'orcs' with great distaste. "They killed all the men, and raped and tortured the women and children. Then killed those that were physically useless to their . . . needs. At this time, Elaina had been out walking in the forest with Selleya. She escaped the beginning of the attack, hiding and keeping the horse hidden. After my father had been separated from his troops, they had found the village and killed every orc and their man leaders in sight, obviously horrified at the site. Some orcs escaped, very unfortunately. And even more unfortunately, one of them had found Elaina's hiding place."
Daine gasped, clutching her hands to her mouth. Legolas touched her shoulder, and continued. "The orc tortured and raped her, keeping her captive for it's own sick pleasure. Elaina was in shock, but managed to call on Selleya's strength, mixed it with her own, and killed the orc with her magic. A few days later is when my father found her, beaten and starving." He looked up at Daine again. A grudging expression was found in her furrowed eyebrows and set jaw. A few tears trickled down her cheeks.
"I really hate the race of man," she said furiously. She looked up from her hands and into Legolas's eyes. "When I was a little girl, raiders destroyed my home and killed all of my family. I was the only one that escaped . . . except my pony Cloud, ironically enough." Legolas considered her for a moment, guilt at invoking such sad memories in her filling him. "I'm very sorry, Daine, I didn't mean to . . ." He started softly, but she interrupted him. "No, it's fine, really. Tell me more about Elaina and Selleya. I'm still no closer to understanding how you are able to speak to Stellua than I was before. "
A/N: Hey!! I'm so sorry that I haven't written in here for so long. I got the reviews from "2boredkidsinscienceclass" haha and you guys are awesome! I haven't been reviewed on here for a while and kind of lost my drive. I've also been working on my other fics. ANYWAY! Yeah so, I started writing this fic again, and TOTALLY went off on this huge tangent, going into the story of Selleya and Elaina. I honestly have no idea where any of that came from, haha, I completely pulled it all out of, . . . well, you know where. I promise it was all relevant and will fit in. I hope you liked this a lot, I enjoyed writing it. I really wanted my story to be different and have its own story line besides the humdrum, girl-falls-in-love-with-guy-and-has-a- beautiful-white-wedding thing.
IMPORTANT: I don't know where I'm going with Daine and Legolas. I'm not sure if I'm going to use them romantically or not. This story takes place around the "Realm of the Gods" book, so there is the whole Numair thing to contend with. Review me NOW and tell me if you want it to be a Daine/Legolas or Daine/Numair or a strictly friendship fic. I repeat, TELL ME NOW!!!!!! Haha, okay. Thank you! Please review!!
Love, Bri
P.s. to my Buffy fic readers: I will be continuing soon, don't fret my pretties! Much love to all
Author: cali-luv, also known as Bri. Thanks to my "beta-er" Justin! Much love.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Stellua, Selleya, Elaina and all of the other characters I created on my own. -J.R.R. Tolkein owns everything from the 'Lord of The Rings' series. -Tamora Pierce owns everything from the 'Immortal' series.
Rating: Was PG-13, but this chapter is rated R due to harsh themes.
WARNING: This chapter contains elements that are inappropriate for children. Read with caution. Nothing too bad, just sad and slightly disturbing conversations about Daine and someone else's past.
***********************************
Daine sat in silence as the beautiful horse below her picked its way through the forest. She looked down at the strong muscled arms holding her against his chest. The arms of her equally beautiful rescuer. Rescuer, Daine thought. She wrinkled her nose at the word. I'm not accustomed to being . . . rescued by handsome men. Usually it is I that is doing the rescuing.
Though despite the strangeness of the events, Daine decided she didn't really mind being safe in someone's arms. Her thoughts were interrupted by the impatient snort of the horse below her. Daine closed her eyes and asked the horse gently, What is the matter my friend? She felt the surprise in the horses mind at being talked to so directly. The horse replied, What is this? A two-legger speaking horse-talk? Daine frowned a little at that. I am not a normal two-legger, she said. I might as well be a four-legger. My name is Daine, what is yours? The horse snorted again.
A four-legger? And I might as well be a dwarf. There was a pause in which Daine felt the horse considering her carefully. My name is Stellua; I am Prince Legolas's personal mare. It is very . . . interesting to meet you, Daine. Daine smiled warmly at Stellua's acceptance, and patted her neck.
Legolas watched the silent exchange keenly. When Daine patted his horse's neck he smiled and said, "This is Stellua, Daine. She is the daughter of my father's horse, Selleya." He fondly reached an arm down and rubbed the mare's side.
"She is a beautiful horse indeed." Daine said. She suppressed a smirk when Stellua stiffened and raised her neck with pride at her words. Yes, I am magnificent, am I not? I was the prize youngling of a prized mare. And now I am even more beautiful than even she. Legolas rolled his eyes and grinned lopsidedly as he stopped Stellua and dismounted.
"She knows that she is beautiful as well. I spoiled her too much, I dare say." He reached up a hand to help Daine to the forest floor, but she jumped down easily. She smiled up at him and said, "How do you know? Does she parade around like that all the time, snorting and prancing?"
Legolas looked to Stellua who was twitching her tail at flies. "Well, yes she does. But so do many of the bigheaded palace horses. " He then looked back at Daine, "But the biggest clue is that she tells me how amazing she is every chance she gets."
Daine furrowed her brow at him. How is it that he hears animals? Is that even what he means by that? She thought to herself. She then asked him, "She . . . tells you this?" Legolas smiled even broader and replied, "Yes. Among other things. For instance, how strong her legs are, and how the sun catches her glorious mane just right around noon. Oh, and we must not forget, just how incredible her family heritage is." Stellua snorted and pawed the ground indignantly, and Daine laughed despite her confusion.
"Tell me, Legolas. How is it that you can hear her saying this?" Legolas thought over his reply while he rifled through his beautifully designed saddlebags. "Would you like water or wine, Daine?" He asked, as he brought out an array or fruits, cheeses, and breads.
"Just water, thank you." She smiled graciously, taking the water skin and drinking deeply. He watched her and waited until she finished. When she had, he started with the story. "When my father was much younger, he was leading a troop of Mirkwood soldiers home from a victorious battle. On the way, he somehow got separated from the group, and ended up lost in these woods. He had been wandering for hours, and stumbled upon a young witch- child, beaten and starving. She must have been about, six or seven in mortal years. She had with her a young horse, only a few weeks old. My father gave the witch-child, Elaina, his rations of elven bread and water."
As Legolas spoke, Stellua came over to them and lay down next to Legolas. Legolas paused and dug through his bags again. "The horse was Selleya, then?" Daine asked intrigued. "Indeed," replied Legolas. He found what he was looking for, and pulled out two apples from his saddlebags. One of them he gave to Daine, and the other he held out to Stellua. She sniffed it, and ate it in two delicate bites. Thank you, she said, butting his shoulder with her beautiful head. He smiled and rubbed the star on her face, and then turned back to Daine.
"My father watched over Elaina until he was sure that she was at least healthy enough to travel. When she was, he took her and the baby horse back to Mirkwood Palace with him." He paused to take a bite of cheese and bread. "Did the witch-child, Elaina, ever speak to your father? Tell him why she was in such a state?" Daine asked, lying on her stomach in the grass with her head cupped in her hands. She didn't know why, but Legolas intrigued her immensely. She felt as though she could learn a lot of things from him. She trusted anyone who could love an animal as much as Legolas loved Stellua.
"No," Legolas said through a mouthful of cheese. Daine laughed at his bad manners, and he swallowed and grinned sheepishly at her. "I'm sorry, I forgot myself. Pardon my bad manners." "It's fine," Daine said, still laughing. "Makes you more personable that way. I never was one for the rules of etiquette."
Legolas's grin broadened, and he continued his storyteller demeanor. "No, Elaina didn't speak to my father until she and the horse had been safe inside Mirkwood for a number of weeks. She was a broken little thing, very thin and frightened of the lightest thing. She would often be found staring out the window with unshed tears in her eyes." There was a sad silence for a while, then Daine asked, "And what of the baby horse, Selleya?"
Stellua's ears pricked up at the mention of her mother's name. She obviously liked this part of the story. "Elaina refused to be separated from her. She had begun to make progress, saying broken phrases and communicating with my father. But when one of the stable boys had tried to take Selleya to the blacksmith to be fitted for shoes, Elaina snapped. She cried and cried and refused to eat the whole time that Selleya was gone. When she had come back, Elaina isolated herself in Selleya's stall." Legolas paused, taking another bite of food. "My father came to see her, and she finally talked to him. By this time, a year had passed and the baby horse was full-grown. Elaina was about eight. Anyway, my father came to speak with her after the shoe-smith incident. She ran to him, and told him her whole story with out so much as pausing for breath."
Daine leaned in even more, and asked, "So who was she? Was she really a witch? What happened to her, that she was found in such a state?"
Legolas smiled sadly, and continued, "She is Elaina Starlay. Yes, she really is a witch." Legolas paused again; taking a deep breath as though what he was about to say would pain him deeply. "A week or so before my father had found her, Elaina's village, where she had lived with her magical family and neighbors, had been plundered and destroyed by a group of humans, and their pet band of orcs." Legolas spit out the words 'humans' and 'orcs' with great distaste. "They killed all the men, and raped and tortured the women and children. Then killed those that were physically useless to their . . . needs. At this time, Elaina had been out walking in the forest with Selleya. She escaped the beginning of the attack, hiding and keeping the horse hidden. After my father had been separated from his troops, they had found the village and killed every orc and their man leaders in sight, obviously horrified at the site. Some orcs escaped, very unfortunately. And even more unfortunately, one of them had found Elaina's hiding place."
Daine gasped, clutching her hands to her mouth. Legolas touched her shoulder, and continued. "The orc tortured and raped her, keeping her captive for it's own sick pleasure. Elaina was in shock, but managed to call on Selleya's strength, mixed it with her own, and killed the orc with her magic. A few days later is when my father found her, beaten and starving." He looked up at Daine again. A grudging expression was found in her furrowed eyebrows and set jaw. A few tears trickled down her cheeks.
"I really hate the race of man," she said furiously. She looked up from her hands and into Legolas's eyes. "When I was a little girl, raiders destroyed my home and killed all of my family. I was the only one that escaped . . . except my pony Cloud, ironically enough." Legolas considered her for a moment, guilt at invoking such sad memories in her filling him. "I'm very sorry, Daine, I didn't mean to . . ." He started softly, but she interrupted him. "No, it's fine, really. Tell me more about Elaina and Selleya. I'm still no closer to understanding how you are able to speak to Stellua than I was before. "
A/N: Hey!! I'm so sorry that I haven't written in here for so long. I got the reviews from "2boredkidsinscienceclass" haha and you guys are awesome! I haven't been reviewed on here for a while and kind of lost my drive. I've also been working on my other fics. ANYWAY! Yeah so, I started writing this fic again, and TOTALLY went off on this huge tangent, going into the story of Selleya and Elaina. I honestly have no idea where any of that came from, haha, I completely pulled it all out of, . . . well, you know where. I promise it was all relevant and will fit in. I hope you liked this a lot, I enjoyed writing it. I really wanted my story to be different and have its own story line besides the humdrum, girl-falls-in-love-with-guy-and-has-a- beautiful-white-wedding thing.
IMPORTANT: I don't know where I'm going with Daine and Legolas. I'm not sure if I'm going to use them romantically or not. This story takes place around the "Realm of the Gods" book, so there is the whole Numair thing to contend with. Review me NOW and tell me if you want it to be a Daine/Legolas or Daine/Numair or a strictly friendship fic. I repeat, TELL ME NOW!!!!!! Haha, okay. Thank you! Please review!!
Love, Bri
P.s. to my Buffy fic readers: I will be continuing soon, don't fret my pretties! Much love to all