A/N: Writing this book has been like a journey to me in many ways. If you
go back, you can see how the writing has gotten better (my opinion, of
course) throughout the story. I am very pleased that so many of you enjoyed
reading this story, and I am very sad it is drawing to a close now. I thank
all of those who stood by me through this whole story, through the
beginning when Kalia was first being developed, to the whirlwind of ideas
that swept over me in the latest chapters. If it weren't for all of you, my
inspiration, I would never have been able to finish, and I would never have
gotten past chapter three. So, in honor of you all, this chapter is
dedicated to all my readers. I would especially like to dedicate it to my
best friend, Kathryn (Username: Malysskie). I have known her for three
years, and she has supported me through this whole book. Thanks, Kat! I
love ya!
With all this talk of closing, and if you read the previous chapter, you know what it's about. This is the last chapter, the ending. I hope you all have enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. But I won't hold you up any longer: In short, you all are great. Thank you!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from LotR, which is a good thing. Trust me: A VERY GOOD THING.
PS: I'm sorry it took me so long, but the last chapter is always hardest.
20. New Beginnings.
"I hate you, Legolas!"
These were the words heard approximately two weeks later. Kalia had just had her third painful contraction, and it was she the loud oath came from. The woman was ignoring Anaeli's soothing words, and yelling at the top of her lungs; she was perfectly aware most around her were elves, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that she needed to hurt something, Legolas mainly. This was all his fault.
The prince gazed down at his wife with a tormented expression. Kalia's human friend had allowed him to be with her, but had instructed him to be quiet and stay out of the way. So he had had to contend himself with stroking her hair and holding her hand. . . Or rather, allowing her to crush it and vent some of her own pain. It devastated him to see her like this, but he knew she would just want to hurt him, so followed the human woman's instructions. Still, he wished she wouldn't curse him every time she could speak.
Kalia groaned now, wishing it would just end. 'I'm never going through this again. EVER,' she thought. The female had gone into labor an hour earlier, and ever since then had been very obedient. At least, where following instructions were concerned; she was shattering the ears of the other people in the hospital wing of the palace, and didn't care one bit.
At least her daughter would be legitimate. Kalia and Legolas had told the king everything- well, that Tokilor was dead and they were married with child, anyway. Though Thranduil had acknowledged the marriage as legal, he still insisted that they have a proper wedding. The Tuathe woman suspected he was just relieved his son had finally chosen a wife in general, and wanted his people to know it so he didn't have every eligible female at the palace gates. Still, she liked to think the king wanted it known that she, and his granddaughter, were under his protection.
All notions were pushed away as another shot of pain seared through her. Damn the baby for making this so painful! Damn Legolas for doing this to her! She hoped his hand was broken. Most of her thoughts were very murderous at that point, but she was completely startled by the sudden thought that broke through: 'I'm going to be a mother. I'm having a daughter.' The full realization hadn't struck her until now, when she was halfway through actually producing the child. It numbed the pain, but brought a whole new feeling to her-fear. She didn't know how to be a mother. She had Anaeli, but if the human helped her too much, her baby would become more dependent on her than on Kalia herself. How had she not thought about this? What had been going through her head for the past three weeks?
The soft cry of an infant startled her. She blinked numerous times, suddenly seeing that a pair of astonishing, very familiar blue eyes were gazing curiously back at her. Legolas was holding her hand, talking joyfully about something, so that meant this could only be one person. Kalia noticed that her daughter had her own black hair, a beautiful combination of her parents. She watched as the human placed the girl in her arm, and released her death grip on Legolas' hand to hold the little one properly.
The child did not cry, except when Anaeli pricked her foot, and only slightly. They had to test the baby's blood to make sure she was healthy. Other than that, her eyes were wide with curiosity as they met her own. She was a beautiful child, her ears nicely pointed. She could easily pass off as pure elven.
"We need a name," The Tuathe heard, becoming fully aware of the prince's words as he sat beside her, looking at their daughter with as much awe in his eyes as she felt in her heart. She could only nod absently, still staring at the child. The baby's eyes had shifted to her father, still with that obvious curiosity. Kalia freed one of her hands, holding the girl with one arm, and touched Legolas' gently to bring his attention to her.
"My boot," she said softly, tearing her eyes away from her daughter to look at him. He slowly stood, obviously confused, and walked over to where she had last kicked them off. He picked up one, and she shook her head. "The other one," the woman told him, as though it were obvious. The prince handed her the other one, and she reached into the hidden area she had used for stowing daggers in the past. Instead of a weapon, however, she extracted a gold necklace. She carelessly tossed the shoe back on the ground and fastened it around her own neck. Kalia held up the charm in front of the infant, who appeared to be drifting off to sleep.
"This will be yours when you are older, if I don't lose it first." Legolas couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face at the fact that she seemed to think her and the baby were the only ones in the room. Only when Anaeli insisted that the child sleep did she reluctantly hand her over and turn her attention to her husband. The elf kissed her gently on the forehead.
"You did wonderful," he told her softly. Kalia grinned at him, the spark in her eye returning, tired though she was.
"Well, I don't really see any other alternative." He laughed, and, her humor greatly restored, so did she.
A few weeks later, Kalia walked absently down one of the corridors at the palace, rather late at night. She had regained much of her strength, not realizing how much had been lost until she found she couldn't do some of the things that she had taken for granted before. Still a little tired at times, though happier than she could have ever thought possible, the female didn't mind being rather bedridden for a few days.
A frown creased her brow now, however, and she worried the edge of a bit of parchment she was holding. The Tuathe's dark eyes were slowly scanning the paper, and she wasn't paying attention to where she was going at all. Needless to say, she would have jumped out of her skin when she knocked into someone, if she hadn't fallen to the floor. Bracing her hands against the tile, the parchment fluttered to the ground as she broke her fall.
"I'm sorry," she heard someone mumble as she stood, brushing herself off. She turned around, and guessed instantly who it was by the sharp intake of breath.
"Pelin, I believe it is?" The elf gave a short bow of his head.
"Yes, my lady. There is no need to introduce yourself," he said with an irritating and obviously false smile. She crossed her arms.
"I've heard you don't like me." Kalia's bluntness caused him to redden slightly. He opened his mouth to answer, but she cut him off. "Don't bother to deny it. I heard it from your best friend, and you wouldn't lie to him, would you?"
"My lady-"
"So the only real question is," she continued, ignoring him, "Is why? Is it because you don't trust me? You probably don't, but I don't think that's the reason..."
"My lady!" The woman looked at him as if she only just realized he was there.
"What?"
"If you would allow me to speak, I was just coming to apologize. Legolas and I already had an argument about you, and I assumed he would tell you about it in case you were confused about hostility from me. I wanted to tell you that it really was nothing against you, just my own way of protecting my friend. After my horrible experience in love, I didn't want him to go through the same thing, but..." Pelin swallowed, as though this were the most difficult thing in the world for him. "But I see now that I was wrong about you. He has never been happier, and I have grown to accept the fact that you would not harm him in any way. I am sorry that I doubted you, and hope you will accept my full apology." Here he stopped, and silence filled the corridor.
"Well," Kalia said at length. "You'll find I'm the very forgiving sort. I promise to feed you at least once a week." At his stricken look, she burst into laughter. "I'm only teasing you. But I do forgive you." He appeared relieved.
"Thank you, my-"
"If you call me that one more time, I'm going to have to hurt you," she said, the epitome of seriousness. Pelin managed a small smile.
"Kalia." After another short bow, his gaze slid to the floor, where her paper lay forgotten. He stooped to retrieve it for her, but she snatched it up first.
"Thank you for apologizing, but I really must get back to the room." With that, she spun around and strode off back down the hall. The elf stared after her, intrigued by her strange behavior. Shaking his head, he made his way back to his own room.
Rounding a corner, Kalia stopped. Staring for a moment at the parchment clenched in her fist, she crumpled it up and slipped into the room she shared with her husband. He was not there, she noted with a quick glance, so she tossed the balled-up letter into the fireplace with relief. Some things were better left forgotten. At the sound of a handle, she turned from watching the paper burn and smiled as Legolas walked into the room. He returned it, and with a quick kiss, moved to change into his bedclothes. Aliné, the name they had decided on for their daughter, was sleeping in Anaeli's room, so that was one worry they could put to rest for the moment. Kalia did the same as the prince, and once both were in more comfortable clothing, the moved to the chaise lounge as they did almost every night.
The Tuathe woman rested her head on Legolas' chest and closed her eyes. With her legs tucked up underneath her, and the elf gently stroking her hair with one hand and holding hers in the other, Kalia felt that, after many long years, she was home at last.
A/N: Well, that's the end. If you liked this version of the story, let me know please, because I'm changing it dramatically. I'm going to post the different version as Tears of Fire-revised on the site when I finish it, so you don't have to wait in between chapters. So that's something to look forward to. And I am probably going to write a sequel to the story, but I'm not sure which version yet. Anyway, thank you all for reading and for your patience. You're great!
With all this talk of closing, and if you read the previous chapter, you know what it's about. This is the last chapter, the ending. I hope you all have enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. But I won't hold you up any longer: In short, you all are great. Thank you!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from LotR, which is a good thing. Trust me: A VERY GOOD THING.
PS: I'm sorry it took me so long, but the last chapter is always hardest.
20. New Beginnings.
"I hate you, Legolas!"
These were the words heard approximately two weeks later. Kalia had just had her third painful contraction, and it was she the loud oath came from. The woman was ignoring Anaeli's soothing words, and yelling at the top of her lungs; she was perfectly aware most around her were elves, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that she needed to hurt something, Legolas mainly. This was all his fault.
The prince gazed down at his wife with a tormented expression. Kalia's human friend had allowed him to be with her, but had instructed him to be quiet and stay out of the way. So he had had to contend himself with stroking her hair and holding her hand. . . Or rather, allowing her to crush it and vent some of her own pain. It devastated him to see her like this, but he knew she would just want to hurt him, so followed the human woman's instructions. Still, he wished she wouldn't curse him every time she could speak.
Kalia groaned now, wishing it would just end. 'I'm never going through this again. EVER,' she thought. The female had gone into labor an hour earlier, and ever since then had been very obedient. At least, where following instructions were concerned; she was shattering the ears of the other people in the hospital wing of the palace, and didn't care one bit.
At least her daughter would be legitimate. Kalia and Legolas had told the king everything- well, that Tokilor was dead and they were married with child, anyway. Though Thranduil had acknowledged the marriage as legal, he still insisted that they have a proper wedding. The Tuathe woman suspected he was just relieved his son had finally chosen a wife in general, and wanted his people to know it so he didn't have every eligible female at the palace gates. Still, she liked to think the king wanted it known that she, and his granddaughter, were under his protection.
All notions were pushed away as another shot of pain seared through her. Damn the baby for making this so painful! Damn Legolas for doing this to her! She hoped his hand was broken. Most of her thoughts were very murderous at that point, but she was completely startled by the sudden thought that broke through: 'I'm going to be a mother. I'm having a daughter.' The full realization hadn't struck her until now, when she was halfway through actually producing the child. It numbed the pain, but brought a whole new feeling to her-fear. She didn't know how to be a mother. She had Anaeli, but if the human helped her too much, her baby would become more dependent on her than on Kalia herself. How had she not thought about this? What had been going through her head for the past three weeks?
The soft cry of an infant startled her. She blinked numerous times, suddenly seeing that a pair of astonishing, very familiar blue eyes were gazing curiously back at her. Legolas was holding her hand, talking joyfully about something, so that meant this could only be one person. Kalia noticed that her daughter had her own black hair, a beautiful combination of her parents. She watched as the human placed the girl in her arm, and released her death grip on Legolas' hand to hold the little one properly.
The child did not cry, except when Anaeli pricked her foot, and only slightly. They had to test the baby's blood to make sure she was healthy. Other than that, her eyes were wide with curiosity as they met her own. She was a beautiful child, her ears nicely pointed. She could easily pass off as pure elven.
"We need a name," The Tuathe heard, becoming fully aware of the prince's words as he sat beside her, looking at their daughter with as much awe in his eyes as she felt in her heart. She could only nod absently, still staring at the child. The baby's eyes had shifted to her father, still with that obvious curiosity. Kalia freed one of her hands, holding the girl with one arm, and touched Legolas' gently to bring his attention to her.
"My boot," she said softly, tearing her eyes away from her daughter to look at him. He slowly stood, obviously confused, and walked over to where she had last kicked them off. He picked up one, and she shook her head. "The other one," the woman told him, as though it were obvious. The prince handed her the other one, and she reached into the hidden area she had used for stowing daggers in the past. Instead of a weapon, however, she extracted a gold necklace. She carelessly tossed the shoe back on the ground and fastened it around her own neck. Kalia held up the charm in front of the infant, who appeared to be drifting off to sleep.
"This will be yours when you are older, if I don't lose it first." Legolas couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face at the fact that she seemed to think her and the baby were the only ones in the room. Only when Anaeli insisted that the child sleep did she reluctantly hand her over and turn her attention to her husband. The elf kissed her gently on the forehead.
"You did wonderful," he told her softly. Kalia grinned at him, the spark in her eye returning, tired though she was.
"Well, I don't really see any other alternative." He laughed, and, her humor greatly restored, so did she.
A few weeks later, Kalia walked absently down one of the corridors at the palace, rather late at night. She had regained much of her strength, not realizing how much had been lost until she found she couldn't do some of the things that she had taken for granted before. Still a little tired at times, though happier than she could have ever thought possible, the female didn't mind being rather bedridden for a few days.
A frown creased her brow now, however, and she worried the edge of a bit of parchment she was holding. The Tuathe's dark eyes were slowly scanning the paper, and she wasn't paying attention to where she was going at all. Needless to say, she would have jumped out of her skin when she knocked into someone, if she hadn't fallen to the floor. Bracing her hands against the tile, the parchment fluttered to the ground as she broke her fall.
"I'm sorry," she heard someone mumble as she stood, brushing herself off. She turned around, and guessed instantly who it was by the sharp intake of breath.
"Pelin, I believe it is?" The elf gave a short bow of his head.
"Yes, my lady. There is no need to introduce yourself," he said with an irritating and obviously false smile. She crossed her arms.
"I've heard you don't like me." Kalia's bluntness caused him to redden slightly. He opened his mouth to answer, but she cut him off. "Don't bother to deny it. I heard it from your best friend, and you wouldn't lie to him, would you?"
"My lady-"
"So the only real question is," she continued, ignoring him, "Is why? Is it because you don't trust me? You probably don't, but I don't think that's the reason..."
"My lady!" The woman looked at him as if she only just realized he was there.
"What?"
"If you would allow me to speak, I was just coming to apologize. Legolas and I already had an argument about you, and I assumed he would tell you about it in case you were confused about hostility from me. I wanted to tell you that it really was nothing against you, just my own way of protecting my friend. After my horrible experience in love, I didn't want him to go through the same thing, but..." Pelin swallowed, as though this were the most difficult thing in the world for him. "But I see now that I was wrong about you. He has never been happier, and I have grown to accept the fact that you would not harm him in any way. I am sorry that I doubted you, and hope you will accept my full apology." Here he stopped, and silence filled the corridor.
"Well," Kalia said at length. "You'll find I'm the very forgiving sort. I promise to feed you at least once a week." At his stricken look, she burst into laughter. "I'm only teasing you. But I do forgive you." He appeared relieved.
"Thank you, my-"
"If you call me that one more time, I'm going to have to hurt you," she said, the epitome of seriousness. Pelin managed a small smile.
"Kalia." After another short bow, his gaze slid to the floor, where her paper lay forgotten. He stooped to retrieve it for her, but she snatched it up first.
"Thank you for apologizing, but I really must get back to the room." With that, she spun around and strode off back down the hall. The elf stared after her, intrigued by her strange behavior. Shaking his head, he made his way back to his own room.
Rounding a corner, Kalia stopped. Staring for a moment at the parchment clenched in her fist, she crumpled it up and slipped into the room she shared with her husband. He was not there, she noted with a quick glance, so she tossed the balled-up letter into the fireplace with relief. Some things were better left forgotten. At the sound of a handle, she turned from watching the paper burn and smiled as Legolas walked into the room. He returned it, and with a quick kiss, moved to change into his bedclothes. Aliné, the name they had decided on for their daughter, was sleeping in Anaeli's room, so that was one worry they could put to rest for the moment. Kalia did the same as the prince, and once both were in more comfortable clothing, the moved to the chaise lounge as they did almost every night.
The Tuathe woman rested her head on Legolas' chest and closed her eyes. With her legs tucked up underneath her, and the elf gently stroking her hair with one hand and holding hers in the other, Kalia felt that, after many long years, she was home at last.
A/N: Well, that's the end. If you liked this version of the story, let me know please, because I'm changing it dramatically. I'm going to post the different version as Tears of Fire-revised on the site when I finish it, so you don't have to wait in between chapters. So that's something to look forward to. And I am probably going to write a sequel to the story, but I'm not sure which version yet. Anyway, thank you all for reading and for your patience. You're great!