Ducks heavy flying objects.
Ok, ok, I'm sorry I haven't updated in like…AGES!!! But you will never believe how much h/w my teachers have been giving me! SO HARSH!
But I've updated now, ok? And I promise that the wait will not be so long next time!
Faerlain
DaydreamingTurtle – Yup, naughty little Celille. Maybe Leggy will find her, maybe he won't. Read on to find out more! AND IT'S GOOD TO BE DIFFERENT!!!!!
That's what I think anyway. Thanks for reviewing.
Lindele – Teehee, cliffies!! True about the attachment thing. Se's mortal, and will eventually die, blah de blah de blah…… Shall I kill her? Thinks about it for a second. Or two. Nah, can't decide. I'll see. Thanks for reviewing.
Popular Galinda – I know he is!!1 Yum!!! Thanks for reviewing.
Rayame325 – Aww, poor Leggy! And poor Celille when you think about it. No family, nothing. Thanks for reviewing.
Tiara Shin – Woo, reviewing fast is good for an author! HAVE I killed Celille though? You just don't know! Yet…
Mmm, warm Elves…So cuddly and cute!!! Squeezes Leggy hard.
Um, sorry, I'll let you breathe now!
Gotta go, he's tapping his foot impatiently. Zooms off into Leggy's arms.
Chapter 13: Child of the Forest
The next 40 years were uneventful for Prince Legolas. Apart from the birth of his younger brother of course. They named him Rániond, Moon Son, as he was born under the light of the moon in the dead of night.
Legolas found being an older brother both entertaining and fun. He was able to tech Rániond everything he knew, from how to ride, to how to identify each woodland creature that crossed their path whenever they went for short walks.
His 200th birthday came and went. Rániond was now 40, and able to go out into the forest, as long as Legolas went with him. They decided to go for a ride together, down to the waterfall and back.
Legolas rode Lagor, a descendant of Rodmín, and Rániond rode his younger brother, Caltál. They were both strong, able stallions, and were almost identical. Dark grey, with white socks, and the typical white star on their foreheads, just like Rodmín. Brother horses for brother Princes.
They rode on for a few hours without any hitches. It was the middle of summer, and they could hear the birds singing high above them in the trees. A few woodland animals crossed their path, such as deer and hares.
They followed the path all the way down to the waterfall, and dismounted. Legolas had a pack of food and drink with him, and so they sat on the bank, kicked their boots off, and relaxed in the sunlight, eating, and letting their feet dangle in the cool water.
"It's so nice down here," Rániond sighed contentedly.
Legolas smiled. "Hmm, I love it."
They removed their tunics, and let the Sun warm them. Lying back on the grass, they chatted about numerous things, letting the day wander on.
"And then she said, 'Why don't we just go…"
"Shh," Legolas told his brother, sitting up a little. He listened intently. He could hear footsteps. He hurriedly put on his tunic, and Rániond copied him. They stood, put on their boots, and waited, hands on the hilts of their knives.
"The day comes and goes,
With it the Sun and the rain.
The Moon comes, the stars twinkle,
I see them from the grass where I am lain."
"Er…Legolas…?"
"Shh." He carried on listening.
"Snow on the Mountains,
Tumbles down from the hills.
The forest lives; I live within it,
Living by my own free will."
Legolas frowned. He recognised the voice, but did not where from.
"My green cloak conceals me,
Yet my voice sings aloud.
I know you can hear me Princes.
There's no need to frown."
They stood there shell-shocked. What on Earth…?
"Legolas and Rániond,
Travelling through the woods.
All alone, very much alone,
Some company may do them good."
"This isn't right," Rániond mumbled. "What is it Legs?"
"I…don't know," he whispered back.
"I'm all forgotten,
No one remembers me.
Singing my way through the trees,
If they look, they will see."
There was a rustle to their left, and they spun on their heel, knives outstretched. But Legolas immediately dropped his. It landed with a soft thud on the grass.
A woman, in a forest green cloak, woven from some sort of wool. Her dark hair tumbled out from underneath the hood which hid her face. She was quite tall, and had a belt of vines around her waist. She had a knife in her right hand.
Rániond also dropped his knife. It landed beside Legolas'. "Who are you?" he asked.
"The animals call me the Forest Daughter," she answered. "Child of Mirkwood sometimes."
"Show yourself," Legolas ordered.
She complied, and let her hood fall. Legolas felt his heart stop.
Celille.
"You…you're dead," he stuttered.
She shook her head, smiling. "What proof did you ever have to show that I was dead?"
"The necklace…"
"The necklace?" She laughed. "That proved I had lost it, or had it stolen, not that I was dead."
"Well that's how it seemed to us!" He glared at her, feeling all the anger and sorrow of the past 40 years submerging into one and coming out.
She glared straight back. "Well maybe if you had listened to me…"
"I did listen! I told you that you could come and live with us in the palace, but you just ran off!"
"I didn't belong there. I belonged with my own people, people who actually despised me."
Rániond was looking back and forth between the two, cringing as their voices grew louder and louder.
"That isn't true.""It is. I did actually go back there, but quickly left again. It was horrible. I became a Child of the Forest, living with the animals and other creatures. I stole a cloak from Befret, and dyed it forest green. I had weapons, a horse…I was fine. I've been living in caves and small huts for the past 40 years. As you can see, I'm getting old now. I had to see you one last time."
"Last time?"
"Yes. I'm 51 now Legolas. That's old.""You don't look 51," Rániond piped up.
She smiled softly at him. "Thank you Prince." She turned her gaze back to Legolas. "I'm sorry I didn't come to you before, but…it wasn't the right time."
"It never was for you was it? All your life, you've been running. First you left Befret, and then you ran away with me. And you've been running these past 40 years. Can't you just stop now?""Where can I stop? There is no finish line for me Legolas. I am in a life-long marathon. I have never left Mirkwood again; I just wander round it. The forest is where I truly belong. Not in Befret, not in your palace. I'm a free person.""But…but what about…all that time we spent together. Three months Celille, three whole months with only each other for company. I could have so easily taken you back to Befret, and then you would have been stuck there for the rest of your life. But I didn't. I took you with me. And I think that was where I made a mistake. I should have taken you back there. You would have grown up with people of your own kind, and got on along fine."
"I would have just run away again," she told him. "I hated my life there, how long will it take for you to understand that?" She sighed and looked to the trees, as if focusing on something. "I have to go now," she whispered. She faced him again. "I didn't die. The necklace was stolen. It was the only memory I had left of you. I'm sorry." She replaced her hood, and started to walk away.
"No, wait!" He ran after her, and grabbed her hand. She stopped and turned to him.
"My creatures are waiting for me. I have already talked with you for too long. We will probably not meet again Legolas Greenleaf, Ernil na en Taur. Farewell." She bowed her head, and slipped into the undergrowth. (Prince of the Forest)
Legolas stared hopelessly after her, and then slumped to his knees. Rániond ran to his side. "Follow her!" he urged. "Don't give up on her now! Get that friendship going again. Please?"
Legolas nodded, grabbed his knife, and ran into the bushes. There was a clear trail, and he just saw the hem of Celille's cloak round the corner. He followed it.
She kept looking over her shoulder, as if she knew he was following. He was being as quiet as he could be, but she had lived in these woods for 40 years. She would be able to hear him.
They walked on like this for about quarter of an hour, then came to a small clearing. It had a tiny wooden house built in the centre, and there was a campfire burning merrily away in front of it. Celille was sat beside it, hood down, watching Legolas.
"Why did you follow?" she asked.
"Because I don't want to lose you again," he replied.
She motioned for him to sit beside her, and he did so, placing his knife on the ground. "You've grown," she commented.
"I've had to. I had to look after Rániond."
"Didn't get a little sister then?"
"No. You're my sister."She laughed and shook her head. "Not still living in those times are you Legolas?"
"Yes," he answered defiantly. "I said you always would be, and I'm sticking by that."
"You were always charming," she carried on. "Always knew what to say to please a girl."
"Must be my royal upbringing," he said dryly.
"Oh yes, and how is life at home? The whole 'I don't want to be a Prince' thing still going strong is it?"
"I had some sense knocked into me," he told her coldly. "I realised you can't run away from your life. Some things you just have to stand up and face. Being royalty is my destiny; I have no choice in the matter. I might as well accept it and get on with it."
"You give in too easily." She stood and fetched a basket woven from branches. It was filled with small red cherries. "I need to de-stone these," she told him. "Don't mind my working – carry on talking."
"Celille, why won't you just listen to me? I thought you were dead!"
"Then why didn't you come and find me to prove I wasn't dead?"
"We couldn't find you! We looked for a solid year, but found no trace.""I was back in Befret for half a year. Did you look there?"
He thought about it. "No, I don't think we did. I don't know…Adar organised it all. I was too messed up."
"Messed up?"
"Aye. I had just found out that my best friend was probably dead. I was rather confused and ill.""But I wasn't."
"That's not the point!" He stood up and stormed away to the other side of the clearing. She watched him carefully. "I didn't know what to," he said in a softer voice, rubbing his hands over his face. "I couldn't go out and look for myself, my parents wouldn't let me. Naneth was due to have Rániond soon…it was all so much to deal with."She stood and walked over to stand beside him. He didn't look at her. He had suddenly found a nearby draping chestnut branch rather interesting. "I'm sorry," she whispered, placing a hand on his arm. "I thought…if you already believed I was dead, it wouldn't be so much of a blow if you saw me later, when I was old and wrinkly like now, and then deal with my death all over again when mortality struck its cruellest blow. But I was clearly wrong."
"If you wished to prevent me more pain," he said in a low voice. "Then why did you come to me today? Its opened up all the old wounds, brought back every single memory."
"I had to see you. It's been hurting me too."
"You're acting as if everything's completely normal."
"Well it isn't, is it?" She turned away from him. "You're right, I've been running all my life," she admitted. "But like I said, I cannot stop now. There is no end for me, no end except death. And this is where I will eventually die." She gestured to the clearing they were in. "People come to me to be healed," she told him, facing him again. "Travellers who get lost in the woods. I find them, or my friends find them, and I help them. Give them food, water, heal any hurts…then I send them on their way again, with an oath over them to keep my home a secret. And I love it. It is a wonderful life. Freedom, all the time."
"But don't you ever get lonely?"
"I have the animals, the creatures of the forest," she replied, pointing to the trees. Legolas looked, and animals started appearing. Deer, rabbits, hares, a wild horse. Birds lined the branches, twittering and chirping. A couple of foxes, badgers, hedgehogs…the whole lot. He gazed around him in wonderment.
"They love me, and I love them," she told him, stroking a stag that had walked right up to her.
"You're like an Elf," he murmured, bending to stroke a fox between the ears.
She grinned. "All it takes is trust and loyalty. I look out for them; they protect me in turn. I feed then during winter when food is scarce, and heal them if they get injured."
"You've changed so much," he told her. "You're nothing like the Celille I ran away with."
"I grew up and discovered my own destiny." A kestrel came and perched on her shoulder.
"I must be dreaming," he told himself. "You disappeared; there was no chance of you surviving. These animals, they wouldn't…you're a human. They don't treat humans like this. For all I know, they're going to start talking any minute now."
"Ask your brother when you return to the palace," she recommended. "He'll confirm that this is all happening."
He shook his head and smiled, rising to his feet. "If this is your life now, then I guess I am just going to have to accept it. And you're not old and wrinkly."
She laughed. "I think you'll find I am, compared to how I used to be."
"You never found a partner? Someone to love, and who loved you back?"
"No. The forest and her creatures are enough for me.""If you say so." He fetched his knife. "I had better be getting back. Rániond will be wondering what has happened to me."
"The stag will lead you back along the path," she said. "If you ever need help, I will be here for a few years yet."
He nodded, and followed the stag. He turned back one last time, and looked at her. She smiled, and blew him a kiss. He caught it, and returned one. Then he left her behind.
NO IT IS NOT THE END!!!! THERE IS MORE STILL TO COME!
But we're getting near the end. As you might have guessed. And Leggy got a little brother! Woo! And he's found Celille. Life is getting better and better for our cute little Prince! Stay tuned for more.
Faerlain