"How could you do this?" demanded Nanaylia as Legolas prepared to leave with the others.
"I could not do this. Nanaylia, it has been years since you were rescued from the clutches of Manlin from in the Dark Forest. I have been estactic that you were found ever since then but this is something that I feel I have to do," replied Legolas as he turned to look at his sister. "I do not know if you have ever felt the same way or not."
Her shoulders slumped as she heard him say that. The look on her face told him that she was happy to be near family and friends again and she did not want to lose them in any fashion since what happened to her.
"But that was not voluntary. This is," she whispered to him.
"I will come back Nanaylia, I assure you," he quietly told her before taking her into an embrace.
She accepted it and she began to cry slightly as they broke free from it.
"Oh yes, I have something for you before I go," Legolas suddenly told her, turning around.
She watched him as he walked to the bag he had brought with him on the trip. He pulled something out and handed her something wrapped in a cloth. She took it and looked at him with slight confusion in her eyes.
"Open it," he told her in a quiet voice. "Please."
She did so to reveal her set of daggers. Nanaylia was surprised as she stared at her brother, who showed her his. She smiled as she looked at the intricate designs on hers and his. Each respective set was made soon after they were born. They were near identical except hers had slightly different colouring than his.
"I forgot about these completely," she quietly said. "When did you...?"
"I found them again when I went back to Lothlorien with Father some time after you supposedly died. I put them away and promptly forgot about them until just recently. I never expected to see you again so that's why I put them away in the back of my closet for safekeeping. I thought they would be my only reminder of you. The four of them will be together once again. We will have another war of the pranks against the twins and defeat them at it like we always do. I promise you that," Legolas told her in a quiet voice.
Legolas headed out to join the others. She watched him head towards them, the tears falling down her face.
"I should have told you when I had the chance. I do not know if you are coming back and you needed to know about this news. How could I have not told you?" she whispered to herself as she sank to her knees.
She suddenly had an uneasy feeling overwhelm her. She looked from side to side, wondering what was causing it. She had felt this feeling before and she made the decision to find Elrond after watching her brother leave.
###
Frodo was keeping an eye on Legolas. He knew that he would be leaving family behind in Rivendell and was wondering how she was reacting to this news, especially after what he found out from Gandalf. He was curious to what happened in their family but he wasn't going to ask about it just yet. Frodo felt it was too soon to ask.
"Let us go. We have a long journey on our hands," Gandalf said as he began to head out of the elven kingdom.
The others began to follow him, oblivious to the fact they had someone watching them. Legolas turned his head slightly and saw her watching them. He gave a small smile as he heard her voice amongst the wind. She occasionally did that and he had grown accustomed to it. Every once in a while, he even felt a bit envious of her since she could perform magic and he could not. He was always confused on how the magic managed to stay in her body. He hoped that could be explained sometime by someone since Elrond could not do so.
'Take care,' he heard her say. 'Come back alive.'
Gandalf was leading the way and he stared in the direction of Mordor. He gave a sigh as he did so. Frodo glanced behind the group and saw something in the sky above them. He narrowed his eyes as he stared at it longer.
'What is that?' he thought to himself as he continued to stare at it longer.
As it appeared to become closer, he thought it looked almost like a man with wings.
'That cannot be! Such creatures that look like men yet fly do not exist!' he thought to himself.
"Frodo?" a voice said, breaking him out of his trance.
He turned to see that Aragorn was talking to him. The man appeared to be slightly worried.
"Is everything alright?" wondered Aragorn.
"I'm fine. Nothing's wrong," replied Frodo, giving a small smile. 'At least not yet, there's nothing wrong.'
Aragorn didn't believe him. He could almost see through that smile. He turned to the place where Frodo was ever so recently looking and thought he saw something in the sky as he narrowed his eyes.
'It almost looks like a gargoyle. Could it be that Nanaylia's following us? It couldn't be her! I know she cares greatly for her brother but I don't think she would go as far as to follow him on a journey like this,' Aragorn thought to himself as he turned back around.
He stared at the other members of the Fellowship and wondered if any of them had seen the flying creature. He hoped none of them had seen it besides Frodo.
###
"Please Elrond, I have to go. Someone is following them and I am worried about Legolas," Nanaylia told the elven lord.
"I cannot let you do that! I am worried for you. Especially in your condition. After Elladan told me about it, I could not believe it. I still cannot believe it, even after I see you. Do you want to put yourself at risk by doing this?" wondered Elrond as he continued to read the book he was holding. "And after what happened at the Council, I'm a bit wary of letting you head after your brother. Your anger was clouding your judgement."
"It has been about seven months since that one incident where I attempted magic. I do not often practise it, including my gargoyle form. But I need to follow them in gargoyle form. It is the only way that I can catch up to them and not be recognized by the others," Nanaylia replied. "Someone is following them and I need to warn them before any of them are killed."
Elrond sighed as he placed the book on the table next to him. He looked at Nanaylia and Arwen, who insisted in joining her friend. Elladan had also insisted he join as he held Nanaylia's hand.
"Alright, I will allow you to follow them but I want you to stay out of sight if nothing appears to be following them and come back here once you are certain that nothing is after them," Elrond told her, standing up and facing her. "Please do as I ask. I am just worried about your safety."
"Yes, I will," Nanaylia quietly said before heading towards the door.
Elrond watched as Elladan escorted both of them out, wondering if he made the right decision.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Elladan asked her as soon as they stepped out of the room.
Arwen headed down the hall, giving them some privacy. She glanced back at them, seeing that they stopped in the hallway just outside their father's door.
"Yes, I am. Elladan, wouldn't you help your brother if he was in trouble?" she asked him, a bit of sadness in her eyes.
He sighed and stared at the floor, placing his hands on her arms.
"I would help Elrohir if he needed my help. But please be careful. You are not in the same condition you were in a few months ago," Elladan told her.
He escorted her to her room. She walked inside and he watched as the door closed. Worry grew in his face about her. Several minutes later, he watched her fly into the sky in the direction the Fellowship went in.
'Please come back safe,' he thought to himself, placing a hand on his forehead.
###
Along the way, the Fellowship decided to stop for a short rest. Legolas was leaning against a nearby tree when Boromir walked up to him. He appeared to be a bit nervous to the elf.
"What is it that I can help you with?" wondered Legolas as he continued to look at his bow.
"Well, I just want to ask you something," Boromir replied.
"What is it?" Legolas told him as he gave the man a watchful eye.
The elf didn't know what the man was going to ask and that made him nervous.
"I heard from a few other men in Gondor that there is a creature that resides in your kingdom. One that has wings, claws and a fiercesome roar," explained the man. "I heard it was like a creature out of an old story. Almost like the gargoyles."
Legolas' eyes became frantic as he continued to look at the man, thoughts running through his mind. His composure remained the same, trying not to show his shock to the question.
'He knows about Nanaylia's gargoyle form? How could he know?' Legolas screamed in his mind before he managed to bring himself to respond. "There is nothing of that sort in Mirkwood. There never has been, never will be. That is a rumour."
Boromir kept a careful eye on the elf as he turned away from the prince. He wasn't sure if he could believe what Legolas was saying.
###
Soon after the rest of the Fellowship has fallen asleep, Legolas leaned against a tree, looking over the night sky. He sighed as he thought of what he had done to his sister by leaving. Also, what had been done to her by Manlin.
Suddenly, he heard a soft rustling in the trees and a figure jumped down behind him. He turned his head to see a gargoyle standing behind him.
"Na...? Narcissis? What are you doing here?" wondered a surprised Legolas, quickly remembering to call her by her gargoyle name in case he missed any of the others awakening.
"Legolas, I came here because I wanted to warn you of something. You are being followed," Narcissis told him.
"Followed? By whom?" Legolas demanded to know. "You mean by someone other than you?"
"I am unsure who it is but someone is following your Fellowship's every move and I have a strange feeling we have met this someone before," she replied as she walked over to the others.
Legolas was shocked to hear it but soon nodded his head.
"Legolas?" she said in a quiet voice.
"What is it?" he wondered, unsure he could take anymore news.
"I have to tell you something," she replied as she walked up to him.
"What now?" Legolas said, becoming a bit worried as he intently watched his sister's every move. "I am already greatly upset that you came after me. You shouldn't be so close to the others. Well, maybe except Aragorn."
She watched him as he continually watched the sleeping Fellowship, as if hoping none of the would wake. He was becoming nervous with what he was being told.
"Lego, I was hoping to tell you while we were at Rivendell, but it could not have happened since you made your decision to leave with the Fellowship. I hate to tell in these circumstances but I am with child," she quietly told him.
"What? With child? Whose child? Tell me!" demanded Legolas, his head perking up in interest.
He watched as his sister gave a sigh and looked away from him.
"It is Elladan's child, Legolas. Elrohir, Arwen, Elrond and our father already know. Father knows because I told him just before we left for Imladris. Only you had to be told," she explained.
"Why did you not tell me earlier?" he asked her as he placed his hands over his face.
"Like I said, I had intended to tell you after the council but you had to leave with the others. This happened during our last meeting with the twins a couple months ago, about a month before they left for home! They stayed at Mirkwood for those months and I was happy for his company in more ways than one," she replied. "I will never forget what he sacrificed soon after that. His father told me what happened after Elladan arrived back home. Lego, I miss him so much even though it has only been a short time."
Legolas carefully watched her movements and he gave a small sigh. He never realized what his sister truly felt about Elladan... or what Elladan truly felt about his sister. The Elven twin had managed to keep his feelings hidden from the others.
She looked over at her brother's companions before glancing back to her brother. What neither of them saw was Gimli being aroused and slightly open his eyes.
"I know I should have told you sooner but there is more danger around these parts Legolas Thranduillion and both of us have to be careful of it," she told him. "Especially you. For some strange feeling, I sense that you are in the most trouble. I cannot explain it."
Gimli looked over at the creature standing beside the elf and was surprised. He let out a roar before grasping his axe and climbing to his feet. He began to rush over to the gargoyle but was soon stopped when he found himself pinned to the ground, the air being pushed out of his lungs from the impact.
The Fellowship was soon awoken by the noises that filled the campsite. The group of seven looked over the creature pinning the dwarf to the ground. Aragorn was a bit awkward with the situation since he recognized the gargoyle in front of him.
"Narcissis," he said loud enough that the elf could hear him.
TBC...