Chapter one: Two worlds, one wish
"When the evening falls and the daylight is fading,
From within me calls - could it be I am sleeping?
For a moment I stray, then it holds me completely.
Close to home - I cannot say.
Close to home feeling so far away.
As I walk there before me a shadow
From another world, where no other can follow.
Carry me to my own, to where I can cross over...
Close to home - I cannot say.
Close to home feeling so far away.
Forever searching; never right,
I am lost in oceans of night.
Forever hoping I can find memories.
Those memories I left behind.
Even though I leave will I go on believing
That this time is real - am I lost in this feeling?
Like a child passing through, never knowing the reason.
I am home - I know the way.
I am home - feeling oh, so far away..."
The last note hung in the air as a small smile graced her lips and the wind gently blew her hair to the side. She reached up and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, attempting to tame it. The young woman gazed out into the horizon watching as the sun slowly slipped behind the hills, turning the sky a brilliant orange and pink. She gazed down from her spot on the roof of her home to the forest, which seemed to spread out endlessly. 'The Áruinn,' she thought. 'It looks so inviting right now. I hope no one will notice I'm gone if I leave now before anyone sees me.' She stood and breathed in the warm and sweet smelling air. 'I wonder how fast I can sneak down to the stables.' Suddenly, a female's voice rang through the air, disturbing the young woman's reverie. 'Nope, guess not.'
"Calithradë! Come down from there right now! You could fall and hurt yourself." It was her mother, Adrian. Her mother was a fairly thin woman, but she was short. She only reached a height of 5'3. Her hair was a bright red color, short - stopping at her chin - and very curly. Adrian also had dark brown eyes with freckles speckling her face and arms.
"Coming, mum!" Calithradë, although preferring the name Cali, called back. Cali walked across the roof to a large oak tree that was growing next to it. Coming to the edge of the roof, she stepped onto a nearby branch. Gathering her wits she jumped, falling to a lower branch and catching it, abruptly stopping her decent. After adjusting her grip on the branch, Cali released it and let herself fall to the ground, landing soundlessly on her feet. Her mother rushed over to her, enveloping her in a hug. She then shook Cali, scolding her.
"Don't you ever do that! You scared me to death. Just think what your father would say right now if he saw you jumping through the trees like that!?" Adrian hugged her daughter again, and began to drag her towards the house. "Come now. The Jensons are here for dinner. Remember to be on your best behavior, Calithradë. They are planning to sign the merger with your father's company and we don't want anything to go wrong tonight! Alright?" Cali nodded, remembering that merging with Mr. Jenson's company could mean more money for both their companies. "Good, now go change. I don't want them to see you dressed like this. Go on now! I have work to do."
Cali watched her mother walk quickly back to the house, then looked down at her clothing. She liked how she looked. Cali at the moment was wearing a dark brown peasant shirt that hung off her shoulders and belled out at the sleeves. Over that she wore a black leather vest, which laced up in the front over her chest and fell down to her ankles with a slit in the back for easy movement. She wore black leggings that showed off the slight appearance of muscle in her legs, and black knee high boots. Around her neck, she wore a thin silver chain with a pendant on the end. The pendant was a small, flat, white stone. On it was a type of crest and some kind of writing, along with her name in English. She'd had it for as long as she could remember. As Cali walked slowly back to the house, her mother stuck her head out through the doorway.
"Oh, before I forget Cali! Don't forget to cover your ears! We can't have the Jensons seeing them, now can we!?" With that, her mother went back inside to finish her hustle and bustle in the kitchen.
Not surprised but undeniably hurt and offended, Cali pushed the rest of her hair behind her ears. As she passed a window, she looked into her reflection. Her ears were the most unusual part of her features; they were pointed like an Elf's from a fairy tale. She had always thought that maybe she got them from one of her parents; her real parents that is. From the time she could understand the meaning of it, Cali had known she was adopted. It didn't take much time of staring at her ears or studying her pendant to figure it out. She just wasn't like the others in the village. Her senses were more sensitive and she felt things deeper than others did. Not to mention that she looked nothing like her parents.
When Cali was younger, she and her parents used to live in the village. It was there at a young age Cali learned it was best to keep to herself and to always have her ears covered, least one of the other children saw a opportunity to mock her. For her first few years of school, Cali only sat back and took the taunting and occasional physical beatings from the older children. Soon at the age of nine she begged her parents to allow her to take some martial arts classes. They agreed thinking it would be a way for Cali to finally make some friends. She advanced through the classes quickly but was removed from the class when she started a fight with one of the other students after he had insulted her. Unfortunately as Cali grew older, the bullying continued. Cali decided to take the problem into her own hands.
It was her freshman year of high school. Cali had been sitting under some trees reading in one of her Irish myth books when a group of guys walked up to her. The majority of the group consisted of guys from the football team and some of the popular guys from around campus. They walked up to her and began their usual light teasing before moving on to the insults. It was when Paul, the most popular male in school and star of the football team, made the critical mistake of calling Cali a freak with parents who obviously didn't want her. Less than thirty minutes later, Paul was sent to the hospital to get stitches. (Cali smiled, silently reminiscing the sound made when her fist connected with the boy's nose. It was a nice crunching sound; too bad it didn't break though.) Unfortunately, Cali had then been suspended for the next two weeks.
After the incident Cali's parents decided it would be best to move to where they were now. Amazingly enough, even with all the trouble Cali got herself into, she still made some friends who were always by her side and helped her through the more trying times in her life. She had met them shortly after the 'Paul incident' – as Cali had named it. Two of Paul's friends wanted revenge for what she did. Cali temporarily took out one of them and was about to take on the other when four girls her age came up to her and held her back. They claimed Cali shouldn't waste her energy on them; they weren't worth the effort. She had already proven herself to the rest of the students at the school and the didn't think her parents would be happy at the thought of Cali being suspended again, or worse, expelled.
The girls introduced themselves as Sida, Leanna, Cora, and Jenae. Of course Cali told them that she didn't need their help nor their friendship, but the four girls persisted and Cali was eventually won over. Afterwards, whenever Cali was in the village the girls were hardly separated. At the end of their senior year in high school, they all graduated with high honors, each having earned several scholarships. Cali could never ask for better friends.
Cali ran a hand through her hair and sighed; even though her friends made life bearable, she wished she lived some place other than here. A place where she would be accepted and there were others like her. Sure Cali liked some of the people here, but so many of them wouldn't let their children even near Cali. She had inquired once as to the reason of their dislike of her; they didn't give a reason, only turned their backs and walked away. At one time, Cali did manage to pry a reason from one of the mothers. The mother said it was just a feeling they all had. Even if she didn't have the Elf-like ears, Cali was still considered odd. She purposely avoided people and regularly spent all day in the forest talking to the animals and plants, playing her flute from atop the roof, tinkering with her computer equipment, or practicing a few fighting skills.
By now Cali had reached the top of the stairs of her home and turned left down the hall to a door at the end of the hallway. She opened the door revealing another flight of stairs leading upwards. She quickly jogged up the stairs, passing by pictures she had painted and bought, soon reaching another door at the end of them. Cali then stopped and studied the door a moment before going through. When she was about eleven years old, Cali had begged her father to engrave the door like the Celtic ones she had seen in pictures. So now it was covered with symbols and figures, looking like the entrance to a Celtic princess's chambers. She smiled to herself and swung open the door to her room.
Cali's room was basically the entire attic converted into a room. It was fairly large, since it covered the entire span of the house. She had several skylights in the ceiling, and windows everywhere allowing the natural light of the sun and moon to filter in. There was an especially large one at one end of the room, which over-looked the forest and hills behind the house. Her bed was near it and covered with a dark green coverlet and white silk sheets. Now the ceiling was slanted and came to a point in the middle. From the middle, Cali had many plants hanging across the ceiling. Along with the plants, she had several other plotted plants in the corners and lining the walls of her room, many of which were small trees. At one corner of the room was her own bathroom, a smaller room that jutted out from the corner. Against the wall near her bed, was a desk with a computer system where she spent some of her time tinkering around. Her walls were a soft swirl of green and brown, painted to make one feel like they were outdoors.
Cali walked slowly over to her large bed and sat on the edge, thinking about this evening. She didn't want to have to go down there. She didn't want to have to deal with Neil, the Jenson's oldest son, who for some reason had a crush on her. She still could not understand why. She had broken his nose once, and he still insisted on pursuing her. 'Oh, c'est la vie. I might as well change into something more to my parents' liking, even though I still don't see why I cannot wear this. It's perfectly fine.' Cali shrugged, to herself and headed to her closet. After looking through for a few minutes, she chose a light blue poet's shirt, a shorter gray lace-up vest, and a pair of flared black jeans. She slipped some tennis shoes on, and got to work on her hair.
Some minutes later, Cali gazed at herself in her full-length mirror. At the age of 20, she was 5'7 and fairly lean. Her eyes were a combination of gray and blue, which either turned darker or lighter depending on her mood. Her hair was a light brown with an almost golden tint to it and fell to just below her shoulder blades. She pulled her hair back loosely (as to cover her ears efficiently), leaving a few strands to fall on either side of her face, and tied it with a strip of brown velvet. Giving herself one last look-over, Cali walked out of her room, and headed downstairs to the dinning room where she was sure everyone else was waiting. 'I hope I can get out of there quickly,' she thought as she stepped off the last step of the main stairway.
She entered the dining room to find her parents and the Jensons already sitting at the table. Cali smiled politely as she sat herself between her mother and the Jenson's son, Neil. She sat straight in her chair waited for her father to serve himself before placing small amount of food on her plate. While they ate, Cali could feel everyone's eyes on her; it was uncomfortable and Cali was quickly becoming annoyed. She raised her gaze to Neil, who in return smiled at her pleasantly; she rolled her eyes. A dull pain erupted on her left side, below her ribs. Adrian had jabbed her with her elbow. Cali looked at her mother with narrowed eyes.
"What?" she hissed under her breath.
"Be nice," her mother replied.
Cali rolled her eyes and sighed deeply. "I am. I know very well just how important this meeting is to Dad; it could easily decide the future of his company. Don't worry, I won't jeopardize it." Cali then stood and looked at the others sitting around the table. "If you would all excuse me, I'm going to go into the living room. I'm not that hungry." With that said she left the dinning room, her Siberian Husky, Verndari, following closely at her heels. In the living room she walked to a bookcase and pulled out a thick book named, "Ruins of Ancient Ireland". Settling herself onto the floor with Verndari laying next to her, Cali began to read.
It wasn't until an hour or so later when the others finished with their dinner and entered the living room. Cali ignored them as they seated themselves and began to chat with one another. Neil however, tried once more to acquire himself a date with Cali the next evening. Tuning out everything she could, Cali concentrated on her book, where at the moment she was reading about 'Glastonbury'.
"The ancient Celtic name for the Tor was Ynys Witrin," she read to herself, " 'Island of Glass.' Another Celtic name was Caer Wydyr, 'Fort of Glass,' which is also the third name for the Celtic Otherworld. Surrounded mostly by water, a defensive wall known as Ponter's Ball was erected to the East and protected Glastonbury from the mainland. A bridge, known as the Pomparles or as Perilous Bridge, was the only dry access point to the south. Pomparles is thought to be the place where Bedwyr, from the Arthurian legend, returned the sword Excalibur to the Lady Of The Lake after the Battle of Camlann. In Celtic legends, Avalon was the Otherworld home of the underworld god, Afallach. Both the names Avalon and Afallach refer to apples, apples that once grew in Glastonbury. Being an Otherworld sacred site, Glastonbury would be the site where a Celtic king would be sent when near or at death. Such was the case of King Arthur when he was sent to Avalon after his final battle-"
"Calithradë, are you listening?!" Cali jumped when she heard her name. She looked at her father, who was looking at her expectantly.
"What?" she asked, looking around the room. Everyone was staring at her.
Her father sighed and shook his head. "Mrs. Jenson asked you a question, Cali."
"Oh, sorry." She turned to Mrs. Jenson. "What were you asking?"
"I asked what you were reading to get you so engrossed into your book?" she asked with a slight distaste to her voice.
Cali narrowed her eyes and sat a bit straighter. "It's a book on ancient Celtic ruins." The older woman eyed Cali, silently demanding her for more information. She sighed. "I find it to be a very interesting subject and hope to major in Celtic ruins and an old Celtic language when I start college this fall."
"Oh," stated Mr. Jenson. "And where do you plan on going?"
"I have already been accepted to the University of Dublin, Ireland. I also have earned several scholarships, so my tuition is almost entirely paid for." She closed her book and stood and spoke with a hint of annoyance in her voice said, "Now if you will excuse me, I think I will go outside for some fresh air This room had suddenly become very stuffy." Cali turned to exit the room when her mother called out her name.
"Cali, wait! The Jensons are accompanying us to the village fair tomorrow, are you going to come as well?"
Neil nodded and smiled sweetly. "Yes Cali, will you do us the honor of brightening our day with your lovely presence?" Cali groaned inwardly. She could almost see the sickly sweet sarcasm dripping from his voice.
"I'll think about," she said curtly and quickly left the room. She practically ran out the front door and to the gardens where she hoped she would have some peace. Cali entered the gardens and sighed heavily with relief. Sitting on a stone bench she leaned back and gazed up at the sky. The sun had almost finished setting, the sky now a deep purple and blue. There were no stars yet, but the night was clear. Cali brought her gaze down and looked about the garden. It was an amazing sight. Since her mother was an avid gardener, nearly every flower that could be grown in the area could be seen here. There were fishponds, stone statues, and benches scattered everywhere; it was like a garden out of a fairy tale.
But Adrian's pride and joy was in what she called the Dreamscape. It was like a small island, on the inside at least, surrounded by a stonewall covered in ivy and a tiny moat inside. The entrance to the Dreamscape was through an old wooden door Cali's father found at an antiques shop. Cali loved it on sight and had tried to convince her father to replace her bedroom door with it; he declined saying it was too heavy to carry up all those stairs. So Adrian had him set it up outside. Now inside the Dreamscape was a short bridge so one could walk over the 'moat'. The moat was in actuality a pond that circled the entire area. Beyond the moat was a gravel path creating a large loop with sometimes-smaller paths leading away from it. The was a fountain in the middle – a few horses were rearing on the top – with flowers and small bushes surrounding it. Off to one side near the back was a gazebo with a one of those swinging benches hanging from the middle of it. When Adrian set it up, she claimed it would be the perfect place to cuddle with someone and was placed in such a way that one would be able to watch either the sunrise or sunset.
Cali's thoughts were suddenly brought back to her as she felt a hand being laid on her shoulder. She looked up to see Neil standing next to her. Her eye's widened as he sat next to her. – Now it wasn't to say that Neil was not good looking. He towered at a height of six feet and sported short, dusty blonde hair and eyes like melted chocolate; not to mention he was also nicely muscled. – Cali gazed around and tried to figure the best way to escape. She jumped when he said her name.
"Cali, are you alright? You seemed unhappy and a bit distressed during dinner and in the living room. What's wrong?" Cali looked at him and narrowed her eyes. Sweeping his hand off her shoulder she stood.
"Nothing's wrong with me Neil. And I would appreciate it if you would leave me alone for once. I'm getting tired of your attempts to seduce me."
"Cali, I'm not…"
Cali help up a hand to silence him. She turned and looked him in the eye. "Don't. Just don't. I'm not in the mood for much of anything, okay?" Seeing Cali was not going to listen to him Neil relented and stood, his tall frame towering over Cali's. She flinched when he laid his hand back on her shoulder.
"Alright, but let me just say this. You intrigue me, and I think you are one of the most beautiful people I've ever seen. You're smart and aren't afraid to let others know what you think. If it truly annoys you to have me around you, then I'll back off. But at least give me a chance." Cali lowered her gaze to the ground. Neil sighed and removed his hand. "Maybe I'll see at the fair tomorrow then?" When Cali didn't answer, he sighed again and went back inside the house.
Cali looked up after him. 'Since when did he become so nice? I've never seen him act like that before. Strange,' she thought to herself. Standing there for a few moments longer Cali shook her head and went inside.
Laughter rang through the trees as two young Elves raced along a path leading to an enormous tree in the center of the courtyard. The first skidded to a stop as he reached the tree and leaned against it to catch his breath. He looked over his shoulder to see the other slow down, and heavily sit on the ground, breathing hard. The first laughed, "You are getting slow, Déorwin!"
Déorwin, an Elf with dark brown hair and light green eyes, glared at his friend. "Right, whatever you say Legolas. I would have beaten you if you had not pushed me into that bush!"
Legolas continued to laugh and shook his head, his long blonde hair swinging behind him. "Sure you would have, my friend, sure you would have," he replied sarcastically. The blonde Elf helped his friend stand, and the two walked side by side up the steps into the palace.
Suddenly, Déorwin grabbed Legolas's shoulder and stopped him. He grinned. "Hey Legolas, you hungry?"
Legolas smirked, laughter dancing through his bright blue eyes. "Race you to the kitchens?"
The other Elf continued to grin. "You're on!" The two got in running positions. "Go!" Déorwin yelled out, and they set off at a sprint toward the palace kitchens to see what food they could get off the cooks before the evening meal.
They raced through the halls, dodging servants and once almost crashing into a door someone had suddenly opened. Soon, Legolas and Déorwin skidded to a halt in front of the kitchen entrance. Legolas knocked on the door, and waited patiently for it to open. Suddenly, the door swung open to reveal a shorter Elfish woman. She looked up at the two young Elf males and narrowed her eyes. "And what may I do for the two of you?" she asked.
The blonde Elf smiled sweetly and replied, "We have just come looking for a bit of food." He face fell slightly when the she shook her head.
"Nothing doing, Prince Legolas. Your evening meal will be served in a few hours. You can wait till then. Now, go! I have work to finish." With that, the Elfish woman closed the door. They could hear her grumbling on the other side.
Déorwin looked to his friend expectantly. "Now what?" he asked. Legolas shrugged. Before he could answer, the door reopened to reveal a younger female Elf with bright red hair.
She handed them two goblets of water and a loaf of lereth. "Here," she said. "I grabbed them when Aria was not looking. It should keep you until the evening meal." The males Elves thanked her and walked away happily munching on their food.
Several minutes later, Legolas and Déorwin were found lounging on one of the balconies in the main hall. Each had a glass of water in his hand and several slices of lereth (Elfish bread) lying on their laps. "I can not believe the cooks gave us such a hard time. All we wanted was a little food to snack on," grumbled Legolas.
Déorwin grinned at his companion. "Well, at least we got the food in the end." Legolas nodded, taking a sip of his water. Suddenly, one of King Thranduil's attendants approached the two men.
The attendant bowed to Legolas. "Vedui' (Greetings), Prince Legolas. Your father sent me to remind you of the upcoming festival in Rivendell. He said-"
"He said, that you had better make sure that you are there or you shall be the one to escort Lady Halia to the Spring Gathering in two months," a new voice cut in. Legolas looked up to see his father standing there, sporting the same blonde hair and the same blue eyes.
The color drained from his face. "Escort Lady Halia?" he stammered. "But father-"
"NO buts, Legolas. You have to go. As Prince of Mirkwood you are required to be in attendance. Besides, I'm sure that your friend, Aragorn, would be pleased to see you again." Legolas opened his mouth to say something, but his father cut him off. "You're going, and that's final. I will see you in two hours for dinner. Tenna' san', utinuamin (Until then, my son)." With that, King Thranduil turned and left the room, his attendant trailing behind him.
Legolas watched his father's retreating back. "I am doomed," he whispered. "I wonder what is worse, escorting Lady Halia to the Spring Gathering, or having to mingle with at least a hundred females fawning for your attention." He leaned his head against the wall and sighed. Legolas turned his head to look at Déorwin. "What do you think, mellonamin (my friend)?"
Déorwin chuckled. "I think you would be better off going to the festival. I am sure it would be easier deal with several females for a week, than have to deal with Lady Halia by herself for one day."
Legolas nodded in agreement. "Alright then. But you are coming with me. If I have to suffer, then so do you." The Elf prince stood his back to his friend. "I will see you in a few hours." He walked swiftly out of the room, and headed to the gardens to have some time to himself.
The other Elf just stared at the Prince's retreating back. "Hey, Legolas! What do you mean I have to go? Legolas!" He ran after his friend in attempt to find his meaning.
Later that evening, Legolas sat quietly with his parents, Déorwin, and some other noble families in the dinning hall. He listened halfheartedly to the various conversations echoing throughout the room. His father and the other men were talking of the best way to rid their forests of the orcs, and his mother and other women were conversing about the festival in Rivendell. Legolas, however, was trying to think about how he would rather be reading a book in the gardens, riding his horse through the woods, or practicing his fighting. He suddenly snapped out of his daydream when his mother, Lisandrei, laid a hand on his arm.
"Oh Legolas, you are going to the festival, are you not?" She smiled at him pleadingly.
"Uma Naneth (Yes mother), I am," he replied taking a sip of his wine.
"I am glad. Now, you are going to promise me that you will start looking for a life mate? There will be plenty of pretty girls to choose from."
Legolas nearly choked on his drink. "Naneth!"
Lisandrei frowned. "Now Legolas, you are nearly two and a half thousand years old. It is time that you find a mate and settle down. I do not want to see you be lonely your entire life."
Her son shook his head. "Mother, I am perfectly fine with my living status. If I feel the need to find a bride, then I will. Though, I seriously doubt that I will find the girl of my dreams at the festival, much less fall in love within a few days of meeting her."
King Thranduil then spoke up, agreeing with his wife. "I agree with your mother, Legolas. You need to settle down sooner or later. It will not be long before your mother and I travel to the Undying Lands, and we want you to be settled with a wife for when you take my place as King."
Legolas rolled his eyes. "I still do not see why I have to take your place. Why can not Shálen or Arlen do it! They are older than I. Should not the right of being King go to the Eldest?"
"This is because your brothers flat out refused to take my place the moment they understood what I was talking about. My last hope is with you."
Legolas stared down at his plate, thinking. He knew that his parents would be heading to the Undying Lands within two or three decades, but he really did not want to be King. If it was anything like what Aragorn goes through on a daily basis, then Legolas did not want anything to do with it. Although he knew that he must obey his father's wishes and honor his memory for when he was gone. Legolas then thought about what his parents had said concerning his finding a wife. On one hand, it would be nice to settle down with someone he could live the rest of his life with. But sometimes the female Elves could be so – helpless, all they wanted to do was sit around and chat. He wanted a girl with a mind of her own, who enjoyed racing through the woods on horseback, who would accompany him on one of his many journeys, or just sit in the tops of trees soaking the beauty of their surroundings. Legolas wasn't sure he would ever find someone like that. He closed his eyes, and sighed.
The Elf Prince stood and faced his parents. "I will think about it mother. Now if you will excuse me, I think I will retire for the night. Quel du, il'er (good night, everyone)." Legolas kissed his mother on her cheek. "Tenna' tul're (until tomorrow), mother." He then strode out of the dining hall, and made his way to his chambers.
Cali sat on the roof above her room watching the moonrise in the darkened sky. She sighed and pulled the thick quilt around her. She drew her knees up to her chest, and laid her head on them. The Jensons hadn't gone home until just an hour ago. Her father had come up to talk to her, obviously to ask why she had been so curt with their guests. 'As if he didn't know', she thought. 'What comes around goes around.' Cali then looked up to see a bright star flickering in the sky. 'Might as well make a wish.'
"Star light, star bright. First star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish, I wish tonight." She took a deep breath and cleared her mind. "I wish that I could find someone who would love me for just who I was …. and for what I am. My soul mate."
Somewhere, in the world called Middle-Earth, another was gazing up at the sky.
Legolas, the Prince of Mirkwood, stood on the balcony of his chambers which overlooked one of the great and many forests in their realm. He sighed and thought about what his parents had said earlier that evening. Maybe he should find someone and settle down. The young Elf looked to the sky, the rays of the moon illuminating his Elfish features. In the corner of his eye, he noticed a bright star flickering.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I wish I could find a girl whom I could love until the end of time. My soul mate," he whispered into the wind.
Somewhere in the darkness, a voice whispered, "Wishes granted."
