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Chapter four: Welcome to Mirkwood, part 2

Cali stared wide-eyed in amazement as Legolas led her through the many hallways. She never knew a place so beautiful could ever exist. The walls and floor seemed to be made of marble, but the blonde Elf next to her explained they were made from a type a stone called Nimphel. The stone gleamed and gave the impression of an opal, changing from a creamy white, to a soft green, to a light blue or red, depending on how you looked at it. Like her room there were plants everywhere, mostly of which were growing out of the floor. The entire palace looked as if it were built around the trees. There were as well, windows everywhere leading outside to an equally more beautiful world. The forests surrounding this place Legolas called Mirkwood, was in a sense, magical; like it was part of a whole other world or dimension. Cali then vaguely wondered if by some chance she had been pulled into another world.

At one point, Cali stopped walking to look out one of the windows. She watched as the winds blew through the trees, causing them to sway in a rhythmic feeling. She smiled to herself as the wind changed directions and gently brought the warm air and the sweet smell of trees and other unfamiliar scents to her, alighting her senses. Cali sighed to herself; how she longed to walk among those magnificent plants and bask in their regal presence. It sort of reminded her of the old forest behind her home. 'Home,' she thought. 'I wonder what everyone will think when they realize I'm gone. I wonder if my parents will even miss me. I somehow doubt it, they were always annoyed with me in one way or another. But I miss them anyways. I just hope to whatever Deity there is that I'm dreaming.'

Legolas smiled as he stood next Cali. He turned his face toward hers to see her gaze longingly out into the forest. His eyes then swept across her attire once more. When he returned to escort Cali to the meal, he had expected her to be wearing something similar to what the female Elves here wore. But to see her in the clothing of a male, he was genuinely shocked. He had struggled to not show his initial astonishment, but couldn't help the surprise from showing in his eyes. Legolas had to admit though, for wearing attire not accustomed for a woman, she looked.good. The Elf Prince couldn't help but wonder where she had come from, to acquire such clothing. 'Who are you, and where did you come from?' he asked to himself. When Legolas's eyes returned to Cali's face, she turned her face toward his and their eyes met, causing them both to startle each other. "What were you thinking about?" he asked her softly.

Cali lowered her faze from his face, and looked back out the window. "Home," she murmured. "I wonder if they've noticed that I haven't returned yet. If they have, I'm curious as to how much chaos they've ensued." Cali laughed to herself thinking of how her friends would be coping without her.

Legolas raised an eyebrow. "They?" he asked.

Cali turned back to him. "My friends," she replied. "I was performing at a fair, before I ended up here. My friends had gotten the idea into their heads that they would use me as their "Elven Maiden" since the girl who usually did it was gone. I guess she was supposed to be something like the official princess of the fair."

The Elf prince next to her nodded and held out his arm to her. "You should tell me more about this fair while we eat. But now, I fear if we delay any longer my mother well send the guards after us." Cali smiled faintly but didn't take his arm. Legolas looked at her questionably and they resumed their path to the dining hall. As they walked, Cali continued to stare in awe of the structure of the place she was in; it certainly wasn't like anything she'd seen before. A few minutes later, they arrived at a large archway with two guards standing on either side. Nodding at them, Legolas led her through only to suddenly stop and freeze at the sound of someone's laughter. Cali skidded to a stop next to him.

"What's wrong?" she asked starring at his still form.

"Ed' i' ear ar' elenea! (by the sea and stars)" Legolas swore under his breath. "I don't need this." He was shocked to find a few of Mirkwood's nobles there, the female ones at least, sitting there with his parents. Obviously, his mother really was determined to find him a life mate. How was he supposed to find more about this strange she-elf with all those other females fighting for his attention. Legolas then noticed Déorwin a few seats from his father. He caught Déorwin's eye and groaned inwardly when his friend glanced over at the females and grimaced. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he looked back at Cali who had nudged him. She looked pointedly at him, repeating her question in her blue-gray eyes.

"Those females," he whispered as he began lead her slowly to the table, "are my mother's attempt at trying to find me a life mate."

Cali looked at the females at the table and widened her eyes. They were all wearing the same style of dress. Tight and low in the front. Judging by the parts of the conversation that drifted their way, Cali concluded that they looked and sounded like some of the girls from her village. They felt they were above most everyone and wanted the best of everything for themselves. And apparently what they wanted was Legolas. 'I hope all the females here aren't like this.' "Life mate. You mean a wife." Legolas nodded grimly, and she frowned slightly. "I'm sorry. I would run if my parents did that to me."

"Trust me, I would if I could," he said. By now the two had reached the long table. "I'll place you between myself and Déorwin, so the females won't be able to badger as much you." Cali nodded grimly as Legolas pulled out a chair for her next to the dark haired Elf and took the seat on her left next to his father. As soon as Cali had taken her seat an older woman, whom she supposed to be Legolas's mother, immediately spoke up.

"So you must be the Lady Cali my son and husband have been telling me about. When Thranduil first mentioned the strange girl my son had found, I became so anxious to meet her!" she exclaimed. "I'm Lisandrei, Legolas's mother." Cali smiled nervously and glanced at the others around the table. King Thranduil was reading a piece of parchment of some sort, Legolas was smiling at her reassuringly, and Déorwin was seemingly oblivious to everything as he looked to be staring off into space. Legolas's mother, who was still grinning sweetly at her, appeared to be a charming lady with kind blue eyes, and dark blonde hair. It was then that one of the female Elves let their presence be known.

"Cali, that is an unusual name. Where are you from? And how was it that you came to arrive in our fair city?" Cali could easily pick out the 'I am more important than you' tone in her voice. This prompted Cali to study the she-Elves more closely. She was right about the dresses; low and tight. Obviously worn to try and catch the Prince's attention. The female who had spoken had hair the color of fire and piercing green eyes. The others then looked expectantly at Cali, wanting to know the same.

Cali cleared her throat and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "My full name is Calithradë. Um, I come from a very small city, more like a village, called Shirebury, and I'm not quiet sure how I came to be here. I had been lost in the forest and was trying to find my way out."

Legolas's mother raised an eyebrow and looked at Cali curiously. "Calithradë? That names sounds familiar. By any chance are you related to the Lord and Lady Whitelance? And in the forest alone? Where was your escort? Surely you must have had one."

Cali swallowed nervously, 'Escort?' "I, um ... we were separated ... in a fog. And no, I'm afraid I've never heard of them."

The female who had first spoken to Cali narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure? I remember that Lord Elric had a daughter named Calithradë. Who are your parents? And where is this place you call, 'Shirebury'? I've never heard of such a place."

Cali then began to shift uncomfortably and nervously in her seat. She didn't like the way things were going. How was she supposed to explain how she came to be here, and where she came from. Everyone here thought they were Elves. If she really had been sucked into another world, was she going to have to create an entire past for herself?

Another one of the females then spoke, this one with blonde hair and amber eyes. "Yes, and what about your escort? He must have found his way here by now. If not-"

It was at this point when Legolas's father decided to speak. "Lady Anya, Lady Elanor, I think we should let Lady Cali become more comfortable with us and her surroundings before we attempt to find out her past." He then glanced at Cali. "Would that be alright, Lady Cali?"

She nodded gratefully. "Y-yes, th-thank you," she stammered. This would give her more time to find out where she was, and come up with a suitable past for herself. Suddenly, several servants entered the hall, each carrying one or two plates with food on them. They came and stood behind the chairs, and in unison, placed a platter of food in front of everyone. Cali nodded her thanks, but when she looked down, her face fell. There was not a single thing on the plate in front of her that she could name, or even slightly recognize. 'This is not good,' she thought to herself. She took a quick look around to see the others eating their meal contently. She looked again at the food in front of her and tried to decided what exactly it was she was looking at. Cali sighed and tentatively reached out, picking up a bread-like..thing. She nibbled on it, finding the bread to have a sweet taste. She then laughed inwardly to herself. 'At this rate I'm going to starve,' she thought. As Cali tried to decide what to test next, she felt a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump.

Déorwin had looked at Lady Cali to see her looking very troubled. She appeared to be eating very little, and he wondered what was wrong. He laughed to himself as she jumped when he placed a hand on her shoulder. Déorwin leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Are you alright, Milady? Is the food not to your liking?"

Cali's face reddened and she shook her head. "No, I'm fine. It's just that this food is very unfamiliar to me. I've never seen anything like it before." Déorwin just smiled and proceeded to explain each of the different foods. Most of the meal consisted of fruits, vegetables, bread, and a little meat. After trying a bit of each, Cali discovered the food to taste similar to the food back home. The rest of the meal went fairly smoothly from then on. The other females chatted about some kind of upcoming festival, and Legolas and his father discussed the various happenings of the kingdom.

Later, as the servants came to remove the dishes, Legolas leaned over and whispered in Cali's ear, "Lady Cali, you have yet to tell me of this fair you were performing at."

Cali swallowed nervously and slightly hung her head. "Right, I did, didn't I?" He grinned at her, his eyes twinkling, silently urging her to continue.

"What are you two whispering about?" Both Legolas and Cali looked up to see Lisandrei watching them with a coy smile upon her lips.

"Lady Cali had promised to tell me about a fair she was performing at before she came here."

At this, everyone looked up, suddenly interested. Legolas's mother said, "You were performing? What were you doing? Please, tell us all."

Cali closed her eyes and sighed. She supposed that she would have to create a past for herself after all and acknowledge that she was an Elf. She could use part of the truth, but just alter it a bit, and she remembered what Legolas had said to her earlier. When he said that she was to fair to be human, then there must be humans around here somewhere; she could use that to explain her parents. But Cali would have to be careful of what she said, she didn't know much about this new world she was in; she also had to be careful to not mention anything about the modern conveniences. Cali softly cleared her throat and looked back up at the others. "Since I promised to tell Legolas about the fair, then I might as well explain how I came to be here and tell a bit of my past. I actually don't know who my real parents are, I was found as an infant by a human couple who raised me. All my life I never knew who or what I really was because of my looks. So I never knew I was an Elf until now."

"Wait," interrupted Déorwin. "You say these humans raised you from an infant. Exactly how old are you?"

Cali raised an eyebrow in question. "Nineteen," she said carefully.

"But that is not possible," Thranduil said speaking up. "How can you be so young? You do not look it."

Cali raised her eyebrows and shook her head. "How old did you think I was?"

"At least somewhere between one and a half thousand to two thousand years."

She gawked at him, hoping she didn't hear him right. "Two thousand? Um..alright," she managed to squeak out. 'I was not expecting to hear that!' Cali thought to herself. Quiet silence followed. Cali didn't know what to say. What could she say, King Thranduil thought she was two thousand years old! How long did Elves normally live?

Legolas could tell Lady Cali was at a loss for words after what his father just said. Though he did agree with him. This girl had to be at least near two thousand. She held and air of age and wisdom about her that a mere nineteen year old would not have. Placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, Legolas said, "Why don't you continue your tale, Lady Cali."

Cali nodded, knowing the sooner she got this over with, the less people would question her. "There is a fair held in our village every year, but I never went to them because I've always had a bit of trouble getting along with the other villagers. From what I learned over the years from my parents, who always went, the fair was set up like a kingdom. There were people who played nobles, and others who played peasants. This year though, some of my friends who worked in the fair, decided that they would use me to play one of the larger roles of the fair. Someone they called the Elven Maiden. And I'm guessing that this Maiden was some sort of princess who ruled over the entire fair. My friends had claimed the usual girl who played the part was unavailable, so they came to me, asking me to play the part. I agreed.

"In the beginning, all I was to do was play my flute and welcome the visitors to the fair in the morning when it opened. I was free after that to do what I wanted until the afternoon when they were to do some sort of play. Not too long after the fair started, I became bored and decided to go riding. My parents had me take an escort so I would not get into any trouble. We had only been in the forest for a few minutes when a fog began to form, and my escort and I where soon separated. I rode around trying to find him when I came upon a clearing. By then, the fog had lifted, and I had no idea of where I was. I had gotten off my horse to rest before trying to find my way out, when a creature appeared scaring off my horse. It tried to attack me, and that's when Legolas and Déorwin came to my rescue."

Cali then stared down at her folded hands, thinking about what she told them. She was mostly going over in her mind of how she arrived here. 'It must have been that ring that old man gave me. But he said it would answer my questions, and I'm still not sure as to what questions he was referring to.' Again the same questions as the first time she contemplated this emerged. 'Who am I? Where did I come from and why am I so different?' Cali was so confused. Suddenly an idea at once, came up and her eyes widened slightly. 'Wait a minute, if that ring was the thing that brought me here, then it should be able to take me back home! But I don't remember taking it off earlier when I bathed. That means it must have fallen off when that creature attacked me! Now how am I supposed to get home?'

She looked up at the others to see Legolas and his parents talking softly to each other in a language she did not understand. The other females were whispering to one another, occasionally giggling. 'But what if that old man planned on this happening. I remember him saying he was the resident wizard of the fair; does that mean he really was one, and he enchanted the ring to take me here? Am I really an elf, and I was just abandoned by my real parents or kidnapped? They all have ears like mine, and they all have said I'm an elf like them. I guess that means I am one of them. But if I'm dreaming, then all that doesn't matter.'

After Cali had finished her tale, Legolas leaned over to talk with his parents. "Poor thing," his mother said. "Growing up without knowing who she was and then loosing her escort to only be attacked by an orc?" Lisandrei reached across the table and placed her hand on her son's. "Legolas, you are to do everything you can to make this girl comfortable here until we locate her family."

Legolas nodded solemnly. "Yes mother."

His father then spoke. "Legolas, why don't you and Déorwin take Lady Cali for a tour of the kingdom, then ask her if she would accompany us to Rivendell. I'm agreeing more and more to the idea that she just may be Lord Elric's lost daughter. But the only thing which troubles me is her age. Elric's daughter had just turned 2, 345, before she disappeared. We will have to talk to Gandalf when we arrive in Rivendell."

Lisandrei nodded. "Yes, go take her into the market now. She's beginning to look a bit uncomfortable."

Nodding again, Legolas caught his friend's attention and motioned to the door. Déorwin nodded. Legolas tapped Cali on the shoulder. "Lady Cali, would you do Déorwin and I the honor of allowing us to show you the city?"

Cali nodded gratefully. She'd had enough time thinking about her situation, and she did want to see more of this place. "Yes, that would nice," she replied. Smiling at her Legolas stood and offered her his hand to help her stand, but Cali again refused it. Before they left though, Thranduil stood and spoke to his son quietly.

"Don't forget to invite her to the festival, and see if you can find out more about her." The Prince nodded and he and Déorwin led Cali out of the room.

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Lady Anya watched through narrowed eyes as Legolas and his companion led the girl away from them and out into the city. She continued to glower as she and the other females thanked King Thranduil and his wife for the meal and then left for the market.

"Hey Anya!" Lady Elanor called out as soon as they had reached the courtyard. "Slow down!" Anya's pace slacked slightly allowing the other females to catch up. "If I didn't know any better, I would say that you're trying to follow the Prince and that girl. I think you're jealous that Prince Legolas didn't even acknowledge your presence at the noon meal and spent the entire time talking to that girl and not you."

The redheaded Elf stopped walking and turned to her friends, fire in her eyes. "What makes you think that!? I am not jealous! Why would I want to follow the Prince around when he is fulfilling a request from his father? I just want to get to the market and buy a new gown or maybe some jewelry." With that Anya whirled around and left the other females standing in the courtyard, looking bewildered.

One of the she-Elfs who had long blonde hair and green eyes, shook her head. "I think she is jealous. She's been obsessed with Prince Legolas ever since he briefly commented on her new gown a few weeks back. Come on, we'd better follow her." The other girls nodded and left to follow Anya to make sure she didn't do anything rash.

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Déorwin and Legolas walked on either side of Cali as they led her into the city. There were Elves everywhere: merchants selling their goods, females chatting and shopping, children running around, and a few musicians and entertainers keeping their audiences smiling. In a sense it all reminded Cali of her home, only with no technology whatsoever. She then wondered how they would react to a car. Most likely that not, they would probably try and attempt to kill it with their swords and arrows.

As they passed a group of soldiers talking, one of them departed from the group and stepped up to Legolas. He bowed. "Your Highness. The men and I heard a rumor that you and Déorwin picked up a young woman in the forest. Some say she has the beauty of a Lothlorien Elf. Is this true?"

Legolas smiled and stepped aside, revealing Cali. "Why don't you see for yourself, Tollian?"

Upon realizing she had been revealed, Cali tried to hide behind Legolas again, but Déorwin grabbed her shoulders and stopped her from moving. The solider smiled at her friendly as her looked at her. Suddenly, Tollian's eyes widened and he moved closer to Cali, seeming to want a closer look. It was almost as if he recognized her. Cali raised her browed and stared back at the Elf.

It was then that Tollian noticed the pendant around her neck. He shook he head as if to clear his mind He bowed to her. "I am Tollian, a member of King Thranduil's guard. May I have the pleasure of knowing your name."

As Cali returned his bowed with a fumbled curtsy, she decided against giving him her full name. "My name is Cali."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Cali. I hope we meet again." He smiled on more ad turned back to the other soldiers.

Legolas then placed his hand on the small of Cali's back. "Come Milady. There is still much we need to show you." Cali mentally rolled her eyes as she allowed the two Elves to take her arms. As Legolas and Déorwin continued to lead her around the city, Cali began, in the depth of her mind, began to plan her escape from this place.

'Hold on,' she told herself. 'I think 'escape' is a bit too strong of a word. My return home sounds so much better.' Granted she was grateful for everything these people had done for her, but she needed to go home. This wasn't her world. But without that ring - when Cali first realized it was gone, she had figured that it was the object that helped bring her here - Cali was unsure that just riding though the forest would work. Although she had to find the city's main gates first.

Cali stole a glance at Legolas. He was smiling and seemed to enjoy explaining everything around them. The Elven Prince intrigued her. Legolas appeared to genuinely like her, even though they'd only met the day before. Cali was unused to people wanting to be around her besides her friends and parents. Then she suddenly felt bad. She didn't want to betray the small amount of friendship and trust they seemed to have built. And she couldn't forget about Legolas's parents and Déorwin. They accepted her and enjoyed her company. Like Legolas, she was afraid of hurting them. 'Buck up girl,' her mind told her soothingly. 'It's better to hurt them now than later. That way the pain with only be short lived.' Cali agreed with the thought as she quietly sighed. She wondered if she could somehow get the two males to show her the way out of the city. Once that was accomplished, she would leave in the morning before any of them saw her.

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Cali clapped and laughed along with the large crowd that had surrounded the four performers. She tossed a few coins, which Déorwin had given her earlier, into a small bag the men had placed near the crowd to collect money. The performers were men from a village just outside of Mirkwood, and were acrobats who had come into the city to make some money for their families. The mens' knowledge of the Elves had also increased Cali confirmation that she was in another world. A fantasy-like realm. After watching the men perform their last act, Cali fell in step between Legolas and Déorwin as they continued their way around the market. But when they passed a booth, a glimmer caught Cali's eye. She stopped and walked toward the booth, curious as to what caused the glimmer.

The craftsman who stood behind the small stand smiled at Cali as she began to admire the various jewelries. Normally Cali didn't like wearing jewelry much because she thought it was too feminine, but she didn't mind wearing a necklace or a bracelet every now and again. The piece which had caught her eye, was a silver bracelet consisting of two dragons entwined about each other. The dragons' mouths were open with a small white stone incased in them, and their eyes were made from a blue jewel that sparkled in the sunlight.

Déorwin and Legolas stood behind Cali and watched her admire the silver bracelet. The Elf Prince then held up a tiny leather bag, and nodded to his companion. He handed the craftsman a few coins and picked up the bracelet. Taking Cali's hand in his, Legolas slid the wristlet onto her wrist. Cali looked up at the two Elves and raised an eyebrow in suspicion then gazed at the ornament now adorning her wrist.

"If there is a reason for this," she said indicating the bracelet, "I don't think I want to know." Cali then left the two male Elves standing where they were and walked off further into the market.

"What did she mean by that?" Déorwin asked his friend.

Legolas shook his head. "I have no idea. Come on, we'd better catch up to her. I still need to invite her to the festival." With that, the two friends walked hurriedly after Cali.

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Knowing that her two "escorts" would try and follow her, Cali ducked in and out of alleyways and slid between groups of elves. After she was sure that she had successfully evaded them, Cali managed to find her way back to the palace grounds and with the help of one of the servants, to the stables. She wanted to find Astalder and see how he was faring in this strange and new world. When she entered the stables, her black Friesian poked his large head over the stall door and nickered at her. Cali smiled and walked over to him, gently stroking his nose. Astalder nickered again and moved to nudge her forehead with his. Looking around, Cali saw a few brushes laying on a bench, so she grabbed one and moved into her horse's stall so she could brush him, humming a soft tune to herself.

It wasn't until about twenty minutes later when Legolas and Déorwin finally found her. They had scoured the marketplace when one of the merchants spoke up and informed them that he had seen an Elven girl with long brown hair heading back toward the palace. They thanked him and all but ran back to the palace grounds. There, they learned from a servant that Cali and gone to the stables. It was there that they found her humming to herself while she brushed her horse. They stood back a ways, not wanting to alert Cali to their presence yet. Then her voice rang out like a clear bell through the air.

"I know you guys are there, so you might as well come over here." Déorwin and Leoglas looked at each other before walking slowly to the stall where they found Cali grooming her horse.

Legolas reached out and stroked the animal's neck. He briefly wondered where she bought him. Even throughout his travels with the Fellowship, he had never come across a horse breed like this before. "He is a wonderful mount, Lady Cali. Where did you get him? And what breed is he, for I have never seen a horse breed such as his."

Cali placed the brush on the ground and began to stroke Astalder's neck. "He's a Friesian. My parents bought him for me when I was nine. Though we had a few other horses back home, they wanted me to have a horse to call my own. They had taken me to a farm a few hours north of our home, where the farmer had a few horses for sale. When we got there, I took one look at Astalder and fell in love with him."

The two male Elves nodded and silence ensued. Wanting to break the silence, Déorwin nudged Legolas with his elbow and mouthed to him, 'Ask her!'

Taking a deep breath, Legolas asked, "Lady Cali, next week my family will be attending a festival in Rivendell, and my father had wondered if you would join us?"

Cali leaned against her horse's shoulder and thought about. While she didn't want to go someplace new seeing as she was still adjusting to here, but finding an answer to her origins was appealing. Maybe someone could help her in this 'Rivendell'. "Alright, I'll go," she answered. Legolas and Déorwin grinned at each other and watched Cali finish groom her horse.

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Hidden in the shadow of an empty stall, a figure sat crouched, listening carefully to the conversation of the three elves. The figure's eyes narrowed as Cali consented to accompany them to the festival. 'Great, now she'll be around the Prince the entire time. But when I'm done, she'll wish she had never left her village.'

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Cali sighed inwardly as she once again found herself surrounded by Elves in the Dining Hall. She really didn't want to be around anyone at the time and the corset she was wearing wasn't helping the situation at all. Cali still couldn't believe she had to wear one. Not only was the thing suffocating, but also she was surprised she was even able to sit down. Cali absently rubbed her side as she thought back to earlier that day when the female elf who attended to her that morning, suddenly showed up and immediately ushered her off. Cali had been in the middle of braiding the top part of Astalder's tail, while Legolas told her about Rivendell and the festival they would be attending.

Cali had just tied off the end of the braid when the she-elf, Nadia, walked into the stall, seized her arm, and literally dragged her back to the room she had awoken in. As Nadia began to strip Cali out of the clothes she was wearing, Nadia kept muttering something about only having two hours to ready Cali for the evening meal. Cali had allowed the elf to do what she wanted until Nadia revealed the corset. They proceeded to argued for about twenty minutes, Cali refusing to wear it, and Nadia claiming that Cali would never fit into the dress unless she wore the corset. And Queen Lisandrei had provided the dress, so Cali had to wear it to show her gratitude. Granted when all was said and done, Cali had gazed at herself in the mirror and admitted she looked good. When Déorwin and the Prince showed up to escort her, Cali briefly wondered how she was going to sit down, much less eat anything. Although it required Cali to suck in a deep breath and use the back of the chair and edge of the table to do it once they arrived in the hall, she was able to sit.

"So tell me, Lady Cali," said King Thranduil once the meal was underway. "What do you think of our city?"

Cali froze and blinked repeatedly while she tried to think of something to say. After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, she was able to stammer out, "Um..well..it's..uh..nice. Your city is - uh - very nice. The marketplace was very interesting as well." 'Ha! That's a lie and you know it!' her mind almost screamed at her. 'You were bored out of your mind. The only interesting part of the excursion were those performers and being able to find your way to the stables. Just don't let anyone see that trinket 'round your wrist. Who knows what kind of rumors may get started if anyone discovered the Prince gave it to you. They might think you were falling for each other, and you know very well that would ruin your reputation for never letting any male near you. But then again it's already ruined since you let them parade you around this place!' Internally wincing from the lecture her mind just gave her, Cali prepared to ask if she could be excused to go back to her 'room' seeing as her appetite had seemed to have left her, Queen Lisandrei suddenly pointed at her wrist.

"Lady Cali," she asked as she slightly leaned over the table for a better look. "What is that around your wrist?" Cali's eyes trailed down until they rested on the bracelet. 'Oh crud! She noticed!' She quickly hid her wrist under the table, but it was too late. Legolas's mother had already stood and was making her way toward Cali. Once she was behind Cali's chair, the Queen reached down and picked up Cali's wrist, revealing the bracelet to everyone. "Oh, this is lovely," she exclaimed. "Did my son get this for you?"

Cali swallowed and just stared at her wrist. What was she going to say? Before she could utter a word though, Legolas spoke up. "Déorwin and I had seen her eyeing the bracelet while we were in the market so we put together our money and bought it." The Queen smiled in delight and walked back to the seat next to her husband, continuing to smile at Cali. Not enjoying being stared at, Cali again prepared to ask if she could be excused when a guard ran into the room.

"Forgive me for the intrusion, your Highness," the guard said bowing, "but there is a strange sound coming from the Lady's Cali's chambers." Cali's head snapped up in attention. The others sitting around her looked at her in question.

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