A/N: I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter. Thanks to everyone who's stuck around this long- you all have the patience of a saint, I tell ya! To be honest, I'm a bit wrapped up in real life (those of you who drop by my LJ know this) so I can't promise timely updates. Hopefully that doesn't turn anyone off too much. I am writing and re-writing though so the fifth chapter should not be three months in the making.
On with the show.
Chapter 4- Revelations
"Wake up, Legolas. You must wake up."
The harsh whisper brought Legolas back to wakefulness. He found himself staring at a mess of white and black. It only took him a moment to realize that he was looking at Karalynn's hair against her nightgown. Moving carefully, he lifted his arm from her waist and turned to his side.
Lohr was looking down at him with a mixture of amusement and irritation. He pressed his lips together and shook his head at Legolas.
"Legolas, she is waking up," Lohr said. His voice was far too soft for a human ear to register but Legolas could hear the urgency in his tone well enough. "You must go now."
Legolas looked back at Karalynn, surprised that he had fallen asleep. Lohr was right; her breathing had become shallow again and Legolas could feel the first faint tendrils of consciousness emanating from her. Legolas touched her forehead gently, uncaring of what Lohr would say. He smiled with relief to find that her skin was damp. Her fever was breaking. She was no longer frighteningly hot.
Legolas drew away from her then and rose to his feet, but not before placing a soft kiss on her cheek.
Lohr shook his head again as he opened the door to let Legolas out.
"You never listen to me, do you?" Lohr said. "What if she had woken up and found you with her? She would have..."
"I am sorry," Legolas said ruefully. "I meant to call you. I did not mean any harm."
Lohr looked at his brother and exhaled loudly. "I know, Legolas," he said. "And I do understand. Believe that. But when it comes to her health, I know more than you. Next time..."
Legolas and Lohr both looked at Karalynn, who was now moving onto her back. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. Without looking at him, Lohr touched Legolas' shoulder and pushed him on gently.
Legolas sighed, took one last look at her, and walked out of her room.
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Legolas raised his hand and knocked on the ornate door in front of him. He struggled to keep his face neutral and emotionless but it was difficult. Perhaps he had spent too much time among mortals; it seemed that his anger was now getting the best of him.
After his visit to Karalynn's sick bed, Legolas had gone back to the training fields in an effort to clear his mind but it had failed. She was getting better, yes, but he simply could not understand why Karalynn was made to endure such a sickness for mere playmates. Kythe and Faran and Lohr did not make enough time for her if she was so in need of distraction.
In the human villages Legolas and Gimli had passed through, he had seen children running around and playing with one another while their parents were occupied with making a living. In Eryn Lasgalen, things were different. Kythe had enough leisure time to spend with her daughter, did she not? She had enough servants under her care to more than help her in her duties at the court. And couldn't Faran find enough time to spend with Karalynn? Did they really have to send her away?
Legolas forced himself to unclench his jaw and relax his stance. It would not due for him to go charging into Kythe and Faran's room like an animal.
The door swung open and Faran blinked in surprise at the sight of Legolas.
"My friend, come in!" he said, smiling. He stepped aside and gestured inside. "We were not expecting you- I had supposed that your father would take up most of your time this day but you are most welcome here."
Legolas felt his anger dissipate at the sight of his friend's cheerful face. He took a deep breath and smiled, taking a step inside their living quarters. It was a large and elegant space, yet comfortable and oddly quaint. There were the typical elfish decorations on the walls and tables alongside pictures drawn on paper by an awkward, childish hand. The display weapons of the Mirkwood guard hung on the walls and there were small, pretty trinkets on the vanity table. Two doors along the far wall led to their bedroom and bathing room but the living area was comfortable enough to rest in peacefully. Crudely shaped clay animals and people lined the edge of one shelf and Legolas could see a faint resemblance between Kythe and Faran in two of the figures. He recognized the artist of those toys- she was currently resting in her bedroom down the hallway.
It was very much the room of two parents, and Legolas could sense the familial pride in each display. Faran and Kythe loved Karalynn deeply- which was why Legolas could not understand their actions regarding her.
Kythe looked up from her seat beside the window and smiled at Legolas. A piece of stitching lay on her lap and Legolas spied a polishing cloth and a silver knife on a table.
"Am I disturbing you?" Legolas said, glancing at Faran and then at Kythe.
"Nay, Legolas," said Faran. He bent down and picked up his knife and cloth. "In fact, you are a welcome interruption. Our evenings are quite boring, you will find."
He glanced at Legolas and winked.
"I suppose age and marriage makes it so," he said.
"My husband is once again speaking for himself," Kythe spoke up and Legolas smiled at her. She nodded at him and continued on with her stitching. "But Faran is right about one thing, you are most welcome here. Have a seat, my friend, and have some wine. Our share is not quite as rich as your father's Dorwinion but the end result is the same."
Legolas sat down and shook his head.
"Thank you for the offer but no," he said. "I have an important matter to speak with you both about."
Faran and Kythe looked at each other, an action that Legolas did not fail to take note of. Faran sat down next to his wife and they looked at him expectantly, almost fearfully. Legolas frowned, confused. What did they have to fear from him?
"I have spoken to my father and Lohr and I have decided that Karalynn will no longer accompany the trading group to the Lake town," Legolas said. "The means do not justify the ends; a sickness is not a mere annoyance to humans- it is painful and damaging to her body. Karalynn will no longer be subject to such afflictions. My father has given me the last word on the matter."
The look of trepidation on Kythe's face was quickly replaced by one of anger.
"How dare you," she said, standing up. The piece of stitching fell to the floor but she did not give it any notice. "You have no right to make any decisions regarding my daughter and you have no right to question my decisions."
Legolas felt his anger rise to the back of his throat.
"I believe I do," he said, keeping his voice low. "In all the years before the destruction of the Ring, when I was still here, Karalynn had never been ill. Not once. What am I to think now, when I come home to find her unable to even rise from her bed? What am I to do when I find that her parents, the ones that were chosen to watch over her and protect her, are the indirect cause of her condition?"
Faran looked at him as if he had been struck.
"Are you implying that we would hurt our daughter? That we would willingly put her in danger?" Faran said. There was no reproach in his voice, only a mixture of confusion and pain. "We do what we feel is best for her, Legolas. Lohr has assured us that her illness is temporary. She can not die of any mortal malady. I suffer with my daughter when she is in her sickbed but the choice to go to the Lake town is her own. We do not, in any way, force her to go with the trading group."
"I doubt that Karalynn would willingly endure being in poor health," Legolas said.
"How would you know anything about her, Legolas?" Kythe snapped. "You have been away from her for so long that I am surprised you even remember what she looks like."
Legolas drew in a cold breath and Faran reached out to touch Kythe's hand. She looked down at her husband and saw the warning in his eyes. It was a look of restraint, admonishing her to rein in her temper. Kythe pressed her lips together and sat back down.
"My reasons for... for not returning home are my own," Legolas said. His eyes were darkened by shadows and it was clear that he had been hurt by Kythe's words. "But I promise you that not one day passed that I did not think of her. She is my reason for being, my reason for everything. This is why I come to you both now, asking that you respect my decision."
"Can we not compromise on this?" Faran said, sitting up. "Karalynn... she enjoys these excursions, she looks forward to them eagerly. To not allow her to go would be to break her heart. Human contact is good for her, Legolas, now more than ever. Perhaps if you joined us once you would see why Karalynn needs to be around people like her."
"People like her?" Legolas repeated, shaking his head. "She is closer to elves in form and in habit, closer to us than any other creature in Middle Earth. We are all she knows and we are all she will need to know."
"That is not true," Faran said. He glanced at Kythe and then looked back at Legolas. "She knows she is not an elf and she feels very keenly the differences between herself and our kin."
Legolas felt a creeping chill spread throughout his body. This was something new and wholly unwanted- that Karalynn would ever feel anything less than welcome in his home. He raised his head and looked coldly at Faran and Kythe.
"Please, tell me why Karalynn would suddenly notice the difference between her and elves?" Legolas asked. "What or who has made such differences known to her?"
"Legolas, she is not blind," Kythe said, sounding exasperated. "She can see the most obvious physical difference- our ears. And the fact that we move differently and can do things with ease that she can not. We have tried not to point out these things but Karalynn is quite astute, she can see what we do not tell her. And she asks questions that..."
"She has never wondered about such differences before," Legolas said.
Kythe and Faran looked at each other and Legolas saw again that odd look of fear pass between them.
"What are you hiding?" Legolas demanded. "What is it that my father and brother have alluded to but seem afraid to speak of? I want to know."
"Legolas, my friend... things are changing," Faran began slowly and Legolas stood up, in anger. He walked to the window and made a sound of irritation.
"Everyone keeps saying that and yet no one seems to want to tell me how exactly things have changed," Legolas said. He clenched his hands into fists and turned back to Faran and Kythe. "Stop coddling me. Tell me now- what is it about Karalynn that sets everyone on edge with me?"
"She is changing," Kythe said. The contrast between her tone now and her tone before was startling. Now she seemed softer and kinder towards him and there was a trace of worry in her eyes. Legolas realized for the first time that the worry was not for Karalynn, but for him.
"Changing how?" Legolas asked softly. He watched as Kythe and Faran looked at each other again.
"We noticed it soon after the passing of Sauron and the Shadow," Kythe said slowly. "My dear Karalynn has always been an inquisitive girl, full of questions about the world. But she began to ask questions about herself and about elves...I found myself troubled after awhile. They were not the simple queries of a mere child, but that of a growing mind."
Legolas stared at her, silent and still, and Kythe could do nothing but continue on.
"And it seemed that little by little, she grew disinterested in her toys," Kythe said. "There were such simple things really. She wanted to play more difficult games and her toys were simply not enough to fill the void that was growing inside of her. Legolas, do you understand what was happening? What is happening now? Lohr told me you had been inside her room- surely you noticed..."
"Nothing," Legolas said quickly. His voice sounded oddly strangled and it seemed that he was having difficulty breathing. Each word was a forced sound. "I noticed nothing."
Kythe looked down, unsure of Legolas' reaction. Faran reached for her hand and squeezed it in quiet reassurance.
"It was only but a few years past that Karalynn asked to be taught how to read," Kythe said. "It was not enough that we read to her; she wanted to be able to read, for her own pleasure. By herself."
Kythe smiled suddenly and there was a look of joy in her eyes.
"I began to teach her as best I could," Kythe said. "But I realized early on that I had not the skill to do her justice. I asked Tirian to take her as a student, as he has so many others before and he was more than willing. She can barely make out but a few characters now and her progress is slow, far slower than an elven child, but it does not lessen her achievements. Legolas, she is learning. And with each year that passes, her mind, her understanding of things, grows."
Legolas opened his mouth but no sound came out. The air around him seemed to grow cold and he felt the blood rush from his cheeks. He had grown very pale.
"She is proud of herself, of the things she has learned," Kythe said, watching Legolas carefully. "And as well, she should be. The lessons are difficult for her but she tries so hard, Legolas. After almost every lesson, she asks me if you would be proud of her too. What shall I tell her now that you have returned, Legolas?"
"I do not know," Legolas said. He frowned, his brow wrinkled in thought and he turned towards the window though the curtains had been drawn.
Kythe stood up and went to him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Her heart has not changed," Kythe said. "She is ever the loving child you knew. She still loves to play, to laugh. It is not as if the change is sudden- on the contrary, it seems that..."
"I can not accept this," Legolas said suddenly. The fierceness in his expression made Kythe pull back and step away. "I will not accept this. I can not!"
He looked to Faran for help and Faran only stared back at him in wonder. He stood up and walked towards Legolas with his hands out, palms up in supplication.
"Legolas, we did not tell you this to hurt you," he said. "Nor did we..."
"You must be mistaken," Legolas said, shaking his head. He made his way to the door and placed his hand on the doorknob. There was a rising note of panic in his voice. "She is but a child, nothing more, and nothing less. Karalynn had nothing to do with the Ring or the Shadow and nothing from this world can affect her. The Lady Galadriel made it clear to me that Karalynn will remain unchanged for as long as she lives. Karalynn will remain a child forever- you can not force her to be something she can not be.There is nothing left to say about that."
He looked over his shoulder, looking at his two friends as if they were strangers to him.
"I do not want to hear anymore about this matter, is that clear?" he said.
Kythe looked upset but Faran only shook his head sadly. He put his arm around his wife and held her close to him in a tender manner, soothing her with his touch. He looked back at Legolas with pity in his eyes.
"You can not be blind to what is right in front of you, my friend," he said. "And you can not turn a deaf ear to the truth. Not for long."
Legolas turned around and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.
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Lohr gently wiped the sweat from Karalynn's brow and smiled down at her. She looked up at him with wide eyes, clutching the edge of her blanket. There was a faint tinge of color to her cheeks and her lips were no longer white and bloodless. The worst had passed and though her labored breathing was not to Lohr's liking, she would soon fully recover from her cough.
"Perhaps in a week or so, Kythe will let you go outside and play in the snow," Lohr said, putting the cloth aside. He pressed his palm against her cheek, leaning down from his place on her bedside, and tested her temperature. "You can build one of those... those... what do you call them again, Karalynn?"
"Snowmen," Karalynn said. Her voice was hoarse and rough and Lohr winced inside to hear her.
She blinked solemnly at him. "Will you help me, Lohr?"
"Of course," Lohr said smoothly. "Just as I did last year."
Karalynn smiled and nodded. "And maybe next year, Legolas will come back," she said. "Do you think so, Lohr?"
Lohr looked away from her face.
Time held an odd significance to Karalynn. She kept track of the passing years; perhaps by some strange instinct in her heart was she compelled to mark the passage of the seasons. Elves did not care so much for the keeping of years as she did; after so many years, the days began to blur together like water flowing in a stream. Perhaps that was why only Lohr could truly grasp the implication of her question. He was the closest to her during the years that Legolas was gone, even more so than Kythe or Faran. He had filled the emptiness that Legolas had left behind.
She had shown him a piece of paper once, filled with lines and he knew what they stood for. Years. The amount of days that passed for a year- in Karalynn's mind. Her time spent waiting and hoping for Legolas. Her unwavering patience measured by marks on parchment.
She had so much faith in his brother that it had pained Lohr to watch her wait hopefully for Legolas' return. Karalynn's heart was uncomplicated- she loved fiercely and unconditionally. It was the purest sort of love, as Lohr had come to realize, untainted by selfishness. She believed each promise only because it was not in her understanding to break a promise.
Because of all this, Lohr was afraid for her now that Legolas had returned. There was so much pain and uncertainty, so much confusion in his brother's heart that Lohr was not sure if Legolas should have come back when he did. His brother needed to heal whatever wounds he had, that much was obvious.
And Karalynn needed time.
She needed time to...
"Lohr?"
Lohr turned back to her and forced himself to smile. He began to prepare a drink to soothe her still raw throat and he moved swiftly to avoid looking into her eyes. When he was done he held the glass towards her and nodded.
"Drink this, Karalynn," he said. "It will ease the pain in your throat."
She glanced at it and made a face. "Does it taste bad?"
Lohr's smile became genuine. "Nay, it tastes like sugar water," he replied. "I can not help but recall the last time I made you drink something that 'tasted bad'. I believe Miriwen had a bit of difficulty getting the stains out of the rug. I have never seen anyone spit anything out of their mouth that far."
Karalynn blushed deeply, a pleasant sight, and she sat up, reaching for the glass with one hand. She sniffed it and glanced up at Lohr again. He nodded and she brought it to her lips and began to drink.
When she was done, Lohr took the glass from her and she leaned against her pillows wearily. He took note of the way she seemed drained by the simple act of sitting up. Two or three more days of bed rest and she would be fine. He began to put away the small packets of herbs and dried plants on her table when she startled him by speaking again.
"I had a dream about him," she said. Lohr stared at his hands and took a deep breath. "Legolas, I mean."
Lohr felt his chest grow tight but his face showed no emotion as he looked up at her.
"Oh?" he said lightly. "And what did you dream?"
Karalynn frowned and something flitted across her face, a shadow perhaps- or maybe it was simply the flickering light of the candle. Yet Lohr thought she looked troubled.
"I dreamt I was sleeping," she said and then she smiled. "I was sleeping in my bed in my dream! Wasn't that odd, Lohr? I felt sick in my dream. My throat was on fire but I was so cold. I wanted to wake up but then Legolas came and he..."
Karalynn frowned and brought her hand to her mouth. For a moment, Lohr thought she was going to suck her thumb and that worried him even more. She hadn't done that in years. Decades. But then she lowered her hand again and shrugged.
"I felt warm then," she said. "In my dream- when Legolas came, I could smell him. He smelled like trees and snow and... I felt warm and I stopped hurting. It was a nice dream, wasn't it? It was quite nice... but I feel so odd now and... and sad. Why should I be sad, Lohr? I should be happy I had such a nice dream."
Lohr lowered his eyes from her oddly intense gaze and closed his healer's pack.
"Surely my dream means Legolas is coming back soon," she said, urging him to respond. "I haven't dreamt about him in so long. This is a good sign, isn't it, Lohr?"
"The medicine will make your throat feel better," he said quietly. He gestured to the toy chest at the foot of her bed. "You can play for a little bit but if you start to feel dizzy, I want you to go back to bed. Your mother will be here shortly with your supper."
"Lohr? What about my dream?" Karalynn said but Lohr did not turn around as he walked out of her room.
