The story of Elenion is based on the Lord of the Rings movies, directed by Peter Jackson. The characters, with the exception of Elenion, belong to J.R.R. Tolkien. Elenion is a character all my own. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 15: The Journey begins..
Gandalf had instructed Frodo in which direction to head, and they led the group away from Rivendell. Legolas had been right on their heels, with Sam, Merry, and Pippin behind him. Gimli, Boromir, and Aragorn walked along, with Elenion trailing some ways behind them. They walked until nightfall and took refuge in the forest. They made a small encampment and the hobbits were soon fast asleep. Elenion longed for sleep and for a peace from her roving mind. She attempted to sleep, but Gimli's snoring was becoming quite raucous, and she found herself slipping in and out of sleep so often that Gandalf finally disturbed her.
"Why don't you keep watch with me," he asked, and she sat up and sighed. Aragorn and Boromir were sleeping, as well as the hobbits. Not a single creature in the forest could have denied the fact that Gimli was sleeping far more soundly than the others. She stood up and brushed off her clothing, then took a seat against the base of the giant tree that Gandalf was sitting under. He smiled at her.
"It was humorous at first, to watch you toss and turn to the sounds of our dwarf companion, but then it tugged at my heartstrings," he said, making fun of her in a way that was only acceptable from him. She closed her eyes and smiled.
"I should've known….it's been a long time since I've been in the company of any dwarves," she laughed, peering over at Gimli as the fiery red beard rose up and down on his chest. Gandalf was smoking his pipe, as he always tended to do while relaxing. Elenion turned to him and smiled.
"I always remembered the smell of your pipe weed," she stated, grinning at the memory as she reached over and took the pipe from his hands. The trail of smoke danced between them as she gazed upon the pipe, smiling before handing it back to him.
"Same pipe that you always had then," she said, closing her eyes to some memory. Gandalf smiled.
"Yes, it's been a long time since we last saw each other. Tell me, what were you looking for in the darkness of Nargothrond," he asked. Elenion tensed up and turned her glowing eyes away from those of her father, not knowing if she was ready to discuss it yet. Slowly she looked back at him, after too many moments of silence had passed.
"Anything," she said softly. "Anything at all," she said, knowing he had to at least understand her a little bit. He grinned at her and nodded slowly.
"Anything about your past…..any links to the fairies…," he drifted off in thought. Elenion sighed and nodded in agreement, feeling foolish. They had all known the fairies were considered an extinct race. Then again, Elenion existed. So had her mother. But they were not pure fairies. It had been a foolish dream, but she had learned things about herself nonetheless. Gandalf seemed to be reading her mind when he spoke next.
"You may feel like you didn't find anything…but I think there's more than meets the eye…," he said. She turned her head and gazed into his eyes, wondering what he was getting at while having a pretty good idea at the same time. She let him continue.
"I know you long to understand the fairies…..part of you is fairy, Elenion. Maybe the key is understanding yourself. So is there really anything to regret about the time you spent there," he asked, hoping she would finally speak again. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes for a second before the smile spread across her face. She opened her eyes to look at him and shook her head.
"Not if you look at it that way," she said, grinning at him, the sparkle returning to her eyes. He smiled. "Much better," he said with a gentle laugh. They were soon interrupted by a rustling in the trees. Gandalf stood up and clutched his staff. Elenion remained seated, staring up into the leaves and branches above them. Soon, Legolas appeared on the opposite side of the fire, startling both Gandalf and Elenion slightly. He walked around to stand on their side with them.
"Bats," he said, looking up into the branches himself. Gandalf sighed and looked at Elenion, but then quickly directed his head back up in the direction of the trees. Elenion stood up to see what he was gazing at and was thrown off by the smile in his eyes. She looked up again, not seeing anything amongst the branches worthy of smiling about as the beady eyes flickered in the reflection of the amber fire light and the wings flapped, making needless noise in the night. Gandalf reached an arm out and pulled Elenion closer to where he was standing and shuffled over so she was right where he had previously been. Through the branches, she caught a glimpse of the night sky she hadn't seen in her previous spot, and Gandalf chuckled softly.
"The bats came at the right hour, Elenion," he said, slipping an arm around his daughter. It was the third hour of darkness, and through the trees, one single star shined down upon them. She smiled and looked over at Gandalf.
"Perhaps they are not such a nuisance then, as I had previously felt," she said softly, looking back up at the sky and leaning her head on Gandalf's shoulder. It had been a long time since they had viewed the star together.