Sorry this took so long! I was doing research on what dwarven kingdoms were in exsistance during the time of Anariel's childhood. Having found no certain answers, I left some information vague. As for the Elvish, spoken in this part (which I hope to God is accurate) I put numbers after each phrase to map them. BTW the beginning part is in Elvish to show cultural contrast. Origionally, I had the Elves speaking with a double "r" and "l" accent, but it was just a little too confusing.
(1) "Dad, Dad"
(2)"What, my daughter?"
(3)"What is this?"
(4)"Butterfly"
(5)"Anariel, don't run off!"
(6)"I won't"
Five years have passed since that day. Little Anariel has begun to find fascination with the world around her and, as her mortal mother had predicted, brings her father Tithrandil warmth and sunlight. The sun shone brightly above the canopy of leaves and filtered through to the forest floor of Greenwood in shades of green and gold. Anariel and her father were visiting their neighbors. As the adults talked, she wandered around the yard studying the different flowers, watching the ants work, and chasing the patters the sunlight made on the things around her. Upon studying one flower she noticed a small creature with large, deep blue iridescent wings and a small black body. Anariel gently lifted it onto her hand and brought it to her father.
"Ada! Ada!(1)" she called, pulling on the hem of his tunic.
"Man hîn-nín(2)?" he replied, looking to his daughter.
"Man nayes(3)?"she asked, lifting the insect for him to see. He smiled an addressed it by it's name.
"Gwilwileth.(4)"
Anariel looked at the creature and softly repeated the name to herself. The butterfly fluttered off of her hand and into the woods. Anariel laughed and chased after it.
"Anariel, avo visto!(5)" Tithrandil called after her.
"Ú-ava.(6)"she called back as she ran after the insect.
Anariel didn't know how long she had been running until she finally caught the insect in her hands again. She laughed at let it go again, tired of running after it, she turned to go back to her father.
She had gone farther than she thought. Her father was nowhere to be seen and neither were the flets and branch houses of her neighbors.
"Ada?" she called looking around. Surely her father must be hiding on her and would come out from behind a tree and carry her home as he'd always done.
"Ada?" she called again, a little louder than the first time. Still no answer. Anariel began to fear that she would not see her father again.
"Ada!?"she cried out, tears of fear welling in her eyes.
Then she remembered what her father had told her about being lost in Greenwood.
Do not make a sound.
Sit still against a large tree.
Wait to be found.
If you are not found, follow the stars.
Anariel found a tree with large roots that came up from the ground like small walls. Walking around the tree to find a good spot to sit, she saw that some of the roots over time had formed a ring that would be a good place to sleep and wait for help. Inside the ring of roots there was a deep carpet of dark green moss. Anariel wiped her eyes obeying her father's first rule about being lost. She sat down in the circle against the tree. After a while, she began to feel stiff from sitting so still. She lie down and curled up on the bed of moss and drifted into reverie.
Tithrandil paced worried. He and his companions had been searching for his daughter for hours and had found nothing. Tears of fear began to streak down his face, fearing he would not find her at all. He dropped to his knees and began to pray,
"Ilúvatar, Elbereth, Waelith. Please, protect my daughter. Bring her home."
"You are a lousy map reader!" barked one dwarf to the other as he grabbed the map and turned it in a different direction to get a better baring.
"Well if the stars were out, I would have an easier time of finding our way!"
"If you read stars as well as you read maps, I will wait in this Mahal forsaken forest for the sun to rise in the east!"cried a third.
"Will the three of you quite your blubbering! We are in the woods of the Elven King! If he finds us here, we will not have to worry about finding out way out, because either his scouts will kill us or we will have new homes in the dungeons devised by the hands of our fore fathers!" snapped another.
The other two members of the party remained silent. The dwarves, numbering six in all, had been lost in the woods for a day and had no luck in reading their map or finding their way to the Old Forest Road. The sky above was getting darker by the moment with storm clouds and there was no sign of any shelter. While the other dwarves bickered or muttered to themselves about their situation, the sixth, a dwarf named Gorin wandered away from the squabbling and sat down on the ground against a tree. Being a bit heavier than his fellow dwarves, he was sweating from their trek. He reached around to his pack to get his handkerchief when he saw a small form laying against the tree. He quietly moved closer to examine the small form. He let out a cry of dismay seeing the eyes wide open and staring blankly.
"Over here!"he called. The other dwarves came stumbling over to see what was wrong.
Gorin stood by the small figure ringing his cap in his hands.
"I think she's dead." he sniffled.
Trór gingerly stepped over the roots to get a closer look at the child. Moving aside her hair he jumped back in shock. The child had pointed ears.
"It's an Elf!" he cried.
"Did you see anything other than her ears?" Gorin asked.
"I saw no cuts or bruises." Trór answered.
"What is this child doing in the middle of the woods alone?" said one, Dwalin.
"Let's take her back to her people." said Gralin.
"No!" Trór said. "Let's just go and pretend we never saw her!"
"What if she's lost?"Gorin said.
"What if this is a trap?"cried Mîm.
"Even using a child as bait for a trap is too low for the Elven King!"snapped the next, Nori.
"What if she's lost?"Gorin repeated.
The dwarves, who again began to argue about a proper course of action, were so busy doing so that they did not notice the small elven child had woken up.
Anariel woke to the sound of harsh and arguing voices. She quickly scrambled behind the tree and watched the beings on the other side. The were short, not tall like her people, and they had hair growing on their faces which they braided and adorned with beads of copper and gold. They wore clothing of leather and metal tooled with strange patterns and angular designs. Their voices sounded like rocks tumbling down cliffs. Anariel slowly left her hiding place and drew closer to these beings, who she was nearly as tall as. She tilted her head to one side watching them argue. Then she decided to speak.
"Pedich i lam edhelen?"she asked. The were still too busy arguing in their rough native tongue to hear her.
"Pedich i lam edhelen?" she asked again, louder.
The dwarves all stopped and looked at her. She started as wide eyed at them as they at her, her head still tilted to one side.
"Do you speak elvish?" she asked, her Silvan accent heavy as she spoke what little Westron she knew.
The dwarves all gathered together, muttering in their language, trying to decide how to communicate with this elf who spoke yet another language they didn't really know, until Gorin admitted that he could speak well the common language. He was quickly elected as interpreter and sent to answer the question.
"No." answered Gorin. "Do you speak Westron?"
The elven child nodded once. Yes.
"My name is Gorin, son of Thralin." he said slowly, as he bowed so low to the ground that his beard swept it. She smiled at the gesture and placed her hand over her heart and bowed slightly as was her custom.
"Anariel."she said, her small voice softly rolling the last few letters.
Slowly one by one, the dwarves came forward and bowed in like fashion to their companion Gorin, bowing so low their beards gathered dust and Anariel returning her greetings by bowing as she was taught by her people. They all stood still wondering what to do next. Anariel's head snapped up to look at the sky. A roll of thunder sounded seconds after.
"Alagos!" she said. She looked around for a place where her and her new friends could hide from the coming rains. Her elven eyes spotted one many yards away.
"Follow me." she said slowly.
"What's going on?" Gorin questioned.
Anariel pointed to the sky. "Alagos." she repeated.
"What does that mean?" he asked.
"Rain."
The rain began to softly patter on the leaves as she brought them closer to the cave. By the time they got inside, it began to pour. The dwarves scooted closer inside and began to check their supplies while Anariel crouched by the mouth of the cave humming an elvish tune softly.
"We have barely any food left except a few last cakes of cram."
"We also don't have any water. Mîm drank it all!"
"I did not!"
Anariel rose from her spot and sat down at the fire the dwarves had built inside the cave. She listened closely to their words, trying to discern one from another. By them constantly gesturing to their water-skins, she realized they were thirsty.
She tugged on Nori's sleeve. He turned around and looked at her.
She pointed towards the small bowls that lay on the ground.
"Do you want these?" he asked and looked to Gorin to translate. Anariel nodded. He gathered up the bowels and handed them to her.
Anariel padded softly back to the entrance of the cave, her arms laden with wooden bowls. She placed them on the ground out side the cave to gather the falling rain. She crouched down again and began to sing out loud an elven nursery rhyme her father had taught her:
Little elf of the wood
gathered all the rain he could
to stop the flood from rushing in
to save his home from ruin
But all the barrels he had filled
became too full and had spilled
the trees had seen his earnest fight
They set his mind with ease aright
and offered him shelter in their limbs
From the flood to come and other things
they said to make his home aloft
High above ground in their boughs
Thus began the bond ' twix elf and tree
It has always been and ever shall be!
The dwarveslistened to the elvish words roll through the air, all of them still, as if waiting for another song. Anariel checked the bowls and carefully brought two at a time back to them. Anariel smiled brilliantly at them as she took another, larger bowl and set it at the entrance waiting for it too to fill. The large bowl had finished filling and Anariel stooped to pick it up.
"Anariel?" Gorin called to her.
The child stopped in mid movement and turned.
"Let me carry that." he said softly as he drew near to lift the bowl. Anariel sat down at her spot my the cave's entrance. She wondered how her father was.
"We have searched everywhere we could, my lord. There is no sign of Anariel yet."
Thranduil nodded solemnly as he dismissed the soaked guard from the room. Tithrandil had only stopped his pacing when the guard entered and now took it up again, wringing his hands in fear, holding back the tears that threatened to leave his already burning eyes. Thranduil rose from his wooden throne and took the advisor in an embrace.
"She is out there my friend. And she is alright. If they have not found anything yet she must have moved. She has most likely sought shelter in a cave and is sleeping."
"I told her to stay in one place!" Tithrandil cried, his voice trembling with fear.
"We have yet to hear from Legolas's search group. Perhaps he has found something that the others have not."
Legolas and his party had searched for hours for the child. They were soaked and cold but Legolas drove them on in his own fervent search for her.
Rain beat down mercilessly on them, thunder rumbled overhead and the day was growing later.
The storm showed no signs of letting up. The search for the day would have to end soon.
"Do not take any small sign of passing for granted! It could have been hers!" he called behind him.
"My lord! Over here!" called one of the guards. Legolas sprinted over to where the guard stood pointing to the ground. There, in the mud, was the heavy stamp of a footprint, smaller than that of an elf, and that of a man. Legolas crouched to the ground looking for other signs around the print.
Heavy, small-booted prints, that were scattered around the small clearing, were coming in from the west and then leading slightly north east. One set of tracks made earlier followed by five others lead to a tree. The moss inside the ring of roots was slightly disturbed as if the one in it had gotten up in a hurry. Legolas scanned the ground harder and saw in the flashes of heavy drops in one of the footprints a metal object gleaming when the water receded from it. He drew closer and reached into the print to retrieve it. He wiped away the mud that clung to it and made out several intricate, angular designs in a metal bead. His eyes narrowed as he grit his teeth and uttered one word.
"Dwarves."
He stood and marched back to his troops.
"We are returning to the palace to report to my father."
He held up the bead for the others to see.
"We may have more trouble in this than we thought."
"Do you think she's hungry?" Nori asked looking toward the mouth of the cave where Anariel sat staring at the rain outside.
"Anariel." called Gorin. "Come sit by the fire."
Anariel rose from her place by the cave's opening and sat next to Gorin. Mîm passed out the small, hard brownish cakes to his friends and one to Anariel. The dwarves nibbled slowly, the cakes making a hard crunching sound unlike anything Anariel had ever heard. She tried to bite it like her new friends, but her little teeth just wouldn't break it. She tilted her head and examined it for a weakness. Finding an small crack in it she took a rock as big as her little hand would allow comfortably and started to try and break it. The dwarves laughed seeing the little elven girl try to break apart the ration. Gorin laughed and took the small cake and put it in an empty bowl. Water was boiling on the fire in a small tin for the curing of some scrapes they had picked up on their walk. He filled the bowl with a bit of the water and waited until the cram was a soft and warm paste before handing it back to Anariel. She took it and smiled.
"Hannon le."
She scooped it out of the bowl with her fingers and ate it, happy she had something to eat even if it tasted like dirt with honey. After they all ate, the dwarves settled down near their fire and wrapped themselves in their blankets. Surprisingly, it was Trór who gave up his bedding for Anariel. She smiled warmly and hugged him.
"Don't get used to the courtesy, elfling." he muttered in his native tongue. But when no one was looking, Trór's face was a warm smile under his dark and braided beard, as he gazed at the sleeping elven child.
"Dwarves?!" Thranduil thundered. Some of the guards started at the tone. Legolas nodded. He had handed the metal bead to his father the moment he had entered. Tithrandil began to worry more if it was possible.
"And you think they may have Tithrandil's daughter with them?"he said rising from his throne and drawing closer.
"Yes. I have little doubt in my mind, father." Legolas answered.
Tithrandil came forward. "What would they want with her?"
"There is a long standing grievance between my family and the Dwarves. They could think that she is a child of mine, or possibly that wouldn't matter to them. They would hold her until I gave them what they wanted."
Tithrandil didn't look convinced. Thranduil turned to his son.
"Regroup. I want all available guards to go out there and find her before any harm comes to her."
"What of the Dwarves, father?"
"Bring them to me. Dead or alive."
Legolas bowed and left the room, flanked by two sentries.
"The rain has stopped!" called Nori from the mouth of the cave.
Anariel was the first to rise. She watched as the others lazily rose and rolled their beddings up to put on their packs. She folded and rolled hers the same way and handed it to Trór. She smiled and hugged him again. The others chuckled, Trór only muttered under his breath, turning a shade of red under his beard. Anariel ran over to the mouth of the cave and looked back, gesturing excitedly that they should follow her.
"Do you know the way to the road?" Gorin asked.
Anariel nodded. The Dwarves spirits lifted and they followed her, happy at least some one knew where they were and where they were going.
Anariel looked at the sky above her, remembering what her father said about the directions of the sun. She followed the light through the trees. A breeze rustled the branches and the water that clung to the leaves fell on them. It rolled off the dwarven cloaks, but sank into Anariel's little white dress. Mîm was the next to display his kindness to the elfling.
"Here, put this on." he said handing her the cloak. She tilted her head and looked to Gorin for help.
He translated and Anariel nodded her understanding. She put on the cloak and pulled the hood up over her head. She smiled and looked at Gorin.
"Now I look like a Dwarf." she grinned.
"Not really. You are not stout enough." he smiled back.
Anariel giggled.
"Do you think we'll meet any elves along the road- " began Dwalin.
"Let's hope not. They'll see the child, assume the worst and kill us all." Gralin cut in.
"Friendly elves? Maybe we could pass her off to them and they'll give her back to her parents." Dwalin finished.
Gralin stopped and turned to face Dwalin. "You just put two words together that don't belong next to each other in a sentence."
"And that is?"
"Friendly and elves."
"The elf girl, Anariel, she's friendly. Seeing her makes me think they can't all be as bad as everyone says." Dwalin said continuing to walk.
"Just one doesn't tell us what the rest of them are like." Gralin said jogging to catch up.
Anariel heard the sound of the birds and smiled she looked up to se where a small red one had landed when she caught sight of an elven sentry. She looked down quickly. She ran to Gorin's side and was about to warn him, when twenty elven sentries dropped from the trees above. They all drew their arrows ready to fire.
Anariel threw off her hood and ran to the front of the line, placing herself between the lead sentry and the dwarves.
"STOP!!" She shouted, throwing her arms out to either side.
"Where have you been? " he trilled back to her, slowly taking his arrow down.
"I got lost in the woods." She said, moving closer to the guard.
"They helped me back." She added, gesturing to her new friends.
The Elven warden looked puzzled for a moment. His fellow archers faltered momentarily in their aim. They began to whisper to one another. A group of Dwarves helped one Elven girl!
What did they want in return?
What were they up to?
What did they tell her?
What if they really helped her with no thought of reward?
Their leader heard the whispers and decided to set the child right.
"Little girl." Started the leader. Anariel grit her teeth. "Dwarves are not, by any means, friends of Elves, or any one for that matter, not even themselves!"
Gorin and his party wanted to charge forward and argue, but a quick glance and a sharp gesture from Anariel told them to stay behind her.
"My father told me that no one is bad, even Dwarves."
"Your father is wrong." the sentry countered firmly, growing impatient with the child's obstinance.
"Maybe your father never taught you any better!"she shouted back, her arms strait down at her sides, little fists clenched to white.
The sentry had enough of Anariel's stubbornness.
"Take the Dwarves to the King!" he shouted. He grabbed Anariel by her wrist and began to roughly drag her away. A few of the Dwarves wanted to rush to her aid. Anariel twisted in the sentry's grasp to see her friends.
"Gorin! Mîm! Nori!"she began to call out. Trór rushed forward to try to pull Anariel from the sentry's grasp. Another elven sentry knocked him to the ground and drew his blade.
"NO!" Anariel screamed, kicking her captor's shin as hard as she could. The Lead sentry let go to favor his injury and she ran to Trór's aid just in time to stop the dagger.
"ELF FRIENDS!" she cried out, unflinching at the dagger that now hovered in front of her face.
All stopped in shock to stare at the young girl, who now glared down those who sought to hurt her friends.
"ELF FRIENDS!!" She cried out again, going to each dwarf and repeating her cry.
Amidst all the commotion of mumbling elves and dumbstruck dwarves, another cry rose in the distance.
"ANARIEL!"
Anariel's face lit up.
"FATHER!!!!"
"ANARIEL!!!" Tithrandil cried, tears streaming down his face and he ran toward his daughter. Anariel ran to him and he lifted her into his arms, holding her close and kissing her forehead, praising all the Valar for her return.
"Father, do not let them hurt my friends." she begged. Tithrandil was shocked.
"They did not hurt you?"
"No. They helped me get home and they kept me safe."
Tithrandil placed his daughter on the ground and held her hand as he walked over to the dwarves.
"Who is the leader of this group?" he asked. Gorin moved to the front.
"I am." He said, bowing low in front of the much taller Elf.
"You and your kin saved my daughter. For that, I am indebted to you. How do you wish to be repaid?" Tithrandil asked.
The group of dwarves spoke to one another for a moment. At length, Gorin stepped forth with his cap in his hands and he bowed again before Tithrandil.
"The only thing we ask of you is to point us to the road that we must take to get to the mountains on the other side of your forest. Our King seeks to expand his realm and we were sent to look to the mountains for a new home. We were driven into the woods of the Elven King under cover of night by fell beasts."
Some of the elves muttered among themselves at this news.
Tithrandil only nodded. Anariel looked up at him, waiting to see what her father's judgement would be.
"I will lead you as far as our northernmost border, but from there I must turn back and stand for my actions to my king."
He could see the looks of apprehension and unbelief from the elven sentries.
"I name you all Elf Friends, for the rescue of my daughter. You are safe to pass through these woods."
Tithrandil took the necklace from around his neck which looked as though it were a vine of clear green leaves and snapped the chain holding it together. The Dwarves seemed to flinch collectively as they watched the Elven lord dismantle such a finely wrought necklace of precious stone. He handed each one of them a single jade leaf.
"Wear these about your necks to show all as you pass that you are Elf Friends and have right to pass. Pass them to your children should you see fit to do so."
With these words, Tithrandil signaled to the two sentries that came with him. Together, they led the Dwarves as far as the had promised and turned back.
Tithrandil's return to Greenwood was marked by another shouting match with Thranduil. Anariel hated the sound of her father arguing with their king who she sometimes referred to as her uncle. Anariel had ran away from the throne room when their voices started to raise. She ran to Legolas's room, hoping he was there to comfort her. Not finding him, she crawled under the bed to hide and cover her ears, though it seemed she couldn't escape the sound. She lie down on the cold floor and fell asleep crying. She was sleeping so deeply she didn't hear the door open, or the soft footsteps of leather boots moving toward the bed she lay under.
Legolas peered under his bed, seeing Anariel curled into a tight ball, hands over her little ears. His heart ached seeing the pain in her face. He gently pulled her out from under the bed and placed her under the covers of his. He gently stroked her hair.
"You frightened us all." He said softly. Anariel's only answer was to snuggle deeper into the pillow her head was against.
"I was terrified that we would lose you." He confessed to the sleeping child, tears welling up in his eyes. He leaned closer and gently kissed her forehead.
"Sleep well, little one." He said softly, as he left the room.