Chapter Fourteen
Daralis' fading dreams in which she heard her mother's voice continued, getting more and more potent until she could hear distinct words, and see the outline of Rhiannon's form.
"I'm so love you, Dar important out" Her mother was getting closer to her, trying to come and tell her something important. Daralis' only goal was to hear the entire message.
She hadn't told Legolas, Elladan, or even Elrond about these dreams, fearing that exposing her secret may have halted the dreams indefinitely. Instead, she continued to dream, going to bed earlier and earlier each night. Everyone surely must have been getting suspicious and worried about her, but everyone had left her mind. There was no one else but she and Rhiannon.
The night she heard the message, she was prepared. When she had awoken that morning, she had a peculiar feeling in her gut- something exciting was coming.
She strolled in the gardens and along the trees in a nearby glen. The flowers seemed to reach out to touch her, and the trees to shade her from the sun's rays. She felt utterly mythical, and relished in it that day, having the most calm, peaceful day since she had arrived in Middle Earth.
At lunch, she ate heartily and drank a little wine, and then continued her self- tour through the lands of Imladris. She knew that Elladan would have eagerly given her a tour, but she wanted to be alone for now. So she continued on her way through the fields and meadows until she found a small, secluded pond. She sat at the edge, trying to see if the water was clean so that she could splash her face, when something struck her odd about her reflection. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she knew that something was off. Then she realized- her eyes were brown. She gasped, stared, blinked a few times, but they were still brown. Then she heard echoes of her dream in her head, she blinked and looked again, and the sapphire orbs were there again. Utterly confused and no longer relaxed, Daralis decided to head back.
She got back just around sunset, to see people teeming over the grounds. She would later find out that they were looking for her.
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"Atar, I am sorry that I didn't leave a note or something, but it was a spur of the moment type thing!" Legolas was 'tucking her in', his excuse for scolding her.
"Daralis, you know better than to leave in such a manner when we have so recently had Orc attacks!"
"No, I don't! Look, you just have to leave now. I need to relax so I can dream."
"Why do you wish to dream so badly?"
"I enjoy it. Please, Atar. Leave."
"Alright, I shall go, but keep in mind what I say, Daralis. You cannot behave this way."
"Yes, Atar." Legolas closed the door; Daralis blew out her light quickly and lay back on the bed, concentrating. Before long, she heard the echoes, but they were rapidly becoming louder and sharper. She was surprised at how fast everything was going- it was like her subconscious was in frazzled and in overdrive.
She saw her mother's face directly in front of her, and she heard her message, clear as day.
"I'm so proud of you, Dara. You're so strong, and I want you to know that I love you very much. But listen to me carefully. This is very important. You need to be careful, and watch out. There is someone after you, Dara, and they want to hurt you to benefit themselves. Promise me you'll be careful." She was holding Daralis' face in her hands, eye to eye with her daughter. Daralis looked into the familiar eyes that were on her face that afternoon.
"I promise, Mom."
"Are you happy, Dara?"
"I am, but I miss you so much. If only you were here, then I wouldn't need anything else."
"You don't need me Daralis. You have everything you need. I'm sorry I had to go so soon, but I couldn't take it any more. I took it for 20 years, and I finally just gave in."
"Take what, Mom?"
"The separation." She replied simply. "I'm so sorry that I couldn't be stronger for you, Daralis. I truly am. But I'm trying to atone now. Be careful. Watch out." Rhiannon began to fade, and Daralis tried to say everything she needed to.
"Mom, I love you! You were perfect! Don't be sorry!" But it was too late, because Rhiannon had completely faded. And before Daralis could focus in on the stench filling her nostrils, her face was smothered by a pillow.
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In Imladris the next morning, Legolas knocked on Daralis' door for the fourth time that morning. She had missed breakfast, and it was almost noon. There was yet to be an answer from his daughter's chambers, and he was quickly becoming worried.
'Perhaps she is with Elladan,' Legolas thought, and went off in search of the pair.
Elladan, meanwhile, was searching for Daralis in the gardens. He had knocked on her door already, and her balcony was closed and the curtains drawn. After searching the kitchens, the archery fields, and the library, he decided to try the gardens in search of Legolas and Daralis- perhaps they had gone for a walk.
Legolas and Elladan met in front of a rosebush.
"Have you seen Daralis?" They asked each other simultaneously.
"I thought she would be with you!" They responded.
"Well, then where is she?" They asked each other again.
"I am not sure where she has gone, Legolas but I have found something strange at the edge of our forest." Elladan held up an arrow with a rag of pink satin on the end.
"This is an Orc arrow," Legolas said.
"And this is from Daralis' nightgown," replied Elladan, before looking at a particularly interesting bird.
A pause, two raised eyebrows, and the two shot back to the palace in a blur of Elf.
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Legolas pulled the covers off of the bed Daralis had been sleeping in. They were twisted and bunched, signs of a struggle.
One Daralis had obviously lost, for his daughter had disappeared and no amount of searching could turn her up.
And the lingering smell in the room told him that the Orcs had his child.
He was furious.
He stormed into his chambers, packing arrows into his quiver and stashing the White Knives in their slots. He grabbed his canteen, two blankets, and went to the stables. He packed them all on his horse, but then in a thought of conscience went to Elrond's study to inform him that he was leaving.
Imladris was in a state of panic- the previous search for Princess Daralis had resulted in success in about two hours. Now, she was nowhere to be found. Every meadow and wood was searched, but not even a trace of her remained. The sky was dark.
Elrond's study held Elladan, Elrohir, Glorfindel, and Elrond, along with various other officials of Imladris. Legolas spoke.
"Lord Elrond, I have come to inform you that I am leaving to find Daralis."
"Legolas, you cannot go now!" Elrond exclaimed. "We are commissioning a search party of warriors, and they can accompany you."
"I will not wait. I cannot wait. And if it has come to pass that Orcs have harmed her, I shall track them down and kill every one. There is no time to wait for a squad to form. I am leaving now, and anyone who wishes to accompany me can."
"I am coming," declared Elladan directly, who then immediately left to prepare himself.
A brief silence filled the room, before-
"I as well," said Elrohir, leaving to follow his brother.
"I shall go with pleasure, Legolas," said Glorfindel, already decked out in full military garb.
"And I," added Aragorn.
Ten others in the room volunteered their services to aid the rescue of the beloved Princess Daralis.
Fifteen minutes later, at the urgency of both Legolas and Elladan, the fifteen riders were on the road after the Orc trail.
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