Disclaimer: I don't own LOTR. I also don't own Caleniel, Cadunír, Rodwen, Elvellaswen, Gaenír, or Aearoniell; they belong to Tador and Aearoniell, who have given me permission to use their characters for my own twisted ideas.
Lady Caleniel
By: Mika Saito
Chapter 9- A Plan Set into Motion
Elvellaswen smiled happily at Caleniel. Even though the idea had been hers she hadn't expected it to actually work. At least she hadn't thought that Gaenír would agree to her going along, not after what had happened years ago, right before she became his servant.
Shelooked up when the door opened and Aearoniell stepped into the room.Aearoniell smirked at the two, and, without a word, motioned for them to follow her. They followed silently, though they were still smiling.
Legolas opened his eyes slowly. He tried to bring his surroundings into focus, but the stinging pain in his eyes only caused them to water up the second everything was clear. Sighing quietly and pushing the pain to the back of his mind he tried to sit up.
"Take it easy there, Prince Legolas." A female voice cut in, and a slender hand pushed him back down. "You are to wounded to sit up right now."
"Wh…." Legolas tried to speak, but the person beside him once again stopped his attempts.
"I'm Istiel, a healer sent by your father to make sure you were ok, and to treat you wounds until you are well enough to return to Mirkwood." Legolas closed his eyes and relaxed. "You should be well enough to make the journey in a few days." Istiel smiled, realizing that the Prince had gone back to sleep.
"Why don't we just teleport ourselves there Gaenír? It would be much faster." Aearoniell growled in annoyance. Gaenír had listened to yet another suggestion by Caleniel.
Caleniel had been thinking about how she was going to tell her father that she wanted to marry Gaenír; and then find a time when they were alone to tell him the truth, but she hadn't been able to come up with anyway that wouldn't look suspicious. So she had suggested that they ride horses the whole way there, and not use magic to cut the trip short.
"This gives us time to relax a little. When we get there and talk to my father things will probably become hectic." Caleniel answered for Gaenír; Aearoniell only glared at her.
"Aearoniell." Gaenír sent a meaningful look at Aearoniell.
"Fine." Aearoniell growled, and looked away.
Caleniel glanced at Elvellaswen, who was smiling at Gaenírs silent reprimand, having not understood the full meaning behind it. Caleniel smiled back and was about to mouth something to her when Gaenír dropped back between the two.
"You seem happy, my love." Gaenír said, reaching out to affectionately caress Caleniel's cheek while ignoring the sudden cold glare from Aearoniell, though it didn't go unnoticed by Elvellaswen.
"I am happy." Caleniel looked into Gaenírs eyes, hiding her disgust behind a false look of love.
"That's good, for soon we will be together forever." Gaenír leaned in for a kiss, but Caleniel broke eye contact, having suddenly found her horses mane to be more interesting. "Is something wrong?" He asked quietly, making sure that only she could hear.
"I'm just a little nervous, that's all." Caleniel lied, forcing herself to smile and look up at Gaenír. Gaenír merely nodded and moved back to his former position in front of her.
"That was close" Elvellaswen mouthed when Caleniel was looking at her. Nodding, Caleniel looked away, fidgeting slightly when she realized that Aearoniell was watching her closely.
Istiel had been right when she had told Legolas that he would be well enough to return home within a few days. For not even two days later Legolas was well enough to walk, granted he was still to weak to walk much, but the trip back to Mirkwood would be made by horseback, not by foot.
Legolas smiled sadly as he was helped onto his horse. Sure, he was happy to be heading back to Mirkwood, but he was unsure of what awaited him. Something told him that it was far from over, that he would eventually meet up with the dark elf who had almost killed him, her name slipping his mind yet again. His trip to the Glittering Caves had made him realize that despite the fact that he had acted as if he disliked Caleniel he really did like her. Almost loved her really, though he wasn't sure if he really love her, or just had deep feelings for the she-elf.
"You'll be back to full health soon," Gimli said gruffly. His own injuries hadn't been much, mainly just bruises; the result of being thrown into the hard stone wall by the demon Aearoniell had summoned. Legolas only nodded in response, a wave of nausea preventing him from answering.
Istiel mounted her own horse and led the way away from where Gimli stood watching them, his own mind going over the events surrounding the appearance of the disguised Aearoniell.
Swaying drowsily on his horse, Legolas tried to focus on what the healer in front of him was saying. Her voice lulled him into a sort of trance and he leaned forward, resting his forehead on the horse's neck, where he fell into a troubled sleep.
Legolas woke to the sound of his father's voice, and some other voice that he did not recognize. Opening his eyes slowly he found himself in his own room in Mirkwood. The white ceiling above him being to bright for him to look at for long, he turned his head, slightly surprised to find that he wasn't in much pain anymore, and looked at the strange elf who stood next to him.
"How are you feeling?" The strange elf, who strangely enough held a resemblance to Caleniel, asked him.
"Better." Legolas said as he sat up, noticing that his father sat a little ways away watching him carefully.
"That's good." The elf sighed and moved away from the bed, choosing instead to stare out the window. A knock on the door interrupted the silence that had settled upon the room.
"Come in." Thranduil called, turning his attention to the door. He had asked that no one bother him unless it was news about the whereabouts of Caleniel.
"My lord, the guards have spotted a group of Elves nearing the border. They are fairly certain that one of them is Caleniel." The servant stood waiting patiently for the King to say anything, but he remained silent.
"Let us know when they are closer." The strange elf said.
"Of course Cadunír." The servant bowed and left the room quickly to deliver the message to the guards.
"Cadunír, Caleniel's father?" Legolas asked, confused. He may have been feeling better than he had been, but his mind was jumbled with questions that were just making themselves known. Like how had he gotten here? Why was Cadunír in his room? In addition, of course, why would Caleniel not be in Mirkwood? He remembered someone had told him something about Caleniel, but he couldn't remember who, or what he or she had said.
"Yes. I'm sure you're curious as to why I'm here. Do you remember what Istiel told you?" Legolas shook his head. "Then I will remind you. Caleniel left Mirkwood not to long ago, with an elf, who we believe is Gaenír. I'm here to try to get her back." Cadunír turned away again, his pain was evident. Legolas didn't respond, he only nodded his head silently, other memories were running through his head
"What does he want with her? Simple, he wants the power she can offer him."
"What power?" Legolas looked confused.
"Her father is close to Elrond, if he can get close to Cadunír, he can get close to Elrond. That is all you need to know. Though none of this information will do you any good, dearest prince." Aearoniell chuckled.
"Legolas." Kind Thranduil's voice once again brought Legolas back to the present.
"What is it father?" Legolas looked at him curiously, the memories fading back into his mind.
"What were you thinking about?"
"Nothing." Legolas lied.
Istiel- knowledge maiden
Anonymous- I'm not offended, and I don't hate you, infact I thank you for being honest with me. I like the nice reviews that tell me my story is good, though I don't think it is as good as people tell me it is, but quiet truthfully I prefer constructive criticism, or even flames every now and then- just to keep me motivated to put more details and try to develope things more, than the nice reviews that tell me that they love my story, to write more, and update soon. So feel free to point out even the smallest thing you think could be improved, please!