Chapter Five: Linking with the Council
After the incident in the gardens, Celebfaer no longer saw Mildred at all and Elysa had taken to sneering every time she saw either Celebfaer or Legolas.
But after another three months had passed, the Queen called a Council with her highest advisors. She also requested the presence of Elysa, Sabin, Celebfaer and Legolas, which puzzled Celebfaer because her mother never called a Council unless the details that were to be discussed were of utmost importance. The council was so private that two members of the Queen's guard were put at the doors leading into the chamber and told not to let any intrude for any reason whatsoever.
Once all were present in the room, Asura asked them to be seated, then looked at each of them in turn before she spoke.
"This is to be a closed Council." She said and the gasp that went through the room was clearly audible. The Queen never called a closed Council and normally when the Queen did it was to discuss the threat of war or something equally as horrible that she did not want the rest of the City to know about.
"A closed Council?" Elysa said, disapprovingly. "Then why was an 'Elf' invited? Elves are incapable of communicating with the Fairy folk in such a thing as a closed Council." She added with a small smile of satisfaction on her face. It quickly turned to dissatisfaction at the Queen's next words.
"Obviously you are not as well educated as I had thought daughter." Asura said, throwing a cold stare in Elysa's direction. "Celebfaer is wedded to Legolas by Elvish terms and I believe that this union involved some sort of bonding similar to that in which we Fairies bond when we wed. Celebfaer will open her mind to Legolas and I will then link with the two of them. Then the rest of you will all link through me, so he will hear us and be able to take part in the discussion." The Queen said and another gasp went through the room.
This time though, Celebfaer was not among them, she just gripped Legolas' hand and smiled up at him.
"Melamin, it will be alright." She said in Elvish and Queen Asura nodded to her.
"Celebfaer, you can go first." Her mother said, so Celebfaer cleared her mind of all thought until she could clearly hear every thought Legolas had.
He was worried and a little scared, which was very unusual for him. So, she tried to reassure him and this time when she spoke in his head he heard it as though she had spoken the words to him through her lips, but the emotion that was behind it made him smile.
'Melamin, I shall not let anything happen. My mother will be directing the council, so if any try to probe your mind they will be stopped and thrown out of the link.'
'What happens if they are thrown out?' He asked her, looking straight into her eyes.
'They risk loosing all of their ability in spirit talking and telepathy, which means they will be a Fairy with no powers at all. Though anyone can leave the council at any time as long as they do it willingly.' She sent back. 'Now if you are ready I shall link us to my mother.. It may feel a little strange at first.' She said and Legolas nodded to her in her head and she smiled then concentrated on opening her mind to her mother.
Less that ten seconds after Celebfaer had stopped talking, Legolas suddenly felt another presence in his head. Looking up to where the Queen stood, he knew it was her. The power and knowledge that was present in that bundle in his head could only have come from the Queen.
'Welcome Legolas. You are quite a fascinating being..' The Queen sent as though she wanted to read all his secrets so that she knew everything there was to know about Elves. But as soon as the feeling was there it was gone and he heard her talking once more. 'But if any try to do anything other than listen and discuss I shall cut off their link. Do not fear, we are all equal in this and I am in complete control.' She sent to him and he nodded.
'Thank you, Queen Asura.' He said.
"Now, the rest of you, one at a time in order of age." Asura said, out loud to the others that were present and Celebfaer closed her eyes. First would be Annook, then Ryan, then Jenya, Sabin and finally Elysa. Annook, Ryan and Jenya were three of the Queens closest advisors and the only three that she would trust with her life.
'Legolas, close you eyes it will make this feel a little less strange.' Celebfaer sent to him and he did, a second before another presence was felt in his head.
When Elysa had finally joined the link the Queen started.
'I am going to say something of importance that must be kept a secret until I say otherwise. I only bid that you all hear me out before you say anything.' She said. 'Now Celebfaer and Legolas have been in the Realm for nine months now, which is enough time for me to get to know him and teach him some of our ways. I have known for quite some time now that Celebfaer has wanted for Legolas to be wedded to her by Fairy Lore. They are wedded by Elvish terms, but not by ours and I believe that Legolas knows enough of our ways to finally become accepted into our house as an equal. So after a brief discussion with Annook we have agreed to allow this marriage.' Queen Asura said. Annook was the Queen's top advisor and normally the first person the Queen saw about all matters.
'This is an outrage!' Elysa's voice burst into their heads with such anger and force that Celebfaer nearly fell. 'Mother I cannot believe you would lower yourself to such a state! He is an 'Elf' and he has no place among us Fairies!'
'Elysa you will be quiet!' Queen Asura said suddenly, so loud that Celebfaer and Legolas both covered their ears even though it was in their heads. 'If you do not react lightly to this then I shall have to throw you out before we discuss the next item on my list!'
The response was utter silence.
'Good, now seeing as there are no objections to the subject of Celebfaer's wedding the preparations shall start today.' She said but Ryan spoke up then.
'He has not been given a challenge, so the people will not accept him as a rightful partner for the heir of the throne.' He said and Elysa blew up once more.
'Heir? She is not Heir! I am the first-daughter to the Queen, Ryan and don't any of you forget it.' She said and this time Sabin spoke up.
'Elysa my love, please be quiet, the Queen has other important news to discuss as well.' He said in a soothing tone, which worked, thankfully. It was almost as though he was talking to a child that would not be able to comprehend the sort of the things the Queen would be discussing next and if Celebfaer did not know better that would have made Elysa furious. But if she erupted again she knew that her mother would throw her out. So she stayed silent.
'In answer to the question Ryan, Legolas was with Mildred on the top of Withered Heath when Celebfaer's wings were cleansed. So I do believe that he will be legible to marry Celebfaer by that. I said that any who wished to wed Celebfaer would have to cleanse her wings or they would not be worthy. He was there so he is worthy of my daughter.' She said. 'But if another challenge is required I think I can find one that is worthy of it.'
'He shall be allowed to wed her. For that challenge was one that not even the bravest of Fairies would have come back from. Legolas has been accepted and proven himself worthy.' Jenya said. The last of Asura's top advisors, Jenya was the youngest being only a thousand years older than Celebfaer herself.
'Legolas has shown much bravery to escort Rydia to the top of Withered Heath, but nothing could be compared to the bravery he has shown by coming to the Realm of the Fairies, not knowing what to expect of our people.' Annook said. 'Legolas has been accepted and proven himself worthy.'
'Legolas fought in one of the worlds greatest battles, the war of the ring, which would have required much courage and strength that many fairies do not possess until they are a lot older than he.' Ryan said. 'Legolas has been accepted and proven himself worthy.'
Then surprisingly Sabin spoke up. It is only customary for three of the Queen's advisors to agree to a union once the challenge has been completed, as it must be done to their liking before the Queen will allow a union between two fairies, but still Sabin spoke up.
'Legolas has shown the greatest courage of all, by loving Celebfaer with all of his being and without fear of what it means. He loves her more than he the air he breathes and any fairy here knows that if a union of our folk is to survive without misery then the deepest kind of love is needed. That is why we fair folk do not bond with another once the other is gone.' Sabin said to utter silence and Celebfaer realized then just how miserable he must be with Elysa. 'Legolas has been accepted and proven himself worthy.'
'So it is settled.' The Queen said, pausing only slightly before she continued. 'And now for the second and last matter that is not open for discussion. This is to be for those present only. The Council is unanimous in this also. This may come as a shock to some of you, but it shall be announced at the wedding, during the feast. I name Celebfaer, Silverspirit, better known as Rydia to our kind, the rightful first-daughter to the Queen. She was first born, so I name her my heir and she will take my place on the throne when I finally depart.' The Queen said.
Instead of outrage from Elysa, she withdrew from the council.
Quickly Celebfaer withdrew also causing Legolas to get a bit of a shock, as she had not prepared him for it and she could have burnt his mind out. But she needed to see Elysa, and Celebfaer caught her by the arm before she could reach the door.
"Leave me alone!" Elysa shouted. "I don't deserve to be treated like this and you.. You were always favoured, even when you were gone for so long. When you showed up again, I hated you even more. You look more like mother, act more like mother and I will never be anything in her eyes compared to you!" Elysa said tears in her eyes and such bitterness and anger in her voice that Celebfaer felt poisoned by her words. "Now let me go!" She said this time her voice unusually calm.
"Elysa if it makes a difference, I never asked for this."
"I don't care! Everyone knows that mother only had me because you were lost from the Realm. Everyone knows that I was only to be heir if we truly found out that you were dead. And everyone knows that you're stronger than me and better than me in every way imaginable. But no one ever thought about me! No one thought about how I would feel. All my life I've been a disappointment to everyone, even my husband, because I could never be you." She said, then she wretched her arm away from Celebfaer's grasp and ran from the room.
Celebfaer stood there looking at where her sister had disappeared for a few moments before she felt Legolas put his hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him, her eyes welling up with tears. 'We should never have come back.' She sent to him, then taking his hand she led him from the room not wanting to talk to anyone but him.
Amazingly he had recovered from the shock of being released so quickly and suddenly and he was able to walked her back to his rooms, where he held her while she wept for her sister. His head still ached slightly from the jolt she had given him when she had withdrawn them from the council, but holding her and making sure she was alright was more important to him than anything at the point and he would not have moved for anything.
Elysa however had gone straight to her lover. Seeing her distressed he had begged her to tell him what was wrong, and she gave in then told him every detail of the meeting. Then once she finished she knew that because she had betrayed the confidence of the Queen she would be banished from the Realm, so she begged him to run away with her. But he would not, for he knew what they must do.
After the incident in the gardens, Celebfaer no longer saw Mildred at all and Elysa had taken to sneering every time she saw either Celebfaer or Legolas.
But after another three months had passed, the Queen called a Council with her highest advisors. She also requested the presence of Elysa, Sabin, Celebfaer and Legolas, which puzzled Celebfaer because her mother never called a Council unless the details that were to be discussed were of utmost importance. The council was so private that two members of the Queen's guard were put at the doors leading into the chamber and told not to let any intrude for any reason whatsoever.
Once all were present in the room, Asura asked them to be seated, then looked at each of them in turn before she spoke.
"This is to be a closed Council." She said and the gasp that went through the room was clearly audible. The Queen never called a closed Council and normally when the Queen did it was to discuss the threat of war or something equally as horrible that she did not want the rest of the City to know about.
"A closed Council?" Elysa said, disapprovingly. "Then why was an 'Elf' invited? Elves are incapable of communicating with the Fairy folk in such a thing as a closed Council." She added with a small smile of satisfaction on her face. It quickly turned to dissatisfaction at the Queen's next words.
"Obviously you are not as well educated as I had thought daughter." Asura said, throwing a cold stare in Elysa's direction. "Celebfaer is wedded to Legolas by Elvish terms and I believe that this union involved some sort of bonding similar to that in which we Fairies bond when we wed. Celebfaer will open her mind to Legolas and I will then link with the two of them. Then the rest of you will all link through me, so he will hear us and be able to take part in the discussion." The Queen said and another gasp went through the room.
This time though, Celebfaer was not among them, she just gripped Legolas' hand and smiled up at him.
"Melamin, it will be alright." She said in Elvish and Queen Asura nodded to her.
"Celebfaer, you can go first." Her mother said, so Celebfaer cleared her mind of all thought until she could clearly hear every thought Legolas had.
He was worried and a little scared, which was very unusual for him. So, she tried to reassure him and this time when she spoke in his head he heard it as though she had spoken the words to him through her lips, but the emotion that was behind it made him smile.
'Melamin, I shall not let anything happen. My mother will be directing the council, so if any try to probe your mind they will be stopped and thrown out of the link.'
'What happens if they are thrown out?' He asked her, looking straight into her eyes.
'They risk loosing all of their ability in spirit talking and telepathy, which means they will be a Fairy with no powers at all. Though anyone can leave the council at any time as long as they do it willingly.' She sent back. 'Now if you are ready I shall link us to my mother.. It may feel a little strange at first.' She said and Legolas nodded to her in her head and she smiled then concentrated on opening her mind to her mother.
Less that ten seconds after Celebfaer had stopped talking, Legolas suddenly felt another presence in his head. Looking up to where the Queen stood, he knew it was her. The power and knowledge that was present in that bundle in his head could only have come from the Queen.
'Welcome Legolas. You are quite a fascinating being..' The Queen sent as though she wanted to read all his secrets so that she knew everything there was to know about Elves. But as soon as the feeling was there it was gone and he heard her talking once more. 'But if any try to do anything other than listen and discuss I shall cut off their link. Do not fear, we are all equal in this and I am in complete control.' She sent to him and he nodded.
'Thank you, Queen Asura.' He said.
"Now, the rest of you, one at a time in order of age." Asura said, out loud to the others that were present and Celebfaer closed her eyes. First would be Annook, then Ryan, then Jenya, Sabin and finally Elysa. Annook, Ryan and Jenya were three of the Queens closest advisors and the only three that she would trust with her life.
'Legolas, close you eyes it will make this feel a little less strange.' Celebfaer sent to him and he did, a second before another presence was felt in his head.
When Elysa had finally joined the link the Queen started.
'I am going to say something of importance that must be kept a secret until I say otherwise. I only bid that you all hear me out before you say anything.' She said. 'Now Celebfaer and Legolas have been in the Realm for nine months now, which is enough time for me to get to know him and teach him some of our ways. I have known for quite some time now that Celebfaer has wanted for Legolas to be wedded to her by Fairy Lore. They are wedded by Elvish terms, but not by ours and I believe that Legolas knows enough of our ways to finally become accepted into our house as an equal. So after a brief discussion with Annook we have agreed to allow this marriage.' Queen Asura said. Annook was the Queen's top advisor and normally the first person the Queen saw about all matters.
'This is an outrage!' Elysa's voice burst into their heads with such anger and force that Celebfaer nearly fell. 'Mother I cannot believe you would lower yourself to such a state! He is an 'Elf' and he has no place among us Fairies!'
'Elysa you will be quiet!' Queen Asura said suddenly, so loud that Celebfaer and Legolas both covered their ears even though it was in their heads. 'If you do not react lightly to this then I shall have to throw you out before we discuss the next item on my list!'
The response was utter silence.
'Good, now seeing as there are no objections to the subject of Celebfaer's wedding the preparations shall start today.' She said but Ryan spoke up then.
'He has not been given a challenge, so the people will not accept him as a rightful partner for the heir of the throne.' He said and Elysa blew up once more.
'Heir? She is not Heir! I am the first-daughter to the Queen, Ryan and don't any of you forget it.' She said and this time Sabin spoke up.
'Elysa my love, please be quiet, the Queen has other important news to discuss as well.' He said in a soothing tone, which worked, thankfully. It was almost as though he was talking to a child that would not be able to comprehend the sort of the things the Queen would be discussing next and if Celebfaer did not know better that would have made Elysa furious. But if she erupted again she knew that her mother would throw her out. So she stayed silent.
'In answer to the question Ryan, Legolas was with Mildred on the top of Withered Heath when Celebfaer's wings were cleansed. So I do believe that he will be legible to marry Celebfaer by that. I said that any who wished to wed Celebfaer would have to cleanse her wings or they would not be worthy. He was there so he is worthy of my daughter.' She said. 'But if another challenge is required I think I can find one that is worthy of it.'
'He shall be allowed to wed her. For that challenge was one that not even the bravest of Fairies would have come back from. Legolas has been accepted and proven himself worthy.' Jenya said. The last of Asura's top advisors, Jenya was the youngest being only a thousand years older than Celebfaer herself.
'Legolas has shown much bravery to escort Rydia to the top of Withered Heath, but nothing could be compared to the bravery he has shown by coming to the Realm of the Fairies, not knowing what to expect of our people.' Annook said. 'Legolas has been accepted and proven himself worthy.'
'Legolas fought in one of the worlds greatest battles, the war of the ring, which would have required much courage and strength that many fairies do not possess until they are a lot older than he.' Ryan said. 'Legolas has been accepted and proven himself worthy.'
Then surprisingly Sabin spoke up. It is only customary for three of the Queen's advisors to agree to a union once the challenge has been completed, as it must be done to their liking before the Queen will allow a union between two fairies, but still Sabin spoke up.
'Legolas has shown the greatest courage of all, by loving Celebfaer with all of his being and without fear of what it means. He loves her more than he the air he breathes and any fairy here knows that if a union of our folk is to survive without misery then the deepest kind of love is needed. That is why we fair folk do not bond with another once the other is gone.' Sabin said to utter silence and Celebfaer realized then just how miserable he must be with Elysa. 'Legolas has been accepted and proven himself worthy.'
'So it is settled.' The Queen said, pausing only slightly before she continued. 'And now for the second and last matter that is not open for discussion. This is to be for those present only. The Council is unanimous in this also. This may come as a shock to some of you, but it shall be announced at the wedding, during the feast. I name Celebfaer, Silverspirit, better known as Rydia to our kind, the rightful first-daughter to the Queen. She was first born, so I name her my heir and she will take my place on the throne when I finally depart.' The Queen said.
Instead of outrage from Elysa, she withdrew from the council.
Quickly Celebfaer withdrew also causing Legolas to get a bit of a shock, as she had not prepared him for it and she could have burnt his mind out. But she needed to see Elysa, and Celebfaer caught her by the arm before she could reach the door.
"Leave me alone!" Elysa shouted. "I don't deserve to be treated like this and you.. You were always favoured, even when you were gone for so long. When you showed up again, I hated you even more. You look more like mother, act more like mother and I will never be anything in her eyes compared to you!" Elysa said tears in her eyes and such bitterness and anger in her voice that Celebfaer felt poisoned by her words. "Now let me go!" She said this time her voice unusually calm.
"Elysa if it makes a difference, I never asked for this."
"I don't care! Everyone knows that mother only had me because you were lost from the Realm. Everyone knows that I was only to be heir if we truly found out that you were dead. And everyone knows that you're stronger than me and better than me in every way imaginable. But no one ever thought about me! No one thought about how I would feel. All my life I've been a disappointment to everyone, even my husband, because I could never be you." She said, then she wretched her arm away from Celebfaer's grasp and ran from the room.
Celebfaer stood there looking at where her sister had disappeared for a few moments before she felt Legolas put his hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him, her eyes welling up with tears. 'We should never have come back.' She sent to him, then taking his hand she led him from the room not wanting to talk to anyone but him.
Amazingly he had recovered from the shock of being released so quickly and suddenly and he was able to walked her back to his rooms, where he held her while she wept for her sister. His head still ached slightly from the jolt she had given him when she had withdrawn them from the council, but holding her and making sure she was alright was more important to him than anything at the point and he would not have moved for anything.
Elysa however had gone straight to her lover. Seeing her distressed he had begged her to tell him what was wrong, and she gave in then told him every detail of the meeting. Then once she finished she knew that because she had betrayed the confidence of the Queen she would be banished from the Realm, so she begged him to run away with her. But he would not, for he knew what they must do.