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Warning! This is a short chapter! My apologies. The next one will be longer. I just felt like I could go ahead and post this one, since my reviewers are being so nice : )
By the way, sorry about the mix-up with who shot the arrow. Let's just put it this way, it was one of those pesky twins! Thanks go out to IWishChan for pointing it out to me!
Chapter 12
Daughter Meets Mother
Estellia was playing with her cousins in the courtyard of Rivendell. Her grandmothers watched her from the balcony with smiles upon their faces, as they drank their warm tea.
Elrohir's daughter, Isil, had silver hair that shone like moonbeams; hence her chosen name. She was older than Estellia by about two hundred years, though she always had the spirit of a four-hundred year old elfling. Her brother Ruminar was only a hundred and thirty some years older than Isil, and looked very much like his father.
Estellia stopped their game of 'tag' when she heard horses approaching the gates. Isil and Ruminar fell into place beside her, watching the approaching horses. Estellia recognized her father riding tall and proud. The elves entered the courtyard, dismounting, and some retreating to the barns to stable their weary steeds.
"Estellia! Penneth nin!" Legolas cried happily, swinging off his horse to embrace his daughter, tossing her into the air.
But Estellia wasn't looking at him, she was gazing at the only female in the company, whose bonds had just been cut. She had now dismounted, and was standing, almost shyly, next to her horse.
Legolas set her down, turning to see what she was looking at.
His daughter took a tentative step forward, staring at the woman. "Nana?" (mommy) she asked hopefully.
Atalantawen exchanged a significant look with Legolas, before getting down on her knees with a warm smile that Legolas didn't know she possesed, and opening her arms to the young girl. Estellia immediately rushed into them, hugging her tightly.
"Momma..." Estellia whimpered, pulling away to look at her, "You're cold. Elves don't get cold..."
'Tala' forced a smile. "I'm not an elf, little one. Perhaps your ada can explain it some other time..."
"But..." she protested, "I-I thought my mother was an elf..."
"Goheno nin, penneth, but I cannot explain these things to you." (forgive me, little one) Tala said, wiping a stray tear from Estellia's cheek. "I have seen much evil in my life... But I'll tell you this - Knowing that I have a daughter, someone I can protect from suffering the same things I have, brings me great joy. Something that I never thought I'd feel again..."