She was the last one to enter the room, closing the heavy wooden door behind her with a deaf click, which was probably the loudest sound that had been made since leaving Arahaelon's bedchamber. The overly large Family Sitting Room looked as grand and elegant as it ever had to her eyes, the few times she had been inside it, and yet for the first time the room did not feel as strange to her. She followed Tadion with her eyes, watching him drop ungracefully on the farthest couch, by the window. The ivory cushions embroidered in gold sank underneath him a couple of small decorative pillows lined in gold silk falling to the polished marble floor.
Legolas walked towards the grand marble fireplace, but did not sit down at any of the High Backed chairs, merely standing still with his back to her, pale blue eyes lost in the dancing and crackling flames.
This room, she had been in here only a couple of times, and yet had seen it even more times in memories that did not belong to her. Nearly scene that she had been shown had happened here. She felt as if she knew this room by heart now, could recognize every piece of furniture, every item in it. There was the round table to one corner of the room, carved in dark polished wood, with six equally elegant high backed chairs around it. Arahaelon had been sitting there when the accident had happened, so many years ago. She could see the memory so clearly inside her mind, could almost perfectly well picture him still there, with Lossenel sitting right in front of him, playing with a chess set made of crystal pieces.
Except the chessboard was not on the table any more. It was on a long rectangular coffee table carved in the same dark wood before a long couch close to the fireplace. She had seen Arahaelon there too, with Lossenel and Tadion this time, playing with that same chess game after the accident, when her eldest brother had become distant to her. But there had been crib in this room in that memory, a crib that was no longer around.
Then there were the wide high backed armchairs by the fireplace, two of them, twins, one exactly like the other, right behind where Legolas stood. The King had been there in the memories too, sitting down on the one to the left, carrying a sleeping version of Legolas on his lap. And then there was the long couch and matching chairs and tables to the other end of the room, by the long pointed arched windows, where Tadion currently sat. Those had not been there in any memory, she could not recall seeing them in any of the images she had been shown. Perhaps some things had changed in this room after so many years.
There was no moon outside, and yet the pale silver light of the stars washed over Tadion's blond head through the opened crystal panes, making his skin look paler than it was. She made her way towards him, slipper brushing soothingly over the exquisite carpet the soft velvet of her blue dress brushing her ankles.
She sat down next to her brother, yet not too close, leaving a space wide enough for another elf to sit in between them, holding one of the discarded decorative pillows to her chest. For a moment nobody spoke, only the whistling of the night's breeze as if filtered through the open windows and balconies filled the room. Her hands reached up to her hair, starting to pull out the many tiny sapphires that had been weaved in her hair, undoing all of her braids.
"I owe you an apology." Tadion broke the silence, turning his face to look in her direction. For a second she was caught inside her brother's warm and welcoming blue eyes, suddenly soft where they had been nothing but sharp hours ago. His face was sincere, ashamed, and yet she did not miss the dark circles underneath his eyes, the exhaustion that lined his gaze.
"It is all right." She smiled, looking down at the many tiny sapphires now gathered on her lap. He did owe and apology, and yet, now that she had seen his face, that had been enough. Perhaps he had been wrong, perhaps she should be wanting an apology, demanding one but Tadion had been so scared, had been under so much stress.
"No, it is not all right." He contradicted her, his soft voice forcing her emerald eyes to meet his, her hands fidgeting with her dress.
"No, it is not." She admitted at last with a sigh, watching him nod his head in silence.
"I should not have said what I said." He added, using his hand to pull a strand of his long golden hair behind a pointed ear. "I know you would not have purposely hurt Ar, whatever would have happened, it would not have been your fault."
"But you still believe I should not have done it." She whispered, watching as his gentle warm eyes dropped to his lap. She could tell he knew exactly what she was talking about, when she had decided to join the powerful connection in the forest only a couple of days ago, going against her eldest brother's cries for her to ignore the call, to not join it.
"I do." He did not deny it, and perhaps his honesty did make her feel better. "I knew he would go after you, but you could not have known that. But perhaps it was me who was wrong. I still believe you should have listened to him and not do it, but then again if you had not perhaps we would still be there, in the forest fighting, or perhaps we would all be dead by now, perhaps Ada would have died….only the Valar knows what would have happened. And instead of further hurting Ar, you…healed him. So yes, perhaps I was wrong all along and not listening to Ar, no listening to me was exactly what you needed to do."
"Perhaps." She agreed, not knowing what else to say. There were so many things in her mind, so may doubts. Things had turned out exactly the opposite of what she had extected, of what she had feared, and still she had no idea how it had happened, or what exactly had happened. She had not tried to heal Arahaelon's spirit, not like she had done with her father so many weeks ago. She had not tried; she had not even been aware she had done anything.
"What exactly happened?" And there it was. Tadion had voiced the question that she herself could not answer. She could feel his clear blue eyes looking at her, puzzled, but she could say nothing to answer his question.
She remembered the fear at the beginning, the horrid way in which she felt herself being pushed around, pulled and spinning and spinning uncontrollably by such a powerful force, not finding her way, unable to do anything, to break the connection. She remember her energy draining form at an alarming rate, her skull feeling as though it would break in half. And then she had felt Arahaelon joining her, like a lifeline in the midst of an angry sea. And then everything had been calmed, everything had been in perfect balance, and she had control of herself, control of the forest, control of every single force in the connection. She had never felt so powerful before, had never wanted more power before. Everything had been there for her, at her grasp, feeling right in the palm of her hand. She could pull as much energy as she wanted to, call as much power as she wished, and let go of everything as easily as had taken it. She could not understand.
"I do not know." She said at last, but Tadion did not push her for more, merely nodding in her direction. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Legolas turning around to face them, listening silently to their conversation.
"You know, I have thought about it many times since the day of the accident, but have never said it before." Tadion started again, his face turning away from her to stare at an empty spot on the window, lost in the dark moonless sky. "Ada held you so many times when you were nothing but a baby, you even tried to meddle with his powers a couple of times that I remember, wanting to join in too but he managed to stop you, and yet, there was never anything even close to what happened that day between you an Ar. Never. Why is that?"
Once more she could not answer his question, but it did not seem as though he was expecting an answer, his eyes still lost in the sky outside. Instead she let the silence flood the room once more, only watching Legolas walking in their direction, comfortably taking the empty space in between her and Tadion on the couch.
"There are so many empty seats and you had to squeeze right in the middle." Tadion complained almost instantly, narrowing his eyes at his younger brother you merely grinned in return, a small gesture that for a second lightened the heavy atmosphere.
"I wanted to be close to you, my dearest brother." Legolas teased in return, inching even closer to Tadion who was now being squeezed in between Legolas and the armrest.
"Legolas!" Taidon almost wailed, nearly crawling over the armrest in order to get away from his youngest brother who kept inching closer and closer, only managing to elicit a round of merry laughter from the younger elf, who finally stopped his teasing.
But the moment was over too soon, the room once again falling comfortably quiet as the three of them sat there, squeezed together in a single couch where there was nothing but large empty seats in the room all to themselves.
"He did hurt you, did he not?" She pointed out, catching Legolas inspecting his fingers carefully, flexing them one by one. For a moment Legolas' soft blue eyes stared at her in silence, before slowly nodding his head.
"He did." He admitted, his eyes inspecting his hand once more, where she could see a couple of pink scratched just where Arahelon's hand had harshly grabbed it. "Bu he did not manage to break anything, so it is fine."
It is fine. That is what Legolas had said, and yet she could tell that neither she nor any of her brothers thought it was, yet nobody wanted to say it. That split second, the way in which Arahaelon had suddenly jumped at Legolas, twisting his hand violently away. His emerald eyes had been lost, unfocused even…scared, terrified of something that had not been there. And that reaction. It made her shudder merely to remember it, knowing that both Tadion and Legolas were thinking the same thing. Arahaelon did not react, not like that. Of all the elves she knew, her eldest brother was the last she ever expected to get a violent reaction from….and towards Legolas? His youngest bother? The one she knew had Arahaelon right in the palm of his hand since he was an elfling. Perhaps Lord Elrond was right. And she feared that was the case. Perhaps whatever had been done to Arahaelon by those crazed elves had affected him deeper than his wounds showed.
The door clicked open suddenly, abruptly pulling her out of her thoughts as she lifted her gaze to find the tall figure of her father walking silently inside the room, followed closely behind by Lord Elrond.
"Where is Nana." Legolas spoke, rising to his feet and gliding closer to the King, his soft blue eyes searching his father's face, the features so alike.
"Resting. She still needs time to recover." Was all the King answered, offering his youngest son a tender smile while giving a soft squeeze to his arm.
"You should be resting too." Lord Elrond added almost immediately, giving the Elvenking a long look that was thoroughly ignored by the latter, who gracefully lowered himself in one of the amply chairs by the fireplace.
"How is Ar doing?" Tadion spoke, departing his gaze from the window to look directly at his father, yet not rising from his spot next to her on the couch.
"He sleeps now." The King leaned back on the chair as he spoke, as if a sudden wave of exhaustion had suddenly caught up with him after a long time of keeping it away, one his hands lifting up to massage his temple. "Drugged with more herbs than I have ever seen being given to the same elf in a single cup. He was still in considerable pain, regardless of the teas."
"But he will recover completely, will he not?" Tadion continued, needing to hear what had not yet been said out loud.
"We hope." Lord Elrond was the one to answer this time, crossing the room in slow elegant strides to stand vigilantly by the Elveking's chair, gray eyes watching her father as though he expected the King to suddenly collapse without warning. But the Lord of Imladris looked tired too, drained even. She knew healing could take so much energy from an elf. "But we can only guess at this point. His wounds are not yet healing, some are even still bleeding, which makes the risk of infection higher, and if he does make a full recovery, it will be long and painful."
"He had a ring." She whispered, unable to contain herself any longer, addressing what she knew every single elf in the room was thinking and did not dare say.
Her father's ice blue eyes flew to hers, suddenly looking sharp, staring at her in silence for a long moment. Even Lord Elrond deep grey eyes turned in her direction, watching her carefully, intently.
"Do not speak of it." The King suddenly warned, his voice dropping lower, barely a whisper, his body suddenly tense. "I forbid any of you to speak the word 'ring' outside of this room, not even among yourselves."
Her father's eyes darted over each one of his children, looking at every single of them sharply, and for a second she could almost hear the walls whispering, their stone ears sharp and listening.
"Did you know of it?" Legolas' asked, his face completely blank as he stared at his father for a long moment. She could tell everyone was thinking about it, everyone was trying to figure it out and yet could not. Arahaelon had had a ring. How had he come in procession of that ring? How had he found it? When? Where? How had he even known about it.
"No." The King admitted, and she could see in his stone-like face that he too seemed puzzled at the situation. No, not puzzled, worried. There had been a ring in the Palace, or certainly close to it for Arahaelon to find it. Inside his very realm, and yet the King had not known. How could such a powerful, dangerous, thing have been hidden right under one's nose? And more alarmingly, who else knew it existed? Who else knew it was here?
"He kept it hidden." Tadion spoke this time, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Inside his cloak. Did he know dangerous that was? How risky? It could have been found. He could have worn it. Is that no the best way to hide a ring like that?"
"That would have been stupid. That would have been riskier." She answered her brother's question, shaking her head slightly, not knowing how but suddenly knowing the answer to that question, it seemed so obvious now. "If he had worn it, I would have been able to see it. I would have been able to feel it alive, to…call on it maybe. It would have been a higher risk."
So once again, Arahaelon had known exactly what he was doing. He had been at risk. But had kept he rout of it, by keeping her ignorant of it. But how had he even found the ring in the first place?
"What happens with it now?" She asked, her gaze jumping from Lord Elrond to her father, expecting either one of them to answer.
"For now it stays with me, hidden." The King finally answered, and she knew that exactly where the ring would hide they would not be told.
"Do you know it?" She suddenly asked, her eyes meeting solely Lord Elrond's silver ones, and slowly, so very slowly, the Elf-Lord nodded his head, silky dark hair brushing his shoulders in the process.
"I do." He answered, the room falling suddenly quiet at his words, all eyes focused on him, expectantly. "Even though I believed it had been destroyed ages ago. It is one of the first forged, before the three, when their magic was barely being tested, experimented with. It should not have survived, same as it siblings. There is no name to it, there never was one. But it is not to be trusted, it's magic was never perfect, it's powers are believed unreliable. Arahaelon was wise not to wear it."
"Will you wear it?" Legolas inquired, only for her father to shake his head almost immediately at the suggestion.
"Nobody will wear it. The ring stays hidden and dormant until we figure out what to do with it. Nobody will know it even exists." Her father continued, his voice firm and unyielding, as making sure that his words were not to be contradicted or acted against. "I do not want to hear it being mentioned again."
And with that her father stood up from the chair, rising tall and elegant to his full height, all of the previous tiredness suddenly disappearing, once again the powerful and wise King he was. "Now I suggest you all go eat something and rest. It has been a very long day."
There was not space for argument in the King's words. And even if there had been she knew none of them would dare argue anyway. Instead she followed Tadion to her feet, watching as Legolas was the first to leave the grand room, followed by Lord Elrond and Tadion closely behind, and yet she could not leave yet, not when there was still something nagging her mind, bothering her since the moment she had woken up what seemed like days ago.
The King seemed to know it too, be able to tell there was something in her mind, for he waited for her, not walking out of the room as the door closed tight behind Tadion, and yet he did not push her, did not ask her to speak.
"Why did he do it?" She said at last, her words barely even audible, coming to stand by the King's side. For a long moment her father's soft blue eyes stared gently at hers, seeming to know exactly what she was talking about without needing to ask for details. "Why did he go after me?"
"There was no way Arahaelon would have let you join that connection alone." Was all the King said, his voice and face suddenly gentle, ice blue eyes open and welcoming for her to find comfort.
"But he was scared of it. He has always been scared of it. He knew the risks, knew what could have happened….and he still joined it…" The Crown Prince had always been scared of another accident happening, he had always been so careful around her, so distant, avoiding any unnecessary touch. And yet, when the risks had bene the highest, he still had joined the connection almost immediately after her….
"You do not really know your own brother, do you?" Her father's soft face tilted slightly to the side, his voice low, as if he were merely thinking out loud, gentle blue eyes studying her carefully, taking in every single feature of her face tenderly. And perhaps for the first time she realized that her father's words were true. Her siblings were no strangers to her, not any longer, and yet the obvious answer to that question was no. No, she did not really know her brother.
Almost as if being able to read her thoughts inside her eyes, the King's mouth curved up in a faint comforting smile, lowering himself on the couch by the fireplace, motioning for her to sit down beside him. And she did, her eyes once again inspecting the cut crystal chess figures on the table in front of her.
"You feel guilty." Her father spoke, one of his hands pulling a strand of her golden hair behind her ear, away from her face. It was not question. Her father knew. And then he smiled, eyes for a second seeming lost on a memory long ago before focusing back on her. "Arahaelon has always been so good at that, at managing to make you feel guilty even though you have done nothing to feel guilty for. He is so selfless that he unknowingly makes you feel like the most selfish elf there is in Arda. I have been there too, many more times than you can even imagine."
"I believe I do need to ask to guess that Tadion yelled at you? He blamed you for what happened?" The King framed it as a question, even though she could tell it was not, that gentle warm smile still present on his face.
"He did." She admitted, offering her father an equally faint smile. "But I know he did not mean it that way- She started, but the King but her off with a gentle raise of the hand.
"I know he did not mean it that way, because do you know who is it that Tadion really wishes to yell at? Who is it that he wants to be angry with?" Once again she did not know the answer, so she merely shook her head.
"Arahaelon." Her father explained, eyes softly studying her face. "Tadion wants to be angry with Arahaelon, but he cannot. He cannot be angry at Arahaelon for going after you, for trying to help you, so I am sure he blamed you instead. Just as you are blaming yourself. But you have nothing to feel guilty for, Almarëa. Nothing. You did not ask Arahaelon to go after you. What he did was very noble, and very selfless, but it was not your doing. Instead, I believe we are the ones who should be thanking you. So do not blame yourself for anything that might have happened during that connection."
She nodded her head, not able to tell her father just how much his words had helped her. She heard her father sigh, taking with his hand one of the tiny sapphire pins sitting on her lap and gently weaving it in her golden hair, making her smile.
"I wish to show you something that perhaps might help you understand Arahaelon's nature. It certainly helped me realize for the first time what it was exactly what I was dealing with, when he was nothing but a very young elfling."
She nodded her head again, smiling almost right away as the large Sitting Room suddenly disappeared from around her, replaced instead by a vast elegant study that materialized out of vapor all around her.
She could hear one of the tall pair of doors clicking open softly, the bright light from the corridor outside suddenly washing over the King's study. The King himself walked inside, his long emerald green robes brushing the carpet around his feet. An elfling clung to the King left hand, the height and build of a three-year-old human child, not even reaching his father's knees in height, making the King have to slightly bend over in order for the child's outstretched hand reach his. Light blond baby hair barely reached the elfling's shoulders, large emerald eyes looking curiously around the room.
She watched in silence, almost smiling to herself as the two figures reached the familiar wooden desk at one end of the room, the King leaning down to easily pick his son in his arms and lifting him to sit upon the desk's polished surface, the elfling looking delighted the entire time, swinging his little legs over the edge of the desk.
"What did you bring there?" The King arched one eyebrow as the little Crown Prince deposited a wooden toy warrior on the desk's surface, right next to him.
"Der." The elfling explained, as though it was the obvious answer, his father only chuckling once but deciding against questioning his son. Only the Valar knew the answer's elflings would sometimes give.
"Are you going to help me with these, my son?" The King smiled as he sat down on his elegant chair behind the desk, motioning to the piles of parchments sitting neatly over the desk, reaching almost to Arahaelon's little height.
"Yes" The elfling chirped in delight, and even though the smile on his face was the brightest she had ever seen, his voice was oddly quiet, never loud, as if shy, emerald eyes looking at his father as though he was the elf that had placed the Sun and Moon in the sky, making the King laugh once more.
"Very well, Arahaelon." The king started, trying to put up a serious face, humoring his son who seemed to want nothing more than to do paperwork with his Ada. "Let us sort them all out. You hand me the ones on that pile one by one."
Almost too eagerly, tiny fingers reached for the top paper at the indicated pile, placing in front of the King with large innocent eyes, eyes that were so uncharacteristically open an inviting, unguarded. And once again the King could not contain the smile on his face, even though his ice blue eyes looked down dutifully to inspect the parchment for a few seconds before deciding on which pile it belonged, motioning for the elfling to then hand another page.
And page by page they went for a long while, the pile of documents to be sorted not seeming close to ending, and yet the elfling seemed all too pleased to be helping his Ada, handing parchment after parchment.
"What does 'perimeter' mean?" The little Crown Prince suddenly asked, his soft delicate voice floating in the air like silver bells, tilting his head slightly to the side.
For a second the King seemed confused, eyeing his son as if trying to understand from where his sudden question had come. And then the King's eyes looked down, fixing on the piece of parchment that lay neatly in front of him on the desk, next to the many perfectly arranged quills.
"Why do you ask, my son?" The King's son had changed as he spoke, ice blue eyes studying the elfling with newfound interest, and for a moment she could tell that the King already knew the answer to his own question, but simply did not believe it.
"There." The elfling said innocently, a small finger pointing at the title of the parchment in front of the King. "Pe-ri-me-ter Pa-tr-ols." The elfling recited slowly, his fingers slowly tracing over the fine calligraphy on the page, letter by letter. "What does 'perimeter' mean?"
"Well…" Her father started, his handsome face suddenly looking stunned, as if not knowing how to react to what he had just witnessed. "Perimeter means border."
"Oh." The elfling replied, seeming content with his answer, his eyes once again losing interest in the page and focusing on the gardens below outside the window.
"Arahaelon?" The King spoke quietly, puzzled blue eyes staring deeply at his son, the elfling turning around with a smile at his father's call. "Can you read this?"
Slender fingers placed a new piece of parchment over the desk, motioning with his index at the title on the top center. Large emerald looked down where indicated, not seeming to be puzzled or baffled at all, contrary to his father.
"Gu-ard Ro-ta-ti-ons" The elfling recited once more, seeming to find nothing out of the ordinary in it, and yet the look on her father's face let her know that the situation was anything but ordinary.
"When did you learn to read?" The Elvenking leaned back on his chair, eyes looking at his son as though he was seeing him for the very first time, but once again the elfing did not seem confused or bewildered in the slightest. No. It was as if the elfling did not understand why his father seemed so surprised.
The elfling made a face, shrugging with his shoulders to indicate that he could not remember exactly, once again entertained by looking outside the window.
"Who taught you how to read?" The King continued, watching as for the first time his son seemed confused, as though not understanding why his father was so curious about it.
"I watch Nana read to me." The little Crown Prince explained, large emerald eyes looking innocently at his father, who seemed to be contemplating something else in his head.
"Come with me." The King rose to his feet, gently picking up his son in his arms, the elfling's tinny fragile arms instantly locking around his father's neck, easily allowing himself to be carried towards the comfortable couch by the fireplace, carefully lowering his firstborn son on the cushions. "Wait here."
With that, her father's tall figure walked towards an exquisitely carved ceiling tall cabinet, just beside the long bookshelves that seemed to covered one of the study's entire stone wall. He opened one of the top drawers, pulling out an intricate silver box before making his way to where his small son sat patiently. High above their heads, the branch-like columns open and intertwined with one another in shapes of a forest canopy, reflecting and refracting the Sun's golden rays, scattering them throughout the room.
The Elvenking of Mirkwood gracefully sat down next to his son, opening the silver box over his lap and proceeding to patiently arrange a series of at least fifty square marble tiles over the small low table in front of them. To her surprise, the tiles were not all the same. No. They had figures heavenly painted on them, all of them different, yet each one had an identical twin. She watched her father patiently waiting as Arahaelon's curious emerald eyes landed on each every figure, the elfling not yet understanding what was happening yet.
And then, without saying anything, the King's long slender fingers proceeded to turn each tile upside down, hiding all the painted figures from view and leaving only the plain white marble backs of the tiles. And then, he turned back one. Only one, revealing a painted figure of a tree leaning over a deep blue pond.
"Do you know where its twin is?" Finally the King addressed his son, his ice blue eyes looking at the elfling with a strange combination of wonder and disbelief. But she could tell what was happening, could almost read what was going on inside the king's head. He was testing his son, even though he seemed to already know that the elfling would get the answer correctly.
Arahaelon's tiny hand reached forward, not even seeming to think about it, or even doubt it as he simply picked a tile and flipped it over, not even the slightest surprised that the tile was in fact the identical twin of the one his father had picked. And then, once again as if it was the most ordinary thing in Arda, the elfling let out a round of his quiet bell-like giggles.
"And this one?" The King asked again, choosing another tile and flipping it, only to reveal the picture of a golden coin with a Sun in its middle.
And once again the elfling did not hesitate, picking out a tile that was indeed its perfect match, once more seeming to manage to leave the King speechless.
"Now you go." The little Crown Prince smiled at his father, this time being him the one to pick a random tile and flipping it over, this time revealing a half Moon over a single white cloud.
"I do not know where it is, my son." The king admitted, smiling at his son's suddenly puzzled expression.
"That is all right, Arahaelon." Was all the King said, leaning forward to place a soft kiss upon the elfling's little head before neatly picking up the tiles and placing them all back inside the silver box.
The Elvenkin rose once more to his feet, walking back to the tall cabinet to return the box to its rightful place, the elfing's little feet pattering behind him, shadowing his father's tall figure. And yet, as the Elvenking deposited the box on its drawer, a little hand suddenly pulled at his robes, causing the taller elf to look down with a smile. And she would have smiled too had she been there, for the Crown Prince's emerald eyes were suddenly looking upwards wide with longing, the hand that was not gripping to his father's robes reaching upwards and gesturing towards where a large crystal jar filled with cookies lay, just on the cabinet's top shelf.
"It is almost time for dinner." The King explained, giving his son a pointed look. But who was the King trying to fool, not even the toughest of elves would have ever been able to say no to the elfling's adorable face, whose large eyes would not depart from the jar.
"Just one." Her father warned, not seeming to be able to say no to his son's adorable face, reaching up for the jar of treasures and carefully opening the lid.
"Two." The elfling grinned sheepishly, making his father tilt his head back with a laugh.
"One" The King clarified, lifting only one finger in the elfling's direction, but her eldest brother's emerald eyes were gleaming with mischief, as though already knowing he would get what we was asking for.
"Two." The elfling asked again, imitating his father but this time holding two fingers out instead of one.
"And you will eat your dinner?" Her father questioned, the tiny child merely nodding his head excitedly, his free hand still reaching up for the jar that was too high for him to reach.
"Very well." The Elvenking complied, pulling out two large cookies, the largest ones in the jar it seemed, before closing it again and placing it back on its place. "Two cookies, and you will eat your dinner and not tell Nana I gave these to you, understood?"
"Yes." The elfling chirped, running uncoordinatedly back to the couch and waiting patiently for his father to join him. Her father took his time in joining his son, neatly laying a linen napkin on the small table in front of the elfling and placing the two cookies right in front of him.
Oh, the way in which the little Crown Prince's eyes looked at the cookies would have made any elf melt. His emerald eyes were wide with longing, nearly shimmering, looking at those two single cookies as though they were the greatest treasure there was, and they were both his. It was too tempting a sight. She could see it in her father's face, could see it in the amused and mischievous gleam that crossed those icy blue eyes.
And then, just as the elfling reached for his so desired first cookie, the King was faster, snatching it away from right in front of his son in a move so fast the elfling barely even saw it, stuffing it in his mouth in a single bite.
The reaction was exactly what the King had been hoping for, the little Crown Prince looking suddenly stunned, not yet realizing what had happening. His wide emerald eyes were looking at his father, little mouth hanging open in an adorable expression of surprise, and she could see the King trying to hold back his laughter. And she waited, along with the King, whose prank seemed to have yielded the expected results, watching as Arahaelon's stunned innocent eyes looked down at the napkin, where only one cookie now lay.
She was almost laughing herself at the child's expression, waiting for the tears, or for the laughter, or for the angry little out that perhaps would follow. And yet, just as the King she was left dumbfounded. For contrary to anything that she had expected, the elfling's little fingers reached down for the only cookie left, carefully picking it up and offering it in his father's direction.
And suddenly the images vanished into thin air, the vast Sitting Room suddenly returning to view, her father's gentle ice blue eyes still looking patiently at her.
"That was the first and last time I attempted to prank Arahaelon." Her father explained, the ghost of a smile still present on his face as he spoke. "I felt so guilty afterwards that I let him have the entire jar, and your mother nearly had my head in return."
That made her laugh, even though she still could not stop thinking about the images she had just seen.
"And what about Tadion?" She asked, wanting more than anything to see more memories of her siblings as young elflings, only making her father laugh in return.
"Tadion was a challenge." Her father explained. "Him I could tease and prank endlessly, I could yell at him and still he would not listen to me. The two of them would drive Lossenel insane, did you know? Tadion was witty and sharp and he would abuse of Arahaelon's patience, so many times eating Arahaelon's share of dessert or sweets, and Lossenel would lose her head because Arahaelon would not complain. She always wanted to be fair, she was the one counting that everyone got exactly the same amount of pastries, or the same amount of tarts, and she was aware that Tadion only ever took Arahaelons' because it was the ones he could get away him, because Arahaelon would let him, and it used to drive her insane. I have never seen my daughter as angry as those times."
She laughed once more, somehow being able to perfectly picture the scenes her father was describing, wishing nothing more than to see them for herself. And her father seemed to perfectly guess her thoughts once more.
"I will show you, but perhaps another time." He rose to his feet as he spoke, and she imitated him, somehow feeling better than she had since she had woken up. "Now I believe it is time you rested."
She nodded her head, obediently walking out of the room and into the long familiar hallway. Guards seemed to line every single door, the majority of them flanking Arahaelon's bedchambers, as though ready to make sure that no further harm would reach their Prince. She started her slow march towards her own bedchambers, her mind still reeling with questions. How had she managed to heal Arahaelon? What exactly had happened in that connection? Nobody seemed to be able to tell her. She had not asked, really, but them again who would be able to tell her if none but her and Arahaelon had been there? Perhaps Ar knew himself? She could not tell….And then again, how had he even found the ring? How had he known it existed in the first place?
She had just reached Tadion's bedchamber, just before her very own door, and suddenly she stopped. Something elsed popped into her mind, suddenly nagging her so urgently that she could not stop herself, lifting her hand to knock softly on the door.
"Enter." She heard Tadion's voice from the other side, and she did not think it twice before opening the familiar door only a crack, walking inside the room comfortably.
Her older brother was sitting quietly over the bed, his back to her, eyes lost on the open balcony ahead. He had changed into a casual dark blue tunic, the color contrasting beautifully with his lose golden hair that cascaded down his back.
"Almarëa." He seemed surprised to see her, and she guessed that it was perhaps she had never knocked on his door before, his clear blue eyes smiling at her kindly.
"May I borrow a book?" She inquired, watching as his face looked momentarily confused before he nodded.
"Of course." He answered her with a smile, tilting his head to the side, suddenly looking so much like the King, motioning with a hand towards the tall bookcase that lined the farthest wall. "You are free to take any you like."
"I will just take this one." She said, picking out the book she remembered almost too well, recalling exactly where it was. The tome felt heavy in her hands, and she did not need to open it to already picture the perfectly drawn plans of the Palace that lay inside.
Tadion's eyes were looking at her curiously at her choice, but he did not question her, merely letting out a light chukle as she made her way to the door. "You should return that one to Arahaelon's bedchambers instead of mine."
That made her stop, turning around in puzzlement to meet her brother's carefree smiling eyes, who seemed to be able to read her confusion. "Ar brought it here some weeks ago, he wanted to show me show me something but I do not know what, he got called for a meeting unexpectedly and I kept the book. I have not returned it since, so I guess you should."
She nodded her head, not saying anything as she silently exited the room, closing the door behind her. So Arahaelon had seen this book. Had he been wondering the same thing she currently was?
She shook her head, clearing her thoughts, finally making her way into her own bedchambers, closing the perfectly carved door behind her in complete silence. Two exact pair of silver eyes suddenly turned in her direction, identical figures sitting side by side on the long couch at one end of the room, and in a split second all of her questions, all of her worries simply vanished, staring at that sole pair of eyes that could make drown in them for eternity. Elladan was finally awake.
Hi there! Here is chapter 62! (So many chapter's already!) I really hope you enjoy reading it!
I know there are many things that have not been answered yet, but they will in due time, bear with me a little. As to those of you wondering how the healing happened, Almarëa is also wondering the same thing and it will also be explained in due time, but there are things in the storyline that need to happen first. Also, Tolkien fans bear with me a little here, I know there are only three elven rings but I decided to play with the storyline a little when I started writing this story, so there will be things that are not completely in accordance to the original work.
Once again thank you so much to all of you who reviewed the last chapter, it is always a pleasure and honor to read all your words and comments and thoughts and questions on the chapter: Sarah, Robmart, KC, SeekerOfStories (like ten times!), Midnighttruce, Amsim, Flower-Uchiha, StarFilledSkies, Saum the Smol Teddy, Daerethrandlwood, Tintcalad, GondorianElf, helenaxo, and artvandelay5001.
SeekerOfStories: I'm replying to you here, as requested. First thank you so much for your reviews! Truly each and every single of them was so very special! I'm so happy to hear that you are enjoying this story! It is still a lot yet to happen so have a little patience and hang in there. I try to update as fast as I can by sadly between work and other things it's hard to update regularly without sacrificing quality or rushing the storyline. Perhaps it is a little too late for this answer, but Almarëa does have a favorite color and, guess what it is? I'm sure you did…it's green, even though if you would ask her she would say silver. Also did you end up dressing up as Almarëa for Halloween? That totally made my day to hear it! Aww I'm so happy you liked my character so much! It really means a lot to me! Once again thank you so much for reviewing and I hope this chapter meets your expectations!
Love,
Elena