Chapter 4

I was beginning to come out of the darkness that was surrounding me. As this was happening I could hear some voices coming from around me. They were faint but they were getting louder by the minute.

Trying to concentrate better on the voices my head started to ache with the effort. I groaned in pain and brought a hand up to my head. Immediately the talking stopped and instead I heard some hurried footsteps come closer to the bed I was laying on.

Then, softly, I heard him speak. "Saphira."

At hearing my name I slowly opened my eyes. At first I couldn't see anything but after a few seconds it slowly cleared up. When this happened I saw his face right above me.

"Legolas," I said. The expression on his face held such relief.

"Thank the gods," he said and embraced me. I hugged him right back and buried my face in his shoulder. I kissed the skin there and nuzzled right into him.

The moment was interrupted when I heard someone politely clear their throat. The two of us looked up from our embrace and as we did so I saw some of the people from the last time I was awake. My eyes widened a bit when I saw them.

I opened my mouth to speak but before I could even get a word out I was interrupted. The elder with the long, white beard and the twinkling eyes held up a hand. He then took out a long stick of some kind from his robes and pointed at it.

I cocked my head to the side, not really getting what he was saying. The same kind of confusion was on Legolas' face, too.

To try and help us understand the elder pointed at his throat.

I still couldn't seem to understand what the man was trying to tell us. Legolas seemed to figure things out sooner than I did.

A look of realization dawned on Legolas's face and he nodded to the elder one. I looked at him questioningly.

"Legolas…," I began, a bit unsure.

"Wait, you'll see," he said soothingly. He then looked back towards the elder one. I followed his lead with this uncertainty still on my face. Seeing this the elder one smiled at me in a reassuring way and I returned it, although a bit timid.

The elder one then pointed his stick at the two of us. A moment later her spoke saying "Translousio."

As soon as the elder one had spoken something came out of his stick and rushed at the three of us. Not knowing what was coming I instantly tensed up and so did Legolas, even though he did have a bit of a better sense of what was going on at this point. Both of the things that were sent at us went straight for our throats. When they made impact something peculiar happened.

A strange feeling went through the two of us. It was a kind of warm and tingly but above all it was something somewhat familiar that the two of us could recognize.

As soon as the two of us realized this we looked at each other with the same calculating look. Sorcery.

The elder one was still smiling at the two of us and that twinkle in his eyes was still placed on his face. He then placed his stick back inside his robes.

What happened was something that I completely didn't expect at all.

"Well, not that's settled perhaps we can now get down to business," spoke the elder with the twinkling eyes.

We were able to understand him.