Kaina's eyelashes fluttered against her pale cheeks as sunlight filtered through the creaking tree boughs above her. Her body felt languid, though her mind was now fully awake. It was almost as if she had been put into a trance, she thought as she squinted against the light that had invaded the darkness behind her eyes.
Slowly sitting up, she gently touched her tender abdomen, which seemed to bear no sign of injury. The tunic she was clad in proved that she had indeed been speared with a light saber, as there was a singed hole in its front, and most likely there was a matching one on the lower back part of the brown material also. Puzzled, Kaina peeled the sticky tunic from her skin to peer at the place she was certain had sustained injury. Nothing was there, only a smooth expanse of creamy skin.
Biting her lip, she swallowed the sob that rose in her throat.
Master Anakin betrayed us. He murdered his friends. He murdered my friends. There was so much hate! So much pain...
The grief began to feel as if it would rip her in two, and had she been standing her knees would have surely given out.
Why? Why would he do that? It wasn't right!
The child curled up into a ball and wept herself to sleep as she fought to keep the hateful thoughts from entering her mind.
When she finally woke up several hours later, the sun was high in the sky and she took the time to take in her surroundings before standing to her feet. Wherever she was, it certainly wasn't Coruscant. Her home planet was one big city, while in this place there seemed to be no end to the trees and natural growth. Although, she could not really tell, judging as how the woods were so thick she could only see a few feet into them.
All at once, she suddenly noticed several things. One was that the Force was thrumming, closing around her as it teemed with life. Two was that the air held no trace of fumes, as if no aircrafts had ever blighted the planets oxygen supply with exhaust. And three was that she felt extremely overwhelmed at being alone in such a wide expanse of wilderness. While there were signs of life all around her, signs of civilization were much harder to locate.
Kaina suddenly felt like she was much younger than she actually was as she began to wander through the woods. Much younger. So much in fact, that she suddenly had the very childish urge to chase an orange butterfly as it rippled past her ear. Such urges were uncommon for one who had been trained in the Jedi Temple and taught to be calm and composed at all times.
The child stumbled into a small glade and stopped dead in her tracks as a twig snapped to her left. Her eyes slowly roved in that direction and she held her breath as she searched for the threat. No evil could be sensed, but that did not stop her from gasping in surprise as the magnificent creature slowly stepped out from behind the bushes.
It was a white deer whose coat shimmered as it stood proudly before her, almost three times her height. Its antlers, which spanned several feet wide, informed her that it was male. As his deep brown eyes regarded her wisely Kaina could see the long years this beast had lived shining back at her from those emotion-filled orbs.
The kingly animal carefully approached her, as if to keep from startling her rather than the other way around. He gently leaned down and nudged her face. Kaina giggled as she pushed the snuffling nose away and gazed at the massive deer. But her joy was short-lived as dark foreboding crept into her mind.
As if sensing what was wrong, the deer quickly came to stand at her back as it tried to bump her into the bushes. She took the hint and quickly hid from sight as the animal bounded away on quivering leg muscles.
An ungodly screech tore through the air and Kaina clutched at her suddenly sensitive ears as she ducked deeper into the foilage.
What was that?!
The little girl nervously peeked through the bushes and bit back a scream as several horrid creatures bumbled through the shrubbery just a few feet away. Their auras were black and evil seemed to roll off of them in waves. Within seconds she was aware of several new Force signatures* that had also appeared in her mind— the monsters were being pursued.
Shrieks filled Kaina's ears as she whimpered and pressed her hands even more firmly to the sides of her head.
"Gurth caela ie'lle!', someone cried out as the final squeals were silenced. "A cé Namo satya tâi dan i cov'n!"
The voice, though beautiful, was tense with frustration and Kaina trembled as she remembered the last time she had heard anyone sound so angered.
"Le säna ettul si. Vá nahta le, penneth."
The mysterious voice had taken on a more soothing tone as it spoke gently in her direction but Kaina made no move to come out of her hiding spot. The bushes rustled as they were parted by a pair of hands, and a face soon followed.
The White Stag of Greenwood could be likened to a second pair of eyes for the ruler of that realm. King Thranduil was deeply connected with his homeland in such a way that the creatures of his land were able to communicate with him if the need were dire. And this matter certainly was of that ilk.
He and a group of Woodland Elves had been traveling to Rivendell for a friendly visit when the mystical deer had alerted him to the presence of the lone child of the woods. By the time he had found her whereabouts, the orcs that seldom passed over the Greenwood's border had very nearly found her also. They were slain now, and were currently being dragged off to be burned.
Thranduil eyed the small elfling that had taken refuge in the brush. Her dark hair was matted with twigs and tangles, her dark clothes were plastered to her body by mud, and her dark brown eyes regarded him cautiously as he approached.
The small group of guards that had also given chase to the orcs watched the scene with unreadable faces as the girl slowly made her way from her hiding spot, obviously deciding that he meant no harm.
"Vá nahta le.', he repeated.
The child only scrunched her nose in confusion.
"I will not harm you, child. Do you not speak your native language?', Thranduil asked as he swapped to Westron** for her benefit.
She still did not respond to his questions. Instead, it seemed that his dialect swap had confused her even more. After a few more moments of trying to get her to understand he began to try a different tactic.
"Thranduil." He pointed to himself for emphasis before motioning to her. A look of understanding dawned on her face and she pointed to herself, mimicking the elven king.
"Kaina."
He nodded in acknowledgement.
"Well met, Kaina. Come."
Kaina followed the rather imposing figure away from the carnage that littered the forest floor. Though she did not understand his language, his motions added to the things she sensed through the Force made it much easier to understand him that she had thought. She had even more trouble trusting him, but surely if he had wanted to cause her harm he would have killed her along with those other creatures. At least, that is what she hoped.
Her short legs had trouble keeping up with Thranduil's large stride as he quickly made his way away from the small glade. He spared her a single glance before swiftly swooping her up into his arms and settling her on his hip. Kaina yelped in surprise while he only gave an amused chuckle at her antics. It was then that Kaina realized just how tall he actually was. Her four and half foot frame was almost six feet off of the ground!
Once they were not hindered by Kaina's pace, they quickly arrived at the nearby encampment just as the sun had begun to sink in the sky.
"Ada!"
Her head snapped to the side to see a small blonde headed boy streaking towards them. His arms encircled Thranduil's waist before he pulled back and glanced at her with a baffled expression. He was soon jabbering away in a language she could not understand. Thranduil quickly responded in the same dialect, motioning in her direction before replying.
What I wish I had a protocol droid...
The man set her gently on the ground. He pointed to himself and said his name again before pointing to the blonde child in front of them.
"Legolas.', he stated as he made another motion, one that looked as if he was rocking a baby.
"Oh.', she murmured.
He was trying to tell her that Legolas was his son. Thranduil smiled at her before ruffling her hair and saying something to his son. Legolas nodded before snatching her hand and hauling her behind him. Kaina was very puzzled by now. She could have sworn that the boy was much younger than her, but when she was placed close to him she was shorter than he was!
Guide…
Gurth caela ie'lle— Death take our foes!
A cé Namo satya tâi dan i cov'n— And may Mando's cast them back into the void!
Le sana ettul si. Vá nahta le, penneth.— You can come out now. I will not hurt you, little one.
*A Force signature is basically someone's personality in a nutshell. It allows the Force sensitives to feel those around them and know who they are. So it's like telepathic name tags (I honestly hate my brain sometimes.)! To Kaina, a Force signature appears as a 'blur of colors' in her mind.
**Westron was the Common tongue in M/E. Therefore there is a really good reason Kaina has trouble understanding the elves.
A/N: I seriously have no idea where this story is going at the moment. The first chapters are always the rockiest, so bear with me please! Lol! I would have updated this morning, but my internet decided to be difficult.
And many thanks to Dovahdad! I probably say this a lot, but you have no idea what your comments mean to me! No one really takes the time for constructive criticism, so that was super refreshing! I will really try to take those things to heart! I'm sorry you had trouble picturing things in the first chapter (I know I always like to be able to see a perfect picture in my mind through the words). Hopefully I will have improved in that area by the time I finish this story!