"Caro de iest teilia ómë?"

A short shadow cast it's flickering darkness over Kaina's form as she sat propped up against the tree. Giving a minuscule smile, she looked up and shook her head at the blonde elfling. Even if she could not fully understand these people's strange language, she was beginning to understand the rudimentary words. In this particular situation she had the basic idea that Legolas was asking her to play.

It was not exactly that she did not want to play, she just did not remember how to. While the other younglings at the temple usually played games in-between lessons she had been found studying with her master; that had been the price of being accepted as a padawan earlier than the other students. Though even if she had remembered how to frisk about without a care in the world, she highly doubted that she would want to. Yet, anyway. The deaths of her friends still laid too heavily on her heart for her to be able to run and play with Legolas and his companions— she did not want to upset them with her gloomy demeanor.

Instead, Kaina quietly stole off to be alone. During her stay at the temple she would often have meditation sessions a minimum of five times a day, but that number had been significantly downsized when she came to this place— it seemed that there was always someone nearby. Meditation was used to calm oneself and focus on clearing the mind of confusing emotions that would blur one's unity with the Force. It was hard to accomplish when the person was by themselves, let alone when one was surrounded by several others.

Glorfindel curiously observed from the balcony as the tiny brunette snuck away from the large group of ellith and their elflings. From his high vantage point, he watched the child as she made her way to a quiet clearing not far from the others. Upon arriving, Kaina promptly sat down, her legs crossed and tucked underneath her.

Her chestnut colored hair was swept back into a basic braid, keeping the unruly, child-like curls away from her eyes. The elfling's hands were placed on either knee, her face relaxed as she sat silently with her eyes closed for a few moments.

The Balrog slayer watched as her lips moved silently, as if she were talking to the air. But then something odd happened. He again felt the brush of her bright fëa. Kaina must have also felt the contact; her eyes slowly opened, shifting their gaze to his presence as he leaned against the balustrade. She gave a small smile and lifted her hand in greeting before her eyelids drifted close once more.

Focus on the Force. It is energy, moving through us, binding us, surrounding us... There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, only the Force.

Kaina shook her head as she tried and failed to focus. A sigh came from her lips: had it always been so hard to concentrate? A smirk of remembrance appeared as she thought of how Kit had always reprimanded her for letting her mind wander during their first lessons.

"I wish you were still alive to guide me, Master.', she whispered. "I miss you, and it is hard to concentrate on my studies when I think of you."

She tried once more to meditate, placing the negative emotions far from her thoughts. The force signatures of the crowd she had left behind shimmered; she quickly removed their presences in her mind in order to fully concentrate.

Kaina muttered to herself as she attempted the tedious task of clearing the dark memories from her mind. Fear was the path to the dark side, which meant that she would have to rid herself of the fear she had for the fallen jedi who had once been her friend. The Force had a delicate balance: one she was not willing to upset by turning down the shadowed path. A frown marred her innocent features as she struggled to remove the ugly anger and hate she wished towards Anakin.

Succeeding at banishing at least a portion of the ill feelings, Kaina breathed deeply. It seemed to her that the aura of Rivendell was quite similar to that of the Room of a Thousand Fountains: relaxing and calming. And speaking of auras, she sensed a new one as soon as it stepped outside of the building.

Her eyes pried themselves open to glance up at the golden-haired elf who had unnerved her so badly at dinner last night. Kaina allowed her 'soul', as her master had once called it, to brush against the strange being's. It once again flamed to life, though she did not withdraw in surprise as she had done with the previous encounter. Rather, she cautiously sensed his emotions, garnering that he was uneasy with her odd abilities.

Her lips tipped into a slight smile, and she waved at the supple-looking figure, who quickly turned and strode back inside the white stone building.

"My mother says she will be here within the month."

Elrond bit his lip to keep from protesting, mentally belittling himself for his selfishness. His wife's mother was coming to help them find out the girl's past, not terrorize him for Valar's sake!

"It is not the end of the world, meleth. She is only coming to help.', Celebrian laughed lightly as she felt his panic through their bond.

"You do realize she is going to spoil our children horribly when she gets here?"

"I would expect nothing less.', the blonde elleth chuckled. "She is their grandmother, dear."

"I know.', he mumbled in reply. "Unfortunately."

His wife emitted another merry chortle, giving him a peck on the cheek before she danced out of the room.

Elrond sighed as a knock interrupted his sullen train of thoughts.

"Come in. Oh, it's you."

Glorfindel sheepishly opened the door and entered the room.

"Expecting your mother-in-law?', the seneschal teasingly grinned.

"You are incorrigible.', he muttered in reply, though the corners of his lips lifted upwards. "Did you come for a chat? Or did you have something serious to discuss?"

"I only wished to tell you that Kaina brushed against my fëa again this morning. I thought you might wish to know that I'm not as insane as you believe me to be.', Glorfindel answered with a toothy smile.

"I doubt that.', Elrond huffed, earning himself a raised eyebrow as his friend left the room.

Kaina swallowed the scream that threatened to bubble from her mouth, clamping her lips shut against the noise.

"A jedi would be stronger than this.', she thought stubbornly to herself as she tried to muffle the sobs that insisted on making an appearance after her latest nightmare. "Why do I continue to dream of what happened?"

A small crack of light appeared as the door to the bedroom she shared with Legolas creaked open. The girl shrank further underneath the woolen blankets, pulling them over her head.

"Penneth, nó dúath oltha nahta le."

Thranduil's voice rolled over her in soothing waves as Kaina sniffled, rubbing her runny nose on her sleeping tunic's sleeve as another tear made a path down her face. She shuddered for a moment as he flipped the covers back down, rubbing the now-frizzy hair out of her face. His face was filled with compassion as he tucked a warm coverlet around her shoulders, moving her so that she was nestled into his own warmth.

Thranduil worriedly eyed the tiny elfling as her eyes sedately closed in sleep. It was odd that she slept as she did; elves were not known to rest that way unless they were in a healing sleep.

The fact that Kaina was still plagued by nightmares was perturbing, to say the least, but seeing her sleep as she was made things worse, even if it was how she had slept since the Woodland King had met her.

"Ada?', a weary voice called. "Why are you holding Kaina?"

"She had a nightmare, ion nin.', Thranduil answered with a hidden smile as his son rolled out of his short bed and toddled over to climb into his lap beside Kaina.

"Kaina is always sad— is that why she has bad dreams?', Legolas asked sleepily as he peered at his sleeping friend.

"I do not know, penneth. What do you mean by 'always sad', Legolas?"

"She never plays with me and my friends.', the elfling explained innocently, rubbing the bleariness from his eyes. "I think she misses her family. I heard her crying last night, Ada, before she fell asleep."

"Oh? And what did you do when you heard her?"

"I- I kissed her cheek, like naneth does when I'm sad.', Legolas stuttered, his face heating in embarrassment.

Thranduil could not stop the deep rumble of laughter that came from his chest.

"Did it make her feel better?', he could not help but ask, making his son blush a deeper shade of red.

"I don't know', Legolas mumbled. "But she looked surprised!', he added with a small grin of satisfaction. "I think she liked it!"

This time Thranduil did not even try to stop his mirth.

Over the next few weeks Kaina had slowly begun to understand more of the musical language that was spoken around her. Lassiel would often help her by pointing out objects and naming them until she knew their names by heart. Legolas also helped whenever he was not playing with his friends and trying to get her to join them.

On this particular day she was curled up in an arm chair next to Lassiel, inspecting the pictures in the heavy tome she had been given. The drawings were of strange animals, none of which she had seen before. Kaina was carefully turning the page again when Thranduil entered the room, speaking hurriedly to his wife who answered just as quickly.

"Tolo, Kaina.', she said kindly, helping her out of the tall chair. Whatever she said next was lost as the lady's husband gave a small grunt of impatience and swung the child into his arms. Said child gave a startled yelp and tucked her head into Thranduil's neck, making the elf chuckle.

She was speedily carried into a different room, being set gently onto her feet as they reached their destination. Still a bit wobbly from being carried so rapidly, Kaina leaned against Thranduil's legs as she let out a little pant of delayed surprise. The elf ruffled her hair, making her scowl playfully at him and try to replace the wayward strands that had slipped from the braid.

As she fixed her hair back to the way it previously was, she took in her surroundings and those who were in them. She recognized the auras of the dark haired males who had welcomed them to Rivendell, along with the man who had the long golden hair. But the next figure she sensed was someone she had not yet met... a lady whose hair shone an enchanting mix of silver and gold.

Guide...

Caro de iest teilia ómë?— Do you want to play with us?

Penneth, nó dúath oltha nahta le.— Little one, the dark dreams cannot harm you.

Tolo— Come

Ada— daddy

ellith— female elves

meleth— my love

Happy Holidays! Thank you's today go to the random guest! I hope you enjoyed this update! Also, thanks to those who have followed and favorit-ed (I don't think that's a word...) this story!

With much love, SweetDixie.