A/N: Many thanks to Dally'sTUFF and Frost-Prime1340 This update would have taken a lot longer without you! Your reviews made me actually want to write! Which is incredible, because I felt like I had lost my muse for a few days... Thanks again to my reviewers, followers, and those who favorite-ed (again, not a real word) this story. Please drop a review if you can! They motivate me!
"Always the impatient one, Lord Thranduil.', Galadriel laughed lightly. "When I requested your presence I did not expect you to appear so quickly."
The Lady of Light shifted slightly to the side as she studied the elfling that leaned against the ellon's leg.
"Thranduil!', Lassiel panted, entering the room a few moments after her husband. "You–', she paused to catch her breath. "–should not... run through the halls... like that."
"Is that why the little one is so out of breath?', Elrond chuckled. "Impatient indeed!"
The Woodland King sent a withering glare in his friend's direction before inclining his head respectfully towards the Lady who had traveled from Lóthlorien, greeting her by sweeping his hand away from his heart. She imitated his gesture, but wasted no time with the other silly formal greetings that often took place.
"Elrond has told me much about Kaina.', Galadriel mused, studying the little elfling who stared back at her uncertainly. "Though some of it I do not understand."
"I am unsure that any of us fully understand, Lady Galadriel.', Thranduil said apologetically. "Though I can recount to you what we do know of her thus far."
Galadriel listened carefully as he narrated the happenings from the moment they had found Kaina in the Greenwood to the moment they were now in.
"Brown eyes and hair are not seen among the elves...', she mulled, eyeing the girl with obvious curiosity. Her piercing blue eyes peered into Kaina's dark ones as she tried to use her mind to reach out to the girl. Many of those who Galadriel communicated with in this way were often perturbed by this activity, but Kaina simply stood still and waited.
"Mother?', Celebrian began when she saw the Lady's brow crease slightly. "What is it?"
"I cannot read her mind. There is the language barrier, of course, but there is also—', Galadriel paused for a moment, her frown deepening. "There is a maze... a maze in her mind. It bars me from her emotions, and I will not find them unless she wills me to."
"Incredible.', Glorfindel muttered as he leaned forward in his seat. "For one so young she must have a phenomenal control over her mind. Even I cannot fully keep my emotions hidden from you, Lady."
"Astounding, though this makes things slightly more difficult.', Elrond added thoughtfully.
"Thranduil, what did she look like when you first found her?', Galadriel questioned, continuing to keep her gaze steadily fixed on Kaina.
"She was confused... and frightened."
"Hm. And her clothing?"
The King of the Greenwood sent a wordless plea to his wife through their bond, begrudgingly admitting that he did not remember. Lassiel gave an exaggerated sigh before explaining in the place of her husband, describing in great detail the garments Kaina had been wearing.
"May we see them?', Galadriel requested solemnly.
Kaina had know the minute she had laid eyes on the mysterious lady that something set her apart from the others in her company. Her suspicions were only confirmed when she felt the woman's presence patiently trying to read her emotions.
The feeling was by no means foreign— the Jedi often used such means to silently communicate with one another. But Kaina blocked off the gentle attempt, pushing it away and constructing one of the mental mazes her Master had taught her of. The lady appeared to be slightly shaken by this ability, and she gathered that it was not a common thing for this 'Galadriel's' attempts to be quenched. It was not because Kaina sensed ill intent that she would not allow the woman to see her mind; indeed, she felt nothing but compassion and tenderness. The reason for the blockade in her mind was because she felt exposed— she did not want anyone to see the hurt, guilt, and anger that still festered inside her. The hurt and anger could be explained easily, but the guilt was an entirely different nest of Gundarks.
While those in the room observed her silently, she closed her eyes and remembered that night— the night she had had the Force vision of the Jedi Temple burning. If she had warned the others sooner, perhaps the way of the Jedi would still be a light of hope in the darkening galaxy. But no, it could not be her fault: she had warned those who were above her in the Order of the vision. They had repudiated it as a mere nightmare, even though the students of the academy had been taught to have such an impregnable control over their minds that such happenings as bad dreams were not common. Pressing the destabilizing emotions behind the walls of her mind, Kaina slowly opened her eyes to see Lassiel reenter the room with a modest-sized bundle of cloth.
Her small hands had unknowingly fisted as she recognized the fabric for what it was, not what it had been. It was once the raiments worn by those who had a hope for a life of peace, or at least helping others attain that sought after feeling of the soul. Now it was only seen as a failure to stop the evil from purging the goodness from the galaxy. The mental walls Kaina had constructed so effortlessly crumpled twice as easy under the strain of her grief as it overwhelmed her already taut emotions. The feeling only grew worse when the lady who everyone had tersely waited in anticipation for observed the singed holes that were burnt into her tunic and cloak. With that simple action the last of Kaina's resolve broke, and she gave a such long wail of grief that those who heard were chilled to the bone.
When Kaina had let out the pain-filled scream several things seemed to happen at once. Galadriel blanched, pressing herself into the back of her seat as her mind seemed to flood with fierce memories that were not her own. Glorfindel leapt from his chair, his hand moving to where his sword usually hung at his hip, while Elrond and his sons had a similar reaction. And Thranduil... Thranduil was shocked at how much emotion had been in that single cry. The elfling had collapsed after the startling action, surprising everyone once again. Elrond briskly checked her vital signs, reassuring everyone that Kaina's pulse still thrummed a steady tempo despite the fact that it beat more rapidly than he would have liked, though that was no doubt due to the grief that caused it to quicken in the first place.
"Whatever caused such a reaction?', he wondered aloud, hugging Kaina's tiny frame to his broad torso.
"I believe', Galadriel began, her voice faltering slightly as the heavy weight of the child's thoughts and memories were slowly lifted from her thoughts and their imprints left in their wake. "She has suffered more than we know."
""Would you care to elaborate a bit?', Elrond muttered sullenly as he tried to shake the nerve-wrenching feeling out of his gut that had been placed there by Kaina's cry.
"A kinslaying.', Galadriel shuddered, remembering the terrible visions that had been unknowingly broadcasted by Kaina as the barrier separating their minds had been removed. "I saw many things I did not understand. There were men in white armor whose eyes could not be seen through the black holes in their masks... they were shooting fire from their hands, killing those who moved into their path. Strange creatures who had good auras surrounding them were killed without mercy, especially if they were wearing cloaks that looked like this. Even the young ones died at this armies' hands..."
"And Kaina?', Lassiel voiced everyone's thoughts softly as unshed tears shimmered in her compassionate grey eyes.
"She died at the hands of a malevolence I do not yet understand. A flaming sword pierced her abdomen... which is shown by the holes in her garments."
"Died?! Is that why she seems to sense fëar as Glorfindel does?', Thranduil mused, rubbing the child's back in a soothing motion, almost forgetting that it was Kaina and not Legolas.
"No, I do not believe that to be true. I saw that Kaina had many abilities such as that before she came; it appears that she holds a power that we have not yet seen in this world.', Galadriel said mysteriously, resting a fair hand beneath the elven-wrought circlet that was placed neatly on her head.
"Is she a new theme in Eru's music?', Glorfindel asked curiously, eyeing the elfling who was slowly starting to awaken. Thranduil glared at Elrond's seneschal, muttering about how that had been his idea in the first place.
"No, she is elven. But I do not know how to describe this strange 'awareness' as you explained it...', Galadriel frowned.
"Could you try?', Elrond inquired cheekily, his spirits raising somewhat as he watched the sweet elfling curl into the Elvenking's shoulder. His mother-in-law gave a sigh of one in long-suffering before she attempted to tell them of Kaina's abilities.
"She is elven, this is true, but she seems to sense the music of Illuvatar in a way I find indescribable. She allows it to guide her, to predict things before they happen, and to enhance her agility."
"These cloaks." Elladan bit his lip with thoughtfulness. "They are too big for Kaina's small frame."
The elves in the room took careful note of Elladan's words, thinking over their truthfulness.
"She was of mankind.', Galadriel smiled knowingly. "Which is why the coloring of her eyes and hair are such a rarity among the Eldar."
"She was mortal.', Thranduil whispered. "But how? How is she here now... as an elf?"
"The world she lived in is disconnected from us physically, even spiritually. The only thing, perhaps, that we have in common is the Creator of our worlds. I cannot say she is here by the will of the Valar, for I believe there is something larger than they at work in this matter. I saw energy... a force that binds the souls in her time together... perhaps one that binds us together. This force is what has granted her immortality. She was perhaps a decade old in the eye of a human, and it seems her body has shrunk due to obvious matters. Does that satisfy you curiosity, Elladan?', Galadriel added with a small smirk.