Tauriel and Rhavaniel walked back to the Citadel. Tauriel had taken responsibility for the girl for another day, and was trying not to regret the decision.
Rhavaniel's wounds from her adventure had healed quickly thanks to the miruvor Tauriel had given her once the Dwarves handed her over. Tauriel almost regretted that decision. Perhaps seeing how battered, bloodied and poisoned the girl had been would have made her family realize the seriousness of what she had been through.
Rhavaniel wore embroidered suede shoes and a very pretty yellow and gray hand-me-down dress that was a bit big but lovely on her. She had not had time to braid and pin her hair, but it was brushed out in beautiful, glossy black rings.
"Melima dresses her granddaughters very well. Their seconds are the best. I hope I can keep this one." Rhavaniel told Tauriel, wishing Kili could see her in this.
It brought the first slight smile Tauriel had seen from the girl. 'From the young woman.' Tauriel corrected herself. She noted that Rhavaniel was indeed changing from an unusual looking child into an exotically beautiful woman. Prince Kili would have been the perfect height to look into those large, emerald eyes fringed by impossibly long , thick black lashes.
A glance beyond the surface, though, and the girl seemed to be made of secrets. Tauriel wondered if perhaps Rhavaniel wandered so much because she was looking for answers.
"You know that you appear to be an Eastern Elf, a Tatyar. Have you studied them at all?" Tauriel asked.
"Tatyar, Avari, does not matter since I know nothing about the first and very little about the second." Rhavaniel replied.
"I was old enough to have been a part of King Thranduil's search party nearly four hundred years ago, when word arrived of the attack on the last Tatyar Queen and her people, just East of Misty Mountains." Tauriel confided. "We were too late to help them. They had been slaughtered days before we arrived. All that was left for us to do was bury them with some dignity."
"I have heard the tale in school." Rhavaniel said thoughtfully, "They spoke of Queen Amenolyë. Her husband went mad, and when she tried to flee with her people, he tracked them down and killed them all."
Tauriel nodded sadly. "There had been hope that some Tatyar Elves had survived. I know I hoped. Our King Thranduil sent messengers to all corners of his Kingdom, and even beyond. No word of survivors ever reached him. Either none had survived, or they had hidden themselves away so far from the Witch-King's grasp, they had remained unseen in the last four hundred years. But then I see you, and I know that some survived, somehow."
"They did not survive, not if I am the last one." Rhavaniel pointed out, "I don't know their language, their songs, or even my own true family name. They hid themselves too well, and nothing was saved for all that effort."
"I don't think it is that hopeless." Tauriel countered, but she wondered if she was wrong. Many said that Greenwood began the slow, inexorable change to Mirkwood that dreadful day. The horrible events transpired outside their borders, but it was as if evil had taken a great victory, which spread to all corners of Middle-Earth. The love between Queen Amenolyë and her husband had saved the King from the corrupting influence of Sauron for many years. But the power of Sauron could not be denied forever.
(*****)
Tauriel returned to the War Room and was soon joined by Valdarion and Legolas. They had changed into clothes more appropriate for greeting visiting dignitaries, for the impending arrival of the Avari chieftains.
Tauriel had a question for them. "Does anyone recall the Avari coming to the Council with concerns, or resources for a quest, forty-eight years ago?"
Valdarion pondered the question, "We did have Avari elders of all the villages come together to say they were concerned - they reported ominous signs. It was about that time. Many have complained since, but individually, and typically in the context of negotiating smaller tributes. Never since have they come in unanimity. Why do you ask?"
"Rhavaniel's guardians allowed me to read a letter, in hopes that it had a clue to where she came from. Her parents went on a quest to investigate the Darkening when she was a babe and never returned."
Valdarion had ledgers with him, in anticipation of the Avari discussions later that day. He leafed through them.
"Cáno Revion came that year, with his wife, Yannah, and their eldest son, Rhovanion. The younger was marked as married, but his wife was not with him. A newborn could excuse her absence. The link is tenuous, but the best place to start. That village is Rúmenya Halya. I know Revion still lives. He comes to each winter council. They pay their tax and make no complaints. He will be here soon, with the rest of the Cáno. I shall have an aide check the records, but I think Revion's oldest son has not come since then."
Tauriel was grateful for this clue. "Thank you - it would be good for the girl to know where she came from."
Valdarion had food brought in. Tauriel prepared a plate and went to check on Rhavaniel, whom she had left by the carillon. Music would be played for the guests, and Rhavaniel would no doubt enjoy watching gifted musicians perform. That should keep the curious girl occupied and out of trouble for a while.
Rhavaniel thanked Tauriel profusely for the food that she brought. She was surprisingly hungry.
"Are there no fried foods on the menu for greeting the Avari?" Rhavaniel asked.
Tauriel laughed. "I think not. Is that what we should be serving?"
"No." Rhavaniel assured her. "I was merely curious. I have been meaning to try other styles of cooking."
Tauriel was pleased to share her good news with Rhavaniel, "I may have a clue to your blood family. And I will be able to find out more today, when the Avari chieftains arrive. I am allowed to question them about you."
"I do not mean to be disrespectful of your efforts." Rhavaniel said politely , "But my first family will not suddenly want me just because I know who they are. They have always known who I am and have not claimed me."
Tauriel had not thought of that, not at all. Why did she assume that knowledge of the past would help Rhavaniel with her present, or her future? The information may satisfy Valdarion's curiosity, but Rhavaniel might pay a hefty price in fresh disappointment and rejection.
'Melima was right.' Tauriel thought, 'I should not be giving parenting advice any time soon.'