Lord Elrond came riding up to the gate at dawn and the whole house was bustling with news, gossip and glad tidings that their master had returned. Adessa was woken by the clamor from the lower floors and after a moment Legolas slipped into her room. "He is back and wants to see you." He said softly. "He's giving you a private audience so wear your best."
"Good morning..." She muttered, clutching to the soft pillow beneath her head and wanting to bury her face into it.
Adessa blinked sleep from her eyes and pushed herself up from the plush pillows that had greeted her with sleep. Her bed was amazingly soft and comfortable and she found it harder to get out of bed here than she had at the inns she and Legolas had stayed in when the hour had grown too late and they were forced to stay at an inn, their beds were nothing like this one. She pushed back the covers to reveal a plain cotton nightgown and went to her bag to pull out the same attire she had woken up in when she first came to Middle Earth.
Taking these into her simple bathroom, Adessa pulled on her form fitting white pants and then pulled her dress with the long slits up the sides, over her head until she could arrange them properly. Her white corset that she laced around her waist with light blue and silver embroidery worked in various floral and vine designs. The sleeves of her dress she laced carefully at her biceps and let the rest of the ribbons flowing down her arms with the sleeves. Adessa pulled on her gray boots and laced them up to her mid-shin before running a brush through her tangled mess of hair and placing the diadem in the middle of her forehead. Once she was satisfied that she looked presentable, she fluttered her wings a bit, folded them behind her and stepped out of the bathroom and folding the nightgown to return it to the bed.
"I'm just about ready." She announced and passed by Legolas to get to the wardrobe and dug around for a light gray cloak. "There's just a bit of a chill in the air this morning... Did you rest well Legolas?"
He didn't answer immediately and she noticed that his gaze seemed fixated on her but he snapped out of it and nodded. "I did, it is always restful in the Valley."
She couldn't have said why but she had the feeling he wasn't being entirely truthful but he didn't seem to want her to pry. He offered his arm so he could escort her to her audience with Lord Elrond. Quickly wrapping the cloak around her shoulders after folding her wings close to her body, Adessa took a deep breath to calm her growing nerves and gently rested her hand over Legolas's, allowing him to lead the way. She couldn't help but look around at the hanging tapestries and the light of the morning sun dancing in through the windows and between the open aired hallways. Thoughts of what Lord Elrond might be like started to run through her head and as they drew closer to his private audience chambers, Adessa's legs began to feel like jelly and she took a final breath as they approached the chamber doors.
'Relax Adessa and remain calm, this could be the moment that you get your memories back.' Adessa thought to herself before chancing a glance at Legolas and then her fears were quieted. "This is it."
An attendant opened the door and escorted them into Elrond's private study where a table with a simple breakfast of fruit, bread and cheeses laid out. Elrond stood and smiled gently at her. He was a tall man with broad shoulders and dark hair. His features were perhaps a little less refined than some of the other elves she'd seen but he was still handsome and his bearing was as regal as any elf she'd met. "Ah, you must be Lady Adessa. Welcome, please join me for a meal."
"Thank you for having us, my Lord Elrond, we graciously accept your invitation." Adessa replied with a smile, startling herself as to how calm she had become. "I am and I must say that your city is by far the most beautiful I have ever seen."
She gave Lord Elrond a respectful curtsy and she and Legolas were seated at the long table. Upon given permission to begin, Adessa began to serve herself some fruit and ate slowly, savoring the fresh flavors of the fruit. She knew that at the present time she should wait before asking the questions that she really wanted to know the answers too, so she proceeded to compliment Lord Elrond on his gardens and his generosity for their chambers and his overall hospitality.
He gave her time to eat then spoke softly. "When Legolas informed me that he had brought a guest with him I was naturally curious. Especially when I was informed by the servants that she was not an elf, nor was she human. So tell me, what are you?"
Adessa was slightly surprised that the other Rivendell Elves had figured out that she wasn't of their race, but then again she couldn't have been too surprised because they were very observant and her lack of composure upon their arrival surely didn't help her at all. Taking a sip of her water, she set it down and glanced at Legolas before giving him a small smile and then turned her attention to Lord Elrond. "That is the problem I face my Lord Elrond, I don't know what I am." Adessa started a small frown touching her lips. "I can't recall anything about myself, where I came from or even what my memories may contain. This is why Legolas brought me to Rivendell, it was... is my hope that you might know how I can get my memories back. It was also my hope that you or someone else would know what I was."
Adessa saw no point in wearing her gray cloak anymore and since the sun was starting to shine brightly through the large open windows she stood and untied it and draped it over the back of her chair. Giving her wings a quick shuffle to unfurl them from her back, the light caught them just so and illuminated their deep blue and silver color. She remained standing, not quite sure how she was going to return to her chair without littering the it with the dust from her wings. "Please tell me you may have at least an idea of what I could be."
Legolas stood and arranged the cloak over her chair to keep her wing dust from coating the fine velvet. He held the chair out so she could sit again. Elrond was fingering a medallion on a chain around his neck considering her. "I have read in accounts of the First Age that there were many races of beings that no longer walk among us. It is said that there were a race of beings that tended the Trees of Valinor before Ungoliant destroyed them and their tenders. A race that was blessed by the light of the Trees to fly on wings of light made flesh."
"Thank you Legolas..." Adessa said carefully sitting again and this time sitting on the edge of her chair so her wings could move on their own. "Do you know what my kin were called? And how I might acquire my memories again?" Now she was getting somewhere, but now she had more questions to ask and not enough answers. Perhaps there were books in his library that might contain the information she required. Adessa sighed and picked at the grapes on her plate before eating them. "Where is Valinor and do the Ungoliants exist now?"
Elrond looked a little surprised and leaned back in his chair. "This might be a longer meeting than I initially thought. Ungoliant was an evil spirit in the form of a giant spider who devoured herself in the First Age. None know where Valinor once was, if you wish to know more of the history of Middle Earth I will show you to my private library so you may learn of it. As to what your kind were called I believe the old tongue named them Faery."
"Faery..." Adessa repeated, trying to place the name with the information she'd just learned. "A journey to find Valinor would be a trip to remember, but there would be no telling where to start looking and there wouldn't be time for that." She shook her head and let out a breath before taking another sip of her cool water.
"Where to begin to understand the my Faery kin and what their abilities may have been... I think I would spend a lifetime in your library trying to learn everything I could about Middle Earth and the history of this world. Is there anything else you can tell me?"
Elrond shook his head. "I can tell you no more than what little I have, however were you to travel to Lothlorien you could ask Celeborn as he is older still than I. He is one of the few who remain from the beginning of the Second Age and he might yet remember the Faery race."
"Thank you my Lord Elrond." Adessa said softly, giving him a happy smile. "You've been so helpful and I'm grateful, I apologize for taking up your time. I just have one last thing to ask of you... How would I go about retrieving my memories? On our travels to Rivendell, Legolas suggested thinking of a person's face and it worked up until a point but then everything returned to a fuzzy mess again."
"I will have to consider that problem at some length. I have never encountered someone who has lost all memory of themselves. I invite you to stay as my guest for as long as you need." He gave her a gentle smile.
His expression and eyes were gentle and sincere, she could see why he was a great leader. Regal and wise was this Elf sitting before her, that she could see why he would be respected throughout his race. "Thank you for your time my Lord, I think I'll try some meditation and see if I can clear up some of the haziness." Adessa said, finishing her food and water. "This valley is so peaceful and beautiful that there are some spots here that will be perfect for meditation... I wonder if there are crystals here just like in the cave I woke up in."
She was quite taken with this idea and figured that once she finished wandering through the gardens and library she would try to find them. There would probably be a map in the library that she could look at and hopefully be able to sense them. "Please don't blame me if I decide to never leave your beautiful city."
He chuckled and stood holding a hand out to her to help her up from her seat. "We shall see." He looked at Legolas. "Please stay here for a moment, I have a few things I'd like to speak with you about."
When he escorted her out he gave instructions to an attendant to escort her to the library and help her find any subject she was interested in.
Adessa thanked Lord Elrond again as her attendant lead her away to the library. As they walked through the halls quite a few Elves turned from their tasks to watch them pass before whispering to their partners. She tried not to be bothered while they walked but the shuffling of her wings gave away her slight annoyance, but what could she really do?
"It must be because there haven't been Faeries around for a long time." Adessa said with a sigh. "I wonder if there could be anymore of us in Middle Earth."
"I must apologize my Lady, but you are right. There are very few Elves old enough to remember the Faeries so this is a rare encounter for us all." Her attendant said softly.
"Then I won't feel too strange about this, but it will be strange nonetheless."
When the attendant opened the door to the library, Adessa was instantly transported to a new world. Everywhere she looked there were books, scrolls and pamphlets on rolls upon rolls of shelves, every bit of knowledge was clean and dust free and completely unoccupied by any other being. Running her fingers over the spines of the books, she couldn't begin to know where to start. Pulling a thin brown leather bound book from the shelf to her right, Adessa slowly and carefully flipped through the pages, soaking up the information like a sponge and committing it her memory... her new memory. She let her attendant move about freely and kept herself busy by pulling several books from the shelves and finding a large map of the far wall of the library.
"This making more sense now, there's so many books and scrolls to read and I'll have plenty of time." She said with a smile and then a sudden thought came to her and she looked around to find the library quiet still. "I wonder what Legolas and Lord Elrond are talking about, I hope everything is okay." Returning to the map, Adessa used her finger to tap the map and found a few caves that might be promising.
She heard a soft gasp from behind her and turned to see a beautiful elven woman who looked young for her race. Her hair was so black it had blue highlights in the weak sunlight streaming in through the window. Her skin was white as a lily and her blue eyes seemed almost unreal. She was ethereal in her beauty and the delight and surprise on her young face made her all the prettier. "Are those real?" She asked her voice sounding like a babbling brook on the hottest summer day.
"Hm?" Adessa made a noise and turned slightly away from the maps and the scroll in her hands to see the woman eying her wings. "Yes they are..." She gave them enough of a flutter to kick up a little wind and blow the breeze over the books and papers on the table behind her. With a small smile she nodded and then turned completely to the woman.
"I'm Adessa, what are you called?"
"My name is Arwen." The elven woman replied and approached with wonder on her face. "They look so delicate. I've never seen anyone with wings like a Moon Moths before… and such a lovely color."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, my Lady." Adessa replied, a small smile on her lips. "And thank you, as far as I know I am the only Faery left and I'm trying to find out more about my kin and Valinor. But at the moment I'm trying to locate some crystals, much like the ones I had in my cave."
She turned back to the map for a moment before taking a few of the books she didn't need anymore and fluttering up and replacing the books again. The last thing she wanted to do was leave the library a mess and sometimes she ended up hovering in place while flipping through a few pages, but they did give her an advantage... she didn't need a ladder or a step stool to get to the books and scrolls at the top shelves.
"The glowing crystals of my sanctuary were massive and beautiful. There was a soft radiance to them that was soothing and peaceful, I'm hoping to find some here."
Arwen shook her head. "We have no such crystals here in Rivendell. If you wish to know of Valinor you should read the Treatise on the First Age by Alenvial the Elder. Its that blue one on the very top, so far as I know there is no book in the Library about the Faery Race, we thought it was no more than a legend so old as to be forgotten in all but dream."
"Some Legends are woven with facts." Adessa said softly, a smile touching her lips when she spotted the book Arwen was talking about. "Ah there it is."
Her shoulders twitched again and her wings seemed to vanish as she beat them so fast that she took off and had to briefly run her fingers over the spines until she found the book again. Everything seemed to shift slightly when she was in the air as opposed to when she was on the ground so she wasn't surprised when it took her a pretty minute to find the book. Pulling it gently from the shelf, Adessa ran her fingers over the silver lettering inscribed on the cover and smiled. Alighting to the polished marble floor, she smiled and then looked out the window to see the sun was already up to noonday and the warm breeze wafted through the transparent curtains and brought with it the scent of flowers.
"This day will be too pretty to stay indoors..." She started, giving Arwen a smile. "I think I'll enjoy it more outside in the gardens, I've wanted to see them since I got here yesterday... my Lady."
"Oh you can just call me Arwen. I'll show you to my favorite of the gardens if you like." She smiled and for just a second Adessa saw the face of another dark haired woman superimposed over Arwens face with an infectious grin but it passed before Adessa could garner more details.
"That would be perfect." Adessa said with another smile. "I will have to tour the rest after reading this book, I hope it will have everything that I need to know, including any special abilities my kinsmen might have had. I can say that its interesting that the Faery seem to be not only rejuvenated by the moon but also seem to draw on it for power too."
She allowed Lady Arwen to lead her through the hallways and out onto the grounds, the sweet air bringing to them a mixture of floral scents that were pleasing to their noses. The sunlight felt warm on Adessa's skin and she couldn't help but smile, her wings fanning open and closed to the point that they lifted her into the air and steadied her over the flower bushes. "I could stay here forever." She breathed, hazel eyes sparkling in the light. "This place is perfect and peaceful, I don't think I could ever leave."
Arwen smiled and plucked a snow lily. "It is a lovely place but there is so much of the world to see that is just as wonderful. Lothlorien is a wonder and Father once took me as a very young girl to Mirkwood. And I've read of the many wonders of the dwarven strongholds." She sighed and tucked the flower into her hair where it shone like mother of pearl against her black hair.
Adessa smiled at how the flower enhanced Arwen's natural beauty and then she suddenly got an idea. Taking a handful of the beautiful flowers from a cluster at her feet, Adessa started to weave them together in an intricate fashion and then tied off the ends and hid them beneath the soft, white petals. Making one for herself, she placed it on her head and then, beating her wings, Adessa hovered over Arwen and placed the floral wreath on her own head gently.
"Perfect." She said with a grin. "You look even more pretty now."
Fluttering back down to the ground again, she clapped her hands together with glee and clutched her book under her arm. Arwen laughed and continued her tour of her favorite gardens.