Nearly a half day more travel brought them to the edges of Lothlorien and Adessa was in awe of the tall pale trees that rode from the earth like beams of soft light. The leaves on these trees were still lush and full as if it were only just beginning summer in the Wood and birdsong filled the air. Legolas and Gandalf dismounted and Artemis followed suit as they entered the edge of the forest and a sense of calm wafted over them. Artemis seemed vaguely annoyed with it but she didn't say much of anything as she tried to see in all directions at once. They had only taken a handful of steps into the Wood when the first patrol of elves seemed to simply appear before them. Their pale coloring and pale eyes reminded Adessa of Legolas but where he was a candle they were moonlight. "Why have you come to the Wood?" One of them asked.
"We were invited." Gandalf replied calmly. "And I may come and go in the Ladies Wood at my leisure. You know this Haldir."
Haldir seemed irritated at the Wizard casual manner. "You, but not these others. Who have you brought with you?"
Gandalf looked at Artemis and then to Legolas, Artemis shrugged but Legolas stepped forward and spoke soothly in High Elven. "We bring the Lady Adessa to the Lady Galadriel as invited. I am her Bonded mate and the human woman her companion." He made companion sound like servant and Adessa was glad Artemis didn't speak Elven.
Haldir looked them over before bowing stiffly and motioning for them to follow him. After a walk that could have taken minutes or hours, it was hard to tell in the Wood, they entered the sweeping spires of what could only be called a city. The buildings were built around and as part of the giant pale trees. Adessa had slowly dismounted when they arrived at Lothlorien and couldn't stop looking around at everything. It reminded her a lot of Rivendell, it's beauty and elegance was present in every structure and statue she saw. She looked to each of the Elves and noted their ageless features. Haldir couldn't be excluded at all, his broad, armor clad shoulders were squared and his posture erect and straight. Portions of his blondish almost white hair fell over his shoulders and framed his face perfectly.
"Thank you, my Lord." Adessa said politely and gently shifted her knapsack over her shoulders.
Other Elves came forward and took their horses away, taking them to their stable and tending to them in their new stalls. Their saddle bags and other items would be brought to the guest houses where they would be brought by later. As they walked Adessa still couldn't keep her eyes focused on where they were going, her eyes and head wouldn't let her. She gazed at tapestries, statues, water fountains, and the other Elven houses and structures they passed.
"This is truly a marvelous city... much like Rivendell." She said quietly, smiling and touching Legolas's arm gently.
Legolas twined her arm through his and smiled at her. "Someday I hope to take you to Mirkwood so you may see the halls where I played as a child long and long ago."
Gandalf opened his mouth to speak but was cut off when an attendant announced the Lady Galadriel. Adessa was stunned by the Elf who walked sedately down the pale stairs towards them. She was tall, even for her race and so beautiful that she made every elf around her, male and female seem homely; her hair was like spun gold, her skin the paleness of new snow and her eyes a heartstopping blue. She wore a flowing white gown and seemed to float down the stairs until she came to a stop in front of them. "Be welcome in Lothlorien and know that no evil may come here save what you bring with you." She turned and smiled at Gandalf.
"Mithrandir," She paused and seemed to remember something. "Gandalf, my friend, it i good to see you again so soon. I recognize Legolas, son of Thranduil but who are these other two you bring?"
Legolas stepped forward and bowed before drawing Adessa forward. "This is Adessa, my Bonded mate. She has come at your invitation."
"The pleasure it mine, Lady Galadriel." Adessa said softly, averting her eyes and giving the elegant Lady of light a deep curtsy, her hand over her heart. "Thank you for your warm greetings, Lothlorien is truly a special place to behold."
Adessa felt strangely humbled by this She-Elf. No feelings of ill came from her and when she spoke her voice rang with a pleasant tone that filled her with ease and safety. She was beautiful, a picture of regality and strong of will that would make any wish to please her if only to see her smile.
"This is my friend Artemis." She added, sweeping her hand out to introduce her friend with a smile. "We caught up with each other on our travels to Lothlorien and they came back with us."
Galadriel gave Adessa a gentle smile and looked at Artemis who stood straight and proud, chin up looking around her at her surroundings as if she wound up in places like this everyday. She flashed Galadriel a smile that had Gandalf and Legolas opening their mouths to warn her to be polite but Galadriel held up a hand. "Artemis… a name I have never heard and yet feel I should know. What are you? Gandalf is a Wizard, Legolas an elf, Adessa a Faery but you… you look like a human woman but there is much more to you."
Artemis shrugged diffidently and smiled again. "I am me. As I have always been and by the grace of my various gods will always be."
Galadriel laughed and the sound swept the courtyard like a spring breeze after a long hard winter. "You know yourself; so very few do. Be welcome in the Wood and in my home Adessa and Artemis."
She motioned for them to follow her up a set of stairs that wound around a enormous pale tree to a building set within the branches. No nail pierced wood nor rope wrapped around the shimmering bark but the building sat steady and solid. It was a round building and the room they were led into was cozy with ornate chairs of some darker wood cushioned in greens and blues set around a brasier, bookshelves lined the walls and tall windows let in the light. Adessa had to instantly resist the urge to start plucking books from the bookshelves and smiled at the furnishings. She shrugged off her cloak and folded it neatly over in her arms, her wings fluttering freely to open and close behind her as if they had been folding for weeks than merely just hours. Their colors danced in the light behind her, causing the floor to sparkle and glimmer.
"You have quite an impressive collection of books my Lady." She started, arms folded over her chest with her cloak resting over her arms. "I might even be as bold to say more impressive than Lord Elrond's library."
The view of their new atmosphere from the windows as she started to pass by them made her stop and turn her full attention to the light. Her eyes sparkled in the light and her smile grew wider, totally speechless and in awe. Adessa's wings fluttered with more excitement than she had allowed them when they first entered the city in hopes to keep prying eyes from staring and talk quieter than their arrival in Rivendell had been.
"Absolutely magnificent." She breathed, enjoying the warm weather and fresh breeze as it blew in through the open window and made the curtains dance.
Galadriel smiled. "Perhaps when we have spoken you may spend some time perusing the selection but for now please come sit, there is much to discuss."
Artemis had already taken a seat and Gandalf had found one by the fire and was lighting a pipe. Legolas waited for Adessa to choose a seat before he sat. Coming away from the window, Adessa sat down in a chair with blue cushions and crossed her right ankle over her left before arranging her skirts comfortably and folded her hands in her lap.
"Of course you are right my Lady." Adessa said with another smile. "I tend to forget why I am where I am when I find things that interest me. But there is the reason behind your invitation that has me wondering as to why you sent for us. It is my hopes that you have a solution to my problem or at least an idea of how I may find what I am missing."
Galadriel pondered her for a moment before speaking. "I invited you because I had a vision. I saw you flying in the moonlight and knew something ancient had come again. I do not know what you are missing or even if I am able to help you find what you seek, I simply knew you had to be here in Lothlorien. Tell me your story and I may be able to aid you."
Adessa took a deep breath and pulled her thoughts in order before opening her eyes again and regaling with some effort and about how she woke up on soft moss, surrounded by crystals that shone brightly with their own light and how she found a few necessities already waiting for her as if they had been provided for her by something or someone she never met when she woke up. She recounted that try as she might, she couldn't remember a thing about herself, where she had come from or where she even was, let alone her own name. All of that was a mystery to her and she questioned many things, even when she met Legolas. A good bit of time passed before Adessa stopped her story and looked to each face and then to Galadriel for answers.
"Artemis has even tried to provide answers to my questions, but it has given little insight and has brought about even more questions." Adessa explained, letting out a sigh as her wings fluttered in irritation behind her. "I wish for things to be clearer... to make sense."
Galadriel rang a tiny bell and an attendant came in. She told him to bring food and tea and while they waited she considered what Adessa had told her. She looked at Artemis who was sitting legs crossed, one foot idly swinging back and forth while she played with something in her hands. The attendant brought in the food and a table was brought forth by another pair of attendants. Galadriel poured a cup of tea and motioned the rest of them to do the same before she turned to Artemis. "And what is your tale?"
Artemis took a sip of the hot sweet tea before starting in on her side of the story. She glossed over how she knew so much of Middle Earth and she only hit the highlights of her previous adventures in other worlds. But when she'd finished Galadriel seemed to understand her hesitance to divulge too much. "So much turmoil surrounding the pair of you."
She looked at Adessa. "I have no doubt that you are who you believe yourself to be but I also have no doubt that you were once this Tracey that Artemis remembers. As to why you cannot remember it is a puzzle, one I will need a few days to figure out. For the time being please make yourselves at home."
She rang the bell again and an Attendant came to show them to their quarters however Galadriel was so preoccupied with the puzzle of Adessa that she neglected to give instructions on where everyone was to be quartered.. Legolas and Adessa were housed in a private building much like the one Galadriel's sitting room was in but this one had all the furnishings of a small apartment. Gandalf apparently had long established quarters on the ground. "If I were meant to be so far off the ground I'd have been given wings." He had been heard grumbling when the attendant offered him better accommodations in the trees.
The elves seemed puzzled as to where to house Artemis however, Adessa and Legolas had retired to their own lofty apartment leaving Artemis in the care of the Elves of Lothlorien who all seemed to think she was some sort of servant to either Legolas or Gandalf who was also well out of sight in his own quarters. She eventually stopped trying to persuade them otherwise and just let them lead her to a small square building on the other side of the stables where their horses were kept. It was clean if rougher than the more elegant buildings used by higher class elves and it reminded her of the house she'd shared with Iolaus in Ancient Greece. Just thinking about that made her chest tight, she shook her head and walked into the small building which at least had all the amenities shed grown accustomed to. Her saddlebags were already waiting for her and she pulled out her satchel and retrieved a leather bound journal she'd started keeping and sat at the small table near the window and began to write. "Dear Iolaus…"