Chapter 12
She had tried hard to apologise to her brother. But due to being ignored after many attempted pleas for forgiveness, Adrianna found herself sulking down by the river of Helms Deep. The faye had her knees hugged to her chest whilst she sat beside the river, her hand gently breaking the mirrored surface glinting up at her.
The Galadhrim soldiers had left Helms Deep to return to Lothlorien a few hours ago, and the faye warriors were due to leave at any time.
The chestnut haired faye turned to look behind her at the main doors of the Deep when she heard the heavy double doors opening. At the sight of her brother saying his farewell to the King and begin to limp down the stairs. She stood up and ran to the edge of the archery range, hoping that he would at least say goodbye too her. The Prince and his warriors mounted their horses before slowly riding towards the main gates. Tobias barely gave Adrianna a glance as he rode past, but each warrior was sure to bow their heads to the Princess in farewell.
As soon as the faye warriors had left Helms Deep, Adrianna hung her head and began to slowly walk towards the stairs. At the top, she could see Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli waiting for her to join them. The faye walked halfway up the stairs before pausing to turn and watch the faye's riding across the field. With one last glance at her four friends, she turned on her heel and sprinted as fast as she could back down the stairs.
"Wait!" Adrianna called, "Tobias!" She grabbed the reins of a horse from a guard and quickly mounted the white mare, kicking the horse into a gallop. She rode out of Helms Deep and towards the retreating faye warriors. "Tobias!"
The Prince turned to look over his shoulder and halted his horse. Upon spotting his sister fast approaching, he handed the reins of his horse over to the warrior on his left and formed into his fairy size before flying to greet Adrianna. The Princess halted the white mare before forming into her fairy self and zipping through the air to embrace her brother in a goodbye hug. "I'm sorry for everything I said!" She cried into his shoulder.
Tobias nodded and patted her on the head, "Me too, Addie." He replied, pulling away. He reached for the sword at his side before unclasping it from his belt and handing it over too her, "I think you should have this back."
Adrianna wiped tears from her eyes, "But you were right," She stated. "It's yours."
Tobias nodded, "I know." He replied. "I'm going to let you borrow it until you come home." He chuckled, "Imagine what father would think if I came home with it!"
The chestnut haired faye laughed aswell, "I believe there would be some explaining to do."
They remained in silence for a while before the Prince hugged his sister one more time, "Be careful, Addie." He stated. "I'm sure the Fellowship will protect you if you're in danger."
The Princess placed both hands on her hips indignantly, "It's me who does the protecting, Tobias!" She rolled her eyes as if it was the most obvious explanation in the world. Her features softened, "But I promise to be careful...and I'm sorry, again, for injuring your foot."
Legolas watched the faye's carefully, wondering if the Princess had decided to go back to The Glade of Tarasara after all. He hoped she hadn't - especially as she hadn't said goodbye. Upon noticing the royal siblings part from each other and seeing Adrianna form into her elleth-like form to mount the white mare and return to Helms Deep, he was more than relieved. The elf began walking down the stairs to meet the chestnut haired faye at the gates, and as soon as she rode back into Helms Deep he took the reins from the white mare and ran a soothing, calming hand along the grey muzzle before helping Adrianna down from the saddle.
"Thank you." She stated as soon as her feet touched the ground.
He smiled kindly, "Are you alright?" He asked.
Adrianna nodded and wiped away the last of her tears, "Yes." She replied, looking up at him. "Thank you, but I've already said you don't need to be concerned."
His eyes shone, "I know." Legolas replied. He offered her his arm and she took it graciously before allowing him to lead her back up the stairs; handing over the reins of the white mare to an awaiting guard as they past the stables.
As they entered the Hall, Gandalf was informing Theoden that the road they should take next would be to Isenguard and then Edoras to meet with the women and children. The Fellowship, The King and the Riders of Rohan saddled the horses before taking off across the fields.
Adrianna had taken her usual spot upon Gandalf's shoulder, and was quietly listening to the soothing sound of the wizard humming. "You seem to be a lot closer to a certain elf, Adrianna." The wizard began, speaking in a very hushed tone.
The faye was broken out of her thoughts, "What?" She asked, blushing lightly.
Gandalf chuckled, "I was talking about Legolas."
She blushed a deeper shade of pink, "What about him?" She asked.
The wizard mumbled in mock ponder, "You seem to be closer to him than I recall." He stated, peering at her from upon his shoulder. "Is there anything you would wish to share with me?"
She held her tongue, and each passing moment made her face heat more and more. "I don't wish to talk about anything, Gandalf." She replied, thrusting her chin into the air. The wizard raised an eyebrow at her, "Maybe there could be something." She replied, hiding her flamed face behind a curtain of chestnut hair. "I'm not sure, it might be the stories my mother used to tell me when I was younger. You know the ones where a Prince would come along and whisk the Princess off her feet and then they would fall in love and get married."
"They're not all stories." Gandalf replied, "You never know, Adrianna. I have a feeling something good has come from the Fellowship, he seems to care for you a lot."
The faye looked over her shoulder at the Mirkwood Prince riding upon a white gelding with Gimli a few soldiers away from them. She shook her head, "He's an elf, Gandalf." She replied, "They're always concerned about the well-being of others. It's in their nature."
It wasn't much longer until the sky grew dark and the travellers had stopped to rest. The King ordered two of his soldiers to keep watch for the night, and as Adrianna lay down between Aragorn and Legolas, she found that she couldn't sleep. Thoughts of what Gandalf had said ran through her mind, and she tossed and turned before finally sitting up and sighing. The chestnut haired faye formed into her fairy size and flew towards a rock so that she could perch on it.
She hadn't slept well for days, and the same went for eating.
Adrianna sighed and rested her chin in her hands as she looked up at the stars. "What ails you, Princess?" The faye turned her head to spot Gimli sitting by the camp-fire not too far from where she was sitting herself. "Hungry?" He asked, holding a chunk of meat out towards her.
The chestnut haired faye flew towards her dwarf friend before forming into her elleth size and taking a seat beside him on the log. "I don't know." She replied, "I can't sleep. There's many thoughts in my mind."
"Well," Gimli began, taking a huge bite of meat. "I can't guarantee I'll listen to your troubles, but I heard the elf say that it helps one if they talk about them."
Adrianna nodded in understanding. But the relationship between the elf and the dwarf was a constant war of one getting a point against the other. The faye was worried that Gimli would tease the elf if she repeated what Gandalf had told her. "Thank you for the offer, Gimli." She began, clasping her hands together in thought, "But I wouldn't want to concern you with my nonsense."
The dwarf shrugged, "Suit yourself then, Princess." He stated, holding out some more food, "Apple?"
The faye did take the apple from the dwarf, and as soon as the juice filled her mouth, she realised just how hungry she was. The ruby red sphere was devoured quickly, and Adrianna tossed the small core into the fire once she was done. "Perhaps now I may be able to sleep." She thought aloud.
"O', yes!" Gimli exclaimed, "A little snack always does the trick for me!"
"Goodnight, Gimli." Adrianna stated, getting to her feet and turning towards her bedroll. As soon as she covered herself with the blanket, the Princess closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
A/N: Apologies for the short chapter, but I promise the next one will hold the contents of a blushing faye! Please review :) xx