Dear readers,

this is chapter two of the story. I hope you enjoy it.
Please let me know what you think!

Chapter 2: strange / ettelea

Tauriel heard the person in front of her door even before they knocked. When she opened it, she looked in the surprised face of a younger elleth. "Good morning, my name is Linwen," the other one told her quietly,"the Lords Elladan and Elrohir invite you to have breakfast with them." Her hair was a medium shade of brown with some lighter strands in it, and even though the younger She-elf was pretty, she seemed to be very unsure of herself, she didn't dare to look Tauriel in the eye.
"Good morning Linwen", Tauriel answered politely,"I will join you in a minute." Quickly, she closed the door again. This was an honour she had not expected, she was only a messenger after all. Fortunately, the elleth had another tunic in her saddle bags, it was dark grey and made of finer material than the one she usually wore. Tauriel left her hair braided in her usual style and joined Linwen outside.
"If you would follow me my lady." Being addressed as a lady again made the Woodland elf feel a bit uneasy, this was foreign terrain. Galadriel or Arwen or Celebrían were ladys, powerful, elegant and full of light. She however was a soldier, experienced in combat, but only poorly in any other form of magic. Not made of light, but made of shadows, grown up in the woods in a darker growing forest. Still, she tried to concentrate on the task at hand and wandered through Rivendell on Linwen's side. It was so different from any other place she had ever been, even though it was Elvish. It was friendlier than the former Woodland Realm. It was less enchanted than Lothlórien. It was cosier than Mithlond [The Grey Havens]. Tauriel did not know what to make of that, though she also could not say what she had expected it to be. Legolas had told her about it, of course, but to see it in reality, to feel it, was something else.
Suddenly, she could hear voices and saw the silhouettes of of two elves in the upgoing sun. Both turned around when they felt the ellith [plural of elleth] approaching. They bowed, one of them made a gesture for her to join them. Linwen, on the opposite, did not dare to come nearer. She curtsied deeply and then left without a word.
"Mae govannen Tauriel", one elf said to her. Now, the female cursed the fact that they were twins, she had no idea who she was actually talking to. Her confusion must have been obvious, because both ellyn [plural for ellon, elf] started to laugh. "My name is Elladan", one introduced himself, "maybe you might be able to distinguish us by the colour of our robes." "Yes, please do so", the other one, Elrohir, added,"then we can change them tomorrow and confuse you again." The first one frowned at his younger twin while Tauriel started to snicker. "This would be a very naughty trick indeed. Is this acceptable for the princes of Imladris?", she teased. When she realized, what she had just said, she blushed. This had not been appropriate, not at all. But it had been like a reflex, the two princes she had got to know in her life had not minded. But well, one of them had been a dwarf and the other one had been her companion for centuries. Now the joke was on Elrohir. "What is it, forestmaiden is blushing?", he made fun of her, "that I would not have expected. Please, sit down and have something to eat."
She took a seat on the round table and let her eyes wander over the food. That was something else than the lembas she had eaten all the days before. When she had had her breakfast, Elladan started to speak. "No doubt our father will interview you later again, but we have some questions for you as well. Don't worry, it is just because of our curiosity. We have never been to the Woodland Realm nor talked to King Thranduil, we've only heard storys. Is he really as difficult as people are saying?" Tauriel pondered for a moment, not sure how much she should reveal. "Well, no doubt he is mighty and an excellent fighter. He is smart and selfsecure and expects full obedience and loyalty. In a way, yes, I think you could call him difficult. His son is not much like him", she added, "the king distrusts dwarfs, despite the reconciliation after the Battle of the Five Armies but he is a friend of men." This answer seemed to satisfy the elves, but there was more they wanted to know. "You are from Silvan [Wood Elf] origin, with that belonging to the Moriquendi [Elves of the Darkness; Elves who did not behold the light of the Two Trees of Valinor], aren't you?", Elrohir asked, "I don't want to insult you, but Silvan elves are said to be more dangerous but also less civilized than other Eldar. Do you think this is true?" Before the elleth could answer, a painful expression crossed Elrohir's face. Elladan must have kicked him under the table! Tauriel felt a slight pang in her chest, she had been used to been looked down on for all her life and still it hurt. Thranduil had never let her forget that even though he supported her, she was one class below. The only elf from the Woodland's Sindarin [Grey Elf; also Moriquendi but said to be more advanced] elite who had always treated her as equal was Legolas. Legolas, the prince who had loved her. Legolas, the prince she could not have loved in the way that he deserved. Haldir had been kind, yes, but despite their close relationship still slightly arrogant at times. Now she looked at Elrohir, keeping her face as blank as possible. "It is true, we are said to be that way. I have not had much contact elves other than my kin, but it is true that Grey Elves do have a different mentality. What is right is that we Wood Elves are more interested in our forest than in knowledge, if you want to call this uncivilized, then yes, that's what we are. And we fight differently. The last thing I can say is that the kingdom I am from does not have the light that Lórien or Rivendell do have. But if this is due to our kin or to the shadow which had befallen the forest, I cannot say."

When she had finished, she saw how the elves nodded slowly. Before they could say anything more, a tall dark-haired elf appeared. "My lords, your father wants to talk to our guest", he stated. When the ellyn stood up, Tauriel did so as well and followed them. After crossing a few bridges, they came to a round open space. Chairs were arranged in a circle and a kind of table, made of stone, stood in the middle. Of course the She-elf had heard of the tales, this was the place of the Council of Elrond.
This was the place were Legolas had decided to follow the Ringkeeper.
This was the place were Kili had stayed when he had still been full of hope they would take the Lonely Mountain back.