Chapter 46 The Fish Merchant
Legolas wondered for the third time that day why he needed to be the one to get fish from the merchant by the sea. He had not been on Valinor for a day and he was already being sent on an errand by Mirthandir!
While he had been happy to see his old friend, he was tired and sore and wished to rest after his sea voyage.
Mirthandir would not take no for an answer. There was to be a feast now that he and Gimli had arrived. There were preparations to be made and everyone needed to do their part! Tasks needed to be completed in haste!
Legolas had barely said hello to Frodo and Samwise before he had been rushed into the seat of a wooden cart pulled by a horse. Frodo said the cart looked suspiciously similar to one Gandalf used long ago in the Shire to bring fireworks.
It had made the Mirkwood Elf's heart glad to see two of the Hobbits alive and well.
He was amazed to learn that time passed differently on Valinor. For every one year that passed here, ten passed on Middle Earth. While it had been one hundred and twenty years for him since the end of the War of the Ring, only twelve years had passed on Valinor.
Frodo had traveled to Valinor only four years after the war, while Sam did not travel until over fifty years later. Frodo had barely aged at all on Valinor, while in contrast Sam, having traveled much later, was toward the end of his life. The difference in their ages and appearances did not seem to bother SamWise at all. He was just happy to be with Frodo.
There would be much to see here in Valinor once Legolas and Gimli settled in. There were many new places to explore, old friends to pass the time with and new ones to meet. Part of him felt invigorated at the idea of new adventures. His heart felt lighter than it had in many years.
While he went on this errand, Gimli was to be reunited with Lady Galadriel. Legolas was happy for his friend. The old Dwarf could hardly contain himself when he found out he was to see the Lady of Light again and so soon after their arrival.
On their voyage across the sea, Gimli admitted to clinging to the hope of seeing Lady Galadriel in Valinor. Legolas knew it was why he agreed to the perilous journey. At first, the aging dwarf did not want to sail. But when Legolas told him he had permission to enter Valinor from the Lady herself, he quickly agreed to go. Years had faded from his friend overnight as he helped Legolas build their ship over the next months. Gimli still kept the three golden hairs Lady Galadriel had gifted him in Lorien in a locket he wore over his heart.
The bay horse knew the way along the worn dirt road as he trotted in the direction of the ocean. It was obvious that the animal took this path often as Legolas did not even need to guide him.
The scenery was wooded with ancient trees much older than any from Middle Earth. There were meadows plentiful with deer and other game. Tall rocky mountains reached for the sky in the west. The ocean sat to the east.
Soon a wooden cottage with a thatched roof came into view and he brought his mind to the present. The wooden barrels clanked together in the cart behind him. A reminder that he, a great hero from the war, was on an errand for fish, of all things.
The cottage reminded him of a more well-built version of the homes in Edoras but with Elven craftsmanship. This cottage had scrollwork carved into the wood of horses, gulls and waves. It was a decent size and was built on stilts, some distance from the ocean, over grass and boulders. Whomever lived here wanted to be careful if the ocean decided to come knocking on their door. Nets made of fine elven rope hung drying on wooden pegs on the stilts. Wooden stairs with an intricate railing wound their way up to the door of the home.
There was a fenced garden with many vegetables growing and several horses grazed in a field not far from the home.
It looked to be a peaceful place.
A female within the home grabbed a clay pitcher full of water and was about to water seedlings growing in pots in the window, when she heard a light footfall coming up the stairs. She shook her head with a smile and her hair spilled over her shoulder.
"Is that you, Thunin?"
The door opened and when she turned it was not Thunin who stared back at her.
The clay pitcher slipped from her hands, fell to the ground and shattered. She did not notice the water that splashed her legs and feet and spread across the wooden planked floor.
Standing in the doorway was Legolas Greenleaf.
Legolas exhaled loudly and grasped the door frame for support.
"How can this be?" He shook his head back and forth in disbelief.
His eyes remained on the woman before him. His heart pounded louder than the waves that crashed beyond the house.
"Are you real or am I dreaming?" her voice trembled as she moved forward to the Mirkwood Elf in her doorway.
He moved toward her, staggering like a newborn fawn getting accustomed to walking for the first time.
She reached out an arm and hand toward him. He met her halfway and her hand cupped his cheek. He closed his eyes as he felt the warmth of her fingers on his skin as they explored his features. He opened his eyes and lowered her hand to cover his pounding heart so that she would know he was indeed real.
"Kaitlyn…" he choked out her name in a shuddering breath.
He pulled the love of his life to him and buried his face into her neck. He felt her pulse racing beneath his cheek. He had so many questions but for the moment they could wait. He wanted to revel in the feeling of her in his arms after over a century.
He felt her pounding heart, felt her arms embrace him in return as she pressed as close as she could to him. They held each other tightly, afraid to let the other go.
"If this is a dream, I wish not to awaken," his voice was low and full of emotion. His fingers brushed back the loose tendrils of hair that were along her hair line. Then his fingers found and combed through the dark tresses he had not touched in so terribly long.
She closed her eyes and released a shuddering breath.
"If this is a dream my heart couldn't handle anymore disappointment." she finally answered. She could not seem to get close enough to him. She tried to calm her pounding heart but it seemed like a fool hardy endeavor.
After some time Legolas pulled back to look at her though he did not break physical contact with her. His blue eyes bore into her green ones.
She looked as if she had barely aged since he had last seen her. Her skin was tanned from the sun. There was the addition of fine lines around her leaf green eyes, but they did not detract from her beauty. She was dressed in a blue tunic and brown leather leggings that were rolled up to nearly her knees. Her feet were bare. Her hair was long, past her waist and unbound. She had muscle tone in her arms and the calves of her legs. She looked quite well for someone who had been killed by orcs.
"Ú-chenion, Man cerig hi?" (I do not understand. What are you doing here?) His curiosity finally got the better of him now that he was coming down from the rush of adrenaline at seeing her alive.
She touched his face, and then lowered her hand and entwined her fingers with his. "There is so much to tell you. And so much I want to hear about. Tolo." (Come)
She led him deeper into her home.
To be continued….
I couldn't keep my readers hanging. As you can see, Kaitlyn is alive and well. There are lots of answers coming in the future chapters as you will read about.
I have had 6 different PMs/reviews asking if I am interested in having commission work done for my story or co writing stories since I have been back to writing. Please note that I mean no offense when I say here in these notes that I am not interested in paying to have any work done with my story. If artists wish to do this on their own with photo manipulation, drawings, comics, video editing etc, I look forward to seeing what you come up with. This story is a free creative outlet for me between writing, some photo manipulation I did many years ago as well as occasionally I have started back with doing some video editing with Legolas and Kaitlyn. I am not interested in commission work at this time or with co writing. I thank each and every one of you who has reached out. I am flattered. There are some very talented people out there!