An Elf’s Tale


New Stuff

3500 years ago in the undying lands. . .
“For three thousand years the menace that is Sana has roamed the world unchecked. Now she dares to cross the sea to lands barely touched by mortal hands. She dares to come towards the land of the elves. . .” Elrond’s impassioned speech to the gathered group stirred up cheers and for the moment his words were drowned out. One elf was watching the scene with bitterness in his heart. His name was legend and he couldn’t go. Legolas turned away from the balcony was face to face with a younger elf that should have been standing listening to the speech as he was dress in elfish armor. Legolas grinned at his friend.
”You know you should be down there.”
”No you should be down there, You’re not supposed to be cooped up in here discussing whatever the hell it is your discussing you’re not a diplomat! You’re Legolas! Who cares if we ally ourselves with the last of the dwarfs?”
“I care!”
”Why? They are merging with men! There will soon be no dwarves. We will out last them all like we out last everything.”
“Get out!”
“What’s so great about the dwarfs? Gimli smells!”
“Get out now!” Legolas says more sad than angry though you can’t tell from his tone.
”Fine, I’ll show you what a real elf is Legolas!” He stormed out and waited in the corridor. In about five minutes he knew his friend wasn’t coming and he was annoyed as he ran to join the group hoping he wasn’t missed.

*)(* 1 *)(*

Spring of 2030 . . .
. . .and in financial news Ironbar® industries has successfully pleaded to remove Sequoia National Park off the list of national parks to make room for much needed industrial land. The new plan would mean leveling the Giant Sequoia most of which are over 4000 years old and still living trees.
Gaia snapped off her TV in annoyance. She couldn’t believe it how had they done it. There was something fishy about Ironbar industries. You didn’t just decide a national park wasn’t a national park! They had bought the government that was clear. She ran her fingers through her curly blond brown hair. Here she was getting ready for a date and hearing this crap. Here she was living in a house in the country or the boondocks as mom like to say and now she knew had work to do but she refused to put her life on hold.
She looked in the mirror, her emerald green silk dress reached just above her knees. She wore strappy sandals and looked at her necklace. Tiny emeralds surrounding a small piece of amber as a symbol of nature and the earth. She looked at her watch.
”Mom’s the late one not me!” She exclaimed grabbing her car keys. She walked over to her car, an electric-hydro hybrid. The first of its kind. The seats were faux leather and lovely tan color as was the car. Mom always went all out with the gifts. She tore out of her driveway, this would be an interesting date. It had been two weeks and Jessie bored her to tears it was time to move on.
“Jessie, this isn’t working . . .no that’s not right.” She turned on her stereo to an ‘oldies’ station and is rewarded with one of her father’s old singles. He had sung this one to her at night when she cried because kids at school made fun of her not eating meat.
Everything’s so blurry
and everyone's so fake
everybody’s empty
and everything is so messed up
preoccupied without you
I cannot live at all
my whole world surrounds you
I stumble and I crawl
& you could be my someone
you can be my scene
you know that I’ll protect you
from all of the obscene
Gaia pulled into the restaurant and broke up with Jessie in record time and was on her cell phone booking her flight out to California as the boy stared in disbelief. She had decided to go with the honest approach.
“You’re boring and I’m tired of you. Its over and the next girl you go out will and there will be one cause you’re too cute to be single, don’t babble so much about yourself.” He had enough sense to pick himself up and leave before her call was over, two other girls turned to watch him leave and Gaia knew he wasn’t as crushed as much shocked. Maybe Lucky had rubbed off on her, that cat had gall. She called some friends at the Sierra Foundation and they had also all heard the news and there was a public protest planned at the base of General Sherman. One of the largest and oldest trees there and the center of an expansion of redwoods. They also had already begun petitioning and talking to friends they had in congress. Things were falling into place as she spoke, no she didn’t no the mythology surrounding the trees. Fax it over it would give her reading materials on her flight.
At her house she started to pack. She had been round the world and still she enjoyed packing. She looked around her house, modest by her standards but when your parents owned mansions and you grew up in a gated community full of mansions a four bedroom house was tiny. Maybe she could see Tomas, he was in California for some surfing thing she believed or was it swimming this week? She sometimes lost track of superboy’s adventures.
“Hello?”
”Hey Superboy.”
”Little sis,” Tomas says grinning into the video phone.
“Four minutes is not an age difference! Are you still in Cali?”
”Yeah you coming over?”
”Yeah, by plane don’t worry I won’t just pop in on you and some dude.”
”Well you know I have plenty of room.”
“In your head I know, I need a place to sleep.”
“Funny, what is it this week?”
”Giant Sequoias.”
”Redwoods?! Those monster trees? They wouldn’t it’s a national park!” Gaia smiled her brother was no were near as serious an activist as she was but he would support her causes when he agreed.
“Ironbar Inc. would.”
”Those are the same pricks who pulled out of the race cause they didn’t approve of an athlete such as myself participating.”
”What are they from the stone age?” Gaia asks.
“Worse, I think they’re Bushes.”
“Don’t say something that horrible!”
”Okay but they have that same destroy the world complex!”
“See you in an hour or so.”
“Later.”
”Later.” she put the faxed sheets into a back pack with some Enya Cd’s she felt all the new stuff was just too produced and listened to more old music and some new indie stuff. Lucky was great at finding the best places to find them then again he had been finding the obscure for thirty some odd years.
She drove over to the airport and boarded a solar jet to California, she pulled on her headphones and took out the faxed sheets to start reading the mythology of the sequoias.

Dain was livid. He couldn’t believe that Legolas was giving up the first chance of adventure since they came to the undying lands. The dwarves were almost gone, they had barely come here and they were too far from middle earth for it to matter.
They traveled quickly as only elves could moving out of the frozen wasteland that surrounded the undying lands. They stopped once in three days for Lembas and true rest than moved again as swiftly as they could. Dain felt bad for Adanedhel he was only half elf and it was taking its toll on him. He dropped back to the half elf, he didn’t really know him but hated to see anyone in pain.
”Are you alright?”
”Fine,” Adanedhel said looking past him. “Men.” He said looking off in the distance. Though it was clear he couldn’t travel like an elf his other powers were just as good or even better since he didn’t see these alleged men. Adanedhel walked over to Haldir’s son who was following directly in his father’s footsteps leading this expedition and told him what he saw. They reached the men in an hours time.
They were vastly different from the men of middle earth. Of a darker tone all together. And they lived in a harmony with the wood they had never seen in middle earth. Their woods were filled with these red trees no taller then the elves themselves and quite thin. But they had a beautiful color. They spoke a different tongue of men then in middle earth but is was nothing for the elves to learn quickly. They asked what they needed to know and they said yes. The dark witch had come to them claming to be a queen and had killed their chief before being driven off by their strong earth magic.
They knew she was hiding in the red wood. So no one had been allowed in. The son of the chief a boy who could be no more than 15 was leader here and they would have to speak to him to gain entrance to the wood. He was standing off to the side with an elderly man and looked too small for the robes given him and the task he had in store. Halsarn walked over and the boy nodded and pointed to three people sitting in a circle. The mystics who had driven Sana off.
”She waits for us to weaken, and knows not of your arrival.”
“Creatures of light, Fair of skin, We watch your battle, And pray you win.” Halsarn nodded as he turned to his grim little troop as they turned as one force to the woods.
Fools, come to your death. Immortality only last as long as you live. You will fall at the feet of the true immortal.
Sana sat and pondered what would be the most interesting way to deal with this little band of elves. It would take a lot of magic to kill them and she still hadn’t found a way to fight the draining effects of killing. Maybe if she could capture power and feed off it. These strange new people were magic waiting to be tapped. Nothing like what was going on in Britiana, magic was dying there and she almost hadn’t believed this land existed. But it was still primal, there were even elves here, already legend back home.
Sana watched a squirrel as it climbed into a hole in a tree. Sana wiggled her fingers and the hole closed behind it trapping the furry creature inside, until it starved or suffocated. Sana smiles as an idea enters into her head as she walks deeper into the woods. It would be easy enough to do something like that not hard at all. And quite funny, she looked at the trees and choose the red ones just because she liked the color.
Hope they enjoy immortality in a tree Her laughter echoes eerily through the woods and startles the elves. Halsarn waves his hand indicating for them to draw their arrows and be prepared. Dain is still near the back of the line with Adanedhel and he was starting to really like him. He had come on this mission to prove once and for all he was as good as any elf and Dain had to agree after the initial weakness of the march Dain was surprising him right and left.
”Do you hear that?” Adanedhel asks.
”What?” Dain says scanning the area for danger. They had truly fallen behind now in their talks. He watches as he walked over to a tree and carved a hole into it and a small furry creature crawled out. “How did it get in there?”
”You’re guess is as good as mine,” He says as the creature crawls around his chest. “Look it has a family in there,” They are looking at the baby squirrels when they hear the shouts and calling to arms. They run as fast as they can bows ready and are stunned at the horror. There fellow elves were being swallowed by the very trees that he had been admiring. They were growing to accommodate the elves who were shrieking as long as they faces were exposed. They shot together and Sana turned to them unharmed.
”Run!” Dain yelled shoving Adanedhel as he took off also. They ran right back the way they came towards the village. Dain ran left and Adanedhel to the right towards the mystics of the tribe.
“She . . . the trees!” He says as Sana comes up behind him.
“We call upon Nathor, Tordin, and Spechcu, with gods of the earth we ban you.” Sana looks at them smiles at Adanedhel and turns around.
”Dain!” He screams running into a barrier to keep Sana out. Dain hears this and turns to face Sana standing beside the very tree he first admired on the outskirts of the village. He draws his arrow and waits.
“You have to help him, she’ll kill him.”
“No kill just sleep, hope can save him,” One of the mystics says clearly in a trance. Adanedhel strains his hearing and can hear what is going on though he doesn’t have the courage to look to see if he can see it also.
So the lone elf makes a last stand? “We are never alone,” Dain says as Sana sends his bow and arrow flying. He draws his sword and she does the same.
Enjoy Immortality. Dain remains silent as he is locked into the tree. Sana stumbles even this had taken a lot of force. The death of magic in the old world was still taking its toll on her. She spirited herself away with the last of her strength as Adanedhel fell forward since he had been leaning on the barrier to hear eyes shut tight.
“Back over ice,”
“Back over rain,”
“And hailstorm all the same.”
”Over mountains.”
”And through the ice.”
“That is the battle you must fight.” Adanedhel stared at the mystics. They were only trapped in the trees. Like the little creature he had freed.
“Sana made them one with the tree.”
”As one they will survive eternally.”
”Or until hope sets them free.” Adanedhel felt the tears leaving his eyes. All those elves, he could still hear their screams. That noise would haunt him for the rest of his days. He collapsed where he was breaking into horrible fever filled dreams. Two days later he started the journey back to the Undying lands. He collapsed on entering the palace in the middle of talks between elves and dwarfs. Elrond and Legolas both stand as the servants pick up the highly weakened elf. The dwarfs clearly show that’s its all right for them to go as they also know about Sana.
“Adanedhel,” Elrond starts when he realizes the elf is talking. Or babbling.
“In the trees . . .the trees . . . they . . .the trees . . .Dain!” Legolas swallows hard at the last line but says nothing.
“Legolas I think its best for you to continue the talks.”
”Yes,” he says walking back to the dwarfs.
By the time Elrond gets Adanedhel into bed and starts working the elf magic on him he has fallen silent and his haphazard journey has finally taken its toll on him as he started having nightmarish dreams as he is healed. When he wakes Elrond and Legolas are in the room with him.
“Adanedhel, what happened? Where are the others?” Legolas asks leaning towards the bed as Elrond puts a hand on his arm to calm him and pull him back.
”Where are the others?” Elrond asks calmly while Legolas paces a distance away. Adanedhel is consumed by tremors at the question and Elrond waits.
“Caranalda . . . caranalda . . . caranalda.” After a few minutes its clear that they will get no more out of the elf. Elrond signals for Legolas to follow him out.
“What was that? Red Tree? What did he mean by that?”
“Legolas sadly its clear, it was some sort of blood bath. How or why Adanedhel survived we may never know. As it is his grief, and horror are consuming him. Legolas he may not survive this.”
Adanedhel did survive which may not have been the best for him. He lived in constant fear of trees and if given a knife would try to cut the trees open to free ‘them’. He was on the fringe of elf life and was finally given a duty of a guard of the entrance looking out at the vast ice filled wasteland and a home on the outskirts of the Undying lands. While a completely pointless occupation save for introducing various visitors and elves who had left for this or that it helped return him somewhat what he used to be.
As for the other elves, scouts were sent out to learn what had happened but by the time they returned to the area Sana had destroyed most of the tribe including the mystics and devoured their gods. The survivors knew little of what happened to the elves and when asked would point to a large Sequoia on the edge of their village, a tree they called the Dain. A word that was nothing like any other word in their language.
They said the fair ones vanished in the trees and their gods had deserted them. A search in the woods turned up a few broken arrows and in the area surrounding the Dain, they found Dain’s weapons which they buried in the ground in front of the tree. In time the already large bark of the tree covered over those weapons. As for the exact results of the elves encounter with Sana it remained an unsolved mystery and Elrond decided that elves no longer had a part in the lives of men lest called on and they lived in true seclusion for years dealing only with magial threats and avoiding Sana who devoured the magic of the new world to build her strength back up.
Gaia shoved the papers back into her bag as she got ready to leave. She had to wonder about the story of how the ‘fair ones’ came and were lost to the trees and how the Dain (a word that had yet to be translated due to its strange form in comparison to the rest of the language) was waiting for a time of light and hope, where the old gods would return and save the people from their oppression {clearly over time the myth was adjusted}and return to the time of peace. She retrieved her luggage and waved to her brother who was standing besides his blue convertible.

*)(* 2 *)(*

“So the public demo will be 24 hours maybe more starting tonight at 6, pack a breakfast,” Davie says grinning. “As for the legal front our lawyers are working on it know and it seems we may have a chance since they used less then legal means at some points. Right now they are working on getting a injunction on the bulldozers.”
”That’s great,” Gaia says her mind drifting towards the myth of the trees, she had started having a nagging feeling about the Dain or General Sherman. It was the word Dain that really got to her that and the fair ones.
“So will our resident celebrity do us the honor.” Gaia blinks as all heads turn to her.
“What now Davie?”
”General Sherman someone miscalculated and we can only chain one person to it.”
“Okay, and stop calling me a celebrity those are just my parents and my brother."
"So you don't model?"
"That was an anti-fur canpaign and you know it."
"Okay okay, don't attack me."
A few hours later the signs printed on 100% recycled paper and drawn with biodegradble markers make a steady procession around Gaia who has a mega horn. There is a larger group at the entrance to the park, who's shouts can still be heard as it is all being filmed and webcast live.
The sudden blare of sirens surpries them all. They were in a park it was perfectly legal to gather there and Davie said just as much as he was cuffed.
"Sorry, this is private land currently owned by Ironbar® and they want you all off their land. It was then they noticed that they weren't cops but security guards with the Ironbar® logo where their badge would be. How convient that their uniforms at first glance looked like that of a California state trooper. Gaia was tempted to make branches grow from their ears but that was a waste of magic.
"They're not cops and this isn't private land. Not yet anyway, we have an injunction in the works." Davie had already been put in the back of their van. "So get the hell out of here before we call the real cops." They glance at each other and Gaia knows it was a scare tactic the guys leave so fast they forget to release Davie.
“Hey! Let Davie go!” Everyone chases after the truck except James who was holding the camera and a couple people with signs.
“James how about you let me go?”
“Davie had the only keys.” Gaia rolls her eyes.
“But . . .” Don’t worry the guys will be back with Davie and the keys.
“Sure they will.”
Over at Davie and the guys . . .
The security guys had pulled over releasing Davie and taking off. With a tiny key as their surprise passenger. Davie high fives his friends and looks back towards the park where they all start walking. They reach Gaia and there is a victorious cheer as James turns the camera’s to Davie. His phone rings and he answers it smiling after a few seconds.
“We did it! We have the injuction!” Cheers erupt signs fly into the air and Gaia screams it into the mega horn as James ends the broadcast on a high note as his partner at the gate does the same. The news spreads like wild fire as all the protesters go off to celebrate. The disbursal at General Sherman since it was a small group to begin with and in a few minutes its just Gaia, Davie, and James.
“Davie can I get off this tree now?”
“Oh yeah,” He says reaching into his pocket for the key then going into the other, and the other after that. He’s patting himself down when Gaia gets skeptical.
“You do have the key right?”
“Of course I used it to lock you in.” He says now turning his pockets inside out.
“Sure it didn’t fall out?” Gaia asks as the last of the pockets are turned out.
“Oh crap! When those punks grabbed me . . .”
“Great,” Gaia says wondering how she can get rid of the guys to free herself.
“No its okay I have a spare key in my car.”
“And where is your car?” Gaia says knowing he asked for a ride.
“Crap, don’t worry we’ll be back soon.”
“Uh no, I’ll stay here we can’t just leave Gaia alone chained to a tree,” James says. “You go I’ll stay.” Davie nods as James sits besides the tree.
“So . . .”
“Lovely day right?”
“To be strapped to a tree sure, Lovely.”
James make small talk and banter until finally he falls asleep at Gaia’s feet as they exchange singing their favorite songs. It gets Gaia thinking about an Elvish song she had learned from Orlando. She was pretty sure the title was loosely translated into the awakening and it was about something so sad. Why couldn’t she bring herself to remember. She sang the first few lines and started remembering more and continued singing her mind instantly translating the elvish she sang.
She didn’t notice that everything around her was getting brighter or that her chains were loosening. She did notice when her chains fell to the floor. She had been singing with her eyes closed and they snapped open that moment. They chains knocked James on the head and he didn’t wake. She moved him to the side made sure he would be fine and had some flowers spring up as a makeshift pillow. She then turned to the glowing tree that was pulsing with a white light and she heard a strange noise from it. It sounded like thumping. A steady thumping and the light was pulsing at the same beat as the thumping.
The light receded until it started to take a shape. Gaia stared as a vaguely human form appeared. She watched shocked as what could only be one creature fell to his knees. His hair was the same color of the redwood tree he was just in and Gaia kneeled beside him.
“Are you all right?” She asked in elvish and Dain looked up at her.
“Kementari,” he gasped and she stared stunned how did he know her name.
He struggled to his feet with her help.
“{Adanedhel . . .where is he?}” The elf was getting agitated looking around for whoever Adanedhel was.
“{Calm down.}”
“{The witch} Sana {did she harm him . . .}” Gaia cringed at that name she knew enough about Sana to hate her.
“{She’s dead},” Gaia says as she teleports him in a burst of earth to the one elf she knew. She entered the property leading the awe struck elf who walked with slow shuffling steps to Nausi and Orlando’s home.
“Please be home,” she whispered as she knocked. Orlando pulled open the door.
“Gaia hello, I was just baking some lembas.”
“Um, uncle Or . . .” Gaia never finished as the elf stepped forward. His vision had yet to improve from blurs but he knew that voice.
“Legolas?” He gasped.
“Dain?!” Legolas exclaims hugging his long lost friend and pulling the weakened elf inside. Gaia follows and watches as Orlando grabs some fresh baked lembas and hands it to Dain. Once he’s done his vision has finally cleared and he is face to face with Orlando. He touches the short curly black hair.
“{What wizardry is this?}” He asks touching his non pointed ears. Orlando smiles."
"{The world of men is not what is was. Middle Earth is but a lore to them.}" Dain nods and glances at Gaia. She was still standing giving the two men their space.
"Kementari," he whispers again and Orlando smiles.
"Gaia where did you find him?"
"How does he know me?"
"Queen of the Earth, she is one of the Valar, but you are not," Orlando says absently taking Dain's red hair in his hand. "{I am not the only one who should be asked of wizardry.}" Dain's entire composure changes as he is consumed by sorrow.
"Um . . . he sort of came out of a tree. You know the redwoods?"
"I know of them yes," Orlando says.
"Well I was chained to General Sherman, and I was singing that elvish song you taught me. And the tree started glowing and getting smaller and them he kind of fell out."
"Of a tree?"
"Yeah and he was like ranting and raving about Sana and a Adanedhel." Orlando breathes in sharply. And Dain turns to him with sleepy eyes.
"What?"
"He . . . You need rest, we'll speak later."
"But the others . . ." He stops already falling asleep.
"Others?"
"Gaia a large band of elves was once sent to find and destroy Sana before she reached the undying lands. One elf returned and he was in no state to tell us what happened. No trace was found of these elves until today."
"So the rest of them are still in the trees?!"
"I would believe so."
"Come on we have to go help them."
"I don't know you look tired."
"Wait I know I was reading this Native American myth about the trees and it said that hope would set them free. Seeing that Sana was involved . . ."
"Pyra. Let's go. I'll just leave Nausi a note."
The two go off to the studio where Passions is being filmed as Nausi comes home early to surprise her Landie with lunch since a patient cancelled when she sees a red haired elf asleep on her couch. She raises an eyebrow knowing that elves didn't have red hair. She's about to poke him when she sees Orlando's note.
Hey love,
He's a friend, no poking. I'll explain when I get back, his name is Dain and he's very weak. He may not wake while you are there if he does he only understands elvish.

Orlando
Nausi puts the note down wondering how a red haired elf found her Landie in the first place. And where on earth would he have gone if said elf was here passed out on her couch?
Pyra sat cross-legged on the sofa smiling wickedly. “There will never be peace, there will never be love and I will crush all hope!”
“And Cut! That was great now we’ll do the scene with Deanna and we’ll be done with you guys fro today. “ Pyra nodded as she remained on her comfy seat on the couch. Gaia and Orlando entered the studio then, it being a closed set not stopping their progress in the least.
“Mom,” Gaia says waving her mother over when she’s sure there’s no filming going on. Pyra stands and walks over to her daughter and friend.
“Hola peoples what’s up?”
“We need your help to save some elves.” Pyra nods.
“One scene sit over there.”
“”But mom that could take hours.”
”It will be done once, perfectly,” Pyra says with a fiery gleam in her eyes as the resident witch ‘Kay’ walks over.
“Pyra you ready?”
“Sure, I say we nail this in one try?”
”Yeah right they’ll never be happy it’ll be perfect except for . . .”
“I know I was sitting on that couch for half an hour, but I have a good feeling.”
“You and your feelings.”
“Ladies you ready?” The director glances at Gaia and Orlando. “Pyra?”
“When we wrap this scene up I’m free to go right?”
“Yes its your last scene slated for today, we’re ahead of schedule.”
”Thanks,” Pyra says knowing he could add the next days shoots to the rest of the day. Pyra and Kay do their scene in one shot and with a little magic the director can’t find any flaws. She doesn’t bother to change since her character wears about the same type of clothes as she does. She walks with Orlando and Gaia to the parking lot . “Where are we headed?”
“Sequoia National park.”
”Cool I’ve never been there. So what exactly is going on?”
“A few thousand years ago,” Orlando says sounding like it was last week, “A band of elves were sent out to stop Sana’s progress as she headed closer and closer to the undying lands after finding her way to America. A battle waged where Sana apparently trapped the elves in the trees.”
”How could they survive that?” Pyra says as they all enter her car. No one but her knows when they change onto a California road until Gaia notices a palm tree.
”How you’d . . .” ”Where’s the park?”
“Turn off on . . .”
They all enter the park following Gaia who leads Pyra to a large expanse of Redwoods. Pyra looks at the trees and gets an eerie feeling about them but figures its fitting if there are elves trapped inside. She stares at the trees willing the elves free and nothing happens. She puts her hand on her hips looking at one tree.
“Mom I don’t think glaring at the tree will do it.”
“I’m not glaring. How’d you do it?”
”I was just singing a song in elvish.”
“Hmm . . .” Pyra says figuring this will tale a spell.
“Children of Illuvatar
Eldar race
Old before the birth of men
Arise you must
And come again
Lest the dark slumber that traps you
Never end
It’s hope that calls you
The fire child
Lights dear friend
Her darkness my light destroys
Freeing warriors with the keenest eyes” Pyra waits and the light is almost blinding a moment later. The elves all seem near collapse and Pyra shakes her head. She calls on the Phoenix for a power boost know healing is her weakest power. The golden light drifts from her fingers like a mist and she leans back against a tree as they are restored. The elves themselves are looking around and she turns to Gaia and Orlando and is a little surprised to see Legolas.
“Seems I freed an extra elf,” Pyra says and he shrugs walking over to a slightly differently dressed elf.
“{Halsarn, are you all well?}”
“{As can be expected, my mind is clouded . . . was it not midday?}” Legolas lowers his head.
“{Many days, nay many lives have passed since that day. Look about you the world has vastly changed.}”
“{How did you free us?}”
“{It was not I. You owe your freedom to her},” Legolas says pointing to Pyra who has her wings wrapped around her like a cloak as she continued to lean against a tree. He walks over to her.
“{My lady we owe you a great debt,}”
“{It was nothing,}” Pyra says.
“{Nay, it was everything. You saved us from a fate worse than death.}” He bows then turns to his still very confused troops giving them some commands. They are so well trained that he easily sees the two empty spaces in his ranks.
"{it seems two of our number...}"
"{Wait}" Legolas starts, "{Dain and Adanedhel still live. Dain was freed eariler today and Adanhdel was never held, he returned to us able to say little more than caranalda}"
Halsarn nods. "{We will begin the march back...}"
"{You can't! The world is changed, 500 elves would not go unnoticed.}"
"{We must reach...}"
"{I will take you}" Pyra says stepping foward. "{You will not be harmed}" she says as a few elves jump at the sight of the flames.
Pyra flames them all just out side the undying lands and the elves stare in amazment remembering how long the march had been. Adanedhel looks out at the group of red haired elves and starts ringing a great bell as Legolas taps Pyra on the shoulder.
"Oh sorry, Later dude," Pyra raises her hand and the elf flickers. She does it again annoyed and he gets flamed back to What? as she collapses wings and all.
"Momma?" Gaia says surprised as she starts shaking Pyra's still form as Elrond himself comes forth with his sons.
"{This is a great day for elves indeed!}" He says clasping Halsarn on the shoulder. He looks at Gaia who's holding Pyra and raises an eyebrow in surprises and instructs his sons to help them.

*)(* 3 *)(*

Pyra opens her eyes and feels instantly uncomfortable. She was laying on her side and trying to turn onto her back made her know why she was so uncomfortable.
"Damn wings." She stands looking around her wondering where she was as she steps out onto a balcony. She feels like shes in a fairy tale or back in NZ a few decades back. She can see Gaia talking to a pair of elf twins and her mind takes a moment to place the importance when she is joined by someone.
"She and my sons have become quite attached." Pyra smiles.
"How long..."
"A day."
"Thank you," Pyra says turning and she blinks. Hugo Weaving was one thing but this Elrond had the whole elf eternal youth thing going. 'Woo' Elrond smiles and she wonders if he had that whole mind reading deal...
"It is I who should thank you. We lost many of our number then and could not even begin to imagine the horror that befell them." Pyra nods as Gaia and the twins enter the room.
"Mom, you're awake."
"Yep, nice dress."
"You okay?"
"Too much healing I guess, 500 is my limit. Add the flaming and its bad."
"I didn't know that happened to you?"
"Not often...who am I kidding before you guys were born me and coma's were bestest pals," Pyra says making the wings receed so her hair and skin also return to normal.
"I would like you both to join us in a celebration tonight for the safe return of our lost kin."
"I..."
"Please mom..."
"But I..."
"You know you want to..."
"Oh fine."
Pyra is standing on the side of the banquet hall not sure what to do. The elves were all milling about and she has no idea where she should go. She had lost track of Gaia and couldn’t believe her daughter had even talked her into the wine red elven dress. She slinked behind a pillar and doesn’t notice that the hiding place is occupied by an elf. Instead she mutters to herself.
”Why did I let you talk me into this Gaia,” Pyra mutters.
“Who’s Gaia?” The elf whispers startling Pyra. She jumps a little.
“Oh, I didn’t see you there,” Pyra whispers. “She’s my daughter.”
“Ah.”
”Do you have children?”
”The twins are like my children.”
”Oh…um”
”Erestor and yourself?”
”Pyra, nice to meet you.”
“Erestor! Stop hiding in the shadows and come meet our guests of honor,” A twin yells.
“Elladan please,” Erestor says stepping forward and extending a hand to Pyra. She takes the hand and steps out of the shadow with him.
“Momma?”
“Just because I’m in a dress…”
”You look wonderful,” Elrohir says. Pyra looks down embarrassed.
”Thank you,” Pyra whispers as a hush falls over the room.
”I’d like to welcome you all to a celebration of the grandest measure. We have had those lost to us for so long returned. So this in honor of those who have returned to us and those responsible for their safe return,” Elrond says pointing towards Pyra and Gaia and the elves erupt into cheers.
Pyra smiles and is very relieved when the attention is drawn away from her again. “You know for someone who’s world famous you sure hate attention.”
”Its just not something I can get used too.”
The party gets underway and Gaia spends most of the night with the twins. Pyra is shifting between Erestor and Elrond most of the night though as Lord of Rivendell Elrond has many people demanding his attention and he can’t lurk in the shadows. So Pyra becomes better acquainted with the lord’s more quiet advisor.
Back at what Nausi had gone back to work for a 2pm appointment and was just arriving home as Hana and Cirdan also entered the property. Cirdan was carrying Hana’s books. They both look up at their mother and smile as they walk together.
“How was your day?” Nausi asks her children
“Okay.”
”Good,” Cirdian also replies having seen his mother’s lips move.
“Oh guys. We have a guest.” Both kids stop to look at their mother. “He’s an elf, I’m not really sure on his whole deal but yeah.”
Nausi enters the house first and doesn’t see any thing. “Landie?” She gets no response and looks around the house and sees another note with two things scrawled on it. Lake Orlando. “Well I guess we’ll go to the lake,” Nausi says leading the way to the woods. They see the two elves sitting across from each other. Both stood gracefully watching them approach.
“{Dain, this is Nausikaa my wife.}”
“{Hello}.” Nausi says to the elf who nods looking a little more interested in Hana and Cirdan.
“{Yours?}”
”{These are our children, Hana and Cirdan.}” Dain smiles at the children looking at the slight point of their ears.
“{They are very young have they reached majority?}”
“{Not by our standards,}” Legolas replies.
“Ada what’s that?”
”Its when an elf is considered an adult sometime between 50 and 100.”
“(So Dain, are you going to be staying with us for a while?}”Nausi asks.
”{Yes, I would like to see the world men have created but I do not have the advantage of an Istari as a friend. And my appearance would cause quite a stir I’m told.}”
“{Maybe I can help,}” Gaia says appearing out of the clearing.
”{When did you get back?}” Legolas asks.
”A couple minutes ago, its weird days passed when we were there.”
”Time moves differently there.”
“{So you would like to pass for mortal?}” Gaia says walking over to Dain who was staring at her still in an elvish dress. Legolas has to nudge him to get a response.
“{Yes, thank you.}”
”Ok so he’ll need to speak English, have shorter hair, and non pointed ears…oh and be able to turn back.” Gaia rubs her hands together and sends green sparkles towards Dain. They watch as his hair shortens, and his ears get rounder. His hair is shoulder length when it stops.
“Did you want to stop?” Cirdan asks.
”No,” Gaia says turning to speak to him. “I wanted him to look more like Orlando.”
“Why would I want to look like him?” Dain asks in an Irish accent.
“Well that worked,” Gaia says “and his ears look fine, I guess it’s the best I can do.” Dain looks at his reflection in the water and smiles.
“Thank you,” he frowns for a second “{Thank you}”. After making sure he can still speak elvish in his ‘human form’ he switches back and forth a few times and gets tired around the third time. The human Dain yawns and Legolas takes that as the signal to go home.
”Bye guys,” Gaia says running to her house and wondering why Dain had an Irish accent not British like Orlando. She decides she would just spend the night with her parents, and company, before going home. She walks in and is greeted by a surprising sight. Her parents were sitting on the couch talking instead of making out.
”I think I’m gonna faint. They’ll never believe this.”
”Ha ha.”
“Hey sweetheart.”
”Hi, dad,” Gaia says walking over and giving him a kiss on the cheek.
”So I hear you got your mom in a dress?”
”Yep, and it was long and flowing and completely girly.”
”I’m sorry I missed it.”
“I’ll bring a camera next time it was classic.”
”What was classic?” JC says coming down the stairs with Isis in his arms and Lucky close behind.
“You What?!” Legolas exclaims.
“I knew I shouldn’t have told you,” Dain says. They were sitting in what was to be his guest room for as long as he was going to stay.
”Ok I’m sorry I’m just surprised is all.”
”Why, I recall an elf who was never going to get married,” Dain says.
”Never is a long time,” Legolas replies. “You just met her.”
”And I can’t stop thinking about her, she’s beautiful,” Dain says getting a dreamy look in his eyes.
”And human, and only 21.”
”Didn’t you say that was adult for mortal standards. And since when do you care about race you dwarf lover? And your wife seems very human and very lovely.”
”One at a time, do you even know if she feels the same way?” Dain is silent then.
”I have no idea.”
”Well if you want to find out,” Legolas says getting a hushed tone. “This is what you will do.”
*)(* 4 *)(*

Orlando was whistling as he prepared breakfast for the family and Dain. Dain’s breakfast was simple enough a platter of fruits and some Lembas. Nausi came down the stairs yawning slightly but ready for a day at the office.
”Morning love,” Orlando says kissing her on the forehead.
”Morning Landie, how’s Dain?”
”He’s fine, he’s more than fine. He’s in love.”
”With who?” Nausi asks. “Hasn’t he been in a tree for some thousands of years?”
“Gaia,” Legolas says sliding Nausi her breakfast. Nausi looks up at her husband with one of her looks and decides maybe she’s jumping to conclusions.
”Pyra’s daughter or the spirit of the earth?”
”Funny, you know its Pyra’s daughter.”
“How does he know he’s in love with her? He just met her.”
“He’s sure, he’s planning to woo her today.”
”Woo her? Landie I think being in a tree got to him.”
“Nausi, Dain’s always been like that, he always throws his whole heart into whatever he does.”
”But he just came out of a tree. Doesn’t he even want to go home?”
”He wants to see Adanedhel but he said it could wait.”
”Well at least you told him not to be crazy,” Nausi says and Orlando had the urge to start rummaging through cabinets, “you did tell him right?”
”You can’t tell Dain what to do…he won’t listen.”
”Did you even try?”
”Nausi…”
”Orlando,” Nausi starts but falls silent as the topic of discussion comes down the stairs, wearing some of Orlando’s clothes but looks bothered. He waves Orlando over and starts whispering to him. Orlando smiles and whispers back. and Dain zips up his pants.
“Was that all?”
”Nothing special.”
”How do I look?” Dain asks spinning for Nausi. Nausi looks him over in blue jeans, a white button down shirt open at the collar and a pair of Orlando’s old sneakers.
”That’s so cool, Ooo ooo come here,” Dain walks over to Nausi and she rolls up his sleeves. “Perfect.”
”Thank you.”
”Yeah you look awesome.”
“Hey people,” Mystic says orbing in and having Dain jump back.
”What the? Who’s this?” Mystic asks.
“This is an old friend of mine Dain”
“How old?” Mystic says wondering if she has to do a memory charm.
”Middle earth old.”
”How is he still alive?”
”Elves are immortal,” Dain says.
”Oh! You’re an elf? Since when do they have red hair? And why do you sound Irish?”
“Yes, it’s a side effect and I don’t know.”
“A side effect of what?” Mystic asks.
”Being trapped in a tree for…”
“Three thousand years give or take a few centuries,” Orlando says handing Dain his breakfast.
”And you are?”
“Oh, Mystic McMahon, nice to meet you uh Dain right.”
“Yes, it is a pleasure my lady.” Mystic smiles at the polite elf and turns to Orlando and he automatically hands her a plate of breakfast knowing what she wants.
“So, Dain pretty spiffy looking, why don’t you help Orlando dress,” Mystic says smiling and Orlando rolls his eyes.
“These are his clothes.”
”Really? They never look like that on him.” Dain laughs.
”Legolas, what are we doing today?”
”Well you could come to work with me.”
”Oh dear what boring…boring job do you have?”
”I’m a teacher.”
“You are allowed to influence young minds?” Dain asks in disbelief.
”He’s not much of an influence.”
”I have an excellent class.”
“Sure, Frenchie cause all those girls in your class learn so much.”
“They learn enough,” Orlando says used to the teasing.
“What do you teach anyway?”
“Herbology and Astronomy.” Dain turns to Mystic who shakes her head.
“And what pray tell is herbology?” Dain asks.
”Study of plants, and plant like creatures.”
”Plant like…”
”Uh, like ents and such.”
“Oh okay, this is something I must see. So influencing poor children…what about this acting thing you were telling me about?”
”I do that as well, not so much now.”
“I see so are we leaving yet?” Dain asks.
”Why you want to go to Frenchie’s class so badly? Mystic asks.

”Why do you have to be a morning person?” Pyra asks yawning.
”I get it from dad.”
”Gah that weirdo, who gets up at 8am when they don’t have to?”
“Mom you could go back to sleep.”
”Then who would feed you besides, I have to go to class today before I pop off to the set.”
“Oh, hey can I come too?”
”Sure but you know you’ll be spending the entire time with your godfather in Hufflepuff.”
“Its not my fault it was my house.”
“Mmm hmm,” Pyra says flipping a hash brown onto Gaia’s plate. “You do take calcium pills right?”
”Yes mom,” Gaia says knowing her mom didn’t like the fact that she had dropped milk and its products from her diet. “But I might take it up again ice-cream is just too tempting.”
”Good, where’d Adam go?” Pyra says and for a moment Gaia thinks she’s talking to her.
“He just went to get some package,” Lucky says jumping on the counter eyeing Gaia’s hash browns.
”Back off fur ball.”
“You are so mean, Pyra?” Lucky says looking at her plate and she hands him a small bite. “Thanks.”
“Mmm Hmm.”
“Hey, you order something off Amazon?” Adam says walking in.
“Uh…no,” Pyra responds.
“Not you the cat.”
”No blondie, isn’t there a name on it?” Adam turns the package over.
“Oh, Isis! Your package came.” The girl comes down the stairs takes her package and runs back up grinning.
“Dumb ass,” Lucky says.
”What was that cat?”
”You heard me,” Lucky says inching closer to Pyra and Adam sighs pulling up a seat next to Gaia on the table.
“So how’s that guy…um…” Adam starts.
”Oh we broke up.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Adam says not sounding very sorry.
”No its okay, I dumped him.”
”What was wrong with him?”
“Him who?” JC asks rubbing sleep from his eyes and walking straight to the fridge to pour himself a glass of milk.
“Old boyfriend.”
”Ah,” JC says draining the glass. Lucky jumps off the table and becomes a boy getting himself some cereal.
“You all would like let me starve, geez.”
“Lucky, please you’re eating right now aren’t you?” JC says annoyed.
“No I’m not I’m starving right here.”
“Lucky, Josh, do I have to separate you two?”

“Man you better keep him away from Pepito,” Mystic says when she hears what Dain is interested in.
”Who’s…”
”Adam, her father.” Dain grins.
”Parents love me,” Orlando laughs.
“Well peoples we should go before we get as late as Pyra,” Mystic says.
”Yeah, I have to get to the office and you all have school,” Nausi says to her kids.
They shrug having crazy schedules as all the adults shuffle out. Mystic knocks on Pyra’s door and Lucky opens it.
”Hey Mystic,” Lucky says grinning, “Can I hug you or you still with that whole no touching thing?”
“Aww sure Lucky,” Mystic says hugging the boy. “Pyra ready?”
“Yeah, she’s just drinking some juice and being groped by the dork. Hey who’s that with Leggy?”
”Dain, an old friend.”
”Well yeah, the pointy ears give it away. Funky hair.”
“Yeah, Pyra! You’ve been buffying him for 30 years get over it!”
”28 years get it right.”
“But you guys have been married for…”
”They’re freaks, Gaia, the fierce knight heh heh.”
”Mystic, you doof let’s go, see ya’ll later,” Pyra says giving Adam a kiss.
”Ma! Dad!”
”Let’s go,” Pyra says smiling. As Pyra predicted Gaia hooks arms with Legolas and are chattering with another elf the entire way to Mystic’s house.
”So I hear you went to Rivendell.”
”Yeah it was cool, time is mad crazy there. Elrond and Erestor were really nice.”
“You see Haldir?”
”Sadly no, unless it was in passing.”
“Aww well, so have fun?”
“Yeah I even wore an elven dress.”
“Ooo spicy, get anything shiny?”
”Yeah I got a gift, pretty bracelet,” Pyra says rolling up her sleeve.
“Ooo Pretty.”
“And some of the people gave me and Gaia stuff in like thanks, even if we said no so yeah, but this is so like the best.”
“That’s crazy right there.”
”Yeah, I know.”
“So how’s Passions going?”
“Another week then I’m gone for mad months again, its cool.”
“Why don’t you just like leave?”
”I don’t know, cause I’m crazy like that.”
“Heh heh dork.”
”I know we are but what is he?” Pyra says pointing at Orlando.
”Frenchie, of course.”
They all enter Mystic’s house and she hears someone rummaging around her kitchen. “Dom?”
”Hello luv,” a voice says in a British accent.
“Chester?!” Mystic says walking into her kitchen with. Legolas, Dain and Gaia double back and look at Chester as well.
”Hello,” he says looking at Dain, as another visitor to Rivendell a red haired elf was interesting.
”This, is my friend Dain. The hair is a long story,” Legolas supplies and Chester shakes Dain’s hand once Dain figures out a hand shake.
“What are you doing in my kitchen?”
”I was late so I like ran out and now I’m fucking early and hungry.”
“Come on I’ll whip something up for you,” Mystic says pulling out a frying pan.
“No you don’t have to do all that, I was just looking for some cereal.”
“No its okay, what do you want?”
”Nothing too major,” he says as Mystic pulls out bacon and eggs. “Or not.”
The group finally split up as they made their ways back to their respective houses. Gaia and Dain both following Legolas to the Greenleaves. Outside his office the usual group of older girls with pre-class questions were waiting.
"Don't things ever change?" Gaia whispered.
"What do you mean?" Dain asked as all the girls looked between him and Legolas and looked about ready to faint. "Oh."
"Yeah."
"Professor Greenleaf, I uh, was wondering, uh," the student gave up and stared openly at Dain. "Who's your friend?" Legolas smiled and the girl seemed to be reduced to a quivering mass.
"Now Nala that can't be the reason you were waiting here for me when you should be outside on such a lovely day."
"Oh yes, about the Mallorns, yeah, I couldn't remember if the leaves are green or gold."
"Look at your shirt! Its the mark of your house," Gaia said annoyed. The girl flushed a deep red and ran off. Leaving three girls there. Two other gigglers glared at Gaia who rolled her eyes. The last who looked like a first year kept biting her lip.
"Rin, what's wrong?"
"I think I killed it," She says holding up a small potted plant. The small green shoot was bent in half and turning brown.
Legolas sighed. It was the third plant Rin had killed. He was starting to think she wasn't cut out for herbology. Gaia reached foward and touched a finger to the plant. It repaired itself and Rin looked up at Gaia.
"Thank you! Bye professor!" She exclaimed shoving the plant into her bag.
"And you two?" The girls glanced at Gain and stomped off muttering nevermind.
"Odd," Legolas said opening his office door. Dain stared at his friend with disbelieving eys.
"You do know why they were here right? Except that little one."
"Oh that, yes, as long as they do their work, its just another aspect of the job."
"Sure it is, come to think of it you always had pretty girls chasing after you until that dwarf started chasing back."
"Have you told Pyra yet?" Legoals asks searhing his desk for something.
"Uh, no she just thinks I'm here to visit. I will." She adds when Legolas gives her a look admists his searching.
"What are you looking for?" Dain asks.
"Just some books for..." Legolas looks up at his clock, "My class in thirty seconds."
He runs out of the room then comes back five seconds later, "You coming?"
"Oh, yeah." They all walk into Legolas' first class of the day. You could tell the age his students by the way they sat. This class was clearly near the end of their stay at the Underworld as the girls were all crammed into the front and the two guys in the back of the room are clearly not there to learn advanced herbology. But then again neither were the girls in their best robes all dolled up for their first class of the morning.
Some of the girls kept looking back at Dain who was whispering to Gaia. Legolas' mind was racing, he had planned his entire lesson around the books and samples that were now sitting on his kitchen counter.
How could he have possibly forgotten his entire lesson plan for the day? Legolas sighed in an annoyed sort of way and looked at his expectant students. He looked out the window; it was a beautiful day…he could take them outside. Give them a free period of sorts. He’s about to address his class when a knock sounds at his door.
“Nausi? What are you doing here?” He says opening the door as his wife steps into the room and a whole storm of whispers start from his “fans.”
“You left these in the kitchen and they seemed important, seeing how they were your lesson and all.”
“Thank you,” Legolas says taking the stack of books and plant samples, he turned to his desk and never noticed when two girls in the front row drew out their wands and pointed them at Nausi who deflected both hexes without so much as glancing at the girls.
“What on earth do you think you’re doing?” Legolas yells turning on the two girls.
“A jelly legs hex, and a slug one,” Nausi says annoyed.
“You tried to Hex my wife?! What on earth did you think that would accomplish? Have you not yet noticed I could be your father a hundred times over!”
“{Legolas, do not be Thranduil’s son,} Dain said and Legolas just stared at his friend then looked at his entire class, the two girls where near tears, along with a few others. Even the two boys who did nothing but sleep and try to flirt with the girls were alert and looking nervous.
“Go to the head of your house. Have her deal with you. Gaia escort them please.”
“Sure thing unc.”
Gaia finally notices the robes the girls are wearing and shakes her head. This would be interesting indeed. She smiles at Nausi as she pulls Legolas outside. Gaia had to admit she was surprised as well, she had seen Orlando yell and curse, albeit not often but Legolas was his calm alter ego. He didn’t fly into fits of rage.
Gaia, walked to her mother’s office and knocked.
“Come in,” Pyra said and Gaia opened the door having the two girls step in and wondered why they looked so calm now. “Nellas, Lily, don’t you two have advanced herbology now?”
“Well we sorta tried to hex someone,” the girls say sitting in the chairs Pyra indicates. Gaia closes the door and listens.
“And well Prof. Greenleaf got mad and sent us to you.”
”Did you hex them?”
”No they blocked us.”
“Hmm I guess you should be happy you’re in my house Professor M. would have you picking slugs just for failing to get it right,” Pyra says not sounding the least bit angry.
“Uh, why don’t you ask who they tried to hex?” Gaia says.
“Another student?”
”Not exactly.”
“Who exactly?” Pyra asks.
“Well uh it was his wife.”
”Who’s wife?”
“Proff. Greenleaf’s.”
”Oh I see.”
“So can we go now?”
“Of course.”
“Mom!” Pyra ignores Gaia completely. She waits until the girls reach the door giving Gaia a smug look which vanishes as Pyra speaks.
“You know the owlery needs a good cleaning. You girls should get right on that.”
“Now?”
“Well you have class with me in a few hours do you really want to be late?”
“Okay let us just change….”
“No that should just be fine, please hand your wands to Gaia.”
“But how are we….” Pyra flames two buckets with scrubbing brushes into their hands.
”The old fashioned way of course.” The girls glare at a now smiling Gaia. “Keep those looks on your faces and it will be your toothbrushes.”
The girls run out of the room and towards the owlery muttering about how evil Pyra is and she flames in two toothbrushes instead.
“Seriously, you two should quit while your behind,” Gaia calls after them. She closes the door and turns to her mother. “Do you know how creepy you are?” She asked as she placed the wands on the table.
“What do you mean? Pyra asked going back to grading papers as if nothing had happened.
“Mom, I thought you were going to let those girls off…”
”For hexing, well trying to hex my best friend? I should tell Mystic they have class with her this afternoon. I was too nice, I bet even Leggy would have been meaner.”
“Remind me to thank dad later.”
“For what?”
“Punishing us himself you probably would have had us weed Fangorn and thought you were being easy on us.”
“That’s not that bad. Besides you kids were good children, not like the Legolas groupies."
"Oh yeah, 40 points from the flames." Pyra says aloud activating the spell. "I swear if If those pricks cause me to lose to Mystic..." Pyra shakes her head knowing she'll never live down the friendly rivralry.
"What are you talking about? You guys take points away from each other so much you are usually tied for last place."
"That only happened once, or five times," Pyra mutters.
"Uh huh ma and I love the Big Mac."
"Well you can get back to picking daisys or whatever with your favorite teacher I have some more test to grade."
"Actually mom I had to tell you something."
"Did you paint my room pink kill someone I like?"
"No!"
"Then stop being so worried."
"Well its just that this is really important and is going to mean some changes."
"Are you pregnant?" Pyra says looking up at her daughter.
"Mom no!"
"Okay okay sorry, now how about you spit it out and stop subjecting yourself to my outlandish gueses?"
"I want...to be a teacher here" Gaia mutters.
"Yes okay, so what's the earth shattering news?"
"Didn't you want me to do something great with my life and all that stuff?"
"I swear you guys have the strangest ideas about me. Next you'll belive Mystic and her I'm a baby eater nonsense."
"Well sometimes we do wonder how you and dad only had three kids."
"Ugh, shoo. I have tests to grade."
"Bye mom," Gaia says shutting the door.
She walks back to the classroom and finds it empty. Almost empty. Dain was sitting in one of the student desks. "What happened to everyone?"
"Legolas took them outside for a lesson in the sun."
"Oh."
"Yes, so we should go join him."
“Okay I guess we should,” Gaia says.
Dain stands and follows Gaia to the grounds where Legolas had his class spread out with him reclining against a tree, asking questions while passing around the samples Nausi had brought.
“He is actually good at that.”
”You sound surprised,” Gaia says.
“Well he was a wild one.”
“Really? He’s always seemed so calm to me.”
“Ha! Let’s get him some dwarven ale, he’ll be swinging off the walls.”
”Hey he’s glaring at you,” Gaia says looking at her godfather.
“Go kiss a dwarf,” Dain says.
“Who me?” Gaia asks confused.
”Why would you kiss a dwarf when you could kiss an elf?”
“What? Uncle…” Gaia makes a face.
“He’s not the only elf around.”
“Oh…um…uh…”
“Would you like to go have a little chat?”
"Uh..." Gaia starts.
"Dain! Why don't you come help me?" Legolas calls from his seat.
"I'm not the teaching type," Dain says and starts to lead Gaia away by the arm.
"Where are we even going?" Gaia asks after a few minutes.
"I have no idea, this is my first day here remember."
Gaia laughs and leads him to her mom's office which was only a few steps away. She was off teaching a class apparently. Gaia turned to Dain looked at him.
"Where are you from?"
"Lothlorien."
"Ooo really, were you a March warden?"
"We sailed west before I finished my training though I did serve as a guard as you can most clearly see.” Gaia nodded and took a seat in her mother’s chair.
“Now I have a question why are you named for a valar?”
“One, its my middle name, I go by Gaia. And two because I’m an earth spirit and uncle thought it to be fitting.”
“Legolas has no siblings yet you call him uncle, are you a relation to fair Lady Nausikaa?”
“No, my mom, whose office we’re in, has been friends with them for ages. We just do it out of respect I guess.”
“I understand, there must be kitchens in this prison of the young.”
“Its not a prison.”
”Yes I suppose its brighter. Fine a holding pen.”
“So you’re hungry?”
“Quite,” Dain said with a grin.
“Well we can get the house el…er staff to get us stuff,” Gaia said remembering how annoyed Legolas had been to meet house ‘elves’ for the first time.
“Is there a bell of some sort?” Dain asked looking around the room.
Gaia stood and retrieved two plates. “Vegetarian delights,” she said and the plates filled. “We should get out of here before mom comes back,” Gaia says handing Dain the plate and leading him to an outside sitting area. She could just barely make out Legolas’ class in the distance and wondered how well the elf could see his friend.
“Hmm, he’s still glaring, are you sure your not related?” Dain asked with a smirk.
“Yes, why is he glaring?”
“He thinks I’m being too forward of course.”
“Why? You haven’t even tried to do something.”
“You know like kiss me or something.”
Dain stared at Gaia for a moment as if to make sure she was serious. He may be a flirt but he wasn’t a brazen tramp. He hadn’t even formally started to court her. “Uh.”
“Sorry forgot you were an elf for a moment there, I’ve gotten used to not taking kisses seriously.”
“Ah, well unless you want him to come charging after us we should not do such just yet.”
“Want to check out the wide new world?”
”Check out?”
“See, explore, enjoy.”
“Oh, sounds like fun. I suppose I should put on that human skin again,” Dain said the small changes happening even before he was fully conscious of them. “Interesting,” he said his voice taking on an Irish lit again.
“I still wonder about that.” Gaia said aloud.
“About what?”
“Why you have an irish accent.”
“Could it be because we are from different regions and you were using our fair prince as a guide.”
”So lothlorien is to Mirkwood as Ireland is to England? Interesting.”
“What are these places?”
”First we need to get you a map,” Gaia said with a smile.
“What sort of journey are we going on?”
Gaia smiled. “No sweetie you just need a crash geography course. Learn what lands there are and all.”
“Oh.”
“I think a good place to take you is museum mile.”
“What is that?”
“Just a bunch of museums and oh, um a place that holds art and historical artifacts from all over history and the world.”
“Ah I see that would be an appealing site.”
"Yes it would."
"And then maybe we can go home for dinner with Uncle. Hopefully he would have calmed down by then. Or at least Aunt Nausi will be nice."
"I like her," he said with a smile.
"Yes me too, let's go we have a few hours and a lot of museums to cover and only..." Gaia glanced at her wrist and shook her head at the madly spinning hands of her watch.
Dain smiled and was a litle surprised when Gaia took his hand and started tugging him towards a door.
A few hours later...
"Landie couldn't you have tried harder?" Nausikaa asked as she chops carrots for their dinner that night.
"And done what?"
"They are going to have so many problems," Nausikaa adds continuing to chop. "He doesn't even have an identity. He doesn't really, legally exist. And elves and mortals? Landie come on."
"I can't make him do anything he doesn't want to, and I surely can not stop Gaia she has the stubborness of both her parents."
"Maybe we can try and talk to them."
"And say what? Look at what happen to Luthien? Arwen? How would we bring that up? Pass the butter, and look at the tradigies that surround elves who fall for mortals?"
"We can do better than that, we're not dumb."
"Neither are they, and I don't want to alienate them. They will suffer and if they will not listen to us I would hope that they would come to us for help."
"I don't know maybe, we have to think of something."
"Let us just see how this dinner goes, hasn't Pyra told you Gaia is fickle when it comes to men?"
"He's not a man he's an elf."
"Does it make any difference?"
"Landie it makes all the difference," Nausi said exaperated and out of carrots to chop.
"Maybe it won't be so bad? Gaia is not fully human..."
"She's not immortal and she's not an elf."
"We made it work didn't we?"
"Barely," Nausi whispered.
"What?" Orlando asked.
"Nevermind, we should at least get them to slow dpwn there are jumping into this way too quickly."
"I know but that's how they both are, flames that burn bright and fast."