Silverpath: The Calling

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Lekrisa woke to the high chirping of many birds. The sun was high in the air, telling her that it was morning. To her surprise, Legolas was gone. Disappointment flooded through her for not bidding him farewell. She yawned and stretched out her arms. That was when she felt something enclosed in her left hand. She opened it to reveal a silver necklace with a golden leaf on it.
“What a fool,” she muttered. “Why did he have to give me this?”
After a few moments of staring at it, she realized that she held the charm that identified Legolas as a prince of Mirkwood. Why did he give me this? She asked herself again in her thoughts.
In the end, she decided to wear it, thinking that Legolas only gave it to her as a token of friendship and safety. She hid it underneath her tunic and quickly grabbed her bow. Oh no! My father's going to suspect my absence!
Not wanting to waste anymore of her precious time, Lekrisa raced through the trees. Crossing the bridge, she bowed before the guards that stood near the huge, stone doors that opened into the grand cave of the elven king.
“Who is this lady that wishes to enter into our king's chambers?” One of the guards teased her, his gray eyes sparkling as he gazed down at the woman before him. He turned to his companion. “Surely she is not well dressed to enter into the house of our king?”
The other guard chuckled, and Lekrisa turned to the first guard with anger in her eyes.
“Why do you waste your time bothering me?” she snapped, “You know that I am the kind of person you don't want to mess, Jioda.”
“Oh yes, I remember you.” Jioda smiled. “You went off into the forest with the heir of Mirkwood. What were you two doing?”
Lekrisa shoved him roughly. “Let me in!” she argued, trying to move past him.
Jioda sighed. “Fine. Let her through, Striad.” His companion slowly opened the doors.
“Lekrisa, just let me know when you're free to run off into the woods with me.” Jioda grabbed her chin gently, forcing her to return his gaze. “Now go and take your pretty face out of my sight.” She glared at him, then swiftly ran inside.
She hardly noticed the citizens of Mirkwood as she walked to the familiar stone settlement near the king's halls. Quickening her pace, she quietly entered, only to find Keldar waiting for her.
“Did he leave?”
Lekrisa stared back at him with surprise. She wasn't expecting this!
“Yes,” she answered knowing that her father spoke of Legolas. Keldar watched his daughter closely.
“You must be starving,” he told her softly, “Go and have yourself some breakfast.” Lekrisa settled her bow against a chair and went into the kitchen. She grabbed an apple from a basket and bit into it.
“Do you have anything for me to do today, Ada?” she asked in between bites. Keldar came in the kitchen with a breastplate in his hands.
“Visit King Thranduil and present this to him. Make sure he replies back,” he paused. “Then after doing that, you can take the week off.”
Lekrisa's eyes widened, swallowing the apple seeds unknowingly. “Really, Ada?” she asked with surprise in her tone.
“Lekrisa, you deserve it.” Keldar smiled as Lekrisa grabbed the armor from his hands with excitement.
“Thank you, Ada!” The elleth kissed her father on the cheek then quickly rushed out of the room.
She's grown so much. Keldar said to himself. She really looks like you, Keslya. The elf placed his hands on the stone table.
Someday I'm going to have to let her go.
~()~
Lekrisa had adorned herself in the best dress she had. It was a simple dress, light green and soft. Since the piece of armor was rather light, she held it in one hand as she walked to the king's hall.
After the guard had welcomed her in, she couldn't help but stare at the marvelous room. Even though she had been here before, each entry always seemed as if it were the first.
As she quietly strode down the hall to the wooden thrones, her light footsteps echoed noisily against the stone walls. King Thranduil looked up from a parchment that he was holding.
“Ah, it is Lady Lekrisa,” he spoke, turning his gray gaze on her. His wife, Queen Taléra, smiled gently at her.
They both wore a crown of berries and red leaves which announced that it was near mid-autumn. Lekrisa stopped a few feet from them and bowed.
“Greetings, Lekrisa. What can we do for you on this lovely morning?” Taléra asked her, the queen's gentle voice ringing in the room. “Indeed, it is a beautiful day today, my lady.” Lekrisa turned to Thranduil. “I come before you, my lord, because my father wishes to show you an example of a special piece of armor he made. He says that he has been telling of it to you last night.”
“Oh yes! Your father boasted that he once made armor that was both light and well-protective.” The king stood and walked towards her, his golden hair glowing slightly. “Here, let me see if your father's bragging is true.”
She gave it to him quietly and watched as he held it in his hands. “It's very light, so he is right there,” the king murmured.
Unlike his sons, Legolas and Arodras, Thranduil had a stern personality. There was talk in the kingdoms of how he mistreated Bilbo Baggins and his dwarf companions. Many said that the elven king imprisoned Thorin Oakenshield because of some treasure that the dwarf kept secret. Others also spoke about Thranduil throwing Thorin's company in the prison underneath the king's halls. They said that the king did this because he loved riches and didn't want anyone else to have a higher amount than he did.
Of course, all this was true, but Lekrisa did not want to believe it because her king had always treated his people with kindness. Besides, Queen Taléra was visiting Lothlórien at that time and both of their sons went also. Probably this was why the king acted badly, she reasoned
“I'll take two hundred.” Thranduil's voice tore her away from her thoughts.
“Two... Two hundred?” she asked with her mouth wide open. The king's gray eyes stared down at her with deep confusion.
“What? Can your father not make that much?”
“No, it's just that I never expected you would order that many.” Lekrisa replied, impatient to tell her father.
“How much time would he need?”
“About two months and a half.” Lekrisa nodded to the piece of armor the king still held. “You may keep that one.” She bowed again and turned to go.
“Lekrisa, wait!” Taléra yelled out her name, making her stop in her tracks. The queen quickly walked to her, a basket held in her hand.
“Here, take this,” she said, handing it to her. “I have noticed that your father is forgetting about his daughter's needs; I have noticed that you have so few dresses. He'll appreciate my giving of these to you.”
Lekrisa took the basket, touching one of the soft, lilac dresses inside. “Thank you, my lady,” she said gratefully, her cheeks red with embarrassment. The queen is giving me dresses!
Saying her farewell, she walked quickly out the door, a basket in one hand, and happiness that would not last long in the other.

~()~
“Are you sure you won't be needing any help, Elkaye?” Lekrisa asked her friend as she munched on a strawberry.
“Lekrisa, you don't need to worry. I can handle things on my own.” The dark-haired elf said while she straightened up the small room. “Just because Ledar's not here doesn't mean that I can't take care of everything by myself.”
After leaving the throneroom, Lekrisa had headed straight home. She found her father in his forge and told him of the news. After hearing this, Keldar automatically started to make the armor, telling his daughter that he wouldn't be needing her help for a while.
Lekrisa did not mention anything about Taléra's gift, knowing that her father would make her return it out of embarrassment. Instead, she had hid the dresses in her room, safe from her father's knowing. It would take her father a long time to notice that his daughter's clothes had mysteriously multiplied.
Since she had the day off, Lekrisa decided to spend it at Elkaye's dwelling. “Mellon nin, I feel rather useless watching you work all day long! Tell me what I can do to help you.” Lekrisa demanded, standing to face her friend. Elkaye watched her with a stern look.
After a while, she sighed. “Fine. The dishes are in need of a wash.” She pointed to a neatly stacked pile of dirty dishes in a little square container. “I would have had time to do them if Ledar was here. You do know where to wash them, right?” Lekrisa nodded, thankful that her friend would let her help. She couldn't help but worry for her friend while Ledar was away.
Ledar was Elkaye's husband, and a faithful messenger of Thranduil's court. He had been sent to Esgaroth to tell the lord there of wargs sighted in the east ends of Mirkwood. Ledar had been gone for three weeks, leaving his nearly two months pregnant wife at home. Sadly, it would be four months later before Elkaye got word of her husband's death, and unfortunately, Lekrisa would not be there to comfort her.
Grabbing a rag and some soap, Lekrisa opened the door, and walked out of Elkaye's small dwelling inside a tree. Thranduil had told her that she could live inside the cave for a while, but she denied the offer, saying that she would wait for Ledar in their home.
Walking past the woods, Lekrisa headed to the small stream nearby, holding the container filled with dishes in her hands. Rubbing the soap onto the cloth, she dipped the dishes individually in the water and began washing.
She scrubbed at the dishes, unaware of Ledar's death and of her disappearance a few months later to that day. In fact, Lekrisa didn't know that her strange vision yesterday was mysteriously linked to her dark future. Rather, all she did know was that she, and her father, would earn a large amount of money, and that Legolas was in love with her, causing her to form a plan to avoid him when he returned. Or perhaps, his love for her would disappear when he came back.
After all the dishes had been washed and dried, she went back inside Elkaye's home, only to find that she was resting.
“So, why weren't you there last night, Lekrisa?” Elkaye asked, handing her a cup of water. Lekrisa took the drink and sat down in the seat next to her. “Your father said that you were tending to the garden, but I got rather suspicious when Legolas left and didn't come back,” she added. “You weren't in the gardens, were you?”
Lekrisa sighed. “No,” she said truthfully, “I just stayed home because I felt rather sick. My foresight came back last night.”
Elkaye's eyes widened with curiosity. “Your foresight came back?”
Lekrisa nodded quietly and found herself telling her friend about what happened. She carefully left out the parts of Legolas kissing her, only saying that he simply asked to go shooting arrows with her. “I'm telling you Lekrisa, he has feelings for you,” her friend commented.
Then Lekrisa told her about the strange foresight that she had. After hearing this, Elkaye stayed silent. “Your mother also had the gift of foresight, didn't she?”
Lekrisa cringed as if her friend had struck her. Her mother, Keslya, had the gift of foresight too, like her daughter. Except her foresight was whole, unlike Lekrisa, who only saw fragments.
Keslya died suddenly when Lekrisa was just a child and still lived in Rivendell. It was said that wargs killed her when she was journeying to Lothlórien. Whether she had known of her death or not, no one knew.
Even though Lekrisa hardly remembered her mother, whenever someone mentioned her, it felt like they were reopening the wounds from the past that she kept hidden. She placed her head in her hands, trying to keep hold of her emotions.
“This foresight of yours must be serious. Remember what happened last time?”
Lekrisa nodded in reply of her friend's question. She remembered that day like it was just yesterday. She had been near the age of maturing then, and was at the winter feast when it suddenly came. Searing pain suddenly slashed at her leg and she heard a few wild cries that chilled her to the bone.
A few weeks later, her foresight forgotten, Lekrisa went hunting in the western woods. Foolish as she was, she did not heed the warning of a few orcs sightings in the area. When the orcs attacked, she had no knowing. One of the orcs slashed out at her leg, causing her to fall helplessly to the ground. She would have been killed if it weren't for Legolas and his brother, who had followed her. Even though the princes finished off the orcs, a long scar left on her right leg reminded her of the early warning.
After that day, she had other foresights, which only announced births or the visitations of important people. She had not had a warning foresight until now.
“From the way you described that howl, it sounds like a warg,” Elkaye suggested.
She shook her head. “It was something else; it sure didn't sound like a warg. And besides,” Lekrisa paused, “I wasn't frightened by it.”
Her friend shrugged. “In that case, it was probably something else. Are you sure that's all?” Lekrisa swiftly nodded.
“Hmm... I think you should tell King Thranduil of it. It seems to be warning you of an attack.” Elkaye drank some water from her cup.
“Maybe it is,” Lekirsa spoke thoughtfully. Or it could be something that already happened, she thought, or maybe it's something in the future that none of us can stop from happening.
Trying to erase these thoughts, Lekrisa pulled out a random book from the shelf. It turned out to be 'The Tale of Túrin and Niënor', the story that she knew by heart. Flipping it open to a random page, she glanced at it with dismay.
“The death of Beleg,” she said quietly.
Elkaye suddenly sighed. “The Tale of Túrin and Niënor, how sad and dreadful,” she stopped. “Wait, wasn't your mother related to Beleg?”
“Yes, I think they were distant cousins.” Lekrisa let her eyes linger over the words on the page. How horrid it was to kill your friend by mistake!
Beleg was Túrin's closest, and trustworthy companion. After Beleg freed him from the orcs, Túrin accidently killed the elf by mistake, thinking that he was an enemy trying to kill him. After finding out that it was his friend he killed, Túrin mourned his death, disappointed of his own foolishness. Lekrisa closed the book shut, not wishing to read any of it anymore.
After their short break, the two friends busied themselves by cleaning Elkaye's dwelling. Three hours later, Lekrisa went back home, unaware of the danger coming closer in her future.

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Chapter End Notes:
Oh yes, it gets darker.