"What is there in this world that
truly makes living worthwhile?"
Death thought about it.
CATS, he said eventually. CATS ARE NICE."

― Terry Pratchett, Sourcery

12. Lady in the Woods

"Stand still!" whispered Legolas. "Do not move or speak!"

A musical laughter came from the tree, and then someone spoke in an unknown language. Legolas visibly relaxed and answered in the same tongue.

"Who are they?" murmured Merry.

"Elves, of course," replied Sam. "Can't you hear that?"

"Yes, they are elves," said Legolas. "And they say you breathe so loud they could have shot you in the dark."

Sam's eyes grew wide and he clasped his hands over his mouth.

Legolas assured him the elves were no threat; they were border guards who had observed the Fellowship since before they crossed the Nimrodel, and because they recognized the elf among them they had allowed them to continue.

They had apparently heard of Frodo's quest and wanted to speak with him. A rope ladder was let down and Legolas and Frodo disappeared up it, closely followed by Sam who refused to leave his friend's side. He climbed rather awkwardly with his hand still covering his mouth.

Soon melodious elf voices came drifting down; speaking too softly for Kat to catch anything.

"I do not like this," muttered Boromir. "What did they want with Frodo?"

"What do you mean?" asked Aragorn, keeping his voice low as well.

"If they know about the quest they probably know what he carries too. What if they try to take... it?"

"Of course not!" Aragorn scoffed. "They are elves."

"And Morgoth was a Vala. That is not–" He did not finish the sentence, for then Legolas returned down.

"They want to see Kat too," he said. Your mission intrigues them, he added mentally.

Kat gave the rope ladder an apprehensive glance. Can't we talk down here?

I will carry you.

But it's super high.

Ignoring her protests, he picked her up and swiftly climbed back.

You're like a monkey, she remarked to keep her mind off the growing abyss.

A what?

Never mind.

To Kat's surprise, there was a wooden platform constructed in the tree, which had been impossible to spot through the dense foliage from below. On it sat Frodo and Sam – who looked as terrified of the height as Kat felt – and three elves in cloaks the same color as the trunk.

The elves resembled each other, especially two of them who looked like they could be twins. Just like Legolas, they had long, blond hair, braided back from their temples and smooth, hairless chins. Despite that, they were clearly male with thick eyebrows and strong, masculine jawlines. So, it was not only Legolas who looked like a carefully photoshopped supermodel then; apparently this was the norm for elves. They could have made a fortune on ads for razors and skincare products.

One of them shone a lamp on Kat, making her blink and temporarily lose her night vision.

Greetings, Little Cat. His voice in her head was warm and mellow, slightly deeper than Legolas'. It felt odd and strangely intimate to hear another elf's thoughts after becoming so used to his. I am Haldir, and these here are my brothers Orophin and Rúmil. Can I call you Kitty?"

No, you can't, Hal. I'm Kat.

Hal? He frowned.

Greetings, Miss, came a fairer voice, presumably one of the brothers', but without their mouths moving she could not say who. Our northern kin tells us you are a human woman?

I'm glad he remembered that. Who am I speaking to? Can you wave or something?

One of them let out a light, melodic laughter. You are funny. I like you already! I am Rúmil.

Then all three spoke to her at once. Kat winced. My head hurts with so many voices. Please, one at a time...

There was a short exchange in their elvish tongue, and Haldir's voice returned. Our apologies. We can only hear you and ourselves, so it is not possible to tell if someone already speaks, but we have agreed to take turns. We have much to ask you.

Fire away, thought Kat tiredly. She had already been through this so many times with first Legolas and then Gandalf.

The elves questioned her for a long time, very interested in her experiences in the Hall of Mandos and her quest, and like Gandalf, they were curious about who she was sent to save.

A vessel... hm. Haldir sounded thoughtful. We have many boats here. Could it be someone from our realm? The Lord of Lórien is like a king to us, though he does not call himself such.

You tell me.

Again the elf brothers discussed among themselves, and then Haldir spoke. We will take you to the Lord and Lady tomorrow. They are wise and have much knowledge; if anyone can understand this riddle, it is they. He continued verbally, speaking Westron with a grave elvish accent: "Kitty and the four hobbits shall stay with us tonight. We do not fear them!" He added that Legolas could take the others to a neighbouring tree and make sure they behaved themselves. There were orcs and wargs approaching; even here it was not safe to sleep on the ground.

Kat gave Legolas a pleading look. She did not want to listen to any more of the brothers' chattering, especially if Haldir would persist calling her Kitty.

Looking rather smug, Legolas said in Westron: "Kat goes with me, but I shall send the other hobbits up."

"Oh. If you are sure..." Haldir sounded disappointed.

Goodnight Hal. And you too... was it Romeo and Oreo? Kat waved her paw.

Legolas chuckled all the way down the ladder.

In the nextdoor tree there was a similar platform, which Legolas said was called a talan. It had a woven screen to protect them from the wind, but no roof and no walls.

This seems not safe at all. And what do they do when it rains?

There are probably houses on the city talans. I think these are mostly used for guarding the borders.

I hate being up here. She shivered, both from the cold and from vertigo.

Just do not look down. He smiled reassuringly. Now, I am curious... What did you think of the Lórien elves?

Well... they were very pretty, of course, but I'm starting to suspect that goes for all of you guys. Don't look like that. Conceit doesn't become you. Anyway, I didn't like them much.

No? How so?

The way they behaved towards the hobbits – it was kind of condescending, you know? As if they were some unusual and amusing animal species. It reminded me of your treatment of me when we first met, actually.

Sorry about that, but you have to admit your story was rather far-fetched. As for Haldir and his brothers, they have not met other races for many centuries, and I think they have never seen a hobbit before. One must excuse their curiosity.

Sounds racist to me.

Sounds what?

The way you divide people into races like that. Not cool.

You mean I should make no difference between myself and, say, Gimli?

Exactly! You're basically the same. Only he's shorter, obviously, and with a beard, and not quite as... Anyway, inside you're the same.

I disagree. He likes caves. I like trees.

Wow, you like trees? I'd never have guessed.

I like them a lot, actually. They–

I was being sarcastic! Of course I knew that.

It was very windy in the tall tree, but thankfully the elf brothers had given Legolas two blankets and a couple of thick wolfskins. He put the furs in the center of the platform for them to lay upon. Aragorn and Boromir would share one blanket and Gimli, Legolas and Kat the other.

When they snuggled down, drawing together for warmth, it struck Kat that despite what Legolas had just said about their differences, it seemed he cared less about Gimli's race these days. She remembered when she first joined the Fellowship, how he had claimed to dislike the other without even knowing him. Simply being a dwarf had been reason enough.

Legolas' thoughts had taken a similar direction. Perhaps Gimli and I are not so different. Though, I have spoken too little with him to know.

Never too late to begin, is it?

He smiled sleepily. True. Maybe I shall try sometime.

Gimli's voluminous beard was surprisingly soft and Kat moved closer under the blanket, fighting down an urge to knead it with her paws. He would probably not appreciate that at all. To her surprise, the dwarf almost absentmindedly began to pet her, and she purred contentedly.

"This is cosy," he remarked.

It is, she agreed, but Legolas did not translate. His breathing was even; he already slept.

Soon Kat drifted off as well, lulled by Gimli's snores and the sound of the wind ruffling the golden leaves above.

/\_,,_.,
(u ᆽ u)

The sound of Legolas stringing his bow woke Kat up not long after. He appeared to be listening intently, and soon she heard it too: the tramping of many feet.

Orcs! Make no sound, he warned.

Kat pressed herself closer to him. There must be hundreds of them, and it sounded like they were heading straight at their talan. She hardly dared breathe. Would the orcs be able to smell them up here, and if so, could they climb trees? Surely not such tall ones as this? She was now immensely grateful they had not spent the night on the ground.

The footsteps came gradually closer, and Kat began to hear more sounds; the jingle of armour, a few growled words, heavy breathing, and most frightening: sniffing like from a pack of hounds. Kat remembered the huge, strange wargs they had encountered at Hollin and felt her fur stand on end at the thought of having such on their trail.

On the talan her friends stirred, but thankfully they had their wits about them and kept quiet. Silently they drew their swords and axe respectively, and Legolas nocked an arrow on his bow.

Then there was a noise further away. Voices. Elf voices.

It is Haldir and his brothers! Bless them. They are leading the orcs off our tracks. He repeated the message in a barely audible whisper to Aragorn, Boromir and Gimli.

Judging by the sounds, the orcs instantly changed direction and broke into a run. Soon they were too far away to be heard.

I hope the elves will be okay...

They will. This is their forest; they can take care of themselves.

Feeling slightly calmer again, the four people and the cat lay back on the skins, trying to relax, but of course neither of them could fall asleep. Kat could not help straining her ears in case the orcs would return, and next to her Gimli and Legolas lay tense and ready to jump up and fight if need be.

After perhaps half an hour, Kat heard something new. A nearby tree was stirring – not the one where the hobbits slept, this was at the other side.

She sat bolt upright. Did you hear that?

Hear what? Legolas sat too.

"What's happening?" whispered Gimli.

"Kat heard something," Legolas breathed back.

That tree is moving. She nodded in the direction of the sound.

I see it. Someone is there... on the outer branch. They are coming this way. He picked up his bow, and again the other three drew their weapons.

There was a swishing sound and their own tree trembled slightly.

They jumped here, but I cannot see where they are. Legolas' inner voice was taut and grim.

"Suilad." The fair voice was so unsuspected Kat almost peed herself in surprise, and the others drew in sharp, shocked breaths.

"Show yourself," said Aragorn sternly. There was no reaction, so he tried another language – the elf tongue he sometimes spoke with Legolas and Frodo – and now the voice responded. Then an elf woman dropped down from one of the branches above the platform. She was clad in a similar, gray cloak as Haldir and his brothers. Its shifting color seemed to have the same effect as camouflage clothes.

Kat studied her curiously. No wonder elf males were so beautiful, if their females looked like this! Her face was oval and her features regular, with large, blue eyes and a pink, rosebud mouth. A golden blonde mane fell down to her waist when she pushed back her hood, and though rather unkempt and full of leaves, it looked thick and strong, unlike most blonde hairs Kat had seen before – that tended to be full of split ends.

Aragorn fired questions at her in elvish, but she did not reply. Instead she sat on her haunches, looking intently at Kat.

Hello, cat.

Um. Hi?

I saw when you came across the river. I have never seen a travelling cat before.

I guess I'm unusual. Kat was too tired to explain that she was a woman and describe her mission a second time in the same night.

You are very beautiful. Can I touch you? The elf woman reached out a slim hand. Its elegant form was somewhat ruined by her torn and very dirty nails.

Go ahead.

What is she saying? asked Legolas. Kat had forgotten he could hear her inner conversation even when directed to another elf. So much for privacy.

She wants to pet me.

Ask who she is and why she is following us. She is not answering Aragorn's questions.

My companions here want to know who you are?

You are really soft, she said. I like the feel of your fur against my palm.

That's nice. Why did you follow us here?

Can I carry you? I have never carried a cat.

Maybe if you answer my question, Kat tried.

I came because I wanted to touch you. Can I carry you now?

Oh, alright. Legolas, she says she came here because of me.

He translated to Aragorn, who looked even more suspicious at that. As if it was so strange to be curious about a cat!

Is his name Green leaf? The elf woman picked Kat up, holding her tight against her bosom. I like that name. She smiled dreamily at Legolas, who hesitantly returned it, looking rather confused.

Kat felt a twinge of annoyance and sternly pushed it down.

Still petting Kat, the elf woman regarded the others for the first time. Those two are humans, but the tall one looks like an elf, she thought and smiled at Aragorn as well.

He frowned.

He reminds me of a human man I knew. He often looked angry like that. But I liked him anyway.

I see.

He killed an elf and ran away. The elf's exquisite features fell and her eyes became misty. She had very long lashes.

Sorry to hear that, thought Kat politely. This must be the strangest conversation she had ever had.

I told the king he was innocent and he forgave him. But it did not help. He never returned and then he killed himself. A tear trickled down her cheek.

Wait... if he killed an elf, how could he be innocent?

Who killed an elf? asked Legolas tensely.

The elf was mean to him and attacked him. He had to defend himself.

Legolas asks who the man was?

His name was Túrin.

When Kat told Legolas this, his eyes grew wide. If he is the one I think, he lived over six millennia ago, in my father's homeland.

When did it happen? asked Kat. Was it a long time ago?

I cannot remember. But I think of it often. She smiled through her tears.

"She does not seem dangerous," said Aragorn in Westron, sheathing his sword. Boromir did the same, and Gimli let his axe drop.

The elf woman sat down with Kat still in her lap, stroking her fur and contentedly gazing at the surrounding canopy. Aragorn tried to talk to her several times but she seemed not to notice.

After a while they heard some strange, birdlike whistles from below.

"I think it is Haldir and his brothers returning," said Legolas.

Soon Haldir poked his head up from below. When he caught sight of the elf woman he winced. "Oh no. Not Nellas!" he growled.

Hearing her name, the elf woman looked up and her forehead wrinkled. I do not like him, she thought to Kat.

That makes two of us.

"This is Nellas? I remember her from the old tales," said Legolas excitedly. He asked her something in his own tongue, but again there was no reply.

"Do not bother," said Haldir dismissively. "She is..." He made a motion with his hand over his head.

"Oh."

"Now, let me tell you about the orc company." He described how he and his brother had lured the enemy deep into the forest and left them there, while his other brother had hurried ahead to fetch their warriors. Those orcs would never leave Lothlórien.

"Well done!" cheered Aragorn.

"However, when we returned here just now, we found a strange creature climbing the tree with the hobbits. It looked almost like a hobbit as well, but it was too dark to see clearly, and it fled when it smelled us."

"Could that be the orc Kat heard?" asked Boromir. "The one who followed us in Moria."

"It was no orc," said Haldir firmly.

"I do not like this," said Aragorn, sounding concerned.

"Whatever it was, it cannot enter our guarded city," said Haldir. "Dawn is upon us. We shall go there now."

In the bleak, cold morning they set out again, with Haldir in the lead and his brother Rúmil in the rear. To the elves' dismay, Nellas went with them, insisting on carrying Kat and not at all minding their vain attempts to shoo her away.

I like that there are so many mellyrn here, she thought conversationally.

What's that?

Mallorn trees. She indicated the golden foliage above. Which is your favorite tree?

I don't know many tree species, sorry.

Apart from mellyrn, my favorites are beeches. I love the crisp sound of their leaves under my feet in the autumn. Don't you?

I can't recall what beech leaves look like.

Are you talking about trees? asked Legolas interestedly, and added something in elvish. This time Nellas replied, and soon they were deeply engaged in conversation.

Again Kat felt that annoying pang.

Then Haldir made his bird whistle and she turned to see what was happening. He was standing at the riverbank, and another elf emerged from the underbrush on the other side. Haldir elegantly tossed one end of a gray rope over to him and secured the other end around a tree trunk. Soon they had created a tightrope bridge across the stream.

"I can walk this, but not the others," said Legolas. "Must they swim?"

Swim? Are you mad? Kat looked at the swirling waters with deep distrust. As a human she had liked swimming, but now the mere thought of it made her shudder.

Haldir laughed and tossed another two ropes across, tying them over the first one; a lower rope for the hobbits and Gimli to hold onto, and a higher one for the humans. With various degrees of ease they then traversed it. Pippin seemed a natural tightrope walker, while Sam looked terrified the whole time, claiming it to be unnatural and something more suited for spiders.

When at last they all stood on the other side, Haldir took a strip of cloth from his pack. "As was agreed, I shall here blindfold the eyes of the dwarf."

"What? I never agreed to this!" Gimli looked outraged.

"It is our law."

Gimli's bushy eyebrows drew together, making his deeply set eyes nearly disappear. He would rather return back home than be treated like a prisoner! When he hefted his axe threateningly the elves drew their bows.

Legolas shook his head in annoyance. "Dwarves and their stiff necks!"

"Blindfold us all," said Aragorn. "Legolas too. It is not fair to single out the dwarf."

"Aye, I can agree to that," said Gimli, chuckling at the mental images of all of them stumbling blindly through the forest.

"Me? I am an elf and their kin!" Now it was Legolas' turn to look outraged.

"Elves and their stiff necks!" Aragorn smirked.

In the end, Legolas had to yield and all of them were blindfolded, even Kat, still lying in Nellas' arms.

"That I must walk blind, while the sun shines under leaves of gold," grumbled Legolas.

Maybe you can talk with your new friend, thought Kat tartly.

Are you jealous? came his amused reply.

Not at all, she lied. Of course you like her; she's very beautiful.

Thank you, thought Nellas. Again, Kat had completely forgotten that all elves could hear her, although they could not hear each other.

So? All elf ladies are beautiful. But you need not worry. I am not the marrying kind.

Whoa, hold on... Aren't you reading a lot into my words now? I never said anything about... that. She avoided the word marriage, not wanting Nellas and possibly Haldir and Rúmil to know the embarrassing turn their conversation had taken. And I wasn't worrying, she added.

I forget you are human. To elves, love and marriage are the same, and if I wanted a wife, I would have found one long before my five-hundredth year.

You mean you're too old for... such things?

Of course not, he scoffed. I told you, elves do not age. I am still in my prime, and will remain so indefinitely.

But if you met someone you really liked, then you could marry her despite your age? Kat again forgot their audience.

I still like Túrin though he is dead, thought Nellas. But he married his sister. And then she died too.

Who is marrying who? thought Haldir curiously, almost at the same time.

Goodness, this is confusing. Kat shook her head dizzily. Wait, what... He married his sister?

Oh, is Nellas going on about Túrin again, thought Haldir dismissively.

If you mean Túrin, aye, he did, thought Legolas. Unknowingly, of course. It is a long and very sad story; I will tell it another time. But to answer your question, I suppose elves cannot grow too old for such feelings – in fact, Aragorn is betrothed to an elf maid older than I. However, I am sure love is not for me, and even if it were, you can rest assured Nellas will never provoke it. I enjoyed talking with her about trees, and about Doriath where my father grew up, but she is... like a small elfling, though she is an adult, if you know what I mean?

Was he trying to say that Nellas had an intellectual disability? For some reason Kat felt annoyed but could not quite explain why. Maybe it was his offhand dismissal of Nellas as a potential partner because she was different, or maybe it was his determination never to fall in love.

Your love life is none of my business, she thought. And then she fell silent, tired of voices in her head, just focusing on the various smells and sounds of the forest, and the soft conversation between Haldir and the hobbits as they trudged on blindly.

Soon she would meet this famous Lady of Lórien, and maybe then she could finally find out more about her quest.

A/N:

If you want to know the story about Túrin and his unlucky life, you can read it in The Silmarillion, or in greater detail, in The Children of Húrin. Or you could try my Thranduil's Shadow where Túrin plays an important part in later chapters.

Image Credits:

Public domain