Aragorn leads me through the castle after showing me to my room and allowing me to change into a nice dress. He speaks to me as if we have been friends for ages, and he is just like I always imagined him to be. His hair is shoulder length and dark brown, and his eyes are gray. His eyes hold such wisdom! When I look into them, the intensity reminds me much of Galadriel’s eyes. There is a deep warmth and kindness that lies behind them, and I have no trouble imagining why everyone loves him. His voice is deep and soothing, reminding me much of the man I thought to be my father on Earth.

As he speaks to me, I am hyper aware of the feeling of Legolas’s eyes on me. He follows behind us, only speaking every once in a while when Aragorn addresses him. I try to remain calm inside, knowing that I will soon be meeting many of the characters I read about and loved in the Lord of the Rings. I have to keep reminding myself that they are not characters now; they are real.

Aragorn leads me to an oak door. He looks back at Legolas for a moment. “You might want to enter first,” he says to him with a grin, “We will be in right after you.”

Legolas nods and reluctantly pushes through the door and into the room. I immediately hear voices buzzing at his arrival. I glance at Aragorn, wondering when he will lead me in, too.

He looks at me hesitantly. He opens his mouth and closes it once before speaking warily. “What do you think of Legolas?”

My eyes widen at the random question, and I am quite sure that my cheeks are turning red. “He is very kind and noble,” I say, wondering why he is asking such a thing.

Aragorn nods slightly, and I sense that I did not answer the question in the way that he wanted. “Aye,” is all he says before pushing the door open.

My heart soars in anxiousness as I follow Aragorn into the crowded room. My eyes trail over Legolas speaking to a few blonde haired elves, who I assume to be his family members. There are several other elves in the room, but their hair is dark brown, something I have not seen before in Lothlorien. Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn stand beside the dark haired elves. I glance down at the floor when I realize that the chatter in the room has ceased, and the elves’ eyes are all on me.

“Daddy!” I hear a small voice call, and a small human girl with bright blue eyes and long, wavy chestnut brown hair comes running toward us. She has a tiny doll clutched to her chest, and her dress is a rich red color, seeming to be made of very fine fabric. A small circlet rests upon her small head, a single red ruby dangling in the center at her forehead.

Aragorn immediately crouches down, holding his arms open, and the small girl jumps into them willingly. Aragorn lifts her off of her feet, and she looks at him seriously. “You did not tell me that Legolas had arrived,” she says with a pout, and I hear several chuckles amongst the elves in the room. I look at Legolas for a fleeting moment and see him grinning as he looks at the child. Then, as if feeling my gaze, his beautiful blue eyes meet mine. I feel my heart flutter in my chest. He is so handsome, and even more so when he smiles. I divert my gaze after a few seconds, and accidentally catch the gaze of the older ellon standing a few feet away from Legolas. He is almost identical to Legolas, yet his eyes hold an infinite wisdom in them as if he has lived many long years. He must be Legolas’s father. King Thranduil of Mirkwood.

“Who is she?” I turn back to Aragorn when I hear his daughter’s innocent voice.

The little girl stares at me in wonder, along with all of the other elves in the room, and I feel my heartbeat speed up. I have always hated being the center of attention, and so far it seems as if the citizens of Middle Earth love to put me in awkward situations as often as possible.

Aragorn turns to me and gives me a reassuring smile. No doubt my fear is shown clearly on my face. “This is Eilonwy, my child,” he says to the girl, but he says it loudly so that all of the others in the room can hear.

If only the floor would swallow me.

I see a blonde haired elleth turn to look at Legolas with wide eyes and a radiant smile when she hears my name.

Aragorn sets the child back on her feet, and she walks over to me with a sheepish grin, her dress flowing behind her. “Hello, my lady. My name is Estrith,” she says to me quietly.

My heart melts for the adorable child, and I bend down to where I am looking at her eye-to-eye. “It is wonderful to meet you, Estrith. I am Eilonwy,” I say and smile at her, and I look down at the doll in her hands, “I like your doll.”

Her eyes turn bright with excitement, and she thrusts the doll in my face so that I can get a clear view of it. Aragorn and a few of the others laugh at the child’s eagerness. I laugh lightly and gently take the doll from her hands. The doll is sewn expertly together. It has bright blue eyes and brown hair, just like Estrith does.

“Daddy gave it to me,” she says and analyzes me carefully to make sure that I do not ruin the doll somehow, “It is supposed to look like me.”

“It looks exactly like you, Estrith,” I say softly to her as I carefully place the doll back into her small, awaiting hands, “Beautiful.” I smile tenderly at the small child.

She looks up at me with so much happiness in her eyes, and her smile is so bright that I am sure it could light up the whole room. “Thank you, Lady Eilonwy,” she says politely and looks up at her father with a grin.

“You are most welcome,” I say and stand, and I clasp my hands together in front of me.

“Would you like to play with me?” Estrith asks, looking up at me with round, innocent eyes, “I have another doll that you can play with.”

Aragorn chuckles deeply and places a hand on her shoulder. “I doubt Lady Eilonwy wants to play, Estrith.”

She pouts.

I laugh brightly at the girl. “I will play with you later, how is that?” I offer.

She squints her eyes at me analytically. “Will you really?” she questions as if she has been told this many times and was blown off.

I nod. “I promise,” I say with a laugh.

She giggles. “I will find you later then!” she exclaims and scampers out of the room.

Aragorn looks at me with a fond smile. “You will regret that deal later. Estrith plays with her dolls for hours on end,” he says with an amused laugh.

“I do not mind,” I say honestly and smile widely as I think of little Estrith and her doll.

Lady Galadriel motions for me to come over to her. “Come, Eilonwy,” she says with a motherly smile, “You have yet to meet everyone.”

I hesitantly walk over to her and the dark haired elves. I immediately recognize one of them as Lord Elrond from the visions that I saw in the Mirror of Galadriel. Two ellyn stand beside him, and I recognize them as the twins who I also saw in the Mirror.

Galadriel smiles, placing one hand on my lower back. “Eilonwy, this is Lord Elrond of Rivendell, his wife Lady Celebrain, and his sons Elladan and Elrohir,” she says, gesturing to each one as she names them.

I bow to them. “It is an honor to meet you all,” I say.

Lord Elrond bows to me, and his wife smiles kindly. “I am honored, as well, to finally meet the daughter of Edwemen and Hithaeriel,” Elrond says. His voice is deep and rumbling.

“You knew my parents,” I state rather than ask, and he nods his head once in affirmation.

“It seems that everyone knew them except for me,” I say quietly. It hurts to know that my real parents died to protect me. I grew up believing the ones who raised me on Earth were my real parents. Growing up not knowing about my parents makes me feel guilty in a way. They gave up their lives for me, and I never even knew it.

My gaze travels to the twins, and a smile creeps onto my face as I think of all the stories Legolas has told me of them. “Legolas speaks oft of you both,” I tell them and turn to glance at Legolas for a moment. He walks over with a grin as he looks at me amusedly.

Elrohir chuckles and raises an eyebrow at Legolas. “Really? You know, I could tell you many stories of Legolas if you wish,” he says to me with a mischievous smirk.

“There is no need,” I say with a laugh, “Legolas tells me his embarrassing stories all on his own.”  

The twins and the other elves in the room laugh heartily at my joke, and Legolas glares at me playfully.

“Legolas has always had a habit of embarrassing himself,” Aragorn says as he comes to stand beside me, “He needs no one to do it for him.”

Legolas scowls at Aragorn, and he touches my arm lightly, sending butterflies into my stomach. “Come. I want you to meet my family before these two can tell you lies about me,” he says and chuckles at Elrohir’s faux innocent expression.  

Legolas leads me away from them and over to his family, but I do not miss the look that Elladan is giving me. I do not miss the sadness in his eyes, and I feel bad for him, knowing how hard it must be hearing that I am the daughter of the elleth he once loved. The scene from the vision I saw comes back to me. I can see clearly in my mind the way that he looked at the lifeless body of my mother with grief-stricken eyes.

“This is my father King Thranduil and my mother Queen Nithroel,” he says, and King Thranduil and Queen Nithroel both bow to me politely, “And this is my brother Gwilithon and my sister Glosseth.” They both bow to me.

Glosseth smiles widely at me. “It is so lovely to meet you, Lady Eilonwy!” she exclaims and glances at Legolas, “I feel as if we are friends already.”

I know right away that I like her very much due to her kindness and childlike personality. Her eyes are a strikingly blue color, just like Legolas’s, and her hair falls in soft blonde waves. She wears a sky blue dress with long flowing sleeves that has pure white lace trimming in several places. A silver circlet rests upon her brow, a blue teardrop shaped crystal hanging in the middle of her forehead. A wide and elated smile rests upon her lips as she looks at me.

“It is wonderful to meet you, as well,” I respond with a genuine smile, “I like your dress very much.”

Her smile seems to grow wider, if possible, and she clasps her hands together in front of her. “Thank you, Lady Eilonwy,” she continues, “Is it alright if I just call you Eilonwy? You can call me Glosseth. No formalities are needed.”

My mind races to keep up with how quickly she speaks, but as I open my mouth to respond, King Thranduil speaks for the very first time.

“Calm yourself, my daughter,” he says with a slight smirk. His gaze travels to me. His eyes are the same blue color as his son’s, yet his remind me of ice; whereas, Legolas’s eyes remind me of the ocean. The King’s tone is deep, and he stands several heads taller than me. His proud posture and stern brow only add to his intimidating presence. He wears elegant silver robes, the underside of them the color of blood, and a silver crown on his head. I fight the urge to cower and flee from him as quickly as I can. “A star shines on the hour of our meeting, Lady Eilonwy,” he says and smiles.

“So it does,” I reply, “I am honored to be in the presence of Mirkwood’s royal family.”

The king’s eyes analyze me carefully, and his wife steps forward and takes my hands gently into her own. “Any friend of our son’s is a friend of ours. You are welcome to address us without formalities, as Glosseth has said.”

The Queen is beautiful. I notice right away that she and Glosseth look very similar in appearance. Her kind smile reaches her icy blue eyes, giving off a motherly vibe.

“I appreciate your kindness,” I tell her honestly and then look around the room at them all, “Thank you all so much for welcoming me so warmly.”

“Would you like a tour about the castle?” Glosseth asks me cheerily.

“I would love that, if you do not mind, that is,” I tell her happily. I’ve been hoping to find a close friend, and Glosseth fits the bill perfectly.

She walks gracefully over to me and links her arm in mine. “I am stealing Eilonwy,” she says with a laugh and pulls me with her toward the door.

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A/N: So yeahhhhh :D Thanks for reading! Please excuse any grammatical errors! I’ll proofread later. See y’all next chapter!

Love,

Josie <3