LEGOLAS
TITLE:Elenath
AUTHOR:Emily Kinsman
RATING:PG
FEEDBACK: emilyk@apptechnc.net 
DISCLAIMER:The characters from Lord of the Rings, their wonderful 
world, and the Elf-lore are all borrowed from J.R.R. Tolkien. I wish he 
were 
alive to see the LOTR pandamonium! The plotline and all other 
characters are copyright 2002 Emily Kinsman. 'Nuff Said
SUMMARY:I don't want to ruin any surprises, but an Elf-babe is 
abandoned in our world (through a nexus of sorts) to be raised by a 
human 
woman. This is the story of her return to her true home.
FEEDBACK: Please Please, Pretty Please tell me what you think! I'm new 
at this.
ARCHIVE: YES

********************************
24.  
"Legolas, what are you doing? I'm fine! I can walk!" Elenath struggled a little in 
his arms. 
"Be still!" he commanded. The tone of his voice startled her. 
"But why?" 
He did not answer but stopped in the doorway of Lord Elrond's chambers. Estel 
stood guard there and regarded the couple with curiosity.  
"Please, wake Lord Elrond," commanded the Prince. "Elenath has been 
wounded." 
"Wounded by what?" asked Estel. 
"An orcish blade. Quickly!" 
The look that crossed Estel's eyes was enough to really frighten Elenath. The 
Man turned and ran into the chamber, shouting Elrond's name as he went. 
"Legolas, what is going on here?" she demanded. "What was that look I just saw 
in Estel's eyes?" 
"Elenath, if that blade was poisoned, then we have very little time to counter the 
affects. Only your grandfather knows the cure and has the power to carry it out." 
"But I feel fine," she said, her eyes wide. "It's just a scratch, no worse than if an 
angry cat had gotten me." 
"I'm not taking any chances," he insisted. 
Lord Elrond came to them seconds later, reaching out to take his granddaughter 
gently in his arms. 
"I'm fine," she insisted again. "Please, don't make such a big deal over a little 
scratch." 
"Dina. Be silent," said her grandfather, calling for lights. As if by magic, 
attendants entered the room bearing torches, lighting the lamps. The room 
brightened considerably and Elenath squinted. This was ridiculous. Being carried 
around like a sack of potatoes when she was completely capable of walking. 
Lord Elrond looked at the wound closely. "Distract her, Legolas."  
The Prince leaned near and kissed her with a passion that nearly took her breath 
away as Elrond pulled the pitcher from his bedside and poured a stream of liquid 
over the wound.  
Fire! Her arm felt as if it was on fire and she yanked away from Legolas 
screaming bloody murder. "What are you doing?" 
"Trying to save your life," said her grandfather. "It is a miracle that you're not 
unconscious already." 
"I told you. I feel fine." Her teeth were gritted against the burning fire that spread 
from her arm to the rest of her body. "Except that stuff you just put on me makes 
me feel as if I am burning from the inside out." 
"Proof that you have been poisoned." He said gravely.  
"What was it?" she demanded. 
"Water," replied Elrond. "Now be silent and hold still or I shall have to render you 
unconscious myself." 
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to subdue the pain that 
wracked her. 
"The poison reacts with water in this way," Legolas explained to her quietly. 
"Will I die?" she asked. 
"Not in my care, you won't!" replied Elrond, mixing a poultice of herbs and 
smearing it over the scratch in her arm. The pain subsided a little bit and he 
began to chant over her in Elvish. She only caught parts of what he said because 
Legolas also was whispering to her – sweet endearments and apologies for his 
earlier behavior.  
Elrond chanted, "Be merciful, O Lord, and heal…" 
Legolas whispered, "Sometimes I forget just how little you remember and how 
new everything must seem to you. And while I cannot imagine my life without you 
in it, your eyes still shine with new wonder each time I touch you…" 
"…who forgives all your sins and heals all of your diseases…" 
Elenath closed her eyes briefly, refocusing her attention on Legolas who 
continued. "I know that you love your father. Please forgive me for implying that 
you were to blame for his death." 
"…heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds…" 
She shook her head. "I should not have reacted as I did. My anger was uncalled 
for. You only asked a simple question." 
"…light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear…" 
Legolas kissed her again softly, whispering, "Lirimaer… Lle naa lissenen ar 
maskalalaith. Lle naa nauramin, alassamin, melamin, bellasamin, cuilamin. Amin 
mela lle, Elenath. Amin mela lle." 
She sighed at the Prince's words as Elrond continued to chant. Legolas had said, 
"Lovely One, you are sweet water and light laughter. You are my fire, my joy, my 
love, my strength, my life. I love you, Elenath. I love you." Never in her wildest 
dreams had she imagined that anyone would say such things to her, let alone a 
prince. She decided right then and there for about the hundredth time that she 
must be dreaming. 
Lord Elrond took up the pitcher once again and poured it over the wound, eliciting 
another scream from Elenath as the fire in her body started anew. She most 
certainly was not dreaming now. "Stop that!" she shouted. "Can't you see I'm 
fine? I'm not poisoned! The only reason I'm screaming and writhing is because 
you keep pouring that… stuff on my arm." 
"It is water," said Legolas. 
"Yeah, right! Water! Let's see how any of you respond to having hydrochloric acid 
poured on an open wound, eh?" She lunged for the pitcher and looked inside as 
her grandfather began to chant again. It looked like water and smelled like water. 
When she touched it with her fingers it felt like water. With a shrug, she took a 
drink. It even tasted like water. She lay back again, setting it aside. 
"…Heal her O Lord, and she will be healed; save her and she will be saved, for 
You are the one I praise…" 
"If I'm poisoned, then why aren't I dead?" she asked Legolas. 
"Your grandfather is a powerful healer." 
"Oh, no, Lord Elrond doesn't get all the credit for this!" Elenath looked up at the 
sound of the new voice. Kara had fought her way through the crowd that had 
gathered at the door when she screamed the first time, and she carried the Bible, 
her finger holding a place in it. "What is he saying anyway? Words! So many 
words! What good will they do?" 
Elenath smiled at her friend. "They will do much good. He speaks the True 
Word." 
"Then I will help him," said Kara, closing her eyes and lifting her palms 
heavenward. She stood silently for a few moments and then opened her mouth, 
matching Lord Elrond's chant syllable for syllable. 
Everyone looked at the Woman in surprise as the Elvish language flowed from 
her tongue as if she had been speaking it her whole life. The words had not even 
a hint of human accent on them. 
"…the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. For the Lord your 
God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give 
you victory." 
"Where did she learn our language?" Legolas asked Elenath quietly, "And the 
healing chants?" 
Elenath smiled. "She knows not what she says. The words are a gift from God." 
With that she began to chant with her grandfather and her best friend. 
"To him belong strength and victory. I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not 
bring me victory; but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our 
adversaries to shame. With God we will gain the victory, and He will trample 
down our enemies." 
On and on it went until Elrond finally finished and sat on the bed next to her, 
amazed as Kara and Elenath continued. 
"Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? 
Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is 
the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus 
Christ." 
They paused, the room utterly silent for a long moment. 
"You're not going to die," said Kara at last. "Quite likely you were never in danger 
at all, though the poison coursed through your veins. Do you know how I know 
this?" 
"How?" 
Kara beamed. "Mark 16:17-18. 'And these signs will accompany those who 
believe: in my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 
they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it 
will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will 
get well.'"  
"I told you I was fine," said Elenath to Legolas and Lord Elrond. Getting up out of 
bed she looked at her grandfather. "Go ahead. Douse me in water." 
He did, pouring it over her shoulder and smiling when she did not flinch.  
"Forgive me," he said turning to Kara, "But who are you? And where did you 
learn the chants?" 
Kara curtsied a little clumsily. She was still getting used to living among royalty. 
"My Lord, I am Kara, Elenath's best friend. I have no idea what I just said. I 
simply opened my mouth and the words came out." 
Elenath smiled, taking the Bible from her friend. "Grandfather, every word that 
you spoke over me is written in this book. It is written in the language of Men, but 
the meaning is the same." 
"And the words that you spoke in the end?" 
"Those are in there as well," she said, handing it to him, suddenly remembering 
his library at Rivendell. The Elf had a passion for books. He had thousands of 
them on every subject. "Would you like to borrow it?" 
"I shall have it copied," he replied, glancing through the pages with great interest, 
"So that I may take it back to Rivendell when I go."  
"I hope that you do not plan to leave soon," she said, reaching out her hand to 
him. 
He took it and smiled. "Two weeks from now, Elenath." 
She thought of the wood and the waterfalls in her memory and she longed to see 
them again. "My heart longs for Rivendell." 
King Thranduil had finally arrived in the room and sighed. "You should go, 
Elenath. For I fear the time has come to return to our old homes within the stone 
walls of the cave. It is much safer there and will provide us with protection until 
the orcs can be driven back once more. This palace is far too open for such 
times." 
She looked to Legolas for an explanation and he provided one. "When you first 
came here, Melamin, the Elves of Mirkwood lived in a large cave. It is a beautiful 
place, really, but when you settled in there and had stayed for a while, you began 
to long for the night air on your skin and the sounds of the outdoors." 
King Thranduil chuckled. "My son built this palace for you, Elenath. We all liked it 
so much that the plans were expanded to include rooms for the entire court." He 
sighed. "But the time has come to go back to the old palace. I have contemplated 
this for some time and have sent some of our number to prepare it for us. We will 
go there when the sun rises." 
At that moment, a small group of guards broke through the throng at the 
doorway. "Your Majesties," said Throndil with a bow, "I am afraid that none of us 
will be leaving Mirkwood soon. The orcs have surrounded us. They lie in wait at 
the perimeter of the Kingdom in great numbers. I have never seen so many." 
25. 
"If the orcs have surrounded us, then why have they not attacked?" asked 
Elenath checking out the torn hem of her dress and shaking her head. Tripping 
over it had probably saved her life, but it had still been embarrassing.  
"It seems that most of them fear the magic of the Elves," replied Thorondil. 
"Except for a certain three who we disposed of earlier. We left their bodies near 
the border for their comrades to find. That should reinforce their fears." 
"It appears," added Raion, another guard who Elenath had met as she watched a 
training session earlier that week, "that their intention is to keep us as prisoners 
here until we can stand it no longer and attempt to ride out." 
"We overheard some of them talking," said Thorondil. "They are aware that 
Elenath has returned and are counting on her desire to see her family at 
Rivendell. What they do not know is that Lord Elrond is already here, and that we 
are aware of their presence" 
"So we are under siege," said Elenath. 
"Yes," replied Raion with a nod. "But fear not, My Lady. We will guard you with 
our very lives." 
She smiled. "My dear Raion. I am grateful to you for your willingness to protect 
me. However, I do not fear death. What I do fear is that I shall never be able to 
fight properly in such elegant gowns. Is there no clothing in Mirkwood appropriate 
for a female warrior?" 
Raion laughed. "We have no female warriors in Mirkwood, Princess. Not since 
you left us before…. And we had hoped-" 
Thorondil silenced the younger Elf with a glance. "Elenath is a born warrior. She 
carries the Sword Calmacil, and thus has been designated protector of the Elves. 
Princess or no, Raion, she will return to the battlefield with us."  
"You would have to chain me to keep me away," agreed the Princess gravely. 
Legolas took her hand. "Do not say such things, My Love. You might give your 
grandfather ideas." 
Everyone laughed at that, including Lord Elrond. "I was a fool for ever trying that, 
and I shan't ever attempt it again. My granddaughter has a mind and a heart of 
her own. Although… Granddaughter… it has been nice to see you dressed in a 
way appropriate to your royal standing these last few days." 
Legolas nodded. "I must agree. But, to answer your question: yes. You have an 
entire wardrobe full of clothes that you used to wear in training and on the 
battlefield. You are smaller now than you were, but most of them have been 
altered to fit you. Our seamstress has not completely finished." 
"Just another day or two!" a voice piped up from the back of the crowd and 
Elenath smiled in that direction. 
"You have my undying gratitude," she said to the unseen seamstress. "Though 
perhaps we have much more pressing issues than clothing at this moment. Does 
Mirkwood rely on outside sources for food?" 
"We are completely self-sufficient, My Lady," replied Raion, "Though we may do 
without some luxuries." 
She smiled. "Good. Tomorrow we will move to the caves if it pleases the King. 
But for now, I would like to get some sleep." 
They all nodded and moved aside to let her and Legolas pass. 
She shivered as she heard Elrond say, "Post guards at their door. Make sure 
they remain safe." 
*** 
Elenath could not sleep. She lay awake listening for sounds in the woods, ever 
aware of the presence of the guards outside their door. Legolas held her close, 
soothing her as best he could with gentle caresses and softly spoken words.  
"I read the rest of the letter," he whispered at last when he knew she was not 
slipping into slumber. 
"What did it say?" she asked him. 
"A lot about the authority that you have over evil. And Mike said that he planned 
to ask a woman to marry him as soon as you were safely home. A woman with a 
young daughter." 
"Diana," she sighed. "She will be so happy." 
"He said that he would bring his new family here if they were agreeable. His heart 
longs for home and for the companionship of others like himself." 
Elenath grew worried but did not voice her thoughts. If Thranduil's Kingdom was 
surrounded by orcs, how would Mike and his family ever reach them safely? She 
hoped that they would somehow know to wait until the threat passed. "Legolas?" 
"Yes, my love?" 
"What do the orcs do to their prisoners?" 
He sighed and wrapped his arms tightly around her. "I will not speak of it." 
They were silent for a few long moments. 
"Elenath?" 
She smiled. "Yes, my Prince?" 
"Does your heart really long for Rivendell? Do you remember that place?" 
"Yes," she replied, "I remember the singing of the trees and the waterfalls. And 
our waterfall." 
He smiled. "Our waterfall… Where I first tasted of your sweet lips." He kissed her 
gently. "The place where I pledged my heart to you the night before I left for 
Mirkwood." 
"I do not remember that," she said. 
"You will," he replied. "Now, Melamin (My Love), close your eyes and sleep. 
Tomorrow will be very busy. You will join the palace guard in their training." 
"What sort of training?" 
"Archery."  
Legolas felt her tense at that word. "Archery?" 
"Yes. It is an important skill." 
She sighed. This was just great. Kara and David would have a field day. 
"Why are you worried?" he asked. 
"You didn't see me my last year of college when I took an archery class. It was a 
disaster." 
"What happened?" 
This time it was Elenath's turn to hold her silence, an embarrassed flush creeping 
into her cheeks. "I will not speak of it." 
26. 
Morning came far too quickly for Elenath's liking. Legolas did not make it any 
better by greeting her with her very own bow and quiver of arrows. After dressing 
in her new clothes, which consisted of shorter dresses over leggings, she took 
her breakfast in her chambers by Legolas' side, but they ate in silence. He 
regarded her with quiet curiosity. 
"Did you kill someone?" he asked suddenly. 
She sighed. "Came close." 
"What happened?" 
"Ask Kara. I'll never retell the story, but she loves it. Gets a good laugh every 
time." 
And tell Kara did, about the first day of archery class when Elenath, or Summer 
as she was known then, missed the target so badly that her arrow flew into the 
open window of the chancellor's office, narrowly missing his head and that of the 
foreign dignitary sitting in his office. "Knocked the poor guy's toupee right off his 
head!" 
Legolas shook his head in disbelief. 
"But that's not all!" exclaimed Kara as Elenath stood by, mortified. "One time she 
didn't nock her arrow properly, and when she let go of the bowstring, the arrow 
just spun around and whacked her across the face. That left a pretty welt! Then 
there was the time that she aimed just a leeettle too high and shot a crow right 
out of the sky. Our teacher was not pleased." 
"Archery, obviously, is not something I am good at," said Elenath, unable to 
ignore the fact that half of the Royal Guard had gathered around to hear Kara's 
stories, along with her grandfather and Estel. The Man had a particularly dark 
statement on his face. 
"But I'm not finished!" exclaimed Kara as David approached to see what all of the 
fuss was about. "David, tell them about –" 
"Okay, alright. Please. That's enough," said Elenath. 
"But this is my favorite one," said David with a grin. "All of us were lined up with 
our bows, We pulled back and were waiting for the teacher's signal to fire when 
this bee came up and landed on Elenath's arm. Her eyes got really big and she 
kept trying to get it off of her. She tried blowing on it and even asked it nicely to 
go away. Finally she tried to shake it off, not keeping a very good hold on the 
arrow she had nocked, unfortunately." 
"Oh, no," said Legolas, knowing what was surely coming. 
"Well, the arrow and the bowstring slipped right out of her hand and flew down 
the line of archery students, right through their drawn bows. It lodged itself into 
the teacher's clipboard. Thank God no one was hurt!" 
Elenath said the last part with him, she had heard it told so many times. And 
then, "The teacher asked her to leave and not come back after that and called 
her a threat to society." She sighed. That had looked pretty on her report card. 
She'd had to take a bowling class to replace the "F" so it wouldn't affect her 
GPA. 
Legolas put a comforting hand on Elenath's shoulder and said, loudly enough for 
everyone to hear. "Oftentimes it is the teacher, and not the student, who is to 
blame for such incidents. I feel that you will do much better under Thorondil's 
tutelage. And I will be right here to help you." 
"I don't know, Legolas. Maybe you should stay back, at a safe distance. I would 
never forgive myself if I accidentally killed you." She took her bow uncertainly in 
her hands. 
"Hit the deck!" shouted Kara, diving for cover and everyone laughed. Everyone 
but Elenath.  
"Very funny," she said. "You know, Legolas, maybe this is not such a good idea." 
It was at that moment that Thorondil approached, his eyebrows raising at the 
scene. Fifty of his best warriors stretched out flat on the ground before the Prince 
and Princess, seemingly cowering in fear. The only ones left standing were 
David, Estel, and Lord Elrond.  
Raion spoke up from near the back of the crowd. "Run for your life, Master 
Thorondil!" he shouted. "She is armed and dangerous!" 
That was the last straw. "Stand up, all of you," commanded Legolas angrily. "You 
should be ashamed of yourselves." 
"Legolas, please-" began Elenath, but he cut her off. 
"We are all here to learn something new and to improve our skill. Elenath is no 
different." 
"Except that she is a female," said Raion, standing with the others. "And royalty 
to boot. It is our place to protect her. She should have no need to learn archery." 
A few other guards expressed their agreement. 
"No offense, Lady," said one, "But we only wish to do our duty. That is hard to do 
when you will not stay behind the front lines of a battle." 
Legolas' eyes flashed. "We will not have this discussion again! For a thousand 
years, it has been a point of argument for us. Dare you question the Sword's 
choice? We can no more keep Princess Elenath behind battle lines than we can 
keep my father from ruling Mirkwood." 
Elenath began to feel very small. Who was she to come waltzing in here, thinking 
she could join the ranks of the elite Elven warriors of Mirkwood? Her hand 
traveled to the hilt of her sword absently and it spoke to her. 
"The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all those who are bowed down. 
He saves the humble but brings low those whose eyes are haughty. He guides 
the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. Yield me to them, 
Elenath." 
Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward with her head bowed and removed 
the scabbard and sword from her belt. Placing it gently on the ground at 
Thorondil's feet, she said, "Amin Lava. I yield to the decision of the Royal Guard. 
If there is another who feels it is their duty to bear the Sword, then so be it. I will 
not stand in their way." 
All was silent in the courtyard for a long, uncomfortable moment until everyone 
gathered heard the sword whisper, "Raion…" 
It was quite a blow to Elenath's pride to hear this, and to see the young Elf come 
forward and take up the Sword. Her Sword. To everyone's surprise, in a bright 
flash of light, it struck Raion down and he lay senseless on the ground, still 
clutching the weapon. 
The princess rushed to his side. It was as if he was in a deep sleep. She looked 
up at the Elves around her in confusion. Had she done this? Their expressions 
told her that no, she had not. 
"You were like this for three days when you took up the Sword," Legolas 
reminded her. 
Out of curiosity, she touched the hilt of the Sword and was briefly transported to 
that final battle once again. Letting go, she shook her head and stood up. "Will he 
be okay?" 
"Of course," said Lord Elrond. "It would not have called his name if he were not 
able to endure what it wished to show him." 
Raion was only out for about five minutes. As some of his friends began to lift 
him from the ground, he came to with a look in his eyes of utter shame. "Put me 
down," he said. 
They did, and he fell immediately at Elenath's feet, offering the Sword to her. 
"Forgive me, My Lady. I have done you great wrong." 
She looked down at him in surprise, taking the Sword and returning it to her side. 
"It is not wrong to voice your opinion, Raion." 
"I do not speak of the voicing of my opinion. For a thousand years I and my 
friends have kept you from becoming a skilled archer. I never realized until now 
what I had caused by doing so." 
Her brow furrowed. "What do you mean?" 
He rose slowly. "I have done a shameful thing, but I will make it right. You will be 
the best archer that Mirkwood has ever seen." 
"What did the Sword show you?" she asked him curiously. 
Thorondil stepped forward. "Perhaps he can tell you later, Elenath. But right now 
we are late in beginning our practice."