The morning dew still hung heavy on the grass and only a handful of Dúnedain were up and about, as Legolas made his way to the edge of the village. Legolas paused before knocking on the door of the twins' cabin. He felt guilty for prying into Wren's past, but he was unable to set his questions aside. Elrohir opened the door and both the twins greeted him jovially as they were always apt to do.

"To what to we owe this visit, elf prince? Are you tired of sharing a cabin with a mortal?" Elladan grinned, wrinkling his nose.

"Wren," Legolas said abruptly. The elf prince's need for information superseded the need for pleasantries and small talk. The twins looked quizzically at Legolas. "Who and what is she?"

"I assume she gave you permission to ask us," said Elrohir cautiously, "Or you would not be here..."

Legolas nodded.

"Well then, please sit mellon nín; this will take some time." The twins' mood was uncharacteristically somber. Legolas sat on the end of one of the small beds, Elrohir opposite him. Elladan remained standing and began speaking slowly.

"Some twenty-five years ago, an elvish woman, by all appearances, was found by some of the Rangers of the Dúnedain. She was in a sorry state; disheveled, weak and unable to speak. They brought her back to the village, because the snow had started to fall and she would not last the night. The women of the village cared for her, and in the course of doing so, they discovered she was bearing a child. They sent for us to identify her, but by the time the message was relayed to us, the snow was thick and the road impassable, even for elves. It was one of the worst winters we have seen in the last two hundred years.

She stayed with the villagers for almost two months; all the while her health continued to fail. She remained mute, and the villagers assumed a past trauma of some kind or a sickness. The child was born under great distress. The village midwife believed the baby had arrived several weeks too early, as the poor babe was so small. Truly, it was miracle that the child survived at all, considering her frailty and the extreme winter that was upon them."

"The baby was Wren..." said Legolas slowly, Elladan nodded. "And her mother?" asked Legolas.

"She was dying as she gave birth. She is buried nearby, under one of the large oak trees in the forest," said Elrohir sadly. He paused. "During her time in the village, she uttered but one word."

"...The child's name," said Legolas thoughtfully, almost to himself.

Elrohir nodded, although clearly curious as to the source of the elf prince's knowledge.

"Who was the elven woman?" asked Legolas, without giving Elrohir a chance to question him. 

"We do not know," the twins announced almost simultaneously with some despair. Elrohir continued.

"We have tried to uncover her identity over the years. We are fairly certain she came from Rivendell, as that is the closest elven dwelling. Over the course of a few hundred years, we have discovered that there are three elven women unaccounted for, that match the description of Wren's mother. Maybe she fled elvish life and customs for something different. Maybe she fell in love. Maybe she was waylaid and captured and tortured by orcs for decades." Elrohir stopped.

Pain was written all over his face. Legolas knew that the pain was Elrohir's and Elladan's to share. It was the grief for their own mother who had suffered a similar fate. Celebrían was on her way to visit her parents in when she was waylaid by of the Orcs of the Misty Mountains, who tormented and wounded her over a period of time. Legolas had heard it told that her sons arrived late to rescue her. Although Elrond physically healed her, Celebrían never fully recovered in mind and spirit. She had departed for the Grey Havens some several hundred years ago.

"And what of her father?" asked Legolas softly, growing increasingly perturbed at the story.

"That is the greatest mystery of all," said Elrohir. "Wren likes to think that her mother fell in love with a man from these parts and married him. At some point she was separated from him, likely through his death. Then she went mad with grief while carrying his child."

"What do you think?" asked Legolas.

Elrohir sighed. "That she was captured, then raped by a bandit or similar and left to die."

Legolas recoiled in horror. He had not expected a tragedy of this magnitude.

"How is she able to laugh?" He wondered out loud.

"She has been well loved," responded Elladan. "Nerwen lost her husband long before they were able to have any children. Nerwen and her mother took her in and loved her like their own." He paused. "But from an early age she has been unique, particularly in her ability to find joy and laughter."

"She spent a few years with us in Rivendell and was tutored in Eldarian* and Edain *customs and history over that duration. She probably learnt more than I did as a young elf or care to remember." added Elrohir.

"Admittedly, you did not try very hard," said his brother, trying to lighten the melancholy mood.

"So she is one of the Peredhil*," Legolas said, nodding towards the half-elvish twins, born from the half-elf Elrond who had chosen immortality. "It is no wonder you have a special kinship with her."

"Perhaps" said Elladan. "She may be less than half. One of the three missing she-elves was also of the Peredhil. The only thing we know for certain is that she has some elvish blood in her."

'Some' elvish blood. Legolas was amazed and perplexed. He had never heard of such a thing.

"What does that mean for her future?"

The twins shrugged helplessly.

"All we have now are our observations. As a child her mind developed quickly, as we would expect with elves. At a young age, she showed exceptional maturity for her years. The agility she now displays, as well has her sight and hearing are comparable to some elven traits. But we know that physically she has not aged like an elf*; more so like a mortal. In the longer term... we can only guess, but we feel that it unlikely she will be granted the gift of immortality, unless the Valar* take pity on her."

Legolas felt a deep pang in his soul at that moment. He took his leave of the twins as he knew that they had no more information to give, or platitudes that he wished to hear. Heart sore with Wren's story, he went to find her.

Having asked for Wren in the village, Nerwen, with a raised eyebrow, suggested that he head towards the forest. Unfortunately for the elf prince, there were multiple paths in the dense green woodland. He gazed at the various paths for a while, unable to discern where Wren's faint footsteps may have carried her. Then he recalled a small detail from his conversation with the Peredhil twins.

It was the third significant oak tree, that Legolas came across before he found her. She was sitting on one of the lower boughs of a mighty tree, that rose above the other trees, dwarfing them in comparison.

She looked at him and smiled. Then her face fell as she saw the expression in his eyes. She slid down from the tree and stood in front of him before speaking in a quiet voice.

"So, now you know." She almost sounded relieved. "Please do not pity me, I could not bear it."

Without thinking, Legolas raised his hands to her face and tucked a few strands of her long hair behind her ears. The gesture seemed to surprise her, as her face flushed with color. But Legolas's expression relayed all that he felt, which was complete compassion.

Her ears were petite, considerably smaller than most elven ears. But unmistakably elven, as they contoured to a slight but characteristic point.

Breaking the intensity of the silence, she spoke.

"This is my mother's grave," she gestured under the tree. There was a cluster of Elanor, small star-shaped yellow flowers growing at the base of the tree, possibly planted, Legolas guessed. "I come here sometimes and wonder whom she might have been. I like to think that even though her spirit was dying, she fought long enough to give me life and a name."

His blue eyes filled with warmth as he looked at her, and spoke her name.

"Aletheîa."

When he said it, the name sounded like the wind as it rippled through the trees. She stepped back in surprise.

"It is engraved on the blades of your long knives. I saw it when the twins first first gifted the knives to you and have wondered about it since."

She smiled. "It feels pleasant to hear you say my name. It reminds me that somehow that she knew and loved me at that moment."

"Why do you hide who you are?"

She sighed, "I was raised in a village of men. Most of the villagers know my origins. But sometimes all you want when you are a child is to blend in. At some point you become an adult and it is hard to return to who you really are. Strider, Elrohir and Elladan have helped. But I am not sure I fully belong in either world."

Legolas felt his insides twisting. The new understanding of who she was and what she had overcome, presented him with emotions that he was not familiar with. Legolas was unable to offer any consolation. Wren did not seem to expect it.

They walked wordlessly back though the forest together, although the silence in some small way seemed to draw them together, rather than push them apart. However when they were within sight of the village, Legolas noticed that she intentionally shook her head and let her hair subtly fall over her ears again.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Eldarian* ~ Elven

Edain* ~ Human

Peredhil* ~ The 'Half-Elven', children ofthe union of Elves and Men. At the end of the FirstAge they were given a choice to be Elven and immortal, or tobe of the race of Men and accept the Gift of Men which isdeath.    

Valar *~ The name given to the fourteen powerful spirits who took physical form and entered Arda (Earth) after its creation to give order to the world.

'aged like an elf'* ~ Elves' bodies develop slower than those of Men, but their minds developed more swiftly. In their twenties, they might still appear physically seven years old, though the Elf-child would have mature language and skill. Physical puberty is generally complete by their fiftieth year, but they are not considered full-grown until a hundred years have passed.

I know some of you saw this coming, some of it anyway...! Any surprises?! I would love to receive your comments and PLEASE vote on this chapter if you enjoyed it. Each vote and comment helps the wider circulation of my story, I really appreciate them!

Elladan and Elrohir Artwork: kindly used with permission from the very talented 'the wise snail', I LOVE how this picture captures the twins' emotion in this chapter! Please see her other beautiful work on https://wisesnailart.deviantart.com/  

DEDICATION v3Olympus : For faithfully reading and voting all along the journey of my story!