Out of Sight, Out of Mind//Legolas

Chapter 1; Meeting Little Lady

After finishing his dinner, Gilan and Gandalf left the tavern, heading to the small barn built next to it.

"Lady." Said Gilan and a majestic gray-coated mare with a dark mane trotted over at the sound of his voice.

"Very beautiful." Hummed Gandalf.

"Is she?" Asked jokingly Gilan as the mare nudged her snout into his cheek.

"Indeed she is." The wizard chuckled and led out his own horse. By the sound of the steps, that horse was physically bigger, bulkier. Gilan walked over to the side where saddles were hung out and ran his fingers over the side of each one before he felt a familiar carvings in the leather. He grabbed it and secured it on Lady. Then he grabbed the reins from the pouch on the saddle and mounted the mare.

"Shall we?" He turned his head to Gandalf's general direction.

"We shall."

***

They traveled fast with close to no stops for rest. By the time they arrived at Rivendell, Gilan felt the warm rays of morning sunshine on his face.

"Halt!" Shouted one of the guards at the gate. Then he seemed to recognise the wizard. "Gandalf, who is your companion and for what reason is he here?"

"This is my dear friend, Gilan and he will attend the Council alongside me."

"I see...Welcome, both of you. I will send a message to Lord Elrond of your arrival immediately. Please, follow me and lend your horses to Ralnor. I promise they will be well taken care of." The guard said and gestured at another elf standing by. Gandalf and Gilan complied and followed after the guard. Gilan focused on the sounds around him. Birds were slowly starting to sing as they woke up into a new day, water was running somewhere near and here and there he could hear instruments playing. "My Lord, Gandalf has arrived with a friend."

"Bring them in, Dain." By the shift of air around Dain's head, Gilan guessed he nodded. "Gandalf, it is good to see you, my friend. And you are?" A smooth voice, not young nor old, spoke.

"Gilan, my lord." He introduced himself with a proper elvish greeting, right palm against his chest, fingers lightly touching his left collar bone and head bowed lightly. Elrond returned the gesture and looked the man up and down with curiosity. With his dirty blond hair, sharp jaw and strong body, he would easily pass for an ordinary man, but Elrond noticed the lightness with which he moved, the quietness to his steps. That and the slightly pointy tips of his ears told a different story. Then there were his eyes. Deep, blue and seemingly staring through him, into the void.

"You're- hmm..." Elrond cut himself off before he could say the words out loud and Gilan smiled.

"Yes, I am." He admitted, knowing the Lord could have come up with only two facts about him coming from his appearance. Both of the facts were true, so there was no need keeping him in the dark.

"Tell, my lord, has anyone arrived recently." Asked Gandalf.

"Your hobbits arrived yesterday, Gandalf. One of them was badly wounded by a Morgul blade. He is alive and should wake up soon if you wish to see him."

"I would like that, yes."

***

Gilan left Gandalf with the hobbits alone and ventured off on his own. Quietly exploring the beautiful gem that is Rivendell, carefully running his fingers across statues, railings and walls. He passed someone here and there, always bowing his head in greeting. At one point, he found himself near the stables and decided to check up on Lady.

"You are new here." Young girl's voice spoke behind him. Gilan felt her presence for a few moments now.

"That I am, my lady. My name is Gilan."

"My name is Ayla. Tell, Gilan, who are you? You do not carry yourself as a warrior."

"I am just a bard, my lady."

"A bard?" Ayla repeated with a surprised tone. "What songs do you know? Can you sing any?"

"I know many, I'm just not sure if...if they would be suited for..." He didn't finish the sentence, afraid he would offend her.

"I don't mind."

"Well, if you insist. Do you want to hear one about love or one about adventure?" He asked while grabbing the small lyra from his traveling bag.

"I've always been more interested in adventure."

"You shall have it, my lady." He sighed and strummed the lyra.

"The prince called on his brothers to gather all their best
to slay a mighty dragon because it was his pest.
A strange old man came forth to request a deft assist,
but the Hobbit was quite reluctant, the story had a twist.

The Golden king with the golden rules.
Two warrior dwarves with all the tools.
More dazzling than all the jewels.
Oh, they showed us we're all fools.
They showed us we're all fools.
Oh, we're just fools.

The old little prince fell swiftly to the curse and to his death.
We sadly mourned the loss, thought we'd witnessed his last breath,
but then he swung his sword on the goon that came his way,
'cause he was a golden king, not a prince without his land.

The Golden king with the golden rules.
Two warrior dwarves with all the tools.
More dazzling than all the jewels.
Oh, they showed us we're all fools.
They showed us we're all fools.
Oh, we're just fools.

The twin loved his woman,
the elven beauty,
but the solemn string of fate told them it was not to be.
The wise sad string's truth broke what never could repair,
but that lovable young halfling won the heart of the dwarven heir.

The Golden king with the golden rules.
Two warrior dwarves with all the tools.
More dazzling than all the jewels.
Oh, they showed us we're all fools.
They showed us we're all fools.
Oh, we're just fools.
We're just fools."

"Amazing! It's the story about Oakenshield, right?" Ayla asked and Gilan nodded. "Your voice is so beautiful! And so is your horse!" She smiled excitedly.

"Heh, we get that a lot."

"Because it's true." She said stubbornly and Lady neighed in agreement.

"Do you wanna braid her mane?"

"Yes please!" She squealed with excitement. Gilan liked the girl. She was carefree and happy. Gilan wasn't sure if she knew that he was blind, but she didn't treat him like he was made from glass. From what he heard, there weren't many children in Rivendell, and Ayla did appear to be very happy to make new friends.

And he was happy too.

I do not own the lyrics to the song 'The Golden One'. I only replaced some words so it would fit better to the story.