Princess of the Sea (COMPLETE)

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

"What questions do you have for me, Lord Celeborn?" The Queen of Atlantis asked the lord, her eyes almost piercing as they locked onto his own.

"Your kingdom is magnificent, Your Highness, and seems untouched by the darkness that plagues others of Middle Earth. In fact, I could compare the light to that of Lothlorien and Imladris. How did your kingdom become like this?"

"Well, that is actually simple. Lord Ulmo blessed this kingdom to make it one of the last places of light for not only myself, but also to give the Eldar and other races an alternative to sailing west to Valinor. The protection of light here will last for as long as someone of my blood lives."

Silence filled the hall as the males processed this.

"Are the Valar wanting us to come here instead of sailing west?" Lord Elrond asked, his eyes sharp.

"They are leaving the choice to you. Atlantis has the same healing power for the soul that Valinor does. The only difference is that once the soul is healed, the Eldar can rejoin the rest of Middle Earth if they so choose or can stay here. Valinor once sailed west, there is no option to come back unless the Valar sends you back. Also, Atlantis is available to all, not just the Eldar. Man, Hobbit, Dwarf, Elf. It does not matter. Atlantis welcomes all of Eru's people."

Silence fell upon them all again.

"Do you know the person Lord Elrond saw in his vision?" King Thranduil asked, a perfectly shaped eyebrow raised.

Perci was silent for a moment as she contemplated before deciding to give half an answer. She did not trust them, not yet.

"I do... however, I do not believe that I can divulge anymore than that, my Lords." Outrage began to fill the other Blue Istari's face and the White's. She glared at them. "It might be hard for some of you to believe, but I do not trust you. You are all unknowns to me, and I don't trust people just because of race. You will have to earn my trust before I divulge anything truly important to you." The two Istari still looked outraged.

"You dare?!" The blue Istari muttered under his breath.

Perci sneered at them. She was getting major distrust vibes towards the two Istari and she always trusted her gut. "None of you have given me any reason to trust you. You have shown up to my kingdom unannounced, no missive sent in advance to ask if you would be welcomed, one of your number has tried to attack me, and I've been sensing hostility from you two ever since. This is my home and my kingdom. I will not be sneered at as if I am less than you when in fact you are beneath me."

"Little chit." Saruman muttered with a slight roll of his eyes as he exchanged glances with the only other Istari that was irritating Perci.

With a wave of her hand, two of her guards came forward to stand behind her chair. "Guards, separate the blue and white Istari from their staffs." Perci glowed slightly as her power as Queen of Atlantis froze the two in their seats and not able to reach for their staffs. "Aslan, Simba, please escort the two from Atlantis. As before with your previous companion, the same applies to you. Do not attempt to come back or the consequences for you and any companions will be beyond your imagination." Perci turned her eyes onto the remaining ones and saw that they were stiff once again.

Perci sat back down, the remaining stone guard coming up to her back, letting her relax slightly. She took a sip of her water goblet to try and calm her anger.

She cleared her throat. "Believe it or not, I used to not be so ill tempered. I have not had two-legged interactions in a long time and the three Istari pushed my patience passed what I could accept... If you have finished eating, come. I believe Radagast will enjoy the next part of our little tour..." Perci stood, the six Eldar and remaining two Istari standing as well, all of them following the queen out of the hall. Although they didn't trust the queen as well, they all had a bit of respect for her.

The queen had no fear of making powerful enemies, of making threats towards three Istari. That meant to them that she was no push over and she had the power to back her words if need be. And if the casual name dropping of a Valar was indication that she had no reason to fear any but the most powerful.

Radagast trailed behind the queen instep with Gandalf. Radagast was the more hesitant of the Istari, preferring animals to people and it showed in his mannerisms. Perci couldn't help the slight pang when she met him and his nervous ticks. He reminded her of Grover a little bit and that was why she felt more inclined to trust him above the others at this time.

"What you are about to see, will either frighten or amaze you." Perci said as they moved to the plains on the outside of the city. Perci could sense more then one stone guard now following them as they moved through the trees and reached the rocky plains that were covered in long grass and lush vegetation.

Perci whistled, the sharp sound echoing through the wind. The wind blew through their hair, and they descended into silence as the others waited in anticipation.

"What is that sound?" one of the Eldar guards asked in confusion. They all looked out and saw shapes coming out from the trees and over hills. "Horses?"

Perci smirked over her shoulder at them. "No, they aren't just horses, mellon."

As they got closer, they all realized what they were seeing. From the plains came a beautiful herd of glowing beings with horns. From the forest came tigers, leopards, cheetahs, and lions, some of her furry legged guards. Then from the sky – to her guests' surprise – was a herd of black almost skeletal winged horses that with every breath of air flames came out, winged glowing horses, a herd of large eagle lion hybrids, and the very last to arrive were two birds of literal fire that flew threw the air singing a beautiful melody that brought light into the guests' hearts.

They could only watch in awe as Perci moved forward to great her animal companions and they did so in turn. The love they all had for their queen was visible to the watching Eldar and Istari, most of all to Radagast, who was observing all of these new creatures with excitement growing in his heart.

"My Lords, Istari, I would like to introduce you to my companions that reside in Atlantis with me. You have my most loyal of guards – the statues and the big cats: tigers, lions, cheetahs, and leopards. And then unicorns, pegasi, and thestrals are also my staunch protectors. Then the gryphons and phoenix are up there as well as my protectors. All that you see here, are here to protect Atlantis and myself from harm and to keep the darkness from the light." Perci turned her head towards one of the unicorns. With a smile and a nod, the unicorn stepped forward and moved towards the newcomers. "This is Ralston, one of the stallions. He would like to meet you, Brown Istari."

Radagast moved forward slowly but still filled with excitement. He raised a hand when he was a few feet away from the stallion and waited for the unicorn to come to him at his own pace. Radagast knew nothing good would come from it if he rushed this magnificent creature. Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, he felt a soft velvet nose bump his hand and Radagast felt joy fill his heart as he was allowed to examine the unicorn stallion.

"Come, my Lords, Gandalf the Gray, meet the others. They would enjoy getting to meet you all."

And that was how the tentative alliance between the Kingdom of Atlantis, the Eldar, and two of Istari formed.