The Waterdancer

Prologue

I couldn't find her anywhere. My little friend had to be around here somewhere. I had only counted to ten after I told her to hide. I should have known that with her small figure and stealth that she would have been able to hide anywhere she desired; even under a mountain of stone, a place that was completely foreign to her.

When I first met Nemirien, daughter of Thranduil, I had come to Mirkwood with my father and grandfather to discuss trade with the Elven king. I was only fourteen at the time, and it was my first time going outside Erebor. I remember having no wish to discuss anything with anyone, as I was still very young for a Dwarf, and was not interested in anything of the sort. I didn't like anything about the Woodland Realm. I had the deepest desire to return to the mountain, back to my brother and sister, back to familiar surroundings. "Don't worry, Thorin. Remember, if you're patient, they'll allow you to see it." my grandfather would tell me.

He was referring to what everyone was currently gossipping about. It was running through the mouths of the Elves that guided us to the kingdom, and the inhabitants of Mirkwood. They were all talking nonstop about the abomination that was born to King Thranduil. I'd heard that the king took one look at the child, and nearly tried to kill it. The queen wouldn't let him, and Thranduil hadn't looked at the creature since.

That child must have been a horrendous sight to behold, especially if it sent a king to turn to his sword. I remember many of the Elves seeking the company of the prince, Legolas, in hopes of finding more answers. The prince seemed completely uncomfortable talking about it, which only made me want to see this thing even more. I wanted to know what kind of a creature could possibly have sent an entire kingdom chattering about.

It seemed like forever before I was finally led into the nursery. Both my father and grandfather told me to take note of every detail so I could report back to them. A servant took me into the room, where I saw the queen standing behind a chair with a bundle in her arms.

I immediately took notice of her ethereal beauty. Like her husband, she had straight, silver blonde hair, but had dark green eyes unlike Thranduil's ice blue ones. She looked at me. She didn't seem angry, or sad, or scared; she just looked at me. "I assume you've come to see." she told me in a perfectly calm voice. I nodded and slowly approached her. The queen sat down in her chair and beckoned me to come closer.

When I finally did come close enough to see, I realized I was nervous. What was this creature supposed to look like? Was it really as demonic as everyone said it would be? What if it was worse? I took a deep breath, and looked into the blankets that were cradled in the queen's hold. I furrowed my eyebrows, then widened my eyes a little.

The Elf was much smaller than I expected her to be. She didn't look too much like her parents. Her skin was a bit darker, as if she'd spent a little more time in the sun. She had dark purple eyes, and was already sporting hair on her head. Instead of silver, however, the child had golden wisps that reminded me of the yellow sunshine. I thought about my baby sister, Dis, who had only been born a couple of months before her. I looked up at her mother. "They were wrong." I said. "That's nothing to be frightened of. That's just a baby."

Two years passed before I found out why that poor, innocent babe was talked about so harshly. The Elven queen had passed away, and I'd traveled back to the Woodland Realm once again with my family to pay respects. It was there that I'd met her once again. Nemirien didn't grow too much since we last met, which I found strange, since Elves grew to be so tall. Like most Elves, she was talking in complete sentences at this age, and she told me how her father could barely look at her.

When I asked her why, she showed me how she was able to lift the water out of my cup with a single move of her hand. An Elemental. I had been told the stories about the Elementals, but I was not afraid. I could not see how this little toddler could be of any danger to anyone. It was that day that I told her that she would always find a friend in me.