Aria the Black (Book 2 of the Daughters of Durin Trilogy)

Chapter 5: The Journey Begins

Aria stood up, politely nodding to everyone as she walked out of the meeting. Gandalf followed her inconspicuously, entering the grand Elven room she was borrowing.

"Aria, my dear, I know how this must look-" Gandalf began.

"No, Gandalf, you don't!" She ran a hand through her wavy black curls. "That Elf was evil the last I heard of him. He betrayed my mother, let alone Middle Earth. If that isn't enough of a reason to hate him, I have no clue what is." Her hand dropped on her thigh, sitting down on the golden sheets.

"Aria, let me explain, please." Gandalf sat beside her, grabbing her hand. "Legolas was once bad, yes. But that was a long time ago, and he was influenced by the wrong people."

Aria looked up at him, curious as to how his story would play out.

"Your mother found out when she saw him in the forest."

(Flashback)

Ravonna sat in her rocking chair, the long, blue velvet gown swishing at her feet. Aria sat below her on the floor, smiling brightly.

"Aria." She laughed. "Fine, I'll tell you."

"Finally!" Aria giggled, moving her green skirts out of the way as she sat in front of her mother.

Ravonna allowed herself to be pulled to the floor by her, groaning in surprise as she clutched her back. "Those lessons with Cousin Kili must be paying off, huh." She chuckled again. She was so glad their relationship was strong- some even said they acted just as sisters would.

"And you didn't think he would be able to take on a seventeen-year-old." Aria teased back, the both of them laughing.

"My first love, hmmm." Ravonna thought, switching back to the previous conversation. "That would have to be..." she trailed off, seeming uncomfortable all of the sudden.

Aria caught on to this. "Are you ok, Ma?"

Ravonna took a deep breath, smiling at her little girl. "Yes, dear. The thing is, my first love wasn't your father."

Aria sat up straighter. "Ma?"

Ravonna shook her head, ruffling Aria's hair. "I don't want to talk about him right now, sweetie. And I don't have the time, anyway."

Aria's expression dropped. Her parents weren't aware that she knew about the Orc attacks, but it was almost impossible for her not to. It was all the servants and villagers would talk about- since they were the only ones she talked to. She knew her Ma and Da had to fix it, but as a result, they were involuntarily shutting her out at the same time. And as time progressed, the problem that separated them would only grow more and more dire.

She looked down at her feet, trying to hide her expression. "I know."

"I'll see you later, sweetie." Ravonna stood, hardly looking at her.

Suddenly, this great anger overtook Aria, enveloping her in a dark cloud. She whirled around to face her. She just couldn't let this war separate her from the only people she loved any longer!

"When, Ma?" She bit back sarcastically. "When?"

Ravonna stopped in her tracks, turning to face her. "Tonight, honey, at dinner." She responded slowly, unsure where this outburst had come from.

"Really?" Aria said exasperatedly. "Because that's what you've been saying for the past couple of weeks."

Ravonna saw the look on her daughter's face, putting two and two together. "This won't be for much longer, I assure you. We are doing our best-"