One hundred years has passed since her death. Alida is now in the early teenage stages of an Elf's life, and everyday Legolas sees more of Yara in her.
"Ada?" Alida asks one day, standing in the door to Legolas' study. "May I ask you a question?" Legolas looks up from the papers he was looking over,"of course, Ien Nin." Alida enters his study, playing with her fingers.
"What is the matter?" he asks her, patting the bench next to him. She sits down, sighing,"what was Naneth like?" Legolas takes in a sharp inhale of breath, before he tells her.
"She was beautiful. You have her hair color and the shape of her eyes."
"I mean her personality, Ada. I know what she looks like," Alida crosses her arm, raising an eyebrow. Legolas sighs,"Yara. . . She was sad, but kind. She had such a loving heart, but she didn't love herself. She hated herself."
"Why did she hate herself?" Alida asks.
"There were many events in her lifetime that had happened to her," Legolas tells her. "I am not going to go into detail, but they left her scarred, both mentally and physically."
"How so?" Alida's eyes are wide, an innocent but scared look in them.
"All up and down her arms. Across her throat. And you could see it in her eyes," Legolas says. Alida gives a small whimper,"Ada. . . Did she. . . Did she kill herself?" Legolas wraps an arm around her,"no, she did not. She tried to many times before, but her death was not her fault. She was poisoned in a battle, dying just minutes after you were born." Alida starts crying, burying her face against Legolas.
"Ada, I did not realize. . . I am so sorry," she sobs.
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"Togo, Elwin, wait for me!" Alida yells, wading through knee deep water. Across the bank, Togo and Elwin are wringing out their clothes and hair.
Elwin and Togo are Alida's cousins, daughter and son of Lura and Pippin. Elwin looks more like her mother, with her blonde hair and crystal blue eyes, while Togo has the looks of his father, curly hair and the same mischievous grin.
"Well don't be too slow!" Elwin laughs. Alida makes a small pouty face, crossing the rest of the river.
"What did you guys want to show me?" she asks her cousins. Togo grins,"you'll see. Now come on! We're almost there!" Togo and Elwin run ahead of Alida, leaving the young Elleth to catch up with her even younger cousins.
The three run for a few moments, until they reach a small clearing in the shape of a circle. Statues line the sides of the clearing, adding to the ghostliness of the place.
"Wow," Alida murmured, her eyes wide. She approaches the nearest statue, studying it with wide hazel eyes.
"It looks like Naneth," she whispers.
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The small girl's brown eyes stare up at the stars. Around her, the woods are silent, but the shadows whisper to her, showing her the dark places.
"Help," the girl whispers, her skin paling in the cold.
