When Two Worlds Collided

The Strangers

"Are you the elves of Rivendell?" the stranger who emerged from the gigantic silver flying disk asked. How did he know who they were? Was he an elf from another place, somewhere different in Middle Earth? Perhaps near Lothlorien, he did look faintly like an elf. Now that Legolas thought about it, this stranger did look a lot like a certain elf he knew. The hair was different, obviously, his being a close cropped black and hers brown like the tree bark, but they had the same ears and eyebrows. All elves had pointy ears, but his were a little more angular, as were hers. Same with the eyebrows. Most elves had dainty little things, rounded and hard to see, especially on the white blond elves like Legolas. His father Thranduil had the same eyebrows as her and the stranger though, so it wasn't unheard of.

Legolas realized he had been staring a little too long.

"Yes, of course, we are," He spoke in his official voice, imitating his father the king when speaking to missionaries from the other elven communities and the other races of Middle Earth.

The stranger stood there, clearly not awkward at all, used to this. Thranduil, standing in the shadows of the trees, groaned, albeit a little too loudly to stay hidden anymore. The stranger may have not heard him, but Legolas, trained from birth to recognize any noise out of place in the forest, most definitely heard him. He swiveled his head ever so slightly, inviting the unknown intruder to emerge.

"I believe I heard voices," Thranduil spoke, as the ivy tangled on the ground moved aside, creating a pathway for him. "May I introduce myself? I am Thranduil, king of the elves of Rivendell. May I inquire, good sir, your name?" He gave Legolas a look, clearly saying what were you doing, not providing any introduction about yourself? We must trust this man for him to trust us.

"My name is Spock. I am captain aboard the starship Enterprise," He spoke in a strange tone, not as fluidly as the elves Thranduil ruled over.

Legolas meanwhile, relieved from foreign greeter by his father, was free to think about who this stranger-Spock-looked like. Cendra. They even spoke the same way, slightly grating. Their brown eyes and dark hair set them apart from most of the Rivendell elves, having blond hair and blue eyes. As he had noticed before, they had more angular ears and eyebrows. As all he knew of the stranger were his looks and his name, Legolas wasn't sure if the similarities ended there, or if he had a similar personality to Cendra.

Cendra. She was something, all right. Legolas remembered when they first met. It wasn't through Tauriel, Cendra's twin sister, as most people assumed, or during the recent Orc battle. No, Legolas and Cendra went back further than that.

It was Legolas's first real job. He had been paired with Cendra, to give her the minimum experience needed to start training. She was a bit of an outcast, as not only did she look different from the other elves, she acted differently as well. Legolas didn't know exactly what it was about her, but something was off. Not wrong, just different.

She was as graceful as the others, but seemed to be more powerful than smooth. She was as strong a fighter, but seemed to think things over more, anticipating the enemy's moves before they came. She had perfect hair down to her waist, but she pulled it up, so that it appeared shorter. It did keep her hair out of the way in battle though, so Legolas admired her for being practical, instead of so admittedly vain like the other elves were, for the most part. He liked to exclude himself from that category, saying his minuscule side braids helped keep his hair managed, but then again the elves all did, not admit anything wrong with themselves.

Another difference with Cendra. She wasn't exactly humble, she knew her strengths, but she was ready to let others help her. Unless, of course, she could do it better.

Legolas smiled at this. His first mission with the unique brown haired brown eyed elf was a success, but only because of Cendra.

It was a simple border patrol, much like he had been doing when he saw the starship appear, and because both he and Cendra were young by elven standards, they were sent out together. Thranduil had them search along a frequently used path by travelers, so it was safe for his son, he thought. Legolas armed himself with his bow, and a single knife. Even at a young age, he was proficient in shooting, and his arrows were deadly. Cendra didn't bother with arrows, saying that she could take down more enemies in a minute with her sword than Legolas could with his bow. It wasn't bragging, it was the truth, as he soon found out.