You Must Have Faith

Chapter Thirty-Three

Vera had no idea how long she sat in the little cave.  The water had soaked through her outer layer of fur into her insulating layer, and then for the most part dried again, leaving her puffy and slightly disheveled.  She dozed off and on, getting and pacing the small space between naps, mapping it out in her head.  It was about a 12X12 space, though it had an extremely low ceiling, forcing her to crouch as she paced.  On the fifth walk around, she discovered what felt like a small crawlspace hole, just large enough for her human form to fit through.  The urge returned at that point, so she shifted.  She managed to squeeze into the space with some help from extending her claws to climb the smooth, water-worn stone.  Her sheaths scraped along the sides of the space, her head occasionally knocking against the top of it as she crawled.  She wasn't claustrophobic by nature, but the space terrified her.  

Moisture from the clouds of her breath dampened her face, and she scrambled to get through the tunnel to wherever the urge was leading her.  Clawing at the walls and ceiling, her nails elongated into claws to drag her faster through the small space.  Small flakes of rock fell on her as she dislodged them, only serving to further her panic.  In her frantic state, she didn't notice as the tunnel opened out into another room until she nearly fell into it.  She was just able to save herself from falling flat on her face, managing to cling to the wall long enough to swing her legs around and drop the few feet needed to reach the floor.  The back of her neck prickled, the hair on the back of her neck standing up as if from a bolt of electricity.

The blackness of the room transformed, turning from pitch black to a pure white glare coming from the middle of the tiny cavern.  A wordless scream ripped from Vera's throat as her eyes burned.  Stars exploded in her vision, blurred through the tears forced from her.  Her knees impacted the ground as she shielded her face and closed her eyes.  Several minutes passed before she could open them, squinting at the figure before her.  The black outlines in the center of the light was taller even than her, though not by much.  One was a masculine form, the other more feminine though not by much, a pair of recognizably androgynous forms of her own species.

"Lider, you idiot, you just blinded our daughter!"  The voice was...familiar?  Yet Vera could feel the deeper tones of it vibrating in her chest, the higher pitch ringing in her ears.  She knew that voice, that name, even though there was a more resonant quality to it than she was used to.

"Mother?  Father?"

The light faded to a softer green, glowing around the two forms that were so familiar to her.  Her parents, restored to their former glories.  Her father, looking duly chastised, standing tall and proud before her.  His hair had always been darker, a rich, deep brown that neither of his daughters had inherited.  It was cut short compared to most, ruffling the tops of his ears and draping across his forehead.  His eyes, gentle and the softest golden, the same shade as Kira's, looked back at her startling greens that she had so clearly gotten from their mother.  Her mother, whose form now knelt before her, her nearly white locks brushing gently around them as she reached for her daughter.

"Rise, my child.  This must happen, your job isn't finished quite yet.  The King still needs you, as stupid as he is being."

Vera stood in disbelief, tears welling in her eyes as she beheld her parents.  She reached for them, but a warning glance from her mother that somehow death hadn't changed halted her movements.  

"How are you here?  Why are you here?"

Lider, her father, drifted forward looking down at her with a soft smile.

"Galadriel may have made an error, my child, but not one that we can't fix.  We would crown you, now, to complete what should have been done long ago.  Este's gift saved you, yes, but only because you still have a purpose left here: Thranduil isn't safe yet, and he cannot die too soon.  His people, the Greenwood, Arda itself, need him.  Yet even without such motivation we must finish the rites of our people.  Will you take that role, my child?  Will you be the one to save the Elvenking?"

Vera lifted her head, meeting her father's, no, her king's, eyes.

"I will do this, my king.  I, Vera Doch' Lidera, offer myself as Queen of a once mighty and powerful race.  I pledge myself to their remembrance, and to the continuing of their memory in this world.  I pledge myself to their care, if I ever find another, and to uphold the name of our land.  Lastly, I promise to protect Gornyydom until my final breath, no harmful creature shall penetrate its depths while I yet live.  Lider Korol', Luna Koroleva, do you accept my promises?"

Her parents seemed to approve of her adapting their usual pledge in such bizarre times, as they nodded.

"We accept, but there is one other who must also accept.  Kira Byvshaya Koroleva, do you heed the pledge of your sister?"

Her mother turned, holding out a hand to yet another glowing figure who appeared between them.  Her beloved sister, restored to her former glory.  Kira had always been the greater of them, always meant to be Queen.  It was a large part of Vera's disgust at Galadriel's doings, because she herself felt unworthy of her sister's mantle.  At the sight of her, Vera fell to her knees, her sight blurring.

"No, little sister.  Don't cry for me.  I hear your pledge, and I accept it.  My only regret is that it fell to you to make it, I know you never wanted this.  But hear me now, Vera Koroleva.  Your choice to end me was both just and merciful, and you are forever pardoned for laying your hands on who you believed to be a monarch.  Be at peace, and know that you are loved.  Thranduil will get over himself, particularly with Elrond, the Twins, Legolas, and Gimli around.  They'll talk some sense into him.  But for now, rise, Vera, Koroleva of Gornyydom."

Vera bowed her head, finally feeling a sense of rightness return to her world even as the glow from her family faded and she was left alone in this cave, this place where so many of her ancestors had come to make amends and right themselves in the eyes of their own forefathers.  She stood, the burden lifted from her shoulders.  With a final bow to the memory of her family, she turned, climbing out of the cave and fleeing to the surface of Gornyydom with her purpose in life solidified.

Alright Thranduil, you're stuck with me now.  Eru-help the one who tries to kill you.

A/N: I'm back guys, and I'm finishing this story.  Love you all.