Authors Note:
Once upon a time, a young woman by the name of Nicky fell ill for a week. She had nothing to do but stay at home all day and watch television. And what happened to be on television? The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. It was fated so. She watched. And watched. And watched. For 5 days straight, she watched. And by the end of the week, though the strep had been conquered, she had come down with what many may call... FANGIRL OBSESSION.
That girl, was me.
So what does she do with the dreaded FANGIRL OBSESSION. ? Everything. Quite literally. Memorizes every line in the movies that comes out of his mouth. Wastes her money away on merchandise that will end up in some deep, dark corner of her closet one day. Draws countless sketches of him in every scene possible. Reads the appendixes and learns a language that doesnt exist ((which she is now strangely fluent in)). Creates an oc to write into a fanfiction.
This is, that fanfiction.
((Please excuse any marysueness or noobishness. First story on ff. Lemme know what yall think, kay? Especially the marysue part. That is my worst nightmare. Please, if you read anything that hints at it, TELL ME. I will fix it. After crying in my corner for a couple months. Oh, the shame... ))
They had come requesting aid - the 2 humans, the 4 hobbits, the dwarf, and the elf. Lord Haldir knew of their coming and sent for us. My companions and I had no trouble tracking them - their noisy disturbance held little nuance to out silent tread. Seeing one of our own in their company, I was hesitant. But the at dwarf's sarcastic remarks towards Lady Galadriel, the signal was given for us to come out of our stalking. And within seconds I stood face-to-face, arrow-to-arrow, with the man who would change my life.
Weapons lowered, introductions made, and it was determined that these were allies... and I didn't forget the fact that the elf i could've killed was the son of Thranduil, Elvenking of Mirkwood. I watched him in awe and regretted not aiming at the dwarf instead.
We were promptly dismissed, and I returned to my post in the lofty treetops. Nimble feet balanced on a quivering branch, bow ever-ready with an arrow strung. My gaze strayed below as the newcomers settled in for the evening. The voices of my sisters began to echo through our glade. They sung of a mighty wizard - Gandalf, the name struck familiar - who had fallen on a quest to save Middle Earth. I realized this quest must be what brought the band of renegades to us in the first place.
Another bowwoman soon relieved me, and I gingerly picked my way down the trunk. I crossed over the massive roots that supported our homes and towards my own. My path met with that of the Prince from earlier, whose name I could not recall. The face that had glared at me fearfully from behind a nocked arrow. Our gazes locked, and I cast him a peaceful smile. He broke out in one of his own.
"I won't try to kill you ths time if you grant me the same." His eyes glittered in jest.
I raised an eyebrow mockingly. " I cannot promise you that much."
The archer's voice was thick with laughter. "Then I suggest you watch your back."
I laughed as well. "I'll keep that in mind, Lord... - "
"Legolas." He bowed with a flourish. "At your service."
"The service is mine to offer, Lord Legolas." I dipped my head in honest submission. Where did his courtesy come from? I was a mere soldier to Lord Haldir. Or was it sarcasm?
"Rise." Something in his voice belied authority, as kind as his words were. Not sarcasm, then. "You owe me nothing."
I lifted my head and nodded briskly. "Aye. I'll be on my way, then. May your stay at Lothlórien be pleasant. Fair travels to you, my Lord." My legs moved of their own accord, carrying me away from the one they call Greenleaf.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, a reluctance to leave his presense tugged at me. This bothered me... what new magic was this? What trance had taken me captive? My pace quickened. I bit my lip in anxious paranoia. Whatever this feeling, it had no business residing in my heart.
Once within the shelter of my home, I let myself rest on the wall. So strange... was it because I had almost killed him? Had he cursed me? Was it fear? Impossible. I blinked in dismissal and began stripping myself of armor. Once unarmed and undressed, I slipped into a deep blue nightgown, dark and silky as the clear midnight sky. With a deep breath, exhaling all the day's cares, I sunk into sleep.
But sleep would not accept me. My slumber was fitful and spit me back into the waking world far too often for any rest. In frustration I rose to my feet and drifted outside. I breathed in the cool night air, and my spirits setled.
There was something below. The unmistakeable essence of the Lady of the Woods... and another, powerful nonetheless. I peered over the balcony to the clearing below, where one of the hobbits from before stood staring into a pool of water that the enchantress had poured for him. I didn't know what reflections tormented him, but his face was pained as terror cluched at his chest... and the ring that hung around it. Everything made sense now... the ledgends, the quest that had taken the wizard, the party that traveled here today. The boy was thrown back by some unseen force, and Lady Galadriel spoke with him. His hand stretched towards her, offering her the ring. She began to change, her aura warped, and great torrents of wind billowed around her. In this magnificently terrifying display of power, I realized why mean feared to venture into these woods, and I cursed myself for leaving my weapons inside. However, her rage subsided, the witch regaining her composure long enough to bless the hobbit and present him with a brilliant star captured in a glass vial. With more words too unclear to understand, the curly-haired halfling thanked her and returned to his party's camp.
This is when the Lady of the Wood turned her head to the heavens and beckoned me to come to her. I sprang down to her side and kneeled at her feet in nervous reverance.
"Rise." The way she said it mirrored Legolas' tone merely hours ago. Legolas. Perhaps the reason behind my unease. Perhaps the reason I was there to see Galadriel that night. I stood, as she had commanded, and began to speak. She cut me off before a single word had left my mouth.
"I know what it is you seek, Almárëa." I blinked, not able to look her in the eyes for too long. "This curse of yours is nothing to fear - you only fear the unknown. I will not tell you its name, but hear me when I say it is nothing to dread. The feeling that has brought you to me will grow to a passion you have never experienced. If nourished, it will leave all traces of fear behind and blossom to an undying happiness for both you... and your prince."
Succeeding in confusing me even further, I opened my mouth to try again. "Are you saying... I will grow close... to Prince Legolas...?"
Her expression was unreadable. "Who am I to govern your fate? You will do what you will. But if you will it..." Her eyes twinkled in a smile that existed without using her lips. "...anything is possible." And then she was gone, as a vanishing memory, her words were smothered from the air and there was no trace of her ever being there.
