As she lay on the cool grass staring up at the stars, she raised her right hand and examined the long scar that ran across her palm. She traced her fingers along it, sighed, and whispered to herself, " Legolas…"
* * *
As he lay in bed trying to get to sleep, the beautiful moonlight from outside poured through his bedroom window. As he thought of the next day, he raised his right hand and turned it to the moonlight so he could clearly see the scar on his palm. He ran his fingers along it, sighed, and whispered to himself, " Nilea…"
* * *
And so it begins…
* * *
The sun shone brightly through his bedroom window, as Legolas Greenleaf slowly blinked open his eyes as they got used to the light. They were a beautiful ice blue, and his hair was at his shoulders, a golden blond. He stretched out and smiled. Today was his 2, 974th birthday. He knew already that there was to be a great feast that evening in his honor. His father, King Thranduil of Mirkwood, held a feast on all of his birthdays, so this feast came as no surprise. He could hear the sound of hooves getting closer, so he sat up and looked outside into the courtyard. He saw his father and another elf walking down the steps, just as eleven cloaked horsemen rode up the stone pathway. Five of the horses were brown, three were white, two were gray, and the largest horse was black. Legolas watched curiously as the first rider hopped off their horse and embraced his father. He wanted to know who they were, although they were most likely guests for the feast, so he quickly dressed and headed out of his chambers and down the stone halls. He ran through the castle and out the front doors. His father and the other elf were heading back up the steps, so he nearly ran into them. The elf bowed.
" Legolas, my son, you have finally awoken. It is a fine day, is it not?" smiled Thranduil. The eleven riders and their horses were gone.
" Indeed it is father. I saw eleven riders out here before I came down. Who were they?"
" Just dinner guests, my son. Just dinner guests. Now come," said Thranduil as he placed his arm around Legolas' shoulders to lead him inside. " Let us go discuss tonight's feast."
Just as he'd thought: dinner guests. But he was curious about why all eleven of them had their hoods pulled up to hide their faces. They reminded him of the Nine. The Ringwraiths. But he knew it could not be them, for there were eleven riders and only one horse was black. Besides, his father had hugged one of them, therefore proving them to not be the Ringwraiths.
They were walked into King Thranduil's private study, and the other elf left them to speak privately.
" You know, Legolas, you are the heir to my throne."
Legolas rolled his eyes. He had heard that statement quite enough to recite it while he was unconscious.
" Have you thought of finding a maiden to serve as your queen?" asked Thranduil hopefully. Legolas gave him a pleading look.
" Father, must we speak of this again? Now? On my birthday?" Thranduil knew that pleading look all too well.
" Your mother tried to pull that one on me every time I asked her to attend my councils. She would much rather have walked through the woods singing, than attended my councils. Just like you." Thranduil's eyes seemed to go missing. They always did when he spoke of Legolas' mother. Legolas had no memory of her, except for what his father and friends had told him. He knew she was a sensitive topic to talk about with his father, so he decided to change the subject.
" So, I thought we came here to speak of the feast." Thranduil smiled.
" Ah, yes. The feast."
* * *
It was quite a feast indeed. There was an elvish band of musicians playing beautiful elvish music, lots of elvish food, dancing, and of course, lots of elvish wine. (Merry and Pippin in particular enjoyed this.) Yes, the entire fellowship was there. Aragorn and Arwen, Elrond, Gimli, Merry, Pippin, Sam, Frodo, even Gandalf. They had been the cloaked riders Legolas had seen that morning. But he was still confused. The fellowship, plus Arwen and Elrond, was only nine. ' Who had the other two been?' he wondered. They were all seated at the highest table in the room, which was on the far right coming through the double door entrance. Thranduil sat in the center, of course, on one side of the table (the side closest to the wall), with Legolas on his left, and Elrond on his right. Next to Elrond sat Arwen, then Aragorn. Next to Legolas there were two empty seats. Directly across from Aragorn sat Merry, then it went Pippin, Sam, Frodo, Gandalf, Gimli, and the elf that had been with Thranduil that morning. His name was Glandris. Legolas wondered who the other two seats were for, then he remembered the two other riders he had not met yet. He thought, perhaps, they were already on the dance floor. Though he made sure not to mention it to anyone, he found the feast quite boring. All the elves and other guests would come over to wish him a 'happy birthday', and he would just smile big and pretend like he was having fun. He constantly felt like he was being watched. He looked and saw a group of giddy elvish girls looking his way. He smiled, but he felt as if he knew it was not their eyes he was feeling on him every now and then. He turned to look at his father, because he felt it was coming from that direction, but his father was deep in conversation with Elrond. He looked away. But just as soon as Legolas turned away, he felt like he was being watched again. This time he was quicker, and spun around to look at his father. Thranduil and Elrond were both staring at him with smiles upon their faces. Just as Legolas was about to ask what they were staring at, he noticed Elrond look past him and smile bigger, and then Thranduil looked and did the same. Legolas was curious to see what they were smiling about. Thranduil looked at Legolas and then nodded in the direction that had made him smile from ear to ear. Legolas turned around. He suddenly felt as though his heart had jumped to his throat. Standing just inside the double doors was the most beautiful elven maiden he had ever seen. She had perfectly straight, dark brown hair that reached her waist, and she wore a beautiful silver dress that clung to her curves perfectly. Her enormous bell sleeves nearly touched the floor. Her eyes were almost the same ice blue as his, but her eyes were rimmed a beautiful navy. They were also what gave her away. Though Legolas did not recognize her right away, he knew her instantly. He turned back to his father for reassurance that this was no dream. When he looked, everyone at the table was silent and staring at him smiling.
" Y-you all knew about this?" Everyone was beaming at Legolas. " You were all in on this?" He laughed and looked back at the beautiful maiden. She too, was now smiling at him. Instead of using the steps, Legolas leaped down to the floor and ran as fast as he could, along the wall until he met the she-elf in a hug. He then lifted her and spun her around. She laughed and he set her back down.
" Nae saian luume! It has been too long! " Exclaimed Legolas happily.
" A thousand years today." She smiled the most beautiful smile Legolas had ever seen, and her voice reminded him of beautiful elvish music. He hugged her tightly again.
" Oh, Nilea! I have missed you so!"
She laughed again. It reminded Legolas of a dream, for it sounded as though that was where it had come. " Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo. A star shines on the hour of our meeting. " She said happily. She was Nilea. Though no one could figure out where her eye color had come from, she was still one of the most beautiful elven maidens in all of Middle-Earth. Her parents both had gray eyes, like their parents before them. Legolas knew her instantly because of her beautiful blue eyes. They had been the best of friends since either of them could remember. She had left Mirkwood a thousand years ago, on Legolas' 1, 974th birthday. But now the two were reunited once again.
" I knew I had seen eleven cloaked riders this morning!" cried Legolas happily. Nilea laughed again.
" You were always quite nosy about things like that!"
" But even with you I still only count ten. Have I miscounted?" asked Legolas. They both turned towards the door as the sounds of heavy breathing and light jogging came down the hall. Nilea sighed.
" No, unfortunately Legolas, you have counted correctly."
Through the doors jogged another young elf, a bit older than Legolas and Nilea. Maybe about seven years. He stopped in front of Nilea. He was bent over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
" Lle abdollen. You're late. " Said Nilea to the young elf. Still bent over, he waved his right hand at her as if to shoo her away.
" I know, I know. Amin hiraetha. I'm sorry. " Replied the elf. It took Legolas a fourth glance to finally figure it out.
" Melonir?" he asked with a smile. The elf looked up at him puzzled. Legolas' smile faded. " Oh, I thought you were…" his voice trailed off. Nilea's smile grew. The other elf began to laugh. Legolas looked at the two of them and smiled. " It is you, isn't it?" The other elf stood up straight.
" Of course it is I! Who else would I be?" He laughed. Nilea stepped out of the way to let them hug.
" My dear Melonir!" laughed Legolas. " You are the only elf I have ever met who runs out of breath from jogging through the palace." Melonir gave Legolas a look like 'Oh, yeah?'
" Five times I was lost on the way here. Five times." Legolas and Nilea burst out laughing. Melonir looked at Nilea. " Oh, you laugh now, but you just wait until it happens to you." Melonir then started laughing with them. Melonir could turn any situation into something funny. He was Nilea's older brother. He had the same color of hair, but never close to the length. His reached but his shoulders and he always wore the top half of it pulled back. His eyes were of the same gray as their parents and they twinkled from the hundreds of lanterns placed around the banquet hall. Melonir, Nilea, and Legolas had hung out together since they could remember, but were then separated a thousand years ago. But now they were together again, and some of the quite older elves may not have found this a good thing. They would soon be up to their old tricks again, but their minds were on other things at the moment, so trickery and pranks would have to wait. The three of them did a sort of group hug as everyone back up at the table watched happily. Gandalf, Elrond, and Thranduil all looked at each other. Thranduil spoke.
" It may seem a joyous reunion now, but we should all still be on our guard for the next few weeks. Now that the 'Masters of Mani Marte' are back together, I've no doubt they'll be up to their old tricks again very soon." Gandalf covered his mouth so as to not spit out his wine from laughter. Elrond chuckled.
" Why do you call them the 'Masters of Mani Marte'?" asked Pippin curiously.
" Well you see, young Took, I should guess, or at least hope, that you know what 'masters' means." Said Elrond. Pippin nodded. Elrond chuckled again. " Well 'Mani Marte' is elvish for 'What happened?'" Pippin caught on and began laughing.
" I should guess that most of the older elves who have experienced or witnessed the work of Legolas, Melonir, and Nilea aren't too pleased with the reunion." Said Gandalf.
" I would think not." Said Thranduil. Everyone turned their attention back to the 'terrible trio'.
" You must come meet everyone!" said Legolas happily. He tugged on Nilea's wrist. She laughed.
" Have you forgotten already? I think you've tripped over too many tree roots." Legolas seemed confused. Nilea laughed some more. " We traveled here with them you ninny! Why would we introduce ourselves to them?" Legolas blushed.
" Woops. Forgot." Nilea giggled while Melonir laughed out loud.
" Dolle naa lost. Your head is empty. " Giggled Nilea.
" Can't argue with that!" laughed Melonir. And then together the three of them headed towards the table for dinner.
* * *
Everyone thought the dinner was wonderful. Melonir had the entire table roaring with laughter in no time at all. Finally, Legolas stood up and took Nilea's hand. " Dance with me." He smiled.
" O-okay." Stammered Nilea. She hadn't been expecting this. But she happily took his hand and began to walk down to the dance floor with him. Then Melonir leaned back his chair and called after them.
" Legolas! That's my baby sister you've got there. You'd better bring her back in one piece." He warned jokingly.
" I'll try!" laughed Legolas.
" I mean it." Said Melonir. " If she so much as splinters a nail, I'm holding you personally respons-" he was startled as his chair fell backwards. He landed still in his sitting position.
" Melonir!" called Nilea as she began running towards him, but she stopped as he waved his hand at her.
" Don't worry, I'm alright. I'm quite enjoying this actually." Melonir placed his hands behind his head. " This is the first time I've been off my feet all day." Everyone laughed…again. Melonir rolled off the chair and put it upright again and sat down.
Legolas and Nilea continued on to the dance floor as a slower elvish song started. Arwen watched them dancing and sighed. They looked like they were having so much fun. And being the girly elf she was, Arwen couldn't help but notice that Nilea's silver dress and Legolas' silver tunic went perfect together. She giggled at the thought. Aragorn noticed and put his arm around her. " What's so funny?" he asked. Arwen looked up at him.
" Nothing, my love." She smiled. Aragorn kissed her forehead.
Elrond saw this and considered clearing his throat to catch their attention, but he smiled and changed his mind. Tonight was a night of friendship, love, and laughter. He decided to let them enjoy it.
* * *
Legolas and Nilea laughed and spoke to each other as they danced.
" Have you done a lot of traveling?" asked Legolas.
" Oh, yes! I've been traveling a whole lot with Melonir." Answered Nilea. Legolas sighed.
" I'll bet my immortality it was more fun than this." He said, glancing around at the other dancers.
Everyone was dancing slowly and calmly, even when the music slightly sped up. Even with Nilea there, Legolas still found it quite boring. Nilea caught his look of boredom and smiled. Legolas turned to her and noticed her mischievous grin and caught on to what she was thinking. He returned the playful smile and slowly nodded in agreement. When the beat slightly sped up, Legolas spun Nilea under his arm once, then she spun herself away from him without letting go of his hand, and then she spun herself back again while Legolas wrapped his arm around her. They did this one more time and then when Nilea spun herself back to him, at the climax (dull as it was) of the song, Legolas placed his hands on her small waist and lifted her above his head and spun around as if she weighed no more than a child. Which she probably didn't. Nilea stuck out her arms like she was flying and let out a playful giggle. When Legolas set her back down, they continued the dance in the normal elven manner. They glanced around at the hundreds of looks of disapproval and shock aimed at them. They simply laughed. It was exactly the reaction they wanted. They looked up at the table to see everyone staring at them smiling. " Come on," said Legolas finally. " Before they start hurling goblets at us." Nilea laughed and they began walking towards the open double doors that led to a beautiful stone balcony. Thranduil, Gandalf, and Elrond watched them happily.
" They always had to be different than everybody else. Do their own thing. I'm actually very happy to see them this way again." Said Thranduil.
" Indeed. They never seemed to care about anything at all unless they were having fun. I know I may not have had as much time to know them together as you, seeing as Rivendell isn't exactly a neighboring realm to Mirkwood, but from what I do know, they love life and it's perfect that they are elves so they have thousands of years to enjoy it to it's fullest. I'm not sure I've ever seen Nilea, Legolas or even Melonir without a smile on their faces, unless there was a very good reason for it." Said Elrond. He frowned. " Makes you feel so darn old looking at those three." That sent all who were listening into a fit of laughter. Gandalf looked around and found Melonir surrounded by a flock of beautiful elven maidens. He was explaining to them how he got the long scar on his arm.
' This, I must hear.' Gandalf chuckled to himself as he rose from his seat and walked silently around the table and stood about a foot from the closest she-elf. None of them noticed him as he strained his old ears to hear the tale.
" So there I was," continued Melonir. " Standing face to face with the giant cave troll…"
' Cave troll?' thought the old wizard. He rolled his eyes.
" …I jumped out of the way just in time and took another shot with my arrows. Then all of a sudden…WHACK!" He stated the last word loudly enough to cause all the young girls to jump. " It brought its mighty club down, destroying the ledge I was standing on. As I fell towards the hundreds of strangely upturned swords…"
' Strangely upturned swords?' Gandalf raised an eyebrow. ' Good heavens.'
" And I finished him off with one last arrow between the eyes, before grabbing the closest chunk of rock I could easily grip." Finished Melonir. The young she-elves gasped.
" You're so brave." Sighed one of them.
' Good gracious me.' Chuckled the sorcerer to himself. ' What a tale, but I believe the least these gullible young females deserve is the truth.' He loudly cleared his throat. " Nonsense!" The young elves all spun around and stared at the old wizard, startled. Melonir swallowed hard.
" G-Gandalf. How nice of you to join us." He forced a small smile. Gandalf noticed the beads of sweat on the young elf's brow and laughed inwardly.
" I couldn't help but overhear you telling these beautiful young maidens how that long scar on your arm came to be." Gandalf smiled innocently as he noticed Melonir had stopped breathing. His eyes also seemed slightly wider. Gandalf looked him in the eye. " Now, really, don't you think they deserve to hear what really happened?" he looked questioningly at Melonir, who sat trembling in his chair. It was no secret that the poor young elf feared the wrath of Gandalf. He had heard many a tale of the great sorcerer's power, and believed them enough to not toil with the old man. Gandalf was absolutely loving this. He knew that Melonir feared him and watching the poor boy twitch in his seat was making it excruciatingly difficult to contain his laughter. He chuckled.
' I can't do this to the poor boy.' He thought. ' Not tonight anyway.' He smiled at Melonir, who now seemed confused. " You left out the part about what happened after the rock you were gripping came loose." The girls giggled and looked at Melonir, waiting to hear the rest of his tale. Melonir watched Gandalf smile and turn away to leave. When the wizard's back was turned, Melonir closed his eyes and let out a long sigh of relief. Gandalf worked in mysterious ways. Melonir remembered this and his eyes shot open. He quickly looked at the beautiful elf beside him. She smiled and Melonir noticed a familiar feeling. He returned the smile and breathed another sigh of relief. ' Whew. Still there.'
* * *