New story peoples! This is set after the other three in this series, and is called A Mirkwood Summer. I hope you all like it. Reviews very welcome please!
Faerlain
A Mirkwood Summer
Chapter 1: Not Funny!
"Honestly, can you not do anything for yourself?"
"No, and you know I can't." He grinned. "Nauralad, I'm blind, remember."
She scowled at him. "Only in one eye may I remind you. Being partially sighted does not stop you from walking from one end of the room to the other."
"But my leg hurts!"
"Really Ladrenîl, you are a hopeless case."
Legolas had walked into the room, and he passed over the jug of water Ladrenîl had been pleading his sister to take over to him. She muttered something, closed her book and walked out. Legolas raised an eyebrow at his older brother and took her empty chair. "Leg still playing up then is it?"
"What do you think?" He put his foot back down on the floor from where it had been previously resting on a stool. "I'm just trying to use any excuse to stay inside."
His brother shook his head. "And you are meant to be setting the rest of us a good example. I think not. Dear me, with you at the head of our army, surely all of Mirkwood is doomed." He helped himself to a glass of water.
"Oh stop the dramatics Legolas. We have you." He paused. "Well…"
"No insults please. I have just saved you from a nasty confrontation with our father."
"What have I done now?"
Legolas leant forward, elbows on knees and frowned. "'Ladrenîl appears to be abandoning his duties,'" he said seriously in a mocking voice representing their father. "'I have not seen him on guard duty for nearly two weeks. What is going on with your brother Legolas?' 'Well father, as far as I know, Ladrenîl was seriously injured in the nether regions during the last round he was on.' 'Oh, I see. Well, make sure he is back on duty as soon as possible. You and the others are doing far too much work…'"
"Ok, you can shut up now!" He scowled. "'Injured in the nether regions…' Bloody hell Legs!"
Legolas was laughing. "Sorry brother."
"He's going to think I am unable to bear children now or something. Honestly, it was just an arrow to the groin…Shut up! It's not funny!"
Legolas was laughing so hard he had tears rolling down his face. He wiped away them away, grinning. "Sorry Ladrenîl, but it is just too comical. You are going to suffer with this for centuries you understand."
He growled something incomprehensible and thumped his head back against the back of the chair. "I'll be back out tomorrow," he said eventually. "You can have a day off."
"Why thank you dear brother." He downed his glass and stood up. "A little father therapy always goes a long way." He winked and left, still chuckling.
----
Lothriel had her hands on her hips and was thinking. Very hard.
"This place is a mess," she eventually deduced.
Esgalloth raised an eyebrow. "Well that's an understatement and a half."
"Oh be quiet sister. This place was fine until I left. What on earth happened?"
The older Princess shrugged. "Whenever you go travelling off somewhere, the gardens you nurture tend to fall into ruins. The rest of us never know what we're meant to be doing in here."
"Did you bother asking a gardener?"
"No."
"That much is obvious." She rolled up her sleeves. "We had better start working then."
"I'm not pulling up weeds!"
"Fine! You go back inside and play with your medicines. I shall do it myself." She knelt down on the grass and started pulling weeds out of the soil.
Esgalloth just shook her head. The youngest Princess never ceased to amaze her. If she wasn't gallivanting off to Rivendell with friends, she out in the Royal Gardens, sowing seeds or pulling things up. She would come in several hours later, covered in dirt with a huge grin on her face.
And the hilarious thing was, that the other members of their family actually encouraged her! Legolas was always asking how things in the garden were going. Ladrenîl would ask after the twins when she arrived back from Rivendell, and then their father would ask for news from Elrond. It was utter madness to let her have so much freedom, but only Esgalloth held that point of view. No one else seemed inclined to agree with her.
Esgalloth herself was now working with Nauralad in the healing wards. She was now qualified to help people whenever they came in with wounds and maladies. Let the others go off and 'play with their' weapons or flowers. She was perfectly suited to the healing wards, thank you very much.
Lothriel scowled as her sister walked away. Esgalloth was so above herself. Just because she could heal people just by putting some disgusting smelling cream on their lacerations, didn't mean she was a miracle worker. Sometimes, you had to be in tune with nature to feel at your very best. And that was how Lothriel found herself. Whenever she travelled or spent time outside, she was perfectly content. People like Esgalloth, who couldn't understand how Lothriel felt, just annoyed her.
Lothriel was now well into her seventh century. She was still the baby of the family, but had developed into a mature and beautiful Elf Princess. Her oldest brother was now 1,524, and she could never resist teasing him about that fact. Ladrenîl sometimes loathed being the oldest of 6 siblings.
Though of course it used to be 8. Lothriel sighed to herself as she thought of her two departed siblings – Hithaer and Sîladiel. She brushed her fingers over the petals of a deep red rose, a small smile gracing her features as she touched it. One older brother, one older sister…gone just like that. It was so hard without them.
Missing Sîladiel's funeral had pained her deeply. She spent many a day down by her sister's grave, just talking. She kept the flowers down there nice and neat, fresh. No good having dead flowers on a grave, it made them looked unloved. She would sometimes squeeze in the small gap between the two graves, and talk to both her brother and sister. It made her feel at peace and close to them.
Legolas understood her weird ways. But then again, Legolas had always understood her. They were closer than anything, like an arrow to the bow. Only death could separate them, and that wasn't about to happen anytime soon. She hoped.
She knelt down beside a flower bed and started pulling up the weeds that had started to choke the lilies that were there. There were in full bloom, large, white heads swaying from side to side in the gentle breeze. Lothriel made sure the ground around the bottom of their stems was clear of weeds before pouring a little water on each one.
The sun was up high and burning down on the top of her head. She sat up after a while, pulling her back and up into a rough ponytail, securing it with a leather band from around her wrist. At least that would keep the blonde locks from falling into her face and obstructing her view.
And so she worked for the next couple of hours, gradually moving around her garden and taking up all the weeds that had grown since she had been away. She forgot all about her annoying sister and focused all her energy and concentration into making her beloved gardens look beautiful again.
When she had been out there for a while, Legolas came wandering down to look for her. He had barely seen her since she had returned the day before, and wanted to talk to her. He spotted her knelt down beside a bed of roses, and he smiled to himself as he watched her work. Sleeves rolled up to her elbows, hair tied back, dirt smudges all over her…she looked just like any other gardener. He found it quite amusing. She was also wearing a pair of leggings and an old shirt of Ladrenîl's…it was rather large on her slender body.
He went over to her and crouched down, fingers brushing the petals of a light pink rose. She turned to him with a smile on her face. "Morning."
"Afternoon," he corrected, glancing up at the sun. "You missed lunch."
"Did I? Oh well…" She furiously tugged on a dandelion, nearly falling backwards as it popped out the ground. "I wasn't hungry anyway."
"We missed your company," he told her, sitting cross legged and watching as she carried on working.
"You mean it was a family affair?" She looked at him incredulously.
He shrugged. "Well…Ladrenîl and I missed you…"
"Exactly. Adar was still in his study. Naneth was probably out walking with friends, and our siblings are all off doing their own thing. We never have lunch together."
"But you will be at dinner won't you?"
"Of course. I'll be hungry by then." She grinned at him.
He returned the look and laughed softly. "Do you want me to bring you something out now?"
"A drink of water would be nice."
"I meant food-wise."
She just shrugged and started on another dandelion. "Whatever."
He sighed and got to his feet, brushing the grass of his leggings. "I'll be back shortly."
Whilst her brother was gone, Lothriel spotted a ladybird sat on a small stone beside her. Carefully, she lifted the tiny insect off and placed her down in the flower bed. It would come to less harm there after all.
It pleased her to see insects scurrying around her gardens. It made them look more alive and lived in.
Legolas was back a few minutes later with a flask of cool water and a couple of pieces of fruit. She accepted it all gratefully and they sat together for a while, drinking in the warmth and sunlight whilst they had the time. It was rare nowadays that the children of Thranduil ever spent much time together. They were always off doing their own things, as Lothriel had so rightfully stated earlier.
Lothriel started pointing out things to her brother, such as where she planning to place shrubs when the winter time eventually came around. He would nod in agreement and listen attentively as she rambled on, her eyes sparkling with enthusiasm and her voice increasing in speed as more and more ideas came into her head.
It was always like this with his younger sister. She would get one idea into her head, and that one idea would develop into a hundred more, her mind working too fast for her mouth to keep up.
Legolas smiled as she carried on, pointing at where things were going to go and what she'd like to do with it all next year. After about ten minutes of this, he silenced her simply by placing his hand over her mouth. She turned sheepish eyes to him, and when he moved it away again, she was smiling softly. "Sorry…I do tend to babble on a little bit don't I?"
"I love it when you babble on about something you love so much," he told her. "But give your voice a rest for a few minutes…you'll wear it out otherwise."
Lothriel laughed softly and took another sip of water, offering it next to Legolas. He took it with a smile and they sat in silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts.
Well, I hope you liked that. Have a good Xmas everyone if I don't update before then, and see you all soon!
Faerlain
