Bianca strode down the hallway urgently. As much fun as talking with Arwen was, she needed to get to Elrond. Galadriel had told her that, as much haste as she could manage was necessary. Which was kind of odd when she thought about it, Bianca mused. She knew that the orc attacks on the borders of Lorien had her grandparents (and everyone else) worried, but why they were seeking out the help of Elrond, she didn't know.
Bianca went onto the terrace where she had been told that Elrond was, and stopped dead in her tracks. Before her lay not only Elrond, but many illustrious others, all seemingly about to begin council. She recognized Aragorn, Mithrandir, and several elves, including Glorfindel and Cirdan, but as for the rest of them, she was at a loss. As Bianca's gaze went quickly around the room, she barely had time to take in the beauty of this elf that looked vaguely familiar that was sitting next to Aragorn. But the next thing she knew, Elrond had come up to her.
"Bianca. I did not know that you were coming" Elrond said worriedly, as he stepped up and gave his niece a kiss.
"I thought Arwen sent up word," Bianca said, feeling more and more out of place every second.
"Well yes, but what's the message? Has something happened to Lothlorien?" Elrond questioned.
"No. Well, not yet." Bianca answered, fumbling for a way to summarize the fear that the elves dwelling in Lothlorien had come to realize.
"Maybe you'd better sit down. You may have something to add." Elrond said, realizing that they were holding up the council.
"Uncle," Bianca whispered, "what's going on?"
"It will all come clear child," bellowed Gandalf, "And sit down, before I grow impatient." Whether or not he meant his harsh words was lost on the assembled party, but Bianca flew over and embraced him, and the rest of them smiled at the reunited friends.
While all this was going on, Legolas leaned over to Aragorn. "Who is that?" he asked, trying to sound casual.
"Oh, I thought you would know," said Aragorn in surprise. "That's Bianca, the other grand daughter of Galadriel. Her mother was Celebrian's sister. She and Arwen are cousins."
"She's gorgeous," said Legolas out loud, before he could catch himself. He stared at Bianca for about 5 minutes before he noticed Aragorn smiling at him.
"So you like Bianca do you?" chuckled Aragorn. Before Legolas even had a chance to respond, the council began.
Bianca listened carefully to all the talk, growing more wary all the time. So maybe the attacks on Lothlorien weren't such isolated events. Not that she believed they were random, she just didn't think that there was such mass happenings of that sort. So when it was time to tell her tale, she spoke carefully and slowly. She could see the elves grow slowly horrified at the threat of Lothlorien, but to the others it didn't seem like such a big deal. She was comforted by Mithrandir's promise to come talk to her grandmother about it, and it did do her good to find out they had some hope against the One who sits in the Dark Tower. But she was still unsettled by that beautiful elf, Legolas. He had looked at her with such piercing eyes, that he seemed to see right through her. Her thoughts were put off momentarily with the amount of people she had to greet. One by one, she met all of the assembled party, until she came around to Aragorn and Legolas. She hugged Aragorn tight for a good while. "I had no idea you were here!" she exclaimed, stepping back, "I haven't seen you in so long!"
"Well, even us Rangers can surprise someone like you sometimes." Aragorn said courteously, "But we'll talk later. This is Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood."
Bianca smiled at the graceful elf before her, hoping that she wasn't being over friendly. "Hello Legolas."
"Hello Bianca" Legolas answered, hoping to himself that he didn't sound ungracious.
The awkward silence continued until Aragorn could bear it no longer. "We'll see you later Legolas," he said, taking Bianca's arm and steering her away
"Come to the dinner tonight" Bianca managed to get out before they walked away. She felt strangely reluctant to leave this beautiful stranger's presence. She felt somehow that she had known him for far longer then she actually had. She unknowingly imitated Legolas when she breathed "He's gorgeous" out loud. She only snapped too when she heard Aragorn laughing. "What?" she said, blushing.
"You know, he said the same thing about you." Aragorn said, chuckling.
"Really?" Bianca asked eagerly before she could stop herself.
"Oh yeah" Aragorn replied, right as they ran into Arwen.
"Oh yeah what?" Arwen asked as she embraced her cousin, and kissed Aragorn lightly.
"I'll tell you later." Aragorn told her, as they both said their good byes to Bianca.
"I'll see you two tonight." Bianca said, trying to disguise her eagerness to get away and think. Unfortunately, she could hide nothing from her two childhood friends, who both grinned knowingly at her, and left.
Legolas wandered the hallways of Rivendell thinking about Bianca. So completely lost in his thoughts, he didn't even notice as he ran into Bianca. "Oh, sorry" he apologized frantically, trying to regain his composure.
"No problem," agreed Bianca. Was that just his imagination, or did he sense a little agitation in her voice too?
"I, uh, really felt bad when you were talking today. Is there anything I can do to help?" Legolas offered lamely, feeling as if he wouldn't be any good to her anyway. He couldn't even say a sentence without stumbling, let alone defend her homeland. To his surprise, Bianca broke out into a smile.
"No, but I would like to know more about you." she suggested, as she led him to a seat overlooking the vast garden.
They sat there and talked for hours, neither one heeding the time, nor who might be watching. They had no idea that they were late for dinner, or that Arwen and Aragorn had stood behind them, calling passerby's to look at two of the most beautiful people in Rivendell so caught up in each other.
They were just too absorbed in each other to notice anything.