Bianca ran down the hall, her green silky dress waving out behind her. What did she think she was doing? In the first place, she was late to meet Arwen, and she knew how much Arwen hated being held up. And second of all, she had no business starting what she couldn't finish. Even if she wasn't leaving tomorrow, she still couldn't get involved with anyone. Well, not seriously anyway. And the look in Legolas's eyes was very, very serious indeed. She shivered suddenly, even though it was very warm in Rivendell and picked up her pace.
As she ran, Bianca's thoughts drifted to her grandmother, Galadriel. Since her mother had died, and her father was off too much to really be there for her, she had practically been raised by her grandmother and grandfather. She was her grandmother's closest confidant (besides Celeborn), and she often was the only one her grandmother trusted to carry messages. But, Bianca thought wryly, having Galadriel raise you comes with a price. At that moment, she ran panting into the bedroom she shared with Arwen when she was here and flung herself panting onto Arwen's bed.
"You, you are late." came Arwen's disapproving voice from the other side of the room.
"Sorry hun, lost track of time" Bianca replied, praying that Arwen wouldn't ask what she was doing.
No such luck. "Doing what? Flirting with Legolas?" Arwen asked incredulously.
"Maybe..." Bianca confessed.
Arwen looked completely shocked. "Really?"
Bianca sighed, hoping that they could just get off the subject "Yeah... But nothings going to happen, I swear!"
Unfortunately, Arwen wasn't biting. "Why not? You can't pretend he's not on your level"
"No! He's wonderful. Gorgeous, intelligent, incredibly funny, and god, those eyes" Bianca said, completely unaware of Arwen smiling at her.
"Nothings going to happen, huh." Arwen laughed "Sounds to me like a lot's happening already. And he is interested you know"
Bianca felt her chest tighten at that. "Really?"
"Aragorn told me." Arwen said, flopping down on the bed beside her, fanning her face. "What about you?"
Bianca sighed and stood up. "Yeah, I mean, I like him, but I can't. Mind if I pick something pretty to wear tonight?"
Arwen waved her hand, "Yeah go ahead. But what do you mean by you can't? What's stopping you?"
Bianca rolled her eyes as she opened Arwen's closet. "Grandmama" she said simply.
"Oh..." Arwen grimaced. "What's the problem with you dating? I haven't heard this one yet."
Bianca shrugged as she held out a red dress. "Nothing against dating. Just against serious relationships. I mean, she just doesn't want me to get attached to anyone. Red's not my color is it? God, I wish I had your hair."
"And I wish my skin wasn't the shade of, oh, the moon," Arwen retorted, "But honestly, what's the problems with getting attached?"
Bianca hesitated, not wanting to offend Arwen. "Nothing really. Just the usual Grandmama stuff about being a leader. You know."
"No, I don't know." Arwen said softly.
Bianca berated herself silently for even bringing the subject up. Practically the only tense spot between her and Arwen was that Galadriel wanted Bianca to replace her, not Arwen. Bianca walked over to Arwen and sat down beside her, "Okay, truth? Galadriel doesn't want me to be attached when she leaves, because she wants me to take over." Arwen still avoided Bianca's eyes. Bianca sighed, "Oh Arwen, it would have been both of us, except for I'm older". Bianca knew that it wasn't because she was older, but there was no reason to upset Arwen.
Arwen smiled suddenly, "Alright, you know and I know that it's because of Aragorn, so lets not kid each other." She leaned over and kissed Bianca's cheek. "But I do appreciate the nice white lie. Come here, and we'll put the red back and find you a nice blue dress to match your eyes." As they walked over to the closet, Bianca breathed a sigh of relief.
As they walked into the party, Arwen whispered into Bianca's ear, "You know, it doesn't have to be serious." Bianca smiled at her, and they entered the room hand in hand.
Legolas caught his breath when he saw Bianca and Arwen enter together. He had seen them together once before, but now that he saw them up close, he noticed the similarities in their bone structures, and in the way they laughed, but with Bianca's golden skin next to Arwen's pale skin, Bianca's dark blonde waves versus Arwen's straight black silky strands, and Bianca's pale, pale blue gown contrasting Arwen's dark blue one, they looked like...
"The morning walking with the evening" a voice said behind him. Legolas spun quickly, but relaxed when he saw that it was Aragorn. "You know," Aragorn continued, "They used to be a lot more the same when they were kids. They both have blue eyes you know." Legolas looked around and noticed the blue that somehow brought balance to Arwen's face and commanded respect in Bianca's.
"They're not just two halves of one entity, are they?" Legolas said jokingly.
"Oh no," Aragorn said earnestly, taking it seriously. "They're incredibly different. Spend five minutes with each, and it's appallingly clear."
"Joke." Legolas said quietly.
"Oh." Aragorn began to laugh, and Legolas joined in.
Bianca kept looking at Legolas, when she realized that she needed to sit down for dinner. She managed to get the seat next to Legolas (which was, of course a hot commodity) and then berated herself for letting him get to her. Of course, he was looking at her intensely, with those green eyes that were completely unlike anything she had ever seen before. She let herself gaze at him a second too long, and he saw it. She blushed scarlet as he grinned at her. "Milady," he said, kissing her hand.
"Hello," she managed to get out. She had to stop, or else she'd be a wreck all dinner. "I trust you enjoyed your rest," she said coolly.
"Of course" Legolas said. "I would have enjoyed it much more if you sleeping with me though." Bianca smiled and was about to respond when Elrond stood up to make a speech. Bianca hardly listened to a word of it. She was in the midst of thinking deeply about whether she dare start anything when Legolas took her hand. Bianca told herself to stop thinking, and she diverted her full attention to Elrond, holding Legolas's hand all the while.
After the dinner was over, she started thinking about a way that she could gracefully get back to her room. Not that she wanted to go back, but if she stayed one more moment, she really would start something she didn't want too. Don't get involved she thought desperately don't get involved.
"Do you want to go take a walk?" Legolas said, breaking her inner thoughts.
"Sure" she said, smiling at him. Oh dear, she thought to herself as they walked out of the room holding hands, she was getting involved. But she didn't say anything as they walked up the staircase to the vast terraces that individualized Rivendell. It was getting dark outside, and she wrapped the shawl she was carrying with her tight around her body, and kept on walking.
It was all Legolas could do to stop himself from ripping off her clothes right then and there. He had never seen anything more beautiful. She seemed to radiate in the dimming light, and her skirt fluttered out, making her more ethereal then ever. He longed to touch her, or at least just tell her how he felt. But something closed up in his throat, and he was silent.
"What's the matter?" she asked softly.
"Nothing." he said, looking deep into her eyes. "You're just so beautiful."
And then they were kissing, tasting each other for the first time. His hands skimmed over her body, and she felt like she could melt because she had no idea how to stop this. And then he drew her deeper and she stopped thinking about anything but him.
They walked slowly back to Legolas's room, embracing tightly. Right as they got to his room, she turned her face up to his. "Are you sure?" Bianca asked, searching his face slowly.
"Never been more sure of anything in my life." Legolas told her before kissing her so hard that it was a while before they managed to open his door and get into his room.
And it seemed that time stood still for them, as they found each other out, slowly and awkwardly at first, then faster and faster until Bianca thought ironically that nothing could ever measure up to this, and then once more, slowly, as Legolas gasped and the earth itself seemed to move with them. And they were one, just for a few hours.