A/N: I do not own the works of Tolkien. Enjoy.
This morning's patrol was a quiet affair, my group had concentrated along the banks of the river on the city side and worked our way towards Laketown but there was nothing amiss in the woods and the trees were content so that my soldiers and I had talked casually among ourselves and discussed the upcoming dance and I managed to find out when the next dance gathering among the Silvans who dwelt deep in the wilder part of the woods would be held. Truthfully I am looking more forward to the next Silvan dance gathering, they are a chance to truly let loose and it was always a thrill trying to sneak back into my chambers after drinking too much of their potent wines and sweet ciders. I will tell Landir when I next see him we will be heading out in a fortnight.
Now as we run back silently among the secrecy of the trees, leaping to run from branch to branch alongside the river, I wonder not for the first time today if the elleth, Tassiâ, has healed from yesterday. We reach the entrance to the city walls and dropping from the trees, my fourteen lethal warriors and myself stroll through the gates and over the bridge to meet the second patrol who will also be taking the afternoon shift and I relay to the other commander our morning was a peaceful one. He looks relieved as his group of sixteen head out as four of mine head into the caverns and the others depart for their homes among the trees.
I am still remarkably clean and deem myself fit to take a leisurely stroll through the caverns to the Healing Halls, to be a dutiful Prince of the realm and his people and check on the state of the elleth I saved of course. I have no ulterior motives. Well that's a lie I smirk to myself. I have been hoping all day Adar has taken my advice and today if she has indeed awoken, been less harsh on her and hopefully the Valar have been kind to me and she is no longer a prisoner.
I enter the hall and stride along the corridor to see the healer who tended to her yesterday.
"My lord how may I be of assistance?" She asks politely, gazing up at me questioningly.
"The elleth I brought in yesterday, how does she fare?" I ask and the healer smiles. I really should know her name but I can't for the life of me remember. I am pretty sure I have not spent time with this one. Her hair is too gaudy a red for my liking.
"She has healed completely my Lord; Rystil has taken her to settle into her new quarters, I believe they were going to the seamstresses first." She informs me. Ah Rystil, now there is an elleth with lovely, coppery red hair.
"Excellent, thank you for your help." I say dismissively although I am intrigued it is Rystil who had been charged with the care of Tassiâ for she was exclusively a friend and servant elleth of the Royal Halls, unless? Has Adar put her up in our private halls? The idea near made me giddy.
"It is a pleasure to assist you my Lord, you only ever have to ask." The healer gushes, snapping me from my thoughts quick enough to catch the hidden meaning in her words and not missing a beat, I bestow her a smile of dazzling proportions.
"I shall be sure to remember so." I reply and then incline my head politely and turn and leave, not missing the sound of the sigh which escapes her before I am even at the end of the corridor. I smirk to myself; if I get terribly bored I might consider, no her hair is the wrong kind of distracting. Unlike the owner of the luscious locks I am now hopefully heading towards. Seeing the seamstresses has been something I need to do anyway, I need something made for the upcoming dance.
…
An elleth, Rystil, had kindly collected me from what I now know to be the Healing Halls once the bright-red headed healer elf had unraveled my bandages to reveal perfectly healed, scar free wrists. To say I was astounded was an understatement. Rystil and I had instantly hit it off, she is not a bore and once she got over the fact I only speak English, or Westron as it is called here, she explained excitedly that I had been allocated my own living quarters in one of the spare chambers in the Royal Halls. I was gob-smacked at this and had asked what this meant to which Rystil did not know exactly but that the King perhaps considered me an elf of importance. I was chuffed.
I now stand beside Rystil as she speaks for my benefit in Westron to a dark haired seamstress as she whirls around me taking measurements of my body and commenting pleasantly one my athletic frame which I admit boosts my ego a little as I am surrounded by beautiful elves and I have seen not one who is not built like a model under thirty years old. It is nice to fit in, ears and all. Growing up ruraly I had been incessantly harried by the mothers of friends to eat more cakes and biscuits to fatten me up as they liked to say. Personally, I preferred being athletic, I was no housewife sure I didn't have the weight to wrestle down a steer but I could outwit a wild bull with speed alone. Besides I needed to be fit for the profession I had perused or was perusing. Gosh would I actually get home from here or was this home now? My stomach churns at the thought. Mum must be freaking out along with everyone I had been out camping with, there is probably a full task force search out for me on the property by now.
"Lady Tassiâ if you will come with me to select some garments to get you through for the next couple of days and then if you would like to take my book of sketched designs with you and make a list of those you would like." She smiles and beckons me to follow her further into the spacious and sunlight filled chamber to an impossibly long rack of which dresses are draped over. Glancing at me and then back to the garments before us she reaches out and takes a pale green number and hands it to me. It is of a light material, nearly a mixture of cotton and silk, perhaps it is. It is floor length which does not surprise me as I assume my knee length dress is probably scandalous here. The sleeves are flowing with a paler and simple leaf pattern along them and I presume they will reach to about my elbow. I notice then the neckline, a V, has the same leaf pattern and it trails like pale ivy down the right side of the dresses skirt. It's incredible.
"This should fit well enough. Next she hands me a creamy dress, also floor length but this one is an airy cotton, the neckline also a V and the tastefully bunched material turned to wide straps which are almost short sleeves. The third she hands me is a pale blue of a lighter material again. It has an under layer for the outer was so light it is nearly sheer. This dress was also slightly bunched with a modest V neck and the sleeves were billowy and full length although the material split past where ones elbows would be meaning the remaining length of the sleeves would drape and flow as the wearer moved. It reminds me of something a fairy would wear. Truly all three dresses seemed to be out of some fairy story. They really are beautiful. As I have been admiring the dresses, the seamstress hands me what I imagine to be a sleeping gown for it was just below knee length. She then places sets of undergarments upon my pile in my arms and I am surprised to note they are not that much different to the underwear I am wearing. They are silk with intricate leaf and flower patterns stitched in a fine thread and I hold in a childish snicker for it seems perhaps elves are Victoria Secret models! I see I have been handed no bras to my pile and am glad I am not large in that department but proportioned to my body. The seamstress must be reading my thoughts for she chuckles.
"All my dresses have discreet support." She winks at me and I grin. Genius elf! "Just put these on the table, I'll put them in a basket for you and if you head over to that far wall, you may pick out any material samples which are to your tastes to help with the creation of some garments for you."
Thank you; sorry what is your name?" I ask realizing she has not given it and she smiles brightly at me.
"Laineth my Lady." I am seriously having trouble getting used to this my Lady business. I blame the King entirely for this.
"Thank you Laineth." I say and she nods and points out where her material swatches are.
"Take your time Lady Tassiâ." Rystil says encouragingly. "I have to sort out a couple things here for the King." I nod and head across the chamber, weaving around tables and high piled or hanging fabrics and stare in wonder at the long wall before me. It must have every material under the sun pinned upon it and the idea behind it is fantastic. The wall is a rainbow for the materials are grouped in colours also. I decide to start at one end and make my way along. I start at the neutrals and select a mixture from creamy whites in various materials to a tasteful beige or two and a silvery grey of a soft material as well as a heavier silvery blue material remembering cloaks and robes were worn here also, I move to the reds and end up picking a bright and fun looking shade of a gauzy material and then skip the oranges but pick a cotton in pale yellow I move to the greens and get lost in the seemingly never ending hues before me as I select pales to emeralds and dark greens and even a bright grass green.
I am holding a blue green of a soft and light material which feels wonderful in my hands when I feel the presence of another. I turn around and how I do not gasp in wonderment is beyond me for before me I am sure stands an angel. The afternoon light and the refracting dust particles surround him and he seems to glow in this dazzling halo of light, his long hair is silvery blonde and held with braids from his face and his eyes are a mesmerizing silvery blue and indeed mesmerized is what I am as I gaze into their depths, gaze at this perfect, ethereal creature standing before me and then he opens his mouth.
"You should pick that one, it will bring out those beautiful eyes." He practically purrs out at me in a soft and sexy voice as he goes to lean casually against the part of the wall obscuring the blue swatches I was up to looking through. "See any other colours you like?" He asks in mock innocence as he purposely locks those silvery blue eyes onto mine and slowly a roguish smile spreads across his face.
I do see something I like; I would be blind and incredibly stupid if I didn't find the elf before me attractive. Unfortunately he clearly knew all too well how insanely good looking he was and his shameless flirting exuded arrogance and it was not going to work on me.
"I do actually." I say in a soft voice and his eyes seem to light up and I hold in the smirk threatening to spill onto my face. My god could he be any more confident he had a chance here? I move towards the blues and select the soft cotton midnight shade which is just shy of his shoulder which rests against the wall, acutely aware of how close I am to him. I breathe in and I can smell him, he smells of trees and faintly of dew on grass. Like the fresh early smell of trees in the morning, strangely it is a familiar smell. I ignore him though butterflies have erupted in my stomach at his proximity. I then pick out a sky blue and a steely grey blue of a gauzy material and step back, satisfied with my selection.
"Yes these will do perfectly." I say pleasantly and I am rewarded with a look of utter bafflement upon the male elf's face. Clearly someone is not used to being rejected! I turn and make my way back towards Rystil and Laineth. One point to me, zero points to self-absorbed elf, I grin to myself, feeling annoyed eyes boring into my retreating back.
"Here, place the swatches in the basket; I've placed the design book in there too." Laineth says cheerily. "Just drop back here when you've decided." She adds and saying our farewells, I follow Rystil from the large chamber, purposely not looking to where the silvery blonde elf had been.