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The weeks that were spent in Gondor in celebration of the wedding were flying by as the time came for many of the people to depart for their own lands. Alassë dutifully divided her time between Legolas and Elrohir Yet as the days passed, she found herself drawn more and more to Legolas. The elven prince and she had resumed a relaxing and comforting routine. She would join him in the garden after dinner each day to watch the setting of the sun.
Legolas had not kissed her once more as the days passed. He was busy during the day with preparing to depart for Eryn Lasgalen, to finally returning home once more. He had not spoken to her about her vow to come to Ithilien with him. Yet in her heart she had begun to long for unfamiliar woods once more.
She cast her gaze over the city, wishing it was a forest instead and longing to feel the wind on her face again. But after seeing the terrifying look on Elrohir's face when she did not return for lunch one day, she decided to stay indoors. Why she did not know. It had enraged her when Elrohir had tried to speak to her about this but least of all when he had asked Glorfindel to do it for him.
The golden elf had yet to come to her but she had heard from Arwen how Elrohir had asked Glorfindel. A gentle knock on her door brought her out of her reverie. It was not Legolas as she had expected but Glorfindel. The golden elf smiled at her and she nodded as he entered.
He walked to stand beside her as she turned her gaze out into the city once more. "I do not think I need to tell you of what I came to speak about. Nor am I going to embarrass you by speaking about it." His voice was warm and she turned surprised to him.
"But I heard you promise Elrohir that you would do everything in you power to make me stop from going out on my own…" He held up his hand and she fell silent. "I would have, if I thought it would make any difference. Or if I would have agreed with him but I do not. It is not my place to ask you to remain in the city. I know you are a warrior and I know your skill. But I did come for another reason. Elrond is seeking you and asks if you would get ready to leave. We shall leave the white city in a matter of days."
She felt her heart thud loudly in her chest as she said. "I shall not be coming. I have decided to travel." She kept her gaze turned on the horizon not turning to see his reaction.
The next moment she felt his hand on her shoulder and she turned as was her custom since he had been her mentor once. His smile was one of sadness but his eyes sparkled with energy and laughter as he said. "Elrond will be sad to hear this. I will bear the message to him."
"Nay, it is best I should do so myself. He would like to know where I will be going but I cannot tell him for I do not have any idea." He grinned at her, asking. "So it does not have any concerns with a certain woodland prince?"
She ducked her gaze as she blushed. She had not acknowledged it before but deep in her heart, it had everything to do with Legolas. She wanted to go with him. To travel with him and to learn more about him. If she went to Rivendell that change might slip by and she would not let it.
"I do not know if it has anything to do with Legolas. But why should you care? I mean no offence, Glorfindel but I do not wish to be tied down and sacrifice my freedom because Elrond wants to return home. Surely you understand such a thing." She turned to him as he stared back at her. His eyes were bright and he finally looked away first.
She frowned and placed a hand on his shaking arm. Glorfindel was strong and proud and he had never looked away first. Not even when she knew she had been right. He was the only one she had ever allowed to come as close as one of her own family. "I can understand this, Alassë. Better then you think." His voice was firm and sharp.
He then looked back at her and she was taken aback by the wirlwind of emotion in them. "But then surely you can understand that if I leave with Elrond, my changes of ever getting to meet Legolas and to know him better, are slimming down. I do not wish to leave with Elrond. I wish to travel and see the world once more. The world is a safer please right now and I have been in Rivendell for too long already. I really want to leave."
"Then it is settled, Alassë. It was all I had to know. Tell Elrond as soon as you are able for he will wish to know." With those words Glorfindel walked out, leaving her alone with her thoughts. He was right, she had to tell Elrond.
Sighing she walked away from the room, intend on finding the elven lord. She found him outside, sitting near the fire with all his children beside him. Elrohir rose, the smile on his face unmistakable and for a moment she adverted her eyes, afraid that he might see the anger within them. She kept a tight rein on her body and emotions, noticing how Elrond was put on guard because of this. It was really only a small change but Elrond was aware as the others were not.
"Glorfindel managed to find you." The elven lord's voice was soft as Elrohir glanced back and forth between them, wondering what was going on. She could see Elladan's hand close around Arwen's as they tried to divide their attention.
"Yes, my lord, he has." She answered just as softly. "I have decided that I shall not be returning to Rivendell with you. I wish to travel once more." She still refused to look at Elrohir but she could hear his soft gasp.
She could see from the corner of her eye that Elladan grabbed his hand, trying to calm him down. Elrond rose and she turned to face him. He took her hands and with a smile aimed at her, he said. "Then it is settled. I bless you then and wish you well on your travels. May the light of the stars shine down upon you and your paths be lucky. Be careful, my dear. Even with the newfound peace there are still many dangers about."
She bowed her head, accepting his blessing until Elrohir's voice finally cried out. "You cannot allow her to leave, Adar. There are too many dangers abroad and she could be killed…"
He fell silent when they both looked at him. Elrond's eyes were clouded with anger as he said his voice still soft. "And how would you like for me to do this? She is not mine to command, Elrohir. I have never held my children back and while she is as dear to me as my own are, she is not my child. If she wishes to leave then I shall not stop her."
"No, instead you bless her. What if she is killed, and then what are you going to do?" Fully enraged now, Alassë stepped forward, unable to hear anymore of this.
"You would keep me like a prisoner in Rivendell, Elrohir? You have known be for many lifetimes now and you think you can keep me against my will! You are arrogant; son of Elrond, to think you can keep me where I do not wish to be. For many years I have lingered in Rivendell, out of respect for both you and Elrond. I knew you feared for my safety had I wandered off. I have quelled any desires about leaving and I have suffered for it. Do not seek to keep me now for you will utterly lose me." She turned on her heels and walked away, leaving a stunned Elrohir in her wake.
Her mind was racing as were her emotions. She had lost control utterly, to her shame. She had not meant to become this angry but it seemed like every time her freedom was discussed, she became angry. A gentle hand came to rest upon her shoulder but she shook it away angrily, turning to give that person a piece of her mind.
To her relief and irritation she found herself looking at Glorfindel once more. "Leave me alone please." She said softly, walking away again.
He came after her, stopping her just before she could slip outside. She turned to him, angry once more as she hissed. "If Elrohir has sent you to apologize on his behalf, you can safe your breath. I do not wish to hear it."
Clear sad eyes flashed on her as he spoke. "Nay, I have not. I have come to ask if you would join me in the courtyard. King Elessar is saying goodbye to the Hobbits. It would be in their honour if we all attended."
She gave a weary nod and followed him to the courtyard. She kept her head high as shame finally regained the upper hand. She wished to leave and be on her own to sort out her feelings but it seemed her anger was shimmering just beneath the surface today. She longed for the peace of the woods and the open fields, to run with her horse as nobody saw her. Yet it seemed she had to wait.
She could see Legolas as the elf smiled at her and her heart skipped a beat once more but she was too weary to acknowledge it. She walked to take her customary place beside Arwen but Legolas reached her side finally through the thongs of people.
"Alassë," He breathed and in the way her name flooded past his lips was enough for her to nearly make her weep. "I have come to ask you something."
She turned to him, looking at him as he smiled and said. "Will you join me on the way back to Eryn Lasgalen? I have heard you have never been there before and I thought that perhaps you wanted to visit the woods there."
Her anger gained the upper hand and while it was not Legolas' fault she said, trying to keep her voice low and not letting the other people hear it. "Perhaps you thought wrong, Legolas? Is this so you can control me and keep me where you want me?"
His eyes narrowed and anger consorted his features as he countered. "When have I ever said anything about controlling you? If you do not wish to go, then say so but do not accuse me of things I have never done or said."
"It is not to you that my anger is directed and I apologize for it. I am not sure if it is best if I were to go with you. I…could lose my way very easily there." She had wanted to say something else but instead swallowed her words and said another thing. She realized a second later, Legolas knew this as anger once more flashed in his dark blue eyes.
Eyes that held the passing of enough centuries to give him wisdom but still the stubbornness and the short temper of his people and youthful pride were there. He leaned in closer, saying in a short and clipped voice. "Oh, you could lose you way? Since when have you ever been afraid to get lost?"
Her own temper was brought up short as he looked into her eyes and she hissed. "I am not afraid. Take care with your words, prince!"
He raised an eyebrow at her and if she had been thinking straight she would have laughed very hard if she knew the people had been watching them both but instead his voice rang out clearly as he spoke. "I think you are terrified of losing your heart to me, Alassë. You are out of control and as much as it trills you, you are afraid as well."
"You are wrong, prince of Mirkwood! Do not seek answers for my feelings of which you do not understand. This does not trill me."
"Oh really? You tell me that you feel nothing when I touch you or kiss you. Am I so blind then that I do not see the way you respond to me? The way you seek my presence. The way it comforts you. Do not deny the feelings we share, Alassë. This promise of a possible love so strong and that it is not terrifying in its power for I know I am. I am terrified of the possibility of this love and what it can do to me. That it will render me hopelessly trapped and my destiny wrapped around your own. That you have finally found a way home and that home is me!"
"If you seek a wife who will sit by your side meekly and shall bear your children without seeking an adventure, then I am not the one you seek. I am a wanderer and I shall never be with somebody who seeks to control me!" Her voice cut a desperate edge and she was seeking a way out. Seeking to flee for these overpowering feelings were indeed terrifying her as were the words that he spoke.
Both were so caught up in their argument that they did not notice the people around them had fallen silent, listening to the rare argument between the two elves. "I do not seek to control you and you know it. I seek a mate who can defy me and who can love me for the spirit that is inside of me. One who can fuel these flames as you have, with your passion and love for life."
"This life is not an adventure, Legolas and I am not the one you should look for." She cried out desperately as once more anger burned bright in his eyes.
She could see his hesitation and seized her change. She turned on quick heels, trying to flee his presence but his hand caught hers and she was spun around. His arm was around her waist in a flash and he trapped her against his chest, ignoring her attempts to push him off. He spoke quick words. "Do not deny the possibility of this love between us, not when the signs you are giving me cannot be denied."
With those words, he crushed her lips to his, much to the amazement of the crowd. She melted against him, melting against his lips and the feelings that this kiss summoned forth. A feeling of belonging and of peace. The longing quelled deep inside of her a little bit more and the sense of adventure she sought for all her life was with her now.
The intensity and the tenderness of the kiss brought tears to her eyes when he finally released her. She clung to him, unable to let go. He held her tightly as he looked her in the eye and said. "Come with me now and you shall have a lifetime filled with adventures. Whether you bear my children of not. I seek a mate who has a passion for life and adventure, like you do. I seek you, Alassë. I am hopeless in love with you and unable to let you go. Love me and you shall be happy for I shall never seek to control you for I cannot live without the spirit that is inside of you."
She slipped her arms around his neck as the crowd finally began to speak as one. Angry to joyful whispers ran out as some clapped and some complained of the hold up. Some maidens swooned with the display of affection and love they gave off and others cried when they realized the prince would be utterly lost to them.
King Elessar could not get the grin off his face, even when his wife smiled at him. The king was blissfully happy for his friend even as lord Elrond saw both his sons slip away. One to help the other with the grief. Yet the lord could not deny the happy feeling within him that she would be alright.
Finally releasing each other, Alassë ducked her head to hide the colour in her cheeks as she realized the people of Gondor had witnessed everything. She held fast to Legolas' hand as the prince guided her over to their friends and before they reached them, she whispered. "I would gladly come with you to Eryn Lasgalen, Legolas. Just for the change to see your home." And it eased her heart to see the prince smile so sweetly at her and for that one day, the longing was replaced with another. The longing to know Legolas' heart and she could give into that longing without any regret.
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