A/N: Hi reviewers, if I have any left. I haven't updated this story for over 10 years and am now a 27 year old with a full time job and a husband as opposed to the 16 year old fanfiction obsessed student I was when I started this story! I've recently had a rush of inspiration and decided I may as well see what a new generation of readers thinks of my writing style, so here it is - the next chapter of Herenya and the Prince. I'd like to hope my writing has improved over the years and that this is slightly more sophisticated than what I'd written previously. Please read and review xxx
When a seething and still soaking wet Herenya finally reached the campsite, her ankle still causing her difficulty, she saw her traitorous cousin and the sons of Elrond all comfortably relaxing, waiting for their dinner to cook. She hesitated at the edge of the clearing for a moment, aware of her dishevelled appearance and Legolas used this momentary pause to appear silently at her side, having previously kept a fair few paces behind for the duration of their stomp back to camp. Whilst he had resisted the urge to fling her over his shoulder and spank her senseless at her utter disregard for proprietary and her reckless stubbornness, and despite still having every intention of continuing his pursuit, Legolas had himself grown colder and more irritated with each step back to camp and would not be challenged again this night.
'Whilst I have enjoyed the view stalking behind you, I think you have made your point,' he stated firmly. 'Shall we now cease this nonsense and try to have a pleasant evening Herenya?' She immediately tensed ready to reply antagonistically that it was impossible for any time spent with him to be pleasant but a quick peep up through her lashes at the prince's firm-set rather forceful expression made her rethink her response. She sighed reluctantly
'Yes My Lord.'
'Good, now it is time to sit and rest that ankle, you stubborn girl'. He took her elbow as before at the stream, however his grip this time was determined and none too gentle. Without looking at her he half steered, half dragged her back to the fire and directed her to sit down next to Nesseldë. He pulled a spare cloak from his pack and threw it at her; she had not been paying thorough attention as Nesseldë had looked at her questioningly, and the coarse fabric hit her square in the face. She looked up at Legolas with glaring eyes in slight disbelief but he had already seemingly tired of her and was talking with Aragorn. She schooled her face into a mask of indifference to match his own and pulled the cloak around her shoulders. The others noticed the stiff interaction between master and servant, but even the twins decided wisely against drawing attention to it.
Herenya ate her supper in sullen silence, Legolas was jovial enough with everyone else, lightly teasing her cousin, joking with his friends but continued to ignore her and if she did end up inadvertedly in his line of sight, his eyes would flicker over her, unimpressed, with extremely believable disinterest. She had thought that silence and disregard from the pest of the Prince would be a welcome change from his innuendos, mockery and annoyingly attractive courtesy, but she found herself unnerved by his actions, and found him to be quite intimidating. His mannerisms this night made him seem far more royal than he had previously and she was stung by how subservient to him she felt. Yes, she was a servant, she was quite firmly aware of her place in the societal structure of Mirkwood, but she had seen first-hand how Legolas was different from other nobles; one of his dearest friends from childhood was Nithron, he joined in with Merry Making, and he was well-liked by soldiers under his command by Daugon's account. However, his cold demeanour was unlike anything she had seen so far and was much more familiar to that of the Lady Vanya for example; in this moment, he made her truly understand her insignificance and she did not like it.
Eventually, the ellons and Aragorn decided it was time to get some rest; Legolas wanted to rise early to follow the path of stream towards a hidden waterfall, a favourite spot of his.
'Come brother,' instructed Elladan, rising to his feet and reaching for his weapons. 'We shall take the first watch, ladies, I bid you goodnight.' Nesseldë rose and curtseyed, Herenya following suit.
'Goodnight My Lords,' both elleths murmured. Once the twins had moved way to opposite sides of the clearing, Nesseldë and Herenya tidied away the remnants of the evening's meal, Aragorn and Legolas laying out their sleeping rolls so that the ladies were closest to the fire, with the watchful twins on one side of the fire, the Prince and Man on the other, fully protected from any potential dangers. Herenya deliberately laid out her own sleeping roll closest to Aragorn and furthest away from Legolas and promptly fell into a deep sleep, snoring loudly in a way most unbecoming of an elleth. Legolas caught Nesseldë's eye with a wry smile before himself drifting off into a light, much more graceful reverie. Aragorn was soon also asleep, yet Nesseldë found that sleep evaded her. She spent several long moments tossing and turning yet found that her mind was too active. She was thinking of Nithron and how he had been so dismissive with her, bitingly mentioning Elrohir, walking away from her with no hint of his usual easy, heart-melting smile. Despite clearly having no idea of her affections towards him, too obsessed with his horses and very like Herenya in his inability to correctly read the emotions of others, he was always charming and friendly with her at least. What could she have done to offend him? Clearly, she continued to let her thoughts drift along, both cousins were offending elves today; Herenya had obviously pushed Legolas too far and he had been very dismissive and stern with her since they returned from the stream. Herenya had been soaking, Legolas also wet up to his thighs and she wondered if her cousin had overstepped yet again and pushed him into the water like she had previously. It was unbelievable that her cousin hadn't lost her place in the palace yet anyway and the way she was behaving with the Prince was so unbecoming and disgraceful to their family name it made her shake with restrained fury. It was her reluctant responsibility to keep Herenya in check and the girl needed to change her ways, and fast. However, the gentler side of her reasoned, Legolas was being deliberately antagonistic towards Herenya, and his teasing bawdy pursuit of her was quite unseemly. As she had said to Elrohir during their first meeting, she knew there was something suspicious about him arranging for Herenya to be his personal servant and there was definite predatory intent behind it. She had asked Aurealia in private herself if Herenya could be replaced as Legolas's personal servant and Aurealia had adamantly refused. Her rationale was that Herenya was probably the only elleth in the whole of Mirkwood who would not eventually succumb to Legolas's advances. Herenya did not act properly in allowing her temper to take reign with Legolas, that was certain, however Nesseldë was proud that her cousin was of sound morals. She signed audibly, realising that sleep would probably not be within her grasp for some time and she sat up, looking towards where Elrohir stood, partially obscured by the tree which he leaned against, his eyes focused forwards into the depths of the woods, his weapons nearby but not in hand. She could not see Elladan; he must have decided to check the wider parameter. She rose and decided to pour a cup of sweet warming elven wine to take to him to keep him refreshed during his watch. Elrohir heard her approach and looked back over his shoulder with a gorgeous smile; on behalf of every Mirkwood maiden she inwardly declared how truly unfair it was that he be allowed to look so utterly handsome. She meekly handed him the cup which he took gladly.
'Ah Nesseldë, you are too kind.'
'It is no problem.' He threw the contents down his throat in one large gulp.
'You cannot sleep,' he deduced and she shook her head. He spotted a felled log a few paces away and dragged it over to his post, gesturing. 'Here, sit with me.' Both elves lowered themselves onto the log, Elrohir pulling his knives to rest aside his knees.
'Those look incredibly sharp,' she commented, glancing over at the wickedly curved blades. 'Such fine metalwork.'
'Aye, they are deadly,' he responded, holding one out so that she could better admire the engraving. 'These were given to me by my sister Arwen when I came of age, Elladan has a matching set, and see the engraving here? She designed it herself. I have used them to dispose of enemies for many a year.'
'Tell me of your sister,' Nesseldë asked. 'I have heard that she is fairest of all elves that grace Arda with the gentlest of natures.' Elrohir smiled warmly.
'Ai, Arwen is breath taking, and kind, intelligent, loyal, fierce, she is the perfect woman. Unless, however, she is your pesky younger sister,' he added, his smile widening his affection towards Arwen evident. 'She can be a handful; she is cheeky, bold and runs rings around our father and his advisors, she is as big a trickster as we are but has such an angelic face that the blame for her schemes always falls square on our shoulders.' Nesseldë laughed.
'No wonder Lord Aragorn is in love with her,' it had been the talk of Merry Making, well aside from Iris bedding the Prince, how this strange adoptive son of Elrond, a man and a ranger from the North had won the hand of the beloved Evenstar. Many did not believe it would last, or did not believe the story full stop, and even though she was not usually one for gossip, she couldn't help herself but to probe.
Elrohir's smile abruptly faded.
'No wonder indeed.'
'You are aggrieved by his affections towards her?'
Elrohir sighed and glanced at the elleth beside him. She seemed genuinely interested in his thoughts on the matter and she had such an open, welcoming demeanour that he found himself wanting to tell her how he felt, even though he knew he should probably remain closed on such a private issue.
'It is a difficult situation my dear,' he responded gently. 'We love Estel dearly, he is our brother. Our father adopted him a long time ago when his mother came to the elves in desperate need of protection. She passed on from this life and my father raised Estel as part of our family. He is a very important man, despite his rather tattered and deceptive appearance, he needed to be kept safe.' Nesseldë frowned.
'Safe from what?'
'Alas I am afraid that is something I cannot tell you,' he replied firmly sending her mind spinning with all possibilities. 'However, what I can say is that we have a deep affection for him and care about his heart almost as much our sister.' She noticed how he constantly spoke in the plural, him and his brother truly were one. 'Aragorn is a good man, a fine match for any woman, but our sister plighting her troth to him is devastating for all of elf kind. She will never sail to the Grey Havens with the rest of our people and will remain here to fade into darkness. The idea that we will one day be parted forever from our beloved sister is almost too much to bear. However it is not our place to change her decision, she loves Estel deeply so she says. Our only hope is that she changes her mind.'
Nesseldë was deeply touched by the sadness in his voice and the seriousness of his words.
'Do you think she will change her mind?'
'Ai Arwen can be as stubborn as your cousin when she puts her mind to it, albeit more gracefully so,' he said ruefully. 'We tried throwing Legolas in her path this summer gone, we knew Estel was up to something and we sort to intercept him before he could ask her to bind herself to him. Legolas and Arwen have been friends for eyes and were each other's first kiss when we were younglings. However, they are now naught but firm friends and both were not best pleased with us for trying to match make. Legolas is a strong advocate of her relationship with Aragorn.'
'Interesting that he is so supportive of their engagement whilst he himself shows no desire to settle down, I would not think he cares for true love,' she mused in response. Elrohir tutted in gentle reprimand.
'The Prince is a firm believer in true love Nesseldë do not think that he is not, he just does not think it will ever happen for him.' She looked at him with a puzzled expression and he continued. 'Legolas is a royal heir; he must marry to advance the needs of the Kingdom and despite his teasing and whoring he is fully aware of and committed to his duties. Therefore, until that time comes, he is simply taking advantage of being likely the most handsome elf in Middle Earth, well aside from myself,' he added with a smirk.
'Surely my Lord Elrohir, you mean aside from you and your twin?' She asked innocently, merriment in her eyes. He laughed.
'I'm the prettier twin and don't you forget it!' She joined in with his laughter before returning to the topic at hand; she was enjoying the openness of Elrohir's conversation and thought now that they were speaking of the Prince, she could continue to press on the issue of Legolas's pursuit of her cousin and see if Elrohir could offer any advice on how best to manage the situation.
'I would rather that the Prince would not try take such advantages with my cousin,' Elrohir shrugged.
'She is pretty and she interests him, it is what he does Nesseldë. Do not fear, he will tire of the chase soon enough and give up if she doesn't bed him.'
'Well she won't fall for it as I told you before,' Nesseldë retorted her conviction in her cousin soring. 'She dislikes his whoring ways and has more respect for herself.'
'She reacts so beautifully to his teasing she spurs him on without even realising and as I told you, her reluctance makes it a challenge,' he countered. 'Tonight, however, he was noticeably unimpressed with her and she most sullen.'
'Well that is a good thing, granted maybe not for her position in Mirkwood.'
'Alas my dear,' he leant closer to her, his hair tickling her ear ever so gently. 'I regret to tell you that her sullenness is a clear indication of how wrong you are.'
'I do not understand?' She asked, shifting slightly, not quite sure how to feel about his presence so close to her.
'I am thoroughly convinced that she will eventually give in to his advances,' Elrohir stated, enjoying the indignant gasp that came from Nesseldë's mouth. 'For she was so sullen tonight because he was ignoring her. Despite her protests and unbecoming temper tantrums, she is enjoying the attention. Not that she'll ever admit that to you of course.'
'You seem incredibly certain of the character of someone you barely know My Lord,' she responded, her light informal tone gone. His words grated on her, she felt an urge of female solidarity not enjoying the sheer confidence in ellons to think they can take whatever woman they please. 'She is my family and I must inform you that you are wrong.'
He moved away out of her personal space and raised his hands in surrender.
'Alright dear one, I do not wish to antagonise, not all of us use Legolas's somewhat questionable methods of seduction!'
'You are trying to seduce me?' She demanded, her voice growing louder. He shushed her, checking over his shoulder to check that the others still slept.
'Hush now, calm yourself. I am teasing.' She relaxed slightly but also could not help the fleeting look of mild disappointment that crossed her face. He reached out and once again tucked a loose curl behind her ear; she did have the most gorgeous hair. 'I would,' he added, throwing caution to the wind. 'You are most pleasing to the eye, and a most pleasant elleth to converse with,' he enjoyed the beginnings of a blush that came over her full cheeks. 'However, I am not an elf to stand in the way of true love.'
'I know not what you mean.' She stammered, her heart beating hard at his compliments.
'You are deeply in love with the stable manager, Nithron, are you not? Oh! Don't be embarrassed sweetheart, although I do love the colour your skin turns when you blush!'
Nesseldë was out of her depths in this conversation and scrabbling for footing.
'Not that he knows,' she managed quietly. 'Ai My Lord you speak true but Nithron does not think of me as more than a friend, and today he seemed quite displeased with me.' Elrohir laughed again, and it was a truly beautiful sound. How was it she was here in this situation, having such an intimate conversation with such a gorgeous elf? Elrohir looked upon her with deep affection, he had overheard Nithron's thinly veiled sarcasm at the elleth before him spending time with him on this trip, grateful as always for his highly tuned hearing.
'Again you fail to read those closest to you. Nithron was displeased because he is jealous of our new acquaintance. I care to wager that he does feel more for you than friendship, even if he is blissfully unaware of it as of now. I bet he walked away rubbing his temples highly unsure why he was bothered but with his heart constricting at the thought of me trying to steal a kiss from you.'
She was silent, taking in this newfound information in awe. Elrohir couldn't possibly be right could he? Did Nithron return her feelings, was it possible?
'What should I do?' She asked, willing the twin to have some constructive answers, all thoughts of helping her cousin gone. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully before his eyes lit up with mischief. It was not quite a prank, but it would be just as satisfying, and he may get the opportunity for at least one kiss and embrace from this pretty one before he helped her bind with her soulmate; he may be of a giving warm character but he wasn't a saint.
'I propose a fake relationship, with me.' Her mouth dropped and her continued. 'Nithron will not come forward willingly and propose his affections for you, unless he feels threatened. We will return to the city and let the gossips spread the rumour that we have entered a relationship. This will undoubtedly draw him out to fight for you, I am certain.'
'What would I have to do?' She asked weakly, both intrigued and terrified.
'Play along dear one, I'll lead the merry dance,' he responded.
'You won't expect me to,' she took a deep breath. 'Bed you?' He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
'No I will not, I know a maid when I see one,' she relaxed at his words and he took on a mock-stern expression. 'You may have to permit me to kiss you though, once or twice, purely for dramatic realism of course you understand.' The corners of her mouth turned up at that.
'Maybe once.'
'You may as well enjoy yourself a little before we get you wed Nesseldë!' He exclaimed enjoying the sound of her laughter. What a pleasant way to spend the summer; and it certainly counted as a good deed despite being slightly dubious! 'Now, you should try and get some sleep, it'll be a long day tomorrow. Leave the arrangements to me, and just play along.' Together they rose and she dipped him a slight courtesy, taking the cup back from his hand.
'Goodnight.'
'Goodnight Nesseldë, my love,' he said in a low voice with a provoking wink before turning away from her to resume a more focused watch. She laid herself back down on her sleeping roll, her head swimming and her stomach fluttering with apprehension. His plan was so audacious it might just work!
The next day, the party rose early and mounted up, travelling alongside the stream further into the reaches of the wood to discover Legolas's secret waterfall. The party decamped themselves at the base, where the river flowed into a natural poor before filtering out to continue its onward journey to Lake Town. Legolas rubbed his hands together with glee.
'Who fancies a jump?'
Aragorn shielded his eyes against the sun to look upwards, discerning quite how high the waterfall was.
'I think I'll stay here with the ladies,' he responded mildly, stretching himself out on the soft grass where the horses were grazing.
'Ever the coward Estel,' Elladan decreed and together with his twin and Legolas they set about removing their shoes, light armour, under and outer tunics leaving all three elves shirtless as they set off on a speedy climb up through the rocks and trees to the right of the fall. Herenya found herself drawn to the brief yet frustratingly pleasant view she had been presented with of Legolas's bare, well-defined chest and the broad smooth planes of his back before he disappeared from her version. He was still barely acknowledging her, having said nothing to her other than a curt good morning, and she was thankful that she managed to look away before he noticed her attention; she did not want to give him the satisfaction of catching her, poor little subservient her, admiring his physique. Nesseldë had relaxed sitting at the pool's edge, shoes removed, raising her skirts slightly to dip her feet into the cooling water. Herenya moved towards the horses, stroking Tulia affectionately and murmuring nonsense into the horse's ear, the horse lifting its head from the grass to nuzzle Herenya's neck. Saldir observed her somewhat haughtily and moved to stand far too close for her liking, she raised her head and glanced at him.
'Yes brute, what do you want?' The horse turned its back to her, and she tensed thinking he was about to kick out, but instead the black beast lifted its tail and let out a huge pile of excrement which would have covered her feet had she had not jumped backwards into Tulia, before stalking away, as if to tell her exactly what he thought of her. She rolled her eyes, how very like his master he was!
Aragorn raised himself up on his elbows to better observe the elleth with backed against the chestnut mare, glaring at the present Legolas's black stallion had left for her on the floor.
'You have quite a way with horses,' he observed and she turned to acknowledge him. 'Even the ones you do not like, they communicate with you in a very human way.' She released her hold on Tulia and came to sit cross legged next to Aragorn.
'I have always had this ability; I sense their feelings and emotions as keenly as if they were my own.'
'Tis a precious gift,' the man replied. 'You should treasure it. A horse is a man's best friend, especially in the field of battle. They can mean the difference between life and death.'
'I have longed to visit Rohan, the land of the horse lords,' Herenya enthused. 'I have heard tale they are like me in their connections to their steeds and companions.'
'Aye you are correct,' Aragorn nodded. 'In the way elves feel the trees speak to them, and eventually hear the call of the sea, the Rohirrim are equally as bound with their horses yes.' Herenya looked down at her hands, clasped in her lap, in some slight discomfort.
'I guess that is another reason why some say I am not full elven,' she said. 'My stature, lack of elven grace, colouring and this gift all work against me.'
Aragorn frowned.
'It wouldn't do if we were all the same,' he advised. 'Although, I know some of what you speak, growing up as a Man in an elven kingdom was not always easy.' He smiled easily at her, and she could see that underneath all the messy, straggled hair so unlike the perfect tresses of his brothers and the Prince, he was a ruggedly handsome man. 'It's can be quite wearing to be around such graceful perfect people all the time.'
At that last remark, there came the sound of male whoops and shouts and the three perfect elves fell into the rock pool together, barely causing a ripple, their strong legs propelling them upwards to the surface where they started jostling each other like efflings, clambering out to run up the climb to jump yet again.
'My sentiments exactly Lord Aragorn.' She returned her focus to Aragorn with an amiable smile. 'Would you tell me of Rohan? You have visited it with the rangers? Where else did your journeys take you?
They fell into easy conversation, Aragorn regaling Herenya with one of his stories of his time in Rohan whilst the others cliff-jumped two more times. Eventually the three elves decided enough was enough and they made their way towards the little encampment, each gratefully accepting the wash towels that Nesseldë offered, Elrohir giving her a deliberately longer lingering look than the others purely to see her blush prettily again, before they pulled their tunics back on, shaking out their long hair and coming to join Aragorn and Herenya on the grass.
'Is Estel making up heroic stories again?' Asked Elladan, wringing the moisture out of his dark locks. 'I wouldn't believe a word he says Herenya if I were you.'
'Ai, he's actually quite useless in a scrap,' chimed in Elrohir. 'I don't know why we put up with him.'
'He's very good at getting himself taken prisoner,' added Legolas tauntingly and Aragorn blushed furiously which was highly amusing to watch.
'Once! I got taken prisoner once and you Greenleaf will never let it lie!'
'You still owe me for saving your hide,' Legolas stuck his tongue out, his blue eyes sparkling. He glanced up and offered thanks as Nesseldë handed him a cup of wine and piece of lembas. She shot Herenya yet another exasperated look.
'Cuz, care you to leave these lords be and help me?' Herenya, having forgot herself yet again, leapt up to her feet and hurried to assist Nesseldë in handing out refreshments, not noticing Legolas's following stare.
The rest of the day was uneventful; they had lingered at the waterfall for a while before heading on at a gentle meandering pace throughout the woods, no real aim in mind. Eventually they made camp for the night, repeating the same actions as the night before, this time feasting on wild rabbit before bedding down for rest, with Legolas and Aragorn taking the first watch and the twins sleeping protectively outside of the women. Herenya had been unusually quiet, still unnerved by Legolas's indifference and this night the roles were reversed, her cousin falling into reverie very easily whilst it was a while longer before sleep overcame her. It felt like her eyes had only been closed for mere minutes when the calm of the night was pierced by Aragorn's urgent shout.
'Spiders!'
Elladan and Elrohir were immediately on their feet, scrabbling for their ever-present weapons. Elladan threw himself into the semi-darkness where the sound of metal ripping through flesh and snarls of otherworldly beasts could be heard. Herenya shook Nesseldë roughly.
'Wake up cuz, wake up!' Nesseldë woke with a start, confusion in her midnight blue eyes before rapidly taking in the scenes and sounds around her and sitting bolt upright. Elrohir had hung back and crouched next to the two elleths.
'Stand back to back and try not to draw attention to yourselves, we'll deal with this quite merrily my dears. Here, take this,' with that he handed Nesseldë a spare short sword, and she gingerly took a hold of the handle, her knuckles white. With that Elrohir joined his brothers in arms. Herenya was fumbling around in her pack for the bejewelled dagger given to her by Daugon and finding it, stood with her cousin back to back as instructed, the women clutching each other's hand tightly.
'By the Valar, is he whistling?' Hissed Herenya, and Nesseldë strained to hear over the screeches; Elrohir was indeed whistling quite cheerily whilst dispatching with the overgrown arachnids.
'I believe he is.'
'Unbelievable,' the younger elleth muttered. A huge thud made the ground around them reverberate and both the women reflexively turned so that they were standing side-by-side, their eyes widening to take in a feral spider which had dropped from the cover of the trees, past the line of defence created by their companions, directly in front of them rubbing its pincers together in glee at the sight of what was sure to be a delicious dinner. Nesseldë screamed and fumbled with the blade, dropping it with a clang on the ground as the spider started to bear down on her, pinning her beneath it with its monstrous weight. Herenya grabbed the sword from its place on the floor and raised it aloft together with her dagger.
'I loathe spiders,' she said to herself before taking a clumsy swipe at one of the spider's hairy outer legs. To her shock, the blade hit its mark and the spider reared back in agony long enough for Nesseldë to move out of the way. The spider turned its attention on Herenya who slowly moved backwards, swinging the sword in front of her in graceful arcs, the dagger still held aloft by her cheek.
'Help!' Cried Nesseldë in panic from behind a tree. Legolas turned to see his servant facing down one of the gruesome beasts and with a lurch in his stomach he immediately started battling his way towards her. Trust that damned girl to deliberately put herself in harm's way, why was she not hiding like her much more sensible cousin. She was beyond reckless and he refused to have her die under his watch. He cleared a path and was about to approach when he found himself halted in his tracks, watching in astonishment.
Herenya wasn't merely defending herself, she was engaging the spider; encouraging it to lumber forwards further away from her cousin, darting away at the right moments instinctively, spinning on her heel as if she were taking part in a dance. Her stance was sloppy and in her fear, she didn't hold her weapons correctly, but she had obviously been instructed in the basics of combat and showed a natural flair for it. His usually clumsy servant girl was bewilderingly light of foot in this situation. It was clearly Daugon who had taught her what to do and Legolas found that the image of the handsome, powerful soldier wrapping his arms around Herenya to guide her steps displeased him immensely. Back in the present fray, the girl parried and thrust her sword upwards towards the soft underbelly of the spider, missing and narrowly avoided the pincers. She feinted left, spun and brought down her small dagger with all her might into the creature's brain. The most hideous sound came out of its mouth as its dying breath and with its still powerful front legs it swept the elleth aside, causing her to fall onto her front with a painful crunch. Legolas moved then, releasing two arrows simultaneously into the creature's skull and it too fell to the ground with no more twitching. Herenya did not move and Legolas was at her side, rolling onto her back so that he could inspect her for hurt. There was a trickle of blood running from her head down her forehead and right cheek, she had hit her head on a sharp rock, but her eyes were opening.
Herenya opened her eyes, fully aware of the pounding in her head and found herself staring up into those brilliant blue orbs of the smiling Prince, who, relieved, was caressing her hair and jaw line.
'How do you fare sweet Herenya? Are you much hurt?'
'I am well my lord, I hit my head but I think I am fine.' He met her gaze once again and Herenya registered that this was the first time he'd looked at her not with lust, or mockery or distain. He was looking at her with respect.
'You are more than fine Herenya,' he murmured, his hands smoothing over her hair.
'Where is my dagger?' She asked suddenly, sitting upright with a wince. Concerned, Legolas gently but firmly eased her back to the ground by her shoulders.
'I'll find it, you rest.'
'I have it' interrupted Nesseldë flying to her cousin's side, the others close behind having taken care of the remaining creatures. Nesseldë pulled Herenya's head gently into her lap, Legolas reluctantly ceasing his stroking as the other elleth took over. 'Oh little one, thank you, you saved me.'
'Anytime my love' replied Herenya weakly with a smile. She then noticed that Legolas had taken her hand between his two larger hands and was gently caressing it. It felt foreign and was far too familiar a gesture, but admittedly not altogether unpleasant.
Aragorn, a far superior healer to Legolas, knelt beside Legolas and inspected Herenya, feeling her forehead and closing his eyes. 'She is well,' he said. 'However, we should return to the palace at first light so that she can be properly examined, especially after a knock to the head like that.'
'Aye, of course,' agreed the Prince. Aragorn went to his pack and returned with some medicinal herbs, his water skin and some clean cloth. He handed the tools to Nesseldë who began mothering over her cousin, who settled back comfortably and allowed herself to be focused upon. She felt like laughing; the trip was ending early! Granted she was bleeding and had thudding headache, she could get back into her own bed on the morrow. Legolas, who still had a presumptive grip on her hand, also appeared to have been pulled out of his foul mood. She frowned slightly looking down her body at their clasped hands and back into his face, which had now switched back into a teasingly flirtatious expression, maybe her Prince being roused from indifference wasn't a good thing after all. Oh, please not this again!
The following morning on their journey back to the palace, Legolas had insisted on putting Tulia on a leading reign attached to Saldir to better keep an eye on Herenya; they were still concerned lest she become unstable and fall from her horse. Indeed, it had been most frustrating during the night as she tried to sleep after the impromptu fray; her companions took it in turns to wake her every hour to check for concussion and the result was a tired and grumpy passive rider for their journey home. Legolas pulled firmly on the lead reign as they neared their destination, causing Tulia to pull up level with Saldir, who snorted dismissively at Herenya.
'Tell me,' Legolas asked mildly but in such a way as to communicate that ignoring him would not be acceptable. 'It was Daugon who taught you combat was it not?'
'It was my Prince' she replied, immediately on edge once again. Despite not being expressly forbidden, it was frowned upon in Mirkwood to train women in combat, especially those from the servant classes; only a small handful of noble women knew the arts in other elven realms such as Arwen Evenstar.
Legolas noticed her reaction, 'Do not be concerned, Daugon will not be reprimanded. If you hadn't known how to defend yourself I fear much greater harm would have come to yourself and your kin before I could get to your side.'
She nodded, accepting his statement, keenly aware there was more he wanted to say to her.
'There is room for improvement however, your stance was lazy and your hold incorrect,' he continued, watching her reactions closely as she seethed at his criticism. 'I would like to train you myself.' She laughed scornfully; this conversation was entering much more familiar territory, to her slight relief.
'Tell me my Prince, is this part of your continued seduction? Insult my abilities and then trap me in a training room? Force me at the point of a sword?'
'I have never had to force an elleth and nor would I ever do such a thing,' he responded stiffly, trying to contain his rage at her words. 'Tis a grave insult to accuse me of such.'
'I am sorry,' she replied immediately contrite, she had yet again let her words run away with her. 'I of course would not impugn upon your honour in such a way your highness.'
There was an uncomfortable silence as he coolly assessed her. Eventually, he relaxed and pulled Saldir closer so that his knee bumped against Herenya's astride Tulia.
'If anything I have had to use weapons to defend myself against assault from elleths who simply cannot get enough of me,' he whispered conspiratorially, allowing his knee to press against her thigh slowly. 'Alas Herenya, I do not think you know what you are missing. Once I'm through with 'training' you, you'll be begging me for more'
'You are despicable!' She yelled, drawing the attention of the others who watched the scene in ill-concealed amusement.
'That I am,' he winked and urged Saldir on leaving her spluttering in his wake.
