A/N.. boy I got some kick ass reviews from the last chapter…
Show-jumper - someone quick! Get some water for show-jumper's burnt hands!
Of course it's not over yet!! I saw the first two LOTR movies a while ago, and honestly, can't really remember much about them…except for how hot Orlando Bloom as Legolas is…:) I'm reading ROTK right now, and Faramir in the book is impressive, too.
But I will check The Horse and definitely will review, and I will look out for some more stories from you, as well. (It may surprise you, but I really do enjoy your rampages!)
Magicgirl810 - you are the first reviewer who has said anything at all about that… way to go!
Moonbunny77 - Thanks, as always! :-)
Kchan2982 - sorry, mom. lol. Thanks for the review. I think I'd like your friends…they sound absolutely delightful! And…I wanted to ask you…'son of a fire breathing tutu'?? wtf?? Lol.
Chapter 10 - The Reason is You
The smell of campfire smoke roused Leyna in the chilly morning. She felt the newness of the day's cool air. Her eyes opened to see Legolas warming meat over the fire for breakfast. The sight was quite amusing to her. The Prince of Mirkwood, undisputedly the greatest archer in the entire forest, leaning over the fire with a fork, heating breakfast.
She giggled, and his eyes shot to her. "Good morning, mellamin. Care for some breakfast." "I'd love some." She answered, crawling over to him, planting a kiss on his soft cheek. He smiled and gave her the forkful of meat he was holding. She crawled away to lean her back against a tree and nibbled at it.
He sat Indian style in front of her, eating his forkful as well, and laid a packet of lembas between them. Leyna sipped her canteen of water and asked thoughtfully, "So, how much longer do you think this trip is gonna take?" "Sick of it already?" "No, by all means no. I love camping." She looked wistfully about, then into Legolas's face, "Especially when I have good company. I just really, really want to get there." "I know, mellamin. I promise, we will make no more stops than necessary and not for longer than necessary."
She nodded in approval. "That means we should be going soon." She nodded again, and finished off her breakfast, shoving a few pieces of lembas in her mouth and stood up. She brushed the dirt from her dress and untied her horse. Legolas scattered dirt over the fire and slung his pack on his horse's back, untying him as well.
Leyna looked distrustfully at her horse. Legolas looked skeptically at them both. She breathed a calming and determined breath. Swinging her left leg on the horse's back, she clung to its neck and pulled herself up. "Hah! Hell yeah! I rock my world." Legolas looked at her, first impressed, then confused. Where she got those expressions was beyond him. He shook his head and decided it didn't really matter. Hopping agilely onto his horse, he led them off again.
After stopping for lunch, and Leyna's slow but sure independent mounting and dismounting, they continued down the Elf path through the woods, Legolas taught her some Elf language, which she strangely seemed to have forgotten. Leyna asked him what 'mellamin' meant, for he had called her that several times. He smiled at her and told her in common speech, it meant 'my love'. Leyna blushed lightly and beamed.
After a lengthy discussion of Elf speech, in which Legolas promised to re-teach her a bit of Elvish every day, both fell silent. Until suddenly, Legolas asked, "Will you sing something?" She looked at him, apprehensive and a little disbelieving. "You want me to sing?" "Yes." "Sing what?" "One of the strange songs you're always humming to yourself." Leyna thought a moment. Words came to her mouth:
I'm not a perfect person
There's many things I wish I didn't do
But I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know
I found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
And the reason is you
I'm sorry that I hurt you
Its something I must live with every day
But all the pain I put you through
I wish that I could take it all away
And be the one who catches all your tears
That's why I need you to hear
I found a reason to show
A side of me you didn't know
A reason for all that I do
And the reason is you
Legolas smiled at the sound of her voice. She really did sing very beautifully. He couldn't remember hearing her sing before, and was very glad that she had taken it up. Soon, even through the ever denser canopy, the sunlight was failing. Legolas pressed on until it was a bit darker, then stopped to make camp for the night. Much as the fashion the last night, he lit a small fire and went to gather firewood, leaving Leyna to her own devices for nearly an hour.
She took to singing and petting the horses, or staring into the fire. Eventually, she started thinking again. In the back of her mind, or in her subconscious, she glimpsed images of a woman. Her hair was sandy brown, streaked with blonde, and cut about an inch above her shoulders. She had a slim body, was taller than Leyna, and had larger 'proportions' if you get my meaning. But she could never see her face. It was always just a blur in her memory.
Legolas returned with an armload of wood. The fire roared brighter, and Leyna was overcome with drowsiness. She dropped promptly into a light sleep plagued by half memories.
In her dream, Leyna saw the woman she recognized in her mind. She was wailing uncontrollably. She sobbed and cried inaudible words with such immense pain that Leyna woke suddenly and found tears rolling down her cheeks. She wiped them away quickly with the back of her hand and looked around for Legolas. He was nowhere to be seen in the dimly lit clearing. Leyna guessed he had gone for more firewood.
She lay back down, but after a while, unable to sleep again, she wandered around the edge of the clearing, looking at the dark trees. Leyna had made her way around the full circle of the clearing when she got the unrestrainable desire to walk through the forest. 'I'll just go a little ways.' She said to herself, and slipped through the trees and into the darkness.
Leyna was about four trees distance away from the edge of the clearing when she looked back at the fire. Its faint orange glow seemed distant through the hazy dark in the forest. Still, she kept walking. It felt good to her, to feel the forest floor under her feet, after two days of riding. The shadows of the forest were not frightening. Surprisingly, she felt rather safe. She wasn't too far, and she'd stay within distance of the fire.
As if to reassure herself of the nearness to refuge, she turned again to look for the light of the clearing. But it was gone. It did not worry her too much at first, she just started walking back til she could see it. It did worry her, however, when she had walked for five minutes, and no sign of light could be seen, save patches of moon and starlight from apertures in the canopy above. How far had she walked in, anyway? There was no clear answer.
After ten minutes walking in what she thought was the right direction, she wasn't even sure of that anymore. She began to really panic. 'Why do I have to be so damn curious?' Leyna was about to panic and scream for Legolas when she heard his voice come from somewhere above her, "A bit lost, are we?"
She let out a small yelp and was about to high tail it out of the speaker's presence when she realized it was him. "Lord almighty, Legolas. You nearly scared me to death!" She yelled exasperatedly, up at the trees. She heard him chuckle. "Keep your voice down." He whispered down to her. Then, he said tauntingly, "I wish you could see this. The view is beautiful." Much to his surprise, she located the tree he sat in and scurried up next to him on the large tree branch.
He looked at her, impressed and a bit taken aback. "Didn't think I could do that, didja?" She laughed. He shook his head. "Neither did I." Leyna looked around. They were very high up, in one of the uppermost branches of an ancient oak tree. She tilted her head back, and could see the clear night sky. Leyna realized she hadn't seen the sky since the afternoon they set out on this journey. It was beautiful. Dazzling jewel-stars dotted the velvety black sky. The moon sat full and bright, like a Shepard of the stars, high above them.
"Wow." Leyna said, involuntarily. She glanced at Legolas, who was staring to the heavens, seemingly entranced. She then glanced at his lap, where his hands rested. She placed her hand on one of his, and he immediately entwined their fingers, ever gazing upward. Leyna smiled, and saw him do so, too, and she returned her eyes to the stars above. 'Maybe this forest isn't half bad.' She thought.
After a while, Legolas let go her hand and climbed skillfully down. Leyna followed, no less skillfully, but a bit slower. He led her by the hand back to the clearing, which was surprisingly, quite a ways away, yet. The fire had died down further, and Legolas threw another log on it to keep the various wood animals away, as Leyna lay on her cloak and drew the blanket up to her chin.
Legolas climbed under the blanket beside her and rested his arm on her stomach. Like that, both drifted easily into sleep.
And for all the songs I have used and will use in further chapters, I own none of them.