Chapter 11: Breakfast in the Garden
Lothriel woke up the next morning to a gentle breeze blowing through the open doorway leading out to the balcony. She sat up in bed and stretched as she moved her covers. She walked over to the balcony and looked out over the beautiful gardens as she did every morning. She inhaled deeply the sweet aroma of the flowers blooming below. Just then, there was a knock at her door. She walked over to the door and opened it and saw Heidi, on of her maids, standing there.
"Good mornig, miss." Heidi said.
"Oh, good morning Heidi." Lothriel said, letting Heidi in.
Lothriel had developed a strong friendship with her two maids, Heidi especially. Heidi was a young, pretty woman, about twenty or twenty-five years old. She was sweet-natured and kind. She always kept her brown hair hidden under her dust cap and almost always wore the same outfit, which consisted of a long, tan skirt, a burgundy top with sleeves that came down to her elbow, and a white apron.
"Did you sleep good last night?" Heidi asked.
"Yes, very." Lotriel answered.
"I suppose you will take breakfast in the garden this morning?" Heidi asked.
"Yes, as always." Lothriel answered.
Heidi helped Lothriel dress and she fixed her breakfast and had it delivered to the table under the gazebo in the garden. As Lothriel walked down the hallway, she met Legolas.
"Good morning." Legolas said politely.
"Good morning, Legolas." Lothriel said.
"I was wondering if you would allow me to take breakfast with you?" Legolas asked.
"Of course." Lothriel answered.
She and Legolas walked to the garden. They talked and enjoyed their breakfast and when they were done, Lothriel's two maids came and took the dishes to the kitchen to be washed. Lothriel sat on top of a broken part of the wall that hadn't been repaired as she and Legolas talked. Several minutes passed and Lothriel looked to Legolas and saw him drawing in a sketch book.
"What are you drawing?" Lothriel asked.
"Come here and I'll show you." Legolas asked.
Lothriel jumped down from the wall and walked over to Legolas. She stopped in front of him and he turned the sketch book around. On the paper was a beatiful, colorful drawing of Lothriel sitting on the broken, ivy-and-moss-covered wall, looking out over Pelennor with a colorful sunset in the background.
"Oh, it's beautiful!" Lothriel excliamed, "Is that really me?"
"It sure is." Legolas said, handing her the sketch book.
"Is it for me?" she asked.
Legolas nodded.
"Thank you." Lothriel said, giving him a kiss.
Later on, Lothriel hung the picture from the wall in her bedroom.
--
That afternoon, Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli sat in the throne room, each with a pint.
"You haven't been very talkative this evening." Aragorn said, noticing Legolas starring off ito space.
"I'm trying to think of something nice to do for Lothriel." Legolas said.
"Why don't you take her hunting?" Gimli suggested.
"That's nothing to do for a woman." Aragorn said, "You obviously don't have much experience with women."
Gimli growled low in his throat and continued to sip at his ale.
After a moment of thought, Aragorn hatched an idea.
"I've got it. You know the garden in Ithilien?" Aragorn asked.
"Yeah." Legolas answered, listening intently.
Aragorn proceeded to explain his idea to Legolas...
A/N: Ooooooooooooooohhhhhhhh, another cliffy. What's gonna happen?
