Chapter 12, notes at the end. Enjoy!
"Good evening, Gwailin. Where have you been all day?"
"I promised to have a drinking contest with Onon last time I was in the city. I could not disappoint him."
"I take it you won?" Arwen asked, smiling at the princess, who had a light flush in her cheeks. It was clear she had downed copious amounts of alcohol, though she was still able to walk fairly straight. If she had any inhabitations to begin with, they would have long ago disappeared.
"Of course! I out drank Onon and his three best drinkers combined. I think I will be a little tipsy for a while, but it was worth it."
"I hope so. Legolas is looking for you. He expected you back earlier. He is waiting for you out on by the White Tree."
"Ah, yes, I suppose he is eager to return to the Ithilien. Thank you, my lady, for your hospitality."
"You are always welcome in our home, Princess," Arwen said, smiling warmly as Gwailin turned quickly, staggering slightly before making her way towards the exit. The queen shook her head as she watched the inebriated elleth disappear out of the hall.
Gwailin was not so far gone that she was unable to navigate the halls on her own and find her way to the White Tree. At the far end of the Citadel battlements stood a solitary figure. Legolas, waiting for her to return to him so they could ride back to the forest. The cool breeze that rushed across the garden helped to sober her up slightly as she made for the prince. When she reached him, she wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her cheek on his back.
"Did you enjoy your day, my lady?" he asked, standing still, eyes still gazing out across the city towards Pelennor Fields.
"Immensely," Gwailin said with a smile. "I apologize for taking so long. I know you probably wanted to leave several hours ago."
"Never mind that," Legolas said, turning to face her. Looking down at her, his brow furrowed. "Gwailin, are you drunk?"
"Certainly not!" she said, rather offended. "I don't get drunk. I am slightly tipsy, is all."
"Drinking contest?" he asked wearily, though he smiled, running a thumb across her warm, pink cheek.
"I won," she said happily. "I must smell dreadful though, after all the beer I consumed."
"Well, this is not exactly how I planned this to go, but considering how the rest of our relationship has gone, I don't suppose I should have expected any less."
"What do you mean?" Gwailin asked, confused. Legolas smiled, kissing her forehead.
"Do you remember the last time we both stood here?" he asked, ignoring her inquiry.
"Of course. That was the first time I kissed you. Your face was adorable. Pure shock."
"I knew you were unpredictable, but the shock I felt was largely at how wonderful it felt to have your lips against mine," Legolas confessed, pressing his lips against her forehead again. "You were so different from anything I had ever pictured in a lover. I had never entertained such a possibility. Just your kiss made me question everything I had considered important in a wife. You were spontaneous, outgoing, absolutely infuriating and ridiculous. But also beautiful, caring, passionate, and completely in love with life. I tried to make myself angry at your impudence, but I always knew that there was something within you that would capture my heart if given the chance. Your arrival in the Ithilien sealed my fate. As soon as you stepped off of your eagle and kissed me again, I knew I would lose my heart to you. As much as I fought it, I already belonged to you."
Gwailin, already emotionally compromised thanks to her alcohol consumption, felt tears falling from her eyes at his confession. He was laying out his soul for her, the last light of the day reflected in his eyes, making them burn with a blue fire of intense and eternal passion. Her wonderful, caring, handsome prince. She would give up everything of her old life to stay with him with just one look like that. And knowing her father, she probably would. But it didn't matter, as long as they were together.
"Each day and each surprise only made me love you more. Your beauty as you strode into the dining hall that first night, dressed in pure gold, with such a regal air about you that it took my breath away. Sending Melhir to request the most bizarre foods to be prepared at the festival. Turning up after swimming in the Ithilien in only your thin, damp tunic and leggings. Dragging me here to Minas Tirith and arm wrestling a barkeep. Calling me 'hun'. Corrupting my advisor and turning up outside my quarters with the intention of raiding my closet." Gwailin smiled at each of these memories. Each one brought her a great amount of joy, thinking about how much it had irked the prince at the time, but somehow managed to convince him to love her all the same.
"And then there was the Midsummer Festival. You were illuminated by the setting sun as you descended into the hall in all your glory. I remember thinking how I had never seen your equal in any of the realms of Middle Earth. You were pure perfection as you glided across the hall, the embodiment of a princess of the sea and sky. I knew then that all my complaining and denials had been in vain. I could see nothing but you, the unlikely keeper of my heart. I had fallen so desperately in love with you, I could hardly breath. I tried so hard to keep myself from admitting it, but each elf you danced with that was not me was an arrow in my heart. Finally, I could not stand it anymore. My head finally let me see what my heart had been saying from the start. I love you Gwailin, and there was nothing I could do to stop it."
Gwailin had watched him speak with rapt attention, basking in his words of praise and love. When he paused, she took her turn to speak of her own adoration for him.
"I never expected to find love," Gwailin said softly, holding his gaze steadily. "I was too in love with myself to consider the possibility. But I will admit, seeing you take down the mumak during Pelennor Fields, I knew I had found someone that I could see as an equal. Despite your stuffy attitude and obvious distain for me, I singled you out not because you were the sole elf residing in this city, but because I sensed in you the heart of someone who could be both my equal and my opposite. You are a warrior and a leader, capable of great deeds and acts of heroism. But you are also so very different from I am in that respect. You are responsible, which I clearly am not, and you are solid, like the earth. I fly free with the wind. But since I met you," she said, taking a step closer. "Since I met you, I find myself thinking that perhaps only together can the earth and sky be what they truly are. The beauty of each comes from the comparison to the other."
"You are positively poetic when you are under the influence of alcohol, melamin," Legolas said with a smile, kissing the corner of her mouth gently. "And I cannot agree with you more. You are my other half. Apart, we are unbalanced. Together, we are stable and harmonious. Which is why I must ask you, Princess Gwailin of the Rhun," she felt her chest tighten as he reached into his tunic pocket. "Will you stay with me until the end of Arda, as my wife and my other half?" He held out two plain silver rings, shining in the fading light as Gwailin looked down at them.
"You know there is nothing I want more than to become your wife, Prince Legolas of Eryn Lasgalen. Yes, I will marry—" she didn't get to finish, as Legolas's lips met hers. Her lips still tasted faintly like the beer she had recently consumed, but it mattered not to the prince, who only wanted to feel the warmth and softness that came with kissing his lover. Somehow, as they kissed, he managed to slip one ring on her index finger, and the other on his own. With the weight on her finger, Gwailin put her arms around his neck, her fingers entwined in his golden hair as she pressed her body against his. But he had cut her off mid-sentence, and she was determined to finish her statement.
"I will marry you, Legolas," she said as she pulled away, her lips so close to his that she could feel his warm breath tickling them still. "But first, you have to fly with me." She let go of him and leapt up on the battlements, spinning around with a grin on her face. As if on cue, a giant eagle landed next to her. Pannaran folded his wings, patiently waiting for the elleth to climb into the saddle.
"Oh no," Legolas said, shaking his head. "I said I would not fly with you, and that is doubly true when you have been drinking. That sounds like an incredibly bad idea."
"Come now, it will be faster to get back to the Ithilien," Gwailin said, stepping back down and taking his hand. She stood close to him, a teasing smile on her face. "And the faster we get back to the Ithilien, the sooner I can get you alone in your bed again, my lord."
Completely undone by Gwailin's seductive voice, Legolas sighed, looking up at the eagle as Gwailin pulled him up onto the battlements.
"Will he accept multiple riders?"
"Pan is a strong bird. He can carry up to three riders, if necessary. Don't worry, Pan," she said softly. "It is only a short trip, this time. Take us to the Ithilien." With that, she climbed up into the saddle and held out her hand. Legolas carefully took it, letting her pull him up onto the saddle behind her as the eagle abruptly dove off the battlements.
Legolas had faced many frightening things in his life, but hurtling straight towards the rooftops of Minas Tirith on the back of an eagle was among his top ten most terrifying experiences. He pulled himself close to Gwailin, holding her tightly around the waist as Pannaran opened his wings and began gliding over the city. It was unequal to anything Legolas had ever felt before. The wind rushed in his ears, his eyes wide in wonder as he watched the land below them get farther and farther away as Pannaran climbed into the clear sky. His wonder quickly outweighed his fear, and he rested his chin on Gwailin's shoulder, watching the earth move below them as he clung to his future bride. The weight of the ring on his finger made it so real. She was his.
"See? It's not so bad, is it?" Gwailin asked, her voice almost drowned out by the rushing wind.
"This part is not," he admitted, kissing her cheek lightly. "But I do ask that you not try any special stunts while I am here. I do not think I would survive such thrills."
"I promise not to do anything crazy," Gwailin said, laughing. "I do not wish to become a widow before I am even married."
"You always say the most comforting things," Legolas said with a sigh, but he smiled. It was fitting to be facing such excitement and potential peril so quickly after asking Gwailin to marry him. He was certain this was going to become a routine in his life with her. It would be a constant tug-of-war. She would be pulling him to the sky and freedom, he would be pulling her to the earth and stability. Somehow, they would find balance between the two.
The prince and princess did not even bother sharing their good news with anyone when they arrived. It was after dark, and most of the elves of the Ithilien had retired to their homes for the evening. This suited the couple just fine, as they dismounted Pannaran and quickly disappeared into Legolas's quarters, where they made love until the early hours of the morning. Eventually they both drifted off from exhaustion, their limbs entwined as they embrace in peaceful slumber.
Legolas woke first, remaining still as he held his princess to his chest, her soft skin against his assuring his focus was entirely on his lover. Otherwise, he might have noticed the light streaming in through his window was not where it usually was when he woke.
An abrupt knock on his door made him jump in surprise. Gwailin was instantly awake, trying to sit up despite the strong arms keeping her firmly against the bed.
"Go away!" Legolas said loudly, refusing to let go of the elleth in his arms. Gwailin quickly gave up freeing herself, settling back down into the strong embrace that held her.
"Is everything alright, my lord?" came the muffled voice of Haloneth from the other side of the door. "No one saw you arrive last night, and it is almost midday."
"I'm fine, Haloneth," Legolas said, hiding his irritation. "I will talk to you later."
The lack of a reply indicated Haloneth had departed, leaving the two elves still curled up together under the thin sheet on Legolas's bed.
"I think perhaps you should rise and tend to your duties, my lord," Gwailin said with a smile, turning her head to meet Legolas's eyes.
"For now, the only duty I wish to tend to is the care of my beloved, beautiful princess," he said evenly. "There is nothing else that cannot wait."
"I can think of one thing that should be done fairly soon," Gwailin said, kissing his lips softly.
"What is that?"
"I must send Melhir east. It is time my father knew."
"Must you always ruin such moments with talk of your father?" Legolas asked with a sigh. "Though I suppose my own father will be furious if he is not told immediately as well."
"Melhir has already agreed to fly first to the Rhun, then to Eryn Lasgalen. He will know soon enough."
"Wonderful. You can inform him tonight at dinner. For now, you are not going anywhere."
"Am I a prisoner?" Gwailin asked, amused.
"Yes. For the next few hours, you are not leaving this bed."
When at last Legolas and Gwailin emerged, it was several hours after midday. They had barely made it a dozen steps when they were set upon by a group of elves, all talking at once.
"Enough!" Legolas commanded, holding up his hand. The elves around them all fell silent. "I apologize for the late hour, but I promise I will address all of your concerns in time. Coronlir," he said, addressing the architect who stood in the middle of the throng. "You first. What seems to be the problem?"
"I was actually hoping to speak with Princess Gwailin, if I could," he said, squeezing through the crowd to stand in front of the prince. "I am finalizing plans for the library, and was thinking of incorporating some ideas she shared with me several weeks ago. I have already recruited Lady Ettelea, but she claims that she is not well versed in construction techniques."
"I would be happy to help, Coronlir," Gwailin said, letting go of Legolas. "Please, lead on." She gave Legolas a swift kiss on the cheek before disappearing with the architect, leaving Legolas with the rest of the elves seeking his counsel.
"You would not happen to know where Melhir is, do you Coronlir?" Gwailin asked, assuming the elf was probably up in the mountains again.
"Actually, he is with Ettelea. I left them arguing about which ideas from your architecture were actually plausible in the Ithilien."
"Excellent. I shall have to rescue him from Ettelea. She can be quite hard-headed about such things."
"It is a trait I feel many of your kin share," Coronlir said with a smile. "And may I offer my congratulations. I could not help but notice the silver that now adorns your finger."
"Ah yes, thank you, mellonamin. That is the very reason I need to find Melhir. I have to share my wonderful news with my parents as soon as possible, and he has agreed to fly to the Sea of Rhun and Eryn Lasgalen on my behalf."
"Does this mean we shall be hosting the rest of the royal family soon?"
"I have no doubt in my mind that within two weeks my father and his entourage will be joining us. My mother may or may not be, depending on if she is at home when Melhir arrives. It shall be an interesting visit, that is certain."
"I look forward to meeting the king. Is he as charming as you?"
"Not even slightly," Gwailin said with a laugh, making Melhir raise his eyebrows in surprise. "While my mother is a delight, my father is stern and uncompromising. When he arrives, he will be strutting around with his chest out, a frown ever-present on his face as he stares down anyone unlucky enough to be in his way. I highly recommend you avoid him at all costs. He will be in a foul mood when he arrives."
"Do you think he will be displeased at your engagement?"
"Undoubtedly. I predict he will bring a host of eagles here, and amongst them shall be a handsome young elf whom he will charge with gaining my favor and replacing Legolas in my heart. He will not believe me when I tell him that I am in love, nor will he take our engagement as a sign that he will not break us apart. You will all bear witness to a series of heated and extremely loud arguments between us. And he will more than likely threaten Legolas."
"Why on earth would your father be so opposed to your union?" Coronlir asked, horrified.
"He wants me to marry one of the Kindi, someone he can control, and in that manner control me. He will have no power over Legolas, and will lose me in the process, as I will stay here in the Ithilien instead of returning to the Rhun."
"That is most unfortunate," Coronlir said, now dreading the arrival of the King of the Sea of Rhun. He sincerely hoped Gwailin was exaggerating.
Hope you liked it! I have been brainstorming and have some ideas bouncing around in my head that I am looking forward to writing. I am still open to suggestions, however, so if you want to see anything in this story, send me a review or message. I think I will keep doing this story one chapter at a time, so feel free to throw out some ideas whenever they hit you. So far none of you have given me any suggestions, which makes me a little sad. I do want to thank those of you who have reviewed in the past. You guys rock! Next time, include some ideas in your reviews. Any little thing. It's a humor story, it doesn't have to make sense! Even something as silly as one of the elves walking through the Ithilien juggling teacups. I don't mind if it starts getting completely wacky. It'll be more fun if you contribute!