A/N – I'm so, so sorry for the delay. My head's been in a cloud and literally speaking, which I will explain at the end of this chapter. But we've almost reached the end of our journey. I must say I'm happy with the way it's turned out and I thank everyone for their feedback.
Chapter 13 – Fated Union
The Present
It took nearly an entire day to pass through North Ithilien. Legolas hardly recognized the thick woodland any longer. When he left it over twenty years ago, it was still young with freshly planted trees. He was glad to see that some of the older trees recognized his presence and sang their whispered melodies in the breeze.
The village had thrived in his absence. He had left good men in charge of its growth and he felt pride in what they accomplished.
The word had quickly spread through the streets and soon their party was surrounded by villagers of every age.
"Prince Legolas has returned!" they cried.
Legolas felt his heart constrict from both joy and sorrow. Seeing the village again brought back joyful memories of triumphant, happy times. But there were also painful memories…of friends long gone.
As Legolas rode ahead of the others, he acknowledged the people with little enthusiasm. He had not wanted to return to Gondor or Ithilien…or to Minas Tirith. But circumstances brought him back and for a reason he loathed with every fiber of his being.
He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes falling on the woman who held his heart clenched in her fist. Her eyes were panicked and full of dread. Their time together was coming to an end. There was nothing left to tie him to the land of Men.
Seated on horses at the end of the street were four Gondorian guards.
Legolas took a deep breath as he nudged Alagos into a trot. When he reached the guards, he slowed to a walk and halted before them.
One of the guards moved his horse forward and greeted Legolas with a bow of his head. "Your arrival is much anticipated, my Lord."
Legolas nodded in return. "Inform the king of Gondor…I bring him his betrothed." He watched the guard spin his horse around and immediately gallop off. The further the guard went, the tighter Legolas's chest became. It became so much that he could hardly breathe. A thought crossed his mind as his vision suddenly darkened…perhaps he would never make it to the Grey Havens…or to Valinor…afterall.
§
Silivrén stared with wide eyes as Legolas swayed on his horse and suddenly toppled off, landing hard on the ground. "Legolas!" She jumped off Anorcelair and sprinted toward him.
Collin followed at her heels after seeing the Elf fall. They reached him at the same time.
She fell to the ground beside Legolas and gently lifted his head in her lap.
Legolas's eyes fluttered open for a brief moment. "Erelei…" he mumbled before his eyes closed again.
Silivrén worriedly looked up at Collin. "He's ill, Collin. Help him."
Collin frowned. He had never heard of an Elf falling ill before. Something wasn't right. What could have happened to suddenly cause Legolas's ailment?
At Twenty-One Years of Age
The glow of early dawn filtered through the window of Silivrén's bedroom chamber.
As she reached for his hand, pulling it to her, Legolas opened his eyes. His fingers came in contact with her damp folds and he immediately began to pleasure her while she stroked him with a familiar hand. Their lips clashed together hungrily. When she reached up to brush her fingers over the pointed tip of his ear, he shivered and closed his eyes again.
Like so many times before, Legolas's patience quickly left him. He gently rolled Silivrén onto her back and moved himself between her parted thighs. She looked up at him with lust-filled eyes as he slowly entered her. Before she could release the cry he knew would follow, he covered her lips with his, plundering her sweet mouth with his tongue.
They moved in tandem, rocking slowly back and forth. It wasn't long before their pace quickened.
Silivrén clawed at his back, gasping silently when he released her mouth and allowed her to breathe. She panted and arched upward to meet his controlled thrusts. Soon they were not quite so controlled and she knew he was close to release. Her own release came upon her with a fury and she squeezed her eyes shut. "Legolas…"
Legolas drove into her soft center with erratic movements. He knew he was probably hurting her, but he couldn't control the furious need that overwhelmed him. And then he fell into the blinding abyss of relentless pleasure. He shivered in his release and buried his face in the crook of her neck to muffle his cry.
When it was over, he slowly rolled off her onto his back and sighed in relief. Silivrén curled herself against him and he pulled her into his arms, placing a tender kiss upon her forehead.
"I love you," she whispered against the side of his neck.
He closed his eyes in contentment. "Im meleth annin, Erelei." (I love you, too, sweet one)
Silivrén stirred and when he looked down at her, she smiled. "You won't ever deny me, will you, Legolas?"
"No, I will never deny you. You have but to ask and I will be at your side." He kissed her lips slowly, tasting what he could never seem to get enough of. Then he glanced toward the window. "But for now I must leave you."
She protested with a groan and clung to him. "No…I don't want you to go."
Ever since Teress nearly walked in on them several months ago, Legolas didn't trust his Elven senses…not when he was so thoroughly engrossed in the scent and feel and taste of the young woman beside him. The handmaiden opened the door and reacting quickly, Legolas slid off the opposite side of the bed and crawled beneath it before she entered the room. He watched her feet moving around the bed and heard her rousing up Silivrén. If the handmaiden had been so inclined to look under the bed, she would have been surprised to find a naked Elf.
That morning had nearly spelled the end for him.
Legolas gently pulled himself out of Silivrén's grasp and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He reached for his leggings on the floor and stood up to slip into them. When he turned back around, he gazed at his heart's desire.
She smiled up at him, the look of a satisfied lover upon her face. "Will you take me to the falls today?"
He returned her smile. The waterfalls several miles east of the kingdom walls had been the place where Legolas had first claimed her innocence. It had only been a month after he made the decision to be with her. In the months that followed, they shared many more intimate moments at the falls before risking their amorous ways at night in her bedroom. Often even in the early morning hours while everyone was still asleep. "I thought you had plans with Saleena and Lorin."
Silivrén rolled over on her stomach and reached for his leggings, tugging them down. "I can change my mind if I want to."
Legolas backed away from her hands and pulled his leggings back up. "Fine. We will go to the falls." His eyes immediately gravitated to her nakedness when she shamelessly pulled herself up on her knees in front of him. No matter how often he saw her this way, she always managed to take his breath away.
"Kiss me," she gently mandated.
He closed the gap between them and reached up to take her face in his hands as he gave her what she wanted without hesitation. Her lips were swollen from his previous ministrations upon them, but he hungrily sucked on them until he was forced to pull away. The sound of footsteps reached his ears and he quickly moved to the daybed.
Just as Silivrén slid beneath the sheets, the door opened.
Teress walked into the bed chamber and walked around Silivrén's bed as she did every morning, picking up scattered clothing here and there. "Wake up, Silivrén, your father awaits you for the morning meal."
Silivrén yawned and stretched in her bed. "Tell him I am not hungry."
The handmaiden walked toward the daybed, eying the Elf seated upon it, casually brushing his hair. Her eyes drifted down to his bare chest and she flushed red. "The king wishes to see you as well." He didn't respond to her, as usual so she turned away from him. Her eyes widened when Silivrén crawled out of her bed, not a stitch of clothing on her body. "Silivrén!"
Silivrén stepped away from her bed and shamelessly walked toward the bath chamber. As she moved passed Legolas, her handmaiden desperately tried to cover her with a robe.
When both of them disappeared into the other room, Legolas raised his eyebrows and shook his head. What could possibly have made Silivrén act so boldly in front of the handmaiden? Was she trying to ruin him?
§
King Rataman seemed particularly merry as they ate their morning meal. Both Legolas and Silivrén noticed this immediately.
"What makes you so cheerful so early in the morning?" Silivrén finally asked him.
The king pushed his plate aside with a smile and looked up at his daughter. "This morning I finally received the affirmation I have been awaiting the last six months."
"What kind of affirmation?" she continued to inquire.
"You, my dear daughter, are finally betrothed."
Silivrén stared at her father in disbelief while Legolas visibly stiffened.
"The king of Gondor," Rataman announced. "He has accepted my proposal for your hand."
Legolas felt his chest constrict. The woman he loved betrothed to Eldarion, the son of his greatest friend.
Silivrén finally found her voice. "But…I do not love him."
He waved away her statement as irrelevant. "That will come in time."
"No, it won't," she debated in a harsher tone.
The king turned to her with a frown. "What in Arda's name is the matter with you?"
She desperately thought of an excuse…anything at all to change the decision of her father. "I don't…I don't want to be queen."
"Nonsense. That is your destiny. There is no other path for you."
Silivrén turned toward Legolas. He was looking down at his plate, his jaw muscles wound tight. She waited for him to say something, to help her persuade her father that she didn't need to marry anyone…that he would step up and rule Rhûn beside her. But he remained silent. She angrily pushed away from the table and rushed out of the room.
Legolas cringed as he sensed her anger and betrayal. He could do nothing but remain seated and act indifferent…while his heart was on the verge of shredding to pieces. He nearly jumped when Rataman spoke again.
"What has gotten into that girl?" He sighed and turned to the silent Elf seated across the table. "You know well the king of Gondor, Legolas."
Legolas frowned and blinked several times before finally raising his eyes. "I know him well. I was there at the time of his birth."
"Then you know the kind of man he is."
"Aye."
"When last he came here, we spoke but little and I hardly had the opportunity to form an opinion of him. Will he make Silivrén happy? Will he be good to her?"
Legolas swallowed the lump in his throat and fought to find his voice in order to respond. "Aye, he would."
"A union between Gondor and Rhûn would strengthen the lands of Men…all of them."
Legolas knew it to be true.
It made sense to unite Gondor and Rhûn, making it the largest country in the eastern continent. Eldarion would become more powerful. With his immortality, he could rule indefinitely. And Silivrén would reign as his queen.
Legolas turned his gaze back to the king and decided to challenge what he had known all along about Silivrén. "Are you going to tell her?"
"What more is there to tell her?"
"She has Elven blood."
King Rataman looked at the Elf with renewed interest. "How do you know this?"
"I sensed it the moment I saw her that first day eleven years ago."
"And you said nothing."
"I did not feel it was my place to speak of it."
The king stood up angrily. "Well it isn't your place to speak of it now!" he yelled as he stepped away from the table. He paced for a moment before pausing. "Ophelia…my wife was carrying Silivrén when she was betrothed to me. It was an arranged marriage of convenience. She was forced to marry me even though she was in love with the Elf that impregnated her." He turned to face Legolas. "When they found him, I immediately ordered his execution. Ophelia never knew what happened to him and neither must Silivrén."
Legolas lowered his gaze when the king walked toward him.
Rataman placed a hand on the table beside Legolas. "I can't stress enough the importance of this union between my daughter and the king of Gondor. I have slaved for six months to convince him and he has finally accepted. You must see to it that Silivrén does not disobey me."
"She has a strong will of her own," Legolas countered, but he knew it was a weak attempt to dissuade the king's decision. Things were in motion and they could no longer be unmade. He had seen enough arranged marriages in his lifetime and knew the consequences for those who opposed them.
"In a fortnight, you will take her to Gondor. I will join her once I have settled matters here " He tapped the wooden table with his knuckles to get the Elf's attention. "If you breathe a single word to my daughter about her true heritage, I will see you hung from the highest turret of my castle. Do you understand?"
Legolas felt degraded for the first time since he accepted the position of Silivrén's guardian. He had always been treated with the highest respect by the king. He realized his mistake in telling Rataman he knew about Silivrén. But the damage was done.
"I asked you a question," Rataman said, raising his voice.
Legolas wanted to tell him that Silivrén wasn't even his daughter to do with as he wanted. She was the daughter of an Elf. But he held his tongue. "I understand," he quietly said.
"Good." Rataman straightened and walked out of the hall with a purpose.
Legolas released the breath he had been holding. There was nothing he could do. If the king found out about his intimate relationship with Silivrén, he would surely be executed just as Silivrén's real father had been.
A moment later he stood up and went in search of Silivrén, knowing she was probably distraught.
So now I must explain why my head is literally in a cloud…Cloud Strife, that is. My nephew recently introduced me to a CG movie called Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and the disturbed person that I am, I became hooked on the main character. Now, I'm not saying that Legolas is no longer my number one…he's 1A and Cloud is 1B. In fact, I think the reason I like Cloud is because he kind of reminds me of Legolas in a weird way.
Anyway, I started writing a fic about him that I'm not sure whether I'll post on this site because I'll probably get blasted for my Mary Sue character. If anyone's interested in reading it, I'll start posting it on my Yahoo group: Black Shadow Acres. But I swear on all that is Holy in this world, "Destined to Reign" will continue to be my top project.
Here's a quick excerpt of chapter 2 to promote my Cloud Strife fic which I have yet to put a title to (you don't have to read it if you don't want to) –
Later that afternoon, I was right in the middle of eating a hot dog when the big guy named Barret yelped out of the clear blue.
"Yo, Spiky!"
I turned to where everyone was looking and promptly began choking on the hot dog.
Making his way down the deck stairs to the grass where the picnic tables were set up was none other than my elusive biker friend. Heck, I could have spotted the gravity-defying spiked blonde hair a mile away. What in the world were the chances of running into him at my cousin's friend's barbecue? Slim to none. Yet there he was.
Tammy elbowed me. "That's him. That's Cloud."
Wonderful. He just so happened to be the guy Tammy couldn't stop talking about earlier…the cute, sensitive, bad boy who would think I was hot. This was the icing on the cake. Did I dare tell her I had seen him on the streets on Thursday when he challenged me to a race in which he totally cheated?
He walked around, greeting everyone individually and finally made his way to the party host. "Hey, Cid, sorry I'm late."
"No problem, buddy. Grab a burger or a dog. There's plenty of food."
Things couldn't have gotten any better…or worse…Cloud came and sat directly across from Tammy and I at our picnic table. Funny how he chose our table when there was plenty of room elsewhere. But then again, our table was where all the food was.
"Hello, Tammy," he said.
"Hi, Cloud." She emphasized his name for my sake.
Then his eyes shifted to me as he grabbed a burger from the tray in the center of the table. "Hello, Tammy's friend."
"Oh, Cloud, this is my cousin, Tessa. She moved in with me a couple weeks ago."
He nodded to me. "Nice to meet you, cousin Tessa." He proceeded to squirt large globs of ketchup and mustard on his burger. Then just before he was about to take a bite, he put the burger down and pointed a finger at me. "Do I know you from somewhere?"
I opened my mouth to remind him of our little encounter at the stoplight the other day, but Tammy jumped in before I could get a word out.
"Yeah, she kinda looks like some of those women in the catalog in Tifa's bathroom."
He frowned and turned to Tammy. "What catalog?"
"That lingerie catalog you were carrying around last month. You said you'd hang up your swords to get a date with one of those women."
"You're crazy. I never said that."
"I have witnesses," Tammy defended with a grin.
Annoyed that the subject changed in the blink of an eye, just when Cloud had been about to recall where he had seen me, I cleared my throat and they both turned to me. "Just for the record, you cheated," I pointed out.
Cloud raised his blonde eyebrows. "Cheated?" Then suddenly recognition came to his face and he nodded with a grimace. "You're the girl with the car."
"And you're the guy with the motorcycle."
"Whoa, wait a minute," Tammy jumped in again. "You two know each other?"
"Well, we don't really know each other," I replied. "We were at a stoplight and he wanted to race."
"I beat you fair and square. Not my fault you can't handle your car." Cloud took a bite out of his burger, his brows drawn together on his uniquely flawless handsome face.
Tammy jumped in for the third time and turned to me. "Let me get this straight. You were racing him?" She pointed a thumb in Cloud's direction. "Nobody can beat his motorcycle."
"I rest my case," said Cloud before taking another bite out of his burger.
I slowly turned to him. "Well, since you seem to have a thing for lingerie, maybe I should have unbuttoned my shirt and showed you my bra. That might have distracted you."
Cloud stopped chewing and stared into my eyes. "Maybe…" he mumbled with his mouth full. He finished swallowing. "And I don't have a thing for lingerie. I don't know what catalog your cousin is talking about."
Leaving them to argue it out, I got up to get another beer and was gratified to see his eyes instantly gravitate in my direction. Those eyes. Damn, the things they did to my insides was astronomical…and I didn't even know this guy. I walked over to the cluster of coolers and dug into one for a cold beer. Then as an afterthought I grabbed two more.
When I went back to sit down, Cloud was biting into a second burger. He looked up when I set a beer in front of him. "Thanks," he acknowledged under his breath.
Then the young girl named Yuffie ran over and hugged Cloud from behind. "You are so adorable, Cloud, I could just eat you up! Isn't he adorable?" She kissed his ear as he tried to squirm away from her.
In the next instant Yuffie went off to harass someone else.
Cloud frowned. "Damn, she's a pain in my ass sometimes."
"Girlfriend?" I asked with a smile, knowing she wasn't. But I wanted to rib him anyway because he clearly looked annoyed by the attention she had given him.
His eyes shot up in repressed anger. "No! She's not my girlfriend! I'd rather shave my head and jump in a pit of boiling lava!"
I held my hands up in defense. "Sorry."
He tossed the half-eaten burger on his paper plate and popped open the beer before standing up. "Real nice chatting with you," he said with a touch of sarcasm.
I watched him walk away to join several other guys standing together. I turned to my cousin with a frown. "Where in the hell did you get the idea he'd like me?"
"Are you kidding? He's practically in love with you already."
"He's a fucking jerk!"
"That's just the way he is sometimes with people he doesn't know. But you should have seen the way he was looking at you when you got up. I mean, he was literally undressing you with his eyes."
"He was not."
"I swear he was."
"Whatever."
"Fine, don't believe me. But I bet you twenty bucks he'll ask for your phone number by the time we leave here tonight."
"Fat chance of that ever happening. What's his problem anyway?"
"Well…Cloud's got some issues."
"Issues. Like what?"
"He used to be in SOLDIER."
My jaw dropped in surprise. "Him?"
"Yeah and there's more. I mean, I don't know all the details or anything, just bits and pieces."
And she went on to tell me a few startling facts about Cloud…Strife…things she had heard from the others.
Maybe she shouldn't have told me anything because now I was fanatical. I suddenly wanted to know everything about him. Just like a rock star who couldn't be touched, Cloud seemed beyond my reach. There was a valid reason for my sudden obsession with him. Our hardships were somewhat in line, although mine weren't quite as extensive as his, which seemed to span his lifetime, while mine were only in recent years.
Well that's my plug…
While I don't really condone PWP (porn without plot) fics, this story will have a lot of juicy moments.
So if you're interested, you can find it in my Yahoo group...unless of course people can convince me to post it here.