A/N- This is Blue Eyes, please don't disown my writing, I promise to update soon!

Chapter 14- When Love Wars Lust

Naurion was sprawled out on the limb of a tree, his head was in the clouds or it would've been if there were any. He was staring absently at the stars and reflecting on his...eventful day. He had almost been killed. He wouldn't admit it in the company of anyone but today he had felt a serious threat for his life and his elfhood at Nithen's hands. Perhaps she was just upset, it looked as though she and the Mirkwood Prince were either very close, close or .. well, lovers. He had never known Nithen to allow an elf what she had allowed the Prince, public affection without rebuke. Even he, who had been her close friend for all the long and painful years of her life, had tasted her sweet lips briefly and opened his eyes to see her running away with a sob on her sigh. Nithen hadn't mentioned a word to him about Legolas, except for confusing the two of them, and since it was the first time she had done anything like that it hurt.

He didn't know how to feel, he would forgive her anything and felt as though she needed to forgive him, he had made her cry for some reason and it was wrong to make someone cry. He wanted to be with her now, to hold her as she cried and stroke that ebony hair to calm her. He wished that he understood what had happened but he did not.

He had found her training alone and began a bout with her. After winning he had set a challenge to her, if she could beat him the second time round, he would leave her alone. If he won she would have to let him kiss her, she agreed by trying to kill him. But he won his kiss, he recalled the sweet whisper of motion, just the slightest hint of his mouth against hers.

He wanted more, Elbereth knows he wanted more but when he tried to draw her closer to him, he only succeeded in making her run away from him. And now he kept recalling that kiss, and kept asking himself if he wanted her friendship or her hand; for the life of him he could not choose.

***

Legolas sighed, he kept paddling down the river but he wasn't completely concentrated on what he was doing. It had been a day since they had left Lorien but the Golden Wood had not stopped its plaguing of his mind. Her words echoed in his ears and sounded hollow and distant,

"All men and elves are the same about their maidens! You want us for your pleasure, as your toys and after that night, that day, that week, month, year we mean nothing to you! I will be no one's pet!"

It had almost been fear, fear of something unknown making her voice quake, "I want none of this."

Her head was bowed as if in defeat, he was only trying to talk to her! She had run from him! And surely after their little encounter in the pool she would not be shy! Nithen had not kissed him that day, parting from her and Lorien, like a maid who was shy; she kissed him like a maid that was inexperienced. It reminded him of her tone, she was afraid but he could not think why, she was inexperienced and he could not for the life of him guess why.

After hearing her tone, seeing the fear yet acceptance in her body and face all he had wanted to do was make love to her and show her that there was nothing to be afraid of. Just like that night in the pool, she told him that they could not be together, the response coming as almost a defense so that she wouldn't have to touch him. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and show her that she had nothing to fear from him... but he hadn't..... How he regretted it.

Legolas sighed, her face never left his mind, whenever he closed his eyes he felt her lips brush against his, he could still taste them! He was hopelessly fascinated by this creature, by this lovely maid and he couldn't decide whether it was because she was possibly the most beautiful maiden he had ever seen or because he had this urge in him to help her, to protect her and help her escape that icy prison she had put herself in and protect her from all the barbs that would be thrown at her once she escaped.

He sighed and whispered, "Im tira ten'rashwe yassen he, re dona ai'duin pel duin." {I must be careful with her, she is a little river going towards a big river.}

Legolas shook his head to clear his mind, 'What am I thinking? I may never see her again.'

But somehow he knew that he would. He knew that he would be seeing her, and he felt that it would be soon.

With that thought making his heart lighter he paddled as Gimli sang a coarse song in Dwarvish and didn't even feel bothered by it. Nothing bothered him, not the harshness of their mission or the fact that he could die on it; nothing bothered him, that is, until they landed their boats for the night.

Aragorn gave the signal for them to paddle to shore and as Legolas did, Boromir rammed the side of his boat. Boromir frowned a little deeper then he had been and apologized but Legolas could sense that he didn't mean a word of it. When they had settled and Sam had set to cooking, Aragorn smoking his pipe and keeping an eye on Frodo who was just sitting by the waters edge staring into space, Merry and Pippin were waiting by Sam to get the first morsel of food and Gimli was sharpening his axe. That left Boromir and Legolas, who was singing softly under his breath.

Boromir watched the elf, he could not help but think back to Lorien when Nithen had openly laughed at his attempts at her but had allowed Legolas to steal a kiss from her without any rebuke. Finally the injustice of it all caused a snort to emit from him, a noise that pulled the elf out of his reverie.

"What is it, Boromir?" He asked.

The man hesitated a moment before saying, "Re dona vanima, dona u-re?" {She is beautiful, is she not?}

Legolas' eyes widened suspiciously, "Who has taught you the tongue of the Fair Folk?"

"It does not matter," the Gondorian countered, "what matters here is the resolving of a matter."

"A sina dona?" {And that is?} Legolas asked, fully believing that Boromir might have learned a few scarce phrases in elvish and was hoping to catch the man.

"Nithen.....dona re u-vana?" {Is she not beautiful?}

"Re done, ikotane vanima." {She is, so beautiful.}

"On this we agree, a strong willed fiery little she-elf."

"Watch your mouth Boromir!" Legolas exclaimed, "Do not insult her so!"

"Frodo said the same thing, I think it rather funny how possessive you both are of her. She's not yours Legolas."

"Nor is she yours, Gondorian."

"But I at least know that. I did not sit around daydreaming about her," the man smiled evilly, "I did not call out for her in my sleep to fetch our child from the house and follow me."

Legolas blushed slightly, he had not known why he had dreamt that but he had. A few nights ago he had been thinking about a good many things. His father, before they had parted in Mirkwood, had commented on how Legolas should look for a Rivendell maiden as he had rejected all the ones in Mirkwood. Legolas remembered how his father would show him maid after maid and comment on how their children would look. For some reason, those thoughts had mated with ones of Nithen and produced his odd dream, not that he hadn't enjoyed it. He was old in the eyes of the elves to marry, but he still wanted a family, a wife... he wanted them but feared he would never have them. Elven marriages typically take place between 50 and 100 and he was well over that.

Boromir saw that he had hit a spot on the elf and would not relent, "I may want her but I know exactly *how* I want her, Legolas. I do not fool myself with notions of love and pretty words that are more false then true! I want her in my bed, Legolas, I want to feel that little body writhe underneath me and I want to be inside her, I want her to scream out my name I want to hear her voice calling for me to go harder and faster. I want those thin legs wrapped around my hips, and those strong hands of her's would be of better use stroking my member then stroking her damned arrows. I want those rosy lips swollen and bruised from mine, I want them on my body from head to *head* to toe, Legolas and I do not deny that! She may not be mine but I don't want a wife, I want a warm, flexible body for the night. What do you want elf, or do you even know?"

In a fit of rage Legolas jumped on Boromir, his hands around the man's throat and closing off all the air that begged to pass. He shook the man violently raising his head just to hit it against the ground. But Boromir was not at a complete disadvantage he did his best to strangle Legolas just as Legolas was trying to strangle him.

It was Aragorn and Gimli (backed by all four hobbits) that pried to two off each other. Boromir grinned evilly, pleased that he had set the Prince off so, "Is that what you want, Legolas? To be her valiant defender from all other suitors!"

"Just from you, Boromir, just from you." The elf growled.

"Why just me? I am not the only one who desires her! Ask Frodo what he wants from her!"

Frodo stuck out his chin indignantly, "I want her happiness, I would simply see her happier then see is and I would be content to simply envision that I will never have."

Boromir was fighting against Aragorn's grasp and Legolas was barely restrained by the four hobbits and dwarf, Boromir laughed maliciously at the hobbit hoping to distract him and get Legolas to attack him instead of Boromir so that the man would have the chance to get at the ring and a shot at Legolas' pretty little face.

"Come now Master Baggins, surely your thoughts are not as pure as you make them out to be! We are all men here! Admit it! You don't want her love you want her sex!"

Frodo's face was red and flushed with embarrassment, "Fine, I want what anyway grown man wants, but I do respect her."

Legolas swung a fist around and hit Frodo in the jaw, "Respect her more little one."

After Frodo went down and everyone else rushed to his side, Boromir and Legolas faced each other as two men about to duel to the death. Although they had only words as weapons, the blows would be as deadly.

"Tell me that your thoughts for Nithen are as innocent as that angelic face of yours, tell me to my face Legolas." Boromir growled, bent on breaking the elf.

Legolas' face broke into an evil smirk, "I want in every way you do but there is more to my desire then sex alone but even if there were not Boromir, please be comforted by the fact that I have seen and felt more of her then you shall ever see or feel. I have tasted those honeyed lips and you never shall. She may not be mine, Gondorian, but she is more so then she will ever be yours."

Boromir's jealousy was great but just then Aragorn put a hand on each of their shoulders firmly and said, "Calm down both of you and get some sleep. Put the maid behind us, we have a mission to complete."

Both man and elf nodded in steely resolve that one of them would win Nithen and one of them would loose her, they did not even consider the Hobbit as part of the competition, they just made a silent agreement that one of them would know Nithen, have her body, mind and soul.

Aragorn saw this and he pushed Boromir towards the fire to get some dinner and led Legolas to the woods a few feet and whispered to him, "I cannot believe what I have just seen."

"Mani?" {What?}

"I thought I just saw the Prince of Mirkwood strike the Ring bearer, I thought I saw Thranduil's son beat a mortal man for words he would normally attribute to ignorance and lust, I thought I saw Legolas Greenleaf proud leader of soldiers and elves, go into a common man's little game intent on playing it."

Legolas realized the truth in Aragorn's words and looked away from his friend, ashamed of his actions, ashamed that he had let his mission fall from his mind. He was supposed to be protecting Frodo and here he was assaulting him, "Dona Frodo tereva?" {Is Frodo fine?}

"En rant." {Of course.} Aragorn replied, "I don't know why you would bring yourself to such a low level, would you ever even consider treating Nithen the way you are acting like you would?"

Nithen.... visions of big innocent blue eyes washed with a desire they did not understand and were terrified of locked with his own. Nithen....the crow who kept herself in a cage, who could not stand the thought of being in a man's bed, who shuttered at the thought of becoming someone's lover fearing to become their whore. How could he ever think to force her into that?

"Elbereth n'uma!" {No} He cried out in a disgusted tone, "N'uma! U-oio!" {No Never}

"I'm glad you realize that now." Aragorn patted his shoulder, "When love and lust war, sometimes we forget ourselves."

Legolas nodded numbly as he and Aragorn made their way back to camp, "Yes, we do."

A/N- What do you think?