Notes at the end. Enjoy!
Gwailin sat on her bed, twirling a short knife in her fingers as she stared at the ceiling, muttering to herself. Twice, she had tried escaping from her room. And twice, Kindi guards, her own friends, caught her and brought her back to her quarters, apologizing for the fact that they were under her father's orders to keep her away from Legolas. Not that she was surprised by this fact, but she found it utterly ridiculous that her father would make every one of his guards stand watch. She had been great at escaping her quarters back in the mountains, but she had never had two dozen pairs of eyes trained on her balcony before.
As the door creaked open, Gwailin looked around, sitting up as Ettelea entered holding a tray of food, a sympathetic look on her face as she shut the door behind her.
"Still haven't escaped yet?" she asked, setting the tray on the bedside table.
"I am still plotting, but I haven't come up with anything yet. Would you be willing to create a diversion?"
"I don't think so," Ettelea said, shaking her head. "Not with your father in the mood he is."
"How come he let you in here? I figured he would send Sadron to try and charm me again."
"After you almost took off Sadron's ear when he came in last time, he figured it would be safer to send me." Gwailin just grinned at this, still twirling her knife in her fingers. "I brought you some fish if you are hungry."
"I'm hungry to leave mostly, but thank you, Ettelea. How is Legolas doing?"
"He has wisely chosen to avoid your father as best as he can. He was back working on the library the last time I saw him, but he has sent some of his people to tend to your father. While you're in here plotting your escape, the King is busy plotting how to get you to return to the Rhun."
"I have no doubts," Gwailin said, throwing her knife at the door, hoping her father, somewhere in one of the nearby rooms, could hear it as it buried itself an inch into the wood. "He has already ordered me to show Sadron the village tomorrow. I was thinking of doing a quick tour and then flying to Minas Tirith."
"Why? Your father will probably follow to make sure you don't push Sadron off the battlements."
"I've thought about it," Gwailin said with a grin. "But in the city, I can probably evade my father and his guards. It's all part of the plan."
"You better let Legolas know so he can brace himself for the backlash," Ettelea warned, watching Gwailin eating the trout she had provided. "Perhaps he should go into hiding as well."
"Can you tell him for me? I'm sure he can take care of himself if my father starts raging again. You should have seen it, Ettelea. The way he stood up to my father, and when he braced himself for an attack…"
"I can see why you love him," Ettelea said, amused. "Not many would dare stand up to your father, let alone contemplate a fight."
"To be fair, Legolas doesn't know what he is up against in the King," Gwailin admitted with a shrug. "But neither does the King know what Legolas is capable of."
"As terrible as it would probably be, I admit, that is a fight I am intrigued to see," Ettelea said, standing and pulling Gwailin's knife from the door.
"It very well may happen. Especially if my plans work tomorrow. My father is going to be furious. Anyway, if you can manage, let Legolas know that I am going to be complacent in the morning, but not to worry because when I take Sadron to Minas Tirith in the afternoon, I am going to ditch him somewhere in the city. Actually," Gwailin said, lowering her voice in case there were curious ears nearby. "Just for good measure, tell Legolas to meet me by the river in the mid-afternoon. I will try and escape as quickly as possible, but it may take time. And tell him I love him."
"I will," Ettelea said with a smirk, heading towards the door again. "Good luck with plotting."
"Thanks."
"You look beautiful this morning, Princess."
"Thank you, Sadron. I must say, it is nice to see your familiar face once more."
"You did not seem so pleased to see me yesterday."
"I took my anger at my father out on you," Gwailin said with a perfect imitation of sorrow and regret on her face. "I am truly sorry."
"No harm done. I am still in one piece and I get the pleasure of your company today to make up for it." Gwailin resisted the urge to roll her eyes as the pair walked through the gardens. Despite the fact that she was supposed to be showing the village to Sadron, he had quickly taken control, directing her to parts of the village where she knew they would not happen upon Legolas accidently. She was rather grateful for this fact, despite her strong desire to see him again. He had suffered enough when she had purposefully flirted to make him jealous. Seeing her flirt with an elf who had every intention of stealing her away would be far worse for him to deal with.
"What would you like to see of the village?" Gwailin asked, change the subject to avoid further flattery from the elf beside her. "These gardens are wonderful, but perhaps you would like to meet the smith? Or visit the fields?"
"I am quite content just enjoying our leisurely stroll together," Sadron said pleasantly. Leisurely it may appear, but Gwailin was well aware of the guards trying to remain inconspicuous around her. She was not sure where her father had disappeared to, but he was determined even in his absence to make sure she complied with his rules.
"I know. Let's go tour the stables." This seemed like a safe location to visit, and she could stop having her semi-romantic walk through the gardens. She had defiantly worn her riding gear, but that did little to deter Sadron from flirting incessantly. Years ago, his charm had worked on her. Now she found it frustrating and unwelcome. "Have you ever ridden a horse, Sadron?"
"No, I have not had the pleasure," Sadron admitted. She could sense the unease that crept into his voice. This would be fun.
"Then I must give you a tour on horseback!" she said, perhaps a little too gleefully. "Come! We shall find you a horse to ride."
"I do not know about this, Princess. Your father said-"
"He says a lot of things," Gwailin said dismissively, dragging Sadron into the stables, looking around eagerly. "We shall finish our tour quicker this way, then we can head off to Minas Tirith."
"Minas Tirith?" Sadron asked, surprised. "Why are we going to the White City?"
"It is the best place for flying in the region," Gwailin said, entering a stall as she continued. "And there is far more to do in Minas Tirith than in this tiny settlement."
"Still, I would rather walk. It is a nice day; we can enjoy it better at a leisurely pace."
"Nonsense!"Gwailin said, walking a dark roan stallion out of the stall. "Here, this is Rautal. You can ride him."
"That is not necessary," Sadron said, his anxiety growing as Gwailin bit her lip to keep from grinning, turning quickly to go fetch her own mount. Halfway there, she remembered how slow the mare she generally rode was, so she veered off towards the other end of the stables.
"Mae govannen, Glossiual," she said, patting the snow white stallion. "Do you think Legolas would mind if I took you out for a ride?" The horse shook his head, which was good enough for Gwailin. Saddling him quickly, she swung up into the saddle, trotting out of the stall to find Sadron looking at his mount warily.
"You will have to get in the saddle if you plan on going anywhere," Gwailin said with a cheerful laugh. For being such a talented eagle rider, Sadron looked particularly inept as he mounted Rautal. Eventually, he did settle in the saddle, holding the reins nervously. "Come on," Gwailin said, turning Glossiual and galloping out of the stable. "Time for your tour!"
It was a great deal of personal satisfaction that Gwailin watched Sadron struggle to keep up with her. She had intentionally given him a young stallion, who was giving the elf a great deal of trouble just walking in a straight line. Glossiual, on the other hand, behaved perfectly, as Gwailin knew he would.
"You will have to be faster than that!" she called back as she cantered past the dining hall, Sadron trailing behind her. The elf guards that were supposed to be watching them were having a hard time staying inconspicuous as they also tried to keep up with the horses. As she turned back around, she caught sight of Legolas conferring with some builders just ahead of her. Galloping forward, she came to a stop next to him, sliding out of the saddle as he looked up at her in surprise. Not bothering to say hello, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a long kiss, which he happily returned before breaking away to look at the elf that was trying to ride quickly towards them.
"Rather cruel of you to put him on Rautal," Legolas murmured, watching the elf struggle.
"Don't forget that this is the elf that my father is having seduce me," Gwailin muttered back as Sadron came to a stop, dismounting and striding quickly towards them.
"Prince Legolas," he said, his displeasure evident. "I am afraid we have not been introduced. Sadron, of King Oiotar's personal guard."
"It is a pleasure," Legolas said, not bothering to hide the fact that he didn't mean a word of it. "I hope you are finding the Ithilien to your liking. And do not worry about not being able to ride a horse. It is very different from your eagles, and some elves take time to learn the art."
"Yes, well, I am sure I shall learn soon enough," Sadron said testily, catching Legolas's thinly-veiled insult. "As for the Ithilien, it is quite charming in its rustic way. Is this always how you wood elves live?" This shot back at Legolas did not go unnoticed, or unanswered.
"It is a young village, so it has some work yet to be done," Legolas responded, eyes challenging his opponent with every word. Gwailin could see the guards watching them closely, waiting to see if it came to blows. "It is a shame you do not get to see the full might of Eryn Lasgalen. If you wish, I am sure my father King Thranduil would be more than happy to treat you to a tour of his halls if you were to stop for a visit. It would take several years for you to see the extent of his kingdom."
"Perhaps someday you will have the privilege of seeing the greatness of King Oiotar's kingdom," Sadron replied acidly. "But I rather doubt it."
"I shall have to contain my disappointment," Legolas said sarcastically. "I already have seen the greatest treasure that those halls contained, and soon she shall be my wife." Still glaring at Sadron, Legolas pulled Gwailin to his side, kissing her fingers gently, daring the other elf to argue. It had not escaped his notice that there were Kindi guards not far away, undoubtedly armed heavily, but he too was armed, and there were several seasoned warriors standing behind him, watching to make sure their leader was not threatened by the newcomers.
"You are mistaken, my lord," Sadron said, contempt in every word. "Soon, she shall be mine. The King will see to that."
"And yet here she stands, at my side, my ring on her finger," Legolas sneered. "The king is sadly mistaken to think that you will be able to steal her love from me."
"She doesn't love you. You are exotic, a phase that she will quickly get over. You do not know her as I do."
"I believe I know her better than you," Legolas said in a low voice, a deadly smirk on his face. "For I do believe it is my bed, not yours, that she has been sharing for the last month."
Gwailin stared up at Legolas, stunned that he would say such a thing in public. Granted, half the village had probably heard her father shouting about it, and the other half had probably heard it secondhand, but she had never expected Legolas to admit it out loud. She was lucky that Sadron was equally as stunned, or she would not have had time to get between the two elven lords before they started dueling. As it was, she was barely able to quickly step towards Sadron and prevent him from unsheathing his sword.
"Really, is this necessary?" she said exasperatedly, hand still firmly on Sadron's wrist to ensure he did not move to attack Legolas again. To her surprise and relief, Ettelea had suddenly appeared on the scene, her own hand on Legolas's arm to keep him from acting rashly. "We can all be friends if we try hard enough. Perhaps now we should be heading off to Minas Tirith. Sadron?"
She started steering him away from Legolas firmly. As much as she had enjoyed watching Legolas put Sadron in his place, and as much as she would have loved to see them duel (for she was certain Legolas would be victorious), it seemed like a bad idea at the time. She looked back at Legolas with a meaningful look, to which he gave a barely perceptible nod, his smirk back on his face. Oh, how she loved that look.
Gwailin walked the streets of Minas Tirith, greeting her friends cheerfully, ignoring the elf that was trying to keep up with her. Sadron had barely said a word since they had left the Ithilien, which did not bother Gwailin in the slightest. Cheerily, she made for her favorite place in the city: Adan's pub. She burst through the door with a flourish, and found herself quickly drawn into a hug by Adan himself.
"Princess! I had expected to see you before now. We'd heard about your engagement and we must celebrate! Where is that scrawny prince of yours?" He looked around at the door, expecting to see the prince follow her in, but instead he saw an unfamiliar scowling, auburn-haired elf. "Who's that?"
"My father is trying to end my engagement," Gwailin muttered in Adan's ear, watching Sadron look around uncomfortably at bar's clientele. "He is forcing me to entertain Sadron here in the hopes that I'll change my mind."
"Well we can't have that, can we?" Adan said, winking at her. "Drinks on the house!" he said in his loud, deep voice, earning a cheer from the crowd. "We must celebrate the engagement of the best drinker in Gondor, Princess Gwailin! Someday you'll have to bring your prince here to see which one of you can hold your drink better."
"It will take some persuasion but I will do my best," Gwailin said with a laugh, accepting a tankard from Adan and raising it in a salute to the barkeep before taking a huge swig. "And between the two of us, I bet we could out drink this entire bar!"
Gwailin was pushed to the side as the men scrambled for the free drinks. Not that she minded, she was laughing along with them, accepting the congratulations and thumps on the back from the usual patrons she knew so well. She was rather surprised when she was pulled into a corner by the elbow, almost spilling her drink.
"Whoa there," she said, looking around and seeing Sadron scowling down at her. "What? Want a beer?"
"No," he said quietly, hand still on her elbow. "Did he mean it?"
"Sure, I spend enough at this bar, he is happy to give away free drinks in celebration. And I have a habit of bringing in a nice crowd no matter what time of day it is."
"Not the barkeep," Sadron said his scowl deepening. "The prince."
"Which part?" Gwailin said, taking a swig of beer and looking over the rim of her pint at him. She had a feeling she knew exactly what he meant, but would enjoy watching him squirm.
"Have you shared his bed?"
"Sure," Gwailin said nonchalantly, as if this was a normal occurrence. "It's quite comfortable."
"That's not what I meant," Sadron said tersely. "He made it sound…" Gwailin waited for him to find the words, silently enjoying his struggle. "He made it sound like you were bonded."
"And so we are," Gwailin said, leaning against the wall behind her. "Didn't my father tell you what you were getting yourself into?"
"He knows?"
"I am incredibly surprised that you do not. The King was loud enough when he found out."
"Even if that is true," Sadron said with a sigh. "I do not care. I love you Gwailin, and you loved me once. Why can we not go back to those days?"
"You know full well why," Gwailin said, standing upright, her own voice gaining a dangerous clip. "I was fun for a while, until the King said that you could not marry me. Don't think I failed to notice how quickly your eyes drifted onto others when you were denied my title. Or how the ladies of the court always giggled at your presence. I may be childish, but I am not naïve, and I most certainly am not blind. What did my father promise you if we were to wed? Money? Power? His throne? There is a reason you are still alone after all these years, Sadron. You are incapable of real love."
"Oh really?" he hissed back at her, tightening his grip on her arm. "And what of you princess? Breaking hearts ever since you father rejected our love. What do you get out of your 'love' with Prince Legolas?"
"I get someone who loves me for me, not my title," Gwailin replied with equal venom in her voice. "Whatever you or my father think, I love Legolas and I will marry him. Neither you nor anyone else of the Kindi can accept me the way he does."
"I doubt he feels the same," Sadron spat back. "Now that you've slept with him, you're not worth much anymore. Once he's had his fun and left you, you'll be nothing more than a common whore."
The bar fell silent as the sickening sound of breaking bone cut through the laughter and cheer. All eyes turned to the elves, one of them shaking her hand and glaring at the other, who was bent over, nursing a broken and bloody nose. In no time at all, half the bar had surrounded the injured elf, shouting threats and curses as Adan pulled Gwailin away from the furious men.
"Are you alright?" he asked, watching her nurse her stinging hand. She had put a lot of force into the blow that broke Sadron's nose.
"Peachy," she said cheerfully, smiling up at him. "You don't know how long I've wanted to do that."
"Want us to take care of him for you?"
"Nah, just scare him a bit. Don't let him leave for another ten minutes so I have time to get away," she said softly. "He is armed and a warrior, and I don't want any of you getting injured."
"That was some punch, my lady," Adan said with a grin. "And you didn't even spill your beer."
"My talents are limitless," she said before downing the rest of her drink. "Thank you, Adan, for your hospitality. I will do my best to return with my future husband in the near future."
"You do that," Adan replied before she slipped quietly out the door, leaving Sadron to deal with the angry bar patrons.
This is not going exactly as I had thought, but I am thoroughly enjoying myself, and I hope you all are too. I cackled evilly more than once while writing this chapter this afternoon. Thanks to Fil'rael for suggesting some jealousy in there. Never fear, this is not the end of it. Actually, sitting here getting ready to publish this chapter, I came up with an idea that I am totally in love with (I had another evil cackle thinking about it). Not sure when I will get around to using it, but it's gonna be awesome. I love hearing from you guys, so keep up the reviews! Thanks all!