Author's Note: So I hurried and put up this chapter before I wrote notes to my reviewers like I usually do. A big thank you to all of my readers for reviewing the last chapter: petkt, SilverMoonrise, FollowtheSun22, FebruarySong, LotR-HP-PJ, JineteHielo, trollalalala, Aranel Mereneth, starfire341, AdalineXC, gginsc, LegolasGreenleafLove, bntjammer, SleepyHollow 5! Thank you and Love, Love!
Chapter 25: Heart Set
Thaliniel pounced on Narylfiel the moment she skipped through the door to their room. "Narylfiel," she exclaimed. "Come sit by the fire with me. Look, I ordered up a tray of pastries from the kitchen."
Narylfiel eyed her sister curiously. "Oh, Thaliniel, I don't know. I just had tea with King Thranduil and I'm pretty full."
Thaliniel sat down and patted the seat next to her. "Come visit with me then."
"Well…oh, are those little custard tarts? I love those!" Narylfiel crossed the room to her sister and popped one into her mouth before sitting down.
"How was your visit with Thranduil today?" Thaliniel asked innocently, but the charge left to her by Galadhor still weighed heavy in her mind. Somehow she had to convince the king that she was good enough for his son!
Fully occupied by the sweets now on her plate, Narylfiel glanced up with a smile. "Wonderful!" she replied enthusiastically, referring to her time with the king.
Thaliniel just had to ask, "Why do you like visiting him so much?" She, for one, could not see the allure.
Narylfiel looked thoughtful as she daintily took another bite of her pastry. "I can always tell he is glad to see me, like I am not an annoyance or a bother. King Thranduil says I make him feel young again."
"Really?" Thaliniel could not keep the surprise out of her voice. Narylfiel's comment certainly did not fit with the picture she had in her head of a stern, cold king.
"Yes, and he listens to me—not like an elfling, but like I am important. The king also tells great stories. Did you know that he fought in the Battle of the Last Alliance?
Thaliniel sipped her tea slowly, taking all of this information in, and Narylfiel chirped on blithely, enjoying her older sister's attention: "King Thranduil told me all about some of the fighting. His own father died in that battle, you know, and I could tell that he was still a little sad about that. So I told him how I wanted to be a warrior too and join the Forest Guard when I am older, and that seemed to cheer him right up. King Thranduil told me he would be honored to accept my service to the crown."
Thaliniel set her tea down and smiled at her sister. "It seems as though he has been very kind to you, Narylfiel."
Her sister looked at her accusingly. "I can hear the doubt in your voice, Thaliniel. He has been a perfect host to us, you know."
"Of course, he has, Narylfiel," Thaliniel reassured her sister, "and I am glad that you and he get along so well. It's just that he does not seem to like me very much."
Narylfiel looked at Thaliniel as if she were extremely dim-witted or slow, or perhaps a combination of both. "I would not say that, sister. He asks about you all the time!"
Thaliniel had to repress the urge for a full body shudder. "He what?" she choked on her tea.
"He just asks about you, mostly boring stuff like how you are liking the palace and what sort of interests you have." Narylfiel shrugged.
"What did you tell him?" Thaliniel asked, futilely trying to keep the anxiety out of her voice when all she wanted to do really was to curl up into a ball of despair, preferably under the covers on her bed.
Narylfiel noticed her sister's discomfort and picked up her hand and patted it. "Don't worry, Thaliniel. I know you have your heart set on Legolas. I would never say anything damaging about you to the king!"
Eyes wide, Thaliniel dropped her sister's hand and jumped up from the settee, spilling her tea in the process. "Narylfiel!" she exclaimed. "What do you mean I have my heart set on Legolas?"
Narylfiel snorted. "Don't try and hide it, Thaliniel. You're in love with him. It's completely obvious from the way you talk about him and look at him."
Thaliniel narrowed her eyes. "What did you say to the king, Narylfiel? Tell me," she ground out the last words.
Narylfiel crossed her arms and looked away. "Well, I'm not going to tell you anything if you're going to shout at me," she muttered.
Thaliniel dropped to her knees in front of the younger maiden and pulled her sister's hands into her own. "Narylfiel, please. This is serious. You are right. I do care for Legolas, very much so, but Thranduil does not approve. What did you tell him?"
Narylfiel sniffed. "I told the king that you were a wonderful older sister, loyal and true, the kind who would never hesitate to ride off on a search to find me if I was missing." Her eyes softened. "It's true, Thaliniel. You are the kind of elleth who really deserves to have a prince like Legolas."
Thaliniel took her place next to her sister and wrapped her arms around her. "Thank you for believing that, Narylfiel, but even so, Thranduil thinks I am unworthy."
"Oh, I don't know about that, Thaliniel. If he had already made his mind up, then why would he waste his time asking me questions about you?" Narylfiel pointed out. She brushed the hair out of Thaliniel's face. "He just needs to see the real you."
Thaliniel groaned. Thranduil had already seen her fall out of an upstairs window. She was pretty sure that he had seen the real her and had been less than impressed.
"I have a plan," announced Narylfiel. "I happen to know that later this afternoon, the king plans on going down to the stables. I heard him mention it to Galadhor today. You could just happen to show up there."
"That's your plan?" Thaliniel looked doubtful. "Just show up at the stables while he's down there?"
"It could be a great opportunity," Narylfiel defended her idea, "like I don't know, neutral ground—where maybe he will be more relaxed feeling."
Thaliniel doubted there was any place that Thranduil was more relaxed feeling. The elvenking was easily the most intense person she had ever met.
"You'll see," promised Narylfiel. "I am sure it will work out, Thaliniel. Legolas adores you. You should ask him to go with you to the fire circle after the ball. I overheard some of the servants talking about it in the hall the other day."
Thaliniel's face lit up. "Oh, I've always wanted to go to one of those. I heard it was like a big outdoor celebration with a bonfire." She did not mention the fact that attending a fire circle was on her List of Things to Accomplish; after all, there were some things that older sisters simply did not tell their little sisters.
A knock sounded on the door, and Narylfiel sprang up to open it, flinging the door wide to reveal a smiling Legolas.
"Well met, Narylfiel," he said with a courtly bow, which delighted the younger sister. She tugged him inside, and Legolas grinned at her eagerness.
"I told you I would come by later, didn't I?" he asked Thaliniel, and she, remembering their earlier conversation, blushed ever so slightly.
"Prince Legolas, please sit down! Have some of these delicious pastries," instructed Narylfiel. She quickly plopped down in the armchair, which meant that the only seats left were on the settee, forcing Thaliniel and Legolas to sit together. She delighted in seeing them together there, and truth be told, neither her older sister nor the prince minded the arrangement in the least bit.
"I would love to, but I really cannot stay long," the prince replied, selecting a delicate pastry from the tray.
"Prince Legolas," Narylfiel said with a gleam in her eye, "You should take Thaliniel to the fire circle taking place after the ball tomorrow. She really wants to go."
Legolas inadvertently crushed the custard tart in his hand. "What?" he gasped, his voice sounding unusually high-pitched.
"Yes, Legolas," Thaliniel joined in. "I would like to go. Remember how we talked about the fire circles when we were in Dale?
The prince's eyes softened as he remembered the time they spent together that night in the inn at Dale, the way she had fallen asleep on his shoulder; he had been able to hold her all through the night. Only then, had he begun to realize the depth of his feelings for her.
But no matter his feelings, on this subject, Legolas had to be firm. "No, Thaliniel and Narylflel. I would not take either of you to any fire circles." He paused uncomfortably. "It just would not be appropriate."
"Why?" Narylfiel interjected. "Why is it not appropriate?" She looked at him earnestly.
The tips of the prince's ears started to take on a pinkish hue as both of the sisters looked at him expectantly.
Legolas cleared his throat and folded up the sad remains of his custard tart in his napkin, which he placed on the tray. "Going to the fire circle is not a good idea," the prince reiterated firmly as he stood. "I have to go now," he said apologetically as Narylfiel's frown showed her disappointment. "And not just because you brought up fire circles!" He said with a chuckle. "I am probably already late to the Elders' council."
"Elders' council? Are they just letting anybody join these days, Legolas?" Thaliniel teased as she walked him to the door.
He smirked. "No, but I am sitting in for the king—to take notes, and that is why Galadhor came and interrupted us this morning, so my father could ask me to play secretary for him."
He drew the door shut behind them, and glancing down the hall to ascertain its vacancy, Legolas pulled Thaliniel into his arms. He traced his hand gently down her cheek to her lips as his eyes met hers. "Beautiful," he whispered before slanting his mouth over her own for a searing kiss, one that ended with Thaliniel feeling more than just a little out of breath.
"Legolas," she exhaled against his ear, for he still held her close. She just wanted more time with him—without Narylfiel, or any kind of interruptions! Her time in the elvenking's halls was almost over, and then what? Legolas would join the Forest Guard, and she would return home to a staid, boring life at the vineyard. "Do you have to leave?"
"I do," he confirmed regretfully. "When the king asks, you have to say 'yes,'" he explained.
"Even when the king is your father?" she asked.
"Especially when the king is your father!" Legolas sardonically answered. "But walk with me?"
He took her arm and led her down the long hallway, one of many in the residence section of the palace. "So, Legolas…about the fire circle…" Thaliniel suggested, hoping to talk him into it. Surely, the event could not be that bad.
Apparently, it could. "Let's have no more talk of fire circles, Thaliniel," Legolas said tiredly. "You don't know what they are—or what happens," and he did not want to be the one to explain the tradition to her.
But Thaliniel could be very stubborn, for she was not about to drop the subject, and the walk to where the Elders' council convened was on the other side of the palace. About halfway there, Legolas finally threw his hands up in exasperation. "Fine!" he told her, and pulled Thaliniel off to the side of the hall and into a small alcove hung with decorative tapestries.
"If you must know, Thaliniel, the fire circles are bonfires, bonfires held in the deep, living woods of my father's forest, when the moon is full and bright, and the elves in attendance all feast and drink and make merry!" Then the prince's voice dropped to a lower register, and he looked at her intently. "Then later, the elves whose hearts are not bound by the Valar begin to dance in the light of the fire, for their souls are lonely, and they seek comfort and passion in the arms of another."
Thaliniel's mouth formed a small 'o', but Legolas continued: "And an elf may approach a maiden and claim her body and spirit if only for the night if she grants him her favor."
She nodded slowly. "So… not appropriate, huh?"
"No," he answered shortly. "I would not take you there…I would be too jealous if any of the other elves dared to look at you." Legolas pulled her to him again and kissed her soundly. "I have training for the guard tonight and tomorrow afternoon," he said, "but I look forward to seeing you at my father's party tomorrow evening. I remain hopeful at the possibility of a dance with the prettiest maiden there…" he teased.
Thaliniel grinned. "I am sure it could be arranged," she answered with a wink. "Of course, I will have to check my availability."
"Of course," said the prince, and pressing a kiss to her hand, he left hurriedly to make the meeting for which he was assuredly already late.
So if Thranduil was not at the Elders' Council meeting, Thaliniel wondered, could it be that Narylfiel was right earlier? The king had made plans to go down to the stables? Thaliniel snorted. Some king he was, skipping out on a meeting with the 'Elders' Council' (whatever that was—but it sounded important) and forcing his son to go, so he could go have free time in the stables.
Thaliniel leaned up against the wall and took a deep breath while she pressed her hands to her face. The elleth was pretty sure her cheeks were still burning from Legolas' racy explanation of the fire circles. Who knew bonfires could be so…free-spirited?
She had to get pull herself together. Thaliniel would need her wits about her if she were going to talk to Thranduil. Last time, he had completely caught her off-guard, but this time, Thaliniel promised herself that she would not fall, or stammer, or sound foolish. She would be the epitome of grace and forbearance.
Her wanderings in the halls took her down to the epicenter of the palace, Thranduil's throne room, which was too small a word for the enormous cavern and awe-inspiring grandeur of the raised dais and hulking throne fashioned from carven antlers. As much as Thaliniel did not currently like the king, even she had to admit that the style suited Thranduil perfectly, like some kind of wild beast—all raw energy, majestic, and fiercely intimidating.
As Thaliniel stared up at it, trying to summon her courage to find him in the stables, an elf with sleek chestnut hair, who was obviously one of the Royal Guard if the sleek armor and royal insignia were any indicator, tapped her on her shoulder.
"My lady, can I be of service to you?" he asked kindly. She recognized him, for he had been one of the guards to accompany Thranduil to Dale and who had come to their rescue at the Withered Heath.
"I suppose you can," she said smiling up at him. "I was trying to find my way to the stables." As an afterthought, she added, "I like horses" and then mentally winced. Honestly, on her way to convince the shrewdest elf in the forest that she was clever and worthy of his son, and her excuse on the way was 'I like horses?' She would have to do much better than that if she wanted to win over Thranduil.
Much to his credit, the guard, who introduced himself as Althirn, showed no surprise at her odd request, but gallantly took her arm and offered his service to take her there himself because the passageways could be very confusing.
"Now," he said as they reached the door leading down to the stables, "if I take my leave of you, will you be able to find your way back?"
"Of course," agreed Thaliniel. She had paid special attention to their route on the way down. Althirn had been right—she probably would have never found it on her own. "Thank you for going to the trouble of walking me all the way here. I do appreciate it."
"'Twas no trouble to guide a fair lady," Althirn said and winked at her, "especially one who likes horses so much." He left her there by the door, and even after many minutes passed, Thaliniel still lingered outside, trying her best to raise her courage and face the king.
She peeked through a tiny knothole in the door and spied a flash of telltale blonde hair. Oh, he was definitely in there.
Thaliniel reminded herself once again to be strong—grace under pressure. She counted to three, exhaled, and swung open the door.
Author's note: Thank you for reading! Next chapter-A nice scene with Thranduil and Thaliniel! And what exactly is he doing in the stables anyway?...
And I'm sort of thinking about making my next story be a sequel of sorts to this one, except it would focus on Thranduil...what do you think? Would some of you be interested in that? Let me know!