I was going to make this two separate chapters, but instead you get one nice long one! This does mean you'll have to wait longer for an update. I still have to write the next one!
Saelhir hummed to himself as he made his way towards the palace. He was supposed to be meeting Breigel soon. She had spent the day with Aerlinniel again, getting to know the odd lady a little bit better. He rarely went anywhere without Breigel these days, but it seemed at least one individual had been waiting for just such an occasion.
Saelhir found his path cut off suddenly by the arrival of Barahen. But he was not alone. His cronies were with him, and they circled Saelhir menacingly. This was getting old, Saelhir thought with a sigh. He had had a long day, and really did not have the energy to deal with the furiously jealous Barahen. Because he was certainly furious as he glared down at Saelhir.
"What is this?" Saelhir asked, looking around at the ring of elves. He almost looked bored as his eyes returned to Barahen's. "Are you trying to threaten me?"
"You shouldn't have tried to make a fool of me," Barahen said, stepping forward, glaring at Saelhir. "I will not let you get in my way of having the princess. I know it is because of you that she rejects me."
"You made a fool of yourself, Barahen," Saelhir said, crossing his arms with a grin. Apparently Breigel's embarrassing attack on his person had hit home, so to speak. "If Breigel finds you tedious and irritating it is no fault of mine."
"I know it was just an act at the beach. She will be mine. You are a fool to think that I will just stand by and let you steal her from me unchallenged."
"Steal her from you?" Saelhir said with a laugh. "When has she ever shown you anything more than polite disinterest? Was her last message not strong enough for you?"
"She wouldn't be so hostile if you were not always in the way," Barahen hissed through his teeth, getting within several inches of Saelhir menacingly. "She may be yours now, but I can fix that." Saelhir stood his ground, watching the other elf fume with mild amusement. But in his heart, the comment stung. If only she really was his.
"What are you going to do? Beat me within an inch of my life? I admit, I may not be able to take all of you on in a fight, but it wouldn't exactly be a secret after I am brought to the infirmary after the fact. Lord Elrond would be sure to dispense justice against all of you quickly. You forget that his granddaughter is my sister-in-law."
"And you forget that I am a Lord and not to be trifled with," Barahen said dangerously. "I do not think anyone would question it if I brought you into the infirmary, claiming you were injured falling from your horse."
"Your father is a Lord. You are not. And do you think the healers cannot tell the difference between an intentional injury versus an accidental one," Saelhir said sarcastically. "Are you going to say I accidentally fell off my horse into your fist?"
"I might," Barahen said through gritted teeth. Saelhir did not get a chance to respond as Barahen was roughly pushed away from him. Both elves looked down in surprise to see Breigel step between them, her eyes burning angrily as she looked up at Barahen.
"You will not threaten Saelhir," she commanded fiercely. The look and tone she now possessed were enough to send a timid man fleeing. Saelhir had seen that look before on her grandfather's face. The king was not one to anger, and Breigel had inherited his temper. "I don't care what you are fighting about this time. Lay a finger on him and I will personally see to it that you end up in the infirmary with more than just a few bruises."
"If you wish to ensure his safety, Princess," Barahen said with a villainous smirk. "You can join me for a pleasant stroll through the gardens, and perhaps a dinner together? You have neglected me every other evening; I think it would be fair."
"I will not be coerced into anything by you."
"I think you would be wise to reconsider. Accidents happen."
"Really?" Breigel said in a low voice that Saelhir knew was more dangerous than her shouting. Barahen, who was unaware of her idiosyncrasies, thought he was winning.
"Really. It would be a shame if something happened during guard training and he was seriously maimed."
"Let me put it this way, Barahen," Breigel said in the same low voice, eyeing him dangerously. "I am the offspring of two of Arda's greatest warriors. My father can shoot a starling from the air from five hundred yards. He has single-handedly slain countless orcs and goblins, more than a few trolls, a mumak, and a fell beast ridden by one of the Nazgul. My mother spent two thousand years traveling the length and breadth of Middle Earth alone, tracking and killing untold numbers of orcs and other foul things before fighting in the War of the Ring, where she slew a mumak, just to impress my father. And then there is me," she said, standing to her full height as she moved closer to Barahen. "I am only fifty-five years old, but I am the granddaughter of King Thranduil, who led his people in the War of the Last Alliance, and I am a princess of Taurost. I have the wisdom of the Sindarin people and the ferocity of the Silvan. As hard as you may try, you could not outrun my arrows. My archery is as good as my father's and my will is as strong as my mother's. Threaten Saelhir again, and you will have three deadly foes to contend with."
There was silence around the circle of elves as she finished. It was clear from Barahen's face that he understood her message. His eyes were wide as he stared down at Breigel, lips parted in shock. Clearly, her threat was far more powerful than anything he had suggested. Without another word, Breigel turned on her heals and stalked away, leaving no room for debate. Saelhir watched her go before his eyes returned to Barahen, a satisfied smile on his face.
"This isn't over, Saelhir," Barahen said angrily when he found his voice. "You are such a coward, letting an elleth fight your battles for you."
"Call it what you will," Saelhir said pleasantly, smile still in place. "I am happy to have her fight my battles. Because I know she will win." Saelhir turned and followed Breigel, leaving Barahen in silence.
He found her quickly enough. She was exactly where he expected her to be.
"That was quite a speech," he said, leaning on the fence as he watched her take another shot with her bow. "I haven't seen such fear in someone's eyes since your mother found us trying to tame that bear cub."
"He is such an arrogant, egotistical, infuriating misogynist." She punctuated each adjective with an arrow thudding into the center of the target. With a sigh, she lowered her bow, looking over at him. "What were you arguing about, anyway?"
"You, naturally," Saelhir said with a half-smile. Breigel groaned. She was never going to get rid of the irritating elf.
"I should have shot him," Breigel said aggressively, taking another shot to vent her frustration. The arrow quivered as it buried itself in the target. "Who is he to decide what I do with my life? He is wasting his time if he thinks I will befriend him after all he has done."
"Don't let him rile you, Bree. Just ignore him."
"You're one to talk."
"I'm learning."
"I know. But you know how hard it is for me," she said, eyes still on the target as she shot her last few arrows. "I am naturally confrontational."
"I am well aware of that," he said with a laugh. "I know last week wasn't a fluke. You forget how often I was on the receiving end of your temper in our youth."
"I wish I had your patience," Breigel muttered, slinging her bow over her shoulder and going to retrieve her arrows. "Perhaps I will learn the art like Naneth, but my grandmother says I am even worse than she was at my age."
"You just need to stop causing trouble so often," Saelhir said with a grin. "That's why you get in so many confrontations in the first place."
"You sound like my mother," Breigel said, rolling her eyes as she put her arrows away. She came over and climbed up onto the fence next to Saelhir. "It's not like I do it on purpose."
"You have to admit that sometimes you do go out of your way to irritate otherwise rational people," Saelhir commented, looking up at her. "You have since you first started walking."
"Some people are incapable of taking a joke," Breigel said her lips curling into a smile. "Looking back, I'm amazed that even you could tolerate me as long as you did. I could have easily gotten you killed at least half a dozen separate times."
"And now they are all fond memories," Saelhir admitted with a chuckle. "You don't know how relieved I was to find out that you had not turned into a proper princess during our separation. I don't think I could handle you being respectable all the time. It's strange enough for short periods."
"Is that why you avoided me the first few weeks I was here?" she asked innocently, looking down at him.
Saelhir was silent, eyes unfocused as he stared straight ahead. He wasn't sure how to answer that. He knew very well why he had not spoken to her those first weeks, but was not about to tell her his real reason. Still, he couldn't lie to her.
"I was afraid that we had become different people," he said slowly. "When you walked into dinner that first night, I could hardly believe you were the same elleth that had once tackled me for suggesting you might become a proper princess someday. You are a princess now, and I wasn't sure our past friendship would mean anything in light of the years we had spent apart."
"I know what you mean. I felt the same way. But I was distraught for a long time after you left," Breigel admitted, watching her feet swing back and forth below her. "I didn't leave my room for a month. I never told you because I didn't want you to think less of me for my weakness. I never really got over the pain of our separation."
"I wish you had told me," Saelhir whispered, remembering vividly the look on her face as he rode away that day in the rain. He had nightmares about it for some time, hearing his friend's voice in his head, accusing him of abandoning her. "I would have come back. It was just hard to bring myself to face the pain again."
"I know. I just wish that I had been able to make friends as easily as you did. No one else was willing to forget I was royalty. I tried to make other friends, but I was always their princess first, not their friend. And I guess that's why I stopped writing. I was jealous. You were making new friends here, and I was still all alone. I thought you had forgotten me. When we came here, I figured you would barely remember me. I assumed you had made plenty of new memories with your new friends."
"Forty years is not nearly enough time for me to forget about you, Bree," Saelhir said with a smile, climbing up onto the fence next to her, facing the opposite direction so he could look at her better. "Sure, I had friends here, but nothing could compare with the fun we had together. I would have had the dullest childhood without you 'corrupting' me as my mother says. I probably would have just sat in her sewing room for hours, wanting to stab myself in the eyes with her pins out of boredom. Once we moved here, I had to make friends or I would have run all the way back to Taurost because I missed you and our adventures together."
This made Breigel smile as her eyes remained on her feet. Saelhir loved making her smile like that. She always had a mischievous smirk on her face, but when she smiled like that—a genuine, sweet smile—it melted his heart. He ached to tell her he loved her, but knew he couldn't. Breigel was not ready for such things as love. She was too comfortable with the way things were. And he was not going to burden her with a declaration of his feelings.
"I am glad we are friends again," Breigel said softly, unaware of the effect she had on the elf next to her. "Now that Faelon has fallen in love with Aerlinniel, I really have no one to spend time with except my parents and Elladan who treat me as a person, not a princess." Even with her budding friendship with Aerlinniel, her sorrow at losing Faelon was still evident in her voice. Yes, love was not something Breigel was particularly fond of at the moment.
"And I will always be your friend, Breigel. Time and distance will not change that. Besides," he added, trying to cheer her up. "I may need you to save me from Barahen again."
"I am happy to lend my assistance," she said with a soft laugh, looking up at him. "He did look quite terrified, didn't he?"
"And rightly so," Saelhir said, glad her mind was on happier things once more. "I too would be terrified at the thought of the entire royal family hunting me. Come to think of it, I have had nightmares about that. Generally after one of our more…adventurous outings."
"They know it is never your fault when such adventures occur. I am the instigator, as my mother says. Frequently."
"I think we need another adventure," Saelhir said, the idea popping into his head rather suddenly. "Something that would rile our parents up enormously, were we but a few decades younger."
"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Breigel said enthusiastically, eyes shining with mischief once more. "Did you have something in mind?"
"Perhaps a trek in the mountains? We can go searching for goblin tunnels and dragon hoards again."
"And maybe we will actually find something," Breigel said with a laugh. She hopped off the fence and straightened her tunic, looking up at him expectantly. "I say we start planning immediately."
"I am yours to command, Princess," he teased, leaping off the fence to stand beside her. "Where to first?"
"The library," she said happily. "First we will make a plan, then we shall tell our folks about it. I cannot wait to see the look on your mother's face!" She grabbed his hand and began dragging him towards the palace. It was just like when they were little, plotting grand adventures to simultaneous thrill the young elves while giving heart attacks to their elders.
"What are you two doing?"
"That's none of your business," Breigel said, looking up at Faelon and sticking her tongue out at him. For three days now, Breigel and Saelhir had been huddled in a library corner whenever they had free time. Their secrecy and solitude had been welcomed at first, but when Aerlinniel had noticed they were looking for maps and charts of Aman, she grew suspicious and had informed Tinwe and Icaria that they were up to something. Faelon chose the direct approach, and decided just to ask them.
"Sassy today, aren't you?" he said, amused, trying to get a look at what she was pouring over. "What are all the maps for?"
"Why do you want to know?" she countered, meeting his gaze evenly.
"Is your mother aware of what you are doing?"
"Is your mother aware of what you are doing?"
"I am far more afraid of your mother than of mine," Faelon said with a grin. "Are you really not going to tell me, your oldest and dearest friend?"
"Hey!" Saelhir said, glaring up at Faelon. "I have known her just as long as you have."
"You both are rather cheeky today," Faelon observed with amusement. "Though it is good to see you enjoying yourself, Saelhir, I am becoming increasingly concerned about your current activities. Should I be worried?"
"Of course not," Breigel said huffily. "We are both adults, we are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves."
"Sure you are," Faelon said skeptically. "Could you at least give me a hint? You've been haunting this corner for three days and my curiosity can't take it any longer."
"I am sure Naneth will tell you once she finds out. You'll just have to wait until I tell her."
"Please? I promise I won't tell."
"Ha!" Briegel said loudly, making some elves nearby look around at her in annoyance. Lowering her voice again, she continued. "You can't keep anything from my mother. She would drag the truth out of you in five minutes."
"You both are remarkably stubborn when you wish to be," Faelon commented, shaking his head. "Fine, keep your secrets. But I'm still going to tell your mother!"
Breigel stuck her tongue out again as Faelon gave her one last grin before disappearing behind a bookcase.
"We won't have long before Naneth shows up asking questions," Breigel whispered to Saelhir. "Is there anything else we need to think about before we tell them?"
"We haven't really talked about how long of a trek this is going to be," Saelhir whispered back, trying to sort out the maps in front of him so they could be returned to their shelves. "You know your parents are going to want a strict itinerary so when you are an hour late they can start riding out to find you."
"Hmm," Breigel responded in agreement. "Based on my previous trips in the mountains, I would say…two weeks? It's not like we are going that far away."
"That will probably be asking a lot. We have serious negotiations on our hands."
"We shall see."
Tinwe and Legolas sat comfortably in Icaria and Thorontur's living room, debating with their hosts what their children were currently up to.
"I get the feeling I am not going to like whatever it is," Tinwe said flatly. She knew Icaria was hoping for an engagement, but Tinwe had squashed that idea quickly. That would not explain their hours hunched over maps in the library, and though Saelhir was still exhibiting all the signs of being lovestruck, Breigel still seemed blissfully ignorant of his feelings and her own. But it had not escaped her parents' notice that her smirk was more pronounced than usual, and that she had a positively devious glint in her eyes.
"I saw Faelon not long ago," Legolas added. "He said that Breigel was rather hostile when he asked about their behavior."
"It really must be big for her to be hostile with Faelon," Icaria mused. "I thought they were doing better."
They heard a door open and moments later, Saelhir and Breigel entered the living room, pausing as they caught sight of their parents watching them.
"Were you gossiping about us?" Breigel said accusingly, noting how quickly the conversation had died upon their arrival.
"Yes, we were," Tiwne said, eyeing her daughter closely. "What have you two been doing the last few days?"
"Have you been talking to Faelon?"
"He is as curious as we are," Legolas said, smiling at the angry elleth as she put her hands on her hips.
"I suppose since you all are here we can tell you," she said with a sigh, looking at the ceiling in resignation. "We are going on a short trip."
"A trip?" Icaria asked in surprise. "Where? Why?"
"Into the mountains," Saelhir said quickly. "We wanted to have an adventure, like the old days."
"The mountains, hmm?" Tinwe said, feeling a sense of relief. She could handle a short excursion. She had feared they were planning more pranks, or perhaps thinking about going on an ocean voyage. She wouldn't put it past Breigel. "What prompted this? I can assume you have thought through most of the details considering you have been at it for the past few days?" She had made sure Breigel was well prepared for extended travel and was confident the young elleth would have thought of all contingencies.
"We were talking the other night about how we missed our travels when we were little. Now that we are older, we thought it would be fun to have an extended trip. I have already made a detailed plan of where we are going and what we will need."
"Hold on a moment," Thorontur said, frowning at his son. "You are in the middle of training still. You can't go gallivanting off into the mountains for days on end."
"I already spoke to the Captain. He has given me leave since this will be a 'learning experience' as he calls it."
It had not actually been that easy to convince the Captain to let him off for a couple weeks. Only when Saelhir had pointed out that he would learn 'real' survival skills and get tracking experience that he couldn't get in Idhrenodol did the Captain relent. The conversation had been uncomfortable enough, but Saelhir had felt the familiar burn in his ears when the Captain had said, "Your princess better be worth it. She may be nice to look at but that won't help you when you've got a pack of wolves surrounding you in some dark mountain pass." He had assured his superior that she was a very capable archer, to which the older elf had replied, "So I've heard. I've also heard how many elves would give their right arm to be alone with her in the mountains, if you catch my drift." Saelhir had chosen to ignore this last comment, and to leave it out of his story when he told Breigel about it later.
"This is all rather sudden," Icaria said, not sure how to feel about the whole idea. "When were you planning on leaving?"
"Three days from now if we can get everything packed and ready," Breigel said happily. While her parents were unsurprised by her eagerness to go running off, it was much harder for Icaria to swallow.
"Three days?!" she said incredulously. "That is not nearly enough time!"
"They will be fine, Icaria," Tinwe said, putting a hand on her friend's arm to calm her. "I will make sure they are ready. I think this is a fine idea. How long were you planning on being gone?" Tinwe really was quite thrilled with the idea. She hoped perhaps their time alone would help them work out their feelings for each other. And while she was wary about sending Breigel out on her own yet for a long period of time, the thought of Saelhir keeping an eye on her was very reassuring. Still, she could understand Icaria's concern. The two of them did not have the greatest track record when it came to adventuring.
"Two weeks."
"Two weeks?!" Icaria said, her voice getting more high-pitched as she continued. "Think of all the awful things that could happen to you in two weeks! You could be attacked by wolves your first day out, or fall and break a leg and die because no one finds you for two weeks!"
"There is no need for hysterics, Icaria," Tinwe said, staring at her friend as she breathed heavily. "This is not as bad as you are making it seem. Breigel is quite capable of healing most injuries and between the two of them I am sure they can fight off a pack of wolves." They all thought of Aerlinniel as silence filled the room. Legolas wore a particularly mournful look at the memory.
"We are not in Mirkwood or the Ithilien anymore, Icaria," Legolas said softly, keeping himself from diving too deep into his unhappy thoughts. "There are no goblins or trolls in these mountains, and the wolves will keep to themselves." He turned to the young elves with a smile. "If you provide a map of where you are going and a timeline, I will support this trip."
"Thorontur," Icaria said desperately, turning to her husband. "Say something."
"I actually think this is a good opportunity," Thorontur said, meeting his wife's eyes. "They have to grow up sometime, and it will be far safer here than if they wanted to cross the Misty Mountains."
"Am I really the only one who has a problem with this?!" she said haughtily. She bit her lip, looking at the floor, shaking her head for a moment. Saelhir and Breigel exchanged a look while they waited for her to continue. "I will let you go, but I am NOT happy about it," she said firmly, looking up at him. "I can't believe you are alright with this, Tinwe."
"Breigel has gone on trips alone before, Icaria," Tinwe said as she patted her friend's hand sympathetically. "She knows what she is doing. Saelhir will be fine."
"Very well, but I don't want you gone for a full two weeks," she said, putting her foot down. She was not going to let them go without getting her way on something. "A week. That is it."
"Naneth, the route we mapped out will take longer than that. We will barely reach the mountains with time to take the trip back with only a week."
"Good."
"Please, Lady Icaria. I promise it will be safe. No wild schemes or dangerous stunts." Icaria met Breigel's gaze, staring at the young elleth, gauging her honesty. When Breigel held her gaze steadily, no sign of her usual mischief, only a serious, responsible look in her eyes, Icaria relented.
"Very well," she said with a sigh, leaning back in her chair. "Two weeks. Not a day more!"
"Thank you!" Breigel said, her usual cheerfulness back in place. "We'll start packing now!" She started pushing Saelhir further into the house.
"Dinner is in an hour, so you both better be out here before that!" Icaria called as they disappeared. "I don't know how your parents did it, Tinwe. Letting you go running off around Middle Earth."
"They didn't have much of a choice when I got started," Tinwe said with a smile. "I was over three hundred years old and they couldn't keep me from running off if I wanted to."
"But knowing that you were out there with all the orcs and goblins and wargs, by yourself! I had a hard enough time as your friend."
"I understand, he is your baby, Icaria," Tinwe said pleasantly. "But you can't keep him here forever. I knew Breigel would wander off on her own if I didn't encourage her, so it is better to let them go and just make sure they are prepared for whatever they may encounter along the way. Saelhir is quite capable, and Breigel will make sure nothing happens to him. You were the one who wanted them to spend more time together."
"Not like this! This is crazy!"
"It will be alright, melamin," Thorontur said with a gentle smile. "Perhaps this is just what Saelhir needs to get the courage to tell Breigel how he feels about her."
"Don't get my hopes up," Icaria said heavily. "I am already emotionally unbalanced as it is."
So I wrote this chapter probably at least six months ago, probably more. Do you think it fit in okay? I made some changes, but I'm still not sure it feels right. What do you guys think? Send me a review!
WoodElfJedi: Thanks for your review! I too find myself laughing quite a bit at their antics. Maybe I should change the genre to Humor instead of Adventure.
