CHAPTER 37
The sudden darkness sent a surge of panic through Ivy, and her emotions shifted from edginess to terror in less than a heartbeat. Yelping, she instinctively flung herself against Legolas, burying her fingers deep into the knit of his thick sweater.
"What--what's happening?" she stammered, her heart hammering in her chest. "Is it Julien? Is he--"
Clinging to the Elf, she felt the vibration of his chest against her as he chuckled. She belatedly feared he might object to her grabbing him, but her guide wrapped both arms around her to pull her even closer.
As if that's possible? Any closer, and I'll be in that sweater with him, chided part of her mind - the part that wasn't shivering in panic.
Doesn't sound like such a bad idea. On many different levels, echoed the scared part of her, the part that couldn't even take the time to savor his embrace. Is he hugging me?
"It isn't Julien, and we are not under attack," came the low, always-soothing voice in her ear. "It is merely the weather."
"The weather?"
She felt rather than saw him nod. When he spoke again, he was so close she felt his breath on her cheek.
"The snow and wind have combined to take down a power line or two somewhere. It happens every winter." Legolas smiled, or at least his voice did, which reassured Ivy that much further.
"We are prepared for it," Elrond spoke with confidence from somewhere close behind them, and Ivy jumped as his disembodied hand found her arm. "All is well, daughter. Legolas shall see you safely downstairs while I remain behind to guard your back."
"And to take care of Julien if he decides to get nasty again?" she pressed.
"Indeed, yes." Sliding his hand up to cup Ivy's elbow, Elrond gave her a little nudge. "Off you go with Legolas. Rest assured, I shall follow in only a few minutes."
Tucking her beneath his shoulder, Legolas urged Ivy forward. "How do you feel about dining by candlelight in a medieval hall?"
"That sounds..." She tried hard to concentrate on the meaning of his words, and not just on the soothing timbre and the fact they were moving through total darkness. "It sounds amazing, actually."
Walk, feet. She made a real effort to release the stranglehold she still had on his sweater. Cashmere, remember? Don't stretch it. Elrond's back there, Legolas is right here, and have you heard? Little paint-stained you is going to get to dine in a for-real medieval hall with the Elves.
"It's beyond amazing," she decided, bravely voicing the thought out loud and shuffling her feet over the carpet alongside Legolas' much more bold steps. "This is just plain wicked cool."
If I say it, maybe it will be so. Even as she said it, she realized it was so, if she would just gather her nerve. Aloud, she muttered, "What's a little dark between Queen's Daughter and her protector, after all?"
The Elf at her side laughed again, clearly delighted with her newfound courage, while the hard-muscled arm about her shoulders urged her onward through the blackest black she'd ever encountered.
"Um, Legolas?"
"Yes, Ivy?"
"I know Elves are supposed to have fantastic night vision, but that particular talent seems to have passed me by." She waved a hand before her. "I can't see a thing."
"Not to worry," that voice purred in her ear. "Allow me to guide you, and you'll not so much as bump a toe. I promise."
"I trust you."
She was surprised to find that she actually meant it. Legolas would guide her, guard her, and take care of any nasty surprises. With alacrity, I'll bet. Giving a sigh of relief, she deliberately sank down into the unaccustomed, absolutely marvelous luxury of being cared for - and about.
Tonight, anyway, she thought, cautioning herself to not get too used to being taken care of. I'm a big girl, I can look after myself - as long as I'm not alone in a pitch-black castle with a psychopath like Julien sulk-pouting in a bedroom just back there. Thank heaven for the lords of Imladris and Ithilien.
"Turning here," Legolas murmured, guiding her around a corner before halting. "We are at the head of the stairs. The balustrade is to your right, and the first step is here. Put your left hand on my shoulder and follow me down, yes?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't see your shoulder."
"Here." Long, callused fingers took hers and guided them up to his shoulder before Legolas stepped slightly in front of her and down. His hair shifted across the back of her hand, and Ivy was careful not to clench her fingers. "And so we go. I step down, then you."
"Okay." She grinned to herself, now trying hard not to caress the hard muscles moving beneath her fingers. Very okay.
The stairs were negotiated with surprising ease, as Legolas proved to be a fine guide.
I'm not nearly as scared as I was, thought Ivy.
"I wish I had a flame of some sort," he murmured as they went. "I could light the wall sconces for you on the way by."
"Do the lights go out all the time?" she asked.
"No, only when the snows and winds combine, usually in December and January. Generators kick in automatically when the power fails. They are housed in the dwarven tunnels running beneath the old house, so their noise does not reach us."
"But it's still dark," Ivy pointed out. "Maybe the generators aren't working?"
"I'm afraid their service is limited, for this is a large castle. The kitchen's needs are served, as are certain other rooms, but we haven't power enough to light the entire house."
"So there are really no medieval nights after all?" Ivy felt acute disappointment.
"You are a fan of things medieval?" His voice told her he was laughing at her again. "Rest assured that this night - as well as no few to come - will be authentically medieval. No matter the season, our Highland nights have been dark more often than not over the past centuries. Electricity is a new invention and quite fickle during storms. We cannot run the generators constantly, but must dole out the energy as best we can until power is restored."
"What if the electricity is out for more than a few days?"
"We and the village revert to living as we did before the wires reached us."
She pondered what that might mean. "Which rooms besides the kitchen get the power? The bedrooms?"
"I'm afraid not. Upstairs, we keep the lights going only in Haldir's library and the screening room, for our modern Elves are spoiled and find entertaining themselves in this dreary place to be quite the chore. Ruff and honours, charades and whist have long gone out of fashion - for which I am actually quite grateful," Legolas added hastily, "but that leaves everyone the choice of reading by candlelight or conversing, both of which become quite the chore for everyone after only a few days of enforced companionship.
"The poor darlings," he added in a tone that was far from sympathetic. "No phones, no computers, no blueberries--"
"Blueberries?"
She felt him shrug as he took the next stair. "Some handheld device that Julien seems to think is most important? He called it his link to the outside world."
"I think that might be called a Blackberry," she ventured. "Mind you, I'm only offering the contradiction in the interests of catching you up on some modern terminology."
"I have no real idea, nor do I care at this point," Legolas said mildly. "Still, I thank you, as Lee Greenwood will have to care in a week or so. Julien called his device some sort of fruit, and now it cannot be recharged. As for the remaining modern technology favored in this castle, it can be extinguished at my whim. What a delicious sense of power that lends," the Elf added, and Ivy couldn't help but hear the note of gloating in his tone.
I'm really looking forward to this medieval living, she thought.
"And, we've arrived," Legolas announced as they reached the lower level.
Peering down the long corridor before them, Ivy saw the faint glow of candles - bright against the blackness - and heard the distant murmur of voices.
"And so you see, it is candlelight and firelight only for us downstairs." Again Legolas gave the ghost of a laugh.
Stepping once more beside Ivy, he slipped a companionable arm about her waist. Moving closer and bending slightly, he all but nuzzled her ear to whisper, "Welcome to Ithilien, Queen's Daughter."
"Oh, wow," was all she could manage. Gripping his fingers where they rested across her hip, she stared down the hallway and gave a slight shiver. "This is beyond awesome."
A candelabra floated toward them, held high by an illuminated hand, but the Elf behind the light was thrown into strangely shadowed relief, all but invisible to Ivy.
"That looks like something out of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland," she murmured, pressing a little bit closer to Legolas.
"There you are, younglings."
Coming closer, the Elf behind the candelabra grinned at them, his straight white teeth shining in the flames, and Ivy relaxed as she recognized Glorfindel.
"I was just coming to look for you," the warrior from Gondolin continued. "Thought you might like some light for the journey down here."
Legolas inclined his head. "We made it down intact, but thank you for the thought."
Glorfindel nodded, then pulled one of the lighted candles from its mount before handing the candelabra over to Legolas. "Erestor's latest feast is very nearly ready, and I nicked this off of the sideboard, so best you hurry and get it back. And if he asks where you got it, I had nothing to do with it."
He gave Ivy a friendly pat on the arm as he passed. Continuing down the dark hallway, Glorfindel paused to light the candle in a wall sconce at the foot of the stairs leading up to the second floor.
"Erestor is quite particular about his décor," said Legolas, gesturing with the candelabra even as he kept a tight grip around Ivy's waist. "Here's hoping he is still occupied in the kitchen, so we can reach the sideboard in the dining hall. I really don't want him displeased with me."
"But you didn't take the candelabra," protested Ivy.
"Makes no difference to Erestor. I have it now, and I intend to put it back as swiftly as possible." Legolas scowled. "Though I'm not sure what I can do if he's already noticed it missing."
Looking up at the Elf, Ivy nearly stopped breathing to see he was lit by the golden glow of the candle flames. His silvery hair was highlighted in orangy-reds, and Legolas' eyes were such an intense blue that Ivy felt her sense of reality tilt once more.
"I don't believe this."
Legolas looked down at her. "What don't you believe?"
"Look at the situation from my point of view for a minute, okay? I'm going to have dinner with the Elves in a dark, not-so-creepy medieval castle, and it's like we've gone back thousands of years. I'm walking with Legolas the warrior - one of the fearless Nine Walkers - and he's worried about getting in trouble for taking a candelabra in his own castle." Try though she might, Ivy couldn't help the giggle that escaped.
"I see your point." Tilting his head, Legolas regarded her silently for a long moment, until Ivy began worrying that candle-wax might drip on the arm of his sweater.
The surrealism of the situation completely outweighed the fears and concerns that had weighed her down earlier. Taking Legolas' free hand, she tugged lightly.
"Come on. Let's get that candelabra back, and then maybe we can help Erestor. I'm starving, aren't you?"
"I am, at that." Sounding surprised, Legolas lengthened his stride to accommodate Ivy's request.
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A/N: Yes, I know this is too short a chapter/update for you. Greenwood and I will get new chapters to you ASAP. Don't whimper, be brave. :) ~Wednesday