Another attempt to woo dear Nea
Into another update before long…
Rhyming away, I hope and I pray…
Check my email and hope I won't be wrong!
Where were we? Oh, elf boy made Zai stay…
In pain, he won't let her fight!
The army went after the missing dwarves,
Left Zai feeling not all was right.
Aha! That spunky she elf, Zai
Won't stay behind for long!
Off she races to catch up with elf boy…
She senses something is very wrong!
A mighty battle - five armies involved -
Fought and won with pride!
Off to find those missing on the battle field,
Legolas and Zai take a ride.
Now Zai is off to Enseir's room,
Legolas won't be left behind.
A journal is found, but left unread.
A mark Enseir left on Zai, troubles Legolas's mind.
Finally in the Golden Wood
We meet the young Estel.
Traveling back to Mirkwood with her Ada along,
Bonding is the subject on which they dwell.
At last we know Zai's answer…
She would have turned Enseir down.
Back in the woods, she sneaks up on our elf…
And tackles the handsome elf to the ground!
Let's stop for a moment, shall we?
And dwell on Nea's brilliant scene…
A touching reunion, with cheeks brushing…
Yes, all of us gals with envy are green!
But Ortholin is not all that happy!
And Legolas is jealous as well…
Here are two elves who should be bonded!
But on neither has awareness fell…
Legolas is dense and needs to be shaken,
But Ortholin forces a discussion instead.
Legolas thinks 'Adolin' is a suitor for Zai!
In marches Zai…thought she'd smack both on the head!
So Ortholin is Zai's Ada,
And Legolas knows this too.
Zeria's back on the scene, making a scene…
And Zairil after Ortholin for answers pursues.
Ortholin was an idiot…
All those years ago.
Now Zai is upset and lays down to rest..
Elf boy slips in and WHOA…
Ok, everybody raise your hand,
If you liked that scene of Nea's…
Look at the hands! Up they go!
Nea you are brilliant! We proclaim!
Tender care was taken of Zai,
And Legolas tells Zai of his fears.
Zai vows to be there and begins to weep.
Legolas confused, not knowing Enseir is the cause of her tears.
OH MY! How could I have forgotten!
Ang a father is to become!
And now here she is, the little one!
Zai holds her as she and Ang talk some.
Plotting and meddling Zai does well,
But this is her parents of which we speak.
She will do what she must to get them to talk…
Oh yay! Another update in less than a week!
Now things are getting VERY interesting…
Zai, bothered says something to our elf.
Now he has to think about what troubles him so
Will he find the answers hidden deep within himself?
The journal…the answers there lie…
Penned by Enseir from long ago.
Faced with the truth, tears fill Legolas's eyes,
And we hold our breath…he knows!
But what does he think of these things that he's found?
Will he admit to Zai how he feels?
Does Zai even have a clue, does she love him as well?
The questions continue to make my head reel!
NEA! UPDATE! Please, we beg you!
We must know what will happen next!
Without the answers, I cannot sleep!
My brain and heart are sorely vexed!
TBC
-Nieriel Raina
Chapter 50: Clear to all with eyes
"Have things been more quiet of late?"
She snorted, shaking her head. "Yes they have, oh Oblivious One."
"What?" he asked, protesting the title as he leaned against the edge of the balcony.
"My parents are in Lothlorien."
He blinked. Blinked again—looking so confused that she had to laugh. "Lothlorien?" he echoed dumbly at length.
"Yes, Lothlorien. They decided to go, and went."
"But…"
"They are not fully well, but headed down the path to peace," she replied softly. "The change he brings about in her is remarkable. She becomes an elf I could imagine wishing to know, rather than one I wish merely to avoid if at all possible."
"That is an amazing magic."
She shook her head with a slight smile. "She has her own effect on him," she countered softly.
"Oh?"
"Mm-hmm. He becomes less confident, for one thing, and seems rather unsettled—and far younger."
"Foolish and unwise?"
"I wouldn't have put it like that, no." She glanced over at him. "Are…" she trailed off, biting her tongue. With a grimace she noticed him waiting for her to finish or rephrase. "Is everything quite alright, Legolas?"
"What do you mean?" he asked softly.
If he hadn't looked so sharply from her to the activity in the courtyard, she might have believed he didn't already know. "You have been terribly distracted of recent months. It took you far longer than I expected to realize Estel was gone—nearly a month. Now—Leaf, my parents left two weeks ago, and announced their planned journey in the midst of a feast. You are not normally so troubled that you would miss such obvious things."
"Not to offend, Zairil, but your parents are not my biggest concern, any more than Lost Kings are."
"And what is your biggest concern, prince-ling? Your father has not that claim upon you—I've seen him looking at you with a faint, puzzled worry in his eyes. It is not, as I've told others, the duties of crowned prince weighing upon you—you took over the duties if not the title often enough when Enseir was out of the palace."
With a soft sigh, he inclined his head. "Correct as ever you seem to be, when it concerns me."
He fell into a thoughtful silence, which stretched until she was too impatient to let it stretch any farther. "And?"
He smiled ruefully, shaking his head. "And that which bothers me is something which I must work out on my own."
"Must you? You're taking a terribly long time about it, you know."
"What is time to the elves, Zairil?"
"We may not be mortal, but that doesn't mean our patience is endless."
"Especially yours."
"As if you'd wait forever if our situations were reversed." She frowned as a dark shadow fluttered through his eyes. "Leaf?"
He caught the hand she'd reached towards his cheek, and slowly turned it, kissing her palm. His gaze was intense for a long moment before he released her, stepping back slightly. "I cannot speak on it with you, Zairil. I simply cannot."
"Then if not me, Angolar?" She frowned. "He has been admittedly distracted with Tinuviel, especially as she begins to speak little words, but he would still listen."
He smiled slightly, and she could see him gearing up to dismiss the option.
"Or if not Angolar, then what of your father? Or Tralied? Or Agrithan? All have known you all your life, and the Commanders have taught and led you in times past. If it is an outside opinion you need, then talk to them."
"And if I would rather simply figure things out on my own?"
"If you can't hurry things up, I won't allow it—I'll pester you terribly if you're forever so flighty." She studied his pose for a long moment, and then sighed, her eyes downcast, focusing on her lax fingers rather than the games being played below. "Whatever I've done to make you step away all the time, I am sorry," she added at last, before turning to leave him in peace.
Bands of flesh wrapped her waist and shoulders before she made it three steps, pulling her back against a solid body. "Zairil," he whispered softly, and in the tortured tones he bound her to listen. "You do nothing save distract me terribly. That which I am thinking about is something that is troubling to me, and I would gladly take the distraction you provide and ignore it as I have for years. But I need to work things out, orc-ling, and sooner rather than later."
She was perfectly still for a moment, and then relaxed against him, her acceptance bowing his head beside hers. She shivered at a light kiss to her nape, and placed her fingers over those at her waist. "You cannot think at certain times and allow yourself a slight distraction on occasion?"
He smiled, shaking his head. "I do not believe I could, Zai. Else I would have been doing so. I…" With a sigh, he closed his eyes. "I did not mean to hurt you."
"Of course not," she agreed without pause, turning to face him.
He winced, seeing in stormy eyes that he had done so, anyway. "I will speak with those you have suggested, Zai, until I know the solution whose lack has been troubling me."
She inclined her head in agreement, and slowly eased away, feeling some reluctance in the arms around her before she was freed.
Legolas closed his eyes and exhaled sharply when she was out of sight, shaking his head. Well, as embarrassing as it was, he would have to seek the advice of those older, and hopefully wiser, than he was.
Angolar would be one of the easiest to talk to—not as close as they had been, but still far closer than either of the commanders… and the discussion with his father would be nerve-wracking, no matter how at ease his father tried to make him.
When he reached the rooms Angolar and Sanieth had taken after the war, it swung open at his soft attempt to knock.
Angolar looked up, and smiled wearily. "Tinuviel absolutely refused to settle down," he murmured softly.
"You look like you could use a week's worth of sleep, yourself," Legolas mused, looking at the small elf who had apparently fallen asleep in the midst of playing, as she was surrounded by small toys.
"A week of sleep… what's sleep, again? I keep hearing wonderful things about it, but I simply can't remember…"
Legolas chuckled softly and drew a chair up across from where Angolar was wearily sprawled in one.
Angolar studied him for a while, his eyes growing more alert, though he didn't move. "What has brought you here, old friend?"
Legolas snorted. "Is it so obvious?"
"That you seek an ear to listen, or that you are troubled? Yes, and yes. At least to those who know you well."
"She knows me very well."
"This concerns Zai, then?"
"I suppose so… no, I know so."
"What about her, then?"
"More about me, concerning her."
Angolar blinked. "Come again?"
Legolas sighed. "How would you say—from having known us, watched us—how would you say I feel about her?"
Angolar's frown was small and swift to fade, but Legolas caught it. "That is… difficult. If you had asked before our time was up, I would have answered quite simply that she was the best friend either of us ever had—if I was wise enough, I would have thrown in that she was a better friend to each of us than we were to each other, as we learned quickly enough when she was in Lothlorien."
"And if I asked now?"
He made a face. "Now, it is more difficult. She is still your best friend, and a dear one—that is clear to all with eyes. If that is all she is, I cannot say."
"Why can't you?"
He smiled faintly, and shook his head. "If I were to watch you, unknowing of the past, then I would have assumed you were bound. You share the closeness of centuries of intimacy. Knowing the past, I know that that much is true—you have been close for all but a few decades of your lives, so such intimacy is to be expected. How you truly feel about her, whether simply as a very dear friend or as one would imagine to watch you two together, I cannot say… and that you are here asking me suggests you can't, either."
Legolas smiled ruefully, and shook his head. "I am jealously protective of her."
"You were always protective of her."
"But to the point of not liking her dear father, because he was close to her?"
Angolar lifted a brow. "That is…"
"Confusing," Legolas inserted, crossing his arms over his chest. He shifted after a moment, rubbing his temples with one hand. "I don't know if my love for her is that of a husband for his wife, or merely that of a dear friend. My jealousy might be explained away as a fear of abandonment, though that makes me sound rather pathetic, true as it is…"
"But it may not be truly all that there is to the matter."
"No," he agreed quietly.
Angolar watched Tinuviel for a long moment, and finally shook his head. "I cannot tell you your heart, Legolas. No one can."
"I know… but I promised her I would seek council and advice, from you, and three others."
"Why on Middle-Earth would you do that?"
"I have been avoiding her, trying to think about this without letting her know the question is even within me. I am thrown into utter confusion and turmoil when she is near, when she touches me, and yet… I am calmed, comforted." He shook his head. "I cannot think with that riot going on."
Angolar chuckled. "I can't imagine so." He decided to bite his tongue—it would not do for Legolas to know he'd felt the same way being near Sanieth, when they were courting.
It was dreadfully amusing, though.
And also a bit heartening—he could think of no other better suited for either of them, and as close as they already were, it would take little for them to go from where they were to where they could be.
