RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: The characters from Lord of the Rings and their wonderful world are borrowed from J.R.R. Tolkien. The plotline and all other characters are copyright 2002 Emily (emi_kins@yahoo.com)
2.
Prince Legolas looked just like Isabella had imagined he would. Tall, lithe, and fair of face with the blond hair and blue eyes common to most of the Elves of Mirkwood, he gazed down at her with a mixture of authority and kindness. "Isabella of Forest River," he took her hand and kissed it gently. "I was grief-stricken when I heard the news of your mother's death. She was a delight to my father's Court and I remember her well. How fares your father?"
She was taken aback by the prince's attention. Here she was dressed in a tunic and leggings with a plain gray cloak worn over them, her hair sopping wet and dripping into her eyes. This was not the meeting her father had had in mind between his daughter and Prince Legolas. She blushed in embarrassment as she replied, "My father is well, Your Highness, though he grieves my mother's death still. He sits in yonder cottage if you and your party would like to join him. There you will find warmth and plenty to eat while I provide the same for your horses."
The prince's gaze met her own for a brief moment and he smiled. "Thank you, Lady Isabella. I for one should like to catch up on old times with Narulas. He was a great friend to the king."
"I shall stay behind to help with the horses, though I also look forward to seeing Thranduil's former captain," said the guard who stood nearest Prince Legolas. He was a few inches shorter than the prince, lean and well muscled as any warrior would be. His chiseled features were set off by eyes a shade darker than Legolas', and his long blond hair was pulled back on top with three slender braids adorning one side, denoting his high rank. He was the captain of Legolas' guard, the same position Isabella's father had once held for the king.
Legolas turned in surprise. "You need not. One of the others can-"
"I would like to, Your Highness," he interrupted.
Isabella looked at the floor and tried not to panic as she realized that he was the one who had attempted to take her weapons. Why oh why must her tongue have a mind of its own?
"Very well, then," said the prince, preparing himself once again to enter the raging tempest that blew around them.
***
"I am sorry that I called you a vile pig," said Isabella mournfully as soon as the others had gone. "I was startled, you see, and-"
"Please, Lady Isabella," he said kindly, "There is no need for an apology. I should not have been so quick to judge you as a threat, especially since we are trespassing on your father's land."
"Nay, My Lord. They who come in the name of the king would never be considered trespassers on this land. You are welcome here for as long as you wish to stay." With that she turned to a large cabinet against the far wall. From it she pulled ten warm horse blankets and began placing them gently over the magnificent creatures, murmuring soft endearments to them as she went.
"You have a way with them," he said, taking half of the remaining blankets from her and smiling. "They have not had such gentle treatment since we left the palace many months ago."
She turned to find him just behind her, smoothing one of the blankets, and smiled. "My Lord, may I be so bold as to ask your name?"
"Of course, Lady. Forgive me. My friends call me Calen." He patted one of the horses lightly on the nose.
"Lord Calen," she repeated, and he laughed.
"No. Just Calen."
"Very well," she replied. You may call me Isabella."
"But, Lady-"
"Please, Calen. Until today, I had never been called Lady anything. As you can see, my father wished to raise me outside the strict rules and regulations of the Court, so my title sounds strange to me. I feel as if you are speaking to someone else when you use it."
He regarded her with great interest as she filled buckets with oats for the horses. "As you wish… Isabella."
She stopped what she was doing, feeling his eyes upon her. "What? Why do you stare at me so?"
He looked surprised. "Forgive me L… er… Isabella. It is just that I have never met a noble quite like you before."
"And I have never met a member of the Royal Guard before, so I guess that makes us even. How did you come to be lost so far from the palace?"
He sighed and sat on a nearby bale of hay, rolling his eyes. "The prince rides far and wide seeking a wife, for his father has commanded him to marry before the year is out. We are weary, Isabella. The prince has met so many Ladies that he cannot possibly hope to keep them all straight. Persnickety, whining babies most of them are, interested only in his crown. He seeks love, My Lady. True love, not just a good match. And his father will have all our heads if we do not find him a wife, and soon."
"So it is true," she said, "We had heard, but this far out it is hard to know for sure if what we hear is rumor or truth." She looked at him. "I am afraid, Calen, that most of the Ladies here in Forest River are just as you say the others were. Most of them will have nothing to do with me, though I do enjoy watching them ride by in all of their finery. I wish that I could be of more help."
"Well," he said, "What about you? Wouldn't you like to be princess of Mirkwood?"
"Me!" she exclaimed, "My good sir knight, do I look like princess material to you?" she gestured to her frumpy leggings and slightly ragged tunic. "You have been here less than an hour and I have already called you a vile pig and failed to curtsy to the prince. I am hopeless as a noble and will never be a proper Lady. No, being the princess of Mirkwood does not interest me in the least." She paused for a moment and laughed. "Can you keep a secret?"
He nodded. "Of course."
"If I were to go to the Court of King Thranduil, I would rather be a member of his Royal Guard than a princess."
Calen looked surprised. "Can you fight, then?"
"Can I fight?" she exclaimed, "You claim to know my father, yet you ask if a child of his can fight? Of course I can fight! That is one of the reasons the Ladies of Forest River will have nothing to do with me."
"Well, that is their loss, I think," said Calen. "Come. The horses are fed and warm, and it sounds as if the rain has lightened ever so slightly."
She nodded in agreement, and moments later, the two of them dashed through the rain and wind to the cottage of Lord Narulas.
DISCLAIMER: The characters from Lord of the Rings and their wonderful world are borrowed from J.R.R. Tolkien. The plotline and all other characters are copyright 2002 Emily (emi_kins@yahoo.com)
2.
Prince Legolas looked just like Isabella had imagined he would. Tall, lithe, and fair of face with the blond hair and blue eyes common to most of the Elves of Mirkwood, he gazed down at her with a mixture of authority and kindness. "Isabella of Forest River," he took her hand and kissed it gently. "I was grief-stricken when I heard the news of your mother's death. She was a delight to my father's Court and I remember her well. How fares your father?"
She was taken aback by the prince's attention. Here she was dressed in a tunic and leggings with a plain gray cloak worn over them, her hair sopping wet and dripping into her eyes. This was not the meeting her father had had in mind between his daughter and Prince Legolas. She blushed in embarrassment as she replied, "My father is well, Your Highness, though he grieves my mother's death still. He sits in yonder cottage if you and your party would like to join him. There you will find warmth and plenty to eat while I provide the same for your horses."
The prince's gaze met her own for a brief moment and he smiled. "Thank you, Lady Isabella. I for one should like to catch up on old times with Narulas. He was a great friend to the king."
"I shall stay behind to help with the horses, though I also look forward to seeing Thranduil's former captain," said the guard who stood nearest Prince Legolas. He was a few inches shorter than the prince, lean and well muscled as any warrior would be. His chiseled features were set off by eyes a shade darker than Legolas', and his long blond hair was pulled back on top with three slender braids adorning one side, denoting his high rank. He was the captain of Legolas' guard, the same position Isabella's father had once held for the king.
Legolas turned in surprise. "You need not. One of the others can-"
"I would like to, Your Highness," he interrupted.
Isabella looked at the floor and tried not to panic as she realized that he was the one who had attempted to take her weapons. Why oh why must her tongue have a mind of its own?
"Very well, then," said the prince, preparing himself once again to enter the raging tempest that blew around them.
***
"I am sorry that I called you a vile pig," said Isabella mournfully as soon as the others had gone. "I was startled, you see, and-"
"Please, Lady Isabella," he said kindly, "There is no need for an apology. I should not have been so quick to judge you as a threat, especially since we are trespassing on your father's land."
"Nay, My Lord. They who come in the name of the king would never be considered trespassers on this land. You are welcome here for as long as you wish to stay." With that she turned to a large cabinet against the far wall. From it she pulled ten warm horse blankets and began placing them gently over the magnificent creatures, murmuring soft endearments to them as she went.
"You have a way with them," he said, taking half of the remaining blankets from her and smiling. "They have not had such gentle treatment since we left the palace many months ago."
She turned to find him just behind her, smoothing one of the blankets, and smiled. "My Lord, may I be so bold as to ask your name?"
"Of course, Lady. Forgive me. My friends call me Calen." He patted one of the horses lightly on the nose.
"Lord Calen," she repeated, and he laughed.
"No. Just Calen."
"Very well," she replied. You may call me Isabella."
"But, Lady-"
"Please, Calen. Until today, I had never been called Lady anything. As you can see, my father wished to raise me outside the strict rules and regulations of the Court, so my title sounds strange to me. I feel as if you are speaking to someone else when you use it."
He regarded her with great interest as she filled buckets with oats for the horses. "As you wish… Isabella."
She stopped what she was doing, feeling his eyes upon her. "What? Why do you stare at me so?"
He looked surprised. "Forgive me L… er… Isabella. It is just that I have never met a noble quite like you before."
"And I have never met a member of the Royal Guard before, so I guess that makes us even. How did you come to be lost so far from the palace?"
He sighed and sat on a nearby bale of hay, rolling his eyes. "The prince rides far and wide seeking a wife, for his father has commanded him to marry before the year is out. We are weary, Isabella. The prince has met so many Ladies that he cannot possibly hope to keep them all straight. Persnickety, whining babies most of them are, interested only in his crown. He seeks love, My Lady. True love, not just a good match. And his father will have all our heads if we do not find him a wife, and soon."
"So it is true," she said, "We had heard, but this far out it is hard to know for sure if what we hear is rumor or truth." She looked at him. "I am afraid, Calen, that most of the Ladies here in Forest River are just as you say the others were. Most of them will have nothing to do with me, though I do enjoy watching them ride by in all of their finery. I wish that I could be of more help."
"Well," he said, "What about you? Wouldn't you like to be princess of Mirkwood?"
"Me!" she exclaimed, "My good sir knight, do I look like princess material to you?" she gestured to her frumpy leggings and slightly ragged tunic. "You have been here less than an hour and I have already called you a vile pig and failed to curtsy to the prince. I am hopeless as a noble and will never be a proper Lady. No, being the princess of Mirkwood does not interest me in the least." She paused for a moment and laughed. "Can you keep a secret?"
He nodded. "Of course."
"If I were to go to the Court of King Thranduil, I would rather be a member of his Royal Guard than a princess."
Calen looked surprised. "Can you fight, then?"
"Can I fight?" she exclaimed, "You claim to know my father, yet you ask if a child of his can fight? Of course I can fight! That is one of the reasons the Ladies of Forest River will have nothing to do with me."
"Well, that is their loss, I think," said Calen. "Come. The horses are fed and warm, and it sounds as if the rain has lightened ever so slightly."
She nodded in agreement, and moments later, the two of them dashed through the rain and wind to the cottage of Lord Narulas.