Author's note: Okay, Elenya, you convinced me. Here's the chapter! Hope you enjoy!
Elenya by Shelly
CHAPTER NINE
She returned to her room shortly after, managing not to run across Boromir on her way here as Legolas' words were still fresh in her mind. She set the box back onto the table and sat down onto her bed, a sudden weariness claiming her as she laid back on her bed and surrendered to the comfort of the soft covers.
She awoke slowly to the feel of a hand shaking her awake and a voice at her ear. "Lilli, wake up." Another shake more insistent this time. "Lilli!"
She opened her sluggish eyes and saw Frodo's eyes wide with fright. "Frodo, you're not supposed to be here with the rings so close together," she told him sleepily. She tried to move but her body was slow to respond to her command.
"I know, but it's Boromir," he said, tears beginning to fill his eyes. "He tried to take the ring from me! This was the only place I knew to come!"
She placed her hand on his shoulder to calm him. "It's all right, Frodo," she said as she finally managed to sit up. "I won't let anything happen to you."
No sooner had the words escaped her mouth than the door was flung open and an enraged Boromir stormed into the room, his eyes flaring from the madness of the ring. "There you are!" he shouted, his voice grating on her ears.
Frodo cried out and scrambled onto the bed behind her, earning a good laugh from Boromir. "You think she can protect you?" he mocked.
Anger coursed through her. "I will not let you harm him, and I will do whatever it takes to protect him. The ring will be destroyed in the fires of Orodruin."
"Foolish madness!" he hissed then advanced on her. But try as she might to protect the ringbearer, Boromir proved to be stronger and flung her across the room to hit the wall and slide to the floor. Then he grabbed Frodo and yanked the chain off his small neck, howling in triumph as he slid the ring onto his finger. "At last! It is mine!"
She looked up to see not Boromir standing over her but one of the hideous evil beings that she had seen during the battle of Osgiliath and in his hands he held a sword which was poised above her, ready to strike. She shrank back against the wall in fear as he raised the sword in the air then saw the blade coming down towards her, hearing Frodo's cry of despair as she felt the cold metal bury itself in her flesh.
She jerked awake at once, sitting up in her bed and shaking like a leaf on a tree in a brisk wind, feeling the tears on her cheeks and wiping them away with her hands as she tried to shake off the grip of her nightmare. She still heard Frodo's cry in her head and jumped off the bed to run outside over to Frodo's room, jerking the door open and frantically calling out his name although she received no answer. Then she heard voices behind her followed by footsteps that stopped when they saw her. She turned and was relieved to see Frodo standing there with Gandalf.
"May I ask as to why you are in Frodo's room, Lilli?" the wizard asked with a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.
She returned the smile. "I was just passing by and thought I heard something," she said instead of telling the real reason and causing Frodo needless worry.
Gandalf knew better as her eyes still held the faint light of fear in them. "Come then, I'll walk you back to your room," he said as he ushered her outside. Once they were in her room, he shut the door behind them and turned towards her. "I don't know what that was all about, but I want to know what was going on."
She sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. "After you and Elrond left, Legolas came to see me and spoke with me about Boromir and his actions at the council. He fears that Boromir may try and take the ring from Frodo."
He pulled up a chair and lowered himself into it. "He may at that. I saw the look in his eyes myself as he looked upon it, and there is plenty of anguish in his heart for the ring to feed upon. The ring tempts all who come into contact with it, and he is no different."
"It scares me, Gandalf. I saw him come into the Hall and we hid from him as we knew he was looking for me. I saw something in his eyes that I did not like as I had never seen it before. Then once I came here I fell asleep and had an awful nightmare." Tears shone in her eyes. "Frodo had woke me to tell me that Boromir was after him, and I told him that I would protect him. But then Boromir came into the room and Frodo hid behind me, but there was little I could do against him as he threw me against the wall and took the ring. Then it was no longer Boromir I was looking at but a creature all in black with a sword that he impaled me with, and that's when I woke up. I feared that something had happened to Frodo and went to his room to see if he was all right."
"And you saw he was," he assured her.
She nodded. "Thank goodness. But how am I going to face Boromir tonight after I have had such a dream?"
"You must try and get it out of your mind, Lilli, as that was all it was. A dream. Now you must ready yourself for tonight so I will leave."
"Thank you, Gandalf," she said as he rose from his seat.
He placed his hand on her head and smiled then left just as Florindriel entered to help her with her dress and hair.
Soon she was ready and she marveled at her reflection in the mirror as Florindriel had outdone herself this time, picking out a silken dress made out of a fabric that shimmered with the various colors of autumn and elaborately braiding her hair with strands of the same fabric. She heard a knock on the door and let Florindriel answer it as she smoothed her hands down the bodice of the dress, turning to see Legolas standing there with his eyes riveted on her. He was dressed the same as he was on the night of the kiss they shared and a blush rose to her cheeks as she remembered it vividly.
The elven prince was struck just as speechless at her unearthly beauty, seeming for all the world like an autumn fairy. When he finally regained his wits, he stepped forward to take her hand in his and place a kiss on the back. "Once again I have come to escort you to dinner, my lady."
She smiled. "And I am most appreciative, my lord," she replied. "But I must say that I expected Boromir to be here."
"He asked me to do the honor as he is still busy with his own needs." Then he raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps you do not wish for my company and would rather wait for him?"
"No! That is not what I meant!" she reassured him. "I am just surprised that he would send you instead of maybe Gandalf or one of the hobbits."
He smiled. "Yes, I had the same thought as well, though I do not complain if it means I will have the pleasure of your company."
Her heart warmed towards Legolas as she missed the times when Boromir would speak to her in such a way. Over the past few days, she had noticed him becoming prone to moments of thoughtfulness and she thought that maybe he worried about the safety of Gondor and of his father and brother. Rarely now did he speak to her about his feelings like he did when they had been in the White City, and she often wished that they had never left as she had been more sure of his feelings then.
But that had been before he had set eyes upon the One Ring, and she believed that even when he wasn't near it, it whispered to him in the recesses of his mind, speaking to him of what he could accomplish with it. And if the One Ring knew that she carried its enemy, Elenya, then she imagined that there was much it whispered to him that would eventually turn him against her.
Legolas saw the distant look in her eyes that meant her thoughts were wandering and he touched his hand to her cheek to bring her back to the present, and she promptly flushed in embarrassment at being caught in the act of wit-wandering. "Is everything all right?" he asked.
She smiled a small, sad smile. "Yes, it's just that Boromir used to speak to me in such a manner and he has not lately."
"Then the bigger fool is he for not lavishing proper attention on you," he replied. "In my homeland, many songs and poems would be written about your beauty."
She laughed. "Now you go too far," she said, poking him in the chest with her finger.
"It is the truth," he assured her. "It would only be fitting for one who has managed to capture my heart."
She eyed him in disbelief. "Were you such a difficult one to catch?"
He shook his head. "Not difficult as there were certainly others that I had believed I could give my heart to. But you, my lady, snatched it out from underneath me the very first time I looked into your eyes. And I realize that only one person has claim to your heart, although I feel that he does not deserve it."
She found herself looking deeply into his eyes, wondering if fate would play so cruelly wth her heart as to tear it from the one she loved only to be captured by another. Then she felt his fingers brush against the side of her neck to stop underneath her chin and tilt her head up to him, his lips brushing against hers in a feathery kiss. Her mind kept screaming at her to stop this madness before it went any further as her heart surrendered to him a little more each time they were together, just as it withdrew a little more from Boromir each day even though she fought with all her might to keep it. And that was where she realized the sticking point was as he seemed to no longer wish to take any part in their relationship as the ring took further control over him and promised him things which she never could.
He pulled away and looked down at her with eyes shadowed from desire, a desire that was slowly growing within her as well. "I guess we had better leave before someone comes looking for us," he breathed.
She nodded in reply but her gaze was fixed on his soft lips as she yearned to taste them again, and she grabbed a fistful of his silver tunic to bring his lips back to hers with a fierceness that surprised them both. She relaxed her hold on him to bring her arms around his neck as he pulled her closer against him, his hands pressing against the small of her back. She felt his hardness well enough through the thin fabric of her dress and moaned as the heated caresses of his tongue caused a similar fire to ignite at the very core of her womanhood.
They pulled apart from each other reluctantly as they heard a knock on the doorframe, and they turned to see Frodo standing there with a smile on his face, causing an answering smile to appear on their faces. "I'm glad to see that you two are finally together," he said.
She laughed and knelt down in front of him. "I wouldn't exactly say that we're together, but I suppose I'm starting to realize that perhaps it could happen."
"Then I hope that it will as you seem much happier with him than with Boromir," he answered. "And you deserve all the happiness that comes your way, Lilli, and I know that only he can give that to you."
She stared at him in amazement. How could someone so small be so wise as to see deep into the heart of her problem and reveal so simple an answer? She felt Legolas' hand on her shoulder, and she unconsciously reached up to entwine their fingers together, suddenly realizing that their futures were tied together just as tightly.
*******************
Well, did you like? I know it seems as if they may be staying together, but will they? Read the next chapter and find out! I'm so cruel! Hee-hee!
Elenya by Shelly
CHAPTER NINE
She returned to her room shortly after, managing not to run across Boromir on her way here as Legolas' words were still fresh in her mind. She set the box back onto the table and sat down onto her bed, a sudden weariness claiming her as she laid back on her bed and surrendered to the comfort of the soft covers.
She awoke slowly to the feel of a hand shaking her awake and a voice at her ear. "Lilli, wake up." Another shake more insistent this time. "Lilli!"
She opened her sluggish eyes and saw Frodo's eyes wide with fright. "Frodo, you're not supposed to be here with the rings so close together," she told him sleepily. She tried to move but her body was slow to respond to her command.
"I know, but it's Boromir," he said, tears beginning to fill his eyes. "He tried to take the ring from me! This was the only place I knew to come!"
She placed her hand on his shoulder to calm him. "It's all right, Frodo," she said as she finally managed to sit up. "I won't let anything happen to you."
No sooner had the words escaped her mouth than the door was flung open and an enraged Boromir stormed into the room, his eyes flaring from the madness of the ring. "There you are!" he shouted, his voice grating on her ears.
Frodo cried out and scrambled onto the bed behind her, earning a good laugh from Boromir. "You think she can protect you?" he mocked.
Anger coursed through her. "I will not let you harm him, and I will do whatever it takes to protect him. The ring will be destroyed in the fires of Orodruin."
"Foolish madness!" he hissed then advanced on her. But try as she might to protect the ringbearer, Boromir proved to be stronger and flung her across the room to hit the wall and slide to the floor. Then he grabbed Frodo and yanked the chain off his small neck, howling in triumph as he slid the ring onto his finger. "At last! It is mine!"
She looked up to see not Boromir standing over her but one of the hideous evil beings that she had seen during the battle of Osgiliath and in his hands he held a sword which was poised above her, ready to strike. She shrank back against the wall in fear as he raised the sword in the air then saw the blade coming down towards her, hearing Frodo's cry of despair as she felt the cold metal bury itself in her flesh.
She jerked awake at once, sitting up in her bed and shaking like a leaf on a tree in a brisk wind, feeling the tears on her cheeks and wiping them away with her hands as she tried to shake off the grip of her nightmare. She still heard Frodo's cry in her head and jumped off the bed to run outside over to Frodo's room, jerking the door open and frantically calling out his name although she received no answer. Then she heard voices behind her followed by footsteps that stopped when they saw her. She turned and was relieved to see Frodo standing there with Gandalf.
"May I ask as to why you are in Frodo's room, Lilli?" the wizard asked with a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.
She returned the smile. "I was just passing by and thought I heard something," she said instead of telling the real reason and causing Frodo needless worry.
Gandalf knew better as her eyes still held the faint light of fear in them. "Come then, I'll walk you back to your room," he said as he ushered her outside. Once they were in her room, he shut the door behind them and turned towards her. "I don't know what that was all about, but I want to know what was going on."
She sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. "After you and Elrond left, Legolas came to see me and spoke with me about Boromir and his actions at the council. He fears that Boromir may try and take the ring from Frodo."
He pulled up a chair and lowered himself into it. "He may at that. I saw the look in his eyes myself as he looked upon it, and there is plenty of anguish in his heart for the ring to feed upon. The ring tempts all who come into contact with it, and he is no different."
"It scares me, Gandalf. I saw him come into the Hall and we hid from him as we knew he was looking for me. I saw something in his eyes that I did not like as I had never seen it before. Then once I came here I fell asleep and had an awful nightmare." Tears shone in her eyes. "Frodo had woke me to tell me that Boromir was after him, and I told him that I would protect him. But then Boromir came into the room and Frodo hid behind me, but there was little I could do against him as he threw me against the wall and took the ring. Then it was no longer Boromir I was looking at but a creature all in black with a sword that he impaled me with, and that's when I woke up. I feared that something had happened to Frodo and went to his room to see if he was all right."
"And you saw he was," he assured her.
She nodded. "Thank goodness. But how am I going to face Boromir tonight after I have had such a dream?"
"You must try and get it out of your mind, Lilli, as that was all it was. A dream. Now you must ready yourself for tonight so I will leave."
"Thank you, Gandalf," she said as he rose from his seat.
He placed his hand on her head and smiled then left just as Florindriel entered to help her with her dress and hair.
Soon she was ready and she marveled at her reflection in the mirror as Florindriel had outdone herself this time, picking out a silken dress made out of a fabric that shimmered with the various colors of autumn and elaborately braiding her hair with strands of the same fabric. She heard a knock on the door and let Florindriel answer it as she smoothed her hands down the bodice of the dress, turning to see Legolas standing there with his eyes riveted on her. He was dressed the same as he was on the night of the kiss they shared and a blush rose to her cheeks as she remembered it vividly.
The elven prince was struck just as speechless at her unearthly beauty, seeming for all the world like an autumn fairy. When he finally regained his wits, he stepped forward to take her hand in his and place a kiss on the back. "Once again I have come to escort you to dinner, my lady."
She smiled. "And I am most appreciative, my lord," she replied. "But I must say that I expected Boromir to be here."
"He asked me to do the honor as he is still busy with his own needs." Then he raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps you do not wish for my company and would rather wait for him?"
"No! That is not what I meant!" she reassured him. "I am just surprised that he would send you instead of maybe Gandalf or one of the hobbits."
He smiled. "Yes, I had the same thought as well, though I do not complain if it means I will have the pleasure of your company."
Her heart warmed towards Legolas as she missed the times when Boromir would speak to her in such a way. Over the past few days, she had noticed him becoming prone to moments of thoughtfulness and she thought that maybe he worried about the safety of Gondor and of his father and brother. Rarely now did he speak to her about his feelings like he did when they had been in the White City, and she often wished that they had never left as she had been more sure of his feelings then.
But that had been before he had set eyes upon the One Ring, and she believed that even when he wasn't near it, it whispered to him in the recesses of his mind, speaking to him of what he could accomplish with it. And if the One Ring knew that she carried its enemy, Elenya, then she imagined that there was much it whispered to him that would eventually turn him against her.
Legolas saw the distant look in her eyes that meant her thoughts were wandering and he touched his hand to her cheek to bring her back to the present, and she promptly flushed in embarrassment at being caught in the act of wit-wandering. "Is everything all right?" he asked.
She smiled a small, sad smile. "Yes, it's just that Boromir used to speak to me in such a manner and he has not lately."
"Then the bigger fool is he for not lavishing proper attention on you," he replied. "In my homeland, many songs and poems would be written about your beauty."
She laughed. "Now you go too far," she said, poking him in the chest with her finger.
"It is the truth," he assured her. "It would only be fitting for one who has managed to capture my heart."
She eyed him in disbelief. "Were you such a difficult one to catch?"
He shook his head. "Not difficult as there were certainly others that I had believed I could give my heart to. But you, my lady, snatched it out from underneath me the very first time I looked into your eyes. And I realize that only one person has claim to your heart, although I feel that he does not deserve it."
She found herself looking deeply into his eyes, wondering if fate would play so cruelly wth her heart as to tear it from the one she loved only to be captured by another. Then she felt his fingers brush against the side of her neck to stop underneath her chin and tilt her head up to him, his lips brushing against hers in a feathery kiss. Her mind kept screaming at her to stop this madness before it went any further as her heart surrendered to him a little more each time they were together, just as it withdrew a little more from Boromir each day even though she fought with all her might to keep it. And that was where she realized the sticking point was as he seemed to no longer wish to take any part in their relationship as the ring took further control over him and promised him things which she never could.
He pulled away and looked down at her with eyes shadowed from desire, a desire that was slowly growing within her as well. "I guess we had better leave before someone comes looking for us," he breathed.
She nodded in reply but her gaze was fixed on his soft lips as she yearned to taste them again, and she grabbed a fistful of his silver tunic to bring his lips back to hers with a fierceness that surprised them both. She relaxed her hold on him to bring her arms around his neck as he pulled her closer against him, his hands pressing against the small of her back. She felt his hardness well enough through the thin fabric of her dress and moaned as the heated caresses of his tongue caused a similar fire to ignite at the very core of her womanhood.
They pulled apart from each other reluctantly as they heard a knock on the doorframe, and they turned to see Frodo standing there with a smile on his face, causing an answering smile to appear on their faces. "I'm glad to see that you two are finally together," he said.
She laughed and knelt down in front of him. "I wouldn't exactly say that we're together, but I suppose I'm starting to realize that perhaps it could happen."
"Then I hope that it will as you seem much happier with him than with Boromir," he answered. "And you deserve all the happiness that comes your way, Lilli, and I know that only he can give that to you."
She stared at him in amazement. How could someone so small be so wise as to see deep into the heart of her problem and reveal so simple an answer? She felt Legolas' hand on her shoulder, and she unconsciously reached up to entwine their fingers together, suddenly realizing that their futures were tied together just as tightly.
*******************
Well, did you like? I know it seems as if they may be staying together, but will they? Read the next chapter and find out! I'm so cruel! Hee-hee!
