Part 3
Elrond leaned against the door of Legolas' room, trying to catch his breath. Closing his eyes, Elrond tried to make sense of what had just happened and the emotions that were welling up inside of him. He knew he should feel insulted by the way Legolas had spoken to him and Elrond made a very serious attempt to feel insulted. Alas, he failed miserably.
Shock was one of the things he knew he was truly feeling. No one had ever been so blunt or impolite to him. It was quite astonishing. Yet, if he was honest with himself, Elrond must admit that he was intrigued and drawn to Legolas. There was something new and refreshing not only in Legolas' behavior towards him but also in the prince himself. So very different from all those with whom Elrond was closely acquainted. It would be interesting to see what Legolas was like once he was fully recovered.
Elrond briefly considered going back into the room and reassuring Legolas that his behavior had not insulted Elrond. Yet, after several minutes of consideration, Elrond decided against it. It would not be good to appear too eager to become acquainted with the young prince; it might give the wrong impression. Although, Elrond was not quite sure whether such an impression, if created, would actually be wrong.
No. He would not go in, no matter how sorely he was tempted. He would resist the urge to see Legolas. Besides, he needed to be left alone so he could rest and heal. Plus, Elrond had not lied earlier, he had things to do; although, they really were not that important but now seemed like a good time to do them.
So, Elrond went to take care of various matters of state that needed his attention. He made a genuine effort to get something, anything, done. Yet, much to his dismay, Elrond found that his attention was always escaping his control and focusing on a certain unbelievably rude prince. To his embarrassment, Elrond even found himself smiling and chuckling over what had happened. For, in hindsight, it was truly quite comical. Unfortunately, though, all this smiling and chuckling was rather uncharacteristic for the somber Lord of Rivendell. It earned him many concerned looks from his advisors with whom he was currently meeting with. Attempting to control himself, Elrond forced himself to continue with the meeting.
Yet, only half of his mind was focused on the meeting. The other half was very busy being annoyed and shocked. Elrond could not believe he was letting Legolas affect him so much. They had only interacted once. Granted, Elrond had cared for the prince for many days. So was it not natural, then, that he should be thinking and worrying about his patient? However, Elrond was forced to admit that worry was not the only thing he was feeling towards Legolas. Elrond was tempted to think of his feelings as rather improper; yet, he was unable to. He was too fascinated and interested in the young prince to even care if it was improper that he should be thinking about the prince so much.
These were Elrond's thoughts, and many other similar ones, as he attempted to accomplish many important and serious tasks. As the day came to a close and his work was all finished, Elrond found that he had no real recollection of what he had done all day. He had been much too distracted. He just hoped that he had not done anything or said anything he would regret later on.
As Elrond made his way to his bedchambers, he found himself, quite mysteriously and unexpectedly, standing in front of the door to Legolas' room. He did have a valid reason for being here though; he needed to check on his patient to ensure that he was doing well.
Knocking quietly, Elrond tried to calm his nerves. There was no reason for him to be nervous, all he was doing was checking up on his patient.
There was no answer to his knock, which caused Elrond to begin worrying. He quickly entered the room and moved towards Legolas' bed. Worrying had been pointless though, for he saw that the young prince was merely resting peacefully and had therefore been unaware of the knock.
Not one to waste a good opportunity, Elrond took several moments to observe and admire Legolas. The prince was extremely beautiful; there was no way Elrond could ignore it or the effect it had on him. Yet, it was not only the beauty that captured Elrond's attention. What he particularly noticed was the essence of strength and determination that were also a part of Legolas' features. Such qualities were very admirable and respectable. These qualities drew Elrond's interest as much as Legolas' beauty and rather unique behavior did.
Much to his surprise, Elrond suddenly found himself seated on the bed very close to the resting Legolas. Unable to resist the urge, Elrond reached out and brushed Legolas' hair away from his forehead.
Elrond looked at his hand in shock. He could not believe he had just done that. True, he did not regret it, for it had proved to him that Legolas' hair was just as soft as he had hoped it would be. But he had no right to take such liberties. The two of them were certainly not intimate and probably never would be given the tense situation between Rivendell and Mirkwood. This was not too upsetting though; Elrond was perfectly content with admiring the young prince from afar.
Feeling that he had stayed too long, Elrond rose and walked towards the door. Taking once last, lingering look, Elrond left the room and shut the door behind him.
Unfortunately for Elrond, he did not see the very happy and very triumphant smile that graced the face of a rather rude prince.
-Oh I really like the way this part ended :) Hope you did too!