*~* Then Beren lay upon the ground in a swoon, as one slain at once by
bliss and grief; and he fell into a sleep as it were into an abyss of
shadow, and waking he was cold as stone, and his heart barren and forsaken.
~ J.R.R. Tolkien "The Silmarillion" *~*
THE FAERIE GOBLET
Chapter 6 ~ A Much Needed Lesson
Alede rolled over on her side and forced her eyes closed, willing sleep to come to her. But her eyes soon popped open again, roaming across the heavy shadows of the beamed ceiling. She thought of the beams in her tower house far away in the Misty Mountains. They had been carved by the Elves of Mirkwood and held the beauty and grace of those people.
And because she could not help herself, she thought of the last time she'd been there, fifteen years ago, when she'd rescued an Elf from the depths of Orthanc.
"Legolas . . ." Memories of him sitting beside the window looking hungrily out at the sun, stirred in her mind. She remembered the sweet curl of his mouth as he laughed and had hit her with a pillow or teased her with some joke. And the strongest memory of all was of sitting beside him on a tree limb in Mirkwood as he cupped her face and filled her mind with his song.
A tear spilled down the side of her face and she turned into the pillow to hide her sobs. Because Legolas had not responded to her in so long, she was caught completely unaware when his song entered her thoughts. At first she thought it was only a memory. But then with a lurch of surprise, she realized it was real.
He was reaching out to her!
Astonishment made her clumsy as she hastily tried to focus on that distant and familiar thread of song. Eagerly she pulled it toward her, embracing his mind. She felt his pain and knew that he suffered. He was reaching out to her in desperation. But why now? Why had he been silent so long?
Hurt and confusion filled her own song.
*Why, Legolas? Why?*
He responded back to her and she could feel him struggling to communicate. Stilling her mind, she tried to decipher his emotions, opening her heart and soul to him . . .
And then it was gone.
His song ended as abruptly as it had started.
Alede gasped, reaching out desperately. She caught a few whispers of notes, just enough to know that he still lived. But nothing else. She waited for several agonizing moments, but heard only silence.
He had shut her out again, just as before with no explanation.
With a cry of anguish, Alede flung herself out of bed and down the ladder from the loft. She flew through the house and out the door. Mindless in her torment, she ran down the narrow streets, desperate to get out of the town. A shrill whinny sounded behind her, but Alede did not heed it. Neither did she heed the sharp stones beneath her feet. She ran full out, trying to escape her misery, her feelings of betrayal. Her nightdress flowing out behind her as she ran sobbing toward the south.
~ ~ ~
Faunlend whinnied with fright as Alede shot out of the house. The Elfin horse could smell pain wafting across the garden in panicky waves. She knew that the woman often carried a great sadness.
Faunlend watched as her person ran out into the street. Tossing her fine head, she moved to the half door of the stable. Nibbling at the latch on the stable door, Faunlend ignored the inquisitive mumbles of the dull horse behind her. She had no time for a beast that had surrendered his spirit to the harness so long ago.
Across the yard, the Man stomped clumsily out of the house. Faunlend laid her ears back wondering if he had caused her person's mad flight. Lipping the latch with more determination, she finally slid the bolt aside. Bumping the door with her hoof, she trotted through it as it opened.
The Man gave a shout and Faunlend whinnied again, this time in anger. He had tried to capture her with a rope once before and she had never forgotten it. Surging past him at a thundering gallop, Faunlend lifted her nostrils to the night air and caught her person's scent.
She also caught the scent of blood.
~ ~ ~
Alede fell to her knees in the tall grass of a meadow. She could run no further. Her feet were bloody from rocks in the road and her lungs heaved painfully.
I cannot live like this, she thought, bowing down to the ground and beating her fists against the dirt. Sobs raked her body and she lay on the cold earth, crying until she heard the steady drum of hoof beats through the ground.
If Baird has sent someone to fetch me. she thought angrily. But when she sat up she realized it was not a human who had come to interfere with her, but her own horse instead.
"Faunlend." Alede pulled herself to her feet as the horse slowed to a trot and tossed her head in protest at her mistress's wild flight. "I am so sorry," Alede said, reaching out to stroke the soft muzzle. "I did not mean to worry you."
Faunlend whickered softly and bumped her face against Alede's chest. For some reason, Faunlend's devotion only made the young wizardess start crying again. Throwing her arms around the horse's neck, she buried her face in her mane and sobbed.
Alede barely noticed when Faunlend slowly lowered herself to the ground, tucking her back legs against her body and stretching the front ones out gracefully in front of her. Alede moved so that her head was pillowed against Faunlend's ribs. Faunlend reached around snuffling her tear- streaked face worriedly. Then she heaved a deep equine sigh when she realized that the young wizardess had finally fallen into an exhausted sleep.
The horse lay still for the remainder of the night. Only her fine head and pricked ears moved as she listened to the night sounds and watched over her person as she slept.
~ ~ ~
Alede rode Faunlend down the road to the Inn. Baird had been fit to be tied when she had finally awoken from her bed in the meadow and made her way back to his house. Her explanation that Faunlend had been with her, and therefore that she'd been perfectly safe, had fallen on deaf ears. He'd roused half the neighbors, sending them out to search for her. Fortunately none had found her. Her mad flight had taken her nearly half way to the South Downs and it was embarrassing enough that she had rode dejectedly back into town in her nightdress at dawn with everyone watching her.
Baird had railed at her, furious in his worry at what he called reckless and unladylike behavior. Alede had apologized for worrying him, but she did not apologized for her behavior. Nor did she explain her reason for her flight. Baird did not even believe in Elves, he certainly wouldn't understand a woman who grieved for one.
Ignoring Baird's criticism she had spent an hour grooming and petting Faunlend. The horse had helped her to make up her mind. She would no longer live as she had been. Legolas was part of her past now. She would not listen for him again. She would use the small skills that Elrohir had taught her to block his song completely. Someday she would have to face Legolas again, for he had asked her and her father to come to Ithilien. But in the mean time, she would live as if he did not exist. And when she did face Legolas again. somehow she would be ready for him.
Baird was still ranting by the time she had gone inside. So she had cleaned and dressed her poor feet and put on some soft shoes and left for the inn. Perhaps the toil of limping around the kitchen to prepare his noonday meal would give Baird time to simmer down. Alede would not be treated like an errant possession.
The inn was cool and dim when she stepped inside and seated herself at a table in the corner near a window. Sunlight pooled on the wooden tabletop and Alede idly traced the whirls and knots with her finger. The wood was smooth from being washed over and over day after day.
She looked up as movement caught her attention.
"What can I getcha?"
Alede had met the pretty young woman Betsy when she had first arrived in town. The bar maid had apple red cheeks, rosy skin and an ample bosom which she displayed coquettishly. She was not very tall, but had a saucy disposition and a bright quick mind that kept her well ahead of the men who tried to flirt with her. She had been friendly to Alede when the wizardess had stayed at the inn previously. But today her tone radiated disapproval and her blue eyes were cold.
Alede cleared her throat uncomfortably. "I . . . uhm . . . is it too early to get some lunch?"
"Not sure. I'll see if Cook's got started yet."
Betsy turned quickly away and walked to the kitchen. She was back a moment later with a plate of cheese and some bread which she set down with a thump.
"Cook's only got the soup ready. Nothin' else . . ."
"That's fine," Alede interjected. "Soup is all I want."
Betsy stormed off again, leaving Alede puzzled over the woman's reaction. But she was back before Alede could reach a conclusion and thumped a bowl of soup down in front of her.
"Anything else?"
"No, this is fine . . ."
"Are ya sure?" Betsy asked frostily. "After your activities last night, I'd think you'd be mighty 'ungry."
"My activities . . ." Alede paused. Is this what the woman's mood was about? "I had a fright," Alede hedged. "I didn't mean to disturb anyone."
"Ya mean a bad dream? Must 'ave been some nightmare tae send ya runnin' out into the night, worryin' your man . . ."
"My man?" Alede sputtered. "Baird is certainly not my man!"
"Well . . ." Betsy seemed to falter a bit and looked uncertain. Her expression softened for just a second.
Oh, so that's it, Alede thought with a slight grin.
"Baird is a kind man," Alede began. "But as a healer, I never form attachments to my patients. I'll leave just as soon as his leg is fully mended. I assure you that there is nothing improper about my staying with him and there is nothing of a personal nature between us."
"But then . . ." Betsy dropped her guard a bit and moved slightly closer to the table. "I've 'eard talk that once 'e's healed you and 'e are gonna be married."
"Married?" Alede said much louder than she intended to. "Who told you that?"
"The cooper's wife, who 'eard it from Baird's apprentice, who 'eard it from Baird."
"Oh, by the Valar . . ." Alede muttered and shaded her eyes with her hand in disbelief.
Betsy took a quick glance around the nearly empty inn and then seated herself opposite Alede.
"Then it's not true?" she whispered.
"Of course its not true," Alede said raising her head back up. "I'm not in love with him and he's certainly never broached the subject with me. I have no intention of marrying him."
Alede sighed. She had noticed Baird giving her some very soft glances of late though. She had assumed it was just because he was grateful to her. Even a novice could see that his leg was healing extremely well.
Irritably, Alede ripped off a hunk of bread and pushed it into her mouth. She had very carefully explained to Baird when she'd first moved into his house that it be for the purpose of healing him only.
This certainly explained his possessive behavior.
"But 'e is in love with ya," Betsy whispered from across the table. "Everyone 'as 'eard 'im say so. That's why 'e was in such a panic last night when ya went runnin' out into the night."
"I was in a panic myself," Alede muttered sourly.
"Was your nightmare about Baird?" Betsy asked, leaning close. "I won't tell anyone if it was, cross my 'eart and 'ope tae die."
"No, it . . ." Alede shook her head. It was obvious that Betsy fancied the smithy herself. Would it be all right if she lied about having a dream? She certainly couldn't tell Betsy about sharing song. "No, I . . . dreamed about someone that I'm in love with. He lives far away and I cannot have him," Alede finished lamely.
"Really?" Betsy asked, her eyes wide. "So, if Baird purposed tae ya, would ya even 'ave 'im?"
"No. I have no love to give him." Alede froze when she realized that she was echoing Legolas' words. Is this how it felt for him? The sense of guilt and obligation that someone loved her and she could not return it? She even felt some irritation with Baird's well-meaning possessiveness. Had Legolas felt that as well?
Making up her mind, Alede leaned forward and said conspiratorially. "Betsy, I've noticed that you are quite popular with the men folk. How . . . how do you make a man fall in love with you, when he isn't in love with you? Or claims that he can't love you?"
"Ya mean, is there a technique to it?" Betsy asked, her eyes becoming very bright.
"Yes. The men here dote on you, yet you don't seem to encourage them." Frustration colored Alede's words. "I've been in love with someone for over fifteen years. He's fond of me and even at times seems to be attracted to me. But that's it! I haven't even heard from him in ages. Eventually we will meet again and I do not wish to seem the same addlepated fool that I have been."
Betsy grinned. "So . . . I tell you 'ow to get your man, and you'll 'elp me tae get mine?"
Alede returned the grin. "Deal."
The two women smiled conspiratorially and leaned close across the table, talking rapidly.
~ ~ ~
"Now," Betsy said, after Alede had explained about Legolas, " 'ave ya ever made love tae a man?"
"Yes," Alede said hesitantly, trying hard not to blush. "There was a boy in the village where I grew up. We were best friends. We used to climb trees together and hunt tadpoles and."
"And roll about in the 'ay stacks," Betsy said with at twinkle in her eyes.
"The meadow behind my parents house actually." Alede cleared her throat. I'm a healer, she chastised herself silently. *I know all about the natural functions of the body! This should not embarrass me!*
"Well then, since ya know the basics of gettin' laid, I'll just skip over that part. But I'm assuming that you know just the basics. If ya were just kids, then ya probably didn't get too fancy."
"No, it wasn't too fancy. We were fairly young and . . . uhm . . . neither of us knew what we were doing . . . really." Alede blushed as she stammered to a halt.
Betsy winked and grinned. She obviously found Alede's embarrassment amusing. Just as everyone does, Alede thought. *By the Valar! Why did Father raise me with such strict rules? And why do I still feel compelled to adhere to them? I'm amazed he ever reproduced!*
"There's different positions, ya know," Betsy said, though Alede was fairly sure that she at least, didn't know. "But we can get back to that. There's more important things than grabbin' a hold of 'is All Important."
"His 'all important'?" Alede began blankly. "OH!" She laughed self- consciously. "I'm sorry. I obviously have a lot to learn."
"Aye, that ya do. But I'll set ya straight. 'Ave no fear. Now, the first thing ya 'ave tae remember is that men like tae feel they're important. Not just important, but irresistible."
"But that's what I've been doing," Alede protested. "Legolas knows how much I care about him!"
"That's your first mistake," Betsy nodded. "I said a man likes tae feel that 'e's important. But ya canna let 'im think, that you think he is."
"So, I should play hard to get, act like I don't care about him?" Alede said uncertainly. "I'm not very good at being dishonest or playing games."
Betsy slapped her hand down on the table. "If ya want tae get your man, you've got tae play the game. Its as simple as that!"
"Alright . . . but how?"
"Well, if you're in a room with 'im and others as well, be bright and cheery with everyone else. But ignore 'im as if 'e doesn't exist. And if you're alone with 'im, be much too busy tae pay him any mind."
"That's it?"
"In a nutshell. Of course ya can throw him a bit of a glance and a smile as ya walk out o' the room. But the next time 'e sees ya, ya should ignore 'im. And don't forget to touch 'im. When I want tae capture a man, I make sure I brush against 'im. 'Course ya got tae make sure it looks like an accident, like when I'm 'andin' him a drink or something, I make sure that 'e thinks 'e got in my way. Not the other way around."
"I don't know." Alede said, slowly shaking her head.
"You can do it," Betsy encouraged. "Now once ya got 'im interested. there's ways o' keepin' 'im interested. You've got tae keep 'im comin' back tae your bed and yours only. I donna know about your Elves or not but with most men their nipples are as sensitive as yours or mine."
"What about their ears?" Alede asked eagerly, thinking of Legolas' finely sculpted ears and trying to contribute something to the conversation.
"Aye, that's a good place as well. And." Betsy glanced around at the inn, which was slowly filling with customers for lunch, and dropped her voice. "There's this little spot just behind their sack."
Alede leaned forward, listening with all the intensity she normally reserved for a discussion of medicinal plants. By the time she left the inn and rode back to Baird's house she wore a self-satisfied grin on her face.
Leaning over her horse's neck Alede said, "The next time I meet Legolas, he's in for trouble."
Faunlend bobbed her head and snorted in approval.
~ ~ ~ A/N: My apologies to those of you who are dedicated Tolkien fans. Now that I have a new Elvish/English dictionary, I realized that I may have made a mistake with Faunlend's name. "lend" may or may not be the correct word for "sweet". I seem to have conflicting information. So, if I am in error, I hope it will not detract from the story for you. I'm afraid that my attempts to learn Elvish are about as successful as my attempts to learn Spanish. Now if I just had a real Elf to talk to . . . :D
Coming soon, "Aragorn, son of Arathorn"
THE FAERIE GOBLET
Chapter 6 ~ A Much Needed Lesson
Alede rolled over on her side and forced her eyes closed, willing sleep to come to her. But her eyes soon popped open again, roaming across the heavy shadows of the beamed ceiling. She thought of the beams in her tower house far away in the Misty Mountains. They had been carved by the Elves of Mirkwood and held the beauty and grace of those people.
And because she could not help herself, she thought of the last time she'd been there, fifteen years ago, when she'd rescued an Elf from the depths of Orthanc.
"Legolas . . ." Memories of him sitting beside the window looking hungrily out at the sun, stirred in her mind. She remembered the sweet curl of his mouth as he laughed and had hit her with a pillow or teased her with some joke. And the strongest memory of all was of sitting beside him on a tree limb in Mirkwood as he cupped her face and filled her mind with his song.
A tear spilled down the side of her face and she turned into the pillow to hide her sobs. Because Legolas had not responded to her in so long, she was caught completely unaware when his song entered her thoughts. At first she thought it was only a memory. But then with a lurch of surprise, she realized it was real.
He was reaching out to her!
Astonishment made her clumsy as she hastily tried to focus on that distant and familiar thread of song. Eagerly she pulled it toward her, embracing his mind. She felt his pain and knew that he suffered. He was reaching out to her in desperation. But why now? Why had he been silent so long?
Hurt and confusion filled her own song.
*Why, Legolas? Why?*
He responded back to her and she could feel him struggling to communicate. Stilling her mind, she tried to decipher his emotions, opening her heart and soul to him . . .
And then it was gone.
His song ended as abruptly as it had started.
Alede gasped, reaching out desperately. She caught a few whispers of notes, just enough to know that he still lived. But nothing else. She waited for several agonizing moments, but heard only silence.
He had shut her out again, just as before with no explanation.
With a cry of anguish, Alede flung herself out of bed and down the ladder from the loft. She flew through the house and out the door. Mindless in her torment, she ran down the narrow streets, desperate to get out of the town. A shrill whinny sounded behind her, but Alede did not heed it. Neither did she heed the sharp stones beneath her feet. She ran full out, trying to escape her misery, her feelings of betrayal. Her nightdress flowing out behind her as she ran sobbing toward the south.
~ ~ ~
Faunlend whinnied with fright as Alede shot out of the house. The Elfin horse could smell pain wafting across the garden in panicky waves. She knew that the woman often carried a great sadness.
Faunlend watched as her person ran out into the street. Tossing her fine head, she moved to the half door of the stable. Nibbling at the latch on the stable door, Faunlend ignored the inquisitive mumbles of the dull horse behind her. She had no time for a beast that had surrendered his spirit to the harness so long ago.
Across the yard, the Man stomped clumsily out of the house. Faunlend laid her ears back wondering if he had caused her person's mad flight. Lipping the latch with more determination, she finally slid the bolt aside. Bumping the door with her hoof, she trotted through it as it opened.
The Man gave a shout and Faunlend whinnied again, this time in anger. He had tried to capture her with a rope once before and she had never forgotten it. Surging past him at a thundering gallop, Faunlend lifted her nostrils to the night air and caught her person's scent.
She also caught the scent of blood.
~ ~ ~
Alede fell to her knees in the tall grass of a meadow. She could run no further. Her feet were bloody from rocks in the road and her lungs heaved painfully.
I cannot live like this, she thought, bowing down to the ground and beating her fists against the dirt. Sobs raked her body and she lay on the cold earth, crying until she heard the steady drum of hoof beats through the ground.
If Baird has sent someone to fetch me. she thought angrily. But when she sat up she realized it was not a human who had come to interfere with her, but her own horse instead.
"Faunlend." Alede pulled herself to her feet as the horse slowed to a trot and tossed her head in protest at her mistress's wild flight. "I am so sorry," Alede said, reaching out to stroke the soft muzzle. "I did not mean to worry you."
Faunlend whickered softly and bumped her face against Alede's chest. For some reason, Faunlend's devotion only made the young wizardess start crying again. Throwing her arms around the horse's neck, she buried her face in her mane and sobbed.
Alede barely noticed when Faunlend slowly lowered herself to the ground, tucking her back legs against her body and stretching the front ones out gracefully in front of her. Alede moved so that her head was pillowed against Faunlend's ribs. Faunlend reached around snuffling her tear- streaked face worriedly. Then she heaved a deep equine sigh when she realized that the young wizardess had finally fallen into an exhausted sleep.
The horse lay still for the remainder of the night. Only her fine head and pricked ears moved as she listened to the night sounds and watched over her person as she slept.
~ ~ ~
Alede rode Faunlend down the road to the Inn. Baird had been fit to be tied when she had finally awoken from her bed in the meadow and made her way back to his house. Her explanation that Faunlend had been with her, and therefore that she'd been perfectly safe, had fallen on deaf ears. He'd roused half the neighbors, sending them out to search for her. Fortunately none had found her. Her mad flight had taken her nearly half way to the South Downs and it was embarrassing enough that she had rode dejectedly back into town in her nightdress at dawn with everyone watching her.
Baird had railed at her, furious in his worry at what he called reckless and unladylike behavior. Alede had apologized for worrying him, but she did not apologized for her behavior. Nor did she explain her reason for her flight. Baird did not even believe in Elves, he certainly wouldn't understand a woman who grieved for one.
Ignoring Baird's criticism she had spent an hour grooming and petting Faunlend. The horse had helped her to make up her mind. She would no longer live as she had been. Legolas was part of her past now. She would not listen for him again. She would use the small skills that Elrohir had taught her to block his song completely. Someday she would have to face Legolas again, for he had asked her and her father to come to Ithilien. But in the mean time, she would live as if he did not exist. And when she did face Legolas again. somehow she would be ready for him.
Baird was still ranting by the time she had gone inside. So she had cleaned and dressed her poor feet and put on some soft shoes and left for the inn. Perhaps the toil of limping around the kitchen to prepare his noonday meal would give Baird time to simmer down. Alede would not be treated like an errant possession.
The inn was cool and dim when she stepped inside and seated herself at a table in the corner near a window. Sunlight pooled on the wooden tabletop and Alede idly traced the whirls and knots with her finger. The wood was smooth from being washed over and over day after day.
She looked up as movement caught her attention.
"What can I getcha?"
Alede had met the pretty young woman Betsy when she had first arrived in town. The bar maid had apple red cheeks, rosy skin and an ample bosom which she displayed coquettishly. She was not very tall, but had a saucy disposition and a bright quick mind that kept her well ahead of the men who tried to flirt with her. She had been friendly to Alede when the wizardess had stayed at the inn previously. But today her tone radiated disapproval and her blue eyes were cold.
Alede cleared her throat uncomfortably. "I . . . uhm . . . is it too early to get some lunch?"
"Not sure. I'll see if Cook's got started yet."
Betsy turned quickly away and walked to the kitchen. She was back a moment later with a plate of cheese and some bread which she set down with a thump.
"Cook's only got the soup ready. Nothin' else . . ."
"That's fine," Alede interjected. "Soup is all I want."
Betsy stormed off again, leaving Alede puzzled over the woman's reaction. But she was back before Alede could reach a conclusion and thumped a bowl of soup down in front of her.
"Anything else?"
"No, this is fine . . ."
"Are ya sure?" Betsy asked frostily. "After your activities last night, I'd think you'd be mighty 'ungry."
"My activities . . ." Alede paused. Is this what the woman's mood was about? "I had a fright," Alede hedged. "I didn't mean to disturb anyone."
"Ya mean a bad dream? Must 'ave been some nightmare tae send ya runnin' out into the night, worryin' your man . . ."
"My man?" Alede sputtered. "Baird is certainly not my man!"
"Well . . ." Betsy seemed to falter a bit and looked uncertain. Her expression softened for just a second.
Oh, so that's it, Alede thought with a slight grin.
"Baird is a kind man," Alede began. "But as a healer, I never form attachments to my patients. I'll leave just as soon as his leg is fully mended. I assure you that there is nothing improper about my staying with him and there is nothing of a personal nature between us."
"But then . . ." Betsy dropped her guard a bit and moved slightly closer to the table. "I've 'eard talk that once 'e's healed you and 'e are gonna be married."
"Married?" Alede said much louder than she intended to. "Who told you that?"
"The cooper's wife, who 'eard it from Baird's apprentice, who 'eard it from Baird."
"Oh, by the Valar . . ." Alede muttered and shaded her eyes with her hand in disbelief.
Betsy took a quick glance around the nearly empty inn and then seated herself opposite Alede.
"Then it's not true?" she whispered.
"Of course its not true," Alede said raising her head back up. "I'm not in love with him and he's certainly never broached the subject with me. I have no intention of marrying him."
Alede sighed. She had noticed Baird giving her some very soft glances of late though. She had assumed it was just because he was grateful to her. Even a novice could see that his leg was healing extremely well.
Irritably, Alede ripped off a hunk of bread and pushed it into her mouth. She had very carefully explained to Baird when she'd first moved into his house that it be for the purpose of healing him only.
This certainly explained his possessive behavior.
"But 'e is in love with ya," Betsy whispered from across the table. "Everyone 'as 'eard 'im say so. That's why 'e was in such a panic last night when ya went runnin' out into the night."
"I was in a panic myself," Alede muttered sourly.
"Was your nightmare about Baird?" Betsy asked, leaning close. "I won't tell anyone if it was, cross my 'eart and 'ope tae die."
"No, it . . ." Alede shook her head. It was obvious that Betsy fancied the smithy herself. Would it be all right if she lied about having a dream? She certainly couldn't tell Betsy about sharing song. "No, I . . . dreamed about someone that I'm in love with. He lives far away and I cannot have him," Alede finished lamely.
"Really?" Betsy asked, her eyes wide. "So, if Baird purposed tae ya, would ya even 'ave 'im?"
"No. I have no love to give him." Alede froze when she realized that she was echoing Legolas' words. Is this how it felt for him? The sense of guilt and obligation that someone loved her and she could not return it? She even felt some irritation with Baird's well-meaning possessiveness. Had Legolas felt that as well?
Making up her mind, Alede leaned forward and said conspiratorially. "Betsy, I've noticed that you are quite popular with the men folk. How . . . how do you make a man fall in love with you, when he isn't in love with you? Or claims that he can't love you?"
"Ya mean, is there a technique to it?" Betsy asked, her eyes becoming very bright.
"Yes. The men here dote on you, yet you don't seem to encourage them." Frustration colored Alede's words. "I've been in love with someone for over fifteen years. He's fond of me and even at times seems to be attracted to me. But that's it! I haven't even heard from him in ages. Eventually we will meet again and I do not wish to seem the same addlepated fool that I have been."
Betsy grinned. "So . . . I tell you 'ow to get your man, and you'll 'elp me tae get mine?"
Alede returned the grin. "Deal."
The two women smiled conspiratorially and leaned close across the table, talking rapidly.
~ ~ ~
"Now," Betsy said, after Alede had explained about Legolas, " 'ave ya ever made love tae a man?"
"Yes," Alede said hesitantly, trying hard not to blush. "There was a boy in the village where I grew up. We were best friends. We used to climb trees together and hunt tadpoles and."
"And roll about in the 'ay stacks," Betsy said with at twinkle in her eyes.
"The meadow behind my parents house actually." Alede cleared her throat. I'm a healer, she chastised herself silently. *I know all about the natural functions of the body! This should not embarrass me!*
"Well then, since ya know the basics of gettin' laid, I'll just skip over that part. But I'm assuming that you know just the basics. If ya were just kids, then ya probably didn't get too fancy."
"No, it wasn't too fancy. We were fairly young and . . . uhm . . . neither of us knew what we were doing . . . really." Alede blushed as she stammered to a halt.
Betsy winked and grinned. She obviously found Alede's embarrassment amusing. Just as everyone does, Alede thought. *By the Valar! Why did Father raise me with such strict rules? And why do I still feel compelled to adhere to them? I'm amazed he ever reproduced!*
"There's different positions, ya know," Betsy said, though Alede was fairly sure that she at least, didn't know. "But we can get back to that. There's more important things than grabbin' a hold of 'is All Important."
"His 'all important'?" Alede began blankly. "OH!" She laughed self- consciously. "I'm sorry. I obviously have a lot to learn."
"Aye, that ya do. But I'll set ya straight. 'Ave no fear. Now, the first thing ya 'ave tae remember is that men like tae feel they're important. Not just important, but irresistible."
"But that's what I've been doing," Alede protested. "Legolas knows how much I care about him!"
"That's your first mistake," Betsy nodded. "I said a man likes tae feel that 'e's important. But ya canna let 'im think, that you think he is."
"So, I should play hard to get, act like I don't care about him?" Alede said uncertainly. "I'm not very good at being dishonest or playing games."
Betsy slapped her hand down on the table. "If ya want tae get your man, you've got tae play the game. Its as simple as that!"
"Alright . . . but how?"
"Well, if you're in a room with 'im and others as well, be bright and cheery with everyone else. But ignore 'im as if 'e doesn't exist. And if you're alone with 'im, be much too busy tae pay him any mind."
"That's it?"
"In a nutshell. Of course ya can throw him a bit of a glance and a smile as ya walk out o' the room. But the next time 'e sees ya, ya should ignore 'im. And don't forget to touch 'im. When I want tae capture a man, I make sure I brush against 'im. 'Course ya got tae make sure it looks like an accident, like when I'm 'andin' him a drink or something, I make sure that 'e thinks 'e got in my way. Not the other way around."
"I don't know." Alede said, slowly shaking her head.
"You can do it," Betsy encouraged. "Now once ya got 'im interested. there's ways o' keepin' 'im interested. You've got tae keep 'im comin' back tae your bed and yours only. I donna know about your Elves or not but with most men their nipples are as sensitive as yours or mine."
"What about their ears?" Alede asked eagerly, thinking of Legolas' finely sculpted ears and trying to contribute something to the conversation.
"Aye, that's a good place as well. And." Betsy glanced around at the inn, which was slowly filling with customers for lunch, and dropped her voice. "There's this little spot just behind their sack."
Alede leaned forward, listening with all the intensity she normally reserved for a discussion of medicinal plants. By the time she left the inn and rode back to Baird's house she wore a self-satisfied grin on her face.
Leaning over her horse's neck Alede said, "The next time I meet Legolas, he's in for trouble."
Faunlend bobbed her head and snorted in approval.
~ ~ ~ A/N: My apologies to those of you who are dedicated Tolkien fans. Now that I have a new Elvish/English dictionary, I realized that I may have made a mistake with Faunlend's name. "lend" may or may not be the correct word for "sweet". I seem to have conflicting information. So, if I am in error, I hope it will not detract from the story for you. I'm afraid that my attempts to learn Elvish are about as successful as my attempts to learn Spanish. Now if I just had a real Elf to talk to . . . :D
Coming soon, "Aragorn, son of Arathorn"