Disclaimer: it's 10:03 at night…
A/N: I put a Mary Sue-ish description in here. Lord forgive me, for I have sinned. My beta-reader is away on spring vacation. So this is the most I can give you all. Sorry, we is working on it, isn't we precious? Yes, gollum, gollum.
Chapter Twelve: When We Dance
"ELORELEI!"
"Legolas, you're becoming hysteric-" Eli began, but Legolas silenced him with another loud shout. His bow was clenched tightly in his palm, and his quiver packed with arrows. He could feel her around somewhere, but panic had overcome him. Eli sat on a rock and rolled his eyes, Elorelei style. "Princes. Don't listen to reason." He muttered softly.
"I heard that," came Legolas's voice as he marched on through the brush, oblivious to Eli's snarky comments. "She has to be around here. Her footsteps-"
The tired healer stood up, he knew Elorelei was out there and that she was fine, but Legolas refused to listen. "What footsteps? I haven't seen anything since I followed you out of the window!" His eyes traveled upward as Legolas leapt up into a tree to get a better look at things.
"Well," he said. "You haven't taken Hunting and Tracking, now have you?" The Prince smirked and glanced around some more from his post in the tree. "Found her." He announced, jumping lightly down and running off into the forest.
Eli sat up, not bothering to yell his "I told you", and walked calmly, following the sound of Legolas's running feet.
*~*~*~*
Elorelei turned in her sleep again. The dreams had not left her at peace all night. Some were terrifying, others beautiful, others confusing, and yet still others that were mysterious. Visions of skies bluer than blue in and of itself, oceans, sheer walls of earth, forests, rivers that ran down steep hills and leapt off cliff edges as waterfalls, and a voice behind it all that whispered, "It can all be yours."
"What? What can be mine?" she asked the nameless, faceless voice.
"All." It responded. "All..." All?
"Elorelei, wake up, you're dreaming."
A voice. A voice she knew, but whose? It spoke again. She opened her eyes. Eli's face stared back at her and she sat up, leaving the dreams and the visions and the voice with no name. "Eli?"
"Yes, it's me and your knight in shining armor over there." sniffed Eli haughtily, tilting his head toward Legolas.
"Oh, allow me to stand so that I may leap for joy," grumbled te still half-asleep elf, without moving so much as a hair.
Legolas folded his arms and extended a hand to help her off the ground, knowing that in her pride, she wouldn't accept it.
"No thanks, Princey," she said, shoving his hand away. "I can stand allright, I'm not crippled." She stood up and looked at her surroundings, trying to remember if last night was just another dream. The chain with the bird on it jangled in her pocket and she swung into a tree, and she jumped down as soon as she heard it. "Hmph, so it is true. I wonder what-"
Legolas coughed and interrupted her. "Um, sorry, but we need to get you back to the Castle. They're having the Arrival of New Pupils and the dance on the same day to save time, and I'm sure you'll want a date."
"I hate dates. Nasty little fruits. I prefer peaches, or oranges. I don't want a date, I want an orange."
"That's so funny I forgot to laugh."
"Well, remember."
Eli watched them both out of the corner of his eye. Something about Elorelei's behavior was amiss. He couldn't detect what it was, but something was wrong.
"I don't need a date." she insisted again, making sure her hair was still tightly tied.
"Your brother's going to be there!"
"Your point is?"
Eli stepped in, concerned for his safety but not wanting to be out here all day. "Um, maybe if you two went together-"
His suggestion was received with a resounding, "NO!" from both sides.
"Just speculating. Anyway, can we go in please? Even if she doesn't want a date, if she's going to see her brother, she better find a proper dress."
Elorelei's face hit the ground at the word 'proper dress'. "Ugh, for the love of…"
*~*~*~*
"I don't want to."
"Elorelei, you're making a big deal out of nothing."
"I DON'T want to."
"Lori, come now..."
"Eli, if you had seen their faces… I'm not going to."
"Just let your hair down, just this once."
"NO."
Legolas banged his fist on the door. "Is she ready?" He cast an eye back to check on Berloc. The elf wore a fine dress tunic, dark green and brilliant like emeralds. Still, when Legolas asked that Elorelei have a date, he hadn't pictured someone she might actually like.
"Almost." said Eli. A gasp was heard from inside and a lot of shouting that Legolas couldn't make out. Finally the door opened. Eli's face was beaming like a candle in a dark cave. "Just a few more moments."
"Eli, don't make me do this." Elorelei begged as an awestruck servant girl put dressings on Elorelei's long hair and brushed it through.
"Your hair to most astounding, mistress, I mean, Elorelei." Her face turned bright red at the prospect of calling a royal by their first name.
"I know, everyone will stare. Legolas likes that attention. Fix his hair." She was ignored.
Soon the last clips were in place and the door was ready to be opened. Eli looked with pride on the broken but well-dressed lady elf.
"Eli, please, I'll do anything. I'll even dance! I will!" The princess moaned in her last ditch attempt.
"Go. Out. There. And. Meet. Your. DATE," said Eli sternly, then sat down and waited for her to go.
Legolas had stalled for as long as he could stall. Niqueran (who'd accepted his many apologies with a giggle) was tugging on his arm. He shouted to Eli he was leaving and left without a second glance backward.
Berloc stared up. The door closed behind Legolas just as the door to Elorelei's dormitory opened.
"Sorry for making you late, Berloc. I had a struggle." Elorelei said, grudingly with the noble stared open mouthed.
Her hair seemed like an shining, black ocean. Opal butterflies danced on waves on ebony locks when she walked and her dress looked as if she was wearing water. It fit her form easily, gracefully and fell at her feet like a waterfall. Though she wore no heels, her sandals had more opals and glittered brilliantly. Berloc grinned, thinking of one thing to complete the ensemble.
"You look horrible, go change." He joked. Elorelei's smile completed her, and she was truly, absolutely beautiful.
*~*~*~*
Elorelei and Berloc stood before the doors of the hall.
Berloc gently took her hand. "Make sure you don't walk too close to me. I don't want to be trampled when every guy in there rushes to ask you to dance."
She laughed. "No way. I came with you. I'm dancing with you. I'll fight them all off."
"You'll have quite a battle on your hands."
"Me? You're helping."
"When was that arranged?" But Berloc didn't get his answer. Elorelei pushed opened the door was greeted by turmoil of the dance. She took her first step in, and did not look back.
*~*~*~*
Legolas sat stiffly in his chair. The dance had begun and though Niqueran wasn't the best of partners, he was glad he was with her rather than talking Elorelei through the steps of a dance. He loved his friend, but a dance was not her environment.
Niqueran had found an elf that actually paid attention to her, when a sort of almost silence came over the hall and she craned her long neck to look. Legolas was too wrapped up in thoughts to notice the change in atmosphere. The music continued, but the talking had subsided to quiet murmurs.
Elorelei suddenly felt a wave of panic come over her and she squeezed Berloc's hand to let him know she was not enjoying the stares they received.
"I know, ignore them. Dance." He muttered, leading her to the floor.
She immediately resisted. "What?"
"Dance, focus on dancing. You're not alone in this as long as I'm here. When you get tired tell me."
She stopped fighting, but went nervously along, feeling her soft hair on her ankles. Slowly, the room melted away while her soul was stirred by the soft music. Without even thinking, she started dancing.
Legolas sat, perturbed, waiting for Elorelei to arrive. She was taking forever, and some couple on the dance floor must have been doing some very advanced moves because everyone seemed to be trying to crowd over there without appearing to. He stood up and went closer for a better look, but he only caught glances through the crowd. He squinted and moved closer, and what he saw made him wish he was sitting down.
A/N: Errr, time to put in romance. Very little and Legolas is not in it, so don't worry. I won't be going down that path for a while.