A/N: Lyrics to ponder, Every Little Thing She Does is Magic by Sting and da Po-Po!! I mean, Police... yeah, that's what I meant… Stupid Aunt Madea's Family Reunion…
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Bold and Daring
"Prince Legolas?"
He actually winced. Every voice that wasn't Elorelei's burned against his ears. It was Filior, he looked antsy.
"Is Elorelei here?"
Don't say her name, please. Legolas wanted to say. Instead he replied, "No, she should be on the practice field." That's where she'd been ever since that morning, he began to think she'd slept out there. She'd walked out on him and he couldn't help but think he'd lost her. I shouldn't have yelled, now she'll never come back. Which was partially true. He shouldn't have yelled...
*~*~*~*
"Elorelei?"
"Yes, Filior?" THWACK! The way he paused let her know he was about to bring up something touchy.
"Did you fight with Legolas?"
She said nothing, but continued her practicing in a cold, emotionless way. "That's no business of yours, Filior."
The prince lowered his head.
"But it is business of mine," said a stern, new voice. Elorelei lowered her bow and turned around, slowly. Jayik gave her a patronizing glare, then a soft smile. "I swear, you two would fight about the weather if it suited the situation."
She would've ran to him if it weren't for Filior. Jayik had stayed handsome and strong, but he had never had that almost effeminate beauty, giving him a unique look.
"Nice to see you again, Jay," She nodded to acknowledge him and beckoned him forward. It unnerved her the way her brother hung in the shadows and Jayik knew it.
"Prince Filior, would it please you to leave us for a moment or two?" He spoke respectfully to the prince here, in case some guard was nearby. The idea of talking to the young boy like he was used to at the Castle was out of the question.
"Of course." The Prince obeyed, though it wasn't really a command.
Elorelei watched him go, sorry that she'd been so over-powering with him. She'd make it up to him later, right now, Jayik was her problem. "How'd you get away from the Castle?"
"As hard as we work? They give some vacations, you know."
She shook her head in understanding, but before she could stay on that topic, Jayik interrupted.
"So what's this about fighting with Legolas? What've you done now?" Joke though it was, it stung.
She pulled her arrows out of the target she'd been working on. "Nothing, Jayik. Don't bother this time, this is not something you can fix by a good slap."
"Still bitter about that?"
"I'm not bitter!" She yelled, feeling her temperature rise.
"I noticed," He mumbled under his breath.
"Don't get cocky just because you taught me a little humility."
He laughed. "Oh, I think any person who taught you that has a right to a little cockiness."
She glared at him, in a a stiff, cold way that sent chills sliding up his spine. Jayik was immediately silenced. She was not a child anymore and if he dared to treat her as such, without her consent, he could only imagine what she would do. Whatever was going on was not a game. "If my present situation with Legolas concerned you at all, I'm sure you would've known already." Scorn coated her voice and the calm, serious decorum she'd learned from her life as a Northerner came into effect.
How will she ever chisel her heart out of all that ice that surrounds it? "Yes, Elorelei, but-"
"No buts, Jayik. Now, if you have nothing else to say-"
"Actually, I do," He interrupted.
She looked at him icily, deciding. "Go on," said Elorelei, after a pause.
"There is a ball tonight that you are, needless to say, REQUIRED to attend. All I ask is that you wear this." He reached into his bag that he had sat in the grass and pulled out a brown parcel.
Elorelei looked skeptically at him. "Why?"
"A favor for an old friend."
*~*~*~*
"Is he mad?!" Elorelei screamed. She'd opened the package only to find her old crown, still in mint condition. Light and beautiful, but also well-made. Surrounded by semi-precious jewels, a diamonds sat in the very center of a curving silver pattern. It was the epitome of beauty when it rested on her head, but she hadn't worn it for years. "I'm no longer a princess, Eli, only Princesses wear the crown!"
Eli sighed, he knew she would overreact. "Your father said it was quite-"
"My father? My father has been arguing with Minele for days!!"
"Elorelei-"
"You're both mad!"
"Stop that. You slip in and out of your episodes of power and this is one of your out times. Pull yourself together, for a moment, please."
"Mad," Elorelei insisted once more, then settled down. She knew she could command power and respect if she needed to, but this was Eli. Therefore, she didn't need to. "Eli, how important is this ball tonight?"
"Extremely. For your image, for your father's image, for every elf that lives in our Valley, and for those that live over the East Mountains and beyond the Western Sea. You have got to show them someone impressive but beautiful, you have less than an hour to get ready, and you're still in your dirty hunting tunic. Your father is expecting to see you in the diamonds. I suggest you think of SOMETHING." He said, quickly and vehemently to stress his point.
She shuddered momentarily and Andulin's face flashed before her eyes. She wondered why for a moment, then, of course, she knew. "Okay... here's what I'll do..." She took a deep breath to steady herself.
*~*~*~*
Vandelar twirled a finger around a strand of his hair, nervously. This was a big night for him, too, and he was dressed up in a tunic of a fine pale blue that matched his eyes. It was not what he wore that bothered him, it was running over and over again in his mind what would happen when Elorelei was forced to wear a dress that gave him nightmares. There was one occasion, but he could have sworn she threw that dress out. She had to have thrown it out.
Legolas swallowed, getting impatient. Chances that Elorelei would even acknowledge his presence were very little. That didn't mean he should care for her any less. Filior sat nearby, his eyes trained on the entrance door. His shockingly white hair was pulled back in a ponytail and his robes were swept around him like clouds around the moon at night. His forefinger was curved and brushing his bottom lip while the rest of his hand held his chin. He was in thoughts so deep, nothing could've possibly stirred him except for Elorelei's arrival. So, she arrived.
Elorelei tuned out the collective gasp she heard when she entered. It was the same thing she heard on the first day she wore this dress. Her wedding day.
It was a pearl-colored gown, contrasting so sharply with her dark hair, the effect was dramatic. It was her favorite kind, silk, with a decorated corset-looking overpiece. Thin flakes of pearls and tiny ivory beads littered over it, forming on intracate pattern. Tiny, frail-looking seashells formed lines across the open back. On the front, a single diamond sat, shining in adversity. Instead of her crown, a beautiful ring of pale orange, peach colored seashells sat daintly on her head. She'd let her hair down, all of it. Eli had several maids come in and weave strings of tiny white opal beads into her braids. She looked like a vision, and Legolas could hardly bear it.
Not daring to look up, she approached her father and knelt, careful to mind her dress.
"I must, regretfully, return the King's kind gift," She said, signalling Fenra to bring it to her. He did it almost before she told him to. "I believe it is only proper for royalty to wear the crown."
Minele snorted softly in an almost approving way, but no one paid her any attention. The death glare Elorelei shot her had shut her up. Felair swallowed, took the crown from his daughters hands, then swallowed again. "You need not such a thing, my daughter, for you are beauty itself." She smiled as he rose out of his chair to kiss her forehead.
The introduction went by in a blur. All Elorelei could remember was gasps and gaping and Jayik not being there. Felair clapped and the music began.
Elorelei tried to sneak off to the side and was safe there, but only for a moment. "Impossible it is, to be a wallflower in such a dress!" Lumaeus laughed, offering a hand to his granddaughter as a merrier tune struck up. Her grandfather always knew that she liked the folk dances better than royal ones. Legolas watched with a turning stomach while she moved, smiling at her grandfather, dancing and twirling as if she were perfectly happy. She missed a few steps, but was so graceful and comfortable in what she wore, no one seemed to mind. He felt sick, his insides twisted, rebelling against the sick feeling of loss he felt. After she sat down, Elorelei talked animatedly with Filior and took no notice, he could not make out their words.
"Go and speak to him," Her brother insisted. "Please, Lori, for me if not for him."
"Filior..." She sighed, taking another sip of the fermented brew brought to her. "You promised."
"I did nothing. You sent me away before I could," He saw she was intent on her drink and not listening. "Elorelei please, he loves you."
"So did Andulin, and look what it got him." She said, sitting the drink down. "I died the day he left this world, Filly. I do not want to die again."
"Legolas is NOT Andulin, Sister. Talk to him and see." Knowing he could do no more, Filior got up to dance with a pretty strawberry-blonde across the room, leaving his sister to do as she would.
Elorelei steadied herself before walking slowly over to the person she'd been avoiding all night. He tried to be calm, but anyone could see the tension at lay behind his eyes as he reach fer her hand to kiss it. Her stomach jolted when his lips brushed her skin. "Vanesse, lyaa iirima na Elorelei." He whispered, more to himself than to her.
She smiled and fought at tears. Why was he so sweet and kind to her? Why was she so powerful and beautiful? That had been the problem all along. Neither felt that they deserved the other. Eli sat idly in his chair, willing Legolas to get enough courage to ask Elorelei for a dance.
Maybe it was this, or maybe Legolas felt he no longer had anything to lose if she rejected him, but suddenly, his fear and doubt evaporated into thin air.
He bowed slighlty and smiled, using his ears to recall what this next song was. When he did, it seemed perfect. "Would the lady like to join me in this next dance?"
She gave her usual quiet acceptance but knew he was planning something that was extremely bold.
The song was just beginning to open, but Legolas knew something very important about it that Elorelei did not. "Remember this one?" He asked, referring to the song.
She looked startled. "Eh... um... No, actually, I don't..." Her eyes wanted to flit around to see what everyone else was doing, but there were only so many elves on the floor. It struck her odd, everyone had been dancing all night.
Eli sat by himself, grinning idiotically. Casual small talk, that always throws her off. Smooth Legolas, real smooth. He thought to himself, pleased at the elf's use of his wits. Others, however, were not so pleased. Felair looked concerned, Minele looked appalled, Filior looked on the verge of hysteria, and Lumaeus looked most terribly amused.
Legolas smiled with his eyes as he noted their expressions. This was very, very dangerous ground he was treading. If she was never going to forgive him, he would be doubly sure she wouldn't forget him. His heart race increased steadily as the song grew to it's high point.
He noticed as she caught one of the other couple's looking at them in confusion. "What's wrong?"
"You're dancing... differently than the way it's usually done."
Elorelei knew she should stop asking. She knew from tone of voice, from his posture Legolas was going to do something she would not like... or would like too much. Her time with Andulin's men had taught her to read people like that. Should she give into her curiosity?
Why not? "Well, how are you supposed to do it?"
The question brought two very different reactions. One was to stop and laugh before it got too far, the other was to show her. To make her feel what he felt every time he had to look at her. He made up his mind in a split second.
"Like this," He said, pressing an arm to the small of her back and pushing her closer to him. Bad move. To begin with, Elorelei was too stunned to react, but Legolas was reacting. He stopped dancing and looked into the swirling forest of her eyes and got lost. Why did he think he could pull this off? Why? He knew she was the one irresistable force in his life. The one being who's will he would bend to indiscriminately. And he actually thought he could sweep her off her feet. Well, Legolas, you've come this far. Finish what you started.
(A/N: Yes, he is bold. But is he DARING? *crunches Doritos* ---Not claiming to own the Doritos company. By the way, I don't know much Quenya, but the basic gist of what Legolas said means "Beauty, your name is Elorelei." How shweet.)