(A/N: WHOOP WHOOP!! I'm back! Miss me? Of course not, but anyway, we're moving right along. WOOT! I will upload the chapter with bolds and italics in a little while. For now, you must GUESS where they are!! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!! Oh, and beware. Elorelei and Legolas have a kind of cutely playful relationship. I think it's adorable, but eh. As Minele would put it, it's not "befitting of a proper elf." But we all hate Minele, now don't we?)

Chapter Thirty: Rumors

Time rolled on smoothly after that. Weeks blended into months and the end of the first year was upon then. Legolas put the thoughts of her leaving out of his mind for as long as he could. Everything would be okay. Like today, for example. Today would be a good day... he hoped.

Legolas rapped on Elorelei's door. It was almost noon and no one had seen her around the palace. They all assumed she was still in bed. She was. Not that Legolas blamed her. They'd been out very late last night. He was usually an early riser, but had slept until the sun was halfway risen into the sky. Even so, they had been out in her forests until dawn. Running through the trees, flying, talking, and savoring each other's company. No one answered his knock, so he did it again.

There was a small grunt of response from inside the room.

Legolas knocked once more.

"Come in already, I'm not moving."

The Prince smiled and pushed the door open. "Tired, are we?"

Elorelei sneered and pulled the blankets over her head. "You needn't look so pleased with yourself."

He laughed and came to sit on the bed. "Eli wants to talk with you."

She yawned, the sound muffled beneath the coverings. "About what?"

"Let me see your face and I'll tell you."

The blankets rustled and Elorelei's eyes came into view. Legolas grinned at the smile in them, then pulled the rest of the blankets away.

Elorelei blinked. "Well? Aren't you going to tell me?"

Legolas was still grinning. "Okay, I'll tell you... I haven't the faintest idea."

Elorelei yanked the blankets back up over her. "You wretched brat prince." She said without conviction. Underneath the blankets, she felt a heavy body lay down across her stomach. "I'll say it again. You wretched brat prince."

He laughed but didn't move. "You don't want to get up? I'll make sure you don't."

She struggled against him for a while, his muscle density being more than hers, but in the end, a poke in the ribs got him off. "That ought to teach you, Princey."

"I've learned nothing, Princess,"said Legolas stubbornly. "Now come. You've missed breakfast. For you to miss lunch goes against all the laws of nature."

Elorelei shook her head in an amused gesture and pushed a wave of hair out of her way. "I've sword fighting to practice with Filior in a few hours anyway. I'll deal with Eli before then." She conceded, making to get out of the bed. Then she looked at Legolas, a mischievous look in his ice blue eyes. "Legolas Greenleaf, if you don't leave at once..."

He gave a small laugh and kissed her lightly. "I'm going. I'll wait for you."

Elorelei's eyes flickered. "I know."

*~*~*~*

Eli covered his ears while the swordplay went on. Elorelei would be out there soon, but he could not stand that clashing metal. The former princess told him constantly that it wasn't so bad, but to him it was. Battle was not his area of expertise and he would never want it to be. Death was an art he wanted no part of.

"Don't know how you stand it..." He mumbled once again.

"Eli, please tell me what I'm doing here before I just leave."

"Where were you last night?"

Elorelei started for a second, silent. Then, to Eli's disdain, she burst out laughing.

"I'm being serious-" He tried to say, but she kept right on laughing, hugging her sides as if they would split any minute.

She finally stopped several minutes later, wiping her eyes and sighing. "No, really, Eli. What's this about?"

He looked at her. "Minele is causing problems."

"I'm not surprised, it's not as if she has anything better to do." Elorelei muttered.

"Elorelei, this could mean trouble for you."

"Oh, it's fine. Trouble and I good friends."

Eli glared while Elorelei smiled calmly, angel dust sprinkled on her face. She realized she was angering him and her eyes began to look saddened and ashamed, hiding the mischief that lay just beneath them.

Her huge green eyes looking for an acceptance of her silent apology won Eli over. They always had, which was one of the first reasons she attached to Eli like an older brother. When it came down to it, if she wanted something badly enough, he could not, or would not, refuse her. He remembered when he'd pet her head and show her the basics of healing. he remembered when she looked to him for everything she didn't get from her father, which wasn't much, but it seemed a lot to him then. All of those memories were encased in those teasing yet apologetic green eyes.

"All right, all right, you can stop with the eyes! I understand you're a little giddy at the moment, but please listen, just for a minute."

She grinned. "Yessir."

"Minele is spreading rumors, rumors that are affecting your current position. You may be discharcged from your duty of going to the mortal realm."

The ice cool attitude of the she-elf came back. "Nonsense. I survived The Light and they cannot call upon it again for several thousand years. No one would let Minele waste that plus two elven lives and the strength of all our sorcerers over rumors." She said curtly and quietly. "She has no power-"

Eli stopped her there. "Oh, but she does, Elorelei. She just doesn't use it." Elorelei raised an eyebrow and made a motion with her hand allowing him to continue. The healer was instantly reminded of a queen, but wisely didn't tell her so. "I'm afraid the nature of these rumors question your honor and your discipline." He said delicately. She was not going to like this, or worse, she would like it too much.

"And what's that? Have I supposedly killed innocent people? Did I burn a village to the ground? Or perhaps she thinks it was I who killed Andulin?"

The other elf shook his head, looking at his hands now. Why did he want to tell her this again? He swallowed once, then again before speaking, with many pauses. "She... made the... well, suggestion, I guess, that you and Legolas are possibly... engaging in... disreputable activities."

Elorelei gave him a very long look, as if she were trying to decide if that meant what she thought it meant. Then she said the one, evil word. "Meaning?..."

He sighed. "SheistellingthecourtthatyouhavebeeninvolvedinactsoffornicationwithLegolasandthatyouarenotinafavorablepositiontotakeyourresponsibiltyandjourneytothemortalrealm." He said swiftly, hoping she wouldn't catch most of it.

She did catch it, every last word. It came into her mind that she should slap someone, Minele preferably, but no one was available. So she settled for turning off her emotion of anger and taking a good long time to contemplate what Eli told her. "I see..." She said after a considerably lengthy stretch. "And how deep do these convictions run?"

"With your father and brother? Not at all. But she has managed to talk a scrawny few of the into having a vote."

The female warrior looked more like a queen than ever. Her eyes showed she was drawn into herself, daring anyone to disturb her. Her posture and and motions were lithe and smooth, but powerful, also. She held the world gently in her hands, but made sure that the world knew she could crush it with unimaginable force if she wanted to.

"To be loved and to be feared, that was how she might be held by her subjects, one day," Eli thought.

"She's not a threat quite yet," Elorelei decided in a startling new voice. The voice of a general planning a war. "But it may be best to stop her before this gets out of our hands. Rumors are like weeds, they grow more unsightly the farther they spread."

*~*~*~*

"Legolas!" Elorelei voice's was slicing, commanding, or, for lack of a better phrase, pissed off. The Prince knew the aggression was not aimed at him, but to be in its pathway wasn't any better.

He stopped his practice with his daggers and put them away. The look on her face made him shudder.

"What happened?"

She didn't answer, but instead motioned for him to follow. They tracked down Vandelar and Elorelei gave him swift orders to contact the other men and meet her in the smallest courtyard. Vandelar had spent years with her, learning how her mood and tone gave more information than her words. She wanted this done straight away, but it wasn't a serious problem. From a slight drawing out of her order, he could sense that it could very well become a big deal. Vandelar may have made a good leader, but he was a better follower.

"It will be done as you asked, Laika," He said, bowing and referring to her in the name he knew her best by. For him, or any of the other men for that matter, to call her Elorelei would be a sentiment. Laika was not sentimental.

Legolas had never been around Northerners in a meeting like this one before. Elorelei had, and told him not to say anything for the first few moments except to yell and make threats. Legolas didn't really do those things at meetings, so he elected to just be quiet. Yet he did find out first hand why was supposed to yell. He wouldn't have been heard otherwise.

Eloerlei quickly and quietly explained why they all were here. She told them about Minele and her "rumors" and how the Queen could stop Elorelei's journey if she were not stopped. And the whole gathering exploded into an uproar. Legolas wished he had earplugs. Everyone was yelling and and saying things to the nature of "What business of hers is it what you do?" "And she calls herself the Queen?" they continued on for quite sometime, until Elorelei said, in a rather calm voice, "Stop."

Complete silence overcame them. It was more out of habit than out of willingness to stop, but Elorelei was as icy as she ever was.

"I don't want this to get out of hand anymore than you do. But if you do not keep your heads, we will be powerless to stop Minele, however idle-minded she may be. Fenra?"

One of the smaller elves snapped to attention. In his blonde hair lay wips of red and his eyes was quiet and crafty. "Yes, Laika?"

"Find out who Minele has talked to and what they believe is true. Tell it to me, and I will give you your assignment. If the rest of you hear ANYTHING, to not squander it, but report it to me immediately. Vandelar, see me afterwards, I have a special assignment for you."

There was something about the undertone of the meeting that made Legolas shiver. These warriors had been trained well, no doubt, but that didn't mean their brawn came before their brains. With Elorelei leading them, mind games of every sort could be put into play.

"I believe that's everything, you may go, just keep your ears open."

They all bowed and left. A small few who knew their Laika well were smiling. She was a masterful and cunning orator, and they looked forward to whatever she had to tell the elves of King Felair's Royal Court.

Vandelar looked similarly pleased. "Shall I?"

Elorelei grinned. "Of course, you shall. But remember, the most important thing is to have fun."

Legolas hoping to find out what the cause of the fun was, but Vandelar just beamed and exited the room.

(A/N: Sorry about the shortness of it all..... but *gasp* What is my dastardly character up to now? Just to tell you, this chapter was gonna be much longer, but I figured I better just divide it up to keep the censors off my back until Chapter 31.

Censors: We resemble that remark!!

A: Riiiiiiiight... Note-to-Self, do NOT let censors watch Space Jam or hang out with AngelOnFire. Now to let you suffer another round of chapter-waiting torture.)