A/N: I don't own any characters, places or ideas from The Lord Of The
Rings, but I do own all the characters you don't recognize in this story.
It's exam time for me, so I'll be writing this story in between revision
sessions! I'll try to update as often as I can, however. This is based on
the plot of Pride and Prejudice, but it is not the same story.
Part Two: First Impressions Don't Always Count
Later on that day, Alwyn was just venturing out of her bedroom when a squeal from down the hall made her peek around the corner. "Not another maiden with a broken nail?" she murmured to herself sarcastically. But no, it was Ness the palace maid, and she had obviously just discovered the dirty footprints leading up the corridor. Alwyn winced as Ness looked up the hall, and saw Alwyn's face poking around the corner. "I think this would be a good time to go," she said to herself and darted off down the hall, Ness chasing after her shouting things which had better not be related to you here. It was about ten minutes later when Alwyn thought it safe to come out of her hiding place in the larder room by the kitchens. She was just about to go through the door into the dining room when a tall figure came the other way, bumping neatly into her and steadying himself on the doorframe.
"Forgive me," the elf said, and, looking up, Alwyn saw it to be the Prince Of Mirkwood.
"Sorry," Alwyn said, not really knowing what else to say. So this had been one of the figures she had seen riding towards the palace earlier that morning. He was very handsome, she decided, but he didn't say much. She turned towards him, expecting him to introduce himself, but the elf merely walked away, and around the corner. Alwyn stared after him in amazement. He had bumped into her, the perfect opportunity for them to introduce themselves to each other and become acquainted, and he had just walked off. Just like that. Wasn't he even going say 'Good evening"? Or say "I'm so sorry, hello there, my name is Legolas Greenleaf, and you?" Evidently not, Alwyn thought, and the event imprinted itself onto her memory. She wasn't easily going to forget that display of proud conceitedness in a hurry.
***
A little while later, a loud bell rang out through the palace, and Alwyn took it as a sign that the ball would shortly be starting. She silently cursed Ness for delaying her, and rushed into her room in a panic. She wasn't even dressed! She opened the bottom drawer of her closet to get out a dress, and was greeted by the sight of mud-smeared fabric and a very dirty pair of ruined shoes. Alwyn hit her head against the closet. She had forgotten about the shoes. She delicately took her favourite dress out of the drawer and inspected it. It had large mud stains down the front, and it was definitely out of the question for the ball. Alwyn growled under her breath. This dress was one of the only dresses she owned that she would tolerate wearing. It was quite plain, green, and not too low-cut. This was brilliant. This meant Alwyn would have to wear one of the dresses from the top drawer of the closet.
Gingerly, she lifted the first dress in the top drawer out, and held it up against her in front of the mirror. Her first thought was 'Oh dear, I look hideously like one of the maidens that I so violently detest, and try so hard not to be like'. But her second thought was more rational. 'This is all I have, so I'll have to wear it.' The dress was a dark purple in colour, and had silvery lace around the hem and neckline (which incidentlly, was rather low). She put the dress on quickly, and decided not to look at herself in the mirror. It would only scare her into not going to the ball, she decided. Alwyn brushed out her raven-black hair and braided it very quickly with some silver ribbon which she found in a drawer tied at the end. Resisting the urge to throw herself off the balcony, she exited the room and hurried down the hallway towards the ballroom.
"Alwyn! What in Eru's name are you wearing?" was the first thing her brother said to her as she entered the ballroom. Alwyn tried not to look at the other guests, as the ones who knew her personally were staring at her like she had some sort of disgusting mutation. She sidled over to Avardo and hissed out of the corner of her mouth so the other guests would not hear.
"My other gowns were dirty. This was the first one I found. It's not that bad is it?" she asked fretfully. Avardo chuckled.
"It's not bad, it's just... not like you at all," he replied. Alwyn closed her eyes in embarresment and prayed for the night to be over soon.
"Ah! Alwyn, Avardo, may I introduce you to the son of King Thranduil and his sister. Legolas, Mariyen, this is my neice Alwyn, and my nephew Avardo," said an important voice, that Alwyn immediately recognized.
Alwyn kept her eyes closed for a second longer. The voice belonged to Elrond, her uncle. She opened her eyes, and, just as she had anticipated, Legolas stood in front of her - tall and painfully straight, and un- smiling. Alwyn found she could get her first proper look at him, since he had rushed off so quickly that afternoon. His hair was long and golden, and braided just above the ears and at the back. His face was very handsome, and he had deep blue eyes. Alwyn had never seen eyes of this kind before. Her brother's, and her own, were pale and icy, but Legolas'... Legolas' were the deep turquoise-blue of the ocean. His sister was very much like him in appearance. She was about a head shorter than the Prince, and had the same long, flowing blonde hair, except hers was wavy and fine. She also had blue eyes, but hers tended more towards grey than green like her brother's.
"Alwyn?" Elrond's voice came drifting out of nowhere. Alwyn snapped back to reality, and her cheeks turned a rosy shade of crimson. The Prince was looking at her, unblinking, but Mariyen, his sister, seemed intent on Avardo.
"A pleasure," Alwyn said, curtsying gracefully, and Mariyen did the same, smiling up at Avardo.
Alwyn was glad to get away from the royal guests, and contented herself by walking along the balcony outside, which could be accessed by a long line of arches along one side of the ballroom. The music started a little while later and then many couples moved to the floor to dance. Alwyn could see Avardo and Mariyen talking eagerly not far away, and didn't miss the admiring look in her brother's eye as he gazed at the Princess. Not long afterwards, Mariyen left Avardo and came over to Legolas who was standing about ten paces from where Alwyn was idly sitting on the balcony rail.
"Come brother," she said in her sweet, melodic tone. "You cannot stand here all evening in this stupid manner. You had much better dance."
"I certainly shall not," Legolas replied, with a glance around the room. "You know I detest it. At any rate, there is not a maiden in the room whom it would not be punishment for me to stand up with."
"Brother!" Mariyen said, frowning. "I have not met with such pleasanter girls in my life, as I have this evening; and there are several of them you see uncommonly pretty. Look, there is Avardo's sister, sitting just behind you. She is very pretty, and I dare say very agreeable. Let me ask Avardo to introduce you."
Legolas turned slightly, and Alwyn caught his eye. She had overheard the entire conversation, of course. Legolas regarded her for a second, and then turned back to his sister and said in an undetone, "She is quite tolerable, I suppose. But she is not appealing enough to tempt me. You had better return to your partner, for you are wasting your time here."
Alwyn's temper flared for couple of seconds, and a hot flush crept over her cheeks. Then, however, a wave of amusment came over her and she had to bite her lower lip to stop herself from laughing out loud. She got up and went over to Avardo, pulling him aside and relating to him everything the Prince had said. Avardo laughed at first, but then narrowed his eyes and touched Alwyn's cheek.
"Are you alright? You seem hot," he said, concerned. Alwyn replied that she was fine, and then passed the time dancing by herself to the rest of the songs played by the orchestra. She got a few strange looks from some of the guests but she just dismissed them with an 'I know you're looking and I don't give a damn' stare.
Part Two: First Impressions Don't Always Count
Later on that day, Alwyn was just venturing out of her bedroom when a squeal from down the hall made her peek around the corner. "Not another maiden with a broken nail?" she murmured to herself sarcastically. But no, it was Ness the palace maid, and she had obviously just discovered the dirty footprints leading up the corridor. Alwyn winced as Ness looked up the hall, and saw Alwyn's face poking around the corner. "I think this would be a good time to go," she said to herself and darted off down the hall, Ness chasing after her shouting things which had better not be related to you here. It was about ten minutes later when Alwyn thought it safe to come out of her hiding place in the larder room by the kitchens. She was just about to go through the door into the dining room when a tall figure came the other way, bumping neatly into her and steadying himself on the doorframe.
"Forgive me," the elf said, and, looking up, Alwyn saw it to be the Prince Of Mirkwood.
"Sorry," Alwyn said, not really knowing what else to say. So this had been one of the figures she had seen riding towards the palace earlier that morning. He was very handsome, she decided, but he didn't say much. She turned towards him, expecting him to introduce himself, but the elf merely walked away, and around the corner. Alwyn stared after him in amazement. He had bumped into her, the perfect opportunity for them to introduce themselves to each other and become acquainted, and he had just walked off. Just like that. Wasn't he even going say 'Good evening"? Or say "I'm so sorry, hello there, my name is Legolas Greenleaf, and you?" Evidently not, Alwyn thought, and the event imprinted itself onto her memory. She wasn't easily going to forget that display of proud conceitedness in a hurry.
***
A little while later, a loud bell rang out through the palace, and Alwyn took it as a sign that the ball would shortly be starting. She silently cursed Ness for delaying her, and rushed into her room in a panic. She wasn't even dressed! She opened the bottom drawer of her closet to get out a dress, and was greeted by the sight of mud-smeared fabric and a very dirty pair of ruined shoes. Alwyn hit her head against the closet. She had forgotten about the shoes. She delicately took her favourite dress out of the drawer and inspected it. It had large mud stains down the front, and it was definitely out of the question for the ball. Alwyn growled under her breath. This dress was one of the only dresses she owned that she would tolerate wearing. It was quite plain, green, and not too low-cut. This was brilliant. This meant Alwyn would have to wear one of the dresses from the top drawer of the closet.
Gingerly, she lifted the first dress in the top drawer out, and held it up against her in front of the mirror. Her first thought was 'Oh dear, I look hideously like one of the maidens that I so violently detest, and try so hard not to be like'. But her second thought was more rational. 'This is all I have, so I'll have to wear it.' The dress was a dark purple in colour, and had silvery lace around the hem and neckline (which incidentlly, was rather low). She put the dress on quickly, and decided not to look at herself in the mirror. It would only scare her into not going to the ball, she decided. Alwyn brushed out her raven-black hair and braided it very quickly with some silver ribbon which she found in a drawer tied at the end. Resisting the urge to throw herself off the balcony, she exited the room and hurried down the hallway towards the ballroom.
"Alwyn! What in Eru's name are you wearing?" was the first thing her brother said to her as she entered the ballroom. Alwyn tried not to look at the other guests, as the ones who knew her personally were staring at her like she had some sort of disgusting mutation. She sidled over to Avardo and hissed out of the corner of her mouth so the other guests would not hear.
"My other gowns were dirty. This was the first one I found. It's not that bad is it?" she asked fretfully. Avardo chuckled.
"It's not bad, it's just... not like you at all," he replied. Alwyn closed her eyes in embarresment and prayed for the night to be over soon.
"Ah! Alwyn, Avardo, may I introduce you to the son of King Thranduil and his sister. Legolas, Mariyen, this is my neice Alwyn, and my nephew Avardo," said an important voice, that Alwyn immediately recognized.
Alwyn kept her eyes closed for a second longer. The voice belonged to Elrond, her uncle. She opened her eyes, and, just as she had anticipated, Legolas stood in front of her - tall and painfully straight, and un- smiling. Alwyn found she could get her first proper look at him, since he had rushed off so quickly that afternoon. His hair was long and golden, and braided just above the ears and at the back. His face was very handsome, and he had deep blue eyes. Alwyn had never seen eyes of this kind before. Her brother's, and her own, were pale and icy, but Legolas'... Legolas' were the deep turquoise-blue of the ocean. His sister was very much like him in appearance. She was about a head shorter than the Prince, and had the same long, flowing blonde hair, except hers was wavy and fine. She also had blue eyes, but hers tended more towards grey than green like her brother's.
"Alwyn?" Elrond's voice came drifting out of nowhere. Alwyn snapped back to reality, and her cheeks turned a rosy shade of crimson. The Prince was looking at her, unblinking, but Mariyen, his sister, seemed intent on Avardo.
"A pleasure," Alwyn said, curtsying gracefully, and Mariyen did the same, smiling up at Avardo.
Alwyn was glad to get away from the royal guests, and contented herself by walking along the balcony outside, which could be accessed by a long line of arches along one side of the ballroom. The music started a little while later and then many couples moved to the floor to dance. Alwyn could see Avardo and Mariyen talking eagerly not far away, and didn't miss the admiring look in her brother's eye as he gazed at the Princess. Not long afterwards, Mariyen left Avardo and came over to Legolas who was standing about ten paces from where Alwyn was idly sitting on the balcony rail.
"Come brother," she said in her sweet, melodic tone. "You cannot stand here all evening in this stupid manner. You had much better dance."
"I certainly shall not," Legolas replied, with a glance around the room. "You know I detest it. At any rate, there is not a maiden in the room whom it would not be punishment for me to stand up with."
"Brother!" Mariyen said, frowning. "I have not met with such pleasanter girls in my life, as I have this evening; and there are several of them you see uncommonly pretty. Look, there is Avardo's sister, sitting just behind you. She is very pretty, and I dare say very agreeable. Let me ask Avardo to introduce you."
Legolas turned slightly, and Alwyn caught his eye. She had overheard the entire conversation, of course. Legolas regarded her for a second, and then turned back to his sister and said in an undetone, "She is quite tolerable, I suppose. But she is not appealing enough to tempt me. You had better return to your partner, for you are wasting your time here."
Alwyn's temper flared for couple of seconds, and a hot flush crept over her cheeks. Then, however, a wave of amusment came over her and she had to bite her lower lip to stop herself from laughing out loud. She got up and went over to Avardo, pulling him aside and relating to him everything the Prince had said. Avardo laughed at first, but then narrowed his eyes and touched Alwyn's cheek.
"Are you alright? You seem hot," he said, concerned. Alwyn replied that she was fine, and then passed the time dancing by herself to the rest of the songs played by the orchestra. She got a few strange looks from some of the guests but she just dismissed them with an 'I know you're looking and I don't give a damn' stare.