"How can ANYONE walk in these dresses and not get them dirty?" protested
Irulan. She was standing in the middle of her room in her white and silver
gown. Very tiny red and yellow flowers were sprinkled on the smooth and
bright fabric. In accordance with the dresses of her kingdom, the upper
half of the gown was clinging to her body while the dress smoothly and
gently flowed out from her hip. The intricate braid of her dark wavy hair
was hanging down to her waist.
"Well ask ANYONE else in the kingdom your highness" hissed Stampa from below, "because EVERYONE else seems to know the trick!" She was kneeling by Irulan, desperately trying to clean the dirty stains on the bottom of the skirt. "I have no idea how you do it Irulan. this looks like you actually stepped into a more than shallow puddle of mud!" she exclaimed and finally stood up. Irulan looked down. "Well.. if only, it looks worse than before" she said. The brown smudge was quite visible now.
"I can not wash it just now, can I?" Stampa said. "Maybe it'll suit you just fine to walk out in front of all the honored guests like that" she added slyly. "That'll teach you to think about where you are stepping the next time". Irulan stuck out her tongue. She took a look in the mirror. "Looks fine to me. I am sure every woman out there will pretty much look like this soon anyway. That garden is rather muddy". She seriously doubted it though. Women seemed to have an unknown skill for avoiding dirt. "You know Stampa, you can be trained in the most deathly arts, but I find running around in a dress like this a harder challenge than any battle!"
"Speaking of battle and all other nonsense that usually flies around in that pretty head of yours" Stampa said, "I suggest that you be careful about that swelling flesh on your ribs. It is taking a nasty color and might hurt more now that the dress is clinging to your body so tightly".
Irulan tried to bend over slightly and gasped when she realized the pain that erupted from her left side. It was indeed becoming more painful now. Stampa was watching her. "I can't help but wonder if I dropped you on your head or something when you were a baby, Irulan. I can only hope that I did not play part in this tragedy!"
Irulan grinned to her. "If anything, you probably did it on purpose Stampa!" She ran over to the plumb woman who was rolling her eyes now "And I am greatly in debt for it!" Irulan kissed her on the cheek and quickly dashed out the room.
She would not miss the demonstration of the elves for anything in this world! Maybe Legolas too will throw an arrow or two, she thought and then abruptly halted. Princess Irulan! You better learn to control those thoughts! she scolded herself inwardly. She decided to slow her pace. After all, a certain elf prince throwing arrows in the back yard was not worth running for!
She walked out into the open and felt the blinding bright and sunny day on her skin. It was a beautiful summer morning. The trees in the yard were lazily shaking with the soft breeze. She could hear dozens of birds singing on their branches. She looked around and saw only very few people walking in and out the castle. The crowd of yesterday had dispersed. Many were probably still in their rooms, sleeping till noon. The party had ended very late yesterday. She had remained in her room for the rest of it, reading a book and listening to the music and the chatter flowing in through her window. She took in a deep breath of air. Actually she was glad that the number of the onlookers would not be too great today. The king would certainly attend, as the host of the guests, and maybe the heads of a few houses who were curious about the elves or who were worried that the rest of the houses might form some sort of alliance while they slept over the morning.
Concentrating on the puddles of mud before her, she started walking towards the shooting grounds. The back yard was a larger and untamed garden, usually looking very wild and full with mud holes that the gardeners did not care to remove after watering the yard, since it was rarely visited. But her father had asked the targets to be placed here, not wishing to make the elves shoot among the left over furniture and trash of yesterday's party.
"Oh darn!" screamed Irulan. She had hopped over a mud hole and landed safely on the other side, but forgotten to lift up her dress during the process. The backside of her lower skirts had the distinctive crest of brown mud on it now. "My first task as queen shall be to issue a law that forbids these horrid gowns!" she exclaimed while she was carefully trying to see the back side of her skirts without causing another wave of pain from her ribs.
"What would my lady like to replace them with?" said a melodious voice from nearby. Irulan instantly froze and slowly turned around. Much as she feared, Legolas stood a few paces away, smiling to her. He had changed into soft breeches and boots that were a mixture of greens and browns. His bow was strapped behind his back and he looked as gorgeous as ever. Do these people never have hangovers or circles under their eyes, she wondered.
"Prince Legolas!" Irulan said slowly and decided not to bow in order to save the rest of her skirts - not to mention avoid wincing with pain. "Well I have to say, your outfit looks very comfortable and practical to begin with". She smiled herself and relaxed. Being prepared to see him here today, she found it surprisingly easy to fall back to her usual princess disguise. Her heart was beating a bit faster than usual, but that was simply because she had been hopping around in this accursed garden, nothing more.
Legolas laughed softly and she could have sworn that she had never heard a more beautiful voice before. "It is, indeed!" he said and moved up to her. Irulan realized with displeasure how he avoided the softer and muddy spots of the soil without even paying attention while he walked. It was not fair for any race to be that graceful while she had to crawl and hop around like an insect. "But only the men of my people wear it. I could not imagine a woman such as yourself in them, princess". She thought she saw a twinkle in his eyes, but decided against it.
"Well, I would not know of course, since I never wore an outfit like that. But I do envy the ease of movement it must grant you" she said. Legolas smiled again and offered his hand. Irulan watched his slender fingers enclose hers and started following him on the careful path he chose to guide her through the garden She ordered her heart not to beat so tumultuously. There was nothing about holding hands to get excited about. But with an elf! Her heart took another leap. Stop it, you are not a little child anymore she scolded herself. Ah but he is so. different.. and did I mention GORGEOUS? Irulan hated these inner conflicts. She always seemed to end up more confused afterwards. Stop it, and I mean now Irulan! He is doing it for reasons of kindness, you fool! And yet Irulan could not help but hearing the other soft whisper replying: Different, gorgeous AND kind! Now that is something you bump into every day, sure. "And why would a lady need that sort of ease, dear princess?" Legolas said suddenly without looking back, unaware of her inner struggle.
Irulan held her breath. She was certainly not paying attention to her words. This conversation would need a bit steering around. "I suppose to run all the errands our husbands demand of us" she said joyfully. Now that was quite stupid! she thought, yet I can do even better, dear elf! "But I guess" she added with amusement "it would make us look less favorable in the eyes of our men. And that of course can never be allowed!"
"I am surprised that you think that way" Legolas said and all of a sudden turned to look at her. Irulan felt oddly caught under that gaze. He seemed to be looking right into her, to the Irulan beneath the mask. But that was not possible. Must be the way elves look she said to herself and remembered to breathe again. "You certainly need not worry. I can not imagine you looking unfavorable in any outfit" Legolas added slowly.
You will not blush! screamed a loud voice in her head again. Or was it herself screaming to suppress all the other sinister whispers. "Well" she said very carefully, searching his eyes for clues, "I am glad that you think that way, your highness. For that is indeed my greatest concern of all!" There! A perfect remark from the stupid brainless princess she was supposed to be. And just when she was about to add another fancy statement, she was interrupted by Endor's booming voice and could not help but jump slightly.
"Princess Irulan!"
Oh shoot! This man always turns up at the most inappropriate times. They both turned to see Endor walking toward them in his usual long strides. "I was hoping that you would attend this morning. Actually, I kind of expected you" he said and grinned to her. There was an awkward silence. Endor was staring at Legolas with a rather displeased expression on his face while the former was silently staring back with cool blue eyes. Irulan found herself in a very similar situation to the embarrassing moments of yesterday. "I would not miss the archery demonstration of our honored guests from Mirkwood for anything" she finally said and both men broke off the silent duel to stare at her.
Irulan smiled warmly to Legolas. "Master Greenleaf was escorting me to the shooting grounds just now, is that not so?" she chirped. She hoped that elves had more or less similar reactions to men in social situations. Please just rescue me she thought pleadingly. Legolas offered his arm immediately "Yes I was. Shall we, princess?" Irulan resisted the urge to literally hug him right there. Instead she took his arm and let herself be guided through the rest of the garden. She turned to look over her shoulder after a few steps and grinned to a very shocked and red faced Endor. Eat this, you worm! she thought. "Ah, it will be a beautiful day indeed! I can see that we will remember it for long after it has passed!" she said. Legolas just replied with the most beautiful smile she had ever seen on a face.
"Well ask ANYONE else in the kingdom your highness" hissed Stampa from below, "because EVERYONE else seems to know the trick!" She was kneeling by Irulan, desperately trying to clean the dirty stains on the bottom of the skirt. "I have no idea how you do it Irulan. this looks like you actually stepped into a more than shallow puddle of mud!" she exclaimed and finally stood up. Irulan looked down. "Well.. if only, it looks worse than before" she said. The brown smudge was quite visible now.
"I can not wash it just now, can I?" Stampa said. "Maybe it'll suit you just fine to walk out in front of all the honored guests like that" she added slyly. "That'll teach you to think about where you are stepping the next time". Irulan stuck out her tongue. She took a look in the mirror. "Looks fine to me. I am sure every woman out there will pretty much look like this soon anyway. That garden is rather muddy". She seriously doubted it though. Women seemed to have an unknown skill for avoiding dirt. "You know Stampa, you can be trained in the most deathly arts, but I find running around in a dress like this a harder challenge than any battle!"
"Speaking of battle and all other nonsense that usually flies around in that pretty head of yours" Stampa said, "I suggest that you be careful about that swelling flesh on your ribs. It is taking a nasty color and might hurt more now that the dress is clinging to your body so tightly".
Irulan tried to bend over slightly and gasped when she realized the pain that erupted from her left side. It was indeed becoming more painful now. Stampa was watching her. "I can't help but wonder if I dropped you on your head or something when you were a baby, Irulan. I can only hope that I did not play part in this tragedy!"
Irulan grinned to her. "If anything, you probably did it on purpose Stampa!" She ran over to the plumb woman who was rolling her eyes now "And I am greatly in debt for it!" Irulan kissed her on the cheek and quickly dashed out the room.
She would not miss the demonstration of the elves for anything in this world! Maybe Legolas too will throw an arrow or two, she thought and then abruptly halted. Princess Irulan! You better learn to control those thoughts! she scolded herself inwardly. She decided to slow her pace. After all, a certain elf prince throwing arrows in the back yard was not worth running for!
She walked out into the open and felt the blinding bright and sunny day on her skin. It was a beautiful summer morning. The trees in the yard were lazily shaking with the soft breeze. She could hear dozens of birds singing on their branches. She looked around and saw only very few people walking in and out the castle. The crowd of yesterday had dispersed. Many were probably still in their rooms, sleeping till noon. The party had ended very late yesterday. She had remained in her room for the rest of it, reading a book and listening to the music and the chatter flowing in through her window. She took in a deep breath of air. Actually she was glad that the number of the onlookers would not be too great today. The king would certainly attend, as the host of the guests, and maybe the heads of a few houses who were curious about the elves or who were worried that the rest of the houses might form some sort of alliance while they slept over the morning.
Concentrating on the puddles of mud before her, she started walking towards the shooting grounds. The back yard was a larger and untamed garden, usually looking very wild and full with mud holes that the gardeners did not care to remove after watering the yard, since it was rarely visited. But her father had asked the targets to be placed here, not wishing to make the elves shoot among the left over furniture and trash of yesterday's party.
"Oh darn!" screamed Irulan. She had hopped over a mud hole and landed safely on the other side, but forgotten to lift up her dress during the process. The backside of her lower skirts had the distinctive crest of brown mud on it now. "My first task as queen shall be to issue a law that forbids these horrid gowns!" she exclaimed while she was carefully trying to see the back side of her skirts without causing another wave of pain from her ribs.
"What would my lady like to replace them with?" said a melodious voice from nearby. Irulan instantly froze and slowly turned around. Much as she feared, Legolas stood a few paces away, smiling to her. He had changed into soft breeches and boots that were a mixture of greens and browns. His bow was strapped behind his back and he looked as gorgeous as ever. Do these people never have hangovers or circles under their eyes, she wondered.
"Prince Legolas!" Irulan said slowly and decided not to bow in order to save the rest of her skirts - not to mention avoid wincing with pain. "Well I have to say, your outfit looks very comfortable and practical to begin with". She smiled herself and relaxed. Being prepared to see him here today, she found it surprisingly easy to fall back to her usual princess disguise. Her heart was beating a bit faster than usual, but that was simply because she had been hopping around in this accursed garden, nothing more.
Legolas laughed softly and she could have sworn that she had never heard a more beautiful voice before. "It is, indeed!" he said and moved up to her. Irulan realized with displeasure how he avoided the softer and muddy spots of the soil without even paying attention while he walked. It was not fair for any race to be that graceful while she had to crawl and hop around like an insect. "But only the men of my people wear it. I could not imagine a woman such as yourself in them, princess". She thought she saw a twinkle in his eyes, but decided against it.
"Well, I would not know of course, since I never wore an outfit like that. But I do envy the ease of movement it must grant you" she said. Legolas smiled again and offered his hand. Irulan watched his slender fingers enclose hers and started following him on the careful path he chose to guide her through the garden She ordered her heart not to beat so tumultuously. There was nothing about holding hands to get excited about. But with an elf! Her heart took another leap. Stop it, you are not a little child anymore she scolded herself. Ah but he is so. different.. and did I mention GORGEOUS? Irulan hated these inner conflicts. She always seemed to end up more confused afterwards. Stop it, and I mean now Irulan! He is doing it for reasons of kindness, you fool! And yet Irulan could not help but hearing the other soft whisper replying: Different, gorgeous AND kind! Now that is something you bump into every day, sure. "And why would a lady need that sort of ease, dear princess?" Legolas said suddenly without looking back, unaware of her inner struggle.
Irulan held her breath. She was certainly not paying attention to her words. This conversation would need a bit steering around. "I suppose to run all the errands our husbands demand of us" she said joyfully. Now that was quite stupid! she thought, yet I can do even better, dear elf! "But I guess" she added with amusement "it would make us look less favorable in the eyes of our men. And that of course can never be allowed!"
"I am surprised that you think that way" Legolas said and all of a sudden turned to look at her. Irulan felt oddly caught under that gaze. He seemed to be looking right into her, to the Irulan beneath the mask. But that was not possible. Must be the way elves look she said to herself and remembered to breathe again. "You certainly need not worry. I can not imagine you looking unfavorable in any outfit" Legolas added slowly.
You will not blush! screamed a loud voice in her head again. Or was it herself screaming to suppress all the other sinister whispers. "Well" she said very carefully, searching his eyes for clues, "I am glad that you think that way, your highness. For that is indeed my greatest concern of all!" There! A perfect remark from the stupid brainless princess she was supposed to be. And just when she was about to add another fancy statement, she was interrupted by Endor's booming voice and could not help but jump slightly.
"Princess Irulan!"
Oh shoot! This man always turns up at the most inappropriate times. They both turned to see Endor walking toward them in his usual long strides. "I was hoping that you would attend this morning. Actually, I kind of expected you" he said and grinned to her. There was an awkward silence. Endor was staring at Legolas with a rather displeased expression on his face while the former was silently staring back with cool blue eyes. Irulan found herself in a very similar situation to the embarrassing moments of yesterday. "I would not miss the archery demonstration of our honored guests from Mirkwood for anything" she finally said and both men broke off the silent duel to stare at her.
Irulan smiled warmly to Legolas. "Master Greenleaf was escorting me to the shooting grounds just now, is that not so?" she chirped. She hoped that elves had more or less similar reactions to men in social situations. Please just rescue me she thought pleadingly. Legolas offered his arm immediately "Yes I was. Shall we, princess?" Irulan resisted the urge to literally hug him right there. Instead she took his arm and let herself be guided through the rest of the garden. She turned to look over her shoulder after a few steps and grinned to a very shocked and red faced Endor. Eat this, you worm! she thought. "Ah, it will be a beautiful day indeed! I can see that we will remember it for long after it has passed!" she said. Legolas just replied with the most beautiful smile she had ever seen on a face.