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Please, please review =)
A very special Thank you to everyone who reviewed my last posting. I did not expect so much support from my readers. Your encouraging words really mean a lot to me. I will try not to disappoint the people who like my stories =)
I know I just said this, but thanks again : Nimuea, KarateElf, Mannariel, Orlandoinabedsheet, Nina, Elhwesta, addicted, Lou, Gertie, Tam BreoSaight, breakfast_included and ( .
Inspiration of Milo is from the Mask. Lots of 'still the prettiest' references, just because I feel like it. Parrot makes a cameo appearance.
Long chapter since I combined two chapters into one. The original first chapter didn't really have anything funny in it, so I decided to extend the thing into the next bit. Hopefully, this is a little better =)
... = thoughts or my ramblings. There are a lot more that here in this chapter. I apologize if people find it distracting to the plot. I just feel like commentating a lot today after watching the cast commentary on the extended FOTR DVD =)
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Chapter 11:
Legolas woke up with the same adorable smile still plastered to his face, despite his immense headache. The Elf wondered why he was so amused given the pain he was in. He tried to remember what had come to past the day before, but could only recall hazy images after eating that herb-baked chicken. Perplexed by the gap in his memory, Legolas opened the blinds to his room and was dismayed to find it was already morning.
He looked around for his roommate but discovered that Gimli had left for their morning classes. The Dwarf had left him a brief note asking him to stay in bed and rest today; saying their commanders were aware of his condition and would not begrudge his missing practice. However, the Prince had no intention of heeding his friend's advice. He was here to train for war and be a proper spy for Mirkwood, which he could not do by hiding in his rooms. Legolas was not going to let a headache stop him.
Jumping out of bed, the Elf rushed to the training field. He still wore the same non-descript brown shirt and green leggings he did the day before and found it very puzzling that everyone was staring at him, sniggering and whispering to each other. Even with his keen senses, Legolas could not make out what they were saying; but he had a very bad feeling about this. The Prince noted that Aragorn was missing and was slightly disappointed that the Man would not be teaching him swordsmanship today.
As the Prince walked across the field towards his two Elven commanders, Yulion put on his most girly voice in a mock declaration of love, "Oh, Aragorn. Hold me. I love you so much."
Much to Legolas' chagrin, that elicited a collective laugh from the recruits as they began to sing. // If I never knew you...//
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All came back to the golden Elf in crystal clarity, shooting Aragorn by accident, singing of his love for the Man and telling his human commander that he was his PENGUIN. Of all metaphors to use, PENGUINS!! His first instinct was to bolt and find a hiding place as far away from the camp as possible. But Legolas had been through worse humiliation during his first warrior training experience. He was determined not to let this little incident hamper the progress of his mission. Besides, one of the important qualities of being a diplomat was humility and the ability to handle insults from your hosts without losing composure. He knew the recruits wanted to see him cry and flee; he would not give them that. Head held high, face set in an expressionless mask, Legolas marched towards his two Elven commanders.
"I am sorry I am late, sir. If possible, I would like to join the lesson," said the Prince calmly.
The twins did not expect the golden Elf to come for practice today. They were sure that even if he were not indisposed from the aftermath of pipe weed poisoning, the young blond would not dare show his face again after the embarrassing display in front of the entire camp. Given the introvert nature of the trainee, Lasgalen's composure as the Elf ignored the army's jeers and spoke with quiet authority was a real surprise to Elladan and Elrohir.
The twins could feel the subtle push in the humble request, a sincere apology followed by a well-disguised demand. It did not make sense that a common Elf like Lasgalen could speak in that fashion. Only the best trained of noble Elves were so self-effacing and assertive at the same time. In fact, the twins were sure that except for their father and Lady Galadriel, none could have acted with the same poise the young recruit did just now. Well, that's not much of a comparison since if it were the ancient Elves, they would just scowl and everyone would immediately shy away in fear. Since it did not take composure to scowl, Legolas would still be better.... but don't take my word for it. After all, I am very biased.
If the twins were not convinced before that Lasgalen was hiding something, they were now. They wondered who the young Elf really was. Someone with that sort of verbal talent and intellect did not usually join armies to be a lowly recruit. The Elven commanders knew it would not be easy discovering the young one's secrets. They were not dealing with a simple brainless blond, but someone of a caliber close to their father. But for their lives and their foster brother's as well, they vowed to solve the mystery surrounding this intriguing golden Elf.
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Haldir quickly volunteered to be the Prince's training partner. Aragorn's shoulder wound might not be deep, but it was enough to hinder his movements. The Man wanted to continue lessons with Lasgalen; the archer had to practically restraint Aragorn to keep him from the field and injuring himself further. The Guardian of Lòrien knew the Man wished to teach the golden Elf how basic moves could be used together in combination during combat. But the older Elf knew something about Legolas that Aragorn did not. The Prince was very gifted in analyzing combination of movements, breaking them down into simple individual components that could be perfected rather easily.
The archer still remembered when the maidens of Lòrien taught Legolas a very complicated traditional dance that represented eternal love. It only took the Prince two days to perfect the routine. In fact, the golden Elf was so good that he was elected to give the headlining performance at the feast in honor of the 6000th wedding anniversary of the Lord and Lady of the Woods. The celebration was held every 1000 years. Only very few people outside of Lothlòrien were invited. For Legolas, it was a great honor just to be invited, let alone perform for the ancient couple. The young Elf's rendition of the dance was so moving that Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel fell under his spell; pledging to the Prince the protection and support of Lothlòrien should he ever required it.
Haldir knew the young Elf would benefit the most from training if Legolas were to observe a skilled swordsman before practice. The Prince's ability to learn through observation was extremely remarkable. The Guardian of Lòrien scanned around for a suitable model for Legolas to imitate and settled for a rather dashing dark-haired Elf. The recruit was very skilled with a sword. With a little more polishing, he would probably hold his own against one of the twins. He would make a good example for his young friend to follow. If only the Elven archer could arrange for Elladan and Aragorn to spar for the Prince; that would be an excellent lesson indeed, but Haldir knew he must not be too greedy. This dark-haired recruit would have to do.
"Watch that dark-haired one and his sparring partner carefully. I want you to learn from his techniques," whispered Haldir.
"His name is Yulion. He's the one who gave me that herb-baked chicken," replied the Prince, with an uncharacteristic amount of spite.
"I see. I know this is hard for you, but he is the best on the field right now. It is in your best interest to learn from him what you can today. I will see what I can arrange for tomorrow," said the archer.
It was the first time the Lòrien Elf heard anger in the Prince's lilting voice. Haldir wondered what Legolas would do. The young one was a gentle, sweet Elf by nature. He did not have a destroyer mode like the Lady of Rivendell. But the annoyance in Legolas' remark told the Guardian that the golden Elf was peeved, likely for the first time in his life. The archer hoped the Prince would not attempt revenge. Given the circumstances, any plan to get back at Yulion would only result in disaster for his friend. The dark-haired Elf was simply too skilled and popular for Legolas to take on. Rumors had it that Yulion was from a very influential family in Rivendell; that he was set to be one of the captains of the joint army through his father's connections. Being a spy from Mirkwood, the Prince would do well not to interact at all with the dark-haired Elf.
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In Legolas' quick mind, he already had a plan to get even with Yulion without further hindering his mission. Even the most forgiving of Elves would be annoyed if he was lied to, drugged and humiliated with the whole camp as audience. The Prince would not allow the dark-haired Elf to go unpunished for the trick he played. Intently, Legolas watched the swordplay before him, memorizing every one of Yulion's moves.
At the end of each week, a friendly tournament of skills would be held for the recruits. Scores from these exercises would be kept throughout their training period. At the end, the commanders would use these as references in judging the competence of each recruit in combat. Those who finished with a high number of wins would be more likely to be nominated for the squadron leader positions. This Friday's tournament would be his chance; for the first time in his life, Legolas would avenge himself for a wrong did to him. He would show everyone that he could take care of his own problems; that he would not have to rely on someone to protect or help him all the time.
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Legolas spent the last hour of sword practice sparring with Haldir. The archer thought it would be helpful for the Prince to practice the moves he observed from Yulion. He was very surprised to find himself evenly matched by his young friend. The golden Elf integrated Yulion's techniques with Aragorn's superb timing; making them more effective than the dark-haired one's. Legolas had even made some modifications to better suit his own strengths and weaknesses.
Haldir had thought the Prince gifted before, but even he could not imagine the extent of the young one's talents. In the end, having decided that it was inappropriate for an instructor to lose to a recruit, the Guardian of Lòrien won the match with a technique adopted from his knives-fighting style. When Haldir noticed the mischievous smile on the face of the young Elf sitting on the ground, he knew Legolas was planning something.
"You may be improving at an amazing pace, but don't let it get to your head. And do not, I repeat, do NOT try to get back at Yulion. He is still a better swordsman than you," warned Haldir.
"Don't worry, my friend. I won't try anything out of the ordinary," reassured the Prince, still grinning.
The archer knew his friend well enough not to be reassured. He was sure that in Legolas' mind, there were many 'ordinary' things that the Prince could do to Yulion that the dark-haired Elf would not appreciate. "Please..."
"Trust me. I really am not going to do anything outside of what our training mandates," said the young Elf before heading towards Gimli to join the Dwarf for lunch.
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Arwen was not having a good day. In fact, she had a bad day yesterday as well. It all started with her darling pet's return. The parrot had been refusing to respond to her ever since it was brought back. She wondered if her brothers had mistreated the poor baby; but since they knew how much she loved the bird, Arwen was pretty sure they would be very careful in handing it. This was all the Dwarf's fault. If he had not worn those disgusting feathers, Estel would not have thought he was a female bird and became love- sick. Yeah, Arwen decided to name the parrot 'Estel' in honor of Aragorn who recaptured her pet after its escape. Besides, she liked the idea of having something by the Man's name calling her 'the fairest of them all' multiple times a day.
Speaking of the Man, Aragorn did not come to meet her after the first day of training. It irked the Lady to no end since no one had ever failed to show for a romantic rendezvous with her. She wondered if the Man was seeing another behind her back. She dismissed that thought almost as soon as it crossed her mind. Aragorn could not possibly prefer anyone over her. She was one of the most beautiful Elven maidens who ever lived. Given that Elves were fairer than Humans, Arwen was sure she was the most gorgeous creature who walked Middle Earth at this point in time.
The Man should be honored to have her as lover; he must be so intoxicated with her that he would never think of being with anyone else. That was how things were with all her previous lovers. They would beg her endlessly to take them back after she got bored and dumped them. Thus, Arwen concluded that this must be the Dwarf's fault as well. Aragorn must have been so disgusted that the very thought of kissing anyone, even the most beautiful Elf in the world, disturbed the Man. After smiling murderously into the mirror, the Lady left her room with Estel in tow and set out for the camp. The trouble-making new recruit would pay for ruining her past two days.
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Aragorn was glad that his archer friend had made him stay in his rooms to rest for he was having a very good dream. Actually, that's not quite accurate. Since the Man was asleep and could not really feel glad. But he would be if he were awake and having a daydream..... anyway....
The Man stood alone on a small bridge overlooking the waterfalls of Rivendell. The sun was setting; its rays creating shafts of lights and small rainbows in the mist. The colorful sky was painted in hues of red, purple and gold. Set to the humming of the water, it was one of the most beautiful sunsets Aragorn had ever seen. Gentle arms encircled his waist suddenly as a faint but familiar honeysuckle fragrance greeted his nose. He knew without turning that it was Lasgalen behind him. The golden Elf had come to share with him this masterpiece of beauty nature had revealed to them. They stood in silence, reveling in the tranquility and magic of the moment.
Lasgalen's lithe body felt so perfect against him as the Elf's soft breath tantalized the sensitive skin of his neck. He could feel himself reacting to the golden one's closeness. Aragorn had never been so aroused by a simple embrace. It was taking every bit of the Man's self control to stay still. For long minutes, his mind warred between the need to turn to claim Lasgalen's delectable lips and the desire to keep the blissful stillness that they shared. But before a decision was made, the Elf began licking his ear rather forcefully. Confusion gripped the Man's mind as he abruptly exited the romantic world of dreams. He awoke to find Elladan's dog on his bed, lapping his ear enthusiastically.
"Milo!! How many times do I have to tell you not to jump onto my bed?" yelled the frustrated Man.
Aragorn did not understand how the dog had entered his room; he was sure Haldir had closed the door before leaving. But this particular canine seemed to have the knack for breaking and entering. On more than one occasion, the dog had managed to sneak into Aragorn's bed unnoticed, startling the Man out of whatever activities he was engaging in. It was not so bad when he was sleeping alone; but when he had company, one could imagine the panic it caused to his bed-partner.
He had told the older twin many times to keep Milo away from his bed, under lock and key if necessary. To his chagrin, the situation had not improved; Milo was always there to interrupt him when he was enjoying his bedtime. The blasted dog never appeared when he was having a nightmare or when he was only pretending to enjoy himself. It was almost as if Milo was psychic and knew when was the most inopportune time to barge in.
Since the Man was already awake, he decided to join his brothers for lunch. Besides, he had something he needed to say to Elladan. Aragorn felt it necessary to make a rather lasting impression on the older twin of the wisdom of keeping control over his pet. He was sure that even with his injured shoulder, he could give Elladan a lesson the Elf was unlikely to forget. Having changed into his usual black traveling garb, Aragorn headed for camp with Anduril by his side, smiling menacingly the entire way.
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By some twisted joke of fate, the army cook prepared herb-baked chicken for lunch today. Legolas stared at his plate for a long while, afraid that Yulion might have spiked his food again without his notice. Gimli, seeing his friend's concern, tried a small piece of the Elf's dish before signaling to the Prince that it was safe to eat. The Dwarf was accustomed to smoking so pipe weed had no adverse effect on him. In addition, Gimli prided himself on a connoisseur of Halfing's Leaves and was sure he would recognize its presence with only a small taste.
Upon his friend's reassurance, Legolas gingerly put a morsel of chicken into his mouth. To his dismay, the meat tasted as foul as, if not worse than, yesterday's food. It was salty to the point of bitterness and it was almost as hard as dragon scales. The Elf stopped eating and looked up to see Gimli digging into his plate with enthusiasm. Though Legolas was very fond of his new friend, he could not help thinking that Dwarves were such strange creatures to enjoy this horrible food. When the Prince attempted to stab his fork into a larger and particularly overcooked piece, the silver utensil bent, failing to pierce the flesh of the chicken. At this point, Legolas laid down his fork and gave up trying to eat his food.
Gimli paused from his gorging to look at the Elf in concern, "What's wrong?"
"The fork and baked chicken had a fight and the chicken won," said the Prince sarcastically as he held up his twisted fork.
"I admit the meat a little too chewy, even for my taste; but you should eat more since you will need strength for the afternoon's training. The obstacle course is extremely difficult," replied the Dwarf as he began eating again.
"Unlike you, Gimli, I do not have teeth of steel," pouted Legolas as he pushed the plate away.
"And to think that Elves thought themselves oh-so-superior when they allow a piece of chicken to defeat them," teased Gimli, thinking to trick his friend into eating.
"That's not going to work on me, my friend; I am a trained diplomat, remember. And if you like the food so much, you can have my portion as well," replied the Prince as he continued to pout very prettily.
Before Gimli could come up with another method of persuasion, the conversation was interrupted by multiple gasps of awe as the Lady of Rivendell sauntered gracefully into the room, carrying a green parrot in a cage. Well, it was more like marched angrily, but we were talking about Arwen Evenstar, the most beautiful Elf maiden alive. By virtue of her beauty and radiance, everything she did would always be perceived as graceful and elegant. Yes, even when she was in Arwen the Destroyer mode; those in the audience would find her fighting style graceful despite the pity they had for the one enduring her wrath. Her attacks were so smoothly executed that they resembled an elegant dance, except it was a routine to inflict pain upon another.
It was not long before she spotted the Dwarf sitting with a very pretty fair-haired Elf. If she was incensed before, the Lady was positively fuming now. Despite the denials in her heart, she knew the blond was prettier than her. Now instead of shedding the blood of one army recruit, Arwen the Destroyer intended to maim two. That golden Elf would not get away with being more beautiful than her. She should be the fairest of them all; that was what Estel, the magical parrot, told her and it could not possibly be wrong!
As she made her way towards the pair, Estel's attention was drawn to the Prince. The moment the bird laid eyes on his beloved, it began to sing praises of his beauty. And it was no longer just his one line, 'thou, my Lady, art the fairest of all'.
During his separation from the golden Elf, the bird had improved his repertoire, picking up phrases from the continuous string of compliments Arwen received yesterday. Estel the parrot hoped to impress the beautiful Elf with its charming words so Legolas would claim it for his own. It would give anything to sit on the Prince's finger again; learning a few lines was not a problem at all for the intelligent Estel.
"Even without the make-up and the clothes, you will still be the prettiest," quipped the bird before going into a full-blown love song.
//Look into my heart, you'll find there's nothing there to hide. Take me as I am, take my life, I would give it all I would sacrifice..//
The song ended abruptly as Estel was frightened into silence by a very loud, blood-curdling scream from Arwen. "Enough. Shut UP!!" yelled the Lady of Rivendell.
Even the awestruck recruits knew to back away in fear. The cry startled everyone out of their daydream and alerted them to a very dangerous side of Arwen that they were very grateful not to have seen. Quickly, the recruits leapt out of the Lady's way as she approached the Dwarf and golden Elf with a heated expression that would put the fires of Smaug to shame. Some less courageous trainees even fled the scene in fear of being in the way of Arwen's wrath.
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Arwen could not believe her pet was singing to the Dwarf just now. He was not even wearing green feathers at the moment! In addition, the trainee was more unsightly up close. He had absolutely no right to be touched by her tall, dark and handsome human lover. Soon enough, he would get what was coming to him. But before that, she needed him to speak with Estel to clear its head of its romantic delusions.
Legolas and Gimli stood in honor of the Lady. It was more like the Prince stood and the Dwarf followed his lead. Gimli still did not understand why people seemed so enamored with her. At this moment, she looked more like a fearsome dragon than the Evening Star of the Elves. He could not blame Aragorn for becoming attracted to his gentle friend; anyone with her as girlfriend would. She was very scary. And from up close, Legolas was definitely much prettier.
Before the Prince could start a polite rapport, an extremely angry Arwen commanded as she pointed at Gimli, "You there. I want you to talk to my pet. Tell him that you are not a parrot and that you don't love him."
It quickly became clear to Legolas that the Man had told Arwen that Gimli found the parrot. He understood Aragorn must have his reasons for lying; but the Elf could not help being a little disappointed that the Man would not admit to kissing him. As soon as the thought entered his head, a small voice in his mind began to admonish him. Of course he wouldn't tell her. He must have kissed dozens of guys before; what is one more kiss. Aragorn is just being nice to you; nothing more. Arwen is beautiful, popular, charming, everything that you are not! You will never compare to her. You have to stop this foolish dream of true love before you embarrass yourself further.
The Prince recovered in time to stop Gimli from correcting Arwen and said, "Go on Gimli, say 'I am very fond of you but I am not a parrot, so I cannot truly return your feelings. I am sorry but I wish you happiness with the Lady.'"
Gimli grumbled his line and the parrot looked appropriately dejected. The Dwarf did not understand why his friend wanted to keep the truth from Arwen, since the Lady was bound to find out if things were to go any further between Legolas and the Man. But he could see how peeved Arwen was and was determined to do whatever necessary to deflect her rage from the Prince.
The intelligent parrot knew Legolas did not want to abandon him. It had seen first-hand many times what the Lady could do to the victims of her wrath. Estel did not wish its beloved to suffer that fate. For the bird, it was enough to hear that the golden Elf was fond of it; the parrot would sacrifice his freedom and dreams to protect the one it loved.
Luckily, Arwen seemed oblivious to inner thoughts of the two trainees and her pet. Somewhat appeased, the Lady's expression turned from one that resembled a fierce fire-breathing lizard to a malicious smile of a laughing hyena. Now, she was finally free to take her revenge on the pair of recruits; the Dwarf for bewitching her Estel and the Elf for being beautiful. Gently, she laid down the parrot's cage on the table and began to approach Gimli. She figured that the blond was not much of a threat; once the Dwarf was disposed of, the Elf would be hers to do as she pleased.
Well, she wasn't going to kill them, so 'disposed of' were rather strong words to use. She was just going to make sure Gimli would be bedridden for at least a week. As for Legolas, she only wanted to put a couple of scars on that all too perfect face and body. That should ascertain she would be the prettiest when the fight was done.
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Before she could begin her attack, Arwen was interrupted by the sudden entrance of Elladan into the dining area, a very disheveled Elladan holding a sword and running for dear life, to be precise. Shortly after the elder twin, Aragorn charged into the room, brandishing Anduril, poised to kill or seriously harm something. The Man was followed by a very hyper dog, which was barking and attempting to jump onto Aragorn without pause. With a talking parrot and a hyperactive dog, the place resembled a circus more than the lunch area of an army camp.
As soon as he spotted Arwen, the dark-haired Elf rushed towards his little sister in an attempt to use her as an Elven shield. Aragorn, seeing the elder twin's intentions, immediately gave chase. The chain reaction was of course completed with Milo running as quickly as his short legs would carry it to keep up with the Man's long strides.
When they reached the Lady, they started running in circles around her; Aragorn trying to catch the Elf and Milo trying to get onto the Man. Estel, watching the curious proceedings from his vantage point on the table, started to cackle at the ridiculous sight. The scene indeed was very similar to a circus act of clowns making fools of themselves.
Legolas knew this was their chance to escape. He did not want to abandon the Man to face the scary Lady alone, but he knew neither him nor Gimli would survive a fight with Arwen unscathed. They had to leave now. Dwarf in tow, the golden Elf sneaked out of the lunch area while the Lady was still trapped within the moving circle of Elf, Man and dog.
Arwen decided she had enough. "Stop it! All of you."
Everyone stilled and fell silent at the sound of her voice. Usually, it would be because they were mesmerized by the purity and beauty of her melodic voice. But today, it was out of fear. Arwen was in full Destroyer Mode now. She noticed that the two trainees had stolen away in the confusion. She had missed her chance to vent her anger today and pent-up frustration was definitely not a good thing.
"What is going on? Who is responsible for this?" whispered the Evening Star dangerously.
The dark-haired Elf promptly pointed at the Man who pointed at the dog. When Arwen crossed her arms and glared at the group, the bravest of them all spoke up first. "Wow, woooow, woow, voow, wow, woo, woof....." Okay, the entire speech basically translated to, "Aragorn mad at Milo for sneaking into his room. Blame Master for it. Milo not wanted to get Master into trouble. But Milo loves Man so much, cannot stop himself. Urge is too strong."
I know people would expect Aragorn to speak. He was courageous and chivalrous. There was not much in the world that Aragorn feared. It was sort of difficult to imagine a small critter like Milo being the bravest of the three. But we were talking about a dog that would brave the Man's and the Lady's fury. Even Aragorn could not top that since he never had to face his own wrath...
Arwen regarded the adorable little puppy for a long while before deciding to forgive Milo. She could understand why the dog was so enamored with Aragorn; the Man was tall, dark and handsome with a sexy voice and dreamy body. Speaking of Aragorn, he definitely owed her an apology for not coming last night.
"I see. I forgive you; just don't make such a ruckus again, okay?" said the Lady softly at Milo. When the dog barked its assent, Arwen turned towards the Man, her death glare intact. "Why did you not come last night?"
Before the Man could answer, Elladan spoke for him. "Aragorn was shot in archery practice yesterday. He had to stay in bed."
"You look pretty okay to me, 'darling', wielding that sword of yours, chasing after Elladan," said Arwen directly at her lover.
"I am feeling much better now. I was actually sleeping when Milo woke me. It interrupted a particularly nice dream of mine, where I was watching the sunset with the most gorgeous creature in this world. That was why I got very upset. In my annoyance, I feared I have neglected my injuries and made it worse," replied the Man truthfully.
Aragorn knew his Lady would assume he was dreaming of her. She would be very pleased to hear that she was on his mind even when he slept. Though the Man wanted to break up with Arwen as soon as possible, this was neither the time nor the place. Besides, he promised to give the twins two weeks to investigate Lasgalen's background.
Mollified that the interruption of a simple dream of her had caused the unflappable Aragorn to lose his composure, the Lady's anger vanished in an instant. Her expression metamorphosed into a brilliant smile; Arwen the Destroyer returned to being Arwen Evenstar, the fair Lady of Imladris. Gracefully, she glided to the Man and slipped an arm around his waist to support her injured lover. Not that Aragorn needed it since he was only slightly wounded in the SHOULDER. But Arwen didn't know that. Even if she did, she would still do the same thing, since she wanted to show what a caring individual she was...
"Aragorn and I are heading back to his rooms. Milo, you would do well not to follow," said Arwen meaningfully before leaving the lunch area with her arms around the Man. For those watching the scene, it was not difficult to imagine what the Man and Elf would be doing once they returned to Aragorn's chambers.
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Unbeknownst to the Man, two pairs of eyes were secretly observing the proceedings from a safe distance. One of those pairs was completely blurred with tears as the couple disappeared from the room.
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I do own the chicken and fork joke. It actually happened to me once in the dining commons of my dorm...
Nimuea: I don't mind people telling me I have grammatical errors in my writing. I believe in constructive criticism. I have received reviews of similar nature for Shadow, which just prompted me to pay more attention to editing and double-checking my writing. I was just ticked off by the way the Grammar Police made his/her comments.
Please, please review =)
A very special Thank you to everyone who reviewed my last posting. I did not expect so much support from my readers. Your encouraging words really mean a lot to me. I will try not to disappoint the people who like my stories =)
I know I just said this, but thanks again : Nimuea, KarateElf, Mannariel, Orlandoinabedsheet, Nina, Elhwesta, addicted, Lou, Gertie, Tam BreoSaight, breakfast_included and ( .
Inspiration of Milo is from the Mask. Lots of 'still the prettiest' references, just because I feel like it. Parrot makes a cameo appearance.
Long chapter since I combined two chapters into one. The original first chapter didn't really have anything funny in it, so I decided to extend the thing into the next bit. Hopefully, this is a little better =)
... = thoughts or my ramblings. There are a lot more that here in this chapter. I apologize if people find it distracting to the plot. I just feel like commentating a lot today after watching the cast commentary on the extended FOTR DVD =)
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Chapter 11:
Legolas woke up with the same adorable smile still plastered to his face, despite his immense headache. The Elf wondered why he was so amused given the pain he was in. He tried to remember what had come to past the day before, but could only recall hazy images after eating that herb-baked chicken. Perplexed by the gap in his memory, Legolas opened the blinds to his room and was dismayed to find it was already morning.
He looked around for his roommate but discovered that Gimli had left for their morning classes. The Dwarf had left him a brief note asking him to stay in bed and rest today; saying their commanders were aware of his condition and would not begrudge his missing practice. However, the Prince had no intention of heeding his friend's advice. He was here to train for war and be a proper spy for Mirkwood, which he could not do by hiding in his rooms. Legolas was not going to let a headache stop him.
Jumping out of bed, the Elf rushed to the training field. He still wore the same non-descript brown shirt and green leggings he did the day before and found it very puzzling that everyone was staring at him, sniggering and whispering to each other. Even with his keen senses, Legolas could not make out what they were saying; but he had a very bad feeling about this. The Prince noted that Aragorn was missing and was slightly disappointed that the Man would not be teaching him swordsmanship today.
As the Prince walked across the field towards his two Elven commanders, Yulion put on his most girly voice in a mock declaration of love, "Oh, Aragorn. Hold me. I love you so much."
Much to Legolas' chagrin, that elicited a collective laugh from the recruits as they began to sing. // If I never knew you...//
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All came back to the golden Elf in crystal clarity, shooting Aragorn by accident, singing of his love for the Man and telling his human commander that he was his PENGUIN. Of all metaphors to use, PENGUINS!! His first instinct was to bolt and find a hiding place as far away from the camp as possible. But Legolas had been through worse humiliation during his first warrior training experience. He was determined not to let this little incident hamper the progress of his mission. Besides, one of the important qualities of being a diplomat was humility and the ability to handle insults from your hosts without losing composure. He knew the recruits wanted to see him cry and flee; he would not give them that. Head held high, face set in an expressionless mask, Legolas marched towards his two Elven commanders.
"I am sorry I am late, sir. If possible, I would like to join the lesson," said the Prince calmly.
The twins did not expect the golden Elf to come for practice today. They were sure that even if he were not indisposed from the aftermath of pipe weed poisoning, the young blond would not dare show his face again after the embarrassing display in front of the entire camp. Given the introvert nature of the trainee, Lasgalen's composure as the Elf ignored the army's jeers and spoke with quiet authority was a real surprise to Elladan and Elrohir.
The twins could feel the subtle push in the humble request, a sincere apology followed by a well-disguised demand. It did not make sense that a common Elf like Lasgalen could speak in that fashion. Only the best trained of noble Elves were so self-effacing and assertive at the same time. In fact, the twins were sure that except for their father and Lady Galadriel, none could have acted with the same poise the young recruit did just now. Well, that's not much of a comparison since if it were the ancient Elves, they would just scowl and everyone would immediately shy away in fear. Since it did not take composure to scowl, Legolas would still be better.... but don't take my word for it. After all, I am very biased.
If the twins were not convinced before that Lasgalen was hiding something, they were now. They wondered who the young Elf really was. Someone with that sort of verbal talent and intellect did not usually join armies to be a lowly recruit. The Elven commanders knew it would not be easy discovering the young one's secrets. They were not dealing with a simple brainless blond, but someone of a caliber close to their father. But for their lives and their foster brother's as well, they vowed to solve the mystery surrounding this intriguing golden Elf.
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Haldir quickly volunteered to be the Prince's training partner. Aragorn's shoulder wound might not be deep, but it was enough to hinder his movements. The Man wanted to continue lessons with Lasgalen; the archer had to practically restraint Aragorn to keep him from the field and injuring himself further. The Guardian of Lòrien knew the Man wished to teach the golden Elf how basic moves could be used together in combination during combat. But the older Elf knew something about Legolas that Aragorn did not. The Prince was very gifted in analyzing combination of movements, breaking them down into simple individual components that could be perfected rather easily.
The archer still remembered when the maidens of Lòrien taught Legolas a very complicated traditional dance that represented eternal love. It only took the Prince two days to perfect the routine. In fact, the golden Elf was so good that he was elected to give the headlining performance at the feast in honor of the 6000th wedding anniversary of the Lord and Lady of the Woods. The celebration was held every 1000 years. Only very few people outside of Lothlòrien were invited. For Legolas, it was a great honor just to be invited, let alone perform for the ancient couple. The young Elf's rendition of the dance was so moving that Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel fell under his spell; pledging to the Prince the protection and support of Lothlòrien should he ever required it.
Haldir knew the young Elf would benefit the most from training if Legolas were to observe a skilled swordsman before practice. The Prince's ability to learn through observation was extremely remarkable. The Guardian of Lòrien scanned around for a suitable model for Legolas to imitate and settled for a rather dashing dark-haired Elf. The recruit was very skilled with a sword. With a little more polishing, he would probably hold his own against one of the twins. He would make a good example for his young friend to follow. If only the Elven archer could arrange for Elladan and Aragorn to spar for the Prince; that would be an excellent lesson indeed, but Haldir knew he must not be too greedy. This dark-haired recruit would have to do.
"Watch that dark-haired one and his sparring partner carefully. I want you to learn from his techniques," whispered Haldir.
"His name is Yulion. He's the one who gave me that herb-baked chicken," replied the Prince, with an uncharacteristic amount of spite.
"I see. I know this is hard for you, but he is the best on the field right now. It is in your best interest to learn from him what you can today. I will see what I can arrange for tomorrow," said the archer.
It was the first time the Lòrien Elf heard anger in the Prince's lilting voice. Haldir wondered what Legolas would do. The young one was a gentle, sweet Elf by nature. He did not have a destroyer mode like the Lady of Rivendell. But the annoyance in Legolas' remark told the Guardian that the golden Elf was peeved, likely for the first time in his life. The archer hoped the Prince would not attempt revenge. Given the circumstances, any plan to get back at Yulion would only result in disaster for his friend. The dark-haired Elf was simply too skilled and popular for Legolas to take on. Rumors had it that Yulion was from a very influential family in Rivendell; that he was set to be one of the captains of the joint army through his father's connections. Being a spy from Mirkwood, the Prince would do well not to interact at all with the dark-haired Elf.
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In Legolas' quick mind, he already had a plan to get even with Yulion without further hindering his mission. Even the most forgiving of Elves would be annoyed if he was lied to, drugged and humiliated with the whole camp as audience. The Prince would not allow the dark-haired Elf to go unpunished for the trick he played. Intently, Legolas watched the swordplay before him, memorizing every one of Yulion's moves.
At the end of each week, a friendly tournament of skills would be held for the recruits. Scores from these exercises would be kept throughout their training period. At the end, the commanders would use these as references in judging the competence of each recruit in combat. Those who finished with a high number of wins would be more likely to be nominated for the squadron leader positions. This Friday's tournament would be his chance; for the first time in his life, Legolas would avenge himself for a wrong did to him. He would show everyone that he could take care of his own problems; that he would not have to rely on someone to protect or help him all the time.
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Legolas spent the last hour of sword practice sparring with Haldir. The archer thought it would be helpful for the Prince to practice the moves he observed from Yulion. He was very surprised to find himself evenly matched by his young friend. The golden Elf integrated Yulion's techniques with Aragorn's superb timing; making them more effective than the dark-haired one's. Legolas had even made some modifications to better suit his own strengths and weaknesses.
Haldir had thought the Prince gifted before, but even he could not imagine the extent of the young one's talents. In the end, having decided that it was inappropriate for an instructor to lose to a recruit, the Guardian of Lòrien won the match with a technique adopted from his knives-fighting style. When Haldir noticed the mischievous smile on the face of the young Elf sitting on the ground, he knew Legolas was planning something.
"You may be improving at an amazing pace, but don't let it get to your head. And do not, I repeat, do NOT try to get back at Yulion. He is still a better swordsman than you," warned Haldir.
"Don't worry, my friend. I won't try anything out of the ordinary," reassured the Prince, still grinning.
The archer knew his friend well enough not to be reassured. He was sure that in Legolas' mind, there were many 'ordinary' things that the Prince could do to Yulion that the dark-haired Elf would not appreciate. "Please..."
"Trust me. I really am not going to do anything outside of what our training mandates," said the young Elf before heading towards Gimli to join the Dwarf for lunch.
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Arwen was not having a good day. In fact, she had a bad day yesterday as well. It all started with her darling pet's return. The parrot had been refusing to respond to her ever since it was brought back. She wondered if her brothers had mistreated the poor baby; but since they knew how much she loved the bird, Arwen was pretty sure they would be very careful in handing it. This was all the Dwarf's fault. If he had not worn those disgusting feathers, Estel would not have thought he was a female bird and became love- sick. Yeah, Arwen decided to name the parrot 'Estel' in honor of Aragorn who recaptured her pet after its escape. Besides, she liked the idea of having something by the Man's name calling her 'the fairest of them all' multiple times a day.
Speaking of the Man, Aragorn did not come to meet her after the first day of training. It irked the Lady to no end since no one had ever failed to show for a romantic rendezvous with her. She wondered if the Man was seeing another behind her back. She dismissed that thought almost as soon as it crossed her mind. Aragorn could not possibly prefer anyone over her. She was one of the most beautiful Elven maidens who ever lived. Given that Elves were fairer than Humans, Arwen was sure she was the most gorgeous creature who walked Middle Earth at this point in time.
The Man should be honored to have her as lover; he must be so intoxicated with her that he would never think of being with anyone else. That was how things were with all her previous lovers. They would beg her endlessly to take them back after she got bored and dumped them. Thus, Arwen concluded that this must be the Dwarf's fault as well. Aragorn must have been so disgusted that the very thought of kissing anyone, even the most beautiful Elf in the world, disturbed the Man. After smiling murderously into the mirror, the Lady left her room with Estel in tow and set out for the camp. The trouble-making new recruit would pay for ruining her past two days.
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Aragorn was glad that his archer friend had made him stay in his rooms to rest for he was having a very good dream. Actually, that's not quite accurate. Since the Man was asleep and could not really feel glad. But he would be if he were awake and having a daydream..... anyway....
The Man stood alone on a small bridge overlooking the waterfalls of Rivendell. The sun was setting; its rays creating shafts of lights and small rainbows in the mist. The colorful sky was painted in hues of red, purple and gold. Set to the humming of the water, it was one of the most beautiful sunsets Aragorn had ever seen. Gentle arms encircled his waist suddenly as a faint but familiar honeysuckle fragrance greeted his nose. He knew without turning that it was Lasgalen behind him. The golden Elf had come to share with him this masterpiece of beauty nature had revealed to them. They stood in silence, reveling in the tranquility and magic of the moment.
Lasgalen's lithe body felt so perfect against him as the Elf's soft breath tantalized the sensitive skin of his neck. He could feel himself reacting to the golden one's closeness. Aragorn had never been so aroused by a simple embrace. It was taking every bit of the Man's self control to stay still. For long minutes, his mind warred between the need to turn to claim Lasgalen's delectable lips and the desire to keep the blissful stillness that they shared. But before a decision was made, the Elf began licking his ear rather forcefully. Confusion gripped the Man's mind as he abruptly exited the romantic world of dreams. He awoke to find Elladan's dog on his bed, lapping his ear enthusiastically.
"Milo!! How many times do I have to tell you not to jump onto my bed?" yelled the frustrated Man.
Aragorn did not understand how the dog had entered his room; he was sure Haldir had closed the door before leaving. But this particular canine seemed to have the knack for breaking and entering. On more than one occasion, the dog had managed to sneak into Aragorn's bed unnoticed, startling the Man out of whatever activities he was engaging in. It was not so bad when he was sleeping alone; but when he had company, one could imagine the panic it caused to his bed-partner.
He had told the older twin many times to keep Milo away from his bed, under lock and key if necessary. To his chagrin, the situation had not improved; Milo was always there to interrupt him when he was enjoying his bedtime. The blasted dog never appeared when he was having a nightmare or when he was only pretending to enjoy himself. It was almost as if Milo was psychic and knew when was the most inopportune time to barge in.
Since the Man was already awake, he decided to join his brothers for lunch. Besides, he had something he needed to say to Elladan. Aragorn felt it necessary to make a rather lasting impression on the older twin of the wisdom of keeping control over his pet. He was sure that even with his injured shoulder, he could give Elladan a lesson the Elf was unlikely to forget. Having changed into his usual black traveling garb, Aragorn headed for camp with Anduril by his side, smiling menacingly the entire way.
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By some twisted joke of fate, the army cook prepared herb-baked chicken for lunch today. Legolas stared at his plate for a long while, afraid that Yulion might have spiked his food again without his notice. Gimli, seeing his friend's concern, tried a small piece of the Elf's dish before signaling to the Prince that it was safe to eat. The Dwarf was accustomed to smoking so pipe weed had no adverse effect on him. In addition, Gimli prided himself on a connoisseur of Halfing's Leaves and was sure he would recognize its presence with only a small taste.
Upon his friend's reassurance, Legolas gingerly put a morsel of chicken into his mouth. To his dismay, the meat tasted as foul as, if not worse than, yesterday's food. It was salty to the point of bitterness and it was almost as hard as dragon scales. The Elf stopped eating and looked up to see Gimli digging into his plate with enthusiasm. Though Legolas was very fond of his new friend, he could not help thinking that Dwarves were such strange creatures to enjoy this horrible food. When the Prince attempted to stab his fork into a larger and particularly overcooked piece, the silver utensil bent, failing to pierce the flesh of the chicken. At this point, Legolas laid down his fork and gave up trying to eat his food.
Gimli paused from his gorging to look at the Elf in concern, "What's wrong?"
"The fork and baked chicken had a fight and the chicken won," said the Prince sarcastically as he held up his twisted fork.
"I admit the meat a little too chewy, even for my taste; but you should eat more since you will need strength for the afternoon's training. The obstacle course is extremely difficult," replied the Dwarf as he began eating again.
"Unlike you, Gimli, I do not have teeth of steel," pouted Legolas as he pushed the plate away.
"And to think that Elves thought themselves oh-so-superior when they allow a piece of chicken to defeat them," teased Gimli, thinking to trick his friend into eating.
"That's not going to work on me, my friend; I am a trained diplomat, remember. And if you like the food so much, you can have my portion as well," replied the Prince as he continued to pout very prettily.
Before Gimli could come up with another method of persuasion, the conversation was interrupted by multiple gasps of awe as the Lady of Rivendell sauntered gracefully into the room, carrying a green parrot in a cage. Well, it was more like marched angrily, but we were talking about Arwen Evenstar, the most beautiful Elf maiden alive. By virtue of her beauty and radiance, everything she did would always be perceived as graceful and elegant. Yes, even when she was in Arwen the Destroyer mode; those in the audience would find her fighting style graceful despite the pity they had for the one enduring her wrath. Her attacks were so smoothly executed that they resembled an elegant dance, except it was a routine to inflict pain upon another.
It was not long before she spotted the Dwarf sitting with a very pretty fair-haired Elf. If she was incensed before, the Lady was positively fuming now. Despite the denials in her heart, she knew the blond was prettier than her. Now instead of shedding the blood of one army recruit, Arwen the Destroyer intended to maim two. That golden Elf would not get away with being more beautiful than her. She should be the fairest of them all; that was what Estel, the magical parrot, told her and it could not possibly be wrong!
As she made her way towards the pair, Estel's attention was drawn to the Prince. The moment the bird laid eyes on his beloved, it began to sing praises of his beauty. And it was no longer just his one line, 'thou, my Lady, art the fairest of all'.
During his separation from the golden Elf, the bird had improved his repertoire, picking up phrases from the continuous string of compliments Arwen received yesterday. Estel the parrot hoped to impress the beautiful Elf with its charming words so Legolas would claim it for his own. It would give anything to sit on the Prince's finger again; learning a few lines was not a problem at all for the intelligent Estel.
"Even without the make-up and the clothes, you will still be the prettiest," quipped the bird before going into a full-blown love song.
//Look into my heart, you'll find there's nothing there to hide. Take me as I am, take my life, I would give it all I would sacrifice..//
The song ended abruptly as Estel was frightened into silence by a very loud, blood-curdling scream from Arwen. "Enough. Shut UP!!" yelled the Lady of Rivendell.
Even the awestruck recruits knew to back away in fear. The cry startled everyone out of their daydream and alerted them to a very dangerous side of Arwen that they were very grateful not to have seen. Quickly, the recruits leapt out of the Lady's way as she approached the Dwarf and golden Elf with a heated expression that would put the fires of Smaug to shame. Some less courageous trainees even fled the scene in fear of being in the way of Arwen's wrath.
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Arwen could not believe her pet was singing to the Dwarf just now. He was not even wearing green feathers at the moment! In addition, the trainee was more unsightly up close. He had absolutely no right to be touched by her tall, dark and handsome human lover. Soon enough, he would get what was coming to him. But before that, she needed him to speak with Estel to clear its head of its romantic delusions.
Legolas and Gimli stood in honor of the Lady. It was more like the Prince stood and the Dwarf followed his lead. Gimli still did not understand why people seemed so enamored with her. At this moment, she looked more like a fearsome dragon than the Evening Star of the Elves. He could not blame Aragorn for becoming attracted to his gentle friend; anyone with her as girlfriend would. She was very scary. And from up close, Legolas was definitely much prettier.
Before the Prince could start a polite rapport, an extremely angry Arwen commanded as she pointed at Gimli, "You there. I want you to talk to my pet. Tell him that you are not a parrot and that you don't love him."
It quickly became clear to Legolas that the Man had told Arwen that Gimli found the parrot. He understood Aragorn must have his reasons for lying; but the Elf could not help being a little disappointed that the Man would not admit to kissing him. As soon as the thought entered his head, a small voice in his mind began to admonish him. Of course he wouldn't tell her. He must have kissed dozens of guys before; what is one more kiss. Aragorn is just being nice to you; nothing more. Arwen is beautiful, popular, charming, everything that you are not! You will never compare to her. You have to stop this foolish dream of true love before you embarrass yourself further.
The Prince recovered in time to stop Gimli from correcting Arwen and said, "Go on Gimli, say 'I am very fond of you but I am not a parrot, so I cannot truly return your feelings. I am sorry but I wish you happiness with the Lady.'"
Gimli grumbled his line and the parrot looked appropriately dejected. The Dwarf did not understand why his friend wanted to keep the truth from Arwen, since the Lady was bound to find out if things were to go any further between Legolas and the Man. But he could see how peeved Arwen was and was determined to do whatever necessary to deflect her rage from the Prince.
The intelligent parrot knew Legolas did not want to abandon him. It had seen first-hand many times what the Lady could do to the victims of her wrath. Estel did not wish its beloved to suffer that fate. For the bird, it was enough to hear that the golden Elf was fond of it; the parrot would sacrifice his freedom and dreams to protect the one it loved.
Luckily, Arwen seemed oblivious to inner thoughts of the two trainees and her pet. Somewhat appeased, the Lady's expression turned from one that resembled a fierce fire-breathing lizard to a malicious smile of a laughing hyena. Now, she was finally free to take her revenge on the pair of recruits; the Dwarf for bewitching her Estel and the Elf for being beautiful. Gently, she laid down the parrot's cage on the table and began to approach Gimli. She figured that the blond was not much of a threat; once the Dwarf was disposed of, the Elf would be hers to do as she pleased.
Well, she wasn't going to kill them, so 'disposed of' were rather strong words to use. She was just going to make sure Gimli would be bedridden for at least a week. As for Legolas, she only wanted to put a couple of scars on that all too perfect face and body. That should ascertain she would be the prettiest when the fight was done.
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Before she could begin her attack, Arwen was interrupted by the sudden entrance of Elladan into the dining area, a very disheveled Elladan holding a sword and running for dear life, to be precise. Shortly after the elder twin, Aragorn charged into the room, brandishing Anduril, poised to kill or seriously harm something. The Man was followed by a very hyper dog, which was barking and attempting to jump onto Aragorn without pause. With a talking parrot and a hyperactive dog, the place resembled a circus more than the lunch area of an army camp.
As soon as he spotted Arwen, the dark-haired Elf rushed towards his little sister in an attempt to use her as an Elven shield. Aragorn, seeing the elder twin's intentions, immediately gave chase. The chain reaction was of course completed with Milo running as quickly as his short legs would carry it to keep up with the Man's long strides.
When they reached the Lady, they started running in circles around her; Aragorn trying to catch the Elf and Milo trying to get onto the Man. Estel, watching the curious proceedings from his vantage point on the table, started to cackle at the ridiculous sight. The scene indeed was very similar to a circus act of clowns making fools of themselves.
Legolas knew this was their chance to escape. He did not want to abandon the Man to face the scary Lady alone, but he knew neither him nor Gimli would survive a fight with Arwen unscathed. They had to leave now. Dwarf in tow, the golden Elf sneaked out of the lunch area while the Lady was still trapped within the moving circle of Elf, Man and dog.
Arwen decided she had enough. "Stop it! All of you."
Everyone stilled and fell silent at the sound of her voice. Usually, it would be because they were mesmerized by the purity and beauty of her melodic voice. But today, it was out of fear. Arwen was in full Destroyer Mode now. She noticed that the two trainees had stolen away in the confusion. She had missed her chance to vent her anger today and pent-up frustration was definitely not a good thing.
"What is going on? Who is responsible for this?" whispered the Evening Star dangerously.
The dark-haired Elf promptly pointed at the Man who pointed at the dog. When Arwen crossed her arms and glared at the group, the bravest of them all spoke up first. "Wow, woooow, woow, voow, wow, woo, woof....." Okay, the entire speech basically translated to, "Aragorn mad at Milo for sneaking into his room. Blame Master for it. Milo not wanted to get Master into trouble. But Milo loves Man so much, cannot stop himself. Urge is too strong."
I know people would expect Aragorn to speak. He was courageous and chivalrous. There was not much in the world that Aragorn feared. It was sort of difficult to imagine a small critter like Milo being the bravest of the three. But we were talking about a dog that would brave the Man's and the Lady's fury. Even Aragorn could not top that since he never had to face his own wrath...
Arwen regarded the adorable little puppy for a long while before deciding to forgive Milo. She could understand why the dog was so enamored with Aragorn; the Man was tall, dark and handsome with a sexy voice and dreamy body. Speaking of Aragorn, he definitely owed her an apology for not coming last night.
"I see. I forgive you; just don't make such a ruckus again, okay?" said the Lady softly at Milo. When the dog barked its assent, Arwen turned towards the Man, her death glare intact. "Why did you not come last night?"
Before the Man could answer, Elladan spoke for him. "Aragorn was shot in archery practice yesterday. He had to stay in bed."
"You look pretty okay to me, 'darling', wielding that sword of yours, chasing after Elladan," said Arwen directly at her lover.
"I am feeling much better now. I was actually sleeping when Milo woke me. It interrupted a particularly nice dream of mine, where I was watching the sunset with the most gorgeous creature in this world. That was why I got very upset. In my annoyance, I feared I have neglected my injuries and made it worse," replied the Man truthfully.
Aragorn knew his Lady would assume he was dreaming of her. She would be very pleased to hear that she was on his mind even when he slept. Though the Man wanted to break up with Arwen as soon as possible, this was neither the time nor the place. Besides, he promised to give the twins two weeks to investigate Lasgalen's background.
Mollified that the interruption of a simple dream of her had caused the unflappable Aragorn to lose his composure, the Lady's anger vanished in an instant. Her expression metamorphosed into a brilliant smile; Arwen the Destroyer returned to being Arwen Evenstar, the fair Lady of Imladris. Gracefully, she glided to the Man and slipped an arm around his waist to support her injured lover. Not that Aragorn needed it since he was only slightly wounded in the SHOULDER. But Arwen didn't know that. Even if she did, she would still do the same thing, since she wanted to show what a caring individual she was...
"Aragorn and I are heading back to his rooms. Milo, you would do well not to follow," said Arwen meaningfully before leaving the lunch area with her arms around the Man. For those watching the scene, it was not difficult to imagine what the Man and Elf would be doing once they returned to Aragorn's chambers.
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Unbeknownst to the Man, two pairs of eyes were secretly observing the proceedings from a safe distance. One of those pairs was completely blurred with tears as the couple disappeared from the room.
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I do own the chicken and fork joke. It actually happened to me once in the dining commons of my dorm...
Nimuea: I don't mind people telling me I have grammatical errors in my writing. I believe in constructive criticism. I have received reviews of similar nature for Shadow, which just prompted me to pay more attention to editing and double-checking my writing. I was just ticked off by the way the Grammar Police made his/her comments.