AN: Lady Mariae Jadis, your reviews are a big help! Thank you to all who reviewed! And thanks go to all those who continue reading. ^_~ I hope you're still enjoying!
Lord of the Rings belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien.
Chapter 6: Dwarves
Auruin was sprawled lazily on Legolas's bed. Eluthar was not there, busy wooing a certain elf maid that he had met some time ago.
"All thirteen of them escaped?" she asked Legolas, who sat on his balcony. He was staring out into the vast space of the Mirkwood forest, his eyes curious and searching.
Dwarves had disturbed a celebration three times before being captured and taken to the palace. They refused to answer the king's questions and were thrown into the dungeons. Recently, though, they had escaped without a trace.
"None can be located," Legolas answered regretfully. "Perhaps… The river? It is the only possible means of escape."
Auruin jumped to her feet, her lips pulled into a cheerful smile. "Then what are we waiting for? There is nothing more fun than a little adventure." Giggling, she ran to the closed door and bumped painfully into it.
Legolas was stunned. "Are you hurt?"
"I believe I am fully intact…" she said rubbing her bottom. He held back his laughter as he helped her up. She gratefully accepted and, after the door had been opened, the two headed for the northeastern exit.
Walking up the river, Auruin looked impatient. "Have you spotted them?"
"Not quite yet."
"Why not? You are the elf with vision and dwarves are not difficult to find," she teased.
Legolas raised his eyebrows. "Perhaps if a certain elf decided to use her exceptional hearing as apposed to her yammering mouth we would have already found the dwarves?"
The girl glared at him indignantly before a mischievous smile crossed her lips… a smile Legolas didn't much like the look of…
Without warning, she pushed him ruthlessly and he found himself sprawling into the river water with a splash. Auruin laughed, "Serves you right!"
She waited patiently on the shore for any signs of the elf to emerge sputtering from the water. Moments passed, but there was still no sign of Legolas. Her feelings of amusement slowly changed to that of fear. A wave of anxiety spilled forth into her stomach… where has he gone?
"Legolas?" There was no answer. "Legolas…?" she asked again, more urgently. Still no answer. Fear gripped her as she moved to the river's edge. She felt the cold water against the toes of her light shoes and she leaned forward. "Legolas!" Turning her head to listen for any response, she leaned in farther.
"Boo!"
Startled, Auruin jumped nearly two feet into the air before falling into the cold water. This time, it was Legolas's turn to stand on the shore and watch on. His body shook with laughter.
"Tulu nin!" she cried, "Help me! I cannot swim!"
Legolas stared at her incredulously before bursting out even harder with laughter. She flailed her arms about.
"Auruin!" he snickered, "You are submerged in less than three feet of slow flowing water!
"Tell my parents that I will miss them," she sniffled not seeming to hear his comment. Shaking his head sadly, Legolas trampled easily into the water and picked her up. She clung fiercely to him as he carried her to dry land. He marveled at how she trembled in his arms; her fear was genuine.
"There, there," he said, his arms tightening around her comfortingly, "You will be alright."
Slowly, her head turned up to Legolas. "Pardon… pardon me?" In the back of her mind, something seemed to want to push its way forward.
Legolas patted her on the head and laughed. "You will be alright, Auruin. Do not worry so much!"
In an instant, whatever had nearly surfaced snapped back almost fiercely and she held a hand to her head trying to clear it. "You are right, Legolas." She shivered; whether from the cold or from her strange thoughts, she didn't know.
Legolas instinctively held her closer. "Are you cold?"
"No… I will be fine," the girl forced a smile.
They were both soaked with water, their hair dripping and their clothes sopping. The taller elf gently set the girl on the ground. "We should return to the palace. We shall find nothing today."
"Return to the palace?" asked Auruin, disappointed, "We are no doubt cold and wet… what better than the sun to warm our clothes?" Without waiting for a response, she dashed off down the river. Legolas watched her with amusement and as she disappeared over a hill, he decided to follow after her.
He found her lying near the foot of the hill, her arms stretched out above her head. "Whatever are you doing, Auruin?"
The girl sat up so that she would be leaning on her elbows. "Why I am drying off, of course."
Laughing, the prince joined her side and he felt warmth as he allowed the sunlight to spill over his body. "I am almost certain the dwarves have found their way to Esgaroth."
"Yes, it is the only logical place they could be," she said pensively.
"It is a long way to Esgaroth…" The girl waited for him to continue. "It is nearly two days walk to the long lake… we would only serve in tiring ourselves before reaching it. The dwarves have no doubt found their way passed the Long Lake."
"I suppose you are right, Legolas," said Auruin regretfully, "I just wish I could have met one before your father cast them into dungeons."
"Why are you are so intent on meeting these creatures?"
She sat up fully and pulled her arms around her knees. Her lips pouted in thought, "Well… I suppose that I find the dwarves to be very interesting creatures. They live under the earth and in tunnels so void of light… I wonder why they actually choose to live in darkness… I have always dreamed of meeting one so that I could get the chance to ask him." Shrugging her shoulders, she lay back down and giggled. "I have many strange dreams and ideas floating about in my head. It would be wise to ignore them."
"Oh! But why would I want to? Dreams are in such a beautiful world beyond our own… they are what we strive for… or what we fear. Every dream, no matter how small it may seem, is important and worth hearing."
She furrowed her brows. "I have never thought of them as being so significant."
Legolas let out a throaty chuckle, "I once dreamt on the Mountains of Mirkwood of my future. I was given hope for what is to come."
"The Mountains of Mirkwood? You have been to their peeks?"
"Aye," he cocked his head to the side, "Why do you ask?"
"I have always hoped to find myself atop those great mountains…"
"Have you?"
"Yes… I was told of the great beauty of the stars at such heights… the feel of the breezy mountain air… I wish to know its kiss on my cheeks and be comforted in knowing that the starlight is upon me from its peeks." The girl let out a wistful breath; her cheeks were flushed with delight. As Legolas looked down into her eyes, for the faintest flicker of moment, it was as though her eyes could see into his…
"Enchanting… You must have thought a great deal of this," Legolas smiled.
The color on her cheeks deepened, this time in embarrassment. "Yes… but it was worth the time."
Slowly, the sun made its way across the sky, floating through gentle clouds. The two chattered on until their clothes had finally dried. Legolas gently helped the girl up and they returned to the palace with imaginings of what the future had to bring.
* * *
How was that? I know it was pretty short but I tried to put a little more detail into thought and add a little more insight into their personality. Unfortunately, I'm still working on being able to write characterization… hopefully, I will get better. I was a little skeptical of leaving Eluthar out of this chapter after *just* introducing him in the last one but some things are just better when done in certain ways. I also know that the wood elves live in caves and such but I've included some sort of high balcony in their rooms. This is, in a way, possible in theory if the elves were able to build a structure of sorts connecting to their caves. I hope this chapter wasn't too disappointing!