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Best Friends

'What will you wear tomorrow?' Silia asked, lying down on her back. It was late afternoon and Valia had already finished her work for the day and closed the library in preparation for the tournament over the next two days. She had met her good friend and they had gone for a walk.

Sitting down now, the grass felt soft to Valia's hand. She picked a blade, twirling it in-between her fingers as she answered. 'I will wear what I would wear any other day. I am not there to be seen but to see.'

'You will never find a husband that way.'

'I never said I was looking for one,' she stated firmly. The two had had this conversation many times before, but Valia could never convince Silia that she was not interested in marrying.

Silia gave her friend a pretty frown. 'But what if you are chosen to be the Lady of the Stars? You will not want to be wearing your everyday dresses.' Valia laughed openly in her friends face.

'I, Valia, chosen to be the Lady of the Stars? You might as well say that I am Queen of the Valinor!'

'I do not see why it is so impossible. You are not ugly, Valia. If you actually took the time to do your hair up fashionably and wear a more becoming style of dress I think you would actually be declared a beauty by all that saw you. And besides, you have more wits about you than most elven maidens. It could happen.'

Valia rolled her eyes at her friend, and then sighed. 'Even if it did, you know I would have to refuse.'

'But whatever for?' Valia gave Silia a hard stare. 'You use what happened to you as an excuse to hide, Valia. It is time you moved on.'

'I do not use it as an excuse. I simply cannot be like all the other carefree elven maidens anymore. It pains me to talk of such things. Why did you have to bring it up on a gorgeous day like this?'

'Fine, I am sorry. But since you say that it is not an excuse, I suggest that we make a friendly wager,' Silia said, flipping onto her stomach and propping herself up on her elbows.

'And what might that be?' Valia asked, not at all thrilled with the turn in the conversation.

'If you are chosen by the winner tomorrow to be the Lady of the Stars, you must accept the offer.'

Valia closed her eyes with relief and smiled. 'That is easy enough, since you and I both know it will never happen. Agreed, and I will not even make you agree to something if you loose.'

The friends smiled at each other and then looked around them. They were sitting in one of the more popular gardens of Lord Elrond's realm. Other elves were strolling through the lush vegetation or sitting on the benches or ground.

'I have heard that Prince Legolas arrived at the palace a few days ago,' Silia said with excitement, changing the subject. 'He is supposed to be quite handsome. Did you happen to catch a glimpse of him while you were at the library?'

Valia groaned inwardly. Silia had a knack for bringing up topics Valia did not wish to talk about. However, she could not help but smile at the exuberance of her friend.

'I did better than catch a glimpse of him. Elrond introduced me to him and we ate lunch together,' Valia said seriously, and she watched with delight as her friends eyes opened wide.

'You did what?' Silia asked in amazement, her voice growing loud. She sat up and grabbed her friends arm. 'You jest.'

Valia raised an eyebrow, refusing to talk.

'No, I know you would not joke with me about something like that,' Silia mused to herself. Suddenly, she looked up at Valia and exploded with indignation. 'You ate lunch with Prince Legolas and you never thought to tell me?'

Glancing around, Valia saw several heads turn their way. 'Lower your voice, Silia. You are drawing attention to us.' Silia looked up and ducked her head in embarrassment when she saw all the eyes turned her way.

She scooted closer to Valia. 'Well? You are going to tell me what happened, are you not? You would not keep those kinds of details from your best friend. Is he really as handsome as they say he is?'

The last question caught Valia off guard. She had experienced so many different emotions while in the prince's presence that she had not thought to analyze his appearance. She leaned back against a tree trunk and thought.

'I suppose many would think him good looking,' she thought aloud. 'He had long blond hair and deep green eyes, but I must admit that I did not notice much else about his form.'

Silia let out a frustrated sigh. 'Only you would not notice. Well, I suppose I shall simply have to wait until the tournament tomorrow to find out. I hear he is to be in it.'

'Yes, Lord Elrond told me he is and Lady Celebrian said he is quite skilled with the bow. Apparently, his name is synonymous with the sport. I had heard rumor of him before, but have never known anyone who has actually seen him shoot.'

'Who cares about how well he shoots! He must be beautiful. I spoke with Hadrielia and some of her friends yesterday. They say they saw him walking into the forest early that morning with his bow. He must have been going to the practice fields to shoot, but that does not matter. They said he was dazzlingly handsome and even greeted them in passing. I wish I had been there.'

Valia laughed at her friend again. She did not think the elf had stopped to take a breath through her entire speech. 'Well, I do not know about his looks, and I certainly cannot vouch for his manners. All I know is that he is supposed to be one of the best archers in the Valinor.'

'Then there is a good chance he will win tomorrow. Can you imagine getting picked by him to be the Lady of the Stars?' Silia asked dreamily.

'I would rather not.'

'O, stop being such a sourpuss.'

'I am not being a sourpuss,' Valia objected.

'Yes you are. Admit it, even you could not refuse him if he asked.'

'Refuse who?' a voice asked behind them. Silia jumped up in fright and gave a loud squeal. Valia, however, closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. She recognized that voice.

Still not turning around, Valia stood as well and brushed the grass off her dress. 'If my memory serves me correctly, my lord, it is considered rude to eavesdrop on others conversations.'

Turning around, Valia leveled a steady glare into the green eyes of Prince Legolas. Standing beside him, Isondil grinned. 'I think we would have done better to not reveal our presence, Legolas. We would have found out more that way.'

Despite her best efforts, Valia smiled at the comment. 'I do believe you are right, Isondil, for I am not going to tell you who we were speaking of and I think my friend will not either.'

Legolas and Isondil turned to the elven maiden Valia referred to. She stood next to Valia, her lips forming a tiny 'o' of awe. All the elves noticed her bright red cheeks at once.

Isondil felt sorry for the girl. He had seen countless other maidens paralyzed in their presence before and tried to lighten the situation for her. 'No, I think she appears rather disposed at the moment. Will you not introduce us to your charming friend Valia?' The comment only made Silia blush more, if that was possible, and she began to fidget with the front of her dress.

'Of course, forgive me for being so rude. Prince Legolas, Lord Isondil, I would like you to meet Lady Silia. She has been a dear friend of mine for many years now.'

Both elves bowed to her and she curtseyed back.

Legolas turned his attention back to Valia. 'Lord Elrond said that Isondil and I might enjoy a stroll through his fabled gardens and we decided to take him up on the offer. Many elves in my father's kingdom speak highly of the gardens here. How fortunate that we came upon you so soon. I fear that we do not know the way around and are in need of companions who are familiar with the area.'

He had tried to be as polite and mannered as possible in his request. Legolas had observed almost immediately that Valia was still offended by his words from the other day. He hoped to sooth her emotions so he could apologize at a more discreet time. He had seen angry females before and knew that he did not want to face the wrath of Valia for a month straight, especially since they had to work under close conditions as well.

To his disappointment, Valia decided to be stubborn. 'I do believe I can find the companions you are looking for, my lord. Lord Elrond keeps several guides at the palace in the event that one of his guests would like a tour of the area. If you will wait here, I will go fetch someone.'

Valia felt a pang of guilt when she saw the crestfallen expression on Legolas' face. Promptly she dismissed the thought. What was she thinking? She would not feel guilty after the rude things he had said to her. He had never even apologized and now he thought she would simply forget the whole incident because he was being civil to her and was a prince! She had a different idea about the matter.

She spun around to leave, but like the first time they had met, Legolas was too fast for her. Catching her upper arm, Valia was held firmly, yet gently in place.

'Actually, I was thinking that you and Lady Silia would honor us by being our escorts, if you would be so kind?'

'I am afraid that is quite impossible, my lord. Silia told me she had somewhere to be at.'

'No, Valia. I do not have to be there,' Silia said, interrupting her friend. 'I would much rather give Lord Isondil and Prince Legolas a tour of the gardens.' Valia looked over at the maiden who had her arm looped through Isondil's and appeared to be right at home. Ruefully, Valia thought that Silia had recovered quickly from her embarrassment.

Legolas noticed the same thing, but he noted that his friend did not seem to mind the friendly behavior of the she-elf on his arm. He would have to ask him about that later. Isondil and Silia started to walk down a dirt path, not waiting for Legolas and Valia.

Looking down at Valia, Legolas offered her his arm and raised a finely shaped brow in question. He put a charming smile on in the hopes of convincing Valia to accept. After all, it had won over many other maidens before without him even trying. But Valia was not like every other maiden he had met before, and Legolas knew it.

It was because of this that he was delightfully shocked when she looked down at his arm and after only a brief hesitation, slowly wrapped her arm through his.

The delight was short lived.

A voice called Valia's name and she turned in the direction it had come from. A servant was running towards her, waving his arms in the air to catch her attention.

He came up to Legolas and Valia and bowed to them. 'Lady Valia, your father wishes to have a word with you, immediately.'

'Where is he at?'

'In Lord Elrond's study, my lady.'

'Thank you.'

The servant bowed again, and then hastily walked away. With relief, Valia removed her arm from the prince's. 'I am terribly sorry, my lord. It seems that I am needed elsewhere at the moment.'

'You are forgiven, Lady Valia. It is quite understandable.' He bowed to her and she curtsied. 'Perhaps you can make it up to me by giving me the joy of a tour through the gardens at another time?'

'Perhaps,' Valia answered slowly. She swiftly left the prince and headed in the direction of the palace, relieved that she had once again escaped his presence.







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