Back at camp, Brianna was talking and laughing with the Men of Aragorn's
party. They truly loved their newfound king and interrupted each other as
they told her about Aragorn and his mighty deeds against the Shadow Lord.
"Do you have a story to tell us about your village?" One of the Men asked Brianna. "A song, or a tale?"
"Yes. I'll sing the song of how my grandmother was seduced by an Elf." She smiled cheekily. "My grandmother made it up, and it'll tell you a little bit about my family history." She drew a breath and stood up, her face lit by the fire and the fading twilight. As Aragorn and Legolas neared the camp, they heard her voice soaring like a lark.
"On a summer's day, the sun shining bright,
"Rosie went down, went down to the river,
"The river, oh the river wild and free,
"There to wash and clean her hair
"For she loved the feel of the water deep and the sun shining on her hair,
"The sun shining on her hair.
"While alone and bathing there in the river wild and free,
"An Elf descended the river bank,
"To see the maiden fair,
"And her red hair sleeked by the waters like the otter's pelt,
"Oh Rosie you should have run away that day,
"Run away that day on the river.
"The Elf he called to her from the river side,
"And said 'O mortal maiden fair, come here to me,
" 'And I'll love you here on the river side,
" 'Oh won't you come to me?'
"Rosie smiled and said
" 'Sir Elf, what's your name and from where do you hail?
" 'For I am only Rosie, a maiden of the village near and I a true maiden be,
" 'Why should I come to the side of an Elf and be loved by such as he?'
" 'Oh Rosie sweet,' replied the Elf,
" 'I am Elrond, an Elf of Rivendell and I call you to my side since
" 'Your mortal beauty has pierced me through,
" 'Please come over to me here by the river's side.'
"And Rosie did and came to be with the Elf from Rivendell,
"Her heart was broken when he left and then to carry his child,
" Began all in a summer's day on the riverside,
"The side of the river swift and wild." She finished to the sound of applause from the Men. Legolas and Aragorn strode into the circle of firelight as the sun slipped away over the horizon.
"You said the Elf's name was Elrond, Brianna?" Legolas asked.
"That's what he told my grandmother, it's probably not his true name at all. Why?"
"Oh naught much, only that Elrond is the Lord of Rivendell, that's all." Legolas finished with a smile.
"My goodness! Wouldn't it be nice if it were true, though? My grandmother never married and only had my mother because she said she knew no Man could measure up to her Elven lover. Even though my Da's family owned a lot of land near the village, an Elven lord? Can't be true. What would an Elven lord want with a simple human village girl?" She said with a look of wonder on her face.
"Never attempt to understand an Elf, Brianna, they're the most mysterious race of Middle Earth." Aragorn said, slapping Legolas heartily on the back. "And I shot a doe for the eating tonight! Haelador, take it off Legolas and prepare it for the flames. Did anyone find some greens to go with it? And where's the wine and the ale?"
Legolas gladly gave the deer to the Men and stretched his back, his pale skin gleaming with the reflected light of the fire. The blood of the deer cast darker shadows over his skin. Brianna watched out of the corner of her eye in amazement at the complete lack of hair where any Man would have had at least some. He was as hairless as a boy, but with the physique of a man. She blushed, glad that darkness hid her curiosity.
"Anyone have spare water, or know where a stream is, so I can wash this blood off me?" Legolas asked with disgust. "The deer ticks are biting fiercely."
"I do." Volunteered Brianna. "It's just this way, behind the horses." She got up from her place near the fire, leading the way to where the horses snuffled and grazed. Legolas smiled and followed her to where the stream ran whispering in its bed of pebbles. The two of them faded into the darkness of the trees. Brianna concentrated on picking her way through the darkness, and then cried out as a sharp stick pierced her foot. Legolas caught her as she stumbled hissing with pain and annoyance.
"What happened?"
"I trod on a stick and it's gone into my foot. I'll be right in a moment, but I'd better wash it in the stream. Can you just help me over there? You can hear it now, it's right in front of us." Legolas knelt next to her and she put her arm over his shoulder as he put his arm around her body. Slowly, they stood and Brianna limped with Legolas over to the stream. She sat down with a sigh and placed her foot in the water.
She wondered at his scent, like flowers and green leaves and other growing things. William had smelt like clean sheets, fresh and crisp with a hint of lemon. Thomas had smelt like a rutting, bloody animal, a boar or some other wild creature. Ma had smelt like pastries and cooking foods, warm and comfortable. She didn't discuss the matter of her acute sense of smell with any one since she had done it once as a child and been rebuked. She didn't realize it was part of her Elven heritage. She gently laved her foot with the cool water, feeling the water washing away the slight amount of blood and pain.
Legolas stood behind her, his senses awhirl with the smell of her and the feel of her in his arms. Then the niggling pain of the parasites on his body from the slaughtered deer recalled him to himself. He took off his leggings with a sigh of relief and strode past Brianna to wade into the water. He sensed a deep pool in the water to his left and stepped into it.
Brianna bit back a startled scream as the body of the near naked Legolas descended from calf high water to waist deep water.
"Pass me my leggings would you? They're a bit bloody and the fleas and ticks from the deer are probably hiding in them." Legolas half turned, his body shining in the moonlight like a moonbeam itself. Brianna flushed and scrabbled behind her for his leggings and passed them to him with her eyes downcast. She turned away so that she couldn't see him. Legolas nodded sadly, after her past experiences, she had no reason to trust Elves or Men. He bent to his task of scrubbing the leggings free of blood. The worst part of hunting was after when the parasites migrated to the hunter. He then washed the blood off his shoulders and back. He tried to feel if there were any vermin left on his back despite the water.
"Brianna?" He said reluctantly "Can you just check my back to see if there are any ticks on it? Even if I heal quickly, having tick fever would be very uncomfortable."
" All right." Brianna limped over to where Legolas stood. He sat in front of her on the bank of the stream with his back turned to her, head bowed, his blond hair wet and draped around his pointed and lobe less ears. Hesitantly, she lightly ran her fingers over his back. She couldn't feel the bumps that meant a tick had attached itself, but she could feel lines of scars running over his back. "I don't think that there are any, but you should check in the morning just in case." Legolas nodded, not trusting himself to speak. She rose to her feet, wincing as her injured foot bore her weight. "I'll go back to camp, so you can get dressed." She shuffled back to the firelight that she could see through the trees.
"Do you have a story to tell us about your village?" One of the Men asked Brianna. "A song, or a tale?"
"Yes. I'll sing the song of how my grandmother was seduced by an Elf." She smiled cheekily. "My grandmother made it up, and it'll tell you a little bit about my family history." She drew a breath and stood up, her face lit by the fire and the fading twilight. As Aragorn and Legolas neared the camp, they heard her voice soaring like a lark.
"On a summer's day, the sun shining bright,
"Rosie went down, went down to the river,
"The river, oh the river wild and free,
"There to wash and clean her hair
"For she loved the feel of the water deep and the sun shining on her hair,
"The sun shining on her hair.
"While alone and bathing there in the river wild and free,
"An Elf descended the river bank,
"To see the maiden fair,
"And her red hair sleeked by the waters like the otter's pelt,
"Oh Rosie you should have run away that day,
"Run away that day on the river.
"The Elf he called to her from the river side,
"And said 'O mortal maiden fair, come here to me,
" 'And I'll love you here on the river side,
" 'Oh won't you come to me?'
"Rosie smiled and said
" 'Sir Elf, what's your name and from where do you hail?
" 'For I am only Rosie, a maiden of the village near and I a true maiden be,
" 'Why should I come to the side of an Elf and be loved by such as he?'
" 'Oh Rosie sweet,' replied the Elf,
" 'I am Elrond, an Elf of Rivendell and I call you to my side since
" 'Your mortal beauty has pierced me through,
" 'Please come over to me here by the river's side.'
"And Rosie did and came to be with the Elf from Rivendell,
"Her heart was broken when he left and then to carry his child,
" Began all in a summer's day on the riverside,
"The side of the river swift and wild." She finished to the sound of applause from the Men. Legolas and Aragorn strode into the circle of firelight as the sun slipped away over the horizon.
"You said the Elf's name was Elrond, Brianna?" Legolas asked.
"That's what he told my grandmother, it's probably not his true name at all. Why?"
"Oh naught much, only that Elrond is the Lord of Rivendell, that's all." Legolas finished with a smile.
"My goodness! Wouldn't it be nice if it were true, though? My grandmother never married and only had my mother because she said she knew no Man could measure up to her Elven lover. Even though my Da's family owned a lot of land near the village, an Elven lord? Can't be true. What would an Elven lord want with a simple human village girl?" She said with a look of wonder on her face.
"Never attempt to understand an Elf, Brianna, they're the most mysterious race of Middle Earth." Aragorn said, slapping Legolas heartily on the back. "And I shot a doe for the eating tonight! Haelador, take it off Legolas and prepare it for the flames. Did anyone find some greens to go with it? And where's the wine and the ale?"
Legolas gladly gave the deer to the Men and stretched his back, his pale skin gleaming with the reflected light of the fire. The blood of the deer cast darker shadows over his skin. Brianna watched out of the corner of her eye in amazement at the complete lack of hair where any Man would have had at least some. He was as hairless as a boy, but with the physique of a man. She blushed, glad that darkness hid her curiosity.
"Anyone have spare water, or know where a stream is, so I can wash this blood off me?" Legolas asked with disgust. "The deer ticks are biting fiercely."
"I do." Volunteered Brianna. "It's just this way, behind the horses." She got up from her place near the fire, leading the way to where the horses snuffled and grazed. Legolas smiled and followed her to where the stream ran whispering in its bed of pebbles. The two of them faded into the darkness of the trees. Brianna concentrated on picking her way through the darkness, and then cried out as a sharp stick pierced her foot. Legolas caught her as she stumbled hissing with pain and annoyance.
"What happened?"
"I trod on a stick and it's gone into my foot. I'll be right in a moment, but I'd better wash it in the stream. Can you just help me over there? You can hear it now, it's right in front of us." Legolas knelt next to her and she put her arm over his shoulder as he put his arm around her body. Slowly, they stood and Brianna limped with Legolas over to the stream. She sat down with a sigh and placed her foot in the water.
She wondered at his scent, like flowers and green leaves and other growing things. William had smelt like clean sheets, fresh and crisp with a hint of lemon. Thomas had smelt like a rutting, bloody animal, a boar or some other wild creature. Ma had smelt like pastries and cooking foods, warm and comfortable. She didn't discuss the matter of her acute sense of smell with any one since she had done it once as a child and been rebuked. She didn't realize it was part of her Elven heritage. She gently laved her foot with the cool water, feeling the water washing away the slight amount of blood and pain.
Legolas stood behind her, his senses awhirl with the smell of her and the feel of her in his arms. Then the niggling pain of the parasites on his body from the slaughtered deer recalled him to himself. He took off his leggings with a sigh of relief and strode past Brianna to wade into the water. He sensed a deep pool in the water to his left and stepped into it.
Brianna bit back a startled scream as the body of the near naked Legolas descended from calf high water to waist deep water.
"Pass me my leggings would you? They're a bit bloody and the fleas and ticks from the deer are probably hiding in them." Legolas half turned, his body shining in the moonlight like a moonbeam itself. Brianna flushed and scrabbled behind her for his leggings and passed them to him with her eyes downcast. She turned away so that she couldn't see him. Legolas nodded sadly, after her past experiences, she had no reason to trust Elves or Men. He bent to his task of scrubbing the leggings free of blood. The worst part of hunting was after when the parasites migrated to the hunter. He then washed the blood off his shoulders and back. He tried to feel if there were any vermin left on his back despite the water.
"Brianna?" He said reluctantly "Can you just check my back to see if there are any ticks on it? Even if I heal quickly, having tick fever would be very uncomfortable."
" All right." Brianna limped over to where Legolas stood. He sat in front of her on the bank of the stream with his back turned to her, head bowed, his blond hair wet and draped around his pointed and lobe less ears. Hesitantly, she lightly ran her fingers over his back. She couldn't feel the bumps that meant a tick had attached itself, but she could feel lines of scars running over his back. "I don't think that there are any, but you should check in the morning just in case." Legolas nodded, not trusting himself to speak. She rose to her feet, wincing as her injured foot bore her weight. "I'll go back to camp, so you can get dressed." She shuffled back to the firelight that she could see through the trees.
