Chapter Five: Skating down the Anduin
~ Seven days later~
"You can't skate, silly!" a childish voice laughed mockingly. "You need ice skates!"
Legolas adjusted his weight from his right foot to his left as he sped along. He was beginning to feel cramp in it after standing on it for nearly an hour.
Around him his surroundings whizzed passed quickly, such was the speed he was going.
His boots had attached to them a bar of metal that cut gently through the ice. For the night after Legolas had returned to Mirkwood, there had been a great snowstorm. Everywhere was iced with nature's more brutal creation.
The great river Anduin was completley iced off, and so this was how the prince of Mirkwood chose to return to Gondor.
He had gone east from the woods and had met the beginning of the Anduin and was currently following it down through Rohan.
Ahead of him he could see two boys pushing a little girl over. Legolas clenched his fists annoyed; he detested bullying. "Yes I can!" the little girl protested and tried to stand up.
But she fell back down with a thud.
The boys laughed derisively and started to skate again on their cruder versions of Legolas' shoes. "Told you so!" one called out with a sneer.
The girl sniffed and rubbed her eyes with a red hand. She was dressed only in the homespun clothes of the Rohirrim. They were normally fairly warm, but the horse lords were unused to such bitter weather. Their plains were normally sunny and cloudless.
She stood up again and felt herself starting to slide when instead of falling down, she was moving forward. She gave a shrill shriek when she watched the ice below her moving rapidly. Then she looked up, but a curtain of gold blocked her vision.
It tickled her nose and she giggled before slipping slightly in the elf's grasp and then she shrieked again.
"Don't worry," Legolas said softly and flicked his hair back. His hands were held securely around her waist and she was held in front of him, his long legs powering along the ice.
"Who are you?" the girl asked.
"Legolas."
"I'm Lina," the girl said with a wide beam and Legolas felt himself sigh at her wide-eyed innocence.
They carried on gliding, Legolas silently meandering his way down the course of the river. Finally he stopped when he heard a loud shout.
"Lina? Lina!" he heard a man shout angrily. The sound was coming from nearly a mile upriver, and the elf's keen hearing had perceived it through the thick blanket of snow that was now falling.
"Where is that girl?"
"Come Lina," Legolas nudged Lina softly and to his surprise, her head lolled forward onto her chest. She had fallen asleep.
The prince looked down at the rosy-cheeked girl. She had soft blonde curls that were damp from the snow, a button nose and dark brown eyes. On her small wrists was one copper bracelet each. Legolas was surprised to feel a swelling of emotion in his breast. It was affection that he never thought he would feel towards a human- not since the man of the Rohirrim.
Maybe it was something about them as a nation. No, he dismissed that with a shake of his head and a slight smile. This was a different fondness. More of a fatherly affection then that of affection between a man and woman, or indeed two men.
Legolas circled round and started skating quicker back to the source of the sound.
~
"You will be the death of me!" the man hissed when he saw his daughter stumbling forward, wiping her bleary eyes. "You silly girl!"
He raised his hand to strike her when out of the shadows behind a tree came a figure. Tall and slender with his head covered by a thick fur coat.
"What have I told you about going downstream?" the father asked in a quieter tone when he felt the disapproving eyes on him. "Now go in. The stew might still be warm."
Lina turned around and waved to Legolas with a smile and a silent whisper of thanks, and went into the small house.
"She deserves more than beating," Legolas said in a low voice.
"Well then!" the man laughed nastily. "Who are you to say how I should raise my child?"
"Merely a concerned stranger," Legolas answered, not wishing to reveal who he was, as was the custom among the elves of Mirkwood. 'Say your name only when it is asked' his father always told him.
"If you think you can do better, then go ahead!" the man snarled.
"I would like to," the prince said sadly. "But the road I travel is not one for a child. It is too harsh."
"Then bugger off!" the man of Rohan said impatiently. "My wife died during the raids on the Westfold nearly thirty years ago, I raised Lina on my own."
Then the man turned and followed his daughter.
Legolas stood and pondered that statement for a while. It was a curious thing for the man to say. Was it meant to conjure up feelings of sympathy for him? Nay, those kind of men would prefer a kick in the head than comforting words and empathetic gestures. It was nothing more than a statement.
The wood-elf shrugged and glided back onto the ice and carried on his journey through the gathering dark, as the snow grew heavier and the winds colder.
~ One day later~
The day was drawing to an end.
The sun was setting in the west, but it could not be seen by many, for still the snow fell. Great rain clouds obscured the sky and the normally white-tipped mountains where completely white.
Through the gathering gloom came a voice. So soft that it could barely be heard over the shriek of the wind. It was a beautiful voice singing as the traveller skated down the Anduin.
"Snow-white! Snow-white! O Lady clear! O Queen beyond the Western Seas! O Light to us that wander here Amid the world of woven trees!
Glithoniel! O Elbereth! Clear are thy eyes and bright thy breath! Snow-white! Snow-white! We sing to thee In a far land beyond the Sea.
O stars that in the Sunless Year Within shining hand by her were sown, In windy fields now bright and clear We see your silver blossom blown!
O Elbereth! Glithoniel! We still remember, we who dwell In this land far land beneath the trees, Thy starlight on the Western Seas."
He neared the gates of Minas Tirith and stood waiting for them to open.
Legolas had seen the scurrying movements of the men atop the walls from a couple of miles away, and knew that they expected his arrival.
"It has been many years since you last sung that!" Estel said fondly as he sat on his horse inside the gates.
"Indeed, it was in Ithilien," Legolas replied. He had lived many years, but he could still remember the exact details of each day.
"I'm glad you returned," the King said and dismounted from his horse to hug his friend. "Eldarion has been counting down the days. What have you done to him?"
Elessar stood back and looked at Legolas with a puzzled smile. "Come, I expect answers when we get inside."
The King had been expecting an answer from the wood-elf as to why his son was acting so peculiarly. He was up on the walls all day searching the horizon from any sign of the prince and was always asking every one else. But when he saw Legolas' blank look, he left it.
They walked inside the gates and mounting Elessar's horse, they rode double up to the palace before entering.
Legolas still had his fur coat drawn around him when Eldarion ran around the corner. This was the sight that the young man saw:
Legolas, his willowy frame covered in black fur that accentuated his normally pale skin, was glowing after days of exercise. His skin was golden while his cheeks were tinged with red blooms of colour. His eyes were bright and roved over Eldarion's body favouably and his mouth twitched into a smile.
"I kept my promise," he said quietly.
"Legolas," the man acknowledged, somewhat shyly. He put his hands in his pockets and twiddled around in them uncomfortably. Eldarion was cursing himself while he did this. Why was he so nervous? The normally light and friendly man was suddenly quiet and twitchy.
Legolas' hands suddenly went to his nose and a mighty "achoo!" echoed through the hallway.
"Sorry," he mumbled in a throaty voice.
There was silence before simultaneously, the King and the prince started laughing while all the time Legolas stood there rubbing his nose, and wondering what was so funny.
"I thought-" Eldarion stopped laughing and took a deep breath. "That elves didn't catch colds."
"They don't," the elf replied with a glare. "As a rule. I guess a couple of days out in the snow all the time makes an exception." He said that pointedly towards Aragorn who smiled.
"Sorry friend," he apologised and they continued walking. "My study ought to still be warm." He led Legolas towards the study and then let the elf slump into a leather arm chair.
The fire was blazing merrily in the hearth and there was the occasional crackling and pop. The room was a very cosy one. In the colder wing of the palace, it relied on the well heat-insulating wood panels and fires to keep it warm. There was paintings and wall hangings hung every where and when there was wall space, a bookshelf or two.
Opposite to the door was the table at which Elessar worked and next to it the chair.
Legolas rested his head back against the chair with a weary groan. Elves can travel long distances without being very tired, but he had travelled non-stop through appalling conditions.
"Take his cloak, Eldarion," the King said and taking two glasses from a cabinet promptly filled them with some liquid. "This ought to warm you up Legolas."
With sweaty and fumbling hands, the man undid the broach at the base of the elf's, elegant white neck. Then he pulled the heavy fur out of behind Legolas and hung it on a coatstand that was propped up handily in a corner.
Legolas gave another sniff and another glare at Aragorn, as if blaming him for his cold.
Elessar walked over and handed one glass to the prince who sniffed it suspicously and held it in his numb hands.
"Eldarion, could you entertain the elf while I see to Faramir?" Elessar asked. The ruler of Ithilien had arrived earlier that morning to start the talks about the situation over the marauding orcs. Eomer of Rohan was also due that day. It was a happy coincidence then, that the prince of Mirkwood would also be able to share his views and opinions. That was if Legolas could stop sniffing for one minute, the King thought with a slight grin and without waiting for an answer strode out the room.
"Thank you father," Eldarion said dryly. "Of course I will play the loyal host while you have all the fun."
Legolas chuckled before sneezing again and Eldarion only just managed to remove the glass from his frozen grip otherwise it would probably have ended up on the floor with the impact that his head was thrown forward.
"Thanks," he mumbled again. "What is that stuff?" Legolas asked, gesturing towards the liquid.
"I think," Eldarion said, taking the glass and sniffing it deeply. "It is brandy.... This is father's best stuff." He took a sip and handed Legolas' back. Eldarion shook his head and made a strange hissing noise. "That's certainly it."
Legolas made the tiniest of tilting actions and emptied a minute proportion into his mouth. "Mn," Legolas said appreciatvely. The elves of Mirkwood were partial to a good brandy or something alcoholic, and were almost always the victors in drinking games, for they could stomach vast quantities of the spirits before feeling drastic side effects.
Eldarion downed the whole glass in one gulp and found his confidence returning.
"More?" he asked with a crooked smile.
Legolas nodded and held his glass forward.
~
Partially by the large amounts of alcohol that Eldarion had swallowed, and partially due to Legolas' encouragment, the man was slumped on the elf's lap.
"My father has told me some very d-" Eldarion hiccuped and giggled. "Dirrty thinggs about you, Legless," he added with a loud cackle.
"Really?" Legolas asked. Elves were fairly imune to the light alcohol that men make, but this was no ordinary brandy. It was a dwarven make, strong and heady. It had the potency to knock even a seasoned drinker out after a full bottle. They had shared one.
Legolas was also fairly new to drinking and was slightly, shall we say: sozzled. His words weren't as slurred as Eldarion's, but his personality was certainly different.
"Legless," the elf giggled when he realised the meaning of the nick name. "S'funny."
"Annd I wondered whether they were trrrue!" Eldarion finished, tapping Legolas' nose.
"Well what were they?" the wood-elf asked, he himself wasn't sure.
"Come here and I'll whisper them to you," the man said boldly, the liquour had made him act very brazenly.
Legolas leant forward and felt his cheeks burn when the prince whispered them in his ear. "Oh, those ones," he realised.
Eldarion sat back with a smug smile. "Three timmes I've seeen you blush- you blush like a maiden!"
The young man was fairly irrisponsible it must be said towards young maidens. It wasn't suprising. He was handsome and charismatic, they were simply lured towards him. Eldarion was a charmer, and so he had seen plenty of maidens blushing at him.
Legolas smiled bashfully, feeling some inhibitions returning to him as Eldarion's eyes looked down at him with an approving smile. This was the first time he had been attracted to a man though.
The elf reached forward as if mesmirized and stroked his fingers through the man's dark hair and then found a slightly pointed end of an ear. Eldarion had some elf-blood in him.
The young prince adjusted where he was sitting so that now on the large sofa, he was straddling Legolas' legs, and then he lowered his lips to kiss the wood-elf's own.
The kiss was slightly sloppy because of the drink they had both consumed but they both relished it, and were glowing happily when they pulled away.
"Mnn Eldarion," Legolas drawled drunk in his appearearance as a thirsy man drinks water. Long, satisfying gulps and then a contented sigh. "We shouldn't be doing this," he said, but contradicted himself as his arms went up to curl around Eldarion's waist and pull him in lower.
"Why ever not?" Eldarion asked, in his bleary mind he thought that the idea was preposterous. Why shouldn't they be doing it? He wasn't about to stop 'this' when he had a beautiful elf seated in front of him, and him on top of the beautiful elf in question in a comprimising position.
"Because any moment now, someone could walk past," Legolas said rationally, though he too was thinking hard for a reason to put off 'this' for a minute.
"Then let them see," the man said stubbornly and his fingers started to slip under Legolas' tunic playfully. "I don't care."
"Well I do for" Legolas was cut off as he let out a groan. "Us," he finished.
Eldarion grinned wickedly and made his way up the elf's chest. He could feel the muscles under his fingers.
"I don't want you father to.... aah..... see us."
Legolas tried to concentrate on what he was saying and was about to just relax into Eldarion's talented touch when he heard foosteps and then a voice.
Eldarion's fingers made light work of Legolas' tunic and soon the wood-elf could feel the leather of the seat on his bare skin. The prince had thrown the garment carelessly behind the back of the chair.
"Eldarion!" Legolas cried as the prince's fingers lowered. "Get off!"
With a final shove, he pushed the man away and sprang to the door lightly, clad only in his leggings and soft shoes.
"Come into my office Faramir," he heard King Elessar say. "I've got some fine brandy that we could try."
"Certainly," Faramir accepted.
"Eldarion, hide!" Legolas hissed and pulling the man out of the seat in which he had collapsed, he pulled him behind the settee.
The seat was fairly long. It could seat three people at the most and was just long enough for the man and the elf to lie behind without their feet sticking out.
Legolas was on his back with Eldarion on top of him.
"Where's my brandy?" Elessar asked, coming into the room. "It seems that someone beat us to it."
From behind the couch Eldarion giggled and was about to murmur something when Legolas silenced him with his lips. Instead a soft noise of contentment came out of the man's lips and then the soft noise of snoring.
Legolas, whose state of drunkness was quickly wearing off, sighed and waited.
~
Thank you for bearing with me. Now if you please, could you review?
Thank you to the Lady of Legolas for your undying support. This chapter is for yoooouuuu!
~ Seven days later~
"You can't skate, silly!" a childish voice laughed mockingly. "You need ice skates!"
Legolas adjusted his weight from his right foot to his left as he sped along. He was beginning to feel cramp in it after standing on it for nearly an hour.
Around him his surroundings whizzed passed quickly, such was the speed he was going.
His boots had attached to them a bar of metal that cut gently through the ice. For the night after Legolas had returned to Mirkwood, there had been a great snowstorm. Everywhere was iced with nature's more brutal creation.
The great river Anduin was completley iced off, and so this was how the prince of Mirkwood chose to return to Gondor.
He had gone east from the woods and had met the beginning of the Anduin and was currently following it down through Rohan.
Ahead of him he could see two boys pushing a little girl over. Legolas clenched his fists annoyed; he detested bullying. "Yes I can!" the little girl protested and tried to stand up.
But she fell back down with a thud.
The boys laughed derisively and started to skate again on their cruder versions of Legolas' shoes. "Told you so!" one called out with a sneer.
The girl sniffed and rubbed her eyes with a red hand. She was dressed only in the homespun clothes of the Rohirrim. They were normally fairly warm, but the horse lords were unused to such bitter weather. Their plains were normally sunny and cloudless.
She stood up again and felt herself starting to slide when instead of falling down, she was moving forward. She gave a shrill shriek when she watched the ice below her moving rapidly. Then she looked up, but a curtain of gold blocked her vision.
It tickled her nose and she giggled before slipping slightly in the elf's grasp and then she shrieked again.
"Don't worry," Legolas said softly and flicked his hair back. His hands were held securely around her waist and she was held in front of him, his long legs powering along the ice.
"Who are you?" the girl asked.
"Legolas."
"I'm Lina," the girl said with a wide beam and Legolas felt himself sigh at her wide-eyed innocence.
They carried on gliding, Legolas silently meandering his way down the course of the river. Finally he stopped when he heard a loud shout.
"Lina? Lina!" he heard a man shout angrily. The sound was coming from nearly a mile upriver, and the elf's keen hearing had perceived it through the thick blanket of snow that was now falling.
"Where is that girl?"
"Come Lina," Legolas nudged Lina softly and to his surprise, her head lolled forward onto her chest. She had fallen asleep.
The prince looked down at the rosy-cheeked girl. She had soft blonde curls that were damp from the snow, a button nose and dark brown eyes. On her small wrists was one copper bracelet each. Legolas was surprised to feel a swelling of emotion in his breast. It was affection that he never thought he would feel towards a human- not since the man of the Rohirrim.
Maybe it was something about them as a nation. No, he dismissed that with a shake of his head and a slight smile. This was a different fondness. More of a fatherly affection then that of affection between a man and woman, or indeed two men.
Legolas circled round and started skating quicker back to the source of the sound.
~
"You will be the death of me!" the man hissed when he saw his daughter stumbling forward, wiping her bleary eyes. "You silly girl!"
He raised his hand to strike her when out of the shadows behind a tree came a figure. Tall and slender with his head covered by a thick fur coat.
"What have I told you about going downstream?" the father asked in a quieter tone when he felt the disapproving eyes on him. "Now go in. The stew might still be warm."
Lina turned around and waved to Legolas with a smile and a silent whisper of thanks, and went into the small house.
"She deserves more than beating," Legolas said in a low voice.
"Well then!" the man laughed nastily. "Who are you to say how I should raise my child?"
"Merely a concerned stranger," Legolas answered, not wishing to reveal who he was, as was the custom among the elves of Mirkwood. 'Say your name only when it is asked' his father always told him.
"If you think you can do better, then go ahead!" the man snarled.
"I would like to," the prince said sadly. "But the road I travel is not one for a child. It is too harsh."
"Then bugger off!" the man of Rohan said impatiently. "My wife died during the raids on the Westfold nearly thirty years ago, I raised Lina on my own."
Then the man turned and followed his daughter.
Legolas stood and pondered that statement for a while. It was a curious thing for the man to say. Was it meant to conjure up feelings of sympathy for him? Nay, those kind of men would prefer a kick in the head than comforting words and empathetic gestures. It was nothing more than a statement.
The wood-elf shrugged and glided back onto the ice and carried on his journey through the gathering dark, as the snow grew heavier and the winds colder.
~ One day later~
The day was drawing to an end.
The sun was setting in the west, but it could not be seen by many, for still the snow fell. Great rain clouds obscured the sky and the normally white-tipped mountains where completely white.
Through the gathering gloom came a voice. So soft that it could barely be heard over the shriek of the wind. It was a beautiful voice singing as the traveller skated down the Anduin.
"Snow-white! Snow-white! O Lady clear! O Queen beyond the Western Seas! O Light to us that wander here Amid the world of woven trees!
Glithoniel! O Elbereth! Clear are thy eyes and bright thy breath! Snow-white! Snow-white! We sing to thee In a far land beyond the Sea.
O stars that in the Sunless Year Within shining hand by her were sown, In windy fields now bright and clear We see your silver blossom blown!
O Elbereth! Glithoniel! We still remember, we who dwell In this land far land beneath the trees, Thy starlight on the Western Seas."
He neared the gates of Minas Tirith and stood waiting for them to open.
Legolas had seen the scurrying movements of the men atop the walls from a couple of miles away, and knew that they expected his arrival.
"It has been many years since you last sung that!" Estel said fondly as he sat on his horse inside the gates.
"Indeed, it was in Ithilien," Legolas replied. He had lived many years, but he could still remember the exact details of each day.
"I'm glad you returned," the King said and dismounted from his horse to hug his friend. "Eldarion has been counting down the days. What have you done to him?"
Elessar stood back and looked at Legolas with a puzzled smile. "Come, I expect answers when we get inside."
The King had been expecting an answer from the wood-elf as to why his son was acting so peculiarly. He was up on the walls all day searching the horizon from any sign of the prince and was always asking every one else. But when he saw Legolas' blank look, he left it.
They walked inside the gates and mounting Elessar's horse, they rode double up to the palace before entering.
Legolas still had his fur coat drawn around him when Eldarion ran around the corner. This was the sight that the young man saw:
Legolas, his willowy frame covered in black fur that accentuated his normally pale skin, was glowing after days of exercise. His skin was golden while his cheeks were tinged with red blooms of colour. His eyes were bright and roved over Eldarion's body favouably and his mouth twitched into a smile.
"I kept my promise," he said quietly.
"Legolas," the man acknowledged, somewhat shyly. He put his hands in his pockets and twiddled around in them uncomfortably. Eldarion was cursing himself while he did this. Why was he so nervous? The normally light and friendly man was suddenly quiet and twitchy.
Legolas' hands suddenly went to his nose and a mighty "achoo!" echoed through the hallway.
"Sorry," he mumbled in a throaty voice.
There was silence before simultaneously, the King and the prince started laughing while all the time Legolas stood there rubbing his nose, and wondering what was so funny.
"I thought-" Eldarion stopped laughing and took a deep breath. "That elves didn't catch colds."
"They don't," the elf replied with a glare. "As a rule. I guess a couple of days out in the snow all the time makes an exception." He said that pointedly towards Aragorn who smiled.
"Sorry friend," he apologised and they continued walking. "My study ought to still be warm." He led Legolas towards the study and then let the elf slump into a leather arm chair.
The fire was blazing merrily in the hearth and there was the occasional crackling and pop. The room was a very cosy one. In the colder wing of the palace, it relied on the well heat-insulating wood panels and fires to keep it warm. There was paintings and wall hangings hung every where and when there was wall space, a bookshelf or two.
Opposite to the door was the table at which Elessar worked and next to it the chair.
Legolas rested his head back against the chair with a weary groan. Elves can travel long distances without being very tired, but he had travelled non-stop through appalling conditions.
"Take his cloak, Eldarion," the King said and taking two glasses from a cabinet promptly filled them with some liquid. "This ought to warm you up Legolas."
With sweaty and fumbling hands, the man undid the broach at the base of the elf's, elegant white neck. Then he pulled the heavy fur out of behind Legolas and hung it on a coatstand that was propped up handily in a corner.
Legolas gave another sniff and another glare at Aragorn, as if blaming him for his cold.
Elessar walked over and handed one glass to the prince who sniffed it suspicously and held it in his numb hands.
"Eldarion, could you entertain the elf while I see to Faramir?" Elessar asked. The ruler of Ithilien had arrived earlier that morning to start the talks about the situation over the marauding orcs. Eomer of Rohan was also due that day. It was a happy coincidence then, that the prince of Mirkwood would also be able to share his views and opinions. That was if Legolas could stop sniffing for one minute, the King thought with a slight grin and without waiting for an answer strode out the room.
"Thank you father," Eldarion said dryly. "Of course I will play the loyal host while you have all the fun."
Legolas chuckled before sneezing again and Eldarion only just managed to remove the glass from his frozen grip otherwise it would probably have ended up on the floor with the impact that his head was thrown forward.
"Thanks," he mumbled again. "What is that stuff?" Legolas asked, gesturing towards the liquid.
"I think," Eldarion said, taking the glass and sniffing it deeply. "It is brandy.... This is father's best stuff." He took a sip and handed Legolas' back. Eldarion shook his head and made a strange hissing noise. "That's certainly it."
Legolas made the tiniest of tilting actions and emptied a minute proportion into his mouth. "Mn," Legolas said appreciatvely. The elves of Mirkwood were partial to a good brandy or something alcoholic, and were almost always the victors in drinking games, for they could stomach vast quantities of the spirits before feeling drastic side effects.
Eldarion downed the whole glass in one gulp and found his confidence returning.
"More?" he asked with a crooked smile.
Legolas nodded and held his glass forward.
~
Partially by the large amounts of alcohol that Eldarion had swallowed, and partially due to Legolas' encouragment, the man was slumped on the elf's lap.
"My father has told me some very d-" Eldarion hiccuped and giggled. "Dirrty thinggs about you, Legless," he added with a loud cackle.
"Really?" Legolas asked. Elves were fairly imune to the light alcohol that men make, but this was no ordinary brandy. It was a dwarven make, strong and heady. It had the potency to knock even a seasoned drinker out after a full bottle. They had shared one.
Legolas was also fairly new to drinking and was slightly, shall we say: sozzled. His words weren't as slurred as Eldarion's, but his personality was certainly different.
"Legless," the elf giggled when he realised the meaning of the nick name. "S'funny."
"Annd I wondered whether they were trrrue!" Eldarion finished, tapping Legolas' nose.
"Well what were they?" the wood-elf asked, he himself wasn't sure.
"Come here and I'll whisper them to you," the man said boldly, the liquour had made him act very brazenly.
Legolas leant forward and felt his cheeks burn when the prince whispered them in his ear. "Oh, those ones," he realised.
Eldarion sat back with a smug smile. "Three timmes I've seeen you blush- you blush like a maiden!"
The young man was fairly irrisponsible it must be said towards young maidens. It wasn't suprising. He was handsome and charismatic, they were simply lured towards him. Eldarion was a charmer, and so he had seen plenty of maidens blushing at him.
Legolas smiled bashfully, feeling some inhibitions returning to him as Eldarion's eyes looked down at him with an approving smile. This was the first time he had been attracted to a man though.
The elf reached forward as if mesmirized and stroked his fingers through the man's dark hair and then found a slightly pointed end of an ear. Eldarion had some elf-blood in him.
The young prince adjusted where he was sitting so that now on the large sofa, he was straddling Legolas' legs, and then he lowered his lips to kiss the wood-elf's own.
The kiss was slightly sloppy because of the drink they had both consumed but they both relished it, and were glowing happily when they pulled away.
"Mnn Eldarion," Legolas drawled drunk in his appearearance as a thirsy man drinks water. Long, satisfying gulps and then a contented sigh. "We shouldn't be doing this," he said, but contradicted himself as his arms went up to curl around Eldarion's waist and pull him in lower.
"Why ever not?" Eldarion asked, in his bleary mind he thought that the idea was preposterous. Why shouldn't they be doing it? He wasn't about to stop 'this' when he had a beautiful elf seated in front of him, and him on top of the beautiful elf in question in a comprimising position.
"Because any moment now, someone could walk past," Legolas said rationally, though he too was thinking hard for a reason to put off 'this' for a minute.
"Then let them see," the man said stubbornly and his fingers started to slip under Legolas' tunic playfully. "I don't care."
"Well I do for" Legolas was cut off as he let out a groan. "Us," he finished.
Eldarion grinned wickedly and made his way up the elf's chest. He could feel the muscles under his fingers.
"I don't want you father to.... aah..... see us."
Legolas tried to concentrate on what he was saying and was about to just relax into Eldarion's talented touch when he heard foosteps and then a voice.
Eldarion's fingers made light work of Legolas' tunic and soon the wood-elf could feel the leather of the seat on his bare skin. The prince had thrown the garment carelessly behind the back of the chair.
"Eldarion!" Legolas cried as the prince's fingers lowered. "Get off!"
With a final shove, he pushed the man away and sprang to the door lightly, clad only in his leggings and soft shoes.
"Come into my office Faramir," he heard King Elessar say. "I've got some fine brandy that we could try."
"Certainly," Faramir accepted.
"Eldarion, hide!" Legolas hissed and pulling the man out of the seat in which he had collapsed, he pulled him behind the settee.
The seat was fairly long. It could seat three people at the most and was just long enough for the man and the elf to lie behind without their feet sticking out.
Legolas was on his back with Eldarion on top of him.
"Where's my brandy?" Elessar asked, coming into the room. "It seems that someone beat us to it."
From behind the couch Eldarion giggled and was about to murmur something when Legolas silenced him with his lips. Instead a soft noise of contentment came out of the man's lips and then the soft noise of snoring.
Legolas, whose state of drunkness was quickly wearing off, sighed and waited.
~
Thank you for bearing with me. Now if you please, could you review?
Thank you to the Lady of Legolas for your undying support. This chapter is for yoooouuuu!
