The Computer is not only stupid, its on crack. I apologize for the mix-up because I have no idea how in the world it happened.
I give all credit of Beta-ing to Silmarien and as always if you have not read her stuff do so now!
Ravyn
Arwen, I had decided, looked as un-EvenStarish as possible. I know that my wonderful attitude is like that of Luthien, but Arwen looks so much like her that I am left in awe.
Of course, that never bridles my tongue and only encourages my Nimrodel tendencies.
But if this is what Luthien looked like as she pined for her lover, then I think she can have it actually. It looks more painful than drowning in a raging river.
I had found out the story, much to my surprise.
Apparently the scruffy looking human, you know the one who helped me up with much threatening, is the future King of Gondor. Apparently Kings do not need certain manners. But back to the point, Arwen was in love with a mortal.
I was silent for a whole five minutes when she told me.
After that I was very, very creative. But in a good way. My creativity stemmed from the fact that I was going to have to help her with her Dad. I knew where this was going; I am not a stupid elf. Just slightly...eccentric.
Arwen was going to the Gray Havens to go to Valinor. Not if I had anything to say about it!
She went and spent time with her Grandma and I formulated a plan. All we had to do was ride back to Imladris and wait for the word that we had won the war. I needed to work off some steam anyway. Haldir had left with the rest of his Border Guard and left me here. He went to go help this Aragorn fellow out once they finished fighting at Helms Deep, and he left me here.
Apparently he is trying to send me a subtle message.
But because I found myself with all this free time (Galadriel was watching the border and man is she scary) I decided I could once again help this delicate maiden.
Plus(,) the fact that she had out ridden the Nazgul was just wicked fun!
The fact that she decided to stay with Aragorn had nothing to do with peer pressure, let me go ahead and assure you of that right now! Do you think I would happily go against Elrond and face his demon eyebrows? Okay yes, I would, but it's all for a good cause! I don't want a fading Princess on my hands; it's bad for my reputation!
So we planned on how to go about getting back to Imladris. The first thing we needed to do was steal some horses. I don't own a horse, thus, the reason we are stealing one.
I found, much to my surprise, that Arwen is very talented at horse thievery. Apparently she has had some practice, I was completely impressed. To bad we didn't have more time together as Elflings, can you imagine the mere ideas we could have pulled off?
She in turn, was impressed with my club!
The fact that you can't really steal anything from the Lady Galadriel never really crossed our minds. It was SO much fun playing Elf Spy, and we easily acquired our needed supplies that we stole them from various kitchens. We stocked up on Lembas, and jumped on a 'borrowed' horse, and took off for Imladris.
And somewhere in all this I packed my knife.
Camping with Arwen is lots of fun. Camping in itself is terrible. I know I am an Elf, but apparently the whole camping in the wilderness is just not my thing. First of all(,) I got spiders in my hair (the fact that I am slightly TERRIFIED of them means nothing), I broke my little toe on a log (Arwen received her own club), we had SO much fun getting rained on, and I fell into the river we were following like...oh twice.
I am changing future plans again. No more Nimrodel, we're talking oh...uh...when I find a suitable elf I will let you know.
And all this happened within the first night. We had around a month of travel to go. At this rate we were going to be troll food or orc appetizers. I can see it now: EvenStar found dead by stream, unidentifiable object found near her. It will be in all the lore books!
Of course, I might be dead once I reach Imladris anyway. Elrond is sure to be VERY upset with me for talking the EvenStar out of going to Valinor. Of course, it wasn't my entire fault; I just...encouraged certain ideas.
Of course, Elrond won't see it that way though. No! He will want to be a statistic too, because everyone wants to blame me! I mean honestly, where is the creative edge that the elves once had? Gone I tell you, gone long ago!
I, of course, was never very worried about my own safety! I was purely dedicated to making sure that the EvenStar returned home safely to her father and future husband. But let me tell you this right now so you are never mistaken, she is no wimp.
She never fretted about her nails, hair, beauty sleep, and so on. No. Actually she was more likely to help me out of a bind anyway. And as much as I hate to admit it, it was she who got us to Imladris. Hey, I had never been there before; it wasn't like there was a map to get there or anything! Yes we left in a hurry, and no I don't find any humor in the fact that we got lost twice.
Maybe I ought to be the next EvenStar. Nope, then I would have to give up my immortality, or wait, then I would be like Luthien. This is really becoming confusing fast...I NEED NEW ROLE MODELS!
I don't think I am going to find one anytime soon. Here is where the ladylike sighing and a few creative moments come into play. You may ask why I need a role model, and I might one day tell you.
Back to my road trip.
I learned one very important lesson in this entire mess. Never, ever irritate all high and mighty elf lords. Go ahead and put it on the top of your do not list. DO NOT DO IT! Especially since this one has this single eyebrow that goes up and... don't tick them off. Evil demon eyebrow, it's the Nazgul eyebrow. Not even Thranduil has the Nazgul eyebrow.
When he raises that Nazgul eyebrow, well it's scary. Arwen was raised under the Nazgul eyebrow and my respect for her has grown. But you know, if I can get over the eyebrow thing (I can't so that could be my problem) he is still pretty much an okay Elf Lord.
I think I hid under the bed for around six hours. Arwen joined me after the thunder and the lightening joined his raging routine. Apparently Elrond has this whole hang up with his only daughter staying here and dying. Of course, I am not too keen on the whole idea myself but I mean honestly, she might die anyway.
I pointed this out from the safety of being under the bed.
By dinner he had clamed down enough to talk it over with Arwen again, and I wandered around Imladris. It really is quite nice this time of year. Such pretty waterfalls and nice trees, and I found out during dinner the food is good too.
Elrond told me that the twins had gone to aid Haldir and the Fellowship. Great, remind me again that I am stuck with Arwen at Imladris. Getting there had been fun (if you counted out all the life endangering experiences I had) but now I was left to my own devices and was slowly going insane.
Arwen offered to help me with my Archery. Glorfindel thought this was also a great idea, and all Elrond did was raise the Nazgul eyebrow. I did everything in my power to talk them out of it, but NO, they had to be good and try to rack up points for Mandos Hall. Well Glorfindel had already been there, and Arwen was not going if she had anything to say about it, and well, I had no intention of being there at all, so really what was the point?
Did they want to die from me accidentally shooting them?
My aim had actually gotten worse since I shot that orc. It seemed that I lost all abilities to hit the target once I had killed an orc. After I almost shot myself (please don't ask...please) I managed to talk them out of it. Of course Glorfindel was hiding behind Arwen and she was hiding behind a horse. Where the horse had come from I have NO idea!
I did hear a comment about out riding Nazgul being easier than teaching me Archery, but I chose to ignore it. Finally Arwen declared that the only person fit to teach me how to shoot an arrow would be...you guessed it. Legolas.
I decided mentioning that I had almost shot him once as well was not really a good idea. No need to incriminate myself in future assassination plans.
Everything was going good until Arwen asked what would seem a most innocent question.
"So how are things between you and Greenleaf?" Arwen innocently asked.
"Huh? Oh well the only family left to me under King Thranduil's rule is my two brothers, my parents set sail a few years back." I, purposely, chose not to respond the way she wanted.
"Great. How are things between you and Legolas?"
"The Prince?" How long could I drag this out exactly? Hang on folks and we will find out.
Arwen leveled me with a look that can only be considered Nazgul in training. Scary. I bit my lip and pretended not to know what she was talking about. Until she arched her eyebrow even higher.
"Okay, okay! I don't know!" There, I had said it. I didn't know! I mean honestly, I had been getting mixed signals for years!
Arwen shook her head and grabbed my hand. Did elves not believe in personal space? She continued to drag me halfway across Imladris until we had reached a suitable conversation spot.
It was in the middle of a bunch of nice, loud waterfalls. Apparently it killed the sound of our voices. Which would be why we were forced to scream at each other like the undignified beings we were.
"What do you mean you don't know how the Prince of Mirkwood feels about you? I have known Legolas since he was an Elfling and his ENTIRE," how she managed to put great emphasis on that word when she was already yelling I would never know, "life so far."
That was just the most heart warming speech I had ever had yelled at me. I mean it did great things in the region of my heart. Did I sound annoyed and sarcastic to anyone besides myself?
"Arwen, that is impossible." Have I mentioned I rival Luthien for being stubborn? I mean most people only think of a pretty face when they think of the, now dead, Elven-Maia Princess, but it's true. She argued with her Father, a king, her mother, a Maia, and Mandos himself. Maybe I will stick with Luthien as my role model after all.
But I must admit that Arwen's speech did cause me to feel slightly...disturbed. That would mean that Legolas did have the intention of making me fall in love with him. Not that it would work, other elves had tried, and failed. (Yes I did, much to my astonishment, have other admirers. They must all have a thing for pain.)
"It is not impossible." Arwen fixed me with the most deadly look I have ever received. Her blue eyes darkened and she gave me a searching look that told me that she was indeed her Grandmother's grandchild. I wondered faintly if she too could read minds. "I think you are already in love with him and refuse to admit it."
Now hang on here. As an Elf, I am guaranteed certain benefits, and one of those is always knowing my own feelings. I mean who would want to fall in love with an elf who can shot, fight, looks good in anything he wears, has gorgeous blue eyes, a nice archers build, long slender fingers, and the wit of a brilliant politician. Hey just because I recognize certain aspects does NOT mean that I like the guy. It doesn't!
"Do not." Oh Valar, I sound like an Elfling that just had its candy taken away.
Arwen gave me a highly amused glance. "If you say so."
For the record, I refrained from sticking my tongue out.
~*~
Why does everyone I come in contact with blow the horn of a certain Prince?
Before I go into detail about my current problem, let me tell you that the Valar have SUCH a sense of humor. I should explain what has happened in the last couple of months.
We won the war.
Legolas kept himself from being killed.
A mortal named Eowyn killed the Witch King.
Arwen decided to get married as soon as possible.
I was forced to ride on a horse for another two months, this time without mishaps as I was not allowed near any rivers, streams, cooking fires, or anything with sharp pointy objects besides my sword and I was under strict instructions to not unsheathe it unless my life was in danger.
Don't you just love it when everyone around you becomes paranoid? I mean honestly, the mass panic on everyone's face when a bored elf challenged me to an archery contest (he had heard of the wood elf's skill with a bow and I thought Glorfindel was going to strangle him.)
I mean HONESTLY. Do they think I would even begin to accept one? If it was a contest to see who was the most dangerous to elves around her or him, then I would win.
But back to the subject, we made it to Gondor. And guess which Elven Prince, Hero, and all around archer was there.
You should talk to Galadriel because you are getting good at this. I hear she needs more help.
Legolas.
Guess who insisted on dominating every dance after the ceremony? If I had not had a moment to bribe the hobbits into saving me by offering a Mushroom dish of my mom's (I CAN cook) I would still be there.
Then I practiced my dodging tactics, and once I had done that, EVERY person I met had something good to say about the Fellowship. The handsome Elvish Prince happened to be high on their list.
So I finally made it outside to sit among the stars and watch the little goldfish swim around the fountain I was looking in.
I was enjoying the silence.
Until I felt two strong arms wrap around my waist and a kiss pressed to the back of my neck. Wasn't I just a lucky person?
"Legolas." It really wasn't a question, mostly a statement of fact. If it wasn't Legolas, someone was going to be taking an early bath, and if it was he might be taking one anyway.
"Celede." His voice was smooth and rich just like it had always been. But there was a new maturity to it, and it soothed my rattled nerves, and that bothered me just a hair.
I had just spent the night attempting not to step on his feet, so we barely had time to talk since the music was loud enough to drown out sound anyway. I had spent the second part of the night avoiding him, and now here I was, being held by him with Earendil burning brightly.
It could almost be called romantic if it wasn't for the mass amounts of butterflies running through my stomach. I think I ate something wrong.
"Is there a reason you are here, Prince, or do I need to screech in maidenly terror to make you go way?"
He laughed lightly, his breath tickling my ear since he had decided to rest his chin on my shoulder. It was with great amounts of strength that I held back a shudder.
Elf ears are very sensitive.
"If is all right, meleth-nin, I just wished to hold you in the last of the moonlight with Earendil still in the night sky." His voice was still low and gentle and I was tempted to turn to mush.
I was slightly tempted to lean back against his chest and enjoy the stars but that might be leading the poor elf on, and at this time, I had to intentions of doing that. I shifted and opened my mouth to tell him that, when he slides one hand over my mouth.
"Please meleth-nin, let me have this small comfort. Tomorrow we can go back to you throwing barbs at me, and I attempting to win you. Right now I would just like to hold, my journey has been long and filled with much sorrow and the thought of holding you has pulled me through much."
A load of orc leavings.
But where I am slightly sarcastic, and have the disposition of an angry dwarf most of the time, I can not simply ignore a plea like that, so I am forced to give a sigh of defeat.
I was not, however, expecting him to set himself down and pull me into his lap and rest my head on his shoulder. That was something I really was not prepared for, and my slight yelp of surprise alerted him to that fact I think.
His arms tightened in response and I watched Earendil for a while before I was able to come up with a topic of discussion. He said that his path was full of sorrow, and that meant that he needed to talk.
So I was my usual subtle self.
"So, what exactly was your trip like anyway. If you're past couple of months have been anything like mine, you have not been bored." I hoped that the shaking of his frame was from laughter.
"Why is it every time I talk with you, you seem to put things into proportions. Boring," He laughed again, "has been the least of my problems. I have faced a Balrog, befriended a dwarf, raced all across Middle Earth, faced down the mouth of Saroun, been in a siege, dealt with a palantir, and many other things. Including losing a dear comrade. I must admit I was very happy when you did not come with Haldir."
"I tried. He said no. Several times and in several ways." If I failed to mention that he threatened to chain me to my bed then that is okay.
He pressed a kiss against my temple and I must say I was very warm, and comfortable. I was not going to tell him, however.
"So Meleth-nin, what have you been up to?"
I sighed dramatically. I proceeded to tell him about Haldir refusing to let me go, Arwen showing up and my helpful comments, our camping trip (these stories had him shaking so hard with laughter I feared we might fall back into the fountain) my facing the Nazgul eyebrow from the safety of Arwen's floor, of the trip up here and the horrendous attempts of my being 'taught' how to shoot an arrow correctly.
A gently breeze picked up and I found myself snuggling into the warmth of his arms a little more, against my will to do so as my body seemed to move on its own accord, and I watched as Earendil rose farther into the sky. Soon it would begin to fall with the moon.
"Ah, Celede, you are good for my heart."
I barely refrained, okay so I did, snort at that. "You just like practicing your wit and I have am the most well known sounding board."
I found myself dipped back suddenly and looked into his eyes as he angled his head over me. His indigo colored gaze was lit with starlight and his skin was glowing faintly. In other words, he looked good enough to eat.
"How am I ever going to prove to you this is not a game Celede?" The hand he was not using to support my weight brushed a few lone strands of hair away from my face and I could only blink at him in surprise.
His eyes were practically burning into my own. That strange butterfly feeling was back, this time far stronger and I saw something flicker in his gaze and he sighed before pulling me back up.
I kept that sigh of relief to myself.
This elf was becoming more and more dangerous to my single status all the time. Why in the world could he not get that through his thick elven skull? I found myself tucked firmly back into his arms as the moon began to fall back to earth.
As I watched, I felt the aftermath of the day, and the last couple of days, drain from my body. The fact that he had taken to running his hand through my hair helped. The only bad thing was that he had taken my hair out of the braid I had had it in earlier to do so.
I was not quite sure when I began to walk the path of dreams, all I know is that I was pulled out of them when I was placed into cool sheets and felt a gentle kiss on my brow. A whispered meleth-nin was heard next and I made a mental note to tell the elf to cut out the name thing because I only put up with it because he begged.
I slipped back off into the paths as the door shut.
I awoke to the sounds of heavy footsteps pounding into my room. Sitting up, my hair tumbling everywhere, I looked at the hobbits when came bouncing in. Looking outside I noticed it was several hours past dawn.
"Celede, breakfast will be ready soon!" The hobbit I identified as Pippin said as he and the other one, Merry I believe, bounced around my room.
"That is lovely." I managed around my hand as I hid a yawn. "So are you waking up all the elves, or am I just the lucky one?"
They laughed at that and Pippin made some comment about how he knew I was just perfect and so on. I gave him a very confused glance and he just grinned.
Shaking my hair behind my shoulders, I shooed them out before picking out a set of breeches and a shirt and turning, I ran a brush through my hair. I left it down because I planned to bathe after breakfast and there was no need to tie it up if it was going to come back down.
It fell in a thick sheet of chocolate brown and it needed a haircut badly.
Walking into the hall, I was surprised to see that the Hobbits where still there. I asked them about them being late for breakfast and they admitted that this was second breakfast and they did not want me to get lost.
How caring for two hobbits I had only met once. Smelled like a plot to me.
Walking into the room that everyone else was in was quite fun. I had met Eowyn last night and enjoyed the girl's company. She had a dry sense of humor I could appreciate.
Sitting next to her, and ignoring the Prince of Mirkwood like I had planned, we got to discuss horses and swordplay. Not a wonderful set of breakfast conversations, but honestly who cared?
Need I mention that is was not only the Prince of Mirkwood and King of Gondor who had skipped etiquette classes?
Which was how I managed to maneuver an afternoon ride with both her and Arwen, and no Prince of Mirkwood.
Although after seeing the way they looked at each other, I was slightly worried.
