Yay! I really like that last chapter. Isn't that sad how Gimli died? Poor
Legolas. I need to build more on that guilty emotion of his, just to make
it more dramatic. Heh.
Chapter 4
Caleninin rolled over in her sleep, but woke up with a start when she collided with something firm and warm. Startled, she thrust open her eyes and hastily sat up against her pillow. It was Legolas, and he was curled up in quiet slumber besides her. She sighed in relief, but only to let out another gasp of surprise when she looked down: apparently Elrond must have needed to remove her torn skirts in order to mend her injuries, so now she was sitting in bed completely naked. Although Legolas was asleep and couldn't see her bare skin, she still scrambled deep under the thick covers in shame.
Ten minutes later, she came to the painful realization that she couldn't leave the bed without running the risk of anybody seeing her without her clothes on. Because Legolas was lying atop the sheets, she couldn't pull them off the bed and use them to cover herself while she searched for some decent robes. She sighed, and flopped her head back onto the pillow. Maybe she could ask Legolas to go get her some...
Caleninin ventured an arm out from under the covers and lightly shook Legolas's shoulder. "Excuse me? Prince Legolas, wake up!"
Being an Elf and therefore an extremely light sleeper, Legolas woke up immediately. "Good morning, Miss," he said with a yawn. "I'm afraid I grew too weary last night to journey across the Valley to my own chambers, so I just stayed here for the night. I hope I have not offended you with my presence." He sat up and stretched slowly and gracefully, like a feline. However, when he turned his keen glance on Caleninin he let out a sharp cry of surprise and shielded his eyes.
"Y-you might want to pull up those blankets a bit, I am afraid you are a bit- erm, exposed."
Caleninin glanced down to see that the bed sheets had fallen almost to her bellybutton. She must have inadvertently sat up and forgotten that she was unclothed while Legolas was stretching. She shrieked and pulled the blankets tightly around her neck, then dared to slowly look up at Legolas. He was now standing in the far corner of the room, facing the wall with his hand still over his eyes.
"Could you... maybe... get me some clothes?" asked Caleninin in a small, humiliated voice.
"Yes, yes of course. I'll send for a maid." Keeping his hand over his eyes, he carefully treaded backwards towards where he assumed the doorway was.
"You can take your hand off your eyes," said Caleninin, fighting off an urge to laugh when Legolas backed into a wall. "I'm completely covered up now."
He cracked open the fingers of the hand that was covering his eyes, and when he saw that only Caleninin's head was peeking out of the covers he blushed and smiled weakly. "Certainly you are." He then turned towards the door, and shouted, "Nurthedel! Tula sÃnome, asca!"
Light footfalls were heard outside the chamber door, and then a small, meek human girl stepped cautiously into the room. She was draped in the finest of Elven garments, yet her hair was disheveled and her eyes were wide with fear. "Your M-majesty, how may I be of service to you?" she asked, curtseying deeply.
"Have a female tailor come immediately, and tell her to bring her measuring tools. Then find a maiden named Detlwen and tell her to come to the infirmary chamber with plenty of fabric in hand. Oh, but first: you'll find a girl named Creladriel in the West Hall. Tell her that Legolas needs to borrow one of her gowns, and that it would be quite a favor to him. Her kindness will not go without reward." The girl stood there for several seconds after Legolas told her what her duties were, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet and shaking slightly.
"Nurthedel, go. Now," sternly commanded Legolas, and with a small frightened yelp the human child sprinted feverishly out of the room and almost tumbled down the stairs in her haste.
"Sir!" exclaimed a rather flustered Caleninin, who was still burrowed under the covers of the bed. Legolas turned around to see her staring at him indignantly. "Why were you not kinder to that human? She seemed so frightened of you!"
Legolas sighed, and sat on the bed next to Caleninin. "I cannot be overly kind to that child; she would not be able to understand why I was doing so. She is severely neurotic. A friend of mine, Girdonan, found her almost dead at the edge of a nearby creek, and when Elrond revived her she would not eat, drink, nor speak to us. It has been years since Girdonan first brought her here, and she has taken great strides since. Now that she has the privilege of being a serving maid, we must be stern in order for her to go about her duties normally."
At this Legolas grew very quiet, and he looked up to regard Caleninin very seriously. "That is why I brought you here, little one, instead of to my home in Mirkwood. Rivendell is a healing place."
Caleninin nodded in understanding. "So that is why I am here. But are there no hospitals in Mirkwood? It seems strange that you would stray so far away from your home just for an insignificant stranger like me."
Legolas bit his lip, and a strange mournful glow shone in his bright elvish eyes. "No, I brought you here because I was staying at Rivendell myself. I, too, needed to be healed."
Caleninin cocked her head. "What did YOU need to be healed of? Battle wounds?" Her eyes grew wide and gleamed at the prospect of hearing a story about the War of the Ring.
"You could say that. However they were not physical wounds, they were wounds of the heart. I am afraid a terrible thing happened several years ago that I am loath to discuss. After- the incident, I did not speak for many years- in fact, you are the fifth creature that I have spoken to since." No matter how mundane the statement, Elves had a way with words; certainly Legolas most of all. Caleninin was left with her mouth agape and her mind furiously wondering what could have happened to such a pure, beautiful creature.
"I- I am? What happened to you?"
He made a small noise in his throat and averted his eyes, then quickly leapt off the bed and strode across the room. "The tailor is here. I have made certain that she is female, so you may stray from the bed without anxiety. I will be waiting outside the room if you need anything." He stepped rapidly out of the room and tightly shut the heavy doors. Caleninin could hear hushed voices speaking outside the chambers in soft, lilting Elvish, and she could discern that one of the voices belonged to Legolas.
Are you the tailor that I sent for?
Yes, I am. Where is my subject? It was a female voice, just as Legolas had promised.
Within.
There was a long silence, and then the tailor spoke in a softer, more caring tone.
It gladdens my heart to see you speaking freely, Prince Legolas. I see that the healing powers of Rivendell work quickly on such a valiant Elf as yourself. Perhaps this subject of mine is more than a friend of yours?
I have only just met her; we have not had the chance to properly court. I do not even know if she will stay here after she is clothed and fed. Then he added something in a different dialect of Elvish that Caleninin did not understand.
It was a great honor to converse with you, your Majesty.
May your day be filled with mirth. That was the traditional, polite Elvish goodbye. I will be standing here if there are any questions.
Yes, my liege.
The chamber doors swung open, and an Elf-maiden with flaming red hair strode gallantly into the room. In her hands were various tools and supplies, and on her fair face was a bright smile.
"Good morning! Are you ready to be fitted? It is quite serendipitous that you arrived yesterday, because I am the only female tailor in Middle Earth and I am to be staying here in Rivendell for this week only." She threw her tools onto the bed next to Caleninin, and clapped her hands twice.
"Well? Get out of bed. There is no need to be ashamed now that his Majesty is gone."
***
Chapter 4
Caleninin rolled over in her sleep, but woke up with a start when she collided with something firm and warm. Startled, she thrust open her eyes and hastily sat up against her pillow. It was Legolas, and he was curled up in quiet slumber besides her. She sighed in relief, but only to let out another gasp of surprise when she looked down: apparently Elrond must have needed to remove her torn skirts in order to mend her injuries, so now she was sitting in bed completely naked. Although Legolas was asleep and couldn't see her bare skin, she still scrambled deep under the thick covers in shame.
Ten minutes later, she came to the painful realization that she couldn't leave the bed without running the risk of anybody seeing her without her clothes on. Because Legolas was lying atop the sheets, she couldn't pull them off the bed and use them to cover herself while she searched for some decent robes. She sighed, and flopped her head back onto the pillow. Maybe she could ask Legolas to go get her some...
Caleninin ventured an arm out from under the covers and lightly shook Legolas's shoulder. "Excuse me? Prince Legolas, wake up!"
Being an Elf and therefore an extremely light sleeper, Legolas woke up immediately. "Good morning, Miss," he said with a yawn. "I'm afraid I grew too weary last night to journey across the Valley to my own chambers, so I just stayed here for the night. I hope I have not offended you with my presence." He sat up and stretched slowly and gracefully, like a feline. However, when he turned his keen glance on Caleninin he let out a sharp cry of surprise and shielded his eyes.
"Y-you might want to pull up those blankets a bit, I am afraid you are a bit- erm, exposed."
Caleninin glanced down to see that the bed sheets had fallen almost to her bellybutton. She must have inadvertently sat up and forgotten that she was unclothed while Legolas was stretching. She shrieked and pulled the blankets tightly around her neck, then dared to slowly look up at Legolas. He was now standing in the far corner of the room, facing the wall with his hand still over his eyes.
"Could you... maybe... get me some clothes?" asked Caleninin in a small, humiliated voice.
"Yes, yes of course. I'll send for a maid." Keeping his hand over his eyes, he carefully treaded backwards towards where he assumed the doorway was.
"You can take your hand off your eyes," said Caleninin, fighting off an urge to laugh when Legolas backed into a wall. "I'm completely covered up now."
He cracked open the fingers of the hand that was covering his eyes, and when he saw that only Caleninin's head was peeking out of the covers he blushed and smiled weakly. "Certainly you are." He then turned towards the door, and shouted, "Nurthedel! Tula sÃnome, asca!"
Light footfalls were heard outside the chamber door, and then a small, meek human girl stepped cautiously into the room. She was draped in the finest of Elven garments, yet her hair was disheveled and her eyes were wide with fear. "Your M-majesty, how may I be of service to you?" she asked, curtseying deeply.
"Have a female tailor come immediately, and tell her to bring her measuring tools. Then find a maiden named Detlwen and tell her to come to the infirmary chamber with plenty of fabric in hand. Oh, but first: you'll find a girl named Creladriel in the West Hall. Tell her that Legolas needs to borrow one of her gowns, and that it would be quite a favor to him. Her kindness will not go without reward." The girl stood there for several seconds after Legolas told her what her duties were, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet and shaking slightly.
"Nurthedel, go. Now," sternly commanded Legolas, and with a small frightened yelp the human child sprinted feverishly out of the room and almost tumbled down the stairs in her haste.
"Sir!" exclaimed a rather flustered Caleninin, who was still burrowed under the covers of the bed. Legolas turned around to see her staring at him indignantly. "Why were you not kinder to that human? She seemed so frightened of you!"
Legolas sighed, and sat on the bed next to Caleninin. "I cannot be overly kind to that child; she would not be able to understand why I was doing so. She is severely neurotic. A friend of mine, Girdonan, found her almost dead at the edge of a nearby creek, and when Elrond revived her she would not eat, drink, nor speak to us. It has been years since Girdonan first brought her here, and she has taken great strides since. Now that she has the privilege of being a serving maid, we must be stern in order for her to go about her duties normally."
At this Legolas grew very quiet, and he looked up to regard Caleninin very seriously. "That is why I brought you here, little one, instead of to my home in Mirkwood. Rivendell is a healing place."
Caleninin nodded in understanding. "So that is why I am here. But are there no hospitals in Mirkwood? It seems strange that you would stray so far away from your home just for an insignificant stranger like me."
Legolas bit his lip, and a strange mournful glow shone in his bright elvish eyes. "No, I brought you here because I was staying at Rivendell myself. I, too, needed to be healed."
Caleninin cocked her head. "What did YOU need to be healed of? Battle wounds?" Her eyes grew wide and gleamed at the prospect of hearing a story about the War of the Ring.
"You could say that. However they were not physical wounds, they were wounds of the heart. I am afraid a terrible thing happened several years ago that I am loath to discuss. After- the incident, I did not speak for many years- in fact, you are the fifth creature that I have spoken to since." No matter how mundane the statement, Elves had a way with words; certainly Legolas most of all. Caleninin was left with her mouth agape and her mind furiously wondering what could have happened to such a pure, beautiful creature.
"I- I am? What happened to you?"
He made a small noise in his throat and averted his eyes, then quickly leapt off the bed and strode across the room. "The tailor is here. I have made certain that she is female, so you may stray from the bed without anxiety. I will be waiting outside the room if you need anything." He stepped rapidly out of the room and tightly shut the heavy doors. Caleninin could hear hushed voices speaking outside the chambers in soft, lilting Elvish, and she could discern that one of the voices belonged to Legolas.
Are you the tailor that I sent for?
Yes, I am. Where is my subject? It was a female voice, just as Legolas had promised.
Within.
There was a long silence, and then the tailor spoke in a softer, more caring tone.
It gladdens my heart to see you speaking freely, Prince Legolas. I see that the healing powers of Rivendell work quickly on such a valiant Elf as yourself. Perhaps this subject of mine is more than a friend of yours?
I have only just met her; we have not had the chance to properly court. I do not even know if she will stay here after she is clothed and fed. Then he added something in a different dialect of Elvish that Caleninin did not understand.
It was a great honor to converse with you, your Majesty.
May your day be filled with mirth. That was the traditional, polite Elvish goodbye. I will be standing here if there are any questions.
Yes, my liege.
The chamber doors swung open, and an Elf-maiden with flaming red hair strode gallantly into the room. In her hands were various tools and supplies, and on her fair face was a bright smile.
"Good morning! Are you ready to be fitted? It is quite serendipitous that you arrived yesterday, because I am the only female tailor in Middle Earth and I am to be staying here in Rivendell for this week only." She threw her tools onto the bed next to Caleninin, and clapped her hands twice.
"Well? Get out of bed. There is no need to be ashamed now that his Majesty is gone."
***