Disclaimer: Everything Middle Earth belongs to Tolkien. I'm just borrowing a few of his characters and locations for a while. All original characters and storylines belong to me! No money is being made from this.

Author's Note: 01/17/06 - No major edits are made in this chapter. I just fixed a few grammatical things here and there, and maybe changed the wording at awkward points, but that's all.

The Imperfect One
By: JDArc

Chapter Eight: An Eavesdropping, Interfering Prince

Legolas sighed as he gracefully leaped onto a branch of a cedar in one of the many gardens of Rivendell. He had spent nearly an hour trying to find Elenmírë's chamber, but there were too many corridors, too many rooms for him to search through, and the call of the wonderful midday weather pleaded with him to take a break from his frenzied search to admire Rivendell's natural wonders. The cedar whose branch he sat on was located along the border of a tiny glen facing a small waterfall that fed into a tiny stream, and along the water's edge lay an arrangement of moss-covered rocks and a variety of lilies whose red and white petals softly kissed the water's surface. A wind whispered to him through the rustling of the cedar's leaves, and he sighed with contentment. Nature had a way of calming his raging emotions, but a dull longing to share that moment with someone special tugged softly at him.

His thoughts returned once again to Elenmírë, wondering why, out of all the maidens he had ever met his entire life, she was the one to catch his attention. He frowned. She was not breathtakingly beautiful like Mary Sue, yet he knew every curve of her face and every silvery fleck in her eyes. But it was her passionate spirit that had grabbed a hold of his heart, and he knew from the moment he had met her that he would not have chosen another if he could. But she was fighting him; she was keeping herself out of his reach, so close and yet so far, and he did not know how to cross that distance that held them apart.

A soft laugh reached his keen ears, and he turned around to place the sound. It came from somewhere behind the cedar, and when he peered through the branches, he noticed a small path leading through a thick grove of sycamores. He nimbly jumped down and tread softly down the trail, his curiosity getting the better of him. The gurgling of the waterfall bid him farewell as he moved quietly, and the along the way, birds greeted him with their cheerful chirps. A sad smile spread on his lips, wishing he were as happy as they. The path curved to the right before sharply turning left, with a small river bordering the right side, and ahead of him, about fifteen meters away, he saw a tiny bridge made of stone, and upon it, halfway across the bridge, sat Elenmírë and Boromir with their legs dangling over the side. He immediately halted and ducked under the foliage on his left, straining his ears to hear their conversation over the excited babble of the water's welcoming cry.

"I do not know why she thinks of herself as superior," Elenmírë sighed softly. Her eyes were focused on some unknown spot in the river below them, and her lips pulled into a frown.

"Like I said before, you needn't worry yourself," Boromir soothed, studying her face. "Mary Sue is but a young girl; she is quick with her tongue and does not seem to think before she speaks. Young ones tend to do that, and although I believe she deserved what she got, you must show patience with her. Do not stoop to her level of rashness, Elenmírë. You are more than that." She looked up at Boromir silently, doubt still furrowing her brow.

"So you really think I reacted too suddenly?" she asked, her eyes large with vulnerability, seeking his face for a word of reassurance, and Legolas clenched his teeth to bite back the urge to run to them and throw Boromir off the bridge. His hands angrily gripped onto several acorns that lay on the forest floor beneath him, and a sudden idea burst into his head. Grinning mischievously, he waited patiently for the right moment to execute his plan.

"I think you reacted appropriately during the fight," Boromir answered slowly, careful with his words, "but maybe resigning from your position as her teacher might have been too impulsive. Teachers never give up on their students," he added wisely, and she bowed her head in shame.

"I know," she whispered softly, her eyes troubled. "But in all my years, I have never encountered one so rude, so unnerving! And what I don't understand is why everyone is falling over themselves over her! Like my brother Elrohir, or…Legolas…" Her voice trailed off, and she shook her head in confusion. But Legolas wanted nothing more than to reveal himself from his hiding place and yell at the top of his lungs that he cared nothing more for Mary Sue than friendship. Elenmírë sighed and continued. "I must admit, though, that I am jealous." She started, hearing the words finally spoken, and she looked at Boromir nervously.

"Worry not," he smiled, understanding her fear and taking her hand in his. "Your secret is safe with me, my Lady."

"Thank you, Boromir," she replied gratefully, bestowing a wide smile. "I cannot help it, though. She's beautiful and so perfect at everything she does, and it sickens me! It has taken me years to accomplish my skill with the sword, and I have had to endure long hours of training and sacrifice, and I've involuntarily given up my female identity in the process! And here waltzes in this excruciatingly perfect being who dazzles everyone with her charm and wit and beauty, and it makes me even more aware of my own blemishes, especially when she points them out herself! Can anyone really blame me for reacting so harshly? No one, maybe except for my family and my two dear hobbits, really sees me for who I am, Boromir." He cupped his hand under her chin and gently turned her face to look at him.

"Ah, Elenmírë, that is far from true," he whispered in reply, his sincere eyes gazing into hers. "I see you. Those who don't are just blind fools." His other hand reached over to stroke her cheek, and her eyes widened, a faint blush spread across her face. He leaned toward her, closing his eyes and she did the same, highly aware of the gentle caresses of his fingers on her face and of the sudden pounding of her heart. She could feel the heat radiating from him as he brought his face ever closer, knowing it would only be seconds before she would finally experience her first kiss. But it was not to be.

Boromir pulled back suddenly, and Elenmírë's eyes snapped open, hurt written plainly across her face. It quickly disappeared, however, when she saw him rubbing his forehead with one hand and holding an acorn in the other. "What's wrong, Boromir?" she questioned, eyeing the acorn in his hand. "Why is it you seem so fixated with that seedling?" He looked out across the landscape, his human eyes never detecting Legolas as he scanned the scenery.

"I do not know how it happened, but this acorn was thrown right at me," he explained, chuckling a bit at how ridiculous it sounded. Elenmírë lifted her hand and gently stroked the red spot that had appeared on his brow from where the acorn hit, and she deduced, judging from the redness of it, that it had been thrown hard.

"Poor Boromir," she mused, trying hard to hold her giggles back, "to be attacked so viciously by an acorn!" Soon his chuckles joined hers, and her highly sensitive ears picked up the rumbling of his stomach. They laughed even harder as they pulled themselves up from their sitting position and descended down from the bridge to head to the dining hall. Boromir instinctively caught hold of her hand as they walked abreast, and once again crimson colored her cheeks to match the spot on his forehead. Boromir smiled down at her, and she returned the favor, relishing in the happiness that his genuine affection for her brought.

Legolas lay low in his spot until they passed him, satisfied that his aim had been precise and that his throw had been hard enough to leave a mark, but he was fuming with envy and resentment that had he not discovered them, Boromir would have kissed her. 'Well, be thankful that you found them before it happened!' his mind scolded him, and a slight smirk tugged at his lips despite the anger he felt. It had felt wonderful to revert back to a childhood prank he used to play on the travelers in Mirkwood, and he would have chuckled out loud if he could've at the astonished look on Boromir's face the second the acorn had hit him. He knew he was going to tease Boromir relentlessly the minute he had the chance, hoping that the acorn hit hard enough to leave a scratch to last a few days. But at the moment, he wanted to follow them without being noticed and waited a few minutes before walking down the road. As he caught sight of the cedar, he hurried his steps, knowing that if he didn't track them quickly, he would soon lose them in the maze of the hallways.

"So you thought that was terribly clever, didn't you?" a voice called out from the branches of the cedar just as he walked passed, and Legolas jerked at the voice. Elenmírë leaped down swiftly, crossing her arms, as was her habit of late.

"Elenmírë!" he stuttered, giving her a lopsided, guilty grin. "What so ever do you mean?" Her eyes narrowed as she approached him.

"The acorn you threw at Boromir," she said plainly, her voice accusing. "What were you thinking, hiding in the bushes and throwing acorns at people like that? One would think you were still a hundred years of age!" She straightened up, trying to make her voice sound as uncaring as possible. "It seems keeping company with one so young as Mary Sue has greatly affected your mind."

"Mary Sue does not affect me," he said stiffly, crossing his own arms. "If Boromir was in fact with you, where has he gone to?"

"He wished to dine, and I did not." She pressed her lips to a line. "Why?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Are you going to apologize to him?"

"I've done nothing wrong!" he defended, his eyes glowing. "Why should I apologize?"

"You've hit the man with an acorn!" she called out, looking at him in disbelief. Legolas's lips drew to a smirk, and finally spread into a full mischievous grin.

"That does sound rather funny," he admitted, chuckling. "If you find the person responsible, please do thank him for me for allowing me a light laugh." Elenmírë could not refrain herself from joining his chortle, and giggled herself, relaxing her arms and letting them hang lose to her sides.

"You are quite a silly elf, if chance permit it," she teased. "And besides, I know it was you. I saw your blond hair and those eyes of yours staring out from behind the foliage as we walked passed." She shook her head at him, smiling. "What gave you the urge to do such a thing? Did you suddenly decide, 'Oh, I'd very much like to find Boromir and hit him with an acorn?'" Legolas guffawed.

"No!" he denied, mirth filling his sapphire eyes. "Actually…I was looking for you." Her smile faded slowly, and she bit her lip, looking away.

"What for?" He waited patiently until their eyes locked, which they eventually did several seconds later. There was an anxiety in her eyes, and her hands where now twisting nervously in front of her.

"I-I…I wanted to tell you something," he said, stumbling over his words, suddenly feeling tense. "A-About this morning, when you looked up at the balcony-" She shook her head in protest and backed away from him to head to the hallways.

"No, Legolas," she called over her shoulder as she made her way to the terrace, and he hastily followed. "What happens between you and Mary Sue is not my business, and I felt as if I were intruding in a private moment, so if anything, I must apologize for not tearing my eyes away when I should have." She quickly walked down the corridor and steered to turn left into another one when Legolas reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her. She paused and turned her eyes to him, silently begging him not to say anymore. "Let me go, Legolas."

"No," he said firmly, and all resistance left her arm and her posture as she waited for him to speak, and he loosened his grip but he would not let her go. "You did nothing wrong," he began, "and what you thought you saw did not happen." She shook her head in confusion.

"No, you kissed her," she said softly. "I saw it, and I shouldn't have." He moved is hands to her shoulders before she could flee.

"No, Elenmírë, there was no kiss," he said, his azure eyes burning with honesty. "It almost happened, but it did not."

"Why did you not do what you wanted to?" she questioned, a frown burdening her lips as she tried to futilely shake her shoulders free.

"Do you not understand?" he asked, his voice growing intense. "It was not what I wanted!"

"Then what is it that you want, Legolas?" Elenmírë did not dare give into the hope that was jumping excitedly through her bones, for she did not want to place herself in a position of disappointment, for she had grown tiresome of it, especially now when it happened so frequently. Legolas took a deep breath, cupping her face in his hands.

"I wanted-"

"Arwenamin!" a voice called out from the corridor that Elenmírë had been heading to before Legolas had stopped her. He let her go as they turned to look at Annaril who seemed quite worried.

"What is it, Annaril?" Elenmírë cried out anxiously, noting the terrified look upon her face.

"Lord Elrond has been searching for you for nearly an hour," she exclaimed, "and I must say, my Lady, he is not happy. He could not figure out where you had fled to until he had questioned Boromir when he had walked into the dining hall." Annaril pressed her lips to a line. "Mary Sue has been in her chambers all day, moaning about the injuries that you inflicted on her this morning during the training session. Lord Elrond is quite displeased." Elenmírë felt herself drowning in dread, hating the inevitability of facing her father to explain the morning's activities. She turned back to Legolas, who also seemed affected by the news, and she bowed her head slightly in his direction. "It seems we must carry our conversation at a later time, Prince Legolas, for I am needed elsewhere." He nodded in compliance, watching her walk away with Annaril, moving closer and closer to deal with her father's anger, and he felt not only trepidation for what she had to face, but irritation at himself for not telling her everything when he had the chance.

TBC..