Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note: 01/17/06 - Minor changes in grammer and such.

The Imperfect One
By: JDArc

Chapter Ten: Call Me Selfish…

Boromir and Elenmírë froze as Legolas approached them, his face neutral, but inside, a whirlwind of emotions stormed within him, and he knew not what he felt. "Ah, so I see that this is a new development," he offered as they stood silent, and Boromir, who did not take note of the sarcasm in his voice, chuckled and nodded slightly.

"Yes, Legolas, this is," he answered, his eyes twinkling with happiness, succeeding in angering the jealous Elf even more. Elenmírë was quiet in Boromir's arms, her eyes raging indigo at him, challenging him to make another snide comment.

"If you do not mind, Legolas, you are interrupting," she stated bluntly, her voice cold. "I might suggest finding your love, Mary Sue, if you are in dire need of entertainment at the moment, for I do not desire another to witness this very private interlude between Boromir and myself." Legolas flinched quickly at the obvious hostility in her manner, but he quickly composed himself.

"To inform you, my Lady, Mary Sue is not my 'love,' as you call her," he declared indignantly, and Elenmírë raised an amused eyebrow at him.

"Is that so, my Lord?" she answered with mock interest. "If I do recall correctly from this morning's affair, you did inform us all that she was important to you in more ways than one, obviously implying that the two of you were lovers. The kiss I happened to observe between the two of you also suggest the former." She shrugged. "You puzzle me with your contradictions." Legolas gave a low growl, his eyes quickly becoming menacing, and Boromir felt Elenmírë tense in his arms. He gave her reassuring squeeze to ease her back into her relaxed position, but she remained stiff.

"Contradictions, my Lady?" Legolas asked, faking sweetness. "If I recall correctly, you do have an obvious dislike for humans, especially Mary Sue, but there you are in the arms of one! You are a contradiction yourself, Elenmírë." Boromir cleared his throat, hating the denigrating connotation in reference to humans, and he knew that Elenmírë did not truly hate those of the Line of Men; she only hated one in particular for her annoying perfection, but she covered up her loathing with the visage of detesting all humans.

"That is not fair, Legolas," he stated calmly, "for you do not understand the Lady's mind and what she means by her words-"

"And you do, Boromir?" Legolas shot out coolly. "You yourself have only known Elenmírë for several days." Elenmírë broke free from Boromir's hold, and she approached the Elven Prince, folding her arms tightly across her chest.

"What is it that you want, Legolas?" she finally snapped, her voice raising a decibel. A fear rose in her throat when a gleam of jest flashed across his cerulean eyes, and he gave a shadow of a smile.

"You have already asked me that question today, my Lady, before I had the chance to tell you," he said, his voice softening a bit. "Are you sure you want me to answer you in front of the Man of Gondor?" Elenmírë felt Boromir approach from behind her, and he looked curiously from Legolas to Elenmírë before settling his gaze on Legolas.

"Why would you not want to say it in front of me?" he asked slowly, and Legolas silently cheered. Nothing was going to prevent him this time, he thought determinedly. 'Holy Valar, let this be my chance to say it!' he prayed inwardly. 'Let her decide now who she wants.' Legolas took a breath and began, ignoring the worry that covered Elenmírë's face.

"You can call me selfish, Elenmírë but all I want is-" The Valar had obviously heard enough of Legolas's meddling, for a musical cry lifted into the air, sounding much like that of the nightingale, and into the garden gracefully bounced the object of Elenmírë's disgust, Mary Sue.

"Oh, Legolas, there you are!" she cried out happily, completely ignoring the other two who stood beside him. "I've been looking for you ever since I left Elrond's office and-"

"Mary Sue, please, not now," Legolas practically begged, swearing underneath his breath at another fouled attempt to speak his heart. "We shall converse later-"

"B-but I've been waiting the whole day to really get to speak with you alone, and now that I've found you, I just…" Her voice faded away as a tear trekked slowly down her bruised cheek, and although her face was now lopsided from her injuries, the sunlight sparkled off her lengthy jet-black hair, tinting it a dark violet to match her wondrous eyes, complementing her. Unlike in the dark corridor that she and Elenmírë had exchanged their hostile words, the sunlight seemed to conceal the ugliness of her temporarily tarnished face, and once again, a beauty radiated from her. The tears that had found their way down the curves of her face glistened like tiny cuts of diamonds, and the two males found themselves breathless at the sight of her, much to Elenmírë's utter dismay. A quick tug on Boromir's hand brought him back into focus, and he looked down apologetically at Elenmírë when she scowled at him.

"Please, there's no need to cry, Mary Sue," Legolas said, surprised that his voice was tender when addressing her. 'Damn,' he thought. 'Why must she be so pleasing to the eye?'

"Yes, Mary Sue," Elenmírë found herself saying in agreement. Her voice sounded rather congenial and foreign to her ears, but she saw this as the only chance for her to escape before Legolas could say something to ruin her newly established relationship with Boromir. "Boromir and I were just leaving, so Legolas is free for the time being." Mary Sue gaped at the She-Elf in disbelief, never deeming it possible to have her civil words directed at her. Legolas looked helplessly between the two females, now completely at loss as to what to say or what to do to get himself out of another tiring moment with Mary Sue.

"Is this a joke?" she choked out, wiping her tears away, glancing down at the clasped hands of Boromir and Elenmírë, and she shook her head in confusion. "Wait…do you mean to tell me, that you…and Boromir…?"

"It is encouraging to see that your skills in deduction are far better than your skills in fighting, young one," Elenmírë answered wryly, smirking. But Mary Sue cared not for her sarcasm nor for the fact that Elenmírë had unwittingly given Mary Sue somewhat of a compliment; her mind focused only on one person alone: Legolas. A smile consumed her lips, and she grinned widely, feeling much more confident that because Elenmírë now was with Boromir, Legolas was all hers for the taking.

However, he groaned inwardly, cursing both Elenmírë and Mary Sue for toying with him when he had far more important subjects to think about, but he watched dejectedly as Elenmírë and Boromir bid them farewell. They walked back into the House of Elrond, hand in hand, laughing merrily at some sort of private joke.

"Aren't you happy for them!" Mary Sue squealed giddily. "I honestly don't know how he can stand her, but I guess he puts her in some sort of good mood or whatever. That was like the first time she ever talked to me without totally insulting me." She craned her neck to look at Legolas. "What's wrong? You look so stern." He shook his head and attempted to walk away from her, but she would not let him leave so easily. "Legolas, stop." He paused at her words, but did not bother to face her.

"I am in a rather irritable mood," he explained hastily.

"Well, so am I!" she cried out, placing both her hands on her hips, her right arm now free of the sling. She had decided to free herself of it, especially after the meeting with Elrond. There was no way she would try to do anything to annoy him ever again, if she could help it. "You have no right to treat me this way, as if I am some sort of bother to you." There was a slight tremble in her voice, and he turned around, surprised to see her confidence leaking out of her. She looked rather insecure now, her eyes not meeting his. "If you really don't want to spend time talking to me, then why don't you just tell me instead of pretending otherwise?" Her shoulders shook visibly this time, as if she were trying to hold in her tears.

"Mary Sue…" He could find no other words to say, feeling slightly helpless now that he knew she was not as oblivious as he thought she was. He did not want to hurt her, nor did he want to hurt anybody, but seeing this exposed side of her, a side she never really expressed to anyone, made him feel even more guilty for trying to deceive her. He sighed in resignation. Now that she had fully caught on to him, he had better tell her the truth. "You do have a right to know, and it was insensitive of me to carry on as if you would not notice."

"So you'll tell me then." The tears fell, but she did not bother to wipe them from her face. Instead, she kept her gaze steady, waiting for his inevitable rejection. He was secretly surprised at the strength she showed, and a seed of doubt wheedled its way into his mind. Was he making a mistake in trying to pursue Elenmírë, who obviously had no interest in him, now that she had Boromir? Was there some other side to Mary Sue that, perhaps, he had overlooked in his hastiness to captivate the untouchable she-elf? The longer he studied the girl in front of him, the more his doubts increased, and he hesitated a moment before speaking his mind to her. Oh, he was terribly confused! Even after almost three thousand years, females, no matter what race, were still a mystery to him.

"Yes," he answered slowly. She closed her eyes a moment before opening them, bracing herself for the words she was sure were going to hurt her. "Mary Sue, I know your opinions of me are rather kind, but I feel as if…" He struggled with his words. "You do not know who I am, young one, and yet you…fling…yourself at me at rather awkward situations. I am quite flattered by your attentions, but you do not know me, and I do not know you. Yes, our conversations are pleasant enough, but they are far from profound. You have not shared one personal aspect of your life with me, Mary Sue, and I have yet to do the same. We are only friends, and that is as much as I am comfortable with-"

"Don't try to appease me with your fancy words, Legolas," she cut in evenly, her tone steady. The tears had stopped flowing, yet streaks remained on her cheeks. "It is because of Elenmírë, isn't it?" His eyes widened, and he could not form words, confirming her suspicions. She nodded and closed her eyes briefly, a spasm of pain distorting her facial expression, but it was quickly gone. "I don't understand why everyone is so into her!"

Legolas raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me?" It wasn't really possible that Mary Sue could be jealous over Elenmírë, was it? At the banquet a few nights before, he had only thought Mary Sue to speak such words out of anger, but today…there was something different in her voice. He also remembered Elenmírë's earlier words when she had voiced her worries to Boromir, and it puzzled him to hear an almost identical tone coming from Mary Sue. She glared at him, bitterness filling her eyes.

"I said, I don't understand why you and everyone else in this fucking town is so obsessed with her!" she spat, her voice raising slightly. "I mean, everyone is always on her side! You, Boromir, Lord Elrond, the hobbits-"

"Are you jealous?" he asked in disbelief. Mary Sue stiffened and looked down at her feet, as if they had suddenly become her newest obsession.

"How can I be jealous of someone as ugly like her?" she asked, her voice low, but there was a lack of certainty in her tone, almost as if she were trying to convince herself. "She's so masculine in her tunic and leggings, and she's barbaric when she fights…so why should I be jealous of someone like that?" She looked up defiantly, flipping her lustrous locks over her shoulder. "I mean, I'm at least good-looking, and I'm…I'm-" The words caught in her throat as she choked back a sob. "No one cares about me, Legolas." The confession caught him off guard, and all he could do was gape at the girl.

"What?" he asked rather stupidly, unsure of what else to say. She looked up, both her pride and dignity injured, and it showed on her face and in the way she stood. Gone was the confident look of superiority. Gone was the proud stance. Left standing in front of him was someone he was seeing for the first time: a lonely, apprehensive young woman.

"No one cares about me, Legolas," she repeated, her eyes downcast. "What I mean to say was, I was scared when I first appeared near Mirkwood. I didn't know where I was, why I was brought here, or who the heck you were, and you didn't help when you kept that arrow pointed at me. Why do you think I put up a mask? I had to protect myself one way or another."

"You wore no such mask when I found you," he commented, his brow furrowing in confusion. She sighed.

"It was a figure of speech, Legolas," she stated simply. "I had to appear confident. I didn't want anyone to think that I was some sort of a coward-"

"But you shrank away in fear when Elenmírë confronted you in the woods," he pointed out insensitively, and she flinched at his choice of words.

"Well, what do you think females do all the time?" she asked. "We compare ourselves to each other, if you hadn't caught on by now! Of course, at first glance Elenmírë wasn't totally pretty, but it was your attention to her that made me sneer at her the way I did that first time. And she totally took it the wrong way." She sank down at the trunk of the sycamore, burying her face in her hands. "I can't believe I'm telling you all this." Legolas sat down next to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Well, I must admit, it is much more appealing to have you confide in me as you would a friend instead of trying to attack me as if I were piece of red meat you have been craving for," he answered dryly, and she blushed slightly.

"I'm sorry," she apologized quietly. "It doesn't help that you are a beautiful creature, Legolas. You can't totally blame me for being selfish when it comes to you." He fell silent, surprised at her bluntness and at her choice of words, knowing that that was exactly what he had wanted to say to Elenmírë.

"Is that why you've been avoiding me?" she questioned, lifting her violet eyes to look into his, and she tilted her head in curiosity. "Because I was too eager?"

"To be honest with you, yes," he confirmed, nodding. "It would help just a bit if you were not so…aggressive." He shuddered as he remembered the numerous banquets and balls his father, King Thranduil, had arranged in their home in Northern Mirkwood. Not once could Legolas get through the night without one or two females following his every move, and he could not stand their overly inviting glances. Mary Sue studied his face and gave a hint of a smile.

"I take it, by the look on your face, that I'm not the only one in this place who's tried to pursue you before," she smirked, and he gave a slight nod.

"Affirmative," he answered. "Although it is highly amusing, I cannot help but feel…trapped when such things occur. So I must also ask for your pardon on my actions of the past few days, for not voicing my objections before. It was not fair to myself, nor was it fair to you." She also nodded, and for the first time, she bestowed on him a radiant smile, one full of sincerity.

"Can we start over again, Legolas?" she asked shyly. "I would very much like to establish a friendship with you, and I promise not to jump you…not yet anyway." He chuckled.

"Of course," he approved, giving her a smile of his own. "I am quite happy that we had this discussion. Besides, if we are to travel together on this journey, it would be much easier to get along with you than to avoid you."

"I couldn't agree more!" she laughed. She stuck out her hand to him. "Truce?" He grinned as he took hold of it and shook it.

"Truce."

tbc