Disclaimer: See previous chapters.
Authors Note: Despite a fever, dentists, parents, schoolwork, a lingering cough, and other unsavory things, I am BACK! So, here's chapter six...A rather calm chapter, but then, I'm in a rather calm mood...And if parts of it don't make sense, blame me being sick!
Thanks to all my reviewers, especially Cat...three reviews for one chapter...wow. And don't worry, I'm gonna take it gradual in the love story part department. At least as much as I can. I have long held that I am horrible at writing romance. This FanFiction is an attempt to change that...we'll see how well I do.
Also thanks to:
Lel Vagor - I'll have some Elvish for you to translate sometime...really
lausie - Elisandra's father is my little secret until the time comes to reveal it. But lets just say it's somebody familair...
Evenstar-Elfstone - Glad you liked the chapter title...just don't hurt yourself laughing. Then I'd be down a reviewer, and that's never good. :P
Duke Storm - Well, here's another long, if not so wacky, author's note for you to enjoy...
and Legolas Greenleaf, Aislin and Artemis-chan!
Now, onto the chapter, and remember - it's all about the pointy ears and reviews! So remember to review!
------------------------------
-No Eyes Needed-
------------------------------
-Chapter VI-
-Lost In Your Own Home-
------------------------------
Carefully counting her steps, and where they turned, Elisandra was only slightly surprised to realize that they were headed for the rooms she'd had the servants ready for Prince Legolas. Not knowing how long she'd been wrapped up in her memories of the Prince's fëa, Elisandra wondered if Legolas would even be there. She'd apparently been thinking a good time, however, as when she and her father reached Legolas's rooms, they found him thoroughly settled.
His few belongings having been brought up from his horse, he now seemed to be exploring the rooms. Glancing up as Elisandra and her father entered the room, Legolas smiled, and Elisandra found that simple thing fascinating. She was used to seeing a smile as a mix of emotions, not as an actual expression on a face in front of her. But her attention was quickly pulled away from Legolas's smile as her father let go of her arm and strode over to the Prince.
"It's good to see you again, Legolas!" Aragorn said warmly, clasping his friends hand in welcome.
"It is good to see you again, as well." Legolas replied, then his gaze turned to Elisandra. "But who is this lovely lady you have brought with you? She escorted me to a garden to wait for my rooms to be prepared, but I was not able to catch her name."
"This, my friend, is Elisandra." Aragorn replied, motioning Elisandra to join them, and as she did, she saw some pride enter into the emotions and colours of her fathers fëa, causing her to blush slightly.
"Ah, the infamous foster-daughter." Legolas said, nodding. "It is a pleasure to meet you at last." Then, much to Elisandra's embarrassment, the Prince bowed slightly, took her hand, and kissed it lightly. It wouldn't have been that bad if she had been expecting it, but she had seen no warning in the Prince's fëa that he would do any such thing. Elisandra recovered quickly, however, and smiled back at the Prince, nodding slightly.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, as well. I have heard much about you." she said.
"That could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what you have heard." Legolas said dryly, and Elisandra saw a child-like mischievousness enter her fathers fëa.
"Oh, I've left all the really bad stories for Gimli to tell." Aragorn said. "Besides, until very recently, most of them probably would have given her nightmares..."
"They would not have, father." Elisandra said defensively, though she grinned as she said it, seeing the teasing in her fathers fëa.
"Yes they would have. They gave some of the hobbits nightmares. Though none of them admitted it, of course." Aragorn said.
"Of course not." Legolas replied, sitting and motioning for Elisandra and her father to take seats. They did so, though Elisandra had to pull herself away from the conversation for a moment to remember the way the room was set up and figure out where the chair was. Her brief distraction caused her to lose her place in the conversation, and her father and Prince Legolas were off talking about their friends, the hobbits. Elisandra had had marginal dealings with hobbits, since her mother had a hobbit handmaiden, but that hobbit was female. And so Elisandra listened quietly, absorbing the stories, most of which she'd heard before, while watching the expressions flit across Legolas's face. Just about the time Elisandra was finally starting to tire of listening to her father and Prince Legolas chat away about old times, there was a knock on the door, and Elisandra's mother swept in.
"Legolas!" Arwen said as she came in, and Legolas rose gracefully from his chair, bowing as he rose in a smooth movement.
"Undómiel." he said respectfully, but then ruined it by grinning. Elisandra's mother returned the grin, and then she gave Legolas a polite hug, much to his surprise.
"It has been far to long since you were last here." she said.
"So I keep being told." Legolas replied.
"Then perhaps you will be making up for it by staying for an extended length of time?" Arwen hinted heavily, and Legolas grinned again.
"Until I get dragged back to Ithilien, Your Majesty." he said with another bow.
"Wonderful. Then you'll be staying long enough for a proper welcoming feast." Arwen said, taking a seat, and Elisandra's eyebrows shot up as she saw the mischievousness that was now taking over her mothers fëa. Even more interesting was the way Legolas's face fell into mock horror as he resumed his seat.
"Perhaps I should have stayed in Ithilien after all." he said gravely.
"If you'd stayed there much longer, I would have fetched the hobbits and Gimli and dragged you out of there." Aragorn said with a snort, and Elisandra held her hand over her mouth to hide a smile when she saw that her father was partly serious.
"Gimli beat you to it, I am afraid." Legolas said flippantly. "He came for a visit grumbling that I never went to visit him, always made him come visit me, and then promptly dragged me off on a tour of the Dwarven realms."
"He obviously had the right idea." Aragorn said dryly. At that moment, there was a light knock on the door, and one of the palace pages appeared when Legolas called out to enter. The page, more then a little nervous at all the people in the room, bowed, and then hurried to Aragorn, where he bowed again and handed him a note. Aragorn read the note quickly, then dismissed the page and stood.
"I would dearly love to talk with you more, Legolas, but my Kingdom calls." he said as everyone else followed suit and stood. Legolas nodded, shook hands with his friend once again, and then gave Arwen a peck on the cheek and briefly squeezed Elisandra's hand in goodbye before leaving.
"I must be going, as well, I'm afraid. I need to get started on organizing your welcoming feast, Legolas. Perhaps you can get Elisandra to show you around the palace." Arwen said once her husband left, and then she hugged Legolas again, gave Elisandra a kiss on the cheek, and left as well. Once she was gone, Legolas turned to Elisandra and arched an eyebrow. Elisandra knew only too well what was on his mind.
"They tend to forget sometimes that I can't see." she said dryly. "I can find someone else to show you around if you'd like, though." Legolas, however, shook his head. Elisandra was suddenly glad she could see him, as it was always awkward to remind people that she couldn't see simple gestures like that. But then, she usually guessed that they had been made due to the look of someone's fëa.
"I can find my way around good enough, even after 15 years. What I am more interested in, I have a feeling you are the best one to help me with." Legolas said, drawing Elisandra's attention back to him.
"And what would that be?" Elisandra asked.
"Knowing who to avoid at this feast your mother is going to insist on holding!" Legolas said emphatically, and Elisandra laughed.
"Very well then." she said. Legolas moved as if to take his seat again, but then stopped, seeming to think of something, and instead offered his arm to Elisandra.
"Shall we walk as we talk?" he asked.
"If you think you can not get lost." Elisandra replied with amusement, looping her arm through Legolas's.
"I promise I shall not." he said solemnly, though he had a lop-sided grin on his face. And so they set off. They were silent for the first little while, and then they ran into a Lord, and Elisandra was obliged to introduce him to Legolas. After a brief chat, they moved on, and Elisandra filled Legolas in on the background of the Lord, and from there the conversation grew.
So the afternoon went - Legolas steered the two of them through various corridors, listening intently to what Elisandra had to say, asking questions occasionally, while Elisandra told him all about the different Lords and Ladies in Gondor. Between telling Legolas about the different Lords and Ladies, introducing him to a few of them, and watching Legolas with curiosity out of the corner of her eye, Elisandra had soon lost track of where they were. And so, it became apparent, had Legolas.
"It feels late." Elisandra said suddenly as they walked, in a moment of quiet in their conversation. They had entered a garden a short while ago, and as they walked, Elisandra had suddenly noticed that the sun wasn't very warm on her back - as if it was beginning to set.
"It is." Legolas replied promptly.
"I should get back to my chambers to prepare for supper, then." Elisandra said. "And I have a feeling you should, as well."
"Hm, I should. And I would, if I knew then way." Legolas said sheepishly.
"So much for your promise not to get lost." Elisandra said, rolling her eyes, and Legolas grinned at her.
"I am afraid I was distracted by the beautiful lady on my arm." Legolas said, still grinning, and half-bowed to Elisandra, who tsked at him.
"Flattery, my dear Prince, does not work on me." she said.
"Indeed?" he asked, arching an eyebrow as they continued to walk. "And why is that?"
"Because I do not care for it." Elisandra replied. "Flattery is, by definition, false. And who wants false compliments?"
"Hm, do you want an answer to that?" Legolas asked dryly. At that moment, a palace guard came around the corner on patrol, and Legolas and Elisandra's conversation was put on hold to ask directions. The guard, Elisandra saw, found it quite amusing to give directions to someone who had lived there since she was 5, but thankfully said nothing about it.
The guard also informed them of the time, and Elisandra discovered it was much later then she'd thought. Supper would be soon. After leaving the guard, Legolas and Elisandra, by silent agreement, sped through the corridors as fast as they could while still managing to walk. Legolas seemed surprised at how fast Elisandra could walk, and commented on it.
"Makes up for it being too dangerous for me to run." Elisandra replied with a grin, and Legolas nodded. They reached Elisandra's chamber first, and quickly, and then with a bow, Legolas bid Elisandra goodbye until supper, and sped off to his own chambers.
Elisandra, entering her chambers, was immediately set upon by her maids, who fussed over how little time she'd given them to prepare her. Elisandra apologized, and then let the maids go about the work of preparing her. They were done fairly quickly, and then shooed her out the door, saying that she was already late. And, arriving at the dining hall, Elisandra discovered that she was indeed late. Prince Legolas, she noticed dryly, had managed to make it on time.
"A little late, are we, Elisandra?" Arwen commented blandly as Elisandra slipped into her seat beside her mother.
"It wasn't I who got lost and then neglected to notice the time." Elisandra replied just as blandly.
"Oh? Who's fault was it?" Arwen asked, curiosity tingeing her fëa. Looking a little closer, Elisandra also saw a hint of hope, and she shook her head, half-smiling. Her mother may understand why she drew away from everyone else and avoided relationships, but that didn't mean she ever stopped hoping Elisandra would develop an interest in someone.
"Prince Legolas." Elisandra replied, and she saw the hope disappear from her mothers fëa. They both turned to their food, then, and let the conversation drop.
The rest of the meal passed in silence for Elisandra, as her mother talked with her father or Prince Legolas, who was seated by Aragorn, two seats away, and Eldarion had gone to bed early, thus leaving the seat next to Elisandra empty. As soon as the meal ended, Elisandra excused herself, not waiting to see if there would be dancing. Instead, she returned to her room, where she had one of her maids read some of a book about Numenor before going to bed.
Authors Note: Despite a fever, dentists, parents, schoolwork, a lingering cough, and other unsavory things, I am BACK! So, here's chapter six...A rather calm chapter, but then, I'm in a rather calm mood...And if parts of it don't make sense, blame me being sick!
Thanks to all my reviewers, especially Cat...three reviews for one chapter...wow. And don't worry, I'm gonna take it gradual in the love story part department. At least as much as I can. I have long held that I am horrible at writing romance. This FanFiction is an attempt to change that...we'll see how well I do.
Also thanks to:
Lel Vagor - I'll have some Elvish for you to translate sometime...really
lausie - Elisandra's father is my little secret until the time comes to reveal it. But lets just say it's somebody familair...
Evenstar-Elfstone - Glad you liked the chapter title...just don't hurt yourself laughing. Then I'd be down a reviewer, and that's never good. :P
Duke Storm - Well, here's another long, if not so wacky, author's note for you to enjoy...
and Legolas Greenleaf, Aislin and Artemis-chan!
Now, onto the chapter, and remember - it's all about the pointy ears and reviews! So remember to review!
------------------------------
-No Eyes Needed-
------------------------------
-Chapter VI-
-Lost In Your Own Home-
------------------------------
Carefully counting her steps, and where they turned, Elisandra was only slightly surprised to realize that they were headed for the rooms she'd had the servants ready for Prince Legolas. Not knowing how long she'd been wrapped up in her memories of the Prince's fëa, Elisandra wondered if Legolas would even be there. She'd apparently been thinking a good time, however, as when she and her father reached Legolas's rooms, they found him thoroughly settled.
His few belongings having been brought up from his horse, he now seemed to be exploring the rooms. Glancing up as Elisandra and her father entered the room, Legolas smiled, and Elisandra found that simple thing fascinating. She was used to seeing a smile as a mix of emotions, not as an actual expression on a face in front of her. But her attention was quickly pulled away from Legolas's smile as her father let go of her arm and strode over to the Prince.
"It's good to see you again, Legolas!" Aragorn said warmly, clasping his friends hand in welcome.
"It is good to see you again, as well." Legolas replied, then his gaze turned to Elisandra. "But who is this lovely lady you have brought with you? She escorted me to a garden to wait for my rooms to be prepared, but I was not able to catch her name."
"This, my friend, is Elisandra." Aragorn replied, motioning Elisandra to join them, and as she did, she saw some pride enter into the emotions and colours of her fathers fëa, causing her to blush slightly.
"Ah, the infamous foster-daughter." Legolas said, nodding. "It is a pleasure to meet you at last." Then, much to Elisandra's embarrassment, the Prince bowed slightly, took her hand, and kissed it lightly. It wouldn't have been that bad if she had been expecting it, but she had seen no warning in the Prince's fëa that he would do any such thing. Elisandra recovered quickly, however, and smiled back at the Prince, nodding slightly.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, as well. I have heard much about you." she said.
"That could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what you have heard." Legolas said dryly, and Elisandra saw a child-like mischievousness enter her fathers fëa.
"Oh, I've left all the really bad stories for Gimli to tell." Aragorn said. "Besides, until very recently, most of them probably would have given her nightmares..."
"They would not have, father." Elisandra said defensively, though she grinned as she said it, seeing the teasing in her fathers fëa.
"Yes they would have. They gave some of the hobbits nightmares. Though none of them admitted it, of course." Aragorn said.
"Of course not." Legolas replied, sitting and motioning for Elisandra and her father to take seats. They did so, though Elisandra had to pull herself away from the conversation for a moment to remember the way the room was set up and figure out where the chair was. Her brief distraction caused her to lose her place in the conversation, and her father and Prince Legolas were off talking about their friends, the hobbits. Elisandra had had marginal dealings with hobbits, since her mother had a hobbit handmaiden, but that hobbit was female. And so Elisandra listened quietly, absorbing the stories, most of which she'd heard before, while watching the expressions flit across Legolas's face. Just about the time Elisandra was finally starting to tire of listening to her father and Prince Legolas chat away about old times, there was a knock on the door, and Elisandra's mother swept in.
"Legolas!" Arwen said as she came in, and Legolas rose gracefully from his chair, bowing as he rose in a smooth movement.
"Undómiel." he said respectfully, but then ruined it by grinning. Elisandra's mother returned the grin, and then she gave Legolas a polite hug, much to his surprise.
"It has been far to long since you were last here." she said.
"So I keep being told." Legolas replied.
"Then perhaps you will be making up for it by staying for an extended length of time?" Arwen hinted heavily, and Legolas grinned again.
"Until I get dragged back to Ithilien, Your Majesty." he said with another bow.
"Wonderful. Then you'll be staying long enough for a proper welcoming feast." Arwen said, taking a seat, and Elisandra's eyebrows shot up as she saw the mischievousness that was now taking over her mothers fëa. Even more interesting was the way Legolas's face fell into mock horror as he resumed his seat.
"Perhaps I should have stayed in Ithilien after all." he said gravely.
"If you'd stayed there much longer, I would have fetched the hobbits and Gimli and dragged you out of there." Aragorn said with a snort, and Elisandra held her hand over her mouth to hide a smile when she saw that her father was partly serious.
"Gimli beat you to it, I am afraid." Legolas said flippantly. "He came for a visit grumbling that I never went to visit him, always made him come visit me, and then promptly dragged me off on a tour of the Dwarven realms."
"He obviously had the right idea." Aragorn said dryly. At that moment, there was a light knock on the door, and one of the palace pages appeared when Legolas called out to enter. The page, more then a little nervous at all the people in the room, bowed, and then hurried to Aragorn, where he bowed again and handed him a note. Aragorn read the note quickly, then dismissed the page and stood.
"I would dearly love to talk with you more, Legolas, but my Kingdom calls." he said as everyone else followed suit and stood. Legolas nodded, shook hands with his friend once again, and then gave Arwen a peck on the cheek and briefly squeezed Elisandra's hand in goodbye before leaving.
"I must be going, as well, I'm afraid. I need to get started on organizing your welcoming feast, Legolas. Perhaps you can get Elisandra to show you around the palace." Arwen said once her husband left, and then she hugged Legolas again, gave Elisandra a kiss on the cheek, and left as well. Once she was gone, Legolas turned to Elisandra and arched an eyebrow. Elisandra knew only too well what was on his mind.
"They tend to forget sometimes that I can't see." she said dryly. "I can find someone else to show you around if you'd like, though." Legolas, however, shook his head. Elisandra was suddenly glad she could see him, as it was always awkward to remind people that she couldn't see simple gestures like that. But then, she usually guessed that they had been made due to the look of someone's fëa.
"I can find my way around good enough, even after 15 years. What I am more interested in, I have a feeling you are the best one to help me with." Legolas said, drawing Elisandra's attention back to him.
"And what would that be?" Elisandra asked.
"Knowing who to avoid at this feast your mother is going to insist on holding!" Legolas said emphatically, and Elisandra laughed.
"Very well then." she said. Legolas moved as if to take his seat again, but then stopped, seeming to think of something, and instead offered his arm to Elisandra.
"Shall we walk as we talk?" he asked.
"If you think you can not get lost." Elisandra replied with amusement, looping her arm through Legolas's.
"I promise I shall not." he said solemnly, though he had a lop-sided grin on his face. And so they set off. They were silent for the first little while, and then they ran into a Lord, and Elisandra was obliged to introduce him to Legolas. After a brief chat, they moved on, and Elisandra filled Legolas in on the background of the Lord, and from there the conversation grew.
So the afternoon went - Legolas steered the two of them through various corridors, listening intently to what Elisandra had to say, asking questions occasionally, while Elisandra told him all about the different Lords and Ladies in Gondor. Between telling Legolas about the different Lords and Ladies, introducing him to a few of them, and watching Legolas with curiosity out of the corner of her eye, Elisandra had soon lost track of where they were. And so, it became apparent, had Legolas.
"It feels late." Elisandra said suddenly as they walked, in a moment of quiet in their conversation. They had entered a garden a short while ago, and as they walked, Elisandra had suddenly noticed that the sun wasn't very warm on her back - as if it was beginning to set.
"It is." Legolas replied promptly.
"I should get back to my chambers to prepare for supper, then." Elisandra said. "And I have a feeling you should, as well."
"Hm, I should. And I would, if I knew then way." Legolas said sheepishly.
"So much for your promise not to get lost." Elisandra said, rolling her eyes, and Legolas grinned at her.
"I am afraid I was distracted by the beautiful lady on my arm." Legolas said, still grinning, and half-bowed to Elisandra, who tsked at him.
"Flattery, my dear Prince, does not work on me." she said.
"Indeed?" he asked, arching an eyebrow as they continued to walk. "And why is that?"
"Because I do not care for it." Elisandra replied. "Flattery is, by definition, false. And who wants false compliments?"
"Hm, do you want an answer to that?" Legolas asked dryly. At that moment, a palace guard came around the corner on patrol, and Legolas and Elisandra's conversation was put on hold to ask directions. The guard, Elisandra saw, found it quite amusing to give directions to someone who had lived there since she was 5, but thankfully said nothing about it.
The guard also informed them of the time, and Elisandra discovered it was much later then she'd thought. Supper would be soon. After leaving the guard, Legolas and Elisandra, by silent agreement, sped through the corridors as fast as they could while still managing to walk. Legolas seemed surprised at how fast Elisandra could walk, and commented on it.
"Makes up for it being too dangerous for me to run." Elisandra replied with a grin, and Legolas nodded. They reached Elisandra's chamber first, and quickly, and then with a bow, Legolas bid Elisandra goodbye until supper, and sped off to his own chambers.
Elisandra, entering her chambers, was immediately set upon by her maids, who fussed over how little time she'd given them to prepare her. Elisandra apologized, and then let the maids go about the work of preparing her. They were done fairly quickly, and then shooed her out the door, saying that she was already late. And, arriving at the dining hall, Elisandra discovered that she was indeed late. Prince Legolas, she noticed dryly, had managed to make it on time.
"A little late, are we, Elisandra?" Arwen commented blandly as Elisandra slipped into her seat beside her mother.
"It wasn't I who got lost and then neglected to notice the time." Elisandra replied just as blandly.
"Oh? Who's fault was it?" Arwen asked, curiosity tingeing her fëa. Looking a little closer, Elisandra also saw a hint of hope, and she shook her head, half-smiling. Her mother may understand why she drew away from everyone else and avoided relationships, but that didn't mean she ever stopped hoping Elisandra would develop an interest in someone.
"Prince Legolas." Elisandra replied, and she saw the hope disappear from her mothers fëa. They both turned to their food, then, and let the conversation drop.
The rest of the meal passed in silence for Elisandra, as her mother talked with her father or Prince Legolas, who was seated by Aragorn, two seats away, and Eldarion had gone to bed early, thus leaving the seat next to Elisandra empty. As soon as the meal ended, Elisandra excused herself, not waiting to see if there would be dancing. Instead, she returned to her room, where she had one of her maids read some of a book about Numenor before going to bed.