Disclaimer: See previous chapters.
Cyberbrownies (ran out of cookies) for reviewing go to: bratprincess, Nikki, Evenstar-Elfstone, Lady of Middle Earth, HurriCanine, queenie, TigerLily713, Gilimirin, Duke Storm, Cyberwing, Aislin, MaverickGirl and Girl X. And SplendiferGoddess gets a Cyberbrownie just because she's special.
Authors Note: So, thanks to everyone who's been guessing as to the identity of Elisandra's father. Unfortunately, you'll have awhile to wait to find out if you're correct or not. Because, really, finding Elisandra's father is my main plot...and I stop writing stories after I run out of plot. Soooo...you'll probably find out who Elisandra's father is right before the end. Or maybe not. Depends. I need to work in the romance, too, and I'm still trying to figure out when that's gonna come in. :)
As a last note, certain scenes in this chapter were brought on by sneak-preview pics of Orlando Bloom in 'Troy'...shirtless. (http://www.livejournal.com/talkread.bml?journal=leggyslove&itemid=282883) Enjoy! :)
------------------------------
-No Eyes Needed-
------------------------------
-Chapter XII-
-Thoughts About a Father-
------------------------------
Elisandra sat in her room, watching the sparkling fëa's of people scurry about beneath her in the city. She was vaguely aware that one of her handmaidens was reading to her from yet another history book, but paid her no heed. She was far more interested in her own thoughts.
It was a week after Elisandra and Legolas had snuck out of the palace, and today was the day that Ranora was coming to discuss Elisandra's mother, and where she had traveled before returning to Minas Tirith, pregnant with Elisandra. Elisandra had honestly not thought about her real mother or father in her life. It had never really occurred to her to think about them, really - Arwen and Aragorn (and in their own time, Faldor and Ranora) had been all the parents she'd ever needed. She knew her mother was dead, of course, but she'd heard no mention of her father, and she hadn't asked. But now, her foster parents and Legolas wanted to find out who her father was. Elisandra had decided that she honestly couldn't have cared less.
But today, whether she wanted it or not, she was to find out everything about her mother and father that Ranora knew. Elisandra sighed softly, almost wishing she could just stay in her chambers with her maids and let the meeting with Ranora happen without her. She would gladly let her parents and Legolas carry out the search for her father without her, and keep whatever the results of the search may be to themselves. After all, if her mother had returned to Minas Tirith, pregnant and alone, why should she be so eager to find her father? He obviously hadn't cared enough about her mother to take care of her properly - so what was the point in finding him?
"M'Lady? Are you alright?" Ineira's worried voice broke into Elisandra's thoughts, and she realized that she'd begun to scowl. It was a habit she'd started to form whenever she thought about her father. This, unfortunately, was far too often nowadays.
"I'm fine, Ineira. Just thinking." Elisandra told her maid with a reassuring smile. "Please, continue." Ineira paused for a moment, her fëa glittering with worry and indecision, but then she continued reading. Elisandra tried to pay attention, but soon her thoughts drifted back to her father and mother. Elisandra began to scowl again, and Ineira shut the book with a loud thud, causing Elisandra to look at her in surprise.
"Your mind is obviously not on what I'm reading, m'Lady, and there is no point in me reading this to myself, as I've read it twice before." Ineira said with an arched eyebrow. Then she rose, and with a stiff curtsey, left the room. Elisandra sighed in annoyance. Ever since she'd snuck out with Legolas, her maids had been curt, almost to the point of disrespectful, to her. Only Mersana and Geona acted like their normal selves, and that was only because Arwen had talked to them. It was one of the regrettable side effects of that one night of relative freedom.
The other side effects of that night were rumors in the palace. It may be all very well and easy to tell Arwen and Aragorn that she and Legolas had gone down to the city, got drunk, and then visited her old foster family, but one can not spread that sort of story about court. So rumors flew about what Elisandra and Legolas had done out in the city that night. The most common rumor, of course, was that they'd snuck out to have a passionate night of love in some Inn in the city. A few well-timed, overly-loud explanations had calmed it down, however, and most of the palace now believed Legolas and Elisandra initial story of just having gone to visit Elisandra's old foster family.
Elisandra realized she was scowling again, and groaned inwardly. Her thoughts were going in circles, and none of the circles were exactly nice. She needed something to distract her until Ranora arrived. Unfortunately, her options were limited - listening to a book had already been proved ineffective, Aragorn had no need of her today, and there was not much else she could do, unless she wanted to stand in court and watch the goings on there. Or she could visit someone - and as soon as that thought popped into her head, Elisandra smiled slightly, knowing exactly who she could visit.
Elisandra rose, then, and made her way carefully out of the sitting room where she'd been to the one where all her maids were, chattering away excitedly about this thing or that. They didn't look up as she passed through, nor did they ask her where she was going, and she supplied no information. Though she insisted that she and Legolas were nothing but friends, she saw that disbelief in her maids fëa's when she did so. In the entire court's fëa's, in fact. While they may have believed that nothing happened when the two snuck out of the palace together, Legolas and Elisandra had been spending so much time together recently that most of the court Ladies, at least, were sure that something had happened by now. Elisandra would have refuted those rumors, but Legolas preferred rumors of he and Elisandra being lovers then half a dozen determined court Ladies chasing after him. So, for Legolas' sake, Elisandra let the rumors go.
But that didn't stop her from shooting annoyed glances at all the Ladies that she passed in the halls, especially as she approached Legolas' chambers. Arriving at Legolas' chamber door, she knocked briskly, ignoring the emotions that were skittering through the fëa's of the guards posted next to Legolas' door. The instant she heard the 'Enter!' from inside the chamber, Elisandra opened the door and slipped inside, shutting it behind her. Then she turned to greet Legolas, and stopped.
There was Legolas, sitting in what Elisandra remembered to be the window to the garden, reading a book, and wearing nothing but trousers. Once more it was brought back to Elisandra how much she missed by not being able to see. She could honestly say that this was the first time she'd ever seen anyone's bare chest, and she couldn't help but stare a little.
"Hello, Elisandra." Legolas said absently, not looking up from his book. Elisandra arched an eyebrow at his casualness, and then shook her head, moving her eyes from chest-level to eye-level.
"Do you have time to talk, or were you in the middle of something?" Elisandra asked, with light teasing in her voice. The intent had been to remind him that he was half dressed, but Legolas didn't seem to get it, thinking she was referring to the book he was reading.
"Nothing but reading." Legolas said, closing his book and looking over to Elisandra with a smile. "Come, sit!"
"I'm NOT sitting in the window." Elisandra said with an arched eyebrow.
"Of course not. There is a chair right there for you to sit in." Legolas said, pointing to a space in front of him.
"Well, you should've said so in the first place." Elisandra said, carefully making her way through the room. Legolas just grinned at her as she found the chair and sat down.
"Someday I shall have to rearrange my entire room and see how you manage." he said, still grinning, and there was a merry sparkle in both his eyes and his fëa that Elisandra hadn't noticed when she'd come in. He was apparently in a very good mood, and Elisandra decided to play along with his little joke.
"You know very well that I would NOT manage. I'd run into everything. I can only manage to get around because of my memories of where things were the last time I was there." she said.
"That is what would make it all the more interesting!" Legolas replied cheerfully.
"Says the one who wouldn't end up with bruised and banged up legs." Elisandra retorted, and Legolas grinned again. "You're in fine form today. What's got you so cheerful?"
"A messenger came in this morning." Legolas replied, still grinning. Elisandra looked at him blankly.
"And? Messengers come in every morning." she said.
"Ah, but this one was special." Legolas said with a smirk. Elisandra saw something strange flit through Legolas' fëa, then, and she tilted her head to one side as she tried to determine what it was. It was almost like the ghost of another's fëa - something she'd only ever seen once before, in her grandfather - foster grandfather, she reminded herself - Elrond's fëa. When he had come to visit, she'd seen a ghost of Celebrían's fëa in his. That had been much stronger, and she'd gotten a good impression of what the Elf was like from that ghost. Now, Elisandra wondered who Legolas could know so well as to have their fëa ghosting across his. Then it came to her, and she smiled.
"Gimli sent you a message, did he?" Elisandra asked. Legolas looked at her with surprise.
"How did - never mind, yes, he did." Legolas said, grinning again. "He is coming for a visit in a week." Elisandra arched an eyebrow.
"Well, this should be interesting." she said. "I've seen even less of Dwarves then I've seen of Elves."
"Interesting indeed, then." Legolas said, and then suddenly looked out the window with a light frown on his face. "If we could but convince the hobbits to come..."
"A reunion of all the Nine Walkers still on these shores?" Elisandra said with an arched eyebrow. "From what I've heard, that would be trouble." Legolas grinned again, looking back to Elisandra.
"It would at that." he said.
"Which is probably why Aragorn wouldn't send a messenger if you asked." Elisandra said with a lop-sided grin, and Legolas looked at her curiously. "What?" she asked after a moment's silence where he just looked at her.
"I have never heard you call Aragorn by his name before. You have always referred to him as 'father' before." Legolas replied. Elisandra blinked in surprise. She hadn't even realized she'd done it. And now that she thought about it, she realized that, in her thoughts, she hadn't referred to Aragorn as 'father' since she had come back from the city.
"I...guess it's because of all this talk about finding my real father." Elisandra said after a moment. "It just works better to call him Aragorn, instead of calling him father and having people think I'm talking about my real father. Not that I'd ever call my real father 'father' if I met him." Elisandra scowled at the last part, and Legolas arched an eyebrow.
"Ah, and now I see the reason you came to visit." he said. "This talk about finding your real father troubles you?" Elisandra snorted lightly.
"To say the least. I really can not figure out why you, Aragorn and Arwen think it so important to find him. I am perfectly content not knowing who he is, so why should you want to know?" she said. "I am full grown now, I do not need him, nor do I want him, in my life."
"It is not a question of whether or not you need or want him in your life, Elisandra. In fact, Aragorn and Arwen would have been completely content to leave your true parentage a mystery forever." Legolas said. "But recent events have shown that your background is not what it seemed to be. We wish to find out what it truly is. And since we know who your mother was, and what her background was, the answer must lie with your father. Thus, we wish to find him."
"Recent events?" Elisandra asked, arching an eyebrow. "I danced a dance that no human should be able to dance, and it's suddenly cause to find my father?" Legolas shook his head slightly.
"It is not just that, Elisandra." he said.
"What recent events, then?" Elisandra asked, now curious.
"On top of you dancing the Linta Rusco, there is also the fact that you were still conscious and semi-coherent after eight ales. Most humans can handle no more then five or six - Aragorn has the best constitution of any human I know, and he can only handle seven on a good day." Legolas said.
"Maybe it was watered down." Elisandra said, and once more Legolas shook his head.
"I had a full eight, as well, and was acting like it. It was not watered down." he said.
"Maybe the barkeep watered mine down because I was a lady?" Elisandra suggested. Legolas just looked at her. "Fine, that's not very likely. But still - a good constitution and being able to dance the Linta Rusco are not good grounds for suddenly needing to find my father." Elisandra snapped.
"Combined with your looks, they are." Legolas said calmly. Elisandra looked at him blankly.
"My looks?" she asked. Having only been able to see fëa's for almost all her life, her looks had never been much of an issue. In fact, most people in the court tended to avoid bringing up anything that required normal eyesight around her. Thus, the sudden reference to her looks left her with a blank. It was strange when she suddenly realized she had no idea what she looked like - she couldn't even see her own fëa, since fëa's were not reflected in mirrors.
"How much do you remember of before your sight changed to what it is now?" Legolas asked, breaking Elisandra out of her thoughts, and it took a moment for her mind to switch topics and dig that far down into her memory.
"Not much." Elisandra said finally.
"Do you remember any faces, any people in particular?" Legolas asked, and Elisandra frowned as she thought.
"Not clearly." she said, then asked impatiently, "Why? What are you leading to?"
"I am leading to this, Elisandra: The people of Minas Tirith are dark haired and dark eyed. Your mother, from what Ranora has told Aragorn and Arwen, was a typical woman of Minas Tirith. Yet you are light haired, light eyed, and extremely fair skinned." Legolas replied.
"Alright, so I look strange for where I have lived, and I can do some extraordinary things. That is still no reason to go looking for my father." Elisandra said in annoyance. Legolas looked at her carefully, and then sighed.
"What else do you have against finding your father?" he asked. Elisandra just looked at him flatly.
"Whatever do you mean?" she asked in reply.
"What other reason do you have for not wanting to find your father? There is obviously another one, and it looks to be the most important one if you are protesting this search for your father so strongly just because of it." Legolas said, looking at Elisandra intently. She opened her mouth to tell him to stop imagining things, but then closed it again. Perhaps she should tell him the real reason.
"Alright." she said after a silence, sighing heavily. "You want to find my father. But I am afraid of what we might find if we go looking. After all, my mother returned to Minas Tirith alone. He could very well not WANT to be found. He obviously didn't care enough to make her his wife." Elisandra was snarling by the time she finished, and Legolas' eyebrows were raised as high as they could go.
"Or he could have been dead." Legolas said, and Elisandra looked at him in surprise. "You do not know what happened Elisandra. They could have been married and planning to live a happy life together, but had something happen that caused your mother to return to Minas Tirith alone. You do not know. You can not know unless you search out your father, or your father's family, for answers."
"Why not my mothers family?" Elisandra asked after a moment, the thought suddenly occurring to her.
"If you were fostered by Ranora instead of your mother's family, I seriously doubt your mother had any living relatives nearby." Legolas said, arching an eyebrow, and Elisandra reluctantly nodded. "You do not know what happened, Elisandra, remember that. Do not judge your father until you have heard the full story." Elisandra paused, then nodded again. "Now we had best go, Ranora should be here shortly." Elisandra coughed softly, and Legolas looked at her curiously. She glanced at his still-bare chest meaningfully, and to her amusement, Elisandra saw embarrassment flit through his fëa.
"You had best go, then. I shall be along shortly." Legolas said, recovering quickly, and disappeared into his bedchamber. Elisandra shook her head and smiled, then stood and left, heading for the receiving room where the meeting with Ranora was to take place. And for some strange reason, as she walked, the memory of a certain Elf's bare chest crowded out the rest of her thoughts...
\/---Please review! Reviews really are nice things to get, and are very much appreciated. I even accept anonymous reviews, so you don't have to go to the trouble of logging in! (Ok, now I sound like I'm begging...)---\/
Cyberbrownies (ran out of cookies) for reviewing go to: bratprincess, Nikki, Evenstar-Elfstone, Lady of Middle Earth, HurriCanine, queenie, TigerLily713, Gilimirin, Duke Storm, Cyberwing, Aislin, MaverickGirl and Girl X. And SplendiferGoddess gets a Cyberbrownie just because she's special.
Authors Note: So, thanks to everyone who's been guessing as to the identity of Elisandra's father. Unfortunately, you'll have awhile to wait to find out if you're correct or not. Because, really, finding Elisandra's father is my main plot...and I stop writing stories after I run out of plot. Soooo...you'll probably find out who Elisandra's father is right before the end. Or maybe not. Depends. I need to work in the romance, too, and I'm still trying to figure out when that's gonna come in. :)
As a last note, certain scenes in this chapter were brought on by sneak-preview pics of Orlando Bloom in 'Troy'...shirtless. (http://www.livejournal.com/talkread.bml?journal=leggyslove&itemid=282883) Enjoy! :)
------------------------------
-No Eyes Needed-
------------------------------
-Chapter XII-
-Thoughts About a Father-
------------------------------
Elisandra sat in her room, watching the sparkling fëa's of people scurry about beneath her in the city. She was vaguely aware that one of her handmaidens was reading to her from yet another history book, but paid her no heed. She was far more interested in her own thoughts.
It was a week after Elisandra and Legolas had snuck out of the palace, and today was the day that Ranora was coming to discuss Elisandra's mother, and where she had traveled before returning to Minas Tirith, pregnant with Elisandra. Elisandra had honestly not thought about her real mother or father in her life. It had never really occurred to her to think about them, really - Arwen and Aragorn (and in their own time, Faldor and Ranora) had been all the parents she'd ever needed. She knew her mother was dead, of course, but she'd heard no mention of her father, and she hadn't asked. But now, her foster parents and Legolas wanted to find out who her father was. Elisandra had decided that she honestly couldn't have cared less.
But today, whether she wanted it or not, she was to find out everything about her mother and father that Ranora knew. Elisandra sighed softly, almost wishing she could just stay in her chambers with her maids and let the meeting with Ranora happen without her. She would gladly let her parents and Legolas carry out the search for her father without her, and keep whatever the results of the search may be to themselves. After all, if her mother had returned to Minas Tirith, pregnant and alone, why should she be so eager to find her father? He obviously hadn't cared enough about her mother to take care of her properly - so what was the point in finding him?
"M'Lady? Are you alright?" Ineira's worried voice broke into Elisandra's thoughts, and she realized that she'd begun to scowl. It was a habit she'd started to form whenever she thought about her father. This, unfortunately, was far too often nowadays.
"I'm fine, Ineira. Just thinking." Elisandra told her maid with a reassuring smile. "Please, continue." Ineira paused for a moment, her fëa glittering with worry and indecision, but then she continued reading. Elisandra tried to pay attention, but soon her thoughts drifted back to her father and mother. Elisandra began to scowl again, and Ineira shut the book with a loud thud, causing Elisandra to look at her in surprise.
"Your mind is obviously not on what I'm reading, m'Lady, and there is no point in me reading this to myself, as I've read it twice before." Ineira said with an arched eyebrow. Then she rose, and with a stiff curtsey, left the room. Elisandra sighed in annoyance. Ever since she'd snuck out with Legolas, her maids had been curt, almost to the point of disrespectful, to her. Only Mersana and Geona acted like their normal selves, and that was only because Arwen had talked to them. It was one of the regrettable side effects of that one night of relative freedom.
The other side effects of that night were rumors in the palace. It may be all very well and easy to tell Arwen and Aragorn that she and Legolas had gone down to the city, got drunk, and then visited her old foster family, but one can not spread that sort of story about court. So rumors flew about what Elisandra and Legolas had done out in the city that night. The most common rumor, of course, was that they'd snuck out to have a passionate night of love in some Inn in the city. A few well-timed, overly-loud explanations had calmed it down, however, and most of the palace now believed Legolas and Elisandra initial story of just having gone to visit Elisandra's old foster family.
Elisandra realized she was scowling again, and groaned inwardly. Her thoughts were going in circles, and none of the circles were exactly nice. She needed something to distract her until Ranora arrived. Unfortunately, her options were limited - listening to a book had already been proved ineffective, Aragorn had no need of her today, and there was not much else she could do, unless she wanted to stand in court and watch the goings on there. Or she could visit someone - and as soon as that thought popped into her head, Elisandra smiled slightly, knowing exactly who she could visit.
Elisandra rose, then, and made her way carefully out of the sitting room where she'd been to the one where all her maids were, chattering away excitedly about this thing or that. They didn't look up as she passed through, nor did they ask her where she was going, and she supplied no information. Though she insisted that she and Legolas were nothing but friends, she saw that disbelief in her maids fëa's when she did so. In the entire court's fëa's, in fact. While they may have believed that nothing happened when the two snuck out of the palace together, Legolas and Elisandra had been spending so much time together recently that most of the court Ladies, at least, were sure that something had happened by now. Elisandra would have refuted those rumors, but Legolas preferred rumors of he and Elisandra being lovers then half a dozen determined court Ladies chasing after him. So, for Legolas' sake, Elisandra let the rumors go.
But that didn't stop her from shooting annoyed glances at all the Ladies that she passed in the halls, especially as she approached Legolas' chambers. Arriving at Legolas' chamber door, she knocked briskly, ignoring the emotions that were skittering through the fëa's of the guards posted next to Legolas' door. The instant she heard the 'Enter!' from inside the chamber, Elisandra opened the door and slipped inside, shutting it behind her. Then she turned to greet Legolas, and stopped.
There was Legolas, sitting in what Elisandra remembered to be the window to the garden, reading a book, and wearing nothing but trousers. Once more it was brought back to Elisandra how much she missed by not being able to see. She could honestly say that this was the first time she'd ever seen anyone's bare chest, and she couldn't help but stare a little.
"Hello, Elisandra." Legolas said absently, not looking up from his book. Elisandra arched an eyebrow at his casualness, and then shook her head, moving her eyes from chest-level to eye-level.
"Do you have time to talk, or were you in the middle of something?" Elisandra asked, with light teasing in her voice. The intent had been to remind him that he was half dressed, but Legolas didn't seem to get it, thinking she was referring to the book he was reading.
"Nothing but reading." Legolas said, closing his book and looking over to Elisandra with a smile. "Come, sit!"
"I'm NOT sitting in the window." Elisandra said with an arched eyebrow.
"Of course not. There is a chair right there for you to sit in." Legolas said, pointing to a space in front of him.
"Well, you should've said so in the first place." Elisandra said, carefully making her way through the room. Legolas just grinned at her as she found the chair and sat down.
"Someday I shall have to rearrange my entire room and see how you manage." he said, still grinning, and there was a merry sparkle in both his eyes and his fëa that Elisandra hadn't noticed when she'd come in. He was apparently in a very good mood, and Elisandra decided to play along with his little joke.
"You know very well that I would NOT manage. I'd run into everything. I can only manage to get around because of my memories of where things were the last time I was there." she said.
"That is what would make it all the more interesting!" Legolas replied cheerfully.
"Says the one who wouldn't end up with bruised and banged up legs." Elisandra retorted, and Legolas grinned again. "You're in fine form today. What's got you so cheerful?"
"A messenger came in this morning." Legolas replied, still grinning. Elisandra looked at him blankly.
"And? Messengers come in every morning." she said.
"Ah, but this one was special." Legolas said with a smirk. Elisandra saw something strange flit through Legolas' fëa, then, and she tilted her head to one side as she tried to determine what it was. It was almost like the ghost of another's fëa - something she'd only ever seen once before, in her grandfather - foster grandfather, she reminded herself - Elrond's fëa. When he had come to visit, she'd seen a ghost of Celebrían's fëa in his. That had been much stronger, and she'd gotten a good impression of what the Elf was like from that ghost. Now, Elisandra wondered who Legolas could know so well as to have their fëa ghosting across his. Then it came to her, and she smiled.
"Gimli sent you a message, did he?" Elisandra asked. Legolas looked at her with surprise.
"How did - never mind, yes, he did." Legolas said, grinning again. "He is coming for a visit in a week." Elisandra arched an eyebrow.
"Well, this should be interesting." she said. "I've seen even less of Dwarves then I've seen of Elves."
"Interesting indeed, then." Legolas said, and then suddenly looked out the window with a light frown on his face. "If we could but convince the hobbits to come..."
"A reunion of all the Nine Walkers still on these shores?" Elisandra said with an arched eyebrow. "From what I've heard, that would be trouble." Legolas grinned again, looking back to Elisandra.
"It would at that." he said.
"Which is probably why Aragorn wouldn't send a messenger if you asked." Elisandra said with a lop-sided grin, and Legolas looked at her curiously. "What?" she asked after a moment's silence where he just looked at her.
"I have never heard you call Aragorn by his name before. You have always referred to him as 'father' before." Legolas replied. Elisandra blinked in surprise. She hadn't even realized she'd done it. And now that she thought about it, she realized that, in her thoughts, she hadn't referred to Aragorn as 'father' since she had come back from the city.
"I...guess it's because of all this talk about finding my real father." Elisandra said after a moment. "It just works better to call him Aragorn, instead of calling him father and having people think I'm talking about my real father. Not that I'd ever call my real father 'father' if I met him." Elisandra scowled at the last part, and Legolas arched an eyebrow.
"Ah, and now I see the reason you came to visit." he said. "This talk about finding your real father troubles you?" Elisandra snorted lightly.
"To say the least. I really can not figure out why you, Aragorn and Arwen think it so important to find him. I am perfectly content not knowing who he is, so why should you want to know?" she said. "I am full grown now, I do not need him, nor do I want him, in my life."
"It is not a question of whether or not you need or want him in your life, Elisandra. In fact, Aragorn and Arwen would have been completely content to leave your true parentage a mystery forever." Legolas said. "But recent events have shown that your background is not what it seemed to be. We wish to find out what it truly is. And since we know who your mother was, and what her background was, the answer must lie with your father. Thus, we wish to find him."
"Recent events?" Elisandra asked, arching an eyebrow. "I danced a dance that no human should be able to dance, and it's suddenly cause to find my father?" Legolas shook his head slightly.
"It is not just that, Elisandra." he said.
"What recent events, then?" Elisandra asked, now curious.
"On top of you dancing the Linta Rusco, there is also the fact that you were still conscious and semi-coherent after eight ales. Most humans can handle no more then five or six - Aragorn has the best constitution of any human I know, and he can only handle seven on a good day." Legolas said.
"Maybe it was watered down." Elisandra said, and once more Legolas shook his head.
"I had a full eight, as well, and was acting like it. It was not watered down." he said.
"Maybe the barkeep watered mine down because I was a lady?" Elisandra suggested. Legolas just looked at her. "Fine, that's not very likely. But still - a good constitution and being able to dance the Linta Rusco are not good grounds for suddenly needing to find my father." Elisandra snapped.
"Combined with your looks, they are." Legolas said calmly. Elisandra looked at him blankly.
"My looks?" she asked. Having only been able to see fëa's for almost all her life, her looks had never been much of an issue. In fact, most people in the court tended to avoid bringing up anything that required normal eyesight around her. Thus, the sudden reference to her looks left her with a blank. It was strange when she suddenly realized she had no idea what she looked like - she couldn't even see her own fëa, since fëa's were not reflected in mirrors.
"How much do you remember of before your sight changed to what it is now?" Legolas asked, breaking Elisandra out of her thoughts, and it took a moment for her mind to switch topics and dig that far down into her memory.
"Not much." Elisandra said finally.
"Do you remember any faces, any people in particular?" Legolas asked, and Elisandra frowned as she thought.
"Not clearly." she said, then asked impatiently, "Why? What are you leading to?"
"I am leading to this, Elisandra: The people of Minas Tirith are dark haired and dark eyed. Your mother, from what Ranora has told Aragorn and Arwen, was a typical woman of Minas Tirith. Yet you are light haired, light eyed, and extremely fair skinned." Legolas replied.
"Alright, so I look strange for where I have lived, and I can do some extraordinary things. That is still no reason to go looking for my father." Elisandra said in annoyance. Legolas looked at her carefully, and then sighed.
"What else do you have against finding your father?" he asked. Elisandra just looked at him flatly.
"Whatever do you mean?" she asked in reply.
"What other reason do you have for not wanting to find your father? There is obviously another one, and it looks to be the most important one if you are protesting this search for your father so strongly just because of it." Legolas said, looking at Elisandra intently. She opened her mouth to tell him to stop imagining things, but then closed it again. Perhaps she should tell him the real reason.
"Alright." she said after a silence, sighing heavily. "You want to find my father. But I am afraid of what we might find if we go looking. After all, my mother returned to Minas Tirith alone. He could very well not WANT to be found. He obviously didn't care enough to make her his wife." Elisandra was snarling by the time she finished, and Legolas' eyebrows were raised as high as they could go.
"Or he could have been dead." Legolas said, and Elisandra looked at him in surprise. "You do not know what happened Elisandra. They could have been married and planning to live a happy life together, but had something happen that caused your mother to return to Minas Tirith alone. You do not know. You can not know unless you search out your father, or your father's family, for answers."
"Why not my mothers family?" Elisandra asked after a moment, the thought suddenly occurring to her.
"If you were fostered by Ranora instead of your mother's family, I seriously doubt your mother had any living relatives nearby." Legolas said, arching an eyebrow, and Elisandra reluctantly nodded. "You do not know what happened, Elisandra, remember that. Do not judge your father until you have heard the full story." Elisandra paused, then nodded again. "Now we had best go, Ranora should be here shortly." Elisandra coughed softly, and Legolas looked at her curiously. She glanced at his still-bare chest meaningfully, and to her amusement, Elisandra saw embarrassment flit through his fëa.
"You had best go, then. I shall be along shortly." Legolas said, recovering quickly, and disappeared into his bedchamber. Elisandra shook her head and smiled, then stood and left, heading for the receiving room where the meeting with Ranora was to take place. And for some strange reason, as she walked, the memory of a certain Elf's bare chest crowded out the rest of her thoughts...
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