Disclaimer: See previous chapters.
Authors Note: Hee hee. In the middle of writing this, I got a rather crazy idea for a plot twist - have it that Legolas or Gimli arranged the attack on the camp so they could elfnap Elisandra for some...odd reason. Crazy idea, yes? What's that, a resounding yes? Thought so. :)
Anywho. This is the longest chapter to date, and it's also the one where I warn you to take the rating seriously. It's the highest rating I can give this story unless I want to go to 'R', but I reserve that for stories with graphic detail about certain things, which there isn't in this story. But if FanFiction.Net had the rating of 14A, this story - and especially this chapter - would be rated that. So you have been warned - long chapter ahead with a strong rating for *ahem* adult themes.
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-No Eyes Needed-
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-Chapter XVII-
-About Damn Time-
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They were staring at him. He could feel it. Not only in the silence that had descended around their little trio - always a bad sign for him - but in the itch between his shoulders. But he would not give in. He would not turn around and look at them, or ask them what they wanted - he'd only be met with insane grins or laughter, or pointed remarks about food, anyways.
Unfortunately for him, his two companions had almost unlimited patience - probably stemming from the fact that besides staying on their respective horses, neither of them had anything to do. Finally, with a sigh, Legolas gave in, and turned to look at Elisandra.
"What is it this time?" he asked tiredly.
"When can we stop?" Elisandra asked innocently. Legolas rolled his eyes - ah yes, the other option. A sensible question, just to throw him off and ensure that he kept on paying attention to them.
"When the sun sets." Legolas replied, then turned back to the front. After a moment, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Yes Gimli?" he asked.
"Is their any food left from last night?" Gimli asked.
"If there was, do you think I would have gone hunting for lunch?" Legolas asked, annoyed.
"Yes." Gimli replied. Legolas eyed the nearest tree and wondered if he could jump off Arod and reach and climb it before Gimli and Elisandra caught him. He decided that while he would probably be able to, it would not be a good idea to give Gimli such a story to spread once they got to Rivendell.
"So?" Elisandra asked, pulling Legolas out of his musings.
"No, there's no food left from last night." Legolas answered with a sigh, suddenly wishing that Elisandra and Gimli had never decided to bond over the subject of food. They still argued about everything else, but in food and causing Legolas annoyance, they were always in complete agreement. It was like traveling with a pair of bickering hobbits, only more annoying.
And there they went, staring at him again. Annoyed, Legolas suddenly kicked Arod into a gallop, causing Elisandra's horse - its reins still held in his hands - to follow. The startled yelps that came from behind him gave Legolas immense satisfaction, and even better, once they slowed down, neither Elisandra nor Gimli started staring at him again.
"Gimli, why on earth are you thinking of rabbits?" Elisandra's question broke the silence, and startled the dwarf behind Legolas immensely.
"What?" Gimli asked.
"Your fëa - there's rabbits fëa's in it." Elisandra replied matter-of-factly.
"You can see that?" Gimli asked after a silence.
"Only sometimes, when someone's really bored and focusing solely on one thought." Elisandra replied. "So why are - were - you thinking of rabbits?"
"I was remembering one of Master Samwise's stews, if you must know." Gimli replied.
"Huh." Elisandra said, and then added after a few moments pause, "Now I'm hungry..." Legolas waited for the staring to start again, but to his surprise, it didn't. Instead, there was absolute silence from Gimli and Elisandra.
"The mountains." Elisandra's abrupt announcement startled Legolas, and he looked over his shoulder at her just as Gimli 'harrumphed. Legolas watched Elisandra for a few more minutes, hoping for an explanation of what she meant, but she seemed entirely focused on something else, and he turned his attention back to the path.
"A barrel of ale." Elisandra's next announcement didn't startle Legolas as badly, but he still looked at her curiously as Gimli 'harrumphed again - only to find that Elisandra was still absorbed in whatever it was she was doing, and not paying any attention to him.
"A really big eagle." Legolas didn't even bother to turn around at Elisandra's next announcement, nor the one after that - or the one after that - or the one after that. The curiosity as to why she was listing off the most bizarre bunch of items he'd ever heard of ate at him, however, and finally, he gave in to it.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Guessing what Gimli's thinking of." Elisandra replied, and Gimli 'harrumphed again. Legolas shook his head.
"I should have guessed." he muttered.
"I could try and guess what you're thinking of." Elisandra said. "Though it would be harder, since I can see so little of your fëa compared to Gimli's."
"I think I shall be quite content if you stick to guessing Gimli's thoughts." Legolas answered with a sigh. And that is exactly what Elisandra went back to doing - for the entire rest of the day. On the one hand, Legolas was left completely alone to steer the horses through the wilderness, but on the other hand, he was now very very bored. Consequently, he started thinking about their journey, and wondering if Aragorn had heard about the Orc attack yet, and wondering how many of the guards had gotten away. His mind, however, slipped in to focus on the 'Aragorn hearing' part of that thought, and that brought to mind the conversation that they'd had before leaving.
He'd quite forgotten to ask Aragorn why he was really afraid for Elisandra to go on the trip until the morning they'd left. Then Elisandra had reminded him by commenting on how Aragorn had been quite unreasonable about not wanting to let her go, and he'd quickly excused himself and gone off to find his friend and ask.
The answer Legolas had gotten, however, was not what he had expected. It had taken him several minutes of arguing to get the ex-ranger to even admit that there was some other reason for him not wanting Elisandra to go, and then several more minutes to discover what it was. And when he had, he had been so startled that he'd just stopped and stared at Aragorn for a moment. Though Aragorn hadn't known he was right, he had already guessed of Legolas' growing feelings for Elisandra, and as most parents are prone to, had become worried that Legolas would end out breaking Elisandra's heart in some manner or another.
Legolas, not quite knowing how Aragorn would react if he knew that Legolas did indeed have feelings for Elisandra of the more-than-friendly type, had hedged around the question. Somehow - even he couldn't remember how - he had managed to convince that he would not break Elisandra's heart, while at the same time saying nothing whatsoever about whether or not he and Elisandra would become romantically involved. It had been a fine line, and he was sure that as soon as Aragorn had sat down and thought about the conversation, he'd figured out what Legolas had done. But as there had been no messengers from Minas Tirith ordering them to turn around, he had to assume that Aragorn was not terribly worried about it. Either that or Arwen wasn't, and had convinced Aragorn it wasn't something to worry over.
"I say the sun's set." Gimli grunted from behind Legolas suddenly, and quite loudly, startling Legolas out of his thoughts.
"I still maintain it set several hours ago." Elisandra muttered. Legolas, knowing he'd be called on to break up this argument, glanced to the west to check on the sun.
"Nonsense, it only went behind the mountains." Gimli told Elisandra.
"Nonetheless, we shall be stopping as soon as we find a suitable spot." Legolas interrupted.
"About time, too." Elisandra and Gimli said at the same time, then immediately looked at each other suspiciously. Legolas chuckled to himself, though unfortunately not quietly enough. He immediately felt the two's gaze's turn to him, and he cleared his throat loudly and went about looking for a place to stop for the night. He found it not much farther on, in a large clump of trees. The trees were on a rare hill, with a just as rare creek running by on the north side of the hill. They'd have to cross that creek tomorrow in order to continue, but for now, they stayed on the southern side of it and left the path and rode to the crown of the hill. As he had anticipated, Legolas could see for many miles around from the top of the hill, and noticed with satisfaction that many of the trees were old enough for him to climb. He would be able to see even farther if he sat in the top of one of those trees for his watch.
Elisandra and Gimli seemed to like the spot, as the instant the horses stopped, they both slid ungracefully off the horses. Gimli immediately set about gathering wood for a fire, while Elisandra just stood there, looking up at Legolas. Once again, as he had been every night for the past two weeks of travel, he was reminded how dependant on other people Elisandra was when she wasn't someplace she knew.
Smiling inwardly, Legolas dismounted, and then led Elisandra over to a nearby tree, where she sat down and waited while he and Gimli set up the camp. It was a routine they'd perfected over the past few days - once it had became apparent that Elisandra was more of a nuisance then a help if she tried to help set up camp. Gimli and Legolas didn't mind - they were used to setting up camps by themselves, in fact they'd spent quite awhile doing so when they'd traveled together after the War of the Ring. Elisandra felt a little awkward about not being able to help, but then Legolas pointed out that if she slept while he and Gimli set up camp and made supper, she could take a longer turn on watch. This was advantageous to all of them, since Elisandra was the best watch person of them all with her sight, and both Legolas and Gimli welcomed the extra sleep.
So, by the time they'd gotten a fire going and were cooking a meal over it - mostly things foraged as they traveled - Elisandra was sleeping soundly underneath the tree where Legolas had left her. She remained that way until Gimli waved a woven leaf plate - made by Legolas - loaded with delicious smelling food under her nose. She woke quickly at that, and ate the meal quickly. From there their routine continued much as it had the past few nights - Legolas cleaned up after supper while Elisandra took first watch and Gimli went to sleep. When done cleaning, Legolas found a space - on the opposite side of the fire from where Elisandra was keeping watch - and slipped into his world of elvish sleep.
It was around one in the morning that Legolas woke himself to go replace Elisandra on watch. She was sitting near the fire, staring over it into the darkness. Legolas and Gimli had to keep their backs to the fire when on watch, since it ruined their night vision for some time, but it did not do so to Elisandra. So she sat close to the fire and stayed warm while still being able to keep an excellent watch. Elisandra, however, for once seemed to not be paying attention to her watch, and looked lost in thought instead. That was confirmed when Legolas touched her lightly on the shoulder and she started.
"I hear most people pay attention when they sit on watch." Legolas teased, though softly so as not to wake Gimli.
"Sorry, I was lost in thought." Elisandra replied sheepishly.
"So I saw. Something on your mind?" Legolas asked, crouching down next to her. Elisandra paused, and seemed to consider before answering.
"Nothing important, really. I heard running water somewhere to the north -" Legolas and Gimli had both been incredibly surprised to learn that Elisandra could tell directions out in the middle of the wilderness - she said Aragorn had taught her one summer when she complained of always feeling turned around when she went to the gardens. "- and found myself wishing for a bath. That reminded me of the last time I had a bath." Elisandra frowned as she finished, slipping into thought once more. Legolas was silent, as well, lost in thought himself. As a rule, they had not mentioned the Orc attack since it had happened, unless there was great need - which there hadn't been yet. Legolas and Gimli had made some good friend among the guards - some of who were ex-rangers from the north, and all had fought in the War of the Ring. And Legolas had told Gimli about Mersana being shot. So they simply did not speak of it - it was too painful for all of them. Now that the subject had been broached, however, they discovered that there wasn't much to talk about. Instead, Elisandra went back to the main point of her thought.
"Still, I would like another bath, if the water is clean. Or at least a dip to rinse most of the dirt off me and my clothes." she said, suddenly pulling herself out of her thoughts. "I know I must look horrible, and I feel absolutely coated in grime." Legolas hesitated, and Elisandra saw it in his fëa. "I know it's not yet safe to go alone - but you should be able to find a tree from which you can watch both the camp and the approach to the water." she said. "If you say no, however, I shall not argue."
"No, you are right; it will be no problem to find a tree from which I can watch over both you and Gimli. But no shoving your boots in the water this time!" Legolas said with a grin. Elisandra had found that Gimli was greatly annoyed by the squishy noises she could make with her boots when they were wet, and had spent all the time she could until her boots dried making squishy noises to annoy Gimli. It had not been pleasant for Legolas to have an annoyed dwarf behind him. Elisandra, however, had not had to deal with an annoyed dwarf behind her, and thus laughed lightly at the memory.
"I promise." she said, rising from her seat by the fire. "It wasn't all that pleasant to wear the boots, anyways. Annoying Gimli was more of a way to share my discomfort then anything else."
"Well, you could have shared your discomfort with him when he was NOT sitting behind me." Legolas grumped good-naturedly, and then rose from his crouch with a grin, which Elisandra returned.
"Now, where have you hidden our scanty belongings this time?" she asked, looking around as if she'd suddenly be able to see the packs. Legolas smiled, then walked over and fetched the pack that contained most of her belongings. Her 'belongings' were really just her bathing things, the dress she'd worn to the bath the day of the attack, and some of Legolas' tunic's and breeches that fit her. They'd found that, since she only wore one dress and there was no one around to see, anyways, it was much easier for Elisandra to just wear some of Legolas' clothes then to have to find a stream every few days and have her go off by herself and wash her dress. Now, however, Elisandra took all the clothes in her pack, along with the soap and other bathing materials, making Legolas arch an eyebrow.
"Might as well wash them all while I'm down there. There's a good breeze, so they should dry by morning." Elisandra said in answer. Legolas nodded, then after both he and Elisandra took a look around to make sure there was nothing dangerous within their sight, Legolas led Elisandra down the hill to the creek. Elisandra smiled as they got closer and confessed that she hadn't thought that there would be that much water, though she was grateful, since if it had just been a little country stream she hadn't know how she was going to manage. Her smile widened even more when they reached the stream and Legolas announced it clean enough to bath in, and her testing of the water found it to be cool, but not cold. Then Legolas left to find a tree to sit and watch from, and Elisandra set about having her bath.
To be fair to Legolas, he really did try to pay attention to the surrounding countryside and keep a good watch. But the moon was up, and the sky was clear, and somehow he had ended up with a perfect view of where Elisandra was bathing. And Elisandra had started singing while she bathed. He kept to his watch as long as he could stand, but the song called to him - it was an ancient elvish ballad of two Elven lovers; Legolas had no clue where Elisandra had learned it, and was alternating between really wishing she hadn't and being really glad she had. Finally, however, the pull of the song and thoughts of the one singing it became too strong, and let his gaze leave the countryside and fall to where Elisandra was bathing.
The sight nearly took his breath away. The moonlight was dancing upon the water, and her skin, almost pearly in colour, looked as if it was dotted with thousands of stars where the moonlight reflected off the water on her skin. Her hair hung down her back to her waist, free and unbraided, and shone like ithilden.
Her back was to him when he first looked, but even as he watched, she turned to get something from the bank, and Legolas gripped one of the tree branches so hard his fingers left dents to keep himself from rushing down there. As it was, he could no longer bear to be so far from her, and after he released the branch he had been gripping, he left his post, carefully leaping from tree to tree, until he was as close as he dared to where Elisandra was bathing.
It was risky, and he knew it, for Elisandra could see him no matter where he was. He could only hope that she had not seen his previous post and assumed that this was the one he had chosen if she turned to look for him. But Legolas had a feeling that that would not be - for he doubted anyone would need the ability to see fëa's to know what was going through his mind at that moment. Indeed, as he sat in the tree he became uncomfortably aware of exactly what was going through his mind. But he could not turn away, even though his mind screamed at him of his duty to watch for enemies. His heart, soul and body had long ago pushed his mind aside and taken over, anyways.
---
Elisandra was clean, and thus she was happier then she had been in a long time. It was a simple thing to be happy about, and she it simply happen, he happiness showing through song. She had learned the song a long time ago, when the Lords and Ladies of the hall had still delighted in hearing Arwen and Aragorn sing Elvish songs. She had no idea what the song meant, as she wasn't even to have supposed to have heard it - her having supposed to have been in bed when Arwen and Aragorn sang it - but it called to her, and she had only had to hear it a few times before she had it memorized, engraved in her memory and never forgotten.
Oh, she had heard many other elvish songs since then, most of them a lot more then this one, but this one stuck in her mind, and she always hummed or sang it when she was happy. So she sang the song, little knowing what effect it was having on its one listener.
I wasn't until after Elisandra had finished bathing, and all her clothes were drying, that she looked up to find where Legolas was. She found that he was a lot closer then she'd thought he'd be, and after a moment, she realized he was watching her. If she'd had her wits about her, she probably would have blushed and dashed behind a tree, as she was wearing only a tunic, and not a very long one at that. But something caught hold of her as she locked gazes with Legolas, and she didn't move except to tilt her head to one side.
They looked at each other for quite some time, simply looking, and for once Elisandra did not look to Legolas' fëa to discover what he was feeling and thinking. Instead, she did as he and all others in the world did, and scanned his face and his posture to discover what was on his mind. And as she did so, as so often happens, she became aware of something inside of herself - something that she hadn't even known had existed in her, in fact, had scoffed at ever existing less then two weeks before. Love. The realization that she felt so strong an emotion toward Legolas, who until this moment she had thought of only as a friend, terrified her. If she hadn't suddenly been rooted to the ground, she would have started running and not stopped until she reached Rivendell.
She almost started anyways, despite her rooted feet, when Legolas suddenly stood and leaped to another tree, closer than the one he had been in before. As he moved, his gaze never left Elisandra's, and she felt shivers run down her spine. The shivers distracted her so much that she almost didn't notice that in reaction to Legolas' movement, she took a step forward. Almost.
Her mind noticed her reaction, and all of the sudden it began screaming at her, asking her what she thought she was doing, and did she realize what she was wearing, and babbling on about Legolas needing to keep watch over the camp. Something, however, pushed her mind away, muting it, until all that was left was the urge to be in Legolas' arms. The urge was so strong that she took another step forward. She intending to continue until she had reached the tree where Legolas was, but before she could continue, Legolas himself stood and sped through the tree tops until he was suddenly in the tree in front of her, looking down at her even as she looked up at him.
"Elisandra." his voice was deep and throaty, with a tone to it that Elisandra had never heard before. And as Elisandra looked at his fëa, her mind screamed at her as to why she had never heard the tone in his voice. She had seen the emotions in his fëa in other fëa's before, but always in small bits, and usually gone quickly. But now he crouched on a branch above her, and she wondered how he could contain such a swirling, violent mixture of lust, passion and love. Just looking at it gave her goosebumps. But she pushed her thoughts aside, knowing thinking had no place here, and instead opened her mouth to say the answer that was being waited for.
"Legolas." Elisandra's reply startled herself, with the change in her voice. It had not just gone deeper with her feelings, but something else had changed - it was indescribable, but there was a change, and she knew that it was rooted someplace deeper then in the moment. But once more she pushed all thoughts aside and focused on the moment as Legolas suddenly dropped down from the tree to stand in front of her.
---
There were mere inches between them, and each could feel the heat radiating off of the other. Still they stood motionless, as if unsure of what to do. Then, tentatively, Legolas brought his hand to Elisandra's cheek.
It was all that was needed.
Within moments, they were locked in a fierce embrace, their kiss passionate and wild. When they drew back from that first kiss, both of their eyes shone with fear at the intensity of their emotions. But seeing the fear in each others eyes, they banished it, and locked themselves in a passionate kiss once more. It wasn't long after that that their clothes lay scattered on the ground beside where they now lay.
\/---*cough* Ehm...reviews would be really appreciated...I'm gonna go...uh...clean the garage or...something...---\/
Authors Note: Hee hee. In the middle of writing this, I got a rather crazy idea for a plot twist - have it that Legolas or Gimli arranged the attack on the camp so they could elfnap Elisandra for some...odd reason. Crazy idea, yes? What's that, a resounding yes? Thought so. :)
Anywho. This is the longest chapter to date, and it's also the one where I warn you to take the rating seriously. It's the highest rating I can give this story unless I want to go to 'R', but I reserve that for stories with graphic detail about certain things, which there isn't in this story. But if FanFiction.Net had the rating of 14A, this story - and especially this chapter - would be rated that. So you have been warned - long chapter ahead with a strong rating for *ahem* adult themes.
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-No Eyes Needed-
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-Chapter XVII-
-About Damn Time-
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They were staring at him. He could feel it. Not only in the silence that had descended around their little trio - always a bad sign for him - but in the itch between his shoulders. But he would not give in. He would not turn around and look at them, or ask them what they wanted - he'd only be met with insane grins or laughter, or pointed remarks about food, anyways.
Unfortunately for him, his two companions had almost unlimited patience - probably stemming from the fact that besides staying on their respective horses, neither of them had anything to do. Finally, with a sigh, Legolas gave in, and turned to look at Elisandra.
"What is it this time?" he asked tiredly.
"When can we stop?" Elisandra asked innocently. Legolas rolled his eyes - ah yes, the other option. A sensible question, just to throw him off and ensure that he kept on paying attention to them.
"When the sun sets." Legolas replied, then turned back to the front. After a moment, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Yes Gimli?" he asked.
"Is their any food left from last night?" Gimli asked.
"If there was, do you think I would have gone hunting for lunch?" Legolas asked, annoyed.
"Yes." Gimli replied. Legolas eyed the nearest tree and wondered if he could jump off Arod and reach and climb it before Gimli and Elisandra caught him. He decided that while he would probably be able to, it would not be a good idea to give Gimli such a story to spread once they got to Rivendell.
"So?" Elisandra asked, pulling Legolas out of his musings.
"No, there's no food left from last night." Legolas answered with a sigh, suddenly wishing that Elisandra and Gimli had never decided to bond over the subject of food. They still argued about everything else, but in food and causing Legolas annoyance, they were always in complete agreement. It was like traveling with a pair of bickering hobbits, only more annoying.
And there they went, staring at him again. Annoyed, Legolas suddenly kicked Arod into a gallop, causing Elisandra's horse - its reins still held in his hands - to follow. The startled yelps that came from behind him gave Legolas immense satisfaction, and even better, once they slowed down, neither Elisandra nor Gimli started staring at him again.
"Gimli, why on earth are you thinking of rabbits?" Elisandra's question broke the silence, and startled the dwarf behind Legolas immensely.
"What?" Gimli asked.
"Your fëa - there's rabbits fëa's in it." Elisandra replied matter-of-factly.
"You can see that?" Gimli asked after a silence.
"Only sometimes, when someone's really bored and focusing solely on one thought." Elisandra replied. "So why are - were - you thinking of rabbits?"
"I was remembering one of Master Samwise's stews, if you must know." Gimli replied.
"Huh." Elisandra said, and then added after a few moments pause, "Now I'm hungry..." Legolas waited for the staring to start again, but to his surprise, it didn't. Instead, there was absolute silence from Gimli and Elisandra.
"The mountains." Elisandra's abrupt announcement startled Legolas, and he looked over his shoulder at her just as Gimli 'harrumphed. Legolas watched Elisandra for a few more minutes, hoping for an explanation of what she meant, but she seemed entirely focused on something else, and he turned his attention back to the path.
"A barrel of ale." Elisandra's next announcement didn't startle Legolas as badly, but he still looked at her curiously as Gimli 'harrumphed again - only to find that Elisandra was still absorbed in whatever it was she was doing, and not paying any attention to him.
"A really big eagle." Legolas didn't even bother to turn around at Elisandra's next announcement, nor the one after that - or the one after that - or the one after that. The curiosity as to why she was listing off the most bizarre bunch of items he'd ever heard of ate at him, however, and finally, he gave in to it.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Guessing what Gimli's thinking of." Elisandra replied, and Gimli 'harrumphed again. Legolas shook his head.
"I should have guessed." he muttered.
"I could try and guess what you're thinking of." Elisandra said. "Though it would be harder, since I can see so little of your fëa compared to Gimli's."
"I think I shall be quite content if you stick to guessing Gimli's thoughts." Legolas answered with a sigh. And that is exactly what Elisandra went back to doing - for the entire rest of the day. On the one hand, Legolas was left completely alone to steer the horses through the wilderness, but on the other hand, he was now very very bored. Consequently, he started thinking about their journey, and wondering if Aragorn had heard about the Orc attack yet, and wondering how many of the guards had gotten away. His mind, however, slipped in to focus on the 'Aragorn hearing' part of that thought, and that brought to mind the conversation that they'd had before leaving.
He'd quite forgotten to ask Aragorn why he was really afraid for Elisandra to go on the trip until the morning they'd left. Then Elisandra had reminded him by commenting on how Aragorn had been quite unreasonable about not wanting to let her go, and he'd quickly excused himself and gone off to find his friend and ask.
The answer Legolas had gotten, however, was not what he had expected. It had taken him several minutes of arguing to get the ex-ranger to even admit that there was some other reason for him not wanting Elisandra to go, and then several more minutes to discover what it was. And when he had, he had been so startled that he'd just stopped and stared at Aragorn for a moment. Though Aragorn hadn't known he was right, he had already guessed of Legolas' growing feelings for Elisandra, and as most parents are prone to, had become worried that Legolas would end out breaking Elisandra's heart in some manner or another.
Legolas, not quite knowing how Aragorn would react if he knew that Legolas did indeed have feelings for Elisandra of the more-than-friendly type, had hedged around the question. Somehow - even he couldn't remember how - he had managed to convince that he would not break Elisandra's heart, while at the same time saying nothing whatsoever about whether or not he and Elisandra would become romantically involved. It had been a fine line, and he was sure that as soon as Aragorn had sat down and thought about the conversation, he'd figured out what Legolas had done. But as there had been no messengers from Minas Tirith ordering them to turn around, he had to assume that Aragorn was not terribly worried about it. Either that or Arwen wasn't, and had convinced Aragorn it wasn't something to worry over.
"I say the sun's set." Gimli grunted from behind Legolas suddenly, and quite loudly, startling Legolas out of his thoughts.
"I still maintain it set several hours ago." Elisandra muttered. Legolas, knowing he'd be called on to break up this argument, glanced to the west to check on the sun.
"Nonsense, it only went behind the mountains." Gimli told Elisandra.
"Nonetheless, we shall be stopping as soon as we find a suitable spot." Legolas interrupted.
"About time, too." Elisandra and Gimli said at the same time, then immediately looked at each other suspiciously. Legolas chuckled to himself, though unfortunately not quietly enough. He immediately felt the two's gaze's turn to him, and he cleared his throat loudly and went about looking for a place to stop for the night. He found it not much farther on, in a large clump of trees. The trees were on a rare hill, with a just as rare creek running by on the north side of the hill. They'd have to cross that creek tomorrow in order to continue, but for now, they stayed on the southern side of it and left the path and rode to the crown of the hill. As he had anticipated, Legolas could see for many miles around from the top of the hill, and noticed with satisfaction that many of the trees were old enough for him to climb. He would be able to see even farther if he sat in the top of one of those trees for his watch.
Elisandra and Gimli seemed to like the spot, as the instant the horses stopped, they both slid ungracefully off the horses. Gimli immediately set about gathering wood for a fire, while Elisandra just stood there, looking up at Legolas. Once again, as he had been every night for the past two weeks of travel, he was reminded how dependant on other people Elisandra was when she wasn't someplace she knew.
Smiling inwardly, Legolas dismounted, and then led Elisandra over to a nearby tree, where she sat down and waited while he and Gimli set up the camp. It was a routine they'd perfected over the past few days - once it had became apparent that Elisandra was more of a nuisance then a help if she tried to help set up camp. Gimli and Legolas didn't mind - they were used to setting up camps by themselves, in fact they'd spent quite awhile doing so when they'd traveled together after the War of the Ring. Elisandra felt a little awkward about not being able to help, but then Legolas pointed out that if she slept while he and Gimli set up camp and made supper, she could take a longer turn on watch. This was advantageous to all of them, since Elisandra was the best watch person of them all with her sight, and both Legolas and Gimli welcomed the extra sleep.
So, by the time they'd gotten a fire going and were cooking a meal over it - mostly things foraged as they traveled - Elisandra was sleeping soundly underneath the tree where Legolas had left her. She remained that way until Gimli waved a woven leaf plate - made by Legolas - loaded with delicious smelling food under her nose. She woke quickly at that, and ate the meal quickly. From there their routine continued much as it had the past few nights - Legolas cleaned up after supper while Elisandra took first watch and Gimli went to sleep. When done cleaning, Legolas found a space - on the opposite side of the fire from where Elisandra was keeping watch - and slipped into his world of elvish sleep.
It was around one in the morning that Legolas woke himself to go replace Elisandra on watch. She was sitting near the fire, staring over it into the darkness. Legolas and Gimli had to keep their backs to the fire when on watch, since it ruined their night vision for some time, but it did not do so to Elisandra. So she sat close to the fire and stayed warm while still being able to keep an excellent watch. Elisandra, however, for once seemed to not be paying attention to her watch, and looked lost in thought instead. That was confirmed when Legolas touched her lightly on the shoulder and she started.
"I hear most people pay attention when they sit on watch." Legolas teased, though softly so as not to wake Gimli.
"Sorry, I was lost in thought." Elisandra replied sheepishly.
"So I saw. Something on your mind?" Legolas asked, crouching down next to her. Elisandra paused, and seemed to consider before answering.
"Nothing important, really. I heard running water somewhere to the north -" Legolas and Gimli had both been incredibly surprised to learn that Elisandra could tell directions out in the middle of the wilderness - she said Aragorn had taught her one summer when she complained of always feeling turned around when she went to the gardens. "- and found myself wishing for a bath. That reminded me of the last time I had a bath." Elisandra frowned as she finished, slipping into thought once more. Legolas was silent, as well, lost in thought himself. As a rule, they had not mentioned the Orc attack since it had happened, unless there was great need - which there hadn't been yet. Legolas and Gimli had made some good friend among the guards - some of who were ex-rangers from the north, and all had fought in the War of the Ring. And Legolas had told Gimli about Mersana being shot. So they simply did not speak of it - it was too painful for all of them. Now that the subject had been broached, however, they discovered that there wasn't much to talk about. Instead, Elisandra went back to the main point of her thought.
"Still, I would like another bath, if the water is clean. Or at least a dip to rinse most of the dirt off me and my clothes." she said, suddenly pulling herself out of her thoughts. "I know I must look horrible, and I feel absolutely coated in grime." Legolas hesitated, and Elisandra saw it in his fëa. "I know it's not yet safe to go alone - but you should be able to find a tree from which you can watch both the camp and the approach to the water." she said. "If you say no, however, I shall not argue."
"No, you are right; it will be no problem to find a tree from which I can watch over both you and Gimli. But no shoving your boots in the water this time!" Legolas said with a grin. Elisandra had found that Gimli was greatly annoyed by the squishy noises she could make with her boots when they were wet, and had spent all the time she could until her boots dried making squishy noises to annoy Gimli. It had not been pleasant for Legolas to have an annoyed dwarf behind him. Elisandra, however, had not had to deal with an annoyed dwarf behind her, and thus laughed lightly at the memory.
"I promise." she said, rising from her seat by the fire. "It wasn't all that pleasant to wear the boots, anyways. Annoying Gimli was more of a way to share my discomfort then anything else."
"Well, you could have shared your discomfort with him when he was NOT sitting behind me." Legolas grumped good-naturedly, and then rose from his crouch with a grin, which Elisandra returned.
"Now, where have you hidden our scanty belongings this time?" she asked, looking around as if she'd suddenly be able to see the packs. Legolas smiled, then walked over and fetched the pack that contained most of her belongings. Her 'belongings' were really just her bathing things, the dress she'd worn to the bath the day of the attack, and some of Legolas' tunic's and breeches that fit her. They'd found that, since she only wore one dress and there was no one around to see, anyways, it was much easier for Elisandra to just wear some of Legolas' clothes then to have to find a stream every few days and have her go off by herself and wash her dress. Now, however, Elisandra took all the clothes in her pack, along with the soap and other bathing materials, making Legolas arch an eyebrow.
"Might as well wash them all while I'm down there. There's a good breeze, so they should dry by morning." Elisandra said in answer. Legolas nodded, then after both he and Elisandra took a look around to make sure there was nothing dangerous within their sight, Legolas led Elisandra down the hill to the creek. Elisandra smiled as they got closer and confessed that she hadn't thought that there would be that much water, though she was grateful, since if it had just been a little country stream she hadn't know how she was going to manage. Her smile widened even more when they reached the stream and Legolas announced it clean enough to bath in, and her testing of the water found it to be cool, but not cold. Then Legolas left to find a tree to sit and watch from, and Elisandra set about having her bath.
To be fair to Legolas, he really did try to pay attention to the surrounding countryside and keep a good watch. But the moon was up, and the sky was clear, and somehow he had ended up with a perfect view of where Elisandra was bathing. And Elisandra had started singing while she bathed. He kept to his watch as long as he could stand, but the song called to him - it was an ancient elvish ballad of two Elven lovers; Legolas had no clue where Elisandra had learned it, and was alternating between really wishing she hadn't and being really glad she had. Finally, however, the pull of the song and thoughts of the one singing it became too strong, and let his gaze leave the countryside and fall to where Elisandra was bathing.
The sight nearly took his breath away. The moonlight was dancing upon the water, and her skin, almost pearly in colour, looked as if it was dotted with thousands of stars where the moonlight reflected off the water on her skin. Her hair hung down her back to her waist, free and unbraided, and shone like ithilden.
Her back was to him when he first looked, but even as he watched, she turned to get something from the bank, and Legolas gripped one of the tree branches so hard his fingers left dents to keep himself from rushing down there. As it was, he could no longer bear to be so far from her, and after he released the branch he had been gripping, he left his post, carefully leaping from tree to tree, until he was as close as he dared to where Elisandra was bathing.
It was risky, and he knew it, for Elisandra could see him no matter where he was. He could only hope that she had not seen his previous post and assumed that this was the one he had chosen if she turned to look for him. But Legolas had a feeling that that would not be - for he doubted anyone would need the ability to see fëa's to know what was going through his mind at that moment. Indeed, as he sat in the tree he became uncomfortably aware of exactly what was going through his mind. But he could not turn away, even though his mind screamed at him of his duty to watch for enemies. His heart, soul and body had long ago pushed his mind aside and taken over, anyways.
---
Elisandra was clean, and thus she was happier then she had been in a long time. It was a simple thing to be happy about, and she it simply happen, he happiness showing through song. She had learned the song a long time ago, when the Lords and Ladies of the hall had still delighted in hearing Arwen and Aragorn sing Elvish songs. She had no idea what the song meant, as she wasn't even to have supposed to have heard it - her having supposed to have been in bed when Arwen and Aragorn sang it - but it called to her, and she had only had to hear it a few times before she had it memorized, engraved in her memory and never forgotten.
Oh, she had heard many other elvish songs since then, most of them a lot more then this one, but this one stuck in her mind, and she always hummed or sang it when she was happy. So she sang the song, little knowing what effect it was having on its one listener.
I wasn't until after Elisandra had finished bathing, and all her clothes were drying, that she looked up to find where Legolas was. She found that he was a lot closer then she'd thought he'd be, and after a moment, she realized he was watching her. If she'd had her wits about her, she probably would have blushed and dashed behind a tree, as she was wearing only a tunic, and not a very long one at that. But something caught hold of her as she locked gazes with Legolas, and she didn't move except to tilt her head to one side.
They looked at each other for quite some time, simply looking, and for once Elisandra did not look to Legolas' fëa to discover what he was feeling and thinking. Instead, she did as he and all others in the world did, and scanned his face and his posture to discover what was on his mind. And as she did so, as so often happens, she became aware of something inside of herself - something that she hadn't even known had existed in her, in fact, had scoffed at ever existing less then two weeks before. Love. The realization that she felt so strong an emotion toward Legolas, who until this moment she had thought of only as a friend, terrified her. If she hadn't suddenly been rooted to the ground, she would have started running and not stopped until she reached Rivendell.
She almost started anyways, despite her rooted feet, when Legolas suddenly stood and leaped to another tree, closer than the one he had been in before. As he moved, his gaze never left Elisandra's, and she felt shivers run down her spine. The shivers distracted her so much that she almost didn't notice that in reaction to Legolas' movement, she took a step forward. Almost.
Her mind noticed her reaction, and all of the sudden it began screaming at her, asking her what she thought she was doing, and did she realize what she was wearing, and babbling on about Legolas needing to keep watch over the camp. Something, however, pushed her mind away, muting it, until all that was left was the urge to be in Legolas' arms. The urge was so strong that she took another step forward. She intending to continue until she had reached the tree where Legolas was, but before she could continue, Legolas himself stood and sped through the tree tops until he was suddenly in the tree in front of her, looking down at her even as she looked up at him.
"Elisandra." his voice was deep and throaty, with a tone to it that Elisandra had never heard before. And as Elisandra looked at his fëa, her mind screamed at her as to why she had never heard the tone in his voice. She had seen the emotions in his fëa in other fëa's before, but always in small bits, and usually gone quickly. But now he crouched on a branch above her, and she wondered how he could contain such a swirling, violent mixture of lust, passion and love. Just looking at it gave her goosebumps. But she pushed her thoughts aside, knowing thinking had no place here, and instead opened her mouth to say the answer that was being waited for.
"Legolas." Elisandra's reply startled herself, with the change in her voice. It had not just gone deeper with her feelings, but something else had changed - it was indescribable, but there was a change, and she knew that it was rooted someplace deeper then in the moment. But once more she pushed all thoughts aside and focused on the moment as Legolas suddenly dropped down from the tree to stand in front of her.
---
There were mere inches between them, and each could feel the heat radiating off of the other. Still they stood motionless, as if unsure of what to do. Then, tentatively, Legolas brought his hand to Elisandra's cheek.
It was all that was needed.
Within moments, they were locked in a fierce embrace, their kiss passionate and wild. When they drew back from that first kiss, both of their eyes shone with fear at the intensity of their emotions. But seeing the fear in each others eyes, they banished it, and locked themselves in a passionate kiss once more. It wasn't long after that that their clothes lay scattered on the ground beside where they now lay.
\/---*cough* Ehm...reviews would be really appreciated...I'm gonna go...uh...clean the garage or...something...---\/