-Now with fixed Elvish grammar...and fixed English grammar *shuffles feet in embarassment*-
Disclaimer: I own nada except the character of Elisandra, and the particular way in which the words in this story are put together. I have no money, anyways, so even if you sued me, you would only get enough for...hm, perhaps a milkshake...maybe a bag of chips. Depends how many commemorative quarters I have kicking around my room...
Authors Note: Hmm, the last chapter seemed to be the chapter for crank reviews. Most of the crank reviews have been deleted for the sake of my readers, since they were mostly crude and uncouth. The flame has remained, because I find flames too amusing to delete. :D Only bad thing about the flame is the swearing in it. Tsk tsk. Silly flamer couldn't even write a flame without resorting to crude language. And what atrocious grammar...People! If you're going to flame me for horrible writing, the least you can do is set an example of good writing yourself!
For those that asked, my vacation was wonderful. I got to go hiking in the mountains, where I spotted a reallyreallyreallycute ground squirrel, and got to play the Two Towers video game at my cousins. Couldn't get past the Rohan levels. :P Probably due to having not played a video game since the last time I visited that particular cousin...
In other news, I finally finished the Silmarillion! Woot! Go me! I only started it several times, and then took close to two months to finally read it once I set my mind to finishing it...
Also, once more, I apologize to anyone who speaks Sindarin and is reading this. I know I have to have broken several dozen Sindarin grammar rules in this chapter. Anybody who speaks Sindarin is welcome to tell me the proper translations in a review, though, and I'll gladly change the elvish in the story! And my apologies in general to all my readers for taking so long to get this chapter up, but it has been quite possibly THE hardest chapter out of all 29 chapters so far that I have had to write. On the plus side, this is the longest chapter yet, with chapter 17 being the only other chapter near as long!
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-No Eyes Needed-
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-Chapter XXIX-
-The Awwwwwwwww! Chapter-
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Elisandra poked Legolas where he lay on the grass, staring up at the sky. She'd been trying to get his attention for the past five minutes, but had no luck. They'd decided to go out into one of the remoter regions of Rivendell for a picnic this morning, but during the entire time the two had been out - which was close to an hour, at this point - Legolas had been distracted. Elisandra frowned now as she looked at Legolas, wondering what on earth he could have on his mind.
"Legolas," Elisandra tried again, poking Legolas harder. There was still no response, so Elisandra decided to try a different approach. It would most likely result in distraction of another sort, but as long as Legolas wasn't staring up at the sky, deep in thought, Elisandra didn't mind. Not that she ever minded that particular distraction, she thought with a grin as she sat down next to Legolas and bent her head over his, blocking the sky from his vision. He barely had time to take notice of this before Elisandra kissed him, and then his full attention was wrenched away from whatever his thoughts had been to the half-elf maiden he had come for a picnic with.
The kiss deepened as Legolas wrapped his arms around Elisandra, pulling her out of her sitting position so she was half lying on him. As their tongues danced with each other, Legolas and Elisandra rolled so that Legolas was now the one on top, and Elisandra's arms quickly wrapped around Legolas, pulling him closer. After a moment, however, he pulled away and looked down at Elisandra with an intensity in his eyes that she'd never seen before. Elisandra looked up at him curiously, and he let his head drop so that his forehead rested against hers, his eyes closing as he took shaky breaths.
"Meleth nîn? [My love?]" Elisandra asked in concern.
"Im meleth le. [I love you.]" Legolas said softly, and Elisandra's eyes widened slightly. While she and Legolas were lovers, they had never outright said that they loved one another - though Elisandra had felt her feelings strengthening to that point for quite some time. She was slightly speechless at Legolas' outright declaration, however, and remained silent. At her continued silence, Legolas opened his eyes and lifted his head again, looking down at Elisandra, his love, and surprisingly, fear, shining through his eyes.
"Im meleth le." he said again, stronger, and it seemed to pull Elisandra out of her surprise.
"A im meleth le. [And I love you.]" she said, lifting her head and kissing Legolas lightly on the lips. To Elisandra's surprise, Legolas looked almost relieved before he rolled onto his back and looked up at the sky again. Sensing another 'stare at the sky' session coming on, Elisandra rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows so that she was blocking Legolas' view of the sky.
"No more staring at the sky until you tell me what on Arda you are thinking about that makes it so interesting." she said. Legolas chuckled softly.
"Nothing much, meleth. [love]" he said lightly.
"You have been zoned out and distracted for this entire picnic." Elisandra retorted. "What are you thinking about?"
"It is nothing." Legolas said again, dismissively.
"It is something." Elisandra insisted. "What is it?" A flash of mild annoyance crossed Legolas' face, and then he smiled ruefully.
"I am just thinking about a conversation I had last night with your fathers." he said. Since Gimli's little observation, Elisandra had quickly rectified her neglect of Aragorn, and was now calling both him and Haldir father - albeit in different languages. All the elves seemed to find it extremely amusing that she had more than one father, though.
"Oh? And what were they going on about now?" Elisandra asked with a smile.
"You." Legolas replied with a grin. "What else?" Elisandra laughed.
"I think my uncles need to find those two something to do." she said. "They're always wandering around talking about me, to anyone who will listen!"
"I think no matter what Elladan and Elrohir found for them to do, they would still talk incessantly about you." Legolas said, absently starting to play with a piece of Elisandra's hair that had fallen across his forehead.
"I'm going to have to break them of the habit, then." Elisandra said with a rueful smile.
"I fear for them already." Legolas said, and Elisandra chuckled. There was a short moment of silence, and then Elisandra spoke up again.
"So what were you talking about with my fathers that has you so distracted?" Legolas sighed.
"Stubborn, and will not be distracted. What did I ever do to the Valar?" he said with mock exasperation. Elisandra grinned.
"Nothing, except maybe be way too handsome for your own good?" she said. Legolas snorted and poked her on the nose.
"I believe I am supposed to be the one flattering you." he said.
"Then flatter me. After you tell me what you, Father and Atar [Father] talked about last night that you've been thinking about so much." Elisandra replied. Legolas chuckled.
"And what if I do not wish to tell you?" he asked.
"Then I'll go ask Father or Atar." Elisandra replied practically. "One of them will tell me."
"Debatable." Legolas said.
"Well, I'd love to debate it with you, except I need to know what they said in order to debate whether or not they'd tell me about it." Elisandra replied. Legolas chuckled again, then lifted his head up and gave Elisandra a quick kiss.
"Nice try." he said as he lay back down. "Will it placate you if I promise to tell you later?"
"Mmm, I suppose." Elisandra said. "As long as you actually tell me later."
"I always keep my promises, meleth." Legolas said with a soft smile, which suddenly turned mischievous as he continued. "However, how MUCH later..." Legolas rolled out of the way just in time to avoid Elisandra's whack.
"Time for lunch!" Legolas said cheerfully, pulling the picnic basket over to him and looking through it.
"Silly elf." Elisandra said, rolling her eyes.
"Strawberry?" Legolas offered in response, grinning.
---
Elisandra knew that she shouldn't have let it bug her, especially since it really had been none of her business in the first place, but since Legolas had made such a fuss about not telling her, she just couldn't stop wondering what had distracted him earlier that day during their picnic. It was just nagging at her, no matter what she did - talked to someone, went for a walk, did stitchery, read a book, everything. It was getting rather annoying, actually, and she found herself wishing that Legolas would just show up out of the blue and tell her. But, last she'd heard, he'd closeted himself in the Elven smithy with Gimli, locking the door so even the normal smiths couldn't get in.
Putting down her book with a sigh, Elisandra stood and went out onto her balcony, staring off towards the column of smoke in the not-to-far distance that marked the smithy. She absently toyed with the idea of finding one of her fathers and asking them what they'd talked to Legolas about, but decided that she'd give Legolas a chance to tell her. He had said he would tell her eventually, after all, and Haldir was always telling her she needed to be more patient. Elisandra just blamed her human blood and upbringing in response.
Elisandra would have liked to have blamed her human blood and upbringing for this burning curiosity now, but she knew that was just an excuse. The Valar knew Elrohir had enough curiosity to outmatch any human, and Elisandra was sure there were other Elves out there just as curious as her foster uncle. Finally, Elisandra decided to just go to the smithy and see if she could get out of Legolas what had distracted him.
Leaving her room, Elisandra quickly strode through the halls of Rivendell, greeting the various Elves that she had met since she arrived, and stopping for a short conversation about the weather with Celeborn. She arrived at the smithy's door quickly, for all that, and found one or two of the Elven smiths still waiting outside the door, looking distinctly annoyed. Elisandra smiled politely to them, and then approached the door. Inside, she could hear Legolas and Gimli arguing about something, though it seemed to be a rather friendly argument, and there were also various sounds of smith work being carried out. The was the muffled sound of someone exclaiming 'What do you mean you can't do that?', followed by the noise of someone being whacked solidly on the head, then Elisandra knocked lightly on the door, and all was quiet.
"Yes?" Legolas' voice came drifting through the door.
"Legolas, can I talk to you?" Elisandra called back through the door.
"I don't know, can you?" Gimli's gruff voice replied. Once again, the sound of someone being whacked, and then Legolas spoke again.
"I am a little busy, but if you will wait a moment, I shall come out." he said. The Elven smiths behind Elisandra came a little closer, apparently expecting to get back into their smithy now, but when Legolas appeared in the door a few minutes later, he closed the door sharply behind him and cast the smiths an annoyed look.
"I said I was going to need it all day." he said, and a few of the smiths scowled before they all turned and stalked off. "At times like this, I love my title." Legolas said with a smirk once the smiths were out of hearing range.
"What ARE you doing in there, anyways?" Elisandra asked with curiosity.
"Mmm, nothing much." Legolas said, bouncing on the balls of his feet and looking rather pleased with himself. "So, what did you want to talk about? Gimli, get away from the door and back to work." There was muffled muttering, and then the sound of heavy footsteps retreating to the other side of the smithy.
"Well, I'm glad he listens to someone." Elisandra said dryly, and Legolas grinned. "I came down here because it's really bugging me."
"What is?" Legolas asked blankly.
"What you and my fathers talked about that distracted you so much this morning." Elisandra replied.
"I told you I would tell you later." Legolas reminded Elisandra, and she nodded impatiently.
"I know, but it's really really bugging me. It's like when you tell somebody to forget something that they only knew half of the information about - they always want to know more, even if it's just the other half of a recipe or something silly like that." Elisandra said. Legolas chuckled, then cupped Elisandra's face in his hands and gave her a light kiss.
"I shall tell you what your fathers and I talked about, as well as what possessed me to lock myself in a smithy with a dwarf, tomorrow." he said with a small smile, then withdrew his hands and grinned. "For now, you shall just have to wonder."
"Well, if you promise you'll tell me tomorrow." Elisandra said.
"I do." Legolas said cheerfully, an amused grin on his face, and then he turned to go back into the smithy. "Im meleth le!"
"Im meleth le." Elisandra replied with a small smile as Legolas disappeared into the smithy.
"Might wanna wash your face, lass." Gimli said as he closed the door behind Legolas. Elisandra frowned slightly, then went over to a nearby fountain and peered into the water. Seeing two large, Legolas-hand-shaped black smudges on her cheeks, Elisandra rolled her eyes.
"Silly elf." she muttered for the second time that day, then set about washing off the smudges.
---
Elisandra hardly saw Legolas at all the next day, despite his promise to tell her what had distracted him so much and why he had locked himself in the smithy with Gimli. She saw Legolas at meals, and a few quick moments in the halls, but the rest of the time, all she caught of Legolas were glimpses as he dashed off to someplace, followed by a very amused looking Gimli. During the times Elisandra managed to catch Legolas for a quick talk, with the dwarf around or not, Legolas was unnervingly cheerful. When Elisandra finally gave in and asked Legolas why on Arda he was acting so strange, he simply replied "You shall see!", gave Elisandra a quick kiss, then practically bounded off.
By the time suppertime came around, Elisandra had decided that Legolas had gone insane, and everybody was just letting him be because it was so amusing. At least, everybody who spotted Legolas seemed extremely amused by his behavior. Gimli had even commented that he was just following Legolas out of pure amusement rather than having anything to do with what Legolas was doing. That, of course, had led to the question of what WAS Legolas actually doing, and then Gimli sped up and disappeared around a corner Legolas had just turned, leaving a very confused Elisandra.
Now on her way to supper in the main hall, Elisandra determined that she was going to get to the bottom of Legolas' strange behavior, even if she had to tie him down to do it. Fortunately for Legolas, she never got much farther in her plans to get out of him what his behavior was all about, because as she approached the main hall, Elrohir suddenly appeared in front of her, grinning like an idiot. Without a word, Elrohir handed Elisandra a note, took her by her shoulders and turned her around so she faced away from the main hall, then disappeared again.
Bewildered, Elisandra looked over her shoulder after Elrohir for a moment, then shrugged and looked down at the note in her hands. Their was no name on the front, but there could be little question that the note was to Elisandra, judging from its delivery. Turning the note over, Elisandra was surprised to discover that it had been sealed as if it were an official document. Looking closer at the wax seal, Elisandra's eyes shot up as she recognized the seal as Legolas'. Curious, Elisandra opened the note, and was rather disappointed to discover that it held only three lines of writing:
Meleth nîn,
Come to the stables.
Legolas
It explained nothing - in fact, it confused Elisandra more. No more explanation was forthcoming, however, so with a sigh, Elisandra headed off to the stables. She stopped by her room only long enough to drop the note on her dresser, and then hurried off. Arriving at the stables, Elisandra discovered Arod standing peacefully outside the stable doors, munching on some grass and looking for all the world like he belonged right where he was instead of in his stall or the paddocks.
"What are you doing out here, boy?" Elisandra asked with confusion, coming over to Arod. Noticing her, the horse lifted his head and snorted in her face, then nuzzled her. After receiving a few pats, Arod started nudging Elisandra towards his back. Elisandra looked at the horse - which was quickly getting impatient - curiously, and only then noticed the braid at the top of Arod's mane. It was a small, neat braid, but it stood out due to the green ribbon that had been used in it - and the small green leaves that were tied to the end of the braid.
"Oh, very subtle." Elisandra said, shaking her head. "Green leaves tied into your own horse's mane..." Elisandra rolled her eyes, then gave into Arod's incessant nudging and pulled herself up onto the horses back. Once she was as comfortably settled as she could be when riding astride a horse in a skirt, Arod took off at a brisk trot. For the first little while, Arod followed common paths, but he eventually turned off onto less well known paths, and soon started climbing up out of the valley. Elisandra was really wondering where they were going now, though she was enjoying the view of Rivendell as they climbed. Finally, the ground leveled out, and Arod was trotting along the top of the cliffs on the northern edge of Rivendell.
Then, abruptly, Arod stopped and snorted, stamping his feet. Elisandra took the hint and dismounted, looking around curiously and wondering why Arod had stopped here. There was no evidence of anyone else being anyone near, in fact, except for the view of Rivendell over the cliffs, there was no sign of any civilization. This wouldn't have bothered Elisandra overly much if Arod hadn't suddenly took off at a gallop back towards Rivendell. That was very alarming, and Elisandra considered following the horse before her eyes caught on something resting on the ground where Arod had been standing. Walking over to it, Elisandra found herself looking down at a very familiar arrow - pointing off to the north, along the cliffs.
Smiling, Elisandra picked up the arrow and headed off in the direction it had pointed. If it had been anyone else who led Elisandra on this merry chase, Elisandra would have long ago become annoyed and probably snapped at someone - but love soothes the soul, and makes all sorts of exceptions to rules. Thus, Elisandra was now humming happily to herself as she walked on the small piece of grass between the trees and the edge of the cliffs, twirling Legolas' arrow between her fingers.
After a time, Elisandra became aware that she could hear a waterfall in the near distance, and sped up slightly when she realized it was in the direction she was heading. Then, suddenly, she came upon a stream running across her path, which tumbled over the cliffs down into the river below. Elisandra peered down at the waterfall for a few moments, and then went to continue, only to spot another arrow lying on the ground, pointing into the bushes and trees which the stream emerged from. Elisandra cheerily picked up that arrow as well before plunging into the bushes.
Coming out on the other side of the bushes, Elisandra let out a small squeak of amazement. She was now in a small clearing, at the far end of which a small pool rested, the source of the small stream which Elisandra had followed. There was a willow tree growing on the far side of the pool, its hanging branches masking most of the pool, but what water the tree didn't hide gleamed like gold in the soft glow that was coming from the sunset through a well-placed gap in the trees. It was, overall, a stunning picture, but Elisandra couldn't help that feel it was missing something.
"Have any trouble getting here?" a soft voice asked in Elisandra's ear, and she smiled. Ah yes, that was what it was missing.
"It was rather easy with all the directions." Elisandra said, turning to Legolas, winding her arms around his neck, and kissing him lightly.
"Maer. [Good.]" Legolas said with a smile, giving Elisandra a light kiss in return. Then he gently unwrapped Elisandra's arms from around his neck and grabbed her hand. "Teli! [Come!]" he said, then led Elisandra into the clearing, across the stream, and under the branches of the willow tree. Underneath the tree, Elisandra was surprised to discover that there was much more room than she'd originally anticipated - in fact, besides the pool, there was a rather large stretch of grass, to which Legolas now led her. He let go of her hand, then, and with a graceful leap, disappeared up into the tree. A moment later, he dropped back to the ground, this time holding a basket that, judging from the smells coming from it, contained food.
"I believe you left before you could eat?" Legolas asked with a smile, sitting down and opening the basket. Elisandra chuckled, then sat down besides Legolas, setting the two arrows of his that she was carrying back by the tree, as Legolas started pulling things out of the basket. Most of it was common picnic fair, but a few things - a cake, some still-warm meat, and a bottle of miruvor - were unique for a picnic. There was also quite a large selection of food.
"Planning on me being hungry?" Elisandra asked with an arched eyebrow once Legolas had emptied the basket, looking at all the food now spread out before them.
"I let Gimli pack it all, since he could get more out of the cooks then I. Apparently he thought we would both be hungry." Legolas said, eyeing the large amount of food.
"Well, you WERE running around Rivendell all day." Elisandra replied practically as she picked up some grapes.
"Mm, that I was," Legolas said with a smile, snatching a grape from the bunch Elisandra was now holding and popping it into his mouth. They continued with small talk as they ate their supper, and by the time they're finished eating, not only had the sun set, but the had devoured a surprisingly large amount of the food. Legolas packed the remains of their supper - and his two arrows - into the basket again, and then deposited it in the branches of the trees again. Coming back down from the tree, he wrapped his arms around Elisandra and kissed her soundly.
"Teli! [Come!]" he said again when he pulled away, and then grinned mischievously as Elisandra had to take a few moments to recover from the kiss and understand what he'd said. Then Legolas grabbed Elisandra's hand again and led her out from underneath the willow - out of the clearing entirely, in fact. They arrived back at the cliffs, and looking south to Rivendell, Elisandra gasped in surprise. The moon was yet to rise, but the starlight shone down on the Last Homely House, causing it to glitter and sparkle, looking like a pearly jewel nestled in the dark green of the valley.
"The first time I came to Imladris [Rivendell], I got slightly lost, and ended up coming at it from the north, along this edge of the cliff." Legolas said, smiling softly. "I think I was the only person to ever be disappointed when they arrived in Imladris, since it did not sparkle and glitter up close like I had seen it do from here."
"I can see why. It's beautiful." Elisandra breathed.
"Thou art more beautiful by far." Legolas said softly, looking down at Elisandra. She looked up at him and smiled, stepping closer and wrapping him in a hug, resting her head against his chest. Legolas rested his head on top of Elisandra's, and they stood like that for quite some time, enjoying being in each others arms as the looked out over Rivendell as it sparkled in the starlight. Eventually, Legolas raised his head and stepped back slightly, drawing Elisandra's curious gaze to him. She noticed that he seemed slightly nervous, but she just waited, her hands resting lightly on his chest, as he looked down at her with his love shining in his eyes.
"Elisandra, I - I have something I would like to ask you." Legolas said after a moment, one of his hands disappearing behind his back.
"What, Meleth nîn?" she asked, seeing that he needed a little help getting his question out. Now Elisandra was truly curious, feeling that the answer to all her questions about why and what Legolas had been doing over the past few days were about to be answered in his question. Elisandra almost giggled at that thought - all her questions answered by another question. Oh, life was amusing. She turned her mind back to the present, however, as Legolas began to speak again.
"I know I have not known you for any great amount of time, and we have been lovers for even less time, but im meleth le, anpân nîn ind, a pân faer nîn. [I love you, with all my heart, and all my soul.]" Legolas lapsed back into his native language as he talked, but then paused and took a deep breath before continuing again in the Common tongue. "I have searched all my life for my soul mate, and I have at last found you. Now I would ask if you would so honour me as to agree to bind yourself to me." Elisandra looked at Legolas, stunned for a moment, barely noticing that his hand had reappeared from behind his back holding a ring. Then she did look down at the ring, and found it looked suspiciously like it was made of mithril, a simple band with small engravings on the side, and a leaf-shaped emerald set in the top.
Elisandra had been right, of course, Legolas' question had answered all her other questions - and now he required an answer. He was looking down at her, almost pleadingly, and hesitantly, Elisandra closed her eyes and looked at his fëa. He seemed to understand what she was doing - at least, his fëa was not dimmed, nor hidden in any way. It practically shone now, completely obscuring his figure, in the light that came from his love, and across that love flitted something Elisandra had never seen before - her own fëa. Elisandra's eyes snapped open, and she looked up at Legolas.
"I love you as well, Laicalassë [Greenleaf {in Quenya}], and would be honored myself to be bound to you." she said softly. Joy lit Legolas' face, and he leaned down and kissed Elisandra, only holding the kisses intensity back long enough for him to put the ring on Elisandra's finger before losing himself in the kiss and the night.
\/---This stories gonna be ending soon, folks, so review while you can! Just press that little blue button in the left hand corner of the screen and tell me what you thought!---\/
Disclaimer: I own nada except the character of Elisandra, and the particular way in which the words in this story are put together. I have no money, anyways, so even if you sued me, you would only get enough for...hm, perhaps a milkshake...maybe a bag of chips. Depends how many commemorative quarters I have kicking around my room...
Authors Note: Hmm, the last chapter seemed to be the chapter for crank reviews. Most of the crank reviews have been deleted for the sake of my readers, since they were mostly crude and uncouth. The flame has remained, because I find flames too amusing to delete. :D Only bad thing about the flame is the swearing in it. Tsk tsk. Silly flamer couldn't even write a flame without resorting to crude language. And what atrocious grammar...People! If you're going to flame me for horrible writing, the least you can do is set an example of good writing yourself!
For those that asked, my vacation was wonderful. I got to go hiking in the mountains, where I spotted a reallyreallyreallycute ground squirrel, and got to play the Two Towers video game at my cousins. Couldn't get past the Rohan levels. :P Probably due to having not played a video game since the last time I visited that particular cousin...
In other news, I finally finished the Silmarillion! Woot! Go me! I only started it several times, and then took close to two months to finally read it once I set my mind to finishing it...
Also, once more, I apologize to anyone who speaks Sindarin and is reading this. I know I have to have broken several dozen Sindarin grammar rules in this chapter. Anybody who speaks Sindarin is welcome to tell me the proper translations in a review, though, and I'll gladly change the elvish in the story! And my apologies in general to all my readers for taking so long to get this chapter up, but it has been quite possibly THE hardest chapter out of all 29 chapters so far that I have had to write. On the plus side, this is the longest chapter yet, with chapter 17 being the only other chapter near as long!
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-No Eyes Needed-
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-Chapter XXIX-
-The Awwwwwwwww! Chapter-
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Elisandra poked Legolas where he lay on the grass, staring up at the sky. She'd been trying to get his attention for the past five minutes, but had no luck. They'd decided to go out into one of the remoter regions of Rivendell for a picnic this morning, but during the entire time the two had been out - which was close to an hour, at this point - Legolas had been distracted. Elisandra frowned now as she looked at Legolas, wondering what on earth he could have on his mind.
"Legolas," Elisandra tried again, poking Legolas harder. There was still no response, so Elisandra decided to try a different approach. It would most likely result in distraction of another sort, but as long as Legolas wasn't staring up at the sky, deep in thought, Elisandra didn't mind. Not that she ever minded that particular distraction, she thought with a grin as she sat down next to Legolas and bent her head over his, blocking the sky from his vision. He barely had time to take notice of this before Elisandra kissed him, and then his full attention was wrenched away from whatever his thoughts had been to the half-elf maiden he had come for a picnic with.
The kiss deepened as Legolas wrapped his arms around Elisandra, pulling her out of her sitting position so she was half lying on him. As their tongues danced with each other, Legolas and Elisandra rolled so that Legolas was now the one on top, and Elisandra's arms quickly wrapped around Legolas, pulling him closer. After a moment, however, he pulled away and looked down at Elisandra with an intensity in his eyes that she'd never seen before. Elisandra looked up at him curiously, and he let his head drop so that his forehead rested against hers, his eyes closing as he took shaky breaths.
"Meleth nîn? [My love?]" Elisandra asked in concern.
"Im meleth le. [I love you.]" Legolas said softly, and Elisandra's eyes widened slightly. While she and Legolas were lovers, they had never outright said that they loved one another - though Elisandra had felt her feelings strengthening to that point for quite some time. She was slightly speechless at Legolas' outright declaration, however, and remained silent. At her continued silence, Legolas opened his eyes and lifted his head again, looking down at Elisandra, his love, and surprisingly, fear, shining through his eyes.
"Im meleth le." he said again, stronger, and it seemed to pull Elisandra out of her surprise.
"A im meleth le. [And I love you.]" she said, lifting her head and kissing Legolas lightly on the lips. To Elisandra's surprise, Legolas looked almost relieved before he rolled onto his back and looked up at the sky again. Sensing another 'stare at the sky' session coming on, Elisandra rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows so that she was blocking Legolas' view of the sky.
"No more staring at the sky until you tell me what on Arda you are thinking about that makes it so interesting." she said. Legolas chuckled softly.
"Nothing much, meleth. [love]" he said lightly.
"You have been zoned out and distracted for this entire picnic." Elisandra retorted. "What are you thinking about?"
"It is nothing." Legolas said again, dismissively.
"It is something." Elisandra insisted. "What is it?" A flash of mild annoyance crossed Legolas' face, and then he smiled ruefully.
"I am just thinking about a conversation I had last night with your fathers." he said. Since Gimli's little observation, Elisandra had quickly rectified her neglect of Aragorn, and was now calling both him and Haldir father - albeit in different languages. All the elves seemed to find it extremely amusing that she had more than one father, though.
"Oh? And what were they going on about now?" Elisandra asked with a smile.
"You." Legolas replied with a grin. "What else?" Elisandra laughed.
"I think my uncles need to find those two something to do." she said. "They're always wandering around talking about me, to anyone who will listen!"
"I think no matter what Elladan and Elrohir found for them to do, they would still talk incessantly about you." Legolas said, absently starting to play with a piece of Elisandra's hair that had fallen across his forehead.
"I'm going to have to break them of the habit, then." Elisandra said with a rueful smile.
"I fear for them already." Legolas said, and Elisandra chuckled. There was a short moment of silence, and then Elisandra spoke up again.
"So what were you talking about with my fathers that has you so distracted?" Legolas sighed.
"Stubborn, and will not be distracted. What did I ever do to the Valar?" he said with mock exasperation. Elisandra grinned.
"Nothing, except maybe be way too handsome for your own good?" she said. Legolas snorted and poked her on the nose.
"I believe I am supposed to be the one flattering you." he said.
"Then flatter me. After you tell me what you, Father and Atar [Father] talked about last night that you've been thinking about so much." Elisandra replied. Legolas chuckled.
"And what if I do not wish to tell you?" he asked.
"Then I'll go ask Father or Atar." Elisandra replied practically. "One of them will tell me."
"Debatable." Legolas said.
"Well, I'd love to debate it with you, except I need to know what they said in order to debate whether or not they'd tell me about it." Elisandra replied. Legolas chuckled again, then lifted his head up and gave Elisandra a quick kiss.
"Nice try." he said as he lay back down. "Will it placate you if I promise to tell you later?"
"Mmm, I suppose." Elisandra said. "As long as you actually tell me later."
"I always keep my promises, meleth." Legolas said with a soft smile, which suddenly turned mischievous as he continued. "However, how MUCH later..." Legolas rolled out of the way just in time to avoid Elisandra's whack.
"Time for lunch!" Legolas said cheerfully, pulling the picnic basket over to him and looking through it.
"Silly elf." Elisandra said, rolling her eyes.
"Strawberry?" Legolas offered in response, grinning.
---
Elisandra knew that she shouldn't have let it bug her, especially since it really had been none of her business in the first place, but since Legolas had made such a fuss about not telling her, she just couldn't stop wondering what had distracted him earlier that day during their picnic. It was just nagging at her, no matter what she did - talked to someone, went for a walk, did stitchery, read a book, everything. It was getting rather annoying, actually, and she found herself wishing that Legolas would just show up out of the blue and tell her. But, last she'd heard, he'd closeted himself in the Elven smithy with Gimli, locking the door so even the normal smiths couldn't get in.
Putting down her book with a sigh, Elisandra stood and went out onto her balcony, staring off towards the column of smoke in the not-to-far distance that marked the smithy. She absently toyed with the idea of finding one of her fathers and asking them what they'd talked to Legolas about, but decided that she'd give Legolas a chance to tell her. He had said he would tell her eventually, after all, and Haldir was always telling her she needed to be more patient. Elisandra just blamed her human blood and upbringing in response.
Elisandra would have liked to have blamed her human blood and upbringing for this burning curiosity now, but she knew that was just an excuse. The Valar knew Elrohir had enough curiosity to outmatch any human, and Elisandra was sure there were other Elves out there just as curious as her foster uncle. Finally, Elisandra decided to just go to the smithy and see if she could get out of Legolas what had distracted him.
Leaving her room, Elisandra quickly strode through the halls of Rivendell, greeting the various Elves that she had met since she arrived, and stopping for a short conversation about the weather with Celeborn. She arrived at the smithy's door quickly, for all that, and found one or two of the Elven smiths still waiting outside the door, looking distinctly annoyed. Elisandra smiled politely to them, and then approached the door. Inside, she could hear Legolas and Gimli arguing about something, though it seemed to be a rather friendly argument, and there were also various sounds of smith work being carried out. The was the muffled sound of someone exclaiming 'What do you mean you can't do that?', followed by the noise of someone being whacked solidly on the head, then Elisandra knocked lightly on the door, and all was quiet.
"Yes?" Legolas' voice came drifting through the door.
"Legolas, can I talk to you?" Elisandra called back through the door.
"I don't know, can you?" Gimli's gruff voice replied. Once again, the sound of someone being whacked, and then Legolas spoke again.
"I am a little busy, but if you will wait a moment, I shall come out." he said. The Elven smiths behind Elisandra came a little closer, apparently expecting to get back into their smithy now, but when Legolas appeared in the door a few minutes later, he closed the door sharply behind him and cast the smiths an annoyed look.
"I said I was going to need it all day." he said, and a few of the smiths scowled before they all turned and stalked off. "At times like this, I love my title." Legolas said with a smirk once the smiths were out of hearing range.
"What ARE you doing in there, anyways?" Elisandra asked with curiosity.
"Mmm, nothing much." Legolas said, bouncing on the balls of his feet and looking rather pleased with himself. "So, what did you want to talk about? Gimli, get away from the door and back to work." There was muffled muttering, and then the sound of heavy footsteps retreating to the other side of the smithy.
"Well, I'm glad he listens to someone." Elisandra said dryly, and Legolas grinned. "I came down here because it's really bugging me."
"What is?" Legolas asked blankly.
"What you and my fathers talked about that distracted you so much this morning." Elisandra replied.
"I told you I would tell you later." Legolas reminded Elisandra, and she nodded impatiently.
"I know, but it's really really bugging me. It's like when you tell somebody to forget something that they only knew half of the information about - they always want to know more, even if it's just the other half of a recipe or something silly like that." Elisandra said. Legolas chuckled, then cupped Elisandra's face in his hands and gave her a light kiss.
"I shall tell you what your fathers and I talked about, as well as what possessed me to lock myself in a smithy with a dwarf, tomorrow." he said with a small smile, then withdrew his hands and grinned. "For now, you shall just have to wonder."
"Well, if you promise you'll tell me tomorrow." Elisandra said.
"I do." Legolas said cheerfully, an amused grin on his face, and then he turned to go back into the smithy. "Im meleth le!"
"Im meleth le." Elisandra replied with a small smile as Legolas disappeared into the smithy.
"Might wanna wash your face, lass." Gimli said as he closed the door behind Legolas. Elisandra frowned slightly, then went over to a nearby fountain and peered into the water. Seeing two large, Legolas-hand-shaped black smudges on her cheeks, Elisandra rolled her eyes.
"Silly elf." she muttered for the second time that day, then set about washing off the smudges.
---
Elisandra hardly saw Legolas at all the next day, despite his promise to tell her what had distracted him so much and why he had locked himself in the smithy with Gimli. She saw Legolas at meals, and a few quick moments in the halls, but the rest of the time, all she caught of Legolas were glimpses as he dashed off to someplace, followed by a very amused looking Gimli. During the times Elisandra managed to catch Legolas for a quick talk, with the dwarf around or not, Legolas was unnervingly cheerful. When Elisandra finally gave in and asked Legolas why on Arda he was acting so strange, he simply replied "You shall see!", gave Elisandra a quick kiss, then practically bounded off.
By the time suppertime came around, Elisandra had decided that Legolas had gone insane, and everybody was just letting him be because it was so amusing. At least, everybody who spotted Legolas seemed extremely amused by his behavior. Gimli had even commented that he was just following Legolas out of pure amusement rather than having anything to do with what Legolas was doing. That, of course, had led to the question of what WAS Legolas actually doing, and then Gimli sped up and disappeared around a corner Legolas had just turned, leaving a very confused Elisandra.
Now on her way to supper in the main hall, Elisandra determined that she was going to get to the bottom of Legolas' strange behavior, even if she had to tie him down to do it. Fortunately for Legolas, she never got much farther in her plans to get out of him what his behavior was all about, because as she approached the main hall, Elrohir suddenly appeared in front of her, grinning like an idiot. Without a word, Elrohir handed Elisandra a note, took her by her shoulders and turned her around so she faced away from the main hall, then disappeared again.
Bewildered, Elisandra looked over her shoulder after Elrohir for a moment, then shrugged and looked down at the note in her hands. Their was no name on the front, but there could be little question that the note was to Elisandra, judging from its delivery. Turning the note over, Elisandra was surprised to discover that it had been sealed as if it were an official document. Looking closer at the wax seal, Elisandra's eyes shot up as she recognized the seal as Legolas'. Curious, Elisandra opened the note, and was rather disappointed to discover that it held only three lines of writing:
Meleth nîn,
Come to the stables.
Legolas
It explained nothing - in fact, it confused Elisandra more. No more explanation was forthcoming, however, so with a sigh, Elisandra headed off to the stables. She stopped by her room only long enough to drop the note on her dresser, and then hurried off. Arriving at the stables, Elisandra discovered Arod standing peacefully outside the stable doors, munching on some grass and looking for all the world like he belonged right where he was instead of in his stall or the paddocks.
"What are you doing out here, boy?" Elisandra asked with confusion, coming over to Arod. Noticing her, the horse lifted his head and snorted in her face, then nuzzled her. After receiving a few pats, Arod started nudging Elisandra towards his back. Elisandra looked at the horse - which was quickly getting impatient - curiously, and only then noticed the braid at the top of Arod's mane. It was a small, neat braid, but it stood out due to the green ribbon that had been used in it - and the small green leaves that were tied to the end of the braid.
"Oh, very subtle." Elisandra said, shaking her head. "Green leaves tied into your own horse's mane..." Elisandra rolled her eyes, then gave into Arod's incessant nudging and pulled herself up onto the horses back. Once she was as comfortably settled as she could be when riding astride a horse in a skirt, Arod took off at a brisk trot. For the first little while, Arod followed common paths, but he eventually turned off onto less well known paths, and soon started climbing up out of the valley. Elisandra was really wondering where they were going now, though she was enjoying the view of Rivendell as they climbed. Finally, the ground leveled out, and Arod was trotting along the top of the cliffs on the northern edge of Rivendell.
Then, abruptly, Arod stopped and snorted, stamping his feet. Elisandra took the hint and dismounted, looking around curiously and wondering why Arod had stopped here. There was no evidence of anyone else being anyone near, in fact, except for the view of Rivendell over the cliffs, there was no sign of any civilization. This wouldn't have bothered Elisandra overly much if Arod hadn't suddenly took off at a gallop back towards Rivendell. That was very alarming, and Elisandra considered following the horse before her eyes caught on something resting on the ground where Arod had been standing. Walking over to it, Elisandra found herself looking down at a very familiar arrow - pointing off to the north, along the cliffs.
Smiling, Elisandra picked up the arrow and headed off in the direction it had pointed. If it had been anyone else who led Elisandra on this merry chase, Elisandra would have long ago become annoyed and probably snapped at someone - but love soothes the soul, and makes all sorts of exceptions to rules. Thus, Elisandra was now humming happily to herself as she walked on the small piece of grass between the trees and the edge of the cliffs, twirling Legolas' arrow between her fingers.
After a time, Elisandra became aware that she could hear a waterfall in the near distance, and sped up slightly when she realized it was in the direction she was heading. Then, suddenly, she came upon a stream running across her path, which tumbled over the cliffs down into the river below. Elisandra peered down at the waterfall for a few moments, and then went to continue, only to spot another arrow lying on the ground, pointing into the bushes and trees which the stream emerged from. Elisandra cheerily picked up that arrow as well before plunging into the bushes.
Coming out on the other side of the bushes, Elisandra let out a small squeak of amazement. She was now in a small clearing, at the far end of which a small pool rested, the source of the small stream which Elisandra had followed. There was a willow tree growing on the far side of the pool, its hanging branches masking most of the pool, but what water the tree didn't hide gleamed like gold in the soft glow that was coming from the sunset through a well-placed gap in the trees. It was, overall, a stunning picture, but Elisandra couldn't help that feel it was missing something.
"Have any trouble getting here?" a soft voice asked in Elisandra's ear, and she smiled. Ah yes, that was what it was missing.
"It was rather easy with all the directions." Elisandra said, turning to Legolas, winding her arms around his neck, and kissing him lightly.
"Maer. [Good.]" Legolas said with a smile, giving Elisandra a light kiss in return. Then he gently unwrapped Elisandra's arms from around his neck and grabbed her hand. "Teli! [Come!]" he said, then led Elisandra into the clearing, across the stream, and under the branches of the willow tree. Underneath the tree, Elisandra was surprised to discover that there was much more room than she'd originally anticipated - in fact, besides the pool, there was a rather large stretch of grass, to which Legolas now led her. He let go of her hand, then, and with a graceful leap, disappeared up into the tree. A moment later, he dropped back to the ground, this time holding a basket that, judging from the smells coming from it, contained food.
"I believe you left before you could eat?" Legolas asked with a smile, sitting down and opening the basket. Elisandra chuckled, then sat down besides Legolas, setting the two arrows of his that she was carrying back by the tree, as Legolas started pulling things out of the basket. Most of it was common picnic fair, but a few things - a cake, some still-warm meat, and a bottle of miruvor - were unique for a picnic. There was also quite a large selection of food.
"Planning on me being hungry?" Elisandra asked with an arched eyebrow once Legolas had emptied the basket, looking at all the food now spread out before them.
"I let Gimli pack it all, since he could get more out of the cooks then I. Apparently he thought we would both be hungry." Legolas said, eyeing the large amount of food.
"Well, you WERE running around Rivendell all day." Elisandra replied practically as she picked up some grapes.
"Mm, that I was," Legolas said with a smile, snatching a grape from the bunch Elisandra was now holding and popping it into his mouth. They continued with small talk as they ate their supper, and by the time they're finished eating, not only had the sun set, but the had devoured a surprisingly large amount of the food. Legolas packed the remains of their supper - and his two arrows - into the basket again, and then deposited it in the branches of the trees again. Coming back down from the tree, he wrapped his arms around Elisandra and kissed her soundly.
"Teli! [Come!]" he said again when he pulled away, and then grinned mischievously as Elisandra had to take a few moments to recover from the kiss and understand what he'd said. Then Legolas grabbed Elisandra's hand again and led her out from underneath the willow - out of the clearing entirely, in fact. They arrived back at the cliffs, and looking south to Rivendell, Elisandra gasped in surprise. The moon was yet to rise, but the starlight shone down on the Last Homely House, causing it to glitter and sparkle, looking like a pearly jewel nestled in the dark green of the valley.
"The first time I came to Imladris [Rivendell], I got slightly lost, and ended up coming at it from the north, along this edge of the cliff." Legolas said, smiling softly. "I think I was the only person to ever be disappointed when they arrived in Imladris, since it did not sparkle and glitter up close like I had seen it do from here."
"I can see why. It's beautiful." Elisandra breathed.
"Thou art more beautiful by far." Legolas said softly, looking down at Elisandra. She looked up at him and smiled, stepping closer and wrapping him in a hug, resting her head against his chest. Legolas rested his head on top of Elisandra's, and they stood like that for quite some time, enjoying being in each others arms as the looked out over Rivendell as it sparkled in the starlight. Eventually, Legolas raised his head and stepped back slightly, drawing Elisandra's curious gaze to him. She noticed that he seemed slightly nervous, but she just waited, her hands resting lightly on his chest, as he looked down at her with his love shining in his eyes.
"Elisandra, I - I have something I would like to ask you." Legolas said after a moment, one of his hands disappearing behind his back.
"What, Meleth nîn?" she asked, seeing that he needed a little help getting his question out. Now Elisandra was truly curious, feeling that the answer to all her questions about why and what Legolas had been doing over the past few days were about to be answered in his question. Elisandra almost giggled at that thought - all her questions answered by another question. Oh, life was amusing. She turned her mind back to the present, however, as Legolas began to speak again.
"I know I have not known you for any great amount of time, and we have been lovers for even less time, but im meleth le, anpân nîn ind, a pân faer nîn. [I love you, with all my heart, and all my soul.]" Legolas lapsed back into his native language as he talked, but then paused and took a deep breath before continuing again in the Common tongue. "I have searched all my life for my soul mate, and I have at last found you. Now I would ask if you would so honour me as to agree to bind yourself to me." Elisandra looked at Legolas, stunned for a moment, barely noticing that his hand had reappeared from behind his back holding a ring. Then she did look down at the ring, and found it looked suspiciously like it was made of mithril, a simple band with small engravings on the side, and a leaf-shaped emerald set in the top.
Elisandra had been right, of course, Legolas' question had answered all her other questions - and now he required an answer. He was looking down at her, almost pleadingly, and hesitantly, Elisandra closed her eyes and looked at his fëa. He seemed to understand what she was doing - at least, his fëa was not dimmed, nor hidden in any way. It practically shone now, completely obscuring his figure, in the light that came from his love, and across that love flitted something Elisandra had never seen before - her own fëa. Elisandra's eyes snapped open, and she looked up at Legolas.
"I love you as well, Laicalassë [Greenleaf {in Quenya}], and would be honored myself to be bound to you." she said softly. Joy lit Legolas' face, and he leaned down and kissed Elisandra, only holding the kisses intensity back long enough for him to put the ring on Elisandra's finger before losing himself in the kiss and the night.
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