A/N: Yay! An update! So you startlingly spiffy reviewers may be forced to push that little button and make me happy :-)
Disclaimer: Ain't mine, ain't even Billy Joe Bob's. Damn.
Entling
By Thalia Weaver
Chapter Fourteen: White Mountains and White Missiles
We kissed again, almost frantic, joyful, passionate.
"I love you, I love you, I love you," he muttered to my lips, my cheeks, my neck, between kisses.
"I know," I answered, and caught his face between my hands, drawing him down for a longer kiss. I was still unused to the mingling of our mouths, and so it was with a twinge of unease that I explored within his mouth with my tongue. A tingle shot up my back; I pushed in farther, exploring, and noticed that it tasted of honey.
He let out a soft moan and encircled me tightly with his arms, leaning in again for a deeper, slower kiss. He let me go, and I pulled him down to the pile of blankets, continuing to kiss him.
* * *
Morning found me in Eldarion's arms, a contented smile spreading over my face as the sunlight filtered in.
He awoke before me, and I opened my eyes to find Eldarion, smiling happily, stroking my hair absentmindedly.
I shook free of his grasp and sat up, grinning. He laughed gently. "You have soft hair."
I nodded mock-seriously. "I have yet to find the quality of your hair, Eldarion. 'Tis, of course, an important thing to know."
He shook his head at me, grinning in turn. "We had best set out; we've a long day before us."
After I gathered my gear, storing it in the extra pack Eldarion had given me, we began to walk, and I put voice to the question that had been forming in my mind since the night before.
"How did you bring me to the cave?" I asked.
"Not easily," he answered, a rueful smile touching his lips. "You were surrounded by five bandits."
"Well?"
"The trees helped, some. I do not think the bandits have yet recovered from the shock of being tripped by tree roots and choked by vines! Thank the-" He glanced sidelong at me, and something in his eyes flickered. "-Thank Eru I was fighting for you. Luckily, I knew of this cave, and it was not far."
I nodded, and we lapsed into momentary silence.
"Entling?"
"Aye?"
"You are not…full Vala, are you?"
"Nay. My mother was Yavanna Kementari…I never knew my father."
"Yavanna Kementari?" He whistled. "But…why then do you live here, in Middle-Earth? Do not the Valar live beyond the Sundering Seas?"
I shrugged. "I am not party to the decisions of my mother, and certainly not my father. I think, perhaps, that this quest is the reason I have been exiled from the Blessed Lands. I have bent much thought upon it."
He looked thoughtfully at me. "I never thought that I would live to fulfill such a destiny," he said softly. "That I would walk with a creature out of legend."
I smiled at him. "Eldarion…for an Age the line of Isildur lay in secret, and the Kings faded into legend. And here you are, son of the King. The Elves…they have left Middle-Earth, and already are vanishing into fireside tales and the dim recollections of ones who are dying-" I swallowed, remembering the kind old man who had raised me as his own, and died too soon. "Dying, or already dead. You are a creature out of legend yourself."
He smiled back at me, despite himself. "Still…I have sworn oaths by the Valar, and never thought I would walk beside one."
"You did not seem to have any objections last night," I remarked teasingly.
He laughed delightedly. "Vala or no, I believe I like this side of you!"
* * *
Hours passed as we walked steadily, Eldarion keeping me amused with anecdotes of his travels. In turn, I told him some of the stories my surrogate father had put me to sleep with every night in our hut.
Sooner than I would have imagined, the White Mountains loomed close upon the horizon; it would be a long trek upwards. Dusk had fallen by the time we reached the mountain's base; the mountain awaited us in the morning, but the night held promise of other, less precarious occupations.
Morning rose cold and clear, and my spirits soared high as the mountain's peak. The trail, however, was stony and rough, and I stumbled more than once. However, the pace Eldarion set was swift, and he was never lax in aiding me. Swifter than I believed possible, we had left the temperate mountain bottom and climbed to higher, colder places. The path kept climbing, and I felt a small pang as we left the tree-line. Seeing the expression on my face, Eldarion squeezed my hand gently and brought it to his lips, planting a gentle kiss on it. I smiled gratefully.
Another bend in the road passed, and suddenly the ground was coved in a deep layer of white. I knelt to examine it more closely- for, while not unheard of, snow was a rare phenomenon in Gondor, and I had seen it but once in all my years.
Suddenly, a white missile flew into my back. I squeaked at the sudden cold, and heard Eldarion's mocking laughter from behind me. I shook my head, grinning, and formed my own ball of cold snow, lobbing it at him in one smooth motion and crowing as it hit him in the chest.
"Coward!" I yelled. "Fight fair!"
"I did!" He hollered in answer. "All's fair in-"
"Love and war!" I finished the old maxim for him and hurled the snowball I had been forming at him. He ducked, and sent a snowball at me before I could dodge.
"This is war, Prince of Gondor!"
The air was soon thick with flying snow.
A long barrage later, I stood blowing on my aching, red, hands.
Would that I had gloves, I thought ruefully, then noticed the silence of the clearing.
"Eldarion?" I called, walking forward.
"Victory is miiine!" A familiar voice called, and I found myself sprawled on the snow, with more of the white powder being rubbed into my hair by a flushed, grinning Eldarion.
I rolled atop him and kissed him soundly, gathering snow in my other hand. He reached up for another kiss…
…and was rewarded with a faceful of snow for his efforts. I leapt up before he had time to react, and danced for my victory, laughing loud and long.
Eldarion, jumping nimbly to his feet, attempted a running tackle, but I sidestepped him and crowed as he sprawled on the ground.
Leaping up again, though not quite so swiftly this time, he roared, "You, maiden, owe me a kiss!"
I laughed tauntingly. "Ai, my gallant pursuer- come and take it!"
We chased each other in circles about the snow, our shrieks and laughter echoing for miles about.
"You've led me a merry chase," Eldarion said finally, having pinned me down to the ground. "And you are certainly prettier than any boar or deer I've ever hunted, though none have proved quite so elusive."
I gave a strangled squeak- he was sitting atop me, straddling my stomach, and he was cutting off my air.
He rolled off, helping me up.
"Truce?"
"Truce."
"I'll claim that kiss now…"
* * *
Many hours later, night fell cold and sharp on the mountain, and I huddled shivering within my bedroll, Eldarion lying in his next to me. He rolled over and tugged at my coverings questioningly, and I shook my head.
"Nay, not tonight. 'Tis too cold, and I am yet weary from the afternoon's exertions."
He grinned. "You, milady, are becoming quite the kisser."
I grinned in return. "Certainly not for lack of practice."
Indeed, ever since our fight, Eldarion seemed bent upon expressing his affection for me in as many ways as he could think of- most of which involved his lips and tongue. In fact, the night before, he had taught me some…other uses for the tongue, a most enjoyable learning experience.
"Are you sure you do not wish to…?"
I nodded, and he shrugged. "I suppose we shall have to postpone our next…" He coughed. "…learning session…until tomorrow."
Smiling to myself at the euphemism, I nestled into my bedroll again, and shivered. The night was truly cold, and a chill wind seemed to blow through my bones.
Eldarion tapped me lightly on the blanket, and gestured to his own bedroll. I let out my breath in an exasperated sigh.
"I told you, I do not wish to-"
He shook his head, looking faintly amused at my impatience. "Nay, that is not my intent this time. I offer only such warmth as the nearness of my flesh can provide."
I let out a relieved breath, and nodded eagerly, for his bedroll looked indeed inviting. Taking a deep breath, I flung my covers off and scampered hastily over the frozen ground and into Eldarion's warm embrace.
"You should be proud of yourself," I whispered to him, stifling a yawn.
"Why?" He asked, curious.
"'Tis not every day that one throws snowballs at a Vala. Well, half a Vala, anyway."
He chuckled sleepily and ruffled my hair. "Sleep, Entling."
He swiftly followed his own advice and was soon snoring gently, a lock of hair falling into his eyes. I smoothed it back softly, being careful not to wake him, and smiled, remembering our conversation of that morning. His hair was soft as gossamer silk.
