Disclaimer: I own this particular idea and this story, but I don't own the characters. I never will. Please excuse me while I go sob.
Summary: After the Fellowship meets Galadriel, secrets are revealed.
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AN: A big thank you to my beta, Coriandra. And my utmost apoligies for the stupidity. :p
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The fellowship sat dispiritedly in one of the Lothlorien tents that had been provided for them. It was two hours since their encounter with Galadriel, and all had spent this time mulling over the things that she had brought to the forefront of their minds. It was undoubtedly Boromir who of the eight looked the most unsettled and disturbed, although both Pippin and Gimli seemed highly agitated as well. The only thing that could be heard was the faint sound of rushing water and the morose lament for Gandalf.
Merry was the one who finally broke their pensive silence. As he got up to stretch (for sitting in a cross-legged position for two hours was not the most comfortable way to pass the time), he directed towards Pippin the fatal question - "So, what did she show you?"
The other six broke from their reveries and looked to young Peregrin, who merely cast his gaze to the ground and said nothing. Aragorn made a small noise of disapproval and sent a warning glance Merry's way, who looked away from Strider's admonishing gaze. The silence deepened; Gimli fidgeted.
The silence endured for not quite five minutes this time before Legolas gracefully rose to his feet and walked to the center of the tent. He stood there and waited until each pair of eyes was focused on him. Even Pippin's curiosity overcame his heavy thoughts, not once on this journey had he seen Legolas look as nervous as he did at this moment. Of course, he had been nervous and worried practically beyond belief in Moria - alas, Moria! - but it was a different type of nervousness from what was now being displayed by the usually calm and controlled Elf.
"I must admit to you now that I have not been entirely truthful with you," Legolas began. "When the Lady of the Wood delved into my mind today, I saw terrible things which might come to pass if I do not confess soon. Therefore I must tell you this now, in hopes that I have proved myself beyond what you would have thought had you been informed from the beginning, and the truth is…" - here the Elven prince took a deep breath - "…I am a woman."
The Fellowship was stunned. Merry and Pippin's mouths dropped open. Boromir looked slightly disturbed. Sam looked confused; Frodo mildly interested. Across Aragorn's face there flickered a range of emotions, beginning with surprise and finally ending in acceptance (she had proved herself to be a very able bodied woman, after all). But the most curious of all the reactions was most certainly Gimli's, who rushed up to Legolas and exclaimed -
"Me too, sister!"
The two embraced.
Now, if it was merely the Fellowship that had been shocked before, it was the whole world that nearly fainted this time. Time stopped. The Earth stood still. Merry later claimed that it had been so quiet, he had even heard a loud "whoop!" of celebration all the way from Meduseld.
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After their revelations, Legolas and Gimli had finally found common ground to begin a friendship. The two began to spend much time together, going off for hours at a time in the woods. When asked what they did out there, their only response was "girl talk". Boromir seemed to think this meant something pervy and tried to spy on them once or twice (easy enough - lady or not, Gimli was still as decidedly ungraceful and loud as ever tramping through the forest), but when Pippin asked Boromir if he was also female, Boromir decided that maybe he wasn't quite so interested in the two women's activities.
And of course, at the end of the Fellowship's sojourn in the Golden Wood, much more pressing matters than Legolas and Gimli's gender were occupying their minds. So for a while it was forgotten and passed out of all minds - except for one very smug young woman residing in the Westfold of Rohan, who had heard the news that fateful night when the world had gone quiet.
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The End - Or Is It?
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