Part Five: Reconciliation.
Aragorn stumbled into the courtyard just after midnight. Quietly, he entered the house and headed for the stairs. He really needed to talk to Legolas. Aragorn knew for something this important, his friend wouldn't be too upset about being woken from a dead sleep. Just as he put his foot on the bottom step, he heard his father call from his study. "Estel?" "Yes, Ada?" He said peering into the dimly lit space. Elrond sat in a wing chair near the hearth, a book lay open in his lap. "Come in, my son. I need to talk to you." Aragorn walked over and sat on the stool near his adopted father's feet. "Ada, Legolas and I quarreled. I need to apologize." The young human's eyes were full of pain. "I know all about your argument, Estel." The elf lord said evenly. "It's hard for both of you. If you had been an elf or Legolas a human, you might be able to understand each other a little better in matters such as this." "Humans court differently than elves, my son. That all." Elrond explained patiently, "And as far as I know, you have not seen young elves courting." Estel hung his head. "Legolas had had his lovers around me. I've teased him about them." "You have had lovers as well, youngling. And yet you have never reacted to his teasing and snide comments, until today." The elf continued, "With a lover, we are more open about it. Not only that, but they rarely last long. Courting is different, Aragorn. You will probably not know if Legolas is courting until well after he and his mate have bound." "Why wouldn't he tell me?" Aragorn was slightly shocked. "I'm his best friend." "Elves are very private about courting, Estel. It has nothing to do with your being his friend or not. It is something extremely personal." "But he knows I'm courting Arwen." The elf lord sensed the confusion from his human son and sighed, "I know it's not easy, Estel. Being in love never is, for either of our races. I also want you to realize that he has felt neglected these past weeks." "But we've done things together, Ada." "Some things, yes. But over all I think you have ignored his presence here." Elrond said sternly. "He's hurt and angry. And while I understand what's going on with you, he does not. Nor can you expect him to. To him, it seems as though you have taken another lover. Not found your mate." Aragorn shook his head. He did not understand. He wasn't really sure he wanted to, either. It was just way too complicated. "I was going to go up and apologize-" "I think it would be best to wait until he wakes. That way you two can discuss this with clear heads." Elrond knew that Ithilin had been in the prince's chamber earlier, and did not want to take the chance of Estel stumbling into something that the young elf wanted to keep private. "But, Ada-" "No Estel. You can speak to him when he wakes. Tomorrow." The elf lord arched an eyebrow at the human. "Now off to bed with you." "Yes, Ada."
* * * Legolas lay curled around Ithilin's small body, both tangled in the silky sheets. Though she had fallen into an exhausted sleep soon after dawn broke, Legolas remained awake. His mind raced. What was he going to tell his father when he returned home? What consequences were they going to have to face? He worried more for the little she-elf at his side than himself. Though she wasn't really an elf at all, nor was she human. The closest thing he could come up with, was that she was one of the Maiar or Istari, but she really wasn't that either. Feeling her shiver slightly, he pulled her closer to his warmth. She sighed softly, settling into his embrace. He kissed her head, that lay against his arm. There was no going back. He had bound himself to her and she to him. He would not be allowed to marry anyone else now. His father was going to be furious. They had discussed his impending marriage before he left home, nearly six weeks ago now. He had resisted a little then and his father had lectured him about duty and family honor. The minute he said the words of binding, he had thrown his duty out the window. He had made a choice. One that he *did not* regret in the least. Tenderly he ran his fingers through her silky mane and traced the slight point of her ear. Then a soft knock came at the door, destroying the peace of this moment. "Legolas?" came Aragorn's whispered voice through the closed door. "Are you up yet?" The prince rolled his eyes in exasperation. He did not want to get up at all. :Ithilin?: he whispered in her mind. :I need to get up.: :Why not sleep?: came the sleep fogged reply as she moved her head from his arm. :I was thinking about many things, a'maelamin.: :'k.: Legolas chuckled softly as he kissed her ear, his unbound hair brushing against her face "Legolas?" "Just a minute, Arag-" he said as the door opened. Quickly he grabbed the sapphire breeches that had been tossed over the foot of the bed and pulled them on. As he slid off the bed from behind the curtains he tied the laces. "What do you need?" "I wanted to talk to you about yesterday." Legolas glanced at the window. The sun had risen beyond the walls of the cliffs. Already mid-morning and he hadn't slept at all. "I wanted to apologize for everything." Aragorn began as he moved passed the prince to sit on the edge of the bed. Grabbing his tunic from a nearby chair, Legolas caught his friend before he could sit on the bed and steered him back toward the door. "We can discuss this over breakfast, Estel. I'm starving." "How come your hair isn't braided?" asked the human as the prince shrugged into his shirt. "I nearly fell asleep in the bath, last night." "That mad at me?" "Yes." "Can you forgive me?" "We'll see, Strider." Lord Elrond looked up as the two friends entered the dining hall. Both youths took plates of food but noticed that Legolas had only a small amount of fruit on his. He noticed, too, that the blond elf's hair was left unbound. Those two things alone, however, meant little. "I thought you said you were hungry." Aragorn said pointing to the untouched food on the prince's plate as he went for more food. "What? I've eaten." Surprise flashed across the young elf's eyes The elf lord's suspicions were confirmed. The prince had bonded. And if that was true, the elf shouldn't even be out of bed. However, it appeared that reconciling his friendship with Aragorn was important enough to drag Legolas away from Ithilin's side. "No you haven't." "Fine. If it will make you happy. Watch." The prince speared a small piece of fruit and started to stick it in his mouth. "Aragorn, " the elf lord said suddenly, "There is a scroll on my desk that I need. Would you retrieve it for me, please." "Yes, Ada. In a minute." "No. Now" "Yes, Ada." The young human grumbled as he left the room. "Don't, young one." Elrond said softly, once Aragorn was out of ear shot, "It will only make you ill." "But-" "By rights, you shouldn't even have left her." "How?"
Elrond chuckled, "Your hair is unbound, Legolas. You are starving but you dare not eat. And if it had not been for your argument with Estel, we would not see you for a week." "I do not want him to know yet. Please." "That may prove a little difficult, youngling. I will try to help all I can." The elf lord picked up the prince's plate and switched it with his own. "I don't think we'll be able to come up with enough excuses for your continued absence during the day." "I will speak with Ithilin. She will help." Elrond smiled. Legolas was determined to keep this a secret for a while. Quite possibly until after he had spoken to his father, maybe longer. "Have you gotten any rest?" "No." Legolas said with a weary but satisfied smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Elrond shook his head, chuckling, "Younglings." "Which, scroll did you need, Ada?" "I'm sorry, Aragorn. I just remembered that what I was looking for was not in any of them." "Legolas, do you want to go down to the lake today?" Aragorn asked, not noticing the elf's eyes were glazing in sleep. Elrond lightly touched the prince's arm. Legolas blinked awake and stretched. "As much as I would love to, Estel, I would rather stay in bed today." "You OK?" "Just weary, Aragorn. I've been angry at you for three weeks. Now that we're friends again, I just want to rest today." "Sure." Aragorn answered quickly scanning his friend for signs of illness.
"I'm sorry, Estel. I wish I felt up to going." "It's all right. We can go later, when you're more awake." Legolas stood and padded toward the door. "Thank you for understanding, Estel." "Maybe I'll come up later and keep you company." "I thought you had chores this afternoon, Estel?" Elrond quirked an eyebrow at his human son. "But, Ada-" "I'm not going to let you shirk them, my son, just because you and Prince Legolas have made up." "But-" "No."
* * * Legolas wearily made his way back to his room. After throwing the bolt, he sagged against the door. Padding quietly over to the bed, he lifted the heavy curtain back. Ithilin had kicked off most of the bed linens, leaving her slight body exposed. Legolas smiled. He let the heavy fabric fall closed and went to shut out the day. "Legolas?" Ithilin whispered sleepily. "I'm here, a'maelamin." "Did you talk with Estel?" The prince crawled into the bed and laid down next to her, propping himself up on his elbow, "Aye. He wanted to go down to the lake today, but I said I was too tired." She laughed softly, playing with the clasps on his tunic, "I bet you are." "I'm afraid I'll have to put in an appearance at supper, Ithilin." He kissed her forehead as he ran his free hand over her belly, delighting in the silkiness of her skin. "I know." She answered, lightly kissing his neck. Then she began to unhook the catches on his tunic. "You know that I love you, don't you?" He asked, laying back against the pillows. Puzzled, Ithilin sat up and looked into his sapphire eyes. "What brought this on?" "My father is going to be furious when I tell him." "So, don't, yet." Legolas winced a little as her cool hands came in contact with the warm skin of his belly. "I have to. While I am Thranduil's youngest son, I am still a prince. My marriage is being arranged as we speak. I told him before I left how much I hated the very idea of him selling me to the highest bidder like so much cattle. If you hadn't come along, Iluvatar only knows what kind of wife I would have ended up with."
"Probably some scatterbrained fool with an eye only for your title."
He chuckled softly, "And a proper burgeoning belly nine months after our marriage." Ithilin leaned against his bent legs. "Who says that I don't want that?" "Who said that I didn't? You don't want my title. And you are no fool. Young, yes very, compared to me. But you have a wisdom that one rarely sees in one so young. You love me and want me for who I am, not for how much you or your family can gain by our marriage." Legolas sat up on his elbows, gazing into her blue eyes, "I want you to know, too, that I don't care if you are elf, human, or whatever, I love you for you, nothing else." Ithilin smiled as a tear slid down his fair cheek. Her bond mate was far more sensitive than she had originally thought. While it hurt him deeply to go against his father's plans, he was willing to sacrifice everything for her. She reached out and brushed his silky mane away from his beautiful face, tucking it behind his ears. "I wouldn't care if you were an orc, my beautiful prince, as long as you loved me."
Aragorn stumbled into the courtyard just after midnight. Quietly, he entered the house and headed for the stairs. He really needed to talk to Legolas. Aragorn knew for something this important, his friend wouldn't be too upset about being woken from a dead sleep. Just as he put his foot on the bottom step, he heard his father call from his study. "Estel?" "Yes, Ada?" He said peering into the dimly lit space. Elrond sat in a wing chair near the hearth, a book lay open in his lap. "Come in, my son. I need to talk to you." Aragorn walked over and sat on the stool near his adopted father's feet. "Ada, Legolas and I quarreled. I need to apologize." The young human's eyes were full of pain. "I know all about your argument, Estel." The elf lord said evenly. "It's hard for both of you. If you had been an elf or Legolas a human, you might be able to understand each other a little better in matters such as this." "Humans court differently than elves, my son. That all." Elrond explained patiently, "And as far as I know, you have not seen young elves courting." Estel hung his head. "Legolas had had his lovers around me. I've teased him about them." "You have had lovers as well, youngling. And yet you have never reacted to his teasing and snide comments, until today." The elf continued, "With a lover, we are more open about it. Not only that, but they rarely last long. Courting is different, Aragorn. You will probably not know if Legolas is courting until well after he and his mate have bound." "Why wouldn't he tell me?" Aragorn was slightly shocked. "I'm his best friend." "Elves are very private about courting, Estel. It has nothing to do with your being his friend or not. It is something extremely personal." "But he knows I'm courting Arwen." The elf lord sensed the confusion from his human son and sighed, "I know it's not easy, Estel. Being in love never is, for either of our races. I also want you to realize that he has felt neglected these past weeks." "But we've done things together, Ada." "Some things, yes. But over all I think you have ignored his presence here." Elrond said sternly. "He's hurt and angry. And while I understand what's going on with you, he does not. Nor can you expect him to. To him, it seems as though you have taken another lover. Not found your mate." Aragorn shook his head. He did not understand. He wasn't really sure he wanted to, either. It was just way too complicated. "I was going to go up and apologize-" "I think it would be best to wait until he wakes. That way you two can discuss this with clear heads." Elrond knew that Ithilin had been in the prince's chamber earlier, and did not want to take the chance of Estel stumbling into something that the young elf wanted to keep private. "But, Ada-" "No Estel. You can speak to him when he wakes. Tomorrow." The elf lord arched an eyebrow at the human. "Now off to bed with you." "Yes, Ada."
* * * Legolas lay curled around Ithilin's small body, both tangled in the silky sheets. Though she had fallen into an exhausted sleep soon after dawn broke, Legolas remained awake. His mind raced. What was he going to tell his father when he returned home? What consequences were they going to have to face? He worried more for the little she-elf at his side than himself. Though she wasn't really an elf at all, nor was she human. The closest thing he could come up with, was that she was one of the Maiar or Istari, but she really wasn't that either. Feeling her shiver slightly, he pulled her closer to his warmth. She sighed softly, settling into his embrace. He kissed her head, that lay against his arm. There was no going back. He had bound himself to her and she to him. He would not be allowed to marry anyone else now. His father was going to be furious. They had discussed his impending marriage before he left home, nearly six weeks ago now. He had resisted a little then and his father had lectured him about duty and family honor. The minute he said the words of binding, he had thrown his duty out the window. He had made a choice. One that he *did not* regret in the least. Tenderly he ran his fingers through her silky mane and traced the slight point of her ear. Then a soft knock came at the door, destroying the peace of this moment. "Legolas?" came Aragorn's whispered voice through the closed door. "Are you up yet?" The prince rolled his eyes in exasperation. He did not want to get up at all. :Ithilin?: he whispered in her mind. :I need to get up.: :Why not sleep?: came the sleep fogged reply as she moved her head from his arm. :I was thinking about many things, a'maelamin.: :'k.: Legolas chuckled softly as he kissed her ear, his unbound hair brushing against her face "Legolas?" "Just a minute, Arag-" he said as the door opened. Quickly he grabbed the sapphire breeches that had been tossed over the foot of the bed and pulled them on. As he slid off the bed from behind the curtains he tied the laces. "What do you need?" "I wanted to talk to you about yesterday." Legolas glanced at the window. The sun had risen beyond the walls of the cliffs. Already mid-morning and he hadn't slept at all. "I wanted to apologize for everything." Aragorn began as he moved passed the prince to sit on the edge of the bed. Grabbing his tunic from a nearby chair, Legolas caught his friend before he could sit on the bed and steered him back toward the door. "We can discuss this over breakfast, Estel. I'm starving." "How come your hair isn't braided?" asked the human as the prince shrugged into his shirt. "I nearly fell asleep in the bath, last night." "That mad at me?" "Yes." "Can you forgive me?" "We'll see, Strider." Lord Elrond looked up as the two friends entered the dining hall. Both youths took plates of food but noticed that Legolas had only a small amount of fruit on his. He noticed, too, that the blond elf's hair was left unbound. Those two things alone, however, meant little. "I thought you said you were hungry." Aragorn said pointing to the untouched food on the prince's plate as he went for more food. "What? I've eaten." Surprise flashed across the young elf's eyes The elf lord's suspicions were confirmed. The prince had bonded. And if that was true, the elf shouldn't even be out of bed. However, it appeared that reconciling his friendship with Aragorn was important enough to drag Legolas away from Ithilin's side. "No you haven't." "Fine. If it will make you happy. Watch." The prince speared a small piece of fruit and started to stick it in his mouth. "Aragorn, " the elf lord said suddenly, "There is a scroll on my desk that I need. Would you retrieve it for me, please." "Yes, Ada. In a minute." "No. Now" "Yes, Ada." The young human grumbled as he left the room. "Don't, young one." Elrond said softly, once Aragorn was out of ear shot, "It will only make you ill." "But-" "By rights, you shouldn't even have left her." "How?"
Elrond chuckled, "Your hair is unbound, Legolas. You are starving but you dare not eat. And if it had not been for your argument with Estel, we would not see you for a week." "I do not want him to know yet. Please." "That may prove a little difficult, youngling. I will try to help all I can." The elf lord picked up the prince's plate and switched it with his own. "I don't think we'll be able to come up with enough excuses for your continued absence during the day." "I will speak with Ithilin. She will help." Elrond smiled. Legolas was determined to keep this a secret for a while. Quite possibly until after he had spoken to his father, maybe longer. "Have you gotten any rest?" "No." Legolas said with a weary but satisfied smile playing at the corners of his mouth. Elrond shook his head, chuckling, "Younglings." "Which, scroll did you need, Ada?" "I'm sorry, Aragorn. I just remembered that what I was looking for was not in any of them." "Legolas, do you want to go down to the lake today?" Aragorn asked, not noticing the elf's eyes were glazing in sleep. Elrond lightly touched the prince's arm. Legolas blinked awake and stretched. "As much as I would love to, Estel, I would rather stay in bed today." "You OK?" "Just weary, Aragorn. I've been angry at you for three weeks. Now that we're friends again, I just want to rest today." "Sure." Aragorn answered quickly scanning his friend for signs of illness.
"I'm sorry, Estel. I wish I felt up to going." "It's all right. We can go later, when you're more awake." Legolas stood and padded toward the door. "Thank you for understanding, Estel." "Maybe I'll come up later and keep you company." "I thought you had chores this afternoon, Estel?" Elrond quirked an eyebrow at his human son. "But, Ada-" "I'm not going to let you shirk them, my son, just because you and Prince Legolas have made up." "But-" "No."
* * * Legolas wearily made his way back to his room. After throwing the bolt, he sagged against the door. Padding quietly over to the bed, he lifted the heavy curtain back. Ithilin had kicked off most of the bed linens, leaving her slight body exposed. Legolas smiled. He let the heavy fabric fall closed and went to shut out the day. "Legolas?" Ithilin whispered sleepily. "I'm here, a'maelamin." "Did you talk with Estel?" The prince crawled into the bed and laid down next to her, propping himself up on his elbow, "Aye. He wanted to go down to the lake today, but I said I was too tired." She laughed softly, playing with the clasps on his tunic, "I bet you are." "I'm afraid I'll have to put in an appearance at supper, Ithilin." He kissed her forehead as he ran his free hand over her belly, delighting in the silkiness of her skin. "I know." She answered, lightly kissing his neck. Then she began to unhook the catches on his tunic. "You know that I love you, don't you?" He asked, laying back against the pillows. Puzzled, Ithilin sat up and looked into his sapphire eyes. "What brought this on?" "My father is going to be furious when I tell him." "So, don't, yet." Legolas winced a little as her cool hands came in contact with the warm skin of his belly. "I have to. While I am Thranduil's youngest son, I am still a prince. My marriage is being arranged as we speak. I told him before I left how much I hated the very idea of him selling me to the highest bidder like so much cattle. If you hadn't come along, Iluvatar only knows what kind of wife I would have ended up with."
"Probably some scatterbrained fool with an eye only for your title."
He chuckled softly, "And a proper burgeoning belly nine months after our marriage." Ithilin leaned against his bent legs. "Who says that I don't want that?" "Who said that I didn't? You don't want my title. And you are no fool. Young, yes very, compared to me. But you have a wisdom that one rarely sees in one so young. You love me and want me for who I am, not for how much you or your family can gain by our marriage." Legolas sat up on his elbows, gazing into her blue eyes, "I want you to know, too, that I don't care if you are elf, human, or whatever, I love you for you, nothing else." Ithilin smiled as a tear slid down his fair cheek. Her bond mate was far more sensitive than she had originally thought. While it hurt him deeply to go against his father's plans, he was willing to sacrifice everything for her. She reached out and brushed his silky mane away from his beautiful face, tucking it behind his ears. "I wouldn't care if you were an orc, my beautiful prince, as long as you loved me."