Chapter 14 – Fair One

The meal was not at all tasteless. Legolas had been led into a hall so different from the other rooms he had seen that he thought they could have landed in another land. This dining hall was large with bright lamps lighting every corner, but it seemed to be underground, or somewhere completely sealed. No light came in from outside and no wind blew nor plants grew. Though the decorations were marvelous and the folk friendly, over-friendly even, Legolas sensed darkness in the atmosphere.

Ample food was served and Legolas was treated as an honored guest. Other pixies dined with him and he sensed something familiar about the servants who glowed dimly. Lanorial seemed to be well loved by her folk, but the fact was, they all worshiped her. Other than the pixies, her folk seemed to be bedazzled by her. Legolas could find himself drawn towards her at times, but quickly reminded himself that it may be her powers, for he had not lost his suspicions of her completely as he had said.

They talked during their meal and questions were asked. When the Lady asked of their business in this area, Legolas told her that Narla came from the north and he was accompanying her home. When she asked of the queer gem, he replied it was a gift from an ancient Elf who had a skill at creating jewels. When Legolas asked why she was interested, Lanorial said it was a wonderful craft and that she had never seen such beauty. Both knew each was not completely honest, but probing further would prove hostile. As time passed, Legolas felt anxious to return to Narla's side. He was not completely impervious to Lanorial's spell, but his will was strong. He wondered how long would all the formalities last.

Lanorial, on the other hand, was obviously enjoying herself. She didn't need Legolas to tell her of the gem's story, for the gem and its owner were in her hands as it was. However, Legolas' resistance to her fascinated her. Never had she seen a will so strong, thus she savored every moment with him. Taking in his looks, Lanorial observed everything about the elven prince. From his grace to his suspicion, she admired this elf even more now. She had noticed one thing that bothered her though, his relationship with his 'companion'. She disliked the fact that Legolas was thinking of some other maiden when he had a beautiful lady by his side. The girl was not even fair nor of high status from her attire. However, she did possess the gem, and that made her of high value. Still, Lanorial intended to seduce the elven prince for her own entertainment and she would not allow any hindrance.

But her plan was not to be. Legolas was extremely relieved when the meal was over and he took leave almost immediately. Lanorial insisted that he should stay, but he refused her offer politely, yet firmly. She was burning inside and she offered to escort him to his chamber, but Legolas replied graciously,

"Many thanks, my lady. But I would like to pay my companion a visit and my memory of the way thither has not failed me. I take my leave now."

As though those words created a barrier, Lanorial knew she would be refused again if she insisted on following. She could use her powers, but that would alert the Elf. Thus she left the hall silently, planning her next step carefully.

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While Legolas was resisting the Princess' spell, Narla was lost in her own world. She saw herself alone in a beautiful white cave, covered with glittering ice crystals. There was a particular large pyramid-shaped crystal in the center which glowed brightly. Narla noticed a being in it, a man as old as time itself. Dressed in gray and dark blue, he had a short white beard and wrinkled features. This old man looked asleep, or worse, frozen. Perplexed, yet curious, Narla stepped forward and touched the icy surface. Suddenly she sensed a whispering. Unlike the other hypnotizing voice she heard earlier, this was deeper, and closer. She tried to focus on the words and discovered they were directed to her.

'You have finally come, Narla. A tragic fate awaits you, but be strong, child.'

Something told Narla the old man was speaking to her mind, and she found herself bursting everything in her head to him,

"Who are you? You know why I've come to this world? Where is this place? What happened to you? What do you mean by a tragic fate?"

No answer came for those answers. Narla had been dying to ask someone who knew of her arrival, but so far none could tell her save for her gem being related to all this. Now this frozen being appeared, seeming to be expecting her, she demanded some answers. She thought she must have frightened the voice with her questions, until at last,

'All shall be answered in good time, child. But now, you are in peril. Though the power of the Sapphire has saved your body, it needs your soul back. Leave the place where you rest after you wake, for danger lurks near. Return to your body, Narla, and awake! We will meet again!'

"Hey, wait-!"

It was too late. Everything had started to fade when the voice spoke again and before she knew it, Narla was facing endless darkness. A tiny bright light was ahead of her, and assuming that was the path she was to take, Narla moved towards it, all the time thinking about what the voice said. The light grew bigger as she walked closer and soon, she fell into brightness.

_________

Silently breathing a sigh of relief, Legolas made his way to Narla's room. He could practically feel Lanorial's hypnotizing tentacles about him during the meal and he was not as ease at all. Something wasn't right about this place, and he had a feeling that they should leave as soon as Narla was well. His doubts of the Princess of the Hidden City turned into alert. As an elf who had fought in many a battle, Legolas knew Lanorial was no match for him, but with Narla's life at stake, he could not act rash.

Reaching Narla's chamber, Legolas noticed it was late noon, for the sun rays shone onto Narla's bed from the tiny hole above. Sitting silently beside her as he had done before, he accentuated his senses to seek any being or spy amidst the darkness of the room. Legolas was truly alone with Narla and no one was outside the chamber.

In a way, Legolas was grateful for the peace. Life had been hectic since she arrived, and he had not the time for long ponderings over this quest. He perceived some evil doing behind the plague in Searia. The messengers themselves seemed to be hiding something as well. Narla had been closing herself to him since the night they met, and Oriah, he sensed, was doing something other than being a healer in the party. Perhaps Gimli had sent her to watch over him as he thought of Gimli's words on Narla. Shaking his head slightly, Legolas realized the Fellowship had changed him in a way. He became more alert of people, and distrustful. Thoughts wandering into the merry and peaceful past, Legolas came back to the present when his hand accidentally brushed Narla's.

Looking down at the sleeping being, Legolas gazed at her fully for the first time. The sunrays warmed the area around the bed and brought light to Narla's face. Her jet-black hair spread across her shoulders over her chest like silk, contrasting her fair skin. The color had returned to her face and her cheeks were slightly pink with health. Legolas took in her features silently. He had seen far more beauties in his life, so why was he drawn to this youngling? Lady Lanorial was indeed a rare beauty and Narla could not be compared to her. Yet, there was something about her warm and humble features that everyone liked. She could not be called beautiful, but she was fair nonetheless. In fact, it seemed to Legolas that she was lovely now, in her sleep. She reminded him slightly of Gimli, as he remembered their spiteful words during the journey. Somehow he could not bring himself to speak gently or kindly to her and he chided himself for that. She had not troubled them greatly and was less of a burden than he had expected. Not knowing how to fight was a disadvantage, but she had faced the imps bravely. He would probably need to teach her a bit of sword-fighting in the future. Twice had she saved Oriah's life and he admired her for her resistance towards the poison. However, for a warning in his heart he had mistreated her, upset her. His feelings for this dark haired stranger were as clear as muddy water in a puddle after the rain. Yet he was so anxious about her. Perhaps it was for the promise he made to his father that he would guard her life. Perhaps it was something else from deep down. No certain answer was given as Narla's gem glowed brighter then.

The pendant around Narla's neck shone and receded. Then she began to stir. Opening her eyes the first thing Narla saw was sunlight through a tiny hole from above her. Yet another unfamiliar place. Memories rushed in like a stampede and she frowned slightly as she recalled a glowing being and the poison she felt. Her body still felt rather numb. The memory of the imp's wail haunted her and she felt unsafe. A moving shape beside her took her attention. Turning her head she faced the elven prince, whose expression was unreadable. Comforted to see a familiar face Narla smiled, feeling in peace for the first time since her internal ordeal.

It was the first time she had smiled so softly and genuinely to Legolas and he felt a mixture of feelings tangling inside him. Abruptly he spoke,

"You have finally awaken. Are you alright?"

Feeling slightly hurt with the cold response, Narla brought back her ego and replied in a coarse voice, cutting off the courteous words,

"Yes, I am. Thank you for your concern, but this would not have happened if you were not too slow in your merry shooting."

"I was not merry shooting, good lady. If you had been looking, we had a pile of enemies strewn on the ground before us in no time," said Legolas, not wishing to debate with her. But Narla's fire had just started burning.

"Well, I could not have looked then, could I? If YOU had been looking, there were bloodthirsty creatures trying to cut us into pieces!"

"I apologize, Narla, but you should have run ahead and hid yourselves," Legolas said, his patience thinning away. "There was no need to do heroic deeds."

"What?" croaked Narla, fuming. "There was no where to run to! And I was NOT trying to act heroic, unlike some Elf I know. I had to protect Oriah as she was under my care!"

"And you under mine!" retorted Legolas, a frown appearing on his fair face.

An awkward silence followed. This quarrel was getting nowhere. There they go, arguing over something senseless again. Narla was speechless at first. So Legolas had been looking out for her because he had a vow to keep. He had the same responsibility to her as she had to Oriah and she felt quite ashamed for her behaviour towards him. Legolas too, was mortified at his outburst. Narla was merely defending herself and her friend, and her actions were quite admirable.

Both regretting their childish conduct, Legolas and Narla looked into each other's eyes. They apologized at the same time and an unspoken truce was made, and Narla felt more light-hearted. He was not such a snobbish creep after all. Perhaps she would finally get to know him, not as an Elven prince, but as Legolas the living being.

Author's Notes: Thanks again for the reviews and comments! I was reading through the old fics on FF.net and found a few which are VERY similar to my own. For those of you who have written the others, please understand that I did not copy the ideas from your fics and that this fic had had been written originally by myself a long time ago. And for my most welcomed readers, I hope that you would treat my writing as a unique body and read to the end. Thank you guys~!