Second Chances
By Sinful Starlet
Chapter Nine - What the watcher saw
Disclaimer: I did the whole 'not mine' rant in the first part, so check there if you actually want to read a proper disclaimer.
Rating: ok, I'm gonna hazard a guess and say this part is R rated - maybe not, there's nothing too extreme here but whatever (I STILL don't get the American ratings system - although I'll grant you that the British one isn't that much better!)
Author's note: Okay, just found this part, it got stuck on the end of some notes so I'd forgotten I had it, but I'm posting it now. Still haven't written beyond this though so there might be a slight delay before the next chapter. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this - I know I did! *SS*
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Chapter Nine - What the watcher saw
Summary: Story continues. Arwen wanders through Imladris, trying to understand what happened the night before, that is until her concentration is interrupted by a rather interesting sight!
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Arwen walked through the trees slowly, caring little for what was around her. She had walked every path of Rivendell since she was born and there was no tree root or footfall that she did not know. The trees themselves swept their leaves aside as she walked through the woods, and a quiet smile spread across her face in thanks. After several minutes though, her quiet thoughts were disturbed by sudden noises. She moved more quickly towards the sound, but took more care of her movements to make no noise herself.
After another minute she came to the edges of a clearing and peered through a gap in the trees to see who had made the sound. There she saw the figures of three elven men engaged in combat, though from the sound of laughter and the smiles on their faces, they were not fighting but merely training. She crept a little closer to see if she could identify who the males were, and quickly gasped. One figure was clearly in command, and it was him that the other two were attacking. These other two she recognised almost immediately as her brothers, Elladan and Elrohir. They were dressed casually and were taking it in turns to attack the third elf with swords and daggers.
At first she could not see who the third elf was, as he almost always had his back to her. She could see his long golden hair though, as it cascaded over his shoulders, a stark contrast to the very pale blue of his shirt. Both this stranger and her brothers had in fact, removed their tunics and were fighting in their undershirts. Arwen watched for a few minutes more, captivated by this mysterious elf. Her eyes drank in every move of the muscles in his back as he darted from side to side, blocking every attack of her brothers, laughing all the while.
Her brothers tired the soonest though, and the lesson came to an end. "Peace, friend!", Elrohir laughed, "I fear you are in far better condition than either of us, and you need no further practice!". "Alright", the third replied, still facing away from Arwen, "despite your words, I tire too, and we all shall miss the morning meal if we delay much further!". "You two go on", he continued, "I will return shortly and your father will notice your absence more than mine!". With a parting laugh, her brothers dressed and departed back towards their rooms. Arwen had noted the time, but she still could not tear her eyes away from the mysterious stranger, so when he left the clearing, walking in the opposite direction to her brothers, she followed him instead.
He walked for only a few minutes until he met the great river, and dropped down instantly next to its banks, drinking in the cooling water, letting it spill over his warm skin. He sat there for several minutes just drinking in the water and gently washing down his face. Then he removed his undershirt and began to lightly bathe his upper body, glad for the cool of the water after the exertion of the fight. Arwen had followed him of course, trying to make as little noise as possible, but this time she had not succeeded.
For a few minutes all was silent in the wood, and then the elf sat back from his position at the river and wiped his face dry. "I don't know why you have followed me, stranger in the trees" he said, "but you should have no need to hide from me, come forward - show yourself". Arwen froze, she had heard every word, but she only now recognised the voice and was too shocked to move. "Come forward!", the elf called again, "Or I shall have to come and get you!". Very reluctantly Arwen got to her feet and stepped forward out of her hiding place. "Lady Arwen!", he gasped, a little surprised at finding her to be his silent witness, then looking a little embarrassed at being caught in his present state of undress.
"Forgive me, my prince, I did not mean to intrude", she said, walking forwards, stopping by a particular tree and sinking down into a seated position in its roots. "I had no idea anyone would be out this early, and this is a place that few besides myself ever venture to". "In that case, it is I who is intruding", Legolas smiled, stepping forward to gently kiss her hand, "and I beg your pardon". Arwen again stifled a sigh as his soft lips touched her hand, and tried to look anywhere else than at the achingly desirable form of the half-naked elf in front of her.
Despite her best efforts, Legolas quickly noticed her discomfort and stepped back, retrieving his undershirt and slipping it on quickly. "Forgive me", he said again, "but I had not been expecting company". This was almost worse for Arwen, the kiss last night had been praying on her mind already, and now all she could think about was his pale, well-muscled frame underneath the shirt that was now clinging to his still moist skin. She chastised herself for such thoughts, it had been four centuries since they had last seen each other, and she was all but married to Aragorn now - why did this one elf still have such an effect on her?
"You fought well", she said at last, mentally kicking herself as soon as the words had left her mouth, as the elf would now know just how long she had been watching him. Realising this, Legolas smiled to himself, "Thank you my lady", he replied, trying to maintain a polite distance between them, "your brothers were noble adversaries". They again fell into silence again for several minutes before they both began to speak at once. Legolas motioned for Arwen to speak first and waited for her to do so.
"I was going to apologise again for disturbing you", she said, "but I was lost in thought this morning, and wasn't paying any attention to where I happened to be walking". She finished saying this and paused for a second while he took this in, "And what were you going to say?". "I was going to ask you why you really came down here this morning", he said eventually, not looking at her. "Well now you have your answer", she replied a little too quickly. "Do I?", he questioned, turning to face her, and realising that he was at least partially right as she gave no immediate answer.
He stood up and walked over to her, gently taking her hand in his, and pulling her up to a standing position. "I know many years have passed between us Arwen", he said, at last daring to use her name, "but I still know you - and I can tell when you are not being entirely honest". She pulled away as he said this, how dare he presume to tell her how she was feeling! "Why do you keep distancing yourself from me?", he asked, "Since my return I have asked nothing of you - I have no expectations for the continuance of our relationship, but you continue to push me away".
"I know of your relationship with Aragorn", he went on, "and I realise I disrespected both of you last night when I kissed you......but do not let one ill-judged act mar our friendship any further". Arwen felt her breath quicken as the elf spoke those words. Their proximity and the memory of the previous night was destroying any hope of concentration. "Then it was a mistake?", she eventually breathed, not daring to look into his eyes. She heard him sigh, no matter how much he must have tried to hide it from her, eventually he spoke, trying with any effort he had left to conceal his emotions, "In light of your impending marriage lady, I do not see how it can be anything else".
He sounded so sad, Arwen could not help but look up at him then, staring straight into his brilliant blue eyes, once so full of joy, they seemed to contain only sadness now. Before she knew what she was doing, she felt herself moving closer to him, just as another voice broke through into the clearing and disturbed them.
"Legolas!", a voice called. Arwen quickly darted away out of sight, while Legolas scoured the surroundings for the sound of the voice. A few seconds later, Elladan ran into the clearing, now dressed more formally, "I thought I might find you here", he said, a little out of breath. "My father sent me to call you in for breakfast". "Of course", Legolas answered as politely as he could, judging that Elladan had not seen his sister as she ran to hide, "tell Lord Elrond I will be in very shortly". "Alright", Elladan nodded, sharing a smile with his friend, before he turned and ran back towards the house again.
"He's gone", Legolas called after a few minutes had passed, and Arwen stepped out again from amongst the trees. It was quite amazing really, her dress and cloak virtually melted against the trees, if it was not for her raven hair, she would have been completely undetectable. "We should both go back", Legolas said, all emotion falling from his face again, as he regained control, "if your father has missed me, he must certainly be looking for you also". He couldn't help but flush a little as he realised how that must have sounded, but looking up at Arwen again, he could see a telltale blush crossing her cheeks too.
"I should…go", Legolas said again, once he regained the ability to speak, bowing a little and starting to gather his possessions to walk back to the house. He was almost out of sight when Arwen called him back, she knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't help herself. "Legolas wait!", she called, and almost instantly he was back at her side, searching her face in concern. "What?", he asked softly, "What is it?". Arwen sought for some kind of answer, thinking for any possible reason for her calling him, but she could find none. Legolas dropped his belongings to the ground and used his free hand to gently lift up her chin so she had to look him in the eye.
Why, he questioned her silently, his voice making no sound, but his eyes searching deep within her. Arwen held on for a few seconds further, still trying to think of some excuse, but then she could resist no longer - before Legolas had the chance to realise what she was doing, she had pulled him down towards her, capturing his lips in a passionate kiss. This was not the kiss of a long-lost friend, or the hesitant kiss of Legolas from the night before - there was no doubt in either of their minds what this kiss meant, and Legolas didn't waste a second before reciprocating. Arwen sighed as the strong arms encircled her, drawing her closer to him, and again before she could stop herself, her hands had found the bottom of his undershirt and were reaching up to caress the bare flesh of his chest.
It was Legolas' turn to sigh then, as her warm hands traced over every line and contour of his chest, committing every inch to memory, or recalling memories from long past. Eventually they had to break away, and they both pulled back, gasping a little for air. "Arwen?", Legolas breathed, looking at her, desperately questioning her to see what had just happened between them, but he was given no chance. Arwen could find no answer, and before he could question her again, she caught up the hem of her dress and ran from the clearing, not looking back once.