Chapter Twelve: Matching Skills
Disclaimer: I hope you had the time of your life. Anyway, I don't own anything: see chappie one.
A/N: Okay, I like this chapter a lot, it's pretty crazy. Suggests something, don't it? Well yeah, DER, did I not say that this is a Legomance? Don't expect anything to soon, though. I'm a cautious person, thus, so is Aila, get it? Besides one of my biggest pet peeves is when romances are rushed, I hate it! So this won't be. I hope it doesn't take too long, though. I love this, this story just writes itself. It's only been a couple days writing this, and I've already got 12 chap's!
…
"I sit beside the fire and think
of all that I have seen,
of meadow-flowers and butterflies
in summers that have been;
Of yellow leaves and gossamer
in autumns that there were,
with morning mist and silver sun
and wind upon my hair.
I sit beside the fire and think
of how the world will be
when winter comes without a spring
that I shall ever see.
For still there are so many things
that I have never seen:
in every wood in every spring
there is a different green.
I sit beside the fir and think
of people long ago,
and people who will see a world
that I shall never know.
But all the while I sit and think
of times there were before,
I listen for returning feet
and voices at the door."
Aila sung softly to herself as she lay on the stone bench in one of the many gardens of Rivendell. Her back lay flat against the hard stone, and her feet rested on the edge of the bench, her knees raised in the air at an acute angle. She sighed to herself and continued the verses repeatedly until she was finally satisfied that she had the tune. Aila began to sing the beautiful number one more time, in triumph that she had finally mastered it. It was yet another song that she had memorized from the LOTR, one that Bilbo sang as Frodo left on his journey. Or should she say, one that Bilbo WILL sing? It was pretty confusing to know the future.
Halfway through the first stanza, an unmistakably masculine voice joined in her song and she stopped singing for a moment. However, the masculine voice continued strongly until she got her nerve back up. The duet continued until the end of the song and all the while Aila's neck craned trying to find who was singing with her. When the song was over, she had a sudden vision. She saw Legolas crouching in a tree bough, carefully concealed, then she saw herself, singing on the bench, attempting to calm her nerves. Aila felt Legolas' mind register knowing the words by the umpteenth time she sang it. Finally, she felt his voice rise in her own throat and begin to sing the verses along with herself, which she saw laying on the bench. It was like watching a movie and participating in it at the same time.
It was creepy. Faintly, Aila heard a small crackle of leaves. Another vision snaked into her eyes and she saw Legolas sneaking away to leave Aila to wonder who had sung with her.
"Legolas," she called, "come out and talk with me, do not simply sing." Aila laughed inwardly as she felt within her mind that shock that surged through Legolas'. "This Mind Walking thing can come in handy," she whispered to herself. A vision of her mind wraiths flashed before her. The medieval warrior was holding an arrow to the chest of a mind wraith that was obviously that of Legolas. Legolas' warrior had his bow held up in the air and quiver cast on the ground. Her medieval warrior was laughing. The scholar was tickling Legolas Warrior's nose, laughing hysterically. "You are beaten," she said.
Legolas emerged, no small wonder as to why he couldn't stop smiling. "How did you know I was there." Aila smiled and tapped her temple and Legolas immediately nodded in recognition. "I guess you just can't sneak up on a Mind Walker."
"Well you can, you just can't sing with them and then expect to get away. I saw you, you silly goose."
"Since when did I become a goose?" Aila picked up a clump of dirt from beneath the bench she was still laying on and flung it at him. "Since when did that bench become a bed. Sit up, Aila, or I shall sit on you."
"Knock yourself out," she said, not believing that Legolas, gallant Legolas, would ever sit on her. Sit, though, he did. Right on her stomach. Aila was pretty strong and she had abs of steel, but Legolas' weight was too much for her slight body. "Oomph, get off! I said 'knock yourself out' not 'knock me out!'" Legolas simply laughed and stood up. Aila laughed out and kicked him in the butt as he stood, he immediately stopped laughing and picked her up, putting her into a sitting position, he sat down beside her. Legolas obviously had no idea that she had one of his mind wraiths under her bow and she supposed that only Mind Walkers and extremely powerful people like Gandalf were even aware of their mind wraiths. But he could definitely tell that she was inside his head.
"Would you mind, terribly, getting out of my mind?"
"Certainly not," she apologized, not quite sure how to retrieve her mind wraiths. She closed her eyes and concentrated on visualizing the mind wraiths out of Legolas' walls, which were interwoven with green leaves and boughs, to her own. Immediately, she saw a new set of walls before the four of her mind wraiths. Her true mind wraith ahead of them all, with the scroll and the sword. The walls were made of glass with water behind them. Multi-colored fish swam through the walls, illuminated by a mock sun. Aila's head mind wraith, with sword and scroll, continued to walk through the halls, and soon the ocean turned into air within the sun was set. A moon could be seen and stars faintly shown in the light. Birds flew alongside airplanes and space shuttles.
Almost as quickly as it had come, her eerie vision of her own mind faded back into the real world. Legolas was looking at her apprehensively, concern very much in evidence on his handsome features. Immediately after he saw that she was okay, his face hardened, pretending he had never been concerned at all. Aila laughed at him--men were all the same.
"What would you be laughing at Lady Aila?"
"Why, you your Highness. You are quite amusing." Laughter caused her to double over the bench and she fell, continuing to laugh as she sat amongst the flowers. Calming herself down, Aila changed the subject. "So are you really as good at archery as everyone sets you up to be?"
Legolas smiled at Aila before grabbing her hand and pulling her to the archery range, she laughed as he pulled her along at a slow run. He didn't release her hand until they were at the range and he took the bow from his shoulder, where he always had it, no matter where he was. In rapid succession, Legolas let fly four arrows. The first hit directly in the center, the second split the first, the third split the second, and the fourth split the third.
The elf turned to see Aila's mouth hanging open in surprise. She smiled at him before exclaiming, "you're even better!" He said nothing, but offered her his bow. Aila raised her eyebrows and then shook her head. "No way could I compete with that!"
"Try," he said simply, his ego growing larger by the moment. Aila narrowed her eyes, she had always loved competition: she strived on it.
"Let's roll." She grabbed his bow and reached around his shoulder to pull four arrows from the quiver on his back. She wasn't quite tall enough, however, so she had to scoot closer to him and press her body up against his to reach her small hand up and grasp the arrows. She smiled at him when she had finally grabbed the arrows and he smiled back.
Aila set three on the ground and set the first arrow upon her bow, aiming high into the air, she let all fly, then she casually picked up another. Turning her bow sideways at a small slant, she crouched low to the ground and let the second arrow fly as the first dove out of its high arch and struck the bulls-eye exactly in the center. Her second arrow swerved dangerously close to the ground, but began to recover and gain altitude when its tip hit at the exact opposite angle in the center as the first arrow. Tilting her bow again, Aila placed the third arrow on the string and sighted it. Aiming far right, she loosed the third arrow and amazingly it began to cleave left after a few seconds, hitting the exact center at an angle. The fourth arrow did exactly the opposite as the third, to the left and swerving right. After she was finished, the bulls-eye looked like a compass rose: north, south, west, and east perfectly plotted and straight.
Legolas' eyes widened in shock. For all of his skill, he doubted he had the intelligence to engineer a move like that. Aila smiled at him. "Just a little something I came up with in my spare time in English class. It took most of my engineering abilities, but I got it. Eventually."
Disclaimer: I hope you had the time of your life. Anyway, I don't own anything: see chappie one.
A/N: Okay, I like this chapter a lot, it's pretty crazy. Suggests something, don't it? Well yeah, DER, did I not say that this is a Legomance? Don't expect anything to soon, though. I'm a cautious person, thus, so is Aila, get it? Besides one of my biggest pet peeves is when romances are rushed, I hate it! So this won't be. I hope it doesn't take too long, though. I love this, this story just writes itself. It's only been a couple days writing this, and I've already got 12 chap's!
…
"I sit beside the fire and think
of all that I have seen,
of meadow-flowers and butterflies
in summers that have been;
Of yellow leaves and gossamer
in autumns that there were,
with morning mist and silver sun
and wind upon my hair.
I sit beside the fire and think
of how the world will be
when winter comes without a spring
that I shall ever see.
For still there are so many things
that I have never seen:
in every wood in every spring
there is a different green.
I sit beside the fir and think
of people long ago,
and people who will see a world
that I shall never know.
But all the while I sit and think
of times there were before,
I listen for returning feet
and voices at the door."
Aila sung softly to herself as she lay on the stone bench in one of the many gardens of Rivendell. Her back lay flat against the hard stone, and her feet rested on the edge of the bench, her knees raised in the air at an acute angle. She sighed to herself and continued the verses repeatedly until she was finally satisfied that she had the tune. Aila began to sing the beautiful number one more time, in triumph that she had finally mastered it. It was yet another song that she had memorized from the LOTR, one that Bilbo sang as Frodo left on his journey. Or should she say, one that Bilbo WILL sing? It was pretty confusing to know the future.
Halfway through the first stanza, an unmistakably masculine voice joined in her song and she stopped singing for a moment. However, the masculine voice continued strongly until she got her nerve back up. The duet continued until the end of the song and all the while Aila's neck craned trying to find who was singing with her. When the song was over, she had a sudden vision. She saw Legolas crouching in a tree bough, carefully concealed, then she saw herself, singing on the bench, attempting to calm her nerves. Aila felt Legolas' mind register knowing the words by the umpteenth time she sang it. Finally, she felt his voice rise in her own throat and begin to sing the verses along with herself, which she saw laying on the bench. It was like watching a movie and participating in it at the same time.
It was creepy. Faintly, Aila heard a small crackle of leaves. Another vision snaked into her eyes and she saw Legolas sneaking away to leave Aila to wonder who had sung with her.
"Legolas," she called, "come out and talk with me, do not simply sing." Aila laughed inwardly as she felt within her mind that shock that surged through Legolas'. "This Mind Walking thing can come in handy," she whispered to herself. A vision of her mind wraiths flashed before her. The medieval warrior was holding an arrow to the chest of a mind wraith that was obviously that of Legolas. Legolas' warrior had his bow held up in the air and quiver cast on the ground. Her medieval warrior was laughing. The scholar was tickling Legolas Warrior's nose, laughing hysterically. "You are beaten," she said.
Legolas emerged, no small wonder as to why he couldn't stop smiling. "How did you know I was there." Aila smiled and tapped her temple and Legolas immediately nodded in recognition. "I guess you just can't sneak up on a Mind Walker."
"Well you can, you just can't sing with them and then expect to get away. I saw you, you silly goose."
"Since when did I become a goose?" Aila picked up a clump of dirt from beneath the bench she was still laying on and flung it at him. "Since when did that bench become a bed. Sit up, Aila, or I shall sit on you."
"Knock yourself out," she said, not believing that Legolas, gallant Legolas, would ever sit on her. Sit, though, he did. Right on her stomach. Aila was pretty strong and she had abs of steel, but Legolas' weight was too much for her slight body. "Oomph, get off! I said 'knock yourself out' not 'knock me out!'" Legolas simply laughed and stood up. Aila laughed out and kicked him in the butt as he stood, he immediately stopped laughing and picked her up, putting her into a sitting position, he sat down beside her. Legolas obviously had no idea that she had one of his mind wraiths under her bow and she supposed that only Mind Walkers and extremely powerful people like Gandalf were even aware of their mind wraiths. But he could definitely tell that she was inside his head.
"Would you mind, terribly, getting out of my mind?"
"Certainly not," she apologized, not quite sure how to retrieve her mind wraiths. She closed her eyes and concentrated on visualizing the mind wraiths out of Legolas' walls, which were interwoven with green leaves and boughs, to her own. Immediately, she saw a new set of walls before the four of her mind wraiths. Her true mind wraith ahead of them all, with the scroll and the sword. The walls were made of glass with water behind them. Multi-colored fish swam through the walls, illuminated by a mock sun. Aila's head mind wraith, with sword and scroll, continued to walk through the halls, and soon the ocean turned into air within the sun was set. A moon could be seen and stars faintly shown in the light. Birds flew alongside airplanes and space shuttles.
Almost as quickly as it had come, her eerie vision of her own mind faded back into the real world. Legolas was looking at her apprehensively, concern very much in evidence on his handsome features. Immediately after he saw that she was okay, his face hardened, pretending he had never been concerned at all. Aila laughed at him--men were all the same.
"What would you be laughing at Lady Aila?"
"Why, you your Highness. You are quite amusing." Laughter caused her to double over the bench and she fell, continuing to laugh as she sat amongst the flowers. Calming herself down, Aila changed the subject. "So are you really as good at archery as everyone sets you up to be?"
Legolas smiled at Aila before grabbing her hand and pulling her to the archery range, she laughed as he pulled her along at a slow run. He didn't release her hand until they were at the range and he took the bow from his shoulder, where he always had it, no matter where he was. In rapid succession, Legolas let fly four arrows. The first hit directly in the center, the second split the first, the third split the second, and the fourth split the third.
The elf turned to see Aila's mouth hanging open in surprise. She smiled at him before exclaiming, "you're even better!" He said nothing, but offered her his bow. Aila raised her eyebrows and then shook her head. "No way could I compete with that!"
"Try," he said simply, his ego growing larger by the moment. Aila narrowed her eyes, she had always loved competition: she strived on it.
"Let's roll." She grabbed his bow and reached around his shoulder to pull four arrows from the quiver on his back. She wasn't quite tall enough, however, so she had to scoot closer to him and press her body up against his to reach her small hand up and grasp the arrows. She smiled at him when she had finally grabbed the arrows and he smiled back.
Aila set three on the ground and set the first arrow upon her bow, aiming high into the air, she let all fly, then she casually picked up another. Turning her bow sideways at a small slant, she crouched low to the ground and let the second arrow fly as the first dove out of its high arch and struck the bulls-eye exactly in the center. Her second arrow swerved dangerously close to the ground, but began to recover and gain altitude when its tip hit at the exact opposite angle in the center as the first arrow. Tilting her bow again, Aila placed the third arrow on the string and sighted it. Aiming far right, she loosed the third arrow and amazingly it began to cleave left after a few seconds, hitting the exact center at an angle. The fourth arrow did exactly the opposite as the third, to the left and swerving right. After she was finished, the bulls-eye looked like a compass rose: north, south, west, and east perfectly plotted and straight.
Legolas' eyes widened in shock. For all of his skill, he doubted he had the intelligence to engineer a move like that. Aila smiled at him. "Just a little something I came up with in my spare time in English class. It took most of my engineering abilities, but I got it. Eventually."