Chapter 6
Artanis's mistake/success
Disclaimer: I own nooooooottttttttthhhhhhhhiiiiinng! ¡Tengo nada! No dinero y no libros.
A/N: Thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers, may you be blessed with chocolate and Mountain Dew!
Y empezo.
--~~*~~--
The elven guards of Doriath lined up in the courtyard. The horses and riders were outfitted in all their splendor. Beautiful gray (white for non horse people) horses stood perfectly in line without saddles or bridles to mar the spectacular beauty of their spotless coats. Upon the tall horses sat the members of the elven guard; each with a beautiful handcrafted bow and quiver of arrows strapped to their back along with twin blades. Each elf proudly wore the green and gray tunic, leggings, and cloaks that were the uniform of the guards.
A refreshing breeze swept across the courtyard as the sun peeked over the horizon while the guards stood assembled in preparation for the arrival of their leader. As sunlight began to seep into the morning sky Celeborn cantered Silverwind across the courtyard to the front of the line of guards. He stopped and turned Silverwind and walking him down the row, examined each guard in turn. Upon his green cloak was embroidered a silver tree, which distinguished him as the leader of the guard. He stopped in the middle of the row and backed his silver mount a few steps.
" Today we will be patrolling the northern border,Celeborn said in an authoritative manner, his strong voice carrying to the corners of the courtyard. King Thingol has received information that there have been sightings of strangers there. Be wary of suspicious movement and report it to me immediately."
Celeborn wheeled Silverwind around and headed towards the forest with the guard in tow. As they trekked through the forest a guard would stop and take up his post about every mile or so. When the last guard member had taken his post Celeborn rode on to his where he stopped under the shade of a large tree and began guard duty. Each elf guarded his own territory ( about 10 square miles) and if anything occurred a system of bird calls was all that was needed to bring the whole guard together ready for battle. Celeborn settled onto Silverwind's back and gave the large horse a pat on the shoulder, It was a beautiful morning.
--~~*~~--
While Celeborn was busy protecting Menengroth a certain lady elf was busy preparing to make his life miserable. Artanis was out to get Celeborn back, and she had the perfect plan.
Wearing the uniform of a maid, Artanis walked through the halls carrying a pile of clean linens with a bottle of green dye tucked beneath the linens. She had been careful to wrap her golden hair up in a cloth on her head, as it would betray her easily. She opened the door to Celeborn's room and entered, softly closing the door behind her.
Artanis removed the bottle from beneath the pile of linens and tossed them on the bed. She pushed open the door to Celeborn's bathroom and entered. After rummaging through his messy cupboard for a minute she found what she was looking for.
Artanis opened the lid of the shampoo and poured the contents of the elegant glass jar out of the window. She replaced the shampoo with the green hair dye, then took out an herb and, after crushing it with her fist, sprinkled it onto the dye, which turned the color of the shampoo. She replaced the lid of the jar and put it back in the cupboard.
Celeborn had publicly humiliated her, now it was her turn to return the favor. The dye would not come out for a few days. She was quite sure that this would be embarrassing for Celeborn, after all his silver hair was almost as famous as her gold.
Artanis picked up the linens and left Celeborn's quarters after making sure that everything was as it had been. She knew that this prank would get her into trouble, but to her it was worth it. What Artanis didn't know was that this prank would lead to better consequences than she had ever imagined.
--~~*~~--
Celeborn pulled an arrow out of the last orc. Tanaldruil had alerted the guard to the prescence of a small party of orcs, which had been easily disposed of. Celeborn wiped the arrow on his leggings before sticking it back into his quiver. The night guard had come to take the place of his guard.
Celeborn sprang onto Silverwind and led his tired guards back to Menengroth as the night guards took up their posts. They were filthy; covered in orc blood and dirt. When they reached Menengroth Celeborn dismissed the guards until morning and after stabling Silverwind, went to report the occurances of the day to Thingol.
--~~*~~--
Celeborn looked forward to the prospect of a shower as he left Thingol's study. He was covered in orc blood; it was in his hair, under his nails, and plastered on his clothing. As he neared his rooms he saw a maid leaving them. If he gave her his cloak now he could have it washed and back to him by morning.
"Wait please!" He called after her, "I have some laundry for you."
Artanis froze, she recognized that voice; it was Celeborn! Artanis turned and attempted to smile politely so as not to give away her disguise.
"Yes my Lord how may I be of service to you?" Artanis said in a sickly sweet voice as she smiled forcedly at the silver haired captain of the guard.
"If you would be so kind as to wash this and return it to my room by morning I would be quite pleased," Celeborn stated as he took of the dirty cloak, folded it, and placed it upon the pile of linens that Artanis/maid was carrying. Suddenly he noticed the she looked very familiar.
Artanis had to use all of her self control to keep from giving herself away when Celeborn placed his hand under her chin and lifted her head to examine her. She tried to look away, but he held her in place.
"You look familiar. Have we met before?" He asked her.
"No, I am almost certain that we have never met my lord," Artanis replied, smiling at the irony of the situation.
"You are beautiful, tis a shame that we meet now instead of before."
"Why thank you my lord, I really must be going now!" Artanis exclaimed as she tried to pull away. Too late, he already had an arm around her waist.
"No, stay a minute more, I know that I have seen you before." He said, although it was more of a command. Artanis decided that struggling would only cause suspicion, so she relaxed while he examined her and waited for a chance to escape.
Celeborn looked into her eyes, trying to put them with a name, they were of the clearest crystal blue.
Artanis had never noticed how beautiful his eyes were, deep green, full of wisdom, beauty, history. Suddenly his lips came to hers and brushed softly against them, she closed her eyes instinctively and relaxed into his strong arms.
Suddenly Artanis came back to earth. Wait, she was kissing Celeborn. NO! She backed away furiously, what had possessed her! No one was allowed to do that to Artanis! She glared at Celeborn as she backed away.
Celeborn was horrified at what he had done. He hadn't asked her consent! The elven guard hurriedly dropped to a knee and took her hand before she could back away too far.
"My lady, I am most sorry! Your beauty overcame me and I have done something which I did not have the right to do. Please forgive my rash actions. It was wrong of me to do that without first asking your consent." The words came out in a rush as the humiliated Celeborn bowed his head.
Artanis had not expected that. She stood still and watched as the proud elven lord begged for her forgiveness. He turned his face up to hers and she was once more looking into his eyes.
Artanis sighed, the apology was genuine and she could forgive him without giving her identity away.
"Your apology is accepted my lord, though why you ask for forgiveness from a servant baffles me." Artanis said, testing him subconsciously.
"Are we not all equal?" Celeborn said, standing up. "Do we not all deserve the same respect?"
"Indeed we do my lord, you are wise for understanding what many do not, simple though it may seem."
"Thank you lady, but I do not deserve to be called wise after what I have just done."
The playful side of Artanis had awakened and decided that maybe she could get away with another kiss, after all, it hadn't been bad; in fact she had enjoyed it!
"Ah, my lord, the truth is that it was rather enjoyable, just unexpected."
"Then you wouldn't mind if I." he began, searching hopefully for an answer in those blue crystalline eyes.
"Not at all my lord." She replied with a sly smile as she tilted her face to meet his lips.
Their lips brushed again, gentle and warm. Artanis pressed her lips deeper into his and he returned the kiss, reaching up to stroke her hair and, finding it bound in a cloth, brushed away the cloth. Artanis gasped and broke the kiss to grasp desperately at the kerchief which fell to the floor despite her attempts to catch it.
Artanis turned to face Celeborn and as she did so dropped the stack of linens. The bottle of dye shattered as it hit the floor, where the green dye slowly stained the white linens. Artanis prepared for a verbal duel, but then she saw that a smile had replaced the confused, angry look on Celeborn's face.
"Artanis, Artanis. Looks like I caught you in a prank. Not only that, but you kissed me twice. Admit it, you like me." He smiled superiorly.
"You like me too and you know it!" Artanis snarled at him. That expression on his face was really annoying her.
"Well now that you have confessed I must admit that I have been quite taken with you ever since I first laid eyes on you. On a more serious note," he said as he moved towards her and took her hand, "I am quite sorry that I participated in antagonizing our situation, but sometimes anger gets the upper hand in decision making. I have made some very bad decisions as of late. I wish to resolve our differences and perhaps to begin anew where we left off that night in the gardens."
"The last time this happened you rebuked me, " Celeborn continued. "I know not why, but I must have assurance that you will not do the same this time. I am not a fool, nor am I a young elf, too blinded by love to excuse faults. I will not be ruled by you, nor will I come groveling back to you if you reject me once more. You will either love me and treat me with respect or not and I will do as you do, for both paths lie open though not both are welcome to me."
"How do I know that you are not like the rest?" Artanis questioned him. "My physical beauty often overwhelms men and elves alike. Many have sought to court me and failed in their quest. They wanted my beauty, to control my body and mind, to keep me as a trophy, displayed and gloated over before others. I do not wish to be controlled. I wish to establish my own realm and I believed that love would prevent me from doing that. I believed that by declaring my love I would be tied down as a wife, sewing and taking care of children and so I denied my feelings as I had learned to do so long ago and I attempted to turn them into the opposite of what they were. I still do not know that you would not do this to me."
"Control is only imposed on those who let it be imposed. It is possible for two spirits can live together with neither controlling the other, in harmony, and so could we be, Galadriel." Celeborn finished in a whisper and in that moment Galadriel knew that she loved him, had loved him before she had realized it, and, perhaps, was destined for him and he for her.
"Celeborn, look into my eyes; they will answer your question. Look into them and know that I love you, that I will never do what I have done to you ever again," Galadriel said to him as her hand went to his face and tilted his head so that his eyes met hers. In her eyes Celeborn saw true love and he knew that she could see it in his, as it was already in the hearts of both.
At that moment both elves had the same thought in theirs minds. Celeborn leaned in at the same moment as Artanis and their lips met in a deep kiss; not a flirty kiss like before, but a kiss born of true love. Artanis felt him wrap his arms around her as the kiss grew more passionate. They broke the kiss and stood there for a long while, just holding each other and saying nothing, simply being in love.
"Celeborn, you might not want to use your shampoo. It may have a rather strange affect on your hair." Artanis whispered into his ear, feeling a little guilty.
"I shall be most careful to throw it away." Celeborn replied as he raised a slim eyebrow at the mess of linens and green dye. Both of the elves burst into laughter at this.
"I suppose that we have made a spectacle of ourselves over the past year and a half!" Artanis said quietly.
"Ah yes, but that is in the past now we need only learn from the mistakes and then use them to live in the present." Celeborn replied.
"I do believe that our relationship has had an extremely dramatic and quick turn around." Artanis said, smiling at her new-found love.
"For the better, but quick yes. We shall have the whole palace quite confused in the morning!" Celeborn answered.
Artanis eyed Celeborn's hair with apprehension. "My dear Lord I believe that it would be in your best interest to bathe and then go to sleep. I take it you had a rough day with orcs."
"Yes, I fear that I am rather dirty for you to be holding." Celeborn replied as he unlaced Artanis's arms from around his middle. "Also it is night already and we do not want to arouse suspicion," he said as he grinned at her slyly.
"I suppose that I should clean up this mess that I have made." Artanis sighed as she stooped down and began to mop up the green dye with the linens. Celeborn bent down to help her and when they were done they stood and kissed goodnight, soft and gentle, before parting ways. .
Celeborn entered his chambers to wash off the grime of battle. As he lay in bed that night he felt happy, truly happy. This was a feeling that he hadn't had in a long time.
Artanis smiled as she walked back to her chambers. The irony of the situation was rather amusing she thought to herself; Celeborn's hands had been wrapped in her hair when they had kissed. He had probably, unknowingly taken out a few of her hairs, more than Feanor, greatest of the Noldo, had ever gotten. Artanis felt happy, complete, and she reveled in the feeling that night.
- - - ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ - - -
O môr henion i dhu: Ely siriar, el síla
Ai! Aníron Gil-galad
- - - ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ - - -
Artanis's mistake/success
Disclaimer: I own nooooooottttttttthhhhhhhhiiiiinng! ¡Tengo nada! No dinero y no libros.
A/N: Thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers, may you be blessed with chocolate and Mountain Dew!
Y empezo.
--~~*~~--
The elven guards of Doriath lined up in the courtyard. The horses and riders were outfitted in all their splendor. Beautiful gray (white for non horse people) horses stood perfectly in line without saddles or bridles to mar the spectacular beauty of their spotless coats. Upon the tall horses sat the members of the elven guard; each with a beautiful handcrafted bow and quiver of arrows strapped to their back along with twin blades. Each elf proudly wore the green and gray tunic, leggings, and cloaks that were the uniform of the guards.
A refreshing breeze swept across the courtyard as the sun peeked over the horizon while the guards stood assembled in preparation for the arrival of their leader. As sunlight began to seep into the morning sky Celeborn cantered Silverwind across the courtyard to the front of the line of guards. He stopped and turned Silverwind and walking him down the row, examined each guard in turn. Upon his green cloak was embroidered a silver tree, which distinguished him as the leader of the guard. He stopped in the middle of the row and backed his silver mount a few steps.
" Today we will be patrolling the northern border,Celeborn said in an authoritative manner, his strong voice carrying to the corners of the courtyard. King Thingol has received information that there have been sightings of strangers there. Be wary of suspicious movement and report it to me immediately."
Celeborn wheeled Silverwind around and headed towards the forest with the guard in tow. As they trekked through the forest a guard would stop and take up his post about every mile or so. When the last guard member had taken his post Celeborn rode on to his where he stopped under the shade of a large tree and began guard duty. Each elf guarded his own territory ( about 10 square miles) and if anything occurred a system of bird calls was all that was needed to bring the whole guard together ready for battle. Celeborn settled onto Silverwind's back and gave the large horse a pat on the shoulder, It was a beautiful morning.
--~~*~~--
While Celeborn was busy protecting Menengroth a certain lady elf was busy preparing to make his life miserable. Artanis was out to get Celeborn back, and she had the perfect plan.
Wearing the uniform of a maid, Artanis walked through the halls carrying a pile of clean linens with a bottle of green dye tucked beneath the linens. She had been careful to wrap her golden hair up in a cloth on her head, as it would betray her easily. She opened the door to Celeborn's room and entered, softly closing the door behind her.
Artanis removed the bottle from beneath the pile of linens and tossed them on the bed. She pushed open the door to Celeborn's bathroom and entered. After rummaging through his messy cupboard for a minute she found what she was looking for.
Artanis opened the lid of the shampoo and poured the contents of the elegant glass jar out of the window. She replaced the shampoo with the green hair dye, then took out an herb and, after crushing it with her fist, sprinkled it onto the dye, which turned the color of the shampoo. She replaced the lid of the jar and put it back in the cupboard.
Celeborn had publicly humiliated her, now it was her turn to return the favor. The dye would not come out for a few days. She was quite sure that this would be embarrassing for Celeborn, after all his silver hair was almost as famous as her gold.
Artanis picked up the linens and left Celeborn's quarters after making sure that everything was as it had been. She knew that this prank would get her into trouble, but to her it was worth it. What Artanis didn't know was that this prank would lead to better consequences than she had ever imagined.
--~~*~~--
Celeborn pulled an arrow out of the last orc. Tanaldruil had alerted the guard to the prescence of a small party of orcs, which had been easily disposed of. Celeborn wiped the arrow on his leggings before sticking it back into his quiver. The night guard had come to take the place of his guard.
Celeborn sprang onto Silverwind and led his tired guards back to Menengroth as the night guards took up their posts. They were filthy; covered in orc blood and dirt. When they reached Menengroth Celeborn dismissed the guards until morning and after stabling Silverwind, went to report the occurances of the day to Thingol.
--~~*~~--
Celeborn looked forward to the prospect of a shower as he left Thingol's study. He was covered in orc blood; it was in his hair, under his nails, and plastered on his clothing. As he neared his rooms he saw a maid leaving them. If he gave her his cloak now he could have it washed and back to him by morning.
"Wait please!" He called after her, "I have some laundry for you."
Artanis froze, she recognized that voice; it was Celeborn! Artanis turned and attempted to smile politely so as not to give away her disguise.
"Yes my Lord how may I be of service to you?" Artanis said in a sickly sweet voice as she smiled forcedly at the silver haired captain of the guard.
"If you would be so kind as to wash this and return it to my room by morning I would be quite pleased," Celeborn stated as he took of the dirty cloak, folded it, and placed it upon the pile of linens that Artanis/maid was carrying. Suddenly he noticed the she looked very familiar.
Artanis had to use all of her self control to keep from giving herself away when Celeborn placed his hand under her chin and lifted her head to examine her. She tried to look away, but he held her in place.
"You look familiar. Have we met before?" He asked her.
"No, I am almost certain that we have never met my lord," Artanis replied, smiling at the irony of the situation.
"You are beautiful, tis a shame that we meet now instead of before."
"Why thank you my lord, I really must be going now!" Artanis exclaimed as she tried to pull away. Too late, he already had an arm around her waist.
"No, stay a minute more, I know that I have seen you before." He said, although it was more of a command. Artanis decided that struggling would only cause suspicion, so she relaxed while he examined her and waited for a chance to escape.
Celeborn looked into her eyes, trying to put them with a name, they were of the clearest crystal blue.
Artanis had never noticed how beautiful his eyes were, deep green, full of wisdom, beauty, history. Suddenly his lips came to hers and brushed softly against them, she closed her eyes instinctively and relaxed into his strong arms.
Suddenly Artanis came back to earth. Wait, she was kissing Celeborn. NO! She backed away furiously, what had possessed her! No one was allowed to do that to Artanis! She glared at Celeborn as she backed away.
Celeborn was horrified at what he had done. He hadn't asked her consent! The elven guard hurriedly dropped to a knee and took her hand before she could back away too far.
"My lady, I am most sorry! Your beauty overcame me and I have done something which I did not have the right to do. Please forgive my rash actions. It was wrong of me to do that without first asking your consent." The words came out in a rush as the humiliated Celeborn bowed his head.
Artanis had not expected that. She stood still and watched as the proud elven lord begged for her forgiveness. He turned his face up to hers and she was once more looking into his eyes.
Artanis sighed, the apology was genuine and she could forgive him without giving her identity away.
"Your apology is accepted my lord, though why you ask for forgiveness from a servant baffles me." Artanis said, testing him subconsciously.
"Are we not all equal?" Celeborn said, standing up. "Do we not all deserve the same respect?"
"Indeed we do my lord, you are wise for understanding what many do not, simple though it may seem."
"Thank you lady, but I do not deserve to be called wise after what I have just done."
The playful side of Artanis had awakened and decided that maybe she could get away with another kiss, after all, it hadn't been bad; in fact she had enjoyed it!
"Ah, my lord, the truth is that it was rather enjoyable, just unexpected."
"Then you wouldn't mind if I." he began, searching hopefully for an answer in those blue crystalline eyes.
"Not at all my lord." She replied with a sly smile as she tilted her face to meet his lips.
Their lips brushed again, gentle and warm. Artanis pressed her lips deeper into his and he returned the kiss, reaching up to stroke her hair and, finding it bound in a cloth, brushed away the cloth. Artanis gasped and broke the kiss to grasp desperately at the kerchief which fell to the floor despite her attempts to catch it.
Artanis turned to face Celeborn and as she did so dropped the stack of linens. The bottle of dye shattered as it hit the floor, where the green dye slowly stained the white linens. Artanis prepared for a verbal duel, but then she saw that a smile had replaced the confused, angry look on Celeborn's face.
"Artanis, Artanis. Looks like I caught you in a prank. Not only that, but you kissed me twice. Admit it, you like me." He smiled superiorly.
"You like me too and you know it!" Artanis snarled at him. That expression on his face was really annoying her.
"Well now that you have confessed I must admit that I have been quite taken with you ever since I first laid eyes on you. On a more serious note," he said as he moved towards her and took her hand, "I am quite sorry that I participated in antagonizing our situation, but sometimes anger gets the upper hand in decision making. I have made some very bad decisions as of late. I wish to resolve our differences and perhaps to begin anew where we left off that night in the gardens."
"The last time this happened you rebuked me, " Celeborn continued. "I know not why, but I must have assurance that you will not do the same this time. I am not a fool, nor am I a young elf, too blinded by love to excuse faults. I will not be ruled by you, nor will I come groveling back to you if you reject me once more. You will either love me and treat me with respect or not and I will do as you do, for both paths lie open though not both are welcome to me."
"How do I know that you are not like the rest?" Artanis questioned him. "My physical beauty often overwhelms men and elves alike. Many have sought to court me and failed in their quest. They wanted my beauty, to control my body and mind, to keep me as a trophy, displayed and gloated over before others. I do not wish to be controlled. I wish to establish my own realm and I believed that love would prevent me from doing that. I believed that by declaring my love I would be tied down as a wife, sewing and taking care of children and so I denied my feelings as I had learned to do so long ago and I attempted to turn them into the opposite of what they were. I still do not know that you would not do this to me."
"Control is only imposed on those who let it be imposed. It is possible for two spirits can live together with neither controlling the other, in harmony, and so could we be, Galadriel." Celeborn finished in a whisper and in that moment Galadriel knew that she loved him, had loved him before she had realized it, and, perhaps, was destined for him and he for her.
"Celeborn, look into my eyes; they will answer your question. Look into them and know that I love you, that I will never do what I have done to you ever again," Galadriel said to him as her hand went to his face and tilted his head so that his eyes met hers. In her eyes Celeborn saw true love and he knew that she could see it in his, as it was already in the hearts of both.
At that moment both elves had the same thought in theirs minds. Celeborn leaned in at the same moment as Artanis and their lips met in a deep kiss; not a flirty kiss like before, but a kiss born of true love. Artanis felt him wrap his arms around her as the kiss grew more passionate. They broke the kiss and stood there for a long while, just holding each other and saying nothing, simply being in love.
"Celeborn, you might not want to use your shampoo. It may have a rather strange affect on your hair." Artanis whispered into his ear, feeling a little guilty.
"I shall be most careful to throw it away." Celeborn replied as he raised a slim eyebrow at the mess of linens and green dye. Both of the elves burst into laughter at this.
"I suppose that we have made a spectacle of ourselves over the past year and a half!" Artanis said quietly.
"Ah yes, but that is in the past now we need only learn from the mistakes and then use them to live in the present." Celeborn replied.
"I do believe that our relationship has had an extremely dramatic and quick turn around." Artanis said, smiling at her new-found love.
"For the better, but quick yes. We shall have the whole palace quite confused in the morning!" Celeborn answered.
Artanis eyed Celeborn's hair with apprehension. "My dear Lord I believe that it would be in your best interest to bathe and then go to sleep. I take it you had a rough day with orcs."
"Yes, I fear that I am rather dirty for you to be holding." Celeborn replied as he unlaced Artanis's arms from around his middle. "Also it is night already and we do not want to arouse suspicion," he said as he grinned at her slyly.
"I suppose that I should clean up this mess that I have made." Artanis sighed as she stooped down and began to mop up the green dye with the linens. Celeborn bent down to help her and when they were done they stood and kissed goodnight, soft and gentle, before parting ways. .
Celeborn entered his chambers to wash off the grime of battle. As he lay in bed that night he felt happy, truly happy. This was a feeling that he hadn't had in a long time.
Artanis smiled as she walked back to her chambers. The irony of the situation was rather amusing she thought to herself; Celeborn's hands had been wrapped in her hair when they had kissed. He had probably, unknowingly taken out a few of her hairs, more than Feanor, greatest of the Noldo, had ever gotten. Artanis felt happy, complete, and she reveled in the feeling that night.
- - - ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ - - -
O môr henion i dhu: Ely siriar, el síla
Ai! Aníron Gil-galad
- - - ~ ~ ~ * ~ ~ ~ - - -