Chapter Three - An Ultimatum
"Your Highness, it is time that you awoke," a voice whispered in Legolas' ear. Legolas stirred from his unconscious state, but he did not open his eyes. He wished to savour the feeling of a good night's sleep. He had dreamed only of Mirkwood's trees and flowers, of his friends who he would now, once again, be able to join in drinking and hunting. He had dreamed of maidens who he would be able to seduce. One in particular had been prominent. It was not Valmari though, as he had expected. This lady was tall (though she barely reached Legolas' chin) and graceful, like a cat. She had a silky mane of long, black hair and stormy grey clouds for eyes. Her skin was pale and glittered like Methril and her lips were ruby red as if stained by the fruits of the forest. He had never in his life seen such a beauty. Not even Lady Valmari could rival her perfection. It was just a shame that she only existed in his head.
"Your Highness. The King has bid me come to wake you," the voice said once again. He was dragged kicking and screaming from his memory of perfection. He was disorientated by the fact that he felt not the sun on his face. He had spent a long time sleeping under the stars, the sun, when she chose to break through the shadow, greeting him in the morning. He had but one window in his room, which allowed a little light to creep in from the forest far above him.
"Prince Legolas, you really must ready yourself for council."
"Why don't you just let me ..." He opened his eyes and looked at the person who bas bidding him wake up. He suddenly could not get the rest of his sentence past his lips. Instead of the course of petulant whining he had embarked on all he could say now was 'beautiful'. He was sure that he must still be asleep for above him, smiling, was his vision. She was more beautiful now than ever she was in his other dreams.
"Finally the sleeping prince awakens. I thought I was going to have to resort to ice water." The lady moved away from the bed and over to a table at the side of the room.
Legolas was now completely roused from his slumber and he realised that he was awake. The angel who was now setting down a breakfast tray in front of him was real and not just a beautiful dream.
"I trust that you are hungry Your highness." Legolas suddenly realised just how ravenous he was. He hadn't eaten a proper meal since he had left Minis Tirith, only small scraps had passed his lips. An elf does not need to sleep or eat as others do. Months can pass without him doing either but he will be drained. Right now he felt as if he'd had most of his life sucked away. Only Aragorn had seen what he had forgone for the sake of his needier companions. While they ate the food they needed and slept as they had to, Legolas was their eyes and ears.
He dug into the food before him. He had never tasted anything so wonderful in all his millennia of being.
"I am glad to see you are returned unharmed Your Highness. I have seen much anxiety in the city over your absence." Legolas suddenly realised that he was naked underneath the fur covers, a state he was not in when he fell asleep. He felt a little embarrassed. He expected though that Priam, his faithful aide, had tended to him in his sleep.
"Where is Priam?" he asked, suddenly noticing that he had not seen him.
"Prince Legolas, you should prepare yourself for Council. Much has happened in the Green Wood since you left. Your father awaits you in his chambers so that he might tell you all."
"Thank you milady," he said. He looked at her closely. "I confess I do not recognise you."
"That may be because we have never met your Highness. I am new to Eryn Lasgalen and have only resided among the fair ones of the wood this past winter. I arrived after your departure."
"That would explain it then, so what is your name?"
"You must get ready Your Highness, the King is getting impatient."
"No, wait a moment. If you will not tell me who you are, will you at least tell me what you are, for even though your beauty is great, I can tell that you are not elven."
"You are right prince, I am not one of you. I have the misfortune to have been born into the race of men."
"You are human! How old are you?"
"I was born in the year 3001 of the third age of the sun Your Highness,"
"But that would make you only..."
"19," she completed for him. "Do not sound so surprised Sire. Not all men are blessed with the gift of longevity as is your friend King Elessar of Gondor and Arnor. I am indeed as young as I look and shall continue to be so for the rest of my life."
Legolas was shocked at this. There were few of the fair ones as beautiful as the lady now in his room, but for her to be human was unthinkable. "That cannot be. Surely you are joking with me. A 19 year old cannot be anywhere near as beautiful as you are." He expected her to blush at this, but was surprised when she accepted the compliment with nothing more than a gracious smile.
"You forget Your Highness, humans do not become fairer with age. My beauty will begin to fade soon." Legolas silently cursed the Valar for making humans as they are. For this beauty to fade was a crime. "If you will get ready for Council Highness, I will be happy to tell you all about myself at a more convenient time." Legolas considered this for a second and decided that it was a most agreeable proposal.
He began to remove the covers from himself, the knowledge that he was naked underneath them only just coming into his head in time. He suddenly stopped and blushed to the roots of his hair.
"Perhaps I should leave and allow you to get yourself dressed," the lady said, smirking at his obvious discomfort. She backed away from the bed and curtseyed before leaving the room.
Legolas got out of bed and wandered over to the chair where his clothes for the day were laid out for him. As he dressed he could not help a sense of confusion coming over him. This time yesterday he was sure that his heart was too hard to allow simple beauty to touch it, but now he had been reduced to a gibbering wreck on not one but two occasions, by two different women.
He had to admit that the second lady was very intriguing. He had no idea who she was or where she was from, but she seemed uncommonly sophisticated for a girl of her age. Most grown women would have blushed at the mere thought of being in the same room as a naked man, but not only was she not embarrassed, she was amused by the scenario.
Valmari however had a smile that lit up a room. He felt that if she let him, he would drown in those eyes. He felt that he had made a connection with her the instant he laid eyes upon her exquisite face. She was not so beautiful as this new lady (even though she was uncommonly pretty), but that mattered not to him. His heart would be captured by more than beauty alone.
It took him just a few minutes to get himself dressed. He was soon knocking on the door to his father's chambers of state. "Come in Legolas," he heard his father say from the other side. Legolas suddenly felt a little nervous. He had been summoned to his father's chambers hundreds of times in his long life, but every time he felt like a little boy rather than the man of 3031* years he actually was.
"Father, you called for me?" he said on entering the room.
"Yes that is right. You have been gone for over a year my son, at a time of much change. You need to know exactly what is happening in your kingdom." Thranduil proceeded to give his son reports of the Battle Under the Trees where the forces of Dol Guldur were pushed back and defeated by the soldiers of his land. Trolls in the Southern forest and the few orcs that were left were slowly moving South, away from the ruins of Dol Guldur. Balance was returning to Mirkwood and evil was being forced out. He told him of the coming of Celeborn and Galadriel over the Anduin and the tearing down of the walls of Dol Guldur and the cleansing of the forest. Then of the meeting on the day of the New Year between Lord Celeborn and his father where they renamed the forest Eryn Lasgalen - The Wood of the Green Leaves. The Southern part of the forest was now under the protection of the Lord and Lady of the Golden Wood and was called East Lorien. The wide stretch in-between was to be roamed freely by the Northmen and the Beornings.
Legolas just sat there listening. The news of the return of good to his home brought great warmth to his heart. Being able to roam among the trees without fear of Orcs or Spiders was joyful tidings indeed. He wanted to hear more of his friends though. He knew that many of his old companions were slain in the Battle Under the Trees and for that his heart wept. The War of the Ring had allowed so few of those he knew from his childhood to live to see better days. He knew that some still lived and he wanted to know more of them.
"Father, I am glad to hear this, but I wish to know news of my friends. I have not had the chance to see Priam since my return. How does he fair?" Thranduil looked at his son sadly. "What is the matter Father? What is wrong with Priam?"
"Son, he set out for the Grey Havens with some of our kin many months ago. In his heart he was old and felt it was time. His wife wished to leave Middle-Earth before the orcs and such overran the place. He wished to hold on until you returned, so that he might say goodbye properly but none of us were sure that you would return. Especially when we heard of Saruman's treachery. We prayed to the Valar that their grace would keep you from harm, but we feared that it would not be enough and that you would fall into shadow. I did not wish to see the pair of them suffer being here longer than they had to be."
Legolas couldn't believe what he was being told. Priam had been like a father to him. He had played with him when he was young, taught him how to shoot an arrow, told him about girls. Priam had been there when Thranduil and Taedriel had been to busy with affairs of state to see him. Now he was gone and Legolas was not even allowed the opportunity to say goodbye to his mentor. He had always known that he would have to leave sometime for Priam had been many thousands of years old and should have left for Valinor many winters ago.
"I do have someone here I would have you meet," Thranduil said, breaking Legolas from his grief.
"Father, if this is another of your attempts to find me a wife please save it for a more appropriate time. I am in no mood to be flattering vapid elven ladies."
"I understand that you must be grieved by Priam's departure, especially as you were not able to say goodbye. You must look to the future though Legolas. Besides it is not a lady I wish you to meet, well it is, but I do not wish for you to consider her as your bride." He stood up from his chair and walked over to the door. Legolas could hear him asking someone to come in.
After a moment, he came back into the room, followed by the lady who had been in his chambers that morning. Legolas jumped to his feet on seeing a lady enter the room.
"Milady, we meet again," he said, bowing slightly.
"Your Highness," she curtseyed to the Prince.
"Legolas, may I present Ariel, daughter of Aaecien of the Kingdom of Rohan?" Thranduil said.
"Ariel," Legolas whispered, as if it were a name so beautiful that it would be a profanity to ruin it by speaking it any louder.
"Ariel is to join us here in the palace as your new personal aide." This revelation startled Legolas a little.
"My personal aide? I do not wish to be rude but surely that position would be better filled by somebody I know, who will perhaps be around a little longer."
"Fear not my son, this is just a temporary arrangement. We cannot have a lady as your aide once you are married." Legolas was about to say something in protest when Ariel stepped forward.
"Your Highness, it is an honour to be in your service. I may only be with you a short time, as you father says once you are married, I shall move on. I do hope though that I shall be able to get to know you before that happens."
"Milady we have time to become the best of friends for I have no plans for marriage." Ariel looked pointedly at Thranduil, who coughed nervously to gain his son's attention.
"Legolas your stubbornness in choosing a wife is beginning to worry your mother and I. You have to understand that you must marry, it is part of your duty to your people. We will not be here forever, we must start making our plans to sail to Valinor. I do not want to leave you here to rule alone. I want you to have someone to help you as I have your Mother. That is why I have to put my foot down."
"What do you mean?" Legolas said, only just managing to conceal his anger.
"I never wanted to have to choose your bride for you Legolas. I married your mother for love and I had hoped that you would do the same. However, you leave me with little choice."
"You are going to arrange my marriage!" Legolas could not conceal his outrage any more. "How dare you presume that you can force my heart."
"Calm down," Thranduil commanded. "I presume nothing. I do not want to do anything that will cause you hurt that is why I make this proposal. I am willing to give you 4 months to make your choice of bride. I shall announce the name of the lady you choose on the night of the midsummer ball. If you do not tell me who you wish to take as your wife then I shall still make the announcement, only the lady will be one of my choice, not yours."
Legolas looked as if he was about to protest but his father stopped him. "I will not be dissuaded. I am giving you more than a fair chance. Now if you will excuse me, I have other affairs to take care of." Ariel curtseyed as he left but, Legolas simply glared after him.
There was an uncomfortable silence for a few moments before Legolas turned to his new aide. "So Lady Ariel..."
"Please sire, it is just Ariel, I have no title."
"Then I am just Legolas."
"I do not think that is appropriate given our positions Highness."
"What are our positions?"
"What do you mean?"
"You are not here simply to be my personal aide. It goes against all common sense to appoint as an aide a mortal, human woman to an immortal, elven man. There is more to your presence here than my father is telling me."
"It is not my place to tell you your Highness."
"Whose place is it if it is not yours? It is you who is being used in my father's little game."
"This is not a game Sire and I am certainly not being used. I have been brought here not really as an aide but as a tutor."
"A tutor! What can you possibly teach me?"
"Oh I could teach you many things Highness, but I am here for just one lesson."
"And what is that?"
"Love Sire, I will teach you how to love."
"How do you propose to do that? Love is not something that can be taught. You either love someone or you do not."
"That is not entirely true. I can teach you how to open your heart so that you can accept the love of others and give yourself to them."
"What makes you so sure that you can do that milady?"
"It is what I do Your Highness. Call it my gift. I have opened up many battle hardened souls before and I do not think yours will be any different. You would not think it to look at me, but I wield great power over men's hearts."
"Oh I believe you," Legolas said, referring to the beauty that had him captivated along with, he was sure, every other man she had come into contact with.
Ariel began to move closer to him. She lifted her hands so that they were at either side of his head. Then she placed one on each temple. She closed her eyes and tilted her head slightly backwards as if she had suddenly been thrown into some sort of trance.
"Milady what are you doing?" Legolas asked, sounding a little nervous. Ariel did not answer however she simply continued to lightly rub her fingertips over the smooth skin.
Just as he was about to take hold of her wrists and move her hands, she stepped away from the Prince. "As I had expected, you have never been in love."
"You read my mind?"
"No, I looked into your soul and found that love was missing from it. I do not see your thoughts, I see your capacity to love."
"So I have never been in love, that is not so unusual is it?"
"No My Lord I have helped many people find their other halves who have never been in love before. Although, you are more stubborn than any I have ever met in not falling in love. You have taken many ladies to your bed, but you have struggled with yourself making sure that you never develop feelings for them. Why do you deny yourself the pleasure of having affection for another?"
"I do not. I simply want more than somebody whose only wish is for my crown." He suddenly smiled to himself when an image of Valmari came into his head.
"You believe you may have found somebody who wants more from you. Your smiles reveal everything. I hope, for your sake, that you are right, and you have found one who you can face the ages with, but you still need my guidance. You are not ready to take this step alone. Now if you will excuse me, I must go and attend to some business. I assume you wish to begin your weapons practice again. I will speak to the armaments master forthwith."
"Why do you do this for me?"
"Primarily I am here to teach you a lesson, but your father wasn't lying when he said I was to be your aide. You will have many demands on your time Prince Legolas and I intend to make sure that everything runs smoothly."
"I was wondering. Seeing as though your my aide now, you might know something."
"What is that Sire?"
"Do you know who undressed me last night? I had assumed it was Priam, but that is obviously not the case." He noticed that Ariel was once again smirking.
"Whoever does finally become Princess of the Northern Elves is going to be a very lucky woman sire." She quickly curtseyed and left, a faint humming of laughter following her. Legolas blushed and realised that life with Ariel around was going to be interesting to say the least.
* For those of you who are wondering this puts the date of his birth at the year 3430 of the Second Age, the year that the Last Alliance of Elves and Men was formed. I have made this date up as I have no idea when he was born because the books go into little detail of his life beyond the Fellowship.
