Chapter Four - Getting To Know You

Ariel walked along the corridors of the city of the caves towards her new master's chambers. She had spent most of that day and all of the day before, after she finished meeting His Highness, making arrangements for the Prince's old routine to come back into the everyday workings of the city. It was amazing how many tiny details had to be taken care of within a royal palace. She had nearly given up on the whole thing before realising that the Prince would be much more receptive to her teachings if they were handed down to him within a framework he was familiar with.

She did have another reason for wanting to make the arrangements herself. She would have to go around the whole city to talk with all the different people she needed. This would give her a chance to see what sort of ladies the Prince had to choose from. He had but four months to find the lady he was to spend his long life with, she needed to make sure that they would not be wasting time with ladies who would be unsuitable. King Thranduil had given her permission to remove herself and Legolas to Lothlorien or Imladris if she felt that suitable elven ladies were not to be found in Mirkwood. Her life may have been dedicated to ideas of love, but she had too little time to be wasting it on romantic folly, especially in this circumstance. Those she taught were the lovers, she had to be practical.

The lady elves of the court seemed to be a nice enough group, if a little vacuous. She had been able to observe them during her time in Mirkwood, and had come to the conclusion that all that was needed in most cases was some sort of larger purpose. She was sure that among them she could find one who was born to be Queen, but who would love Prince Legolas above the crown. Although finding one who the Prince would love in return was going to be a little more difficult than she had envisaged when she promised King Thranduil to find his son a wife. It was only as she got to know the pitfalls and idiosyncrasies of the ladies, that she realised how little she knew of her new lord.

Therefore she had resolved with herself to speak with him and coax some information about him from his lips. The task did leave her feeling a little nervous though. It had nothing to do with feeling intimidated by him or anything like that because she did not. It took more than a man to intimidate her. Although she did have to admit that he did have a strength of presence unlike any she had ever come across. The reason that she was nervous was that she knew the more she found out about him the more difficult it would be to find somebody he could love. She knew that if ever she was going to fail in her task, it was going to be now.

She came to the door of the Prince's chambers and raised her hand to knock. Before her fist could come into contact with the wood though, she heard a voice from within.

"Do not bother knocking, please come in." She did as she was told. Prince Legolas was sitting at his desk, his feet resting on the ancient wood, unceremoniously leaning back in his chair, reading a book. As the door clicked shut, he looked up. "Lady Ariel, I thought it would be you."

"Please Your Highness, I am just Ariel. I am the daughter of a maiden of Rohan and simply Ariel.

"I get the impression that there is nothing simple about you milady." He closed his book and sat upright, placing his feet on the floor. "But if you dislike it so much of course you shall just be Ariel."

"Thank you Milord."

"We are alone now Ariel. Nobody here to get upset at a lack of formality. I would not object to you calling me Legolas. "

"I have explained Your Highness, I do not believe that to be a good idea."

"You were being serious about that! I just thought that you were worried that maybe my father would be listening in. I would prefer that we be informal with each other as I was with Priam, but if you are more comfortable with my title then so be it."

"Thank you Sire." There was a moment of silence between them. This was not what Ariel had come here for. "What is it that you read Sire?"

"Poetry. Jethrir, the first elven scribe of Imladris. He wrote such beautiful verse."

"I prefer Leremir myself."

"The Bard of Gondor. You are familiar with his works?" The Prince looked shocked.

"Of course. I may be young but I can read. I have travelled much but my travels always lead me to the library. Do you enjoy reading Sire? Or do you do it simply to keep boredom at bay?"

"I enjoy reading very much. If I were not so skilled with a bow I think I would be a scholar rather than a fighter."

"You do not like the life you have chosen?" he did not answer her. Ariel got the impression that he wasn't sure of the answer himself. He looked out of the window at the setting sun.

"Would you like to take a walk mi... Ariel? The air would do us both good. And it might clear my head a little so that I might better answer the barrage of questions I am sure is coming my way."

She smiled at him. "You are very perceptive Prince. I am sure that you understand that in order to effectively direct you towards your life partner, I must have some information about you."

"Of course." She was relieved to see that he was smiling and would not be difficult.

The two of them walked outside into the forest towards the groves, talking about nothing in particular, but it was a most valuable conversation to Ariel. In just a few short minutes she learned that the Prince loved to read and to dance and would dearly love to paint too so that he might capture the beauty of nature in his own way. But he hadn't the patience. His temper was more suited to outdoor pursuits such as hunting and riding. His superior battle skills were no accident. He had been honing his skills since he was a child and had first accompanied his father to a battle when he was but 1000 years old and the shadow had first fallen over the forest and Men began calling it Mirkwood.

"What about writing? Do you ever write your own poetry Your Highness?" Ariel asked as they turned into a grove filled with pale lilac berries.

"My writing skills are the same as my painting ones. I would love to but I haven't the patience with my pen."

"That is a great shame sire. you have a lyricism to the manner of your speech. I am sure it would flow well on the page."

"I thought your purpose was to teach, not flatter me," he said, smiling as he said it.

"Oh believe me Prince, you will feel the full force of my acid tongue when the time calls for it."

"Do you promise?" There was a wicked glint in his eye. She knew that he was just trying to embarrass her. What he didn't know was that he was not going to succeed. She had seen and done too much for simple innuendo to make her blush. Therefore she decided to turn the tables and join in.

"Only if your a very good boy," she said, a slightly seductive tone coming into her voice. He hadn't expected her to be so free speaking. The first time, back in his father's council chambers, he had thought it an attempt to seem more grown up. He could tell now that he was wrong. That had simply seen his first glimpse of the real Ariel.

There was a few minutes silence as Ariel admired the beauty of the grove and Legolas revelled in the feeling of being surroundedby the land that was familiar to him.

"What sort of plants are these?" Ariel asked. "I have not come across these berries before."

"You would not have if you have never been to Mirkwood before this winter. The blossom would only have appeared a few weeks ago and the fruit grows only here in this part of Mirkwood."

"The colour is very pretty. I like lilac."

"But it is not your favourite colour I wager? I think perhaps an ice blue or a fiery crimson would be more you." Ariel smiled. She knew that this was his way of flirting and it was lost on her. He was very charming and she could see why ladies were lost to him, but it did not work on her.

"Wrong on both counts I am afraid. I am a night owl. The black blue of the sky at night is my favourite."

"You surprise me. Beautiful people tend to prefer the day so that their admirers might see them better."

"You didn't tell me what the berries were called." She did not want the conversation to come round to her. She was not what was important.

"I am sorry. It is a Pallion."

"What are they grown for?"

"These berries are useless at the moment but will soon become poisonous. When they begin to get blue spots some of the crop will be harvested and used to tip our arrows in case of war."

"What of the rest of the crop?"

"Once it turns blue completely it will be good for a healing ointment which cures the effects of many of the deadliest poisons. Eventually the berries will go pink and will be harvested to make a very strong wine for the celebration of summer. That is the main reason my father has them grown. We Wood elves have a love of wine but vines do not grow here. We have few fruits from which we can make our nectar, this is the best of what the forest gives us. After the celebration, only a handful are left to go into the final stage after the banquet."

"What are they used for then? I can tell by your eyes that it is this final stage when they become useful to you personally."

"Am I that transparent?"

"Yes, to be truthful."

"The berries become a fleshy fruit and turn crimson. They are then ripe and ready to be eaten. This is the only time that it is safe to savour the flesh. It is served to the bride and groom at weddings."

"Why is that?"

"The crimson fruit of the Pallion is a powerful aphrodisiac."

"Now I know why you like this final stage so much. Am I to take it that not all of the harvested crimson fruits make it to bridal celebrations?"

"I must admit that some have been known to go astray. I have sometimes indulged in a little harvesting at that time of year myself."

"It is a pity they are not ripe yet. You would not have had to spend half as much time persuading Lady Greenacre back to your chambers after dinner last night, had you had a few of these on hand to feed to her."

"How did you know?"

"I have my ways. Your unwillingness to wake this morning was not simply down to prolonged exhaustion from your travels. You had more than enough sleep yesterday."

"But how did you know that it was Pernella?" Suddenly Legolas realised where he had seen such a perfect mane of raven hair before. "It was you going up the glass tower on the night of the feast."

"Yes. your Father suggested that I observe your behaviour. I had hoped to do it for a few more nights before you found out but no matter, I have seen enough."

"And what do you conclude?" Legolas was eager to know what she thought of him.

"I can see that you are not going to be easy to teach. You are stubborn and lead a bachelor lifestyle which it will be difficult to break you out of, especially when elven maidens continue to throw themselves at you in this manner. You will deliberately try to ignore my teachings because you do not like being told what you should do or feel. There is hope for you though Prince Legolas. I have never failed before and I do not believe I shall fail this time."

"You are very sure of yourself Ariel."

"Then we have something in common." She looked up at the sky which was now the inky black colour she loved. "Dinner will be served soon. We should return indoors." Legolas nodded and they walked back inside. "If it is agreeable to your highness, I would like to start lessons tonight."

"I look forward to it," he said, kissing her hand. "Come to my chambers after dinner and we will see just how good you really are."