Disclaimer- I own nothing- if you recognise it- it's not mine!
After everybody retired I stayed up and went to talk to Celeborn about Thalia. I had no idea how to be a father.
Although she was happy she was not yet recovered and I didn't want to upset or hinder her in any way.
After wandering around the gardens I found him, sat on a bench with a book in his hand, as usual.
"Good evening my Lord"
Celeborn chuckled and put down his book. "Glorfindel since when have you called me 'my Lord? "
"Never…alright I see your point. I need your help with something". I sat down next to him,
"I presume that this help you need, has something to do with your daughter"
I nodded, "Yes. I do not know how to…"
"Talk to her?" Celeborn finished my sentence, as I really did not know what to say.
"First and foremost she needs somebody who can give her stability. She needs your guidance. She has somebody who can give her unconditional love, but she does not have some one who can push her in the right direction. In order for her to stay in her right mind she needs somebody to tell her what to do. And that somebody has to be you".
"But what if she sees me as the enemy?"
"Of that I have no doubt, she will see you as her enemy. But only for a time. You will be doing what needs to be done"
"I know, but I must confess, I do not like it"
"Neither did I. When Celebrian passed over the sea, she needed someone to make her see sense. And I had to do it as she would not listen to her mother or her husband. It was not the most pleasant thing that I have ever had to do, but I had to do it, and I would do it again. I love my daughter and I would do anything to stop her from feeling any pain. And I know that you feel the same way towards your daughter"
He was right. I did love her, more than anything. It seems strange to think that she is not mine by blood. Our bond could not be stronger.
"Thank you Celeborn"
"You are most welcome old friend. Now go, you must wake the others. And do not forget. She will need you more than she will anybody else. Be there for her".
We each put our fists to our hearts and said our farewells. I left him still sitting there as I had found him, sitting on a bench and reading a book, he will never change. My mind was refreshed and I felt tranquil for the moment.
My next stop was Haldir, although he was probably already up by now. Luckily Orophin was able to fill Haldir's place as Lorien's marchwarden while he was away.
I walked up the grassy paths until I got to Haldir's room. As I was about to knock a loud crash came from the room followed by a cry and a thud.
I opened the door to find Haldir lying on the floor in a rather strange position. His upper body was on the floor while his legs were tangled in the sheet and were still on the bed. On his way down he must have knocked over his nightstand as its contents were now strewn about him.
"Glorfindel! Stop laughing and help me up, this is not funny!"
"My dear Haldir. This is almost as funny as the time when Elladan accidentally shot Erestor in the behind!" I managed to say as I laughed. Tears were rolling down my face. The proud marchwarden lying on the floor like that was just too funny.
"I'm just going to leave you to get ready"
"No, No Glorfindel get back here!"
I waited to hear the thump of Haldir hitting the floor when he managed to get up. I know that it was a little wrong of me to leave him there but I was in a hurry to go and get Thalia and Legolas. Knowing them, they were still in bed.
The walk to Thalia's only took me a few minutes. I stopped to admire the view. The sunrise was beautiful, the sky was a mixture of Gold's and purples and blues. I rarely got chance to look at the sunrise in Imladris. Usually I am already up and in the training grounds or I am out riding.
The door to Thalia's room was open, this confused me greatly. They wouldn't have gone to bed without locking the door. I stepped closer and heard rather muffled giggles.
"Legolas, put me down, I'm warning you, don't you dare", and then there was a splash.
I rushed inside to see what was going on. There in the bathroom were two very wet elves.
"What happened here?" I asked, but not really wanted to know the answer.
"She wouldn't get out of bed and bathe, so I decided to help her "
"What he means is, I didn't want to get up, so he decided that it would funny to pick me up and drop me into the water, still wearing a night-dress as well"
"Well you should have got up. Then I wouldn't have had to drop you in the bath" Legolas' eyes shone with mischief, but he kept a straight face.
Thalia on the other hand looked furious and delighted at the same time.
"I shall leave you two to it then. You have an hour to make your way down to the stables".
I left them still sitting in the bath. This morning had been good so far, I hoped that it would continue like this.
---
"Thalia, Thalia, come. Your bath is ready". Her only answer was to burrow down further under the covers.
I crawled down to the bottom of the bed and grabbed her ankles. She knew what it was I planned to do and began trying to get away. I pulled them and she came flying out and into my arms. Before she could do anything I picked her up and carried her into the bathroom.
"Legolas Greenleaf, you are in big trouble! Don't you dare. I'm wearing a night-dress, it's not proper" she had guessed what I was planning to do.
"And since when have you cared about what is proper and what is not?" I chuckled.
I continued walking to the bath and she continued screaming and laughing.
The bath had been built into the floor, as they were in most elven cities. This made it easier to get into the bath.
She gave an indignant cry as the water made it's way up her legs and finally I dropped her.
She stood up out of the water and glared at me.
"Greenleaf! What was that for? You could've at least taken my night-dress off or something. It's see through now anyways, and you've seen me naked anyway- and you're naked- what's the difference?"
I starting laughing at her childlike tantrum, but she was right. I might as well have taken her night-dress off, the silk was now sticking to every curve of her body and was practically see-through.
She stripped off the dress and threw it into a corner. She gave me a look of triumph and began washing her hair with vanilla scented soap. I let my eyes run down her body, her silver hair was plastered to her head and lathered with soap. The water ran down her neck and onto her generous chest and past her flat stomach and curvaceous hips. Her face was tilted so that she didn't get any soap her eyes.
She was beautiful, and she was mine.
I slid over to her and wrapped my arms around her waist. Her skin was as soft as rose petals. I caressed her stomach and she leaned into my arms. I smiled against her neck.
"You know, considering that you are the one who dumped me in here to bathe, you're not exactly making it easy" she whispered
"Hmmm, that wouldn't be any fun would it melamin?"
I felt rather than saw her smile. My doubts and fears had left me altogether last night. As I watched her sleep I felt noting but love for her.
I began lightly trailing kisses on her neck, then I moved to her arms. Her back stiffened. She was still very sensitive about her scars, I had told her that I wanted all of her, even her scars. To me they were a symbol of her bravery and courage, they were nothing to be ashamed of.
I stroked her stomach and waited for her to relax. When she did I tailed my lips, taking my time, down her arm and then kissing her fingertips lightly. I repeated this on her other arm.
She moaned and raised her arms to encircle my neck. I ran my hands through her still soapy hair and she turned around.
She ran her hands down my chest, her soft lips leaving small kisses in their wake.
I closed my eyes and tried to regain control over my body. She had turned my game against me, I was now in her clutches and she didn't know it.
One of her hands stayed on my stomach whilst her other hand cupped my head and brought my head down to hers. She placed a kiss on my forehead, as I had done so many times to her. It felt so different for her to be the one to kiss me, it was so small a gesture, but it was so passionate. I opened my eyes and captured her mouth with mine. I ran my tongue along her bottom lip, begging her to let me taste her. She complied and I thrust my tongue into her mouth, the taste of vanilla engulfed my senses. The smell and taste of her was unique. Her hands roamed over my body.
With one arm locked around her waist and the other in her hair I pulled her down and deepened the kiss.
She pulled away smiling at me,
"As much as I would love to continue, we have exactly twenty minutes to get ready and be at the stables"
I groaned and pulled her to me. I cradled her to my chest and we stood there a for a few minutes in compete silence.
She broke away once more and went under the water to rinse her hair.
I quickly washed mine and then joined her in the bedroom. She was already dressed and ready to go.
I walked over to the closet and pulled out a pair of black leggings and a pale blue tunic. My hair was still rather wet and un-braided. Thalia laughed at my appearance and she motioned for me to sit down on the edge of the bed. I sat there patiently as she braided my hair. The feeling of her fingers massaging my scalp was both strangely erotic and relaxing at the same time.
"Done!" she announced. I smiled as I admired her handy work, she had become quite good at braiding my hair over the past few weeks.
"Come on", I picked up our belongings, grabbed her hand and headed out of the door.
I would be glad to leave Lothlorien behind. This visit had been the hardest thing that I had ever had to do. Watching the person I love go through so much pain and not being able to help was not only heart wrenching but painful for me as well as her.
Rivendell was only a month away. Thankfully Haldir was coming with us, that was a relief. If anything happened to Thalia I would never forgive myself. Haldir was the only one, who in a crisis would be able to talk to her and pull her out from her feelings.
I turned my head to look at he woman beside me. Her long hair flew in the gentle breeze, her blue eyes sparked and her smile lit up face and gave her a radiance that would rival Galadriel herself.
We came to the stables and sure enough we were late. Elladan shook is head and tutted at us, while Elrohir shook his head and laughed at his brothers antics. Glorfindel and Haldir had already mounted their horses. Asfaloth looked uncomfortable at all the waiting around.
With the help of the twins, we saddled everything onto the horses. I mounted my own horse Tari'el. Thalia reached up and I lifted her up and sat her in front of me.
Giving her, her own horse would have been an unnecessary hassle. She was fine riding with me and I was more than happy to have her with me.
We rode to the city gates where we would meet Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn.
"You have all shown great courage, and I wish you a safe journey to Imladris"
She looked at each of us in turn.
"{ Trust your instincts Legolas Greenleaf, you will need them }"
As usual the lady's message was cryptic. But as always it would also make sense sooner or later.
We finished saying our farewells and headed off. I tightened my arms around Thalia as she stiffened. She had no fondness for horses.
This was going to be a long trip.