Author's Note: Unfortunately, I don't own any of the characters, they all belong to the lovely JRR Tolkien and Peter Jackson/Newline Cinema…I'm just borrowing them to play with! *evil laughter* hehehe reviews would be much appreciated!!
*ducks flying veggies* I AM SO SORRY THAT IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO UPDATE!!! I had personal things goin on (that are resolved), plus writers block, ~but~ my muses have returned and I've been writing like crazy, so here is a new chappy and expect another one within a week or two, kk? And thank you guys so much for the reviews!!! Keep em comin to keep my muses satisfied, hehe! *mwah*
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Arwen stood rigid between her brothers and aimed for the center of the target with the arrow strung on her long bow. With a twang, she released it and watched as it hit the outer rings of the target.
With an exasperated sigh, she hurled her bow down and turned her back on the archery fields. "Arwen, you must have patience!!" Elrohir called after her. She did not slow her purposeful stride in the least and didn't give him the dignity of an answer.
Elladan ran after her and grabbed her shoulder, halting her flight. "Muinthel, the only way you will master archery is through practice," he said patiently. (*sister)
"I have lost my patience, Elladan," she hissed. "I will never be an archer. Look at the target and see for yourself!!" She shrugged his hand off her shoulder and ran back to her chambers, cursing under her breath.
She drew her twin daggers and took a deep breath to relax, closed her eyes and began to move through the motions that the weapons master had been teaching her for nearly 40 years.
So absorbed in her movements was she, that she didn't hear the clatter of hooves coming down the road to Imladris or the greetings exchanged. Neither did she hear the door to hear chamber open or the soundless footsteps that approached her until the clash of steel meeting steel echoed through the room.
Her indigo eyes snapped open in surprise and met a matching pair. "Legolas!" she gasped as she parried his thrust. "My lady, it is good to see you again after such an extended absence," he replied smoothly, taking the offensive. Arwen gave him a devious smile and defended.
Within moments, she was the aggressor and Legolas was quickly losing ground. As he evaded her strikes, he smiled admiringly and said, "I see that you have been practicing, Undomiel."
He backed away quickly and sheathed his daggers. "You've become quite accomplished with the daggers, nin mellon." She smiled as she sheathed hers as well and asked, "What are you doing here, Legolas?"
"I have come to visit my only friend," he lamented sadly, a false pout on his face. Arwen pounced on him and they tumbled onto her plush bed in a heap. "The true reason, saura'taren, before I'm forced to crush you in battle!" she demanded. (*foul prince)
Legolas shoved her off of him and laughed. "Ai, all right!! I have come for your brothers' coming-of-age celebration. I have simply ridden a few days ahead of the rest of my party to see you."
An enormous smile spread across Arwen's face and then she gasped. "Elbereth, I've forgotten all about Ellahir and Elrodan's ceremony!! Oh, they're going to be so upset with me. Not to mention what my father is going to say…"
Legolas laughed merrily again and said, "Fear not, nin mellon, I remember your recurrent forgetfulness and I brought them gifts for you." She frowned at her best friend but then engulfed him in a hug.
"What would I do without you?" she murmered into his shoulder. "You would be in monumental amounts of trouble, Evenstar," the prince replied. Laughing, she pulled back from their embrace and said, "No, nessa taren, that is what usually happens when I'm with you." (*young prince)
He grinned and grabbed her hands quickly and the two adolescent elflings ran down the halls of Imladris, leaving a trail of disgruntled servants in their wake. When they entered Legolas' chambers, there were two delicately wrapped boxes laying out on his bed and he beckoned for her to open them.
Arwen undid the bindings and gasped when she saw the identical longbows inside. They were exquisitely crafted, with striking elvish inscriptions inlaid into the silver brethil wood that could only be found in Legolas' homeland. (*birch)
"Oh, Legolas, they're perfect. They'll love them…how did you get these? Brethil wood is so rare," she whispered in awe. "Yes, extremely rare, but it can be found in the northern parts of the wood along the Forest River. And your brothers deserve nothing less than something astonishingly beautiful," he said proudly.
Sighing, she sat down heavily on the bed and closed the boxes. "I wish I could be an archer," she said sadly. "Why can you not?" Legolas asked curiously. Arwen laughed shortly and replied, "I cannot manage to hit the targets."
Legolas frowned and said incredulously, "Not at all? Who is training you?!" She laughed and replied, "No, I can hit the target but only on the outer rings, even with Elladan and Elrohir training me. I have lost all patience with archery."
"No, no, no! You cannot give up on archery; I will not let you. I will teach you while I'm here and I swear that by the time I leave, you will be able to hit the center of the target," the Prince of Greenwood replied confidently.
"So sure of yourself, are you?" Arwen inquired, with a sigh. "I would not stake anything on it, for I am not meant to be an archer." Legolas jumped up and retorted sharply, "You will become a skilled archer if my life depends on it, Undomiel."
Rolling her eyes, Arwen replied defeatedly, "Very well, my prince, whatever you wish. I will accommodate you, since you are a guest."
Legolas smiled wickedly and said, "Don't tempt me to abuse my privileges as your so-called guest, hiril nin." (*my lady)
"Quiet, troublemaker!!!" Arwen commanded. "You really are nothing but trouble, you know that?" She laughed as he winked at her and gave her his most innocent smile. "Tomorrow, we shall begin practice," Legolas declared.
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The next morning, Arwen was awakened by the gossamer curtains surrounding her bed being pulled back and Legolas jumping on her bed. "Wake up, we have much to do if you are to become an expert archer in such a short time!!" he yelled into her ear as she attempted to pull the covers back over her head.
Aerin rushed in and apologized quickly, "I am so sorry, my lady. I tried to stopped him but he was determined to enter your chambers…" Arwen waved her hand and mumbled crankily, "It is not your fault, Aerin, though this is a most distasteful way to be awakened." The last was said with a glare directed at Legolas.
Aerin hurried from the room, sensing the Evenstar's irritation. The prince just grinned and yanked all the covers off of Arwen's bed, only to have her obstinately curl up in a ball. The action caused her transparent cotton shift to slide up her legs, exposing far more skin than Legolas needed to set his eyes on to desire her.
An inaudible gasp escaped his lips and a slight tinge of pink crept into his cheeks as he gazed upon her scantily clothed form and the eledhwen radiating from her. He recognized now more than ever that his best friend had grown up quite a bit since he had last seen her. (*elven light)
'Beautiful,' Legolas thought. Then he forced himself to lower his eyes to the floor and cleared his throat loudly. "Arwen, you must get out of bed and clothe yourself before someone comes in here." He let a smirk cross his face, knowing it would annoy her.
Suddenly her eyes snapped open and her cheeks flushed a deep crimson as she realized that she was wearing only a nightshift. "Legolas, you really are quite exasperating!" Arwen exclaimed as she strode quickly behind her dressing screen.
She emerged a few moments later, fully clothed in leggings and a tunic. She flicked him an annoyed look as she swept past him. Legolas breathed a silent sigh of relief that she was clothed and wondered why he was suddenly having these different thoughts about Arwen.
'She is your best friend! Put these thoughts from your head; you are being a fool. Besides, she would never return your feelings,' he thought to himself as he followed her to the archery fields with a faint smile on his face.
When they arrived there, the twins were already there practicing. "Don't you ever stop to practice with your swordplay or daggers?" Arwen asked her brothers, actually managing to startle them. "Arwen, you've come to practice?" Elrohir grinned.
She frowned at him and said, "Legolas is determined to teach me, though I have protested greatly. He claims that I will be a master before he leaves." Elladan cast the younger, blonde-haired elf a sympathetic look. "You have a serious task before you, nin mellon. She is stubborn and impatient and not the most coordinated of archers. Good luck…"
Arwen's frown deepened as she looked from one twin to the other. Legolas interjected, "That's not very encouraging…no wonder she's not a very good archer as of yet. I shall teach her and she will be just as good as you with time, my friends."
Legolas grasped Arwen's arm and led her to the far end of the field, away from everyone else, where the woods had started growing in on the fringes of the field and it was quiet and secluded.
He handed her a short bow and said, "I will teach you how to use a short bow first because it is easier to use and if you're ever on horseback and need to defend yourself, it is the more suitable weapon."
She nodded hesitantly and took the bow in her hands as Legolas strapped a quiver of arrows on her back. He moved the target closer and came behind her. "You must think of the bow not as a separate entity but as a part of yourself. The way that you think of your knives, you must become familiar with the feel of it in your hands. The way that it curves, the way the tautness of the string feels when slack and when pulled tight. And then the way the arrow feels when nocked above your fingers."
Arwen watched her fingers move over the bow and then pulled an arrow out of the quiver and nocked it to the bow. She felt gentle fingers move over her eyes and heard Legolas say, "Close your eyes and use your fingers to see."
She dropped the arrow and moved her fingers over the bow slowly, feelings the curves and the grains of the wood. Then she unexpectedly felt the warmth of her best friend's body against her back and the roughness of archers' hands over her own, directing her body and hands the proper stance to take.
Her eyes opened and she looked down at her feet as Legolas explained that she had to keep them shoulder-width apart to steady her shot while keeping her right arm straight and pulling the bowstring back with her left arm. The arrow would be nocked above her right hand and aimed with that same hand.
"You sight down the shaft of the arrow, directly to whatever you are aiming at," Legolas said softly. "Here, let me help you. I want you to try to aim for the center."
He stepped behind her and let her try on her own. She bit her bottom lip and concentrated, squinting her eyes and let the arrow fly. It hit the third from center ring, a great improvement from what she was doing before.
Legolas smiled softly and said, "Much better. You have a few flaws with your stance still though…" He walked around her and moved her feet a few inches inward and straightened her hips and shoulders.
"There," he said quietly as he enveloped her smaller frame with his larger one. He positioned his hands over hers and instructed, "Do not narrow your eyes; you have elvish sight. Relax your body and let your senses guide you." He released the arrow and it embedded itself directly in the center of the target.
Arwen gasped in awe and turned her head to look at Legolas. Their faces were only a few inches apart and she flushed a little at their closeness. "How did you do that?" she asked breathlessly. "That was incredible."
"I did not do that…I merely guided your hands," he replied matter-of-factly, moving back to stand a few feet away. "Try again." She grabbed another arrow from her quiver and nocked it to her bow, taking a deep breath.
"Do not squint, Arwen," Legolas said sharply. "It will hinder the flight of the arrow. Just relax and have faith in your abilities." She looked directly down the shaft to the center of the target, closed her eyes, and released the arrow with a twang.
Opening her eyes, her mouth dropped open in amazement. The arrow that Legolas had helped her with only a moment before was split directly down the middle. She turned around and saw her best friend smiling with eyebrows raised. "Impressive, but not unexpected. I knew you could do it," he said.
They practiced for another hour before Arwen could hit the center of the target nearly every time, then Legolas moved the target further back. The duo repeated the process throughout the afternoon until the target was so far away that even their elven eyes could only just make out the rings on the target.
"Legolas, how am I going to shoot that?" Arwen demanded. "It is not as hard as it seems, Undomiel. Just keep trying…relax and concentrate, the same as before," he replied. "Archery requires much practice and persistence, same as swordplay and knife fighting."
By the time dusk was brushing the edges of the sky, Arwen was shooting the center of the distant target consistently. Legolas smiled proudly and said, "See, it is only a matter of patience and the proper training. We will practice again tomorrow."
As they walked back towards her father's house, Arwen grumbled, "Must we practice again tomorrow?" Legolas smiled at his friend's frustration and said, "Yes, we must practice tomorrow and the day after that as well. Practice is necessary, nin mellon."
Walking up the steps to the side halls that lead to their chambers, Legolas and Arwen very nearly ran into the twins. "I am impressed, sister," Elladan said contritely. Elrohir echoed his sentiment. "I apologize, little one, for I was wrong. You indeed show much talent on the field."
Arwen inclined her chin slightly and Elladan looked at his twin. "Perhaps it was our techniques in training her that were not fitting…" he said regretfully. Elrohir picked up in the middle of the sentence, "In any case, we extend our apologies. We're truly sorry that we doubted you and criticized you."
Arwen sighed and said, "There is nothing to forgive, my brothers. I am going to bathe. I will see the three of you at dinner. My supreme thanks, Legolas." The prince smiled after her and bowed his head slightly as she took her leave.
The twins accompanied him to his chamber after ordering servants to bring hot water for his bath. "I am exceptionally impressed, nin mellon. We have been trying to train Arwen to use a bow for nearly a year now and she was nigh on impossible," Elrohir said as he watched 3 maidservants scurry to-and-fro with interest.
Elladan sat on his other side and spoke now as well, "She has no patience and it seemed no desire to learn archery. We tried to impress upon her that she should learn it for her own safety. Fighting with daggers is excellent for hand-to-hand combat but she should be able to defend herself from afar."
"Aye," Legolas agreed. "But I think perhaps that you were right. You were not using the proper technique to train her. She doesn't respond well to critiscism." The twins laughed and shook their heads in assent. "She did desire much to learn archery, however. And I shall teach her," Legolas said.
"Your skill in archery is well-known though you are still young. Who better to train our sister than her best friend, an accomplished archer, if not ourselves?" Elrohir questioned. Legolas smiled at the compliment. "Tales are often exaggerated, my lords," he said humbly. "I am not any more accomplished than yourselves."
The two elves smiled and stood to take their leave of the young prince. "As you say, Greenleaf," they replied in unison. Legolas grinned and said, "If you will excuse me, I really must bathe. Ellahir, Elrodan." He nodded solemnly as he said their childhood nicknames that Arwen had given them.
They frowned as Legolas dashed into his bathing chamber and shook their heads at each other. "Will we ever get rid of those vile names?" Elrohir asked his brother. Elladan laughed and replied, "As long as those two live, I highly doubt it."