Chapter 1
Disclaimer.
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"Excellent shot, Legolas!" The elder elf said, clapping his hands. Legolas sort of stepped back and admired his work. The arrow hit the bull's eye, hands down. "You are coming along nicely, Young Greenleaf. I'm sure you will out shoot Elrohir and Elladan this time!" he said. Neveah, the archery and sword trainer of the palace, always praised Legolas. Not because he didn't want to be banished from Mirkwood by either Legolas or Thranduil, but because ever since Legolas could hold a bow, he had been good. It was his goal to make Legolas the best archer of all time.
"Thank you Neveah." Legolas replied, smiling. He remember the time many years ago when Elrond's family had come for a visit, and Elladan and Elrohir had beat him in an archery contest. Legolas's goal was to beat them. It was all in fun, however. The twins were his age. Arwen was younger, but she was still fun to hang around with since she didn't mind getting into trouble like her older brothers. As Legolas reminisced, Neveah turned and bowed.
"Good afternoon, Nira'lin." He said. Legolas shook his head and turned, and saw his sister standing a few feet from them.
"Good afternoon Neveah, Legolas." She said. Legolas smiled and turned back to the target. Neveah went to her side and held his arm out to her.
"How are you?" He asked her.
"Oh, fine." She replied, taking his arm. "I was shooed out of the palace since the servants are trying to make the entire place spotless before Elrond comes." She explained. Neveah laughed.
"Oh, aye. Legolas is here practicing to beat the twins this time." Neveah told her. Nira'lin laughed along with him.
As they laughed, there was a loud sound in the distance. It was the horns of the entrance to the city. Someone had arrived. And that someone had to be Lord Elrond and his family. Legolas quickly attached his bow to his back and ran behind Nira'lin and Neveah to greet them.
They reached the gate and Elrond rode through, with Elladan and Elrohir behind him, and Arwen behind them. Bringing up the rear was four guards of Rivendell. Once the group was through the gates, the twins and Arwen jumped from their horses and ran to their friends. Legolas embraced the twins and Arwen hugged Nira'lin. Then they switched. Legolas kissed Arwen's hand and mockingly made a big deal about, while she laughed and just hugged him. Elrond slid off his horse a little more gracefully then his children had, and embraced his oldest friend's children.
"How has your father been?" Elrond asked. Nira'lin shrugged.
"He is obsessing over the palace, so I suggest you wait a while before going in there. The servants might just throw you out." She told him. Elrond laughed. The group walked to the courtyard; Legolas was talking quietly with Arwen and the twins, and Nira'lin was talking with Elrond and Neveah about her father. Some stable hands had come out to take the horses to the stable.
No saw the four guards standing in a tight circle talking quietly.
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After a little while, Thranduil came running from the palace. All of the elves waiting stood, and Elrond embraced his long-time friend. "How are you, Thranduil?" He asked.
"As well as could be expected." Thranduil replied. Thranduil greeted the others, and motioned for them to follow him inside.
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That evening after dinner, Nira'lin was sitting in her room, reading her book, as she often did to get away from the noise and action whenever Elrond and Thranduil were punishing Legolas, Arwen and the twins for pulling some prank at dinner. She jumped a little when there was a knock on her door. "Come in!" She called out, and the door opened. One of the Rivendell soldiers was on the other side.
"Oh! Excuse me, your highness! I was looking for Arwen's room to give her a message, but clearly this is not her room, for you are much more beautiful." He said. Nira'lin blinked, and felt herself blush. (A/N: You'll see why he said that…. Eventually… muhahaha!)
"N-no." She stammered. "Arwen's is next door." She said, ducking her head to hide the blush. The soldier bowed and thanked her, then shut the door. After the door was closed, Nira'lin continued to stare at it. That was odd. She called up the picture of the soldier in her mind. He was tall, with long blond hair and clear blue eyes. He was pretty good looking. She laughed in spite of herself and went back to reading.
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The next morning at breakfast, it was quiet until Elladan suddenly said, "Legolas Greenleaf! Son of Thranduil! I challenge you to a contest today!" He glared playfully across the table at Legolas. Legolas glared back.
"I accept your challenge, Elladan, son of Elrond! And I must tell you that you shall not win this time!" Both of them looked at Elrohir.
"Will you be joining us, dear brother?" Elladan asked.
"I shall, and be certain, you will not win!" Elrohir declared.
"Alright, alright, Kotyaerea. Finish eating first." Elrond said. The boys glared playfully at each other, and laughed, then finished eating. When they were done, they jumped up from the table, called for Arwen to come, and they were gone. The elder elves were still sitting at the table, shaking their heads.
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"Your loss will be quick and painless…" Elladan said, aiming his bow. Legolas and Elrohir stood by, watching, while Arwen was sitting on the ground with a piece of parchment. She was keeping score. "Be ready to mark a point for me, ai seler'." He added, then fired. His arrow went wide and completely missed the target. Elrohir and Legolas burst out laughing. Elladan walked off and glared at his friend and brother, and Elrohir stepped up. Saying nothing, he fired, and it hit two rings from the bull's eye. As Legolas was fitting an arrow to his bow and taking his sweet time aiming, Nira'lin came out of the palace. She was walking across the field so she could watch the game. She heard someone behind her. The soldier from yesterday jogged up beside her, and the other three were close behind.
"Good morning, Princess Nira'lin. I hope you do not think me rude for inurding on your reading time last night." He said in a smooth voice. Nira'lin felt herself blush again and shook her head.
"No, it's quite alright." She replied. It was not unusual for the soldiers in Mirkwood to talk casually with the royalty, seeing as Legolas had made friends with all of them when he beat them in archery. But, Nira'lin was sure about Rivendell. Thinking that he would leave, she continued walking, but the soldier remained at her side.
"Oh, how rude of me. I never told you my name. It's Gilrean." He told her. Nira'lin smiled and nodded.
"You obviously know my name." She said. Gilrean nodded. The little group reached the archery fields and stood by to watch. Elladan and Elrohir exchanged glances.
"Why are the soldiers hanging around Nira'lin?" Elrohir asked. Elladan shrugged. They turned their attention back to Legolas, who fired his bow at long last, and hit the bull's eye. Elladan forgot about the soldiers and started grumbling.
"You cheated." He said. Legolas rolled his eyes.
"Your turn!" He said, and stepped away from the line in front of the target.
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Their contest went into the afternoon. The three soldiers who followed Gilrean around had wandered away, so it left him with Nira'lin. He talked to her the entire time, telling her funny little stories about things that happened while they were on their way to Mirkwood, or back home in Rivendell. Nira'lin was laughing almost the entire time. She soon found her blushing becoming more infrequent, but whenever he made a comment about her being beautiful, she started blushing again. It didn't go unnoticed by the twins and Legolas, and they soon told Arwen about it, since she was so engrossed in drawing a picture on the back of the score parchment.
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Translations
Kotyaerea ~~ hostile ones (Elrond used it jokingly)
ai seler' ~~ little sister
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An ok beginning? I know you don't know what's going to happen, but do you want to keep reading? Or does it suck? Lemme know and review!!!
Peace In~
Banana Nut Muffin
