Disclaimer: I don't own LotR. I own Eve and Ita, but nothing more than that. Sadly :P
Apologies:
OH MY GOD IM SO SORRY GUYS. GAH. I've been having to work every day, and on the couple of days off I have been having, I have been doing stuff with family. When I haven't been doing that I will admit that I have had writers block, and been focussing a little on my art, but I've been really stuck with what to write. Anyways, a few well placed reviews that I have been getting lately (which have meant a lot to me) have kinda been an incentive to write again, so I bring to you, without further ado, the next chapter of S.U.I.T . I apologize for the length, but it was a bit of a fill in. The next chapter should be a lot longer.
Oh, and hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years. I know I did :D
***************************************************************************
When Aragorn awoke the next morning, he was suddenly entangled in a fierce feeling of pressure and no one was speaking. He looked up from his rugged bed to see the whole company of elves sitting or standing completely still, their breathing very quiet, almost silent. Their sharp eyes were all fixed upon the figure of their leader and King, who stood at the centre of the group, unmoving. Eveaniea was in front of him, silent, and still, her deep blue gaze directed straight at the ground as her head was bowed respectively to her elder. She looked unusually pale, nervous, and he was surprised that she did not flinch nor utter a small sound of fear as Thranduil watched her every move. Aragorn could see from the very corner of his eye that Gimli was watching quietly too, even his breathing had seemed to be silenced, no longer noisy and raspy, but quiet and swift. The party stayed still and wordless for what seemed like an eternity before the soft, smoothed voice of the elven lord came and went, nearly before the human's ears picked up the words that he uttered.
~"Eveaniea, my dear, I trust you have made your decision by now,"~ he said in a quiet, collected voice, sounding patient and welcoming. Aragorn could not read any emotion from the face of the female elf, even in daylight, for her expression stayed blank, her face allowed no emotion to be played upon it, one of the things her kind was both famous and infamous for. She merely tilted her head to level with the gaze of the Lord standing before her, and opened her mouth to speak. Aragorn let his eyes scout the group of elves until they rested upon his friend, Legolas, who was standing a distance away from the rest of the elves, seemingly not even breathing. His eyes reflected a mixture of fear and uncertainty, and love for the female elf. He shook his head slightly to himself.
~"I have decided, mi'lord,"~ she said softly, and Aragorn realised that, for the first time, her voice sounded almost musical, ~"I would be honoured to accept your proposal, and to be married to your son,"~ she finished softly, bowing her head respectfully once more. The King nodded slowly, and a smile came upon his face, before he fixed his gaze upon Legolas, whom he had noticed was hanging back from the group somewhat. The clearing was filled with soft, excited whispers of elvish, and Aragorn just smiled when he heard Gimli demand rabidly what had happened, shaking his head.
"Why can't these damn elves speak in common tongue," Gimli growled in his rough voice, making the human King smile broadly. From the way the elves were acting, to an outsider, it would seem as if the female had rejected the proposal- Legolas remained silent and had not moved, except to block all emotion from his face. By now every eye in the camp was upon him, and he stiffened somewhat, looking more like the prince he was, rather than the common elf he acted like in front of his two companions.
"She has accepted," Aragorn said in a quiet voice as the voices faded out a little, "Legolas and Eveaniea are to be wed in Gondor, upon our return," his smile only widened as he saw the devious look that mounted itself upon the face of the Dwarf, and he chuckled, but his companion said nothing. Instead, his attention was drawn back to Thranduil, who hugged Eveaniea loosely, placing a kiss upon her forehead, and then slid an arm around her shoulder. The two friends watched her carefully to see if she flinched, but she did not, instead she relaxed, and the Elven king reached out his arm, beckoning his son to come to him. Aragorn was relieved when Legolas approached him, every inch of his body showing his elven grace, his face still blank, but seemingly calm. He had his emotions well contained, to any passer by he would look unhappy at the arrangements, whereas the human and Gimli knew otherwise. Upon reaching his father, Aragorn watched Legolas bow gracefully in respect to his father, and the younger elf was drawn into a gentle hug, before the King rested his free arm around the shoulder of his son.
~"May the valour bless this new union of my son Legolas, the Prince of Mirkwood, and Eveanea, the eldest and only daughter of Lady Amaelen and Master Evandor of Rivendell. Let us see them walk together for many millennia to come,"~ He released each of them, and the elves swarmed around the couple, each of them paying respect to the newly engaged prince and his fiancee. Thranduil, however went to Aragorn, and the man bowed to him, a bow which the elven king returned.
~"I am glad to see you found Eveaniea,"~ Aragorn said quietly, ~"Legolas was very worried for her safety, he feared she was recaptured or dead,"~ The human looked over to his elven friend, then down to Gimli, who was grunting and grumbling to himself. Thranduil smiled at the antics of the Dwarf, and spoke in common tongue for his sake.
"She was frightened when we found her, but she has settled," he raised an eyebrow, "I am surprised he would take a wife with such little fuss, until now he has been somewhat unreceptive towards the female elves in Mirkwood."
Gimli smirked somewhat evilly, but Aragorn cut him off before he could say anything that the elven lord before them both would take offence to. The Dwarf did not seem to understand that not all elves could put up with his uncensored remarks, even his lighter comments would have the hatred of dwarves rebuilt.
"He was a vital part to gaining her trust and friendship, a feat that neither Master Gimli nor I could perform," the human cut in, "she would not come near either of us. I think she will be good for him, and he for her. They make a good couple, I am happy for them both," Thranduil nodded as Aragorn said this, somewhat grimly.
"Then it is as I have feared, she has been badly mistreated," he sighed his gaze flitting over the female elf, "still, Legolas does not seem to have any less affection for her, after what has happened. I do not see it fit for the wedding not to take place. I trust you do not mind hosting it?" he asked quietly. Aragorn and Gimli smiled at one another.
"I am sure it will be no problem, I will be happy to host the wedding of one of my dearest friends," Thranduil nodded, and smiled.
"Would you ride on with us?" he asked, "Or would you prefer that you go ahead on foot?"
"For the sake of protection and security for Eveaniea, I think it best we travel along with your party," Aragorn said, "We would be in a better position to look after her, since we have already been attacked by her captors once," he sighed.
"We will make arrangements for you to ride," Thranduil nodded, "We have a spare mount you can use, and would be honoured to ride alongside you."
Only Gimli looked slightly left out as the arrangements were made, the memories of Ita'istar rearing back on the path still fresh in his mind. He wasn't all that sure that he ever wanted to ride one of the beasts ever again, not if they behaved like that. He had already fallen enough times off a horse working normally, he didn't need a mad beast to make him loose his balance. As the Elven king departed, he stood somewhat nervously beside Aragorn, silently trying to get his attention, and be discreet about his fear of horses. The human noticed, and smiled.
"Aragorn, you are not telling me that we are to ride one of those crazy beasts that these elves seem to like so much," he asked gruffly, "Why can they not keep their feet on the ground?"
"Hush Gimli," he said softly, "You will ride with me, the horse will not rear."
This only brought a mocking look upon the weathered face of the Dwarf.
"It is very assuring, let me tell you Aragorn," he said, and left the human on his own as an immaculate grey horse was lead over to him by a blonde elf, unsaddled, and without a bridle, not even a rope around it's neck. Aragorn raised an eyebrow as the animal nudged the elf, and then pulled away, to inspect the human. He smiled as the strong head of the horse rubbed against his arm, then butted into his stomach, inhaling his scent.
"We ride out after breakfast," the elf said, bowing to Aragorn, "we expect you to be ready to accompany us,"
"I will be ready," Aragorn nodded, absently scratching the horse behind the ear, "thank you for the mount, what is his name?"
"His name is Numen," The elf replied, "and you are more than welcome. If you would come with me, I think that breakfast is being served, he will be more than fine to stay here, he is a well behaved animal,"
Aragorn nodded, giving Numen a final rub on the neck, before following the elf into the thick of the camp to find food.
***************************************************************************
Late that night Legolas looked up at the stars as their mounts picked through the woods, showing no sign of tiring, or wanting to stop. The trees were thick, and the path narrow, so they were in single file, riding behind his father in the string of horses. Aragorn rode two horses in front of him, with Gimli behind him, grumbling to himself of his sore backside. He missed his Dwarf friend, and Aragorn, as he had been kept occupied all of the morning, and hadn't had a chance to speak to either of them throughout the long ride that day. Eveaniea was seated in front of him on Ita'istar, and the horse kept up her pace perfectly, her gait smooth and easy to ride with. She seemed to prance along in a graceful manner, her bluish grey and white coat shining in the moonlight. Her neck was arched proudly, her mane flowing, and she seemed to float along on her lightly feathered feet. Legolas tightened his arm slightly around the waist of the female elf, while he kept one hand knotted loosely in the silvery mane of his mount to steady the both of them. Eveaniea leaned back into his embrace, tucking her head under his chin. He heard her sigh softly, and he smiled.
~"Are you tired?"~ he asked quietly, in a soft voice that only she could hear. She stirred slightly from where she was seated, but settled one more back where she was.
~"A little,"~ she replied in a sleepy voice, making him smile.
~'"You can rest,"~ he murmured softly, ~"We will not pause till later in the morning, when we will rest the mounts, and we will ride on again. I will not let you fall,"~ he felt her lean more of her weight against him, and looked up momentarily to see the string of silvery horses still travelling steadily.
~"You don't mind?~ she asked quietly, ~"It seems unfair that you have to stay awake while I can rest,"~ He laughed quietly to himself.
~"I do not need to sleep,"~ he assured her gently, ~"you are tired, a'maelamin, get some rest,"~ he leaned down to kiss her cheek, and he felt her slowly fall limp against him as she retreated to sleep. He sat there for awhile, listening to the soft sounds of her breathing mingled with the peacefulness of the sleeping forest as the group rode on through the night.
***************************************************************************
Three nights later, Aragorn sat at the edge of the forest, alone, seeking solitude. Even though there had been little talk since he had travelled with the elves, for some reason he wanted to be completely alone with his thoughts, not even finding it in the presence of his friends. He was perched upon a rock, his pipe set between his teeth as he drew in a breath of smoke, and puffed it back into the clear night sky, watching the soft gray mass fade into the deep blue blanket that was the sky. The entire camp was fast asleep, but even though he hadn't rested properly for a number of days, he could not find rest. He was only five days from Gondor now, the responsibilities would be put back to him upon his return. As much as he did not mind sitting beside his beloved wife, and leading Gondor, the last few weeks had been a pleasant change, and he felt more like the ranger Aragorn, which he had sorely missed in his reign. He inhaled, and puffed out again, thinking of Arwen. She had plagued his dreams of late, and he could not wait to see her once more again, face to face.
His thoughts were disturbed as he heard a slight movement at the top of the hill, and he turned to see Legolas watching, silently, his eyes blank and even though he was staring right at Aragorn, he did not seem to pick up any of the human's actions. Aragorn frowned, and took his pipe from his mouth, in one of his hands. He went to stand up, but Legolas made his way down the hill, slowly, and sat on the rock next to him. Aragorn frowned. He could practically sense the discomfort of the immortal.
~"Aragorn,"~ he started slowly, as if he was unsure of what to say, but he dropped his head, and sighed.
~"I am sorry, I have not spoken to you for days,"~ he said softly, ~"You are my friend, I do not wish to lose that, but-"~ he dropped off as he raised his head to look at Aragorn.
The human just smiled, and before Legolas could move, he drew the surprised immortal into a tight hug.
~"It is not your fault Legolas, we have been travelling with little stops, or rest,"~ he said, smiling, ~"But I have missed you, I know Gimli does too, more than his pride will allow him to admit."~
Legolas drew back, and smiled slightly, all traces of his unease long vanished.
~"It surprises me that you got Gimli to ride,"~ he said, ~"I know that he was not impressed by the manners of Ita'istar, when she reared only a few nights ago,"~
~"I told him that we could leave him behind,"~ Aragorn took another puff of his pipe, and exhaled again, ~"Although he does not like to ride, he would not make it to Gondor before you were wed, and he would not miss it for the world,"~
Legolas laughed.
~"Yes, for a Dwarf, Gimli does have an abnormal interest in the lives of elves, doesn't he?"~ he said, grinning. Aragorn noted that it was a far cry from the elf he had seen four nights ago, the elf who sat at the edge of the group of his kind, refusing to show emotion.
~"Only a certain couple I know of,"~ Aragorn said in a chiding tone, removing his pipe from his mouth once again, and setting it to the side, ~"But he had reason to. It is no common thing for you to be paired up to a she elf,"~ he smirked, standing.
~"Besides, from the way the whole group of you were acting, it would intrigue anyone. He thought she had declined your father's proposal. He even told your father that you should speak common tongue in front of guests such as...."~ Aragorn had reached the point where he could not hold back his laughter, and let it loose.
~"Dwarves?"~ Legolas supplied, shaking his head, his eyes sparkling in amusement. Aragorn's laugh slowly turned to an almost goofy smile, and he too shook his head.
~"You do not need me to tell you the absurdity of that,"~ he picked up his pipe, which had gone out, and slowly wrapped it up, tucking it away in a pouch under his tunic, hiding his face.
~"A Dwarf telling an Elven lord what to do,"~ Legolas sighed in mock disapproval, ~"What is middle earth coming to?"~ His statement only made Aragorn laugh again.
~"I do not know,"~ the human grinned, looking up to the hill, ~"But I fear we are about to find out. You father has sent someone to look for us. We had best turn in for the night, rather than face his wrath for wandering unchecked."~ he raised a cocky eyebrow, and Legolas stood.
~"You wouldn't be scared now?"~ he asked, smirking evilly, ~"Surely you should be used to it by now,"~ he started up the slope.
~"That last time we were caught was your fault and you know it,"~ Aragorn called out after him, hearing Legolas laugh softly to himself as the pair returned to the camp.
***************************************************************************
Once again apologies for the length, I hope that will do for a day or two until I can update with a longer chapter. Check my User profile page thing for a link to an illustration I did for this pic, if ur interested.
R/R please. And thanks to all my reviewers so far. I never dreamed I would have 88 reviews for a story. Thanks for making it happen :D
~RTT