Disclaimer: I own nothing. But don't steal my idea. I like my idea. Take it, and I will come after you. I KNOW WHO YOU ARE!! MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
AN: Hey, guys! Thank you so much for your comments on the last chapter. It really helped my confidence in writing…um…love scenes. (Yes, even yours did, Louise—and I'm sorry I've been spelling your name wrong the entire time—it has an "e" at the end and I just realized that! We've been friends for like, how many months? Boy, I'm blonde!
Anywhoo—I have some very important news: For those of you that really really like this story and can't get enough of it, you'll like what I'm about to say to you. I have my second story completely finished and am now posting the first two chapters (well, to be technical, the Prologue and the first chapter) for your enjoyment. For those of you who haven't heard about it, here's a brief summary to spark your interest:
Title: The Song of the White Wood
Fandom: The Lord of the Rings
Probable Rating: PG-13
Category: Action/Adventure/Drama
Main Characters: Legolas/Aragorn—but more so Legolas, and no, it's not slash, they are just buddies.
Summary: Takes place during The Lord of the Rings, when the Ring is being taken south. The Fellowship spots a pass in the mountains and takes it…leading them to a place that was only believed to exist in legend and song: Nimeryn, the White Wood. What will happen to Legolas when he attempts to delve into the dark past of the people who live there?
Length: Prologue, and then 21 chapters. It's not a monster epic story like this one is. But I still am very proud of it. Some of the chapters (especially the first ones) are rather short in length though, but I will try and update frequently.
I hope this will convince some of you to go check it out. I worked hard on this fic and I am finally done and I am very proud of the work I've done. I believe it's a good story. So I would greatly appreciate if you guys in your spare time would go read and review! Thank you all so much! I love you all! *kisses*
~Roseblade22
Now, on with the REAL story….More romance in this chapter…you have been warned.
**************Chapter 40*************
"Legolas wants me to find out were Eredor's cell is?"
"Well, you've been there before." Eressa replied to her friend. "You used to pass on messages from me."
"I know, but it's been a long time since I was down there last." Aleka excused. "I'm not sure if I can remember."
"Any information would help, Aleka." Eressa pleaded. "You said you wanted to help."
Aleka looked down at her sewing. The two girls were stitching tablecloths for the upcoming celebration in Lord Curdolin's good friend, Lord Haveth's birthday.
"I know." She answered quietly. "I'll try to remember. Here."
Aleka set down the tablecloth she was working on and grabbed a writing tool off the dresser. Paper was expensive for slaves to buy, but since Eressa had used none writing letters to Eredor lately, they had some to spare. She grabbed it and kneeled on the floor, sketching.
"What are you drawing?" Inquired Eressa, who also set down her work to observe what her friend was doing.
"Drawing what I remember." Replied the other girl.
When she was finished, Aleka held up her sketch for Eressa to see. "Right here is the red door." She said, pointing to a spot on the paper. "After you go through that you should go past two corridors, on the left, one on the right…I think."
"The next corridor will be on your left, and you should go down that one…until…I think you take another left…no…no you take a right and that's the corridor Eredor's cell should be on." Aleka finished, shaking her head. "I'm not sure about the last bit, but the first bit you can trust."
Eressa grabbed the paper and studied it for a moment. "You wouldn't mind if I brought this to Legolas tonight, would you?"
"No, not at all." Aleka said. "I'm glad I could help."
"I just wish we could find some way to distinguish Eredor's cell from all the rest," Eressa pondered out loud. "There are so many."
Aleka thought for a moment. "You could have Eredor put some sort of mark on the door."
Eressa looked up at her friend and blinked. "You are very clever, Aleka." She said, smiling.
"Why, thank you, dear." Aleka said, flipping her curly, dark locks. "How is your knight in shining armor, by the way?"
"Legolas?" Eressa clarified.
"Who else?" Aleka laughed.
Eressa furrowed her brows. Should she tell Aleka what she and Legolas had done last night? How would Aleka react?
"He's…fine." She said uncertainly. Aleka noticed.
"What's wrong? Everything's alright with him, I hope." She declared.
Eressa nodded. "Oh, everything is…wonderful." She had begun to think about the events of the previous night and felt the blush flooding her cheeks.
"Eressa…" Aleka asked. "Are you alright?"
Eressa didn't say anything for a moment. Then she grabbed Aleka by the wrist and pulled her towards her.
"You promise not to tell anybody?" She urged.
Aleka raised an eyebrow. "What on earth would I tell about—oh my goodness, ERESSA! What did you and that elf do?!"
"Shh!" Eressa hissed urgently over Aleka's loud voice.
Aleka obeyed and decreased her volume, but her surprise only increased. "What did you two do together? You'd better tell me the truth, Eressa, because you know me, I'll find out anyway!"
Eressa blushed even deeper but smiled. "Stop, Aleka. I'll tell you."
"I'm waiting." Aleka said, scooting up close to her so Eressa could whisper in her ear.
Eressa grinned widely for a moment longer, but then she finally leaned forward and whispered a few words in the other girl's ear.
Aleka's eyes grew even wider and before as she listened, and her mouth curved into a wide smile. "Oh!" She exclaimed, grabbing Eressa and pulling her into a huge hug. "You did it Eressa! You're a woman now!"
"I wasn't before?" Eressa asked.
"Well, you were mostly, but now you are for certain!" Aleka whispered excitedly. "So…how was it?"
Eressa's blush had subsided a bit, but now it came back. "Oh…I…It was…"
"Oh, that's alright if you don't want to tell me, Eressa!" Aleka teased. "I know how it is…I've done it before. I shouldn't ask you that sort of thing anyway."
"Well, since you did anyway…" Eressa said, fighting back her embarrassment. "It…it was indescribably wonderful."
She looked up and saw a distant, dreamy look on Aleka's face.
"I bet it was…" The other girl sighed, and then giggled. "Goodness…you are so lucky, Eressa!"
"I know." Eressa said. "But I don't think I'm lucky just because Legolas loves me…I'm lucky because I have you as a friend too, Aleka."
"You flatter me." Aleka said, waving a hand. "But thank you! Oh…is Legolas going to tell your brother?"
Eressa blinked. "Actually…I don't know if he is…he might." She frowned. "You don't think Eredor would disapprove, do you?"
Aleka shrugged her shoulders. "I cannot be sure. He's your brother…but he's also Legolas's friend." She paused. "He doesn't know anything about your relationship with Legolas?"
Eressa shook her head sadly. "We only became romantically involved after Legolas was wounded…he hasn't been out of his cell for two weeks, so they haven't seen each other. Today was his first day back in the arena."
"I cannot give you an answer, Eressa." Aleka said sincerely. "But I can wish you the best of luck." She blinked. "Wait…you already have it."
Eressa smiled, and then laughed. "Yes, I suppose I do."
And so, giggling, the girls went back to work.
*********
That night Eressa tucked the folded sketch Aleka had made into her shoe. She couldn't let the guards accidentally find it and know of the plans for the escape. Smiling, she waved Aleka goodbye as the guard led her down to Legolas's cell.
Legolas was patiently waiting for her, but busy writing more markings on the wall. Eressa frowned as her eyes passed over the scratched out message from Sauron.
The Child will bring The End…She thought. Why must he always speak in riddles? You'd think the Dark lord would rather tell us of our doom directly instead of baffling us with strange words.
"Hello, my love." Greeted Legolas as the door was closed. "How are you?"
"Fine." Eressa said, coming out of her thoughts. "And you?"
Legolas grinned widely at her as he turned around. "I'm clean." He chirped happily, as he rushed up to her and grasped her waist with his hands, lifting her and twirling her around.
Eressa squealed and laughed in surprise. "Clean?" She asked when he put her down.
Her eyes fell over Legolas's body. To her surprise, he was clean! His hands and face where free of blood and dirt, and his clothes were not dusty. And his hair was a few shades lighter, the dirt that had stained it washed away. To Eressa he was even more handsome and beautiful than he had been previously, if that was at all possible.
"Why? How?" She asked.
"Angarod wanted to inspect and clean my wound, but then they decided they might as well wash all of me." Legolas explained, hugging her to him. "It feels wonderful too be clean again."
Eressa grinned at him and then planted a kiss on his lips. "I have something for you." She said as she bent down to take off her shoe.
Legolas watched with interest and curiosity when Eressa pulled a piece of paper from her shoe. She unfolded it to reveal a roughly sketched map…of the dungeons and cells under the home!
"How did you get this?" He asked in astonishment as he took it from her and studied it.
"Aleka drew it for me. She knew where Eredor's cell was, remember?" Eressa explained. "She gave directions to which corridor his cell is and suggested perhaps that Eredor put a mark on his door so we can tell which one is his and let him out."
Legolas gave Eressa an odd look and a smile. "Sometimes you surprise me in the best of ways, Eressa."
Eressa laughed. "What, you did not believe I could do this?"
"I did—I wasn't talking about this." He said as he shoved the piece of paper under the bed. "I was talking about how beautiful you are today."
Legolas stepped forward and tenderly embraced Eressa, brushing his lips over her neck. Eressa drew in a sharp breath as his hands crawled up her back.
"Am I different in terms of beauty today?" Eressa asked, a bit confused.
"You always are to me, Eressa." The elf told her in a soft voice. "You are always changing. Like the River."
"River?" Eressa asked with a raised eyebrow.
Legolas pulled away and stared at her, a smile on his face but a sadness in his eyes. "Every time I look at you, you look older."
Eressa gave him a look.
"I'm serious." Legolas said. "Your being human…you age so quickly compared to my kind."
Eressa frowned. "Legolas…I know that in time I'll grow old and you'll stay young…but I don't regret it. I'm lucky enough just to have you now."
"You don't know how lucky I am to have you." Legolas countered. He kissed her. "I love you."
"I love you too." Replied Eressa, delighting in running her hands through the elf's now clean hair. Their kisses deepened, and eventually Legolas picked Eressa and laid her down on the bed. He was quick to follow her.
They made love then, the cold stone walls around them disappearing completely and a paradise of their own forming. A world full of love and longing. To Legolas, Eressa was his only link to that world, his only real love, and he had every intention to be hers.
A short while later they lay in each other's arms, grasping each other as if they never would let go. Legolas was on his back, and Eressa at his side, her head resting on his shoulder, and her arm wrapped around his torso.
Looking up at the wall above his bed, Legolas counted the days to Eressa's birthday.
"Four." He murmured to himself, but Eressa heard and stirred.
"Four what?" She asked.
"Days till your birthday."
"You seem more excited than I am." Eressa said with a knowing grin. "Just what do you have planned for me?"
Legolas looked down at her with a smile of his own. "It's a secret." He said, playfully kissing the tip of her nose.
Eressa laughed, but then settled down. The night was still young, but they were both tired now. There were no more words said as she and Legolas drifted off to a dreamland together.
**********Personal thingy************
A little short, but I promise the next will be longer! I hope. Oh, and thank you for all the wonderful reviews, as usual! I really love you guys!
Also: I've seen RotK three times, and it's so much more awesome every time I see it again! And by GOD! Legolas is so frickin' hot! I'm jealous of that elephant. Uh…the part where he gets to ride on it not the part where he kills it. Heh.
Legolas19: Next chapter is coming soon! Thank you for going through so much trouble to read my story, it's really touching! Thanks so much! Oh, I bet you could write like me, if you tried. Never say never! Thank you again, and bye!
Nikki: Back to fighting soon, I hope! Lord Haveth's coming over, and you can be sure there will be a couple of fights then! Yes, RotK was so cool! Thank you! Bye!
DiamondTook3: Thank you very much! A review like yours is very nice! And I will update as soon as I can. Just so you know, I've gotten into this habit of updating every Monday, so you should check like on Tuesday morning or something.
random-candle: I hope you won't have any reason to die, ever! Thank you! You like reading all my replies to reviewers, do you? Or is it just the Author's Notes I stick in sometimes? It's ok you haven't voted…all the votes were in and counted a long time ago anyway. Thanks anyway! Bye!
Crystal Snowflakes: Merry belated Christmas to you to, girl! I'm so happy for you! You gots a boyfriend! Yay! I'll check on your story as soon as I can, I've had a hectic time too. Thank you, Crystal! Bye!
Starknight: Gimli-mance? Hm. How romantic will it be? Hm. My X-mas was pretty good! I got another Legolas poster and this really awesome book all about the Weapons and Wars of Middle Earth. It's really interesting! I'll have to show you. We need to go see RotK again together! I've seen it three times now! Yay! Me and my sister are discussing what would happen if you crossbred elves, hobbits, dwarves, and men. You don't want to know. Thank you a lot, chica! bye!
Inion na Hoice: Thank you very much! I hope you get some reviewers for your Potter fic! I'll have to check out your other fics, if I have the time! Hectic times…Thank you for the constructive criticism part: I hope this chapter is better written than others. Thank you very much!! Bye!
breeNbloom: Oh, I'm sorry your sick. It's ok about the thing. I could get a lot more descriptive, yes, but I'm not comfortable with that. Not yet anyway. Yay! Your finals are over, yay! And I'm sorry about your Orlando site! There's another really excellent one out there though: www . theorlandobloomfiles . com It's really excellent. They have pics and all sorts of stuff. I put spaces cuz I know ff.net is picky about that stuff. Go check it out! Thank you! Bye!
XxDarkgoddessxX: RotK was awesome, and your right, Legolas did look heavenly! Oh…my god! Go tell that Rosio off. She shouldn't be trying to steal your guy! Grr…me hates it when people do that. Ok, Josh it's a internet boyfriend. Good. Sorry about the lecture about that! LOL. I just don't want you to get hurt. And…You are always sick! Poor you! *hugs* I hope you get much better and never get sick again! Thank you so much and I'll see ya next chapter!
Legolas_gurl: Well, have you registered yet? Your review came up on my screen as an anonymous review, so unless your not logged in, you haven't done that yet. I think when you register your author's name and stuff it immediately logs you in. Then you can go to the little thing on the side and there will be the words "Read me First" Follow the directions on there. There's a lot of stuff you can learn from there, more than you can from me. I hope this helps! Good luck! I'll help you some more if it doesn't work. Yes, RotK was awesome! I thought it was great and even more! But watch what you say about slash stories—I've had people give me stern lectures about how they can be as romantic as regular ones. I don't read any—apart from once when I was really bored and read a PotC slash fic. Yep—Jack and Will. Might seem nasty, but it wasn't that bad (not so graphic) and I think that sort of this is weirdly sexy, so it was ok. So…now that you think I'm a freak, I'll stop. Hehe. Thank you! Bye now!
Samwise the Strong: Thank you, Samwise! You done good too.
Samwise the Strong (again): Uhh…yeah…that's what happened. I haven't been able to check your posts yet, I'm sorry. Christmas was insane for me, and I've been after Christmas shopping like nuts! This is the first time I've been on the computer in like three days! I'll try and check it out today! Thank you, and bye!
The Noble Platypus: Hm, I don't know. Oh, well! SECHSHOOWAL TENSHUN! heheh! I really hope RotK gets at the very least the best director award. Peter really deserves it, he's such a genius! And Howard should get one too for best score because, your right, the soundtrack is awesome! Only I didn't have to pay 15 bucks for it, I got it for Christmas. Sorry to tell you that Legolas isn't gonna tell Eredor about him and Eressa for a while! He don't want it to distract them when they're trying to escape. But Eredor will know. Don't worry. Thank you for the compliment on my "love scene". And also thanks for the shield, and I'm keeping it for future chapters, because I know some boulders will be launched at me later. You'll see why. But thank you again! I love you! Bye now!
Nirobie: Yes, RotK was so cool! I loved it to pieces and I've seen it 3 times and I want to go at least seven times in theatres. I have this thing going on…I saw TTT 5 times and then PotC 6 times, and so I want to see RotK 7 times! Thank you very much! Bye!
Elainor: I never said Eressa would die! You just simply can't know what happens! I'm sorry, I'd tell you but it would ruin it for you! Thanks though! Bye!
ElvenStar5: Yes, enjoying the license very much! Legolas is supposed to give me a massage after I finish writing all of these reviews. Whew! Being an author is tough work, Yah? LOL. Thank you, bye!
Whitecoyote: Yes, RotK was so grand it's not possible for me to say anything that's worthy of it! Legolas was so hot and dear and GOD! I love that elf! Thank you very much! You'll see Eredor's reaction to Eressa and Legolas's relationship soon…I hope. I've been trying hard to get a lot done lately. Thank you!
(cut back to Legolas and Pippen—Pippen is laying down on a sofa, with Legolas on a chair with a clipboard scribbling down notes)
Pippen:…So then she told me, that we'd still be friends! Still be friends! Can you believe that!
Legolas: (scribbling) How long have you known this woman?
Pippen: (ignoring Legolas) I mean—I offered her everything! A good home, flowers—everything! And she still wanted to be friends! (sobs)
Legolas: You know Pip, I think this is not a matter of self loathing.
(Suddenly footsteps are heard approaching)
Legolas: Pippen! Get down!
To be continued….
itarilde-elenastar: Thank you so much! Every one of your reviews is very nice and makes me feel so great! You are so nice. And I've noticed that you've already been reviewing "The Song of the White Wood." I wanted to thank you for that, since I'm not taking the time to do the "replying to reviewers" thing with that story! I really don't think we'll be getting a scanner anytime soon, so we might never see my drawings. It's alright, they really aren't that good anyway. I don't think my father would let me start a website anyway. I spend way too much time on the computer anyway! Sorry to disappoint you. I'm still looking forward to your story! Thank you, and bye!
English Assasin: I like your name! Hehe. Thank you very much! Your compliments were very nice, makes me feel good! *grins* I'll try to get some more fighting in soon. I've been trying to do that for a while—LOL. Thank you again!
Deana: I did! Thank you! And also thank you for reviewing "The Song of the White Wood" You were my first reviewer! You get a cookie! *gives you cookie* Thanks again, and bye now!
LegyLuva: Yeah, I've been busy too! Thank you, I'm glad you thing the romance between Legolas and Eressa is sweet! I've seen RotK three times! I almost cried the first two times when Arwen had that vision of her son in the woods. That little boy had just the most chilling eyes, and it was so sad! *tear* That mother-child stuff just gets to me in some way! LOL. Thank you again! Bye now!