Chapter Eight: The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret
Or: the merits of a top-hat and an obese white rabbit…
(there are merits)
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Éowyn and Sarah stood before the great doors of Meduseld watching the afternoon sun glinting off the Rohirrim's spears until they were completely vanished from sight.
Sarah mind was in turmoil. She was filled with guilt and shame. 'I have not been here a week and yet I have already made out with an elf and a human. I'm behaving like a slutty teenager…'
She had avoided Legolas that morning, refusing to meet his eye. To make matters worse Éomer had kissed her cheek when he had been biding her and his sister farewell, then winked at her. Legolas had clenched his jaw and glared, his eyes never leaving her. He had tried several times to speak with her but she had managed to run away from his questions. What could she tell him? That she almost shagged Éomer against a wall?!
At the memory of that particular incident Sarah's cheeks flushed crimson.
She didn't know what to do about her whole situation… she figured she'd be better off just breaking whatever thing she had going with Legolas off, she'd just tell him the same thing she'd told Éomer. That way she wouldn't be lying to either of them, and hopefully Legolas wouldn't ever find about the morning's little incident with Éomer. After all, she couldn't have a relationship with anyone, so it didn't matter that she was attracted to two men, because she couldn't have either.
She nodded to herself, trying to convince herself that everything would be fine.
That sorted, she turned to Éowyn.
The Lady of Rohan was looking wistfully off into the distance.
"What is wrong Éowyn? I am sure that your uncle and brother will be fine."
Sad blue eyes, very alike to Éomer's but lacking his fierceness turned to her. "I know Sarah… I just wish I could go with them. Not stay here and lead the peasants."
Sarah frowned, "Aye, but it is your duty as Lady of Rohan."
The woman nodded, "Yes. my duty... Tell me Lady Sarah, do you have such duty waiting for you at home?"
Sarah laughed, "No, no. nothing so grand as looking over a whole kingdom of people."
Éowyn smiled, "You are a Lady, surely you must have similar duties?"
"Er.. no not really… I suppose plenty of people live on my family's land, but I have nothing to do with them. I think they pay my father rent and that is about it…"
"Oh, so your father runs an estate?"
"Erm.. several.. he owns a few towns I think.. I don't really now much about it. My duty is 'to become an accomplished young lady and marry someone fit to oversee my fortune for me.'" Sarah rolled her eyes. "My father could easily have taught me to do that, but I am but a feeble-minded female, it would surely be too much for me!"
Éowyn sighed, "Oh, I know just how you feel. My uncle and brother are nice enough to allow me to train with sword and shield, but they would never allow me to actually fight. Instead I have to run the household. Make sure dinner is prepared on time and the servants well behaved. I hate it."
Before Sarah and Éowyn could continue their little bitch-session however, one of the two guards that had remained (to watch after the women of course) interrupted.
"Lady Éowyn, Lady Sarah. The people of Edoras shall be ready to leave in an hour."
Éowyn nodded, "Have everyone assemble here in one hour then. We shall depart for the hill refuges immediately. Lady Sarah and I shall retire to our rooms and be preparing ourselves should you need us."
The guard nodded, his eyes lingering on Sarah, whom everyone was convinced was an elf, and therefore a person of great interest. Sarah raised an eyebrow at him questionably. He blushed and quickly left.
Éowyn took Sarah's arm and led her into the royal family's quarters. "Come Sarah, ignore him, he's just curious about you is all.. Now, I have many swords and much armour fitting for a woman, we shall not flee unprepared."
Sarah smiled, "But I have never used a sword.. perhaps I could simply throw stones?"
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Legolas was growing increasingly agitated. It now seemed obvious to him that Sarah had feelings for Éomer. The way she blushed constantly whenever he was around made it painfully obvious. She had run from him all day, not even letting him speak to her. She infuriated him. And yet he had spent all day staring at her and longing to ravish her where she stood.
Éomer meanwhile seemed blissfully unaware of Legolas' wrath and smiled cheerfully at him, even insisting that he and Aragorn ride beside him. Unfortunately, as he rode nearby, Legolas could smell Sarah on him. She must have allowed him to kiss her... or worse… He had felt his anger grow at that thought.
Distracted, Legolas had watched the slight figure of Sarah fade into the distance for some time, and eventually Éomer asked him why he kept looking back.
Legolas thought for a moment. He had several options as far as he could tell. He could tell the truth, perhaps explaining in graphic detail his relationship with Sarah, and make him jealous. Or he could pretend he was admiring Éomer's own sister... that might anger the man…
As it was he had no chance to say anything because Éomer did not wait long for his answer.
"It will do no good to stare at the Lady Sarah Legolas. For I have it on good authority that she will court no man in this land."
Legolas's eyes widened, thinking back on Sarah's little trysts with him, if she didn't call that courting he was not sure what she did. 'Ha! If only he knew!'
He smiled and teased "Really. Was that her excuse in rejecting you Éomer?"
The young lord laughed, "Very funny master-elf. No, she did not reject me…" He smiled dreamily and stared off into the distance for a minute, " I think she is merely concerned that if she allows me to court her, she will go home and never see me again."
Legolas frowned, "That sounds reasonable."
Gimli, from his perch before Legolas cheerfully agreed, "Oh aye, there's a lass that could easily led a man to a lotta heart-ache. Mark my words laddy's."
Legolas rolled his eyes, "I turn 1498 this summer dwarf. I am not a laddy."
Éomer looked over at him in shock, "You're that old!?"
Legolas nodded, "Yes… I know Sarah is nineteen, but you'd be mind to ask how old her father is before you fall madly in love with her. I have a feeling that the fae may be as long-lived as my people."
Éomer frowned, "I had not thought of that."
Legolas smiled inwardly. He wished Éomer no harm, he was an honest and brave man as far as he could tell. If he could emphasise the differences between Sarah and himself, he would perhaps be able to keep him clear of the girl, without having to resort of threats and violence.
For the first time that day, Legolas felt content.
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Sarah sighed and threw the mail shirt across the room in agitation. "This is ridiculous! This armor is all so heavy! I will fall over and never be able to stand again!!"
Éowyn laughed at her from where she stood adjusting her own silver mail and plate armor. "Really Sarah. You are such a pathetic girl."
Sarah crossed her arms. "I am not. I am simply a modern girl stuck in the dark ages. I am not accustomed to clothing oneself in bits of metal so as not to be murdered by goblins and trolls."
Éowyn rolled her eyes, "You're land cannot be so different to mine."
"There is a rather large difference between Earth and Middle Earth actually. Middle Earth being stuck in the Middle Ages and all." Her logic was, of course, lost entirely on Éowyn who had no idea what she was talking about.
"You are most odd Sarah." The golden-haired woman rummaged around in a great wooden chest, at length pulling out some sort of reinforced bodice. "Wear this then. It is not as good as armor of course, but it is better than nothing."
Sarah sighed and picked it up. "It looks like something a dominatrix would wear."
"What is a dominatrix?"
Sarah smiled evilly and launched into a full-blown explanation, including a personal anecdote from an odd experience with an ex boyfriend.
Éowyn stared at her in stunned silence, "You did what to your lover?!!?"
Sarah smirked, "he seemed to enjoy it. And don't look at me like that…It wasn't my idea after all."
Her friend sat silently on her bed for a moment, "So, you are not… pure?.. you are not a virgin Sarah?"
Sarah laughed, "Of course not! I'm nineteen! I haven't exactly rung up a huge tally but I have had a couple of serious boyfriends." She paused and grimaced, "Utter twats of course."
"Lady's do not wait till they are wed were you come from?!"
"No.. well.. some do.. but most people end up getting divorced anyway.. Marriage isn't all that binding in my world you see."
"What do you mean? Women leave their husbands!?"
Sarah shrugged, "Of course. Have I told you about my parents? No? well, my father, being an utter bastard, used love spells and coercion on my mother. Stole her from her fiancée as it were. After she had me he didn't really need her to hang around, so he released her from the spells, and of course she divorced him and went running back to her original lover."
"So you're mother left your father and remarried ??..And.. this is normal?"
"Oh yes. People get married at least two or three times in their life times. Fairies many more times, since we live a lot longer… after all, you can't really expect someone to spend their entire lives with you if they get sick of you just because you got married.."
Éowyn sat and processed all this new information. "I wish I had been born in your country Sarah."
Sarah laughed, "Why? You'd still be a royal. And it's only the normal common women in my world that are equals to men. I mean, I get just as dissed as you for being female, I just get to drink and sleep around more. Woop-dee-doo."
"Still.. do you think, perhaps I could come visit you there if this war ever ends?"
Sarah grinned, "Of course!.." she paused, a plan forming in her mind. "Éowyn.. how would you like to visit now?"
"What? How? We must leave for the refuge in half an hour."
"You forget, I'm fae." Sarah smiled and made a lame magician type of flourish with her hands, making a big top hat appear in her lap. She then proceeded to pull an obese white rabbit from it.
Éowyn looked disturbed.
Sarah sighed and put the rabbit down. It waddle-hopped onto the floor and began sniffing things. "Sorry… what I mean to say is, I'm pretty sure I've gotten the hang of this magic thing and could take us there…" She fidgeted and put the top hat on. "…Then when we want to come back, I'll just make sure we end up back here in less than half an hour."
Éowyn furrowed her brows, " I'm afraid I still don't follow you Sarah…"
"I'm saying that to visit my world I need to use magic. And to get us back, more." Se paused, "you following?.. okay, and I'm also pretty sure that when we return it can be to this time as well as place, so no-one will miss us."
Éowyn twisted her hands in her lap nervously.
"Well, yes or no Éowyn, want to visit or not? You don't have to of course.."
The woman sighed then looked up to face Sarah, "well.. yes?"
Sarah grinned and clapped her hands together like a school girl "yay!"
Éowyn smiled in a bemused fashion.
Sarah stood and walked over to Éowyn, taking her hand. "This might take a minute okay?"
Éowyn nodded.
Sarah closed her eyes. She let her strength flow through her veins. She screwed up all the anger she could find. (Anger at herself for being such a two-timing slut mostly), until she felt like her very skin was aflame. She opened her eyes.
Éowyn gasped, the pretty violet of Sarah's eyes was now completely gone, her irises were pure silver.
The fairy furrowed her brow, focusing on her bedroom in her London apartment. The one were she spent her holidays. Her father hated London. He wouldn't be there to be a bastard and ask annoying questions.
She thought of her room again. Her bed spread and the painting behind her bed, the columns that ringed the black walls, her TV, the huge window that looked out over the city's skyscrapers and everything else in the room. Once she had perfectly recreated it in her mind, she gave a scream and let all her power go.
Everything went black. Éowyn screamed.
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Maxime de Málnoir had had a bad week.
His only child had disappeared into thin air, his ex-wife had sued him for several hundred billion dollars, and a flash flood and almost utterly destroyed the palace he had called home in France for well over a millennia. As a result he was stuck in his London Hotel. He did not like London. It was too close to his ex-wife.
Although he had the top two floors to himself, he hated the thought that hundreds of other people were all in the building with him. Also, there was always the crowd of paparazzi at the front. The yelled out things at him and shoved cameras in his face whenever he came or went. The only plus side as far as he could tell was that the floor below him was Sarah's. She lived there whenever she was not at school. When she returned home, it would be to there.
He was just siting down to his dinner when he felt it.
He had felt the same feeling exactly one week earlier, when his daughter has vanished. He knew what it was. He shared a bond with Sarah through their shared blood and he knew she'd accidentally performed a travel charm on herself. When the school had called him in hysterics he'd told them as much. The head mistress had accepted his word instantly, even though she'd been ranting about kidnapping, spontaneous combustion and death charms moments earlier… After all, who was she to argue with Lord de Málnoir? Everyone knew he was an ancient. He had been doing what ever it was he did, (mostly influencing governments and monarchies, causing wars and the like for his own amusement) for neigh on 1000 years. He was practically a god. There were only a handful of Fae his age still around. Sarah's grandfather on her mother's side was the only other in Britain. And it was well known that the longer a sidhe lived the more powerful their magic.
He had thought of simply following her and bringing her home, but he thought she needed some life experience. She was strong, even if she didn't know it. She would find her way home.
So he had not been surprised at her sudden return to their usual plain of existence, rather irritated at her timing.
Sighing, he stood and threw his linen napkin on the table dramatically. His waiter quickly approached, "My lord? Is their something wrong with your meal?"
Maxime shook his head, 'That's another thing I hate about London, simpering servants..' "No. Have another place set. My daughter will join us presently."
He walked through the dining hall and across a vast marble foyer to his lift.
The waiter watched him depart in awe. He would get to serve Sarah de Malnoir. She was quite infamous. Beautiful and arrogant, rather like her father. At the moment all the tabloids were running stories on her. She'd vanished from her exclusive finishing school in Glasgow without a trace. The waiter wonder how on earth his boss knew she had returned.
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Sarah groaned. She hurt everywhere.
Her face especially. Moaning she realised that she was sprawled half across her bed half-dangling over the edge, and her face was buried in her carpet.
Blearily she sat up. Or rather fell off the bed and rolled around a bit.
After a moment she stood.
The world spun for a moment like she had a hang over, then her room came into focus. Éowyn was shaking her head from her perch on the bed, looking very disorientated.
"Well.. here we are Éowyn…"
The Lady of Rohan seemed very odd and out of place sitting on the huge bed with its heaps of pillows and silk sheets in her glittering silver mail. She looked around, her eyes widening. Sarah's room was, after all, quite impressive.
It was the size of a small ballroom. The floors were carpeted around her bed with rich black and silver rugs, which matched the sheets, pillows and throws on her bed. The rest was a smooth black polished stone. The side walls were the same stone, but lined with gilt columns. The back wall, behind the bed was lined with mirrors that reflected the window the bed faced, that whole wall was a single huge plate of reinforced glass.
Éowyn looked over the bright lights of London. She stood slowly and walked up to the glass and gasped in wonderment, as far as she could see were huge towers, far greater that even Isenguard, each light by hundred of lights. She could see signs and huge paintings lit on the sides of some of the towers. And far, far below them, bright lights lined wide roads.
"It's.. beautiful Sarah.."
Sarah smiled, "its quite a sight I suppose.. But come! Let's go out!! I will take you to the places people our age go for fun!"
She dragged Éowyn out of her bedroom and into her dressing room. The large room held several aisles of clothes, shoes and accessories neatly arranged on racks.
She smiled evilly, "now Éowyn.. you will have to trust me when I tell you what girls wear here.."
She gestured towards part of her clothes racks, one filled with little sparkly tops, tiny skirts, skin tight pants and the like.
"Pick something from there. I'm going to get us drinks!"
Sarah giggled like an idiot and skipped from the room.
Éowyn pulled down a see-though dress and gasped.
"Oh my."
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Sarah skipped to her bar. She was just reaching for glasses when her lift chimed. She looked up. Her father stepped into her lounge.
Her pretty face instantly slipped into a frown.
Maxime wore a perfectly tailored outfit in contrasting black and white. His short blonde hair was cropped in a very stylish choppy fashion carefully styled to stick out at flattering angles. His handsome angular face was expressionless as always. His bright blue eyes almost seeming dead, so bored and vacant they seemed.
He looked his daughter up and down, raising a perfect eyebrow in disdain at her riding dress and the top hat still perched on her hair.
She rolled her eyes, her dress instantly turned into skintight black suede pants, tall boots with silver buckles and a silver silk top. He nodded slightly.
"Ah, finally home I see Sarah." He looked at the bottle of Absolut in her hand and added dryly, "And already drinking. Splendid."
She ignored his insult and poured herself a generous drink.
"Father. I was just going to come and greet you…"
Maxime sighed, "no you weren't. You may join me for dinner presently however."
Sarah tilted her head to one side. Normally she would have said yes meekly and hastened to his dinning room, tonight however she did not feel inclined to, "I think not father. You see I meet a lovely girl during my unexpected stay in Scandinavia and I promised to show her around London."
"Where is this girl then? Bring her as well."
Sarah shrugged, "I'm not sure I should father, she is a beautiful blue-eyed blonde, and I have not forgotten what happened when I made the mistake of inviting Natalie home for summer break when I was 17."
Her father shrugged, "I was a perfect gentleman towards Natalie."
Sarah rolled her eyes, "all the same, I'm not sure sweet innocent Éowyn would know how to handle you."
Her father took a seat at her bar. "I'll have one of those," he inclined his head to her drink, "… then you can at least introduce me to this Éowyn.."
Sarah sighed. She waved a hand and a vodka and orange appeared before her father, "Vodka is a girl's drink you know."
Her father seemed a little startled by her casual use of her magic. He knew that she usually struggled in her studies, and anyway they did not teach summoning charms at her school, only lady-like studies, like beauty charms…. 'Where would she have learnt that?'
Sarah turned and walked into her dressing room.
Éowyn was wearing tight striped pants and a long sleeved peasant top.
"Sarah… are you sure this is appropriate?"
Sarah tilted her head and examined her, "You're quite right Éowyn. That top doesn't match." She vanished behind a rack of clothes and emerged with a white fluttery little number which was pretty but not flashy, as she knew Éowyn would be uncomfortable in one that showed to much flesh.
Once Éowyn had that on she smiled. "you look perfect. Now, I'm afraid I must introduce you to a complete prat. Please ignore him."
"Who? What do you mean prat?"
Sarah ignored her and steered the confused woman out into the lounge.
Her father turned and let his gaze slide up and down Éowyn.
She frowned in confusion, "Prince Legolas?"
Maxime's eyes widened and his voice was not quite as calm as usual when he asked, "what did you call me?"
Sarah gasped and circled her father, "oh my god! He does look like Legolas!" She grimaced, "How unfortunate.."
Maxime leapt to his feet, "Legolas?! Who is Legolas!?"
Sarah shrugged, "some guy we met in Scandinavia. You actually look freakishly like him… like an uncle…" She tilted her head to one side and continued in a vapid manner, "… do we have relatives over there? Some distant cousins? Oh! I know! Perhaps he's one of your assorted bastards?"
Maxime walked over to his daughter, grabbing her roughly by the shoulder, his hands digging painfully into her flesh, "Don't speak to me like that daughter, it's not your place."
Sarah let out a little squeak. She hadn't made her father angry in a long time, now she remembered why.
He caught her in his steely gaze, Sarah tried to look away, but he was using a coercion charm on her. Sarah's eyes slid out of focus and her mind felt foggy, she dimly heard her father's voice as if from a long way away, "who is Legolas!?"
At his question Sarah felt every little detail she knew about him fly up to the top of her mind. The way his beautiful eyes had bored into her own, so open and genuine, when she had awoken in his lap in the middle of the fields of Rohan the week before. She recalled the way his hair lit up like a vibrant halo when the sun hit it and how silken it was to her touch. Then her mind darted to the feel of his lips against hers, his caress, and god… the way he smelt… Sarah felt words trying to bubble out of her mouth, she wanted to tell her father that Legolas was an elven prince, that he was incredibly handsome with hair that shone and eyes so bright and beautiful they were impossible to refuse. That his kisses tasted like wine and he smelt like the forest after rain. But she knew that she shouldn't tell her father where she had been, she knew no good would come of her father knowing anything about Rohan or Legolas. A great pain throbbed from her mind as her father tried to force her answer. She gasped at the sudden pain.
Éowyn let out a little scream as her friend slumped, the top hat falling from her head, but her father somehow held her upright, her feet dangling above the floor.
"Who is he?!"
Sarah screwed all her concentration up into a tight little ball, 'I must not tell him…'
Sarah's voice seemed weaker than usual, "just.. some guy…"
"where did you meet him?"
There was a paused as Sarah battled against the coercion charm.
"In.. a field...he found me…."
Maxime made a growling noise of frustration and threw Sarah across the room. He'd sensed truth in her last words. He would get no more out of her. He ignored Éowyn and strode towards the lift.
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Sarah stood and held a hand to her head, "What happened Éowyn?"
Her friends rugged, "I'm not sure.. that elf did something to you.. he asked you about Legolas then left. I'm sorry Sarah, I did nothing to aid you!"
Sarah gasped as half formed thoughts and ideas spun through her mind.
"Don't worry about it Éowyn, you wouldn't have been able to do anything anyway….Oh my god. My father does look like an elf doesn't he ?…. But that's impossible…Anyway, he is such a bastard!! What is his problem!?"
Éowyn looked horrified, "That was your father!? He acts in a very uncivilised manner."
"Yeah, he was more of a prick than usual..It was like he recognised Legolas's name.. but that's stupid…"
"Why wouldn't he? I'm sure many people know of the prince of Mirkwood.. and why did you say you were in 'Scandinavia' not Rohan?"
Sarah sighed, "Because we aren't in Middle Earth.. we're in a different world.. or a different time or something. There is no way he could possible have heard of Legolas, and if I'd told him I was in Rohan with an elf and a dwarf he'd probably think I was insane."
Éowyn paled, her face blank. "We aren't in Middle Earth?
"No Éowyn. We are in London, England in the yr 2500. Which reminds me! Lets forget about my insane father and go and have some fun!"
She pulled Éowyn back to the dressing room to finish getting ready.
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Maxime was pacing in his lounge, a glass of bourbon in one hand. His usually calm face was tainted with worry and confusion. What he had learnt from his daughter concerned him greatly. She'd fought against his coercion charm with more strength than anyone he'd dealt with in a long time had. He knew she was keeping something from him because he'd seen bits and pieces of her thoughts regarding the boy. It was obvious that Sarah was infatuated with him. Her desire and longing were revealed to her father plain as day, along with a few rather vivid memories of kisses and love-struck whispers in French.
It was not that which worried him, (his daughter could do whatever she liked with whomever she liked, as long as she didn't embarrass him), it was the boy in question. He'd recognized the name and he'd recognised the handsome face in his daughter's recollections. He wanted to be sure however, after all there was a high chance his daughter had had a normal fling with a blue-eyed blonde Scandinavian, after all, that was predominantly what Scandinavians looked like.
That was why he had left his daughter's rooms in haste and headed straight to his study, forsaking the meal awaiting him in the dining room. The study was where he kept his countless diaries. He had a whole bookcase full of them.
He'd swiftly found the one he sought, the first one, and headed out to his lounge, and his well stocked bar, to read it. The book now lay opened across the low table before him.
It was very old, almost as old as him. It was unlike the other diaries he had for this one was bound parchment, not paper. It cover was smooth brown leather with intricate runes tooled into it and picked out in green.
He had not looked in it for hundreds of years, he had not wanted to, it was too painful. But now he sat and opened it. The smell of trees and the forest wafted up from the pages, still clinging to the parchment after all the years. He read through it, written by his hand in the language he had not spoken in over a thousand years. He'd found what he'd sought almost instantly, there it was, his name, the name of the son that should have been his.
"Legolas."
An old rage and an old pain resurfaced in him.
He swigged his drink and threw the glass across the room. It smashed with a satisfying crash against the smooth marble of the fireplace.
Trust his infuriating daughter to do something like this to him.
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AN: OOOOOoOooOOooOoooOoOoooo..ooo.. the plot thickens!
Thankies for reviews people!!
I've written this chappy without reaching a verdict on the whole Legolas/ Éomer
Issue.. I'm leaving that whole thing open for now….
The current tally is erm..
Éomer! 2 (aww.. poor widdle Éomer..)
Legolas! 8? (oooo definite advantage there..)
So yes, it will prob be Legolas methinks.. (sorry SkysTheLimit.. other ppl can't see Éomer's studly-ness like we can..)
Mayrana-yes, HIM are cool.. in a pathetic way.. and yes those scary teenage girls who want Ville's lovechild scare me.
(he's NOT THAT attractive.. geez..like a prettier younger goth david bowie…)
Isildur's bane- thankies but I'm quite sure your French will swiftly over take me personal knowledge (it shrinks as I type)
And the things with the AU thing.. I'll see what I can do bout this Lothiriel daughter of Prince Imrahil .. *ponders*
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THANK-YOU FOR THE REVIEWS!!
(see, I was so touched by them I wrote this a whole WEEK before I said I would…
reviews DO make me write more…. Hint hint…)
PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU HAVE SUGGESTIONS/ WISH TO BABBLE ABOUT LEGOLAS
(OR ÉOMER..)
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ps: next chappy more Legolas-centric k? buh-byeeee
pps: you have not seen the last of the bunny MOAH-HA-HA!!