Hello again! I am glad to see that my loyal fans have come to read the
seventh chapter to my story. (And hopefully some newcomers, too!) As
always, I'd appreciate it if you would review. Put it this way: no reviews,
I won't waste time typing. (C'mon. I know there is at least one person out
there who's reading and not reviewing.) Anyway, my thanks to everyone for
your support! It makes me feel proud!
To Elfaer Giliell- That was a flame if I've ever seen one all right! Damn girl, that's rough! Go whoop Diamond's ass! Man if I ever get my hands on that bitch . . . *cracks knuckles* For a second I thought someone send ME that flame! My eye started twitching when I read it. (That means a lot more that what it sounds) You sure as hell didn't deserve that! What a coward. Did you reply to her disgusting review? I would! After all, she did leave her e-mail. But then again, you might not want to stoop to her low-as- prehistoric-worm-guts level.
Sorry for taking so long to get this chapter up. I just lost a lot of my spare time to power-outs. I was done this chapter and (like the blonde I am) didn't save. A storm rolled in, lightning zapped a power line (you know the story), and -zip- out goes the power. Hours wasted. Guess what was REALLY cool though! My house got struck by lightning and then all of my evil brother's electrical stuff got fried! (Only his by the way) MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY LORD OF THE RINGS CHARACTERS. DON'T WAIST YOUR TIME SUEING ME BECAUSE THE ONLY THING YOU'LL GET IS A BROKEN LABTOP.
* Legolas was busy clipping the feathers of one of the arrows he had set aside for Raven to use. This was going to be splendid! He couldn't think how a day had the promise of being so perfect! He had Raven to himself ALL DAY! He grinned thinking of where today could lead and trembled uncontrollably with excitement, which made trimming the feathers a very difficult task. This was his big chance to show off his impeccable skills to the she-elf that intrigued him so. 'Don't mess this up, Legolas. Here's your chance to show her what your made of!' he gave himself a mental prep- talk.
The faint sound of feet lightly walking on the forest floor met the Prince's leaf-shaped ears. An even wider grin grew on his face; she was coming. He stood up as straight as he could, dropped his shoulders, turned his body slightly so he could see the area he heard the footsteps from, shifted his clothes to make sure no wrinkles where present, draped his cloak over one shoulder, tucked a loose braid behind his ear, planted one of his most kingly smiles, and tried his hardest to look dignified. The almost-silent footsteps grew ever so slightly louder as they drew nearer, and soon a sight that left Legolas no longer dignified or regal but instead made his mouth hang open with shock reached his eyes; Raven was wearing a rather 'revealing' shirt with no arms and showed most of her cleavage. What she wore on her lower body was little more that loincloth. She was leaning against a tree in a very seductive position with one arm going up against the beech's trunk, while the other was draped over her thigh, "Hello Legolas. I'm ready to play now," she said in a voice that was smooth as silk.
Without warning, she bolted to Legolas with such speed she pined him to ground. She firmly brought her lips down on his, engulfing his lips. Legolas was wide-eyed in shock, but quickly abandoned his surprise and sent her a crushing kiss back. He pulled her closer to him, pressing their chests together when suddenly- *
"Legolas? You're asleep! Get up! LEGOLAS!" the non-figment-of-imagination Raven yelled finally.
The elf prince yawned deeply and blinked the world into focus. Raven was towering over him with a slight twinge of aggravation in her eyes. She was wearing the same casual outfit that she had put on that morning. Legolas exhaled, "I'm sorry Raven. I just lay down at the base of this tree to wait for you. I guess the heat must have put me to sleep," his voice was almost sad; it had only been a dream . . .
"What where you dreaming about?" she asked as she helped him up.
Legolas desperately fought a blush from coming on his face, "Uh, I can't remember," he lied quickly.
"Oh," she said simply, "you seemed to be enjoying it. You where smiling this weird smile and giggling," Raven finished as she walked passed him, totally naïve of everything.
"Um, right. This way," he led her out of the group of trees and followed a dirt path that looked as if it was scarcely used. They went at a brisk pace for several minutes and where soon deep in the woods and the palace was out of sight.
"Hey Legs, where are you leading me?" the girl asked, a step behind Legolas.
He smiled, "I wanted this to be your private lesson. I didn't think that you would want Kasseendra and everyone else distracting your concentration. Training is between master and apprentice. With that in mind I thought I'd take you somewhere a little more . . . private, if you will," Legolas thought for a moment, 'Should I take her hand?'
"Yea, but that doesn't answer WHERE we are going!" Raven said ducking and evading some low-hanging branches.
"You'll just have to wait and see!" he said playfully and decided to risk lacing his fingers with hers, praying that she wouldn't pull away.
The she-elf blushed -and almost trembled- at his touch and began to pull away, but something stopped her. She walked in silence for a few seconds, and Legolas held his breath, but then tightened her grip on his hand ever so slightly. Legolas breathed.
After about nine or ten minutes of scattered casual chatting, mostly from Legolas, the two elves reached their destination. It was a grassy area near a small body of water about the size of a large pond. A waterfall that gave off a faint mist stood about eight feet tall and supplied the miniscule lake with its water. Other then that, the water seemed as smooth as glass. The tree line stopped about twenty-five feet away from the bank, except for one or two trees and a few shrubs. One of these trees had an unusually shaped limb that dipped to form a seat. Branch's bark had been slightly worn and was now smooth.
"What do you think Raven?" he asked.
"It gorgeous . . .," she said as her eyes slowly scanned her surroundings, 'Beats the hell out of Macey's Park!' was the thought that shot through her mind when she entered the clearing.
Legolas looked down at her and smiled warmly, "Well, shall we get started? Let's get you a bow. We'll work on your archery first," he said as he led her to a spot about twenty feet away from a tree that looked like it had been attacked by a flock of wood-peckers. He pulled an arrow from his quiver and loaded his bow, "Your task, "he said as he pulled back on the string and released the arrow, "is to split my arrow," Legolas finished with a smug look that read 'how was that shot?'
Raven gawked at the bolt in the direct center of the tree, "You want me, "she pointed to the arrow, "to shoot that?"
Legolas nodded, "Yes, and you will be able to by the end of today's training," the elf said as he handed Raven a spare bow and a quiver -being careful to make sure their hands touched as he did so.
The elvish weapons felt awkward and clumsy in her hands, "Uh, how do I hold this thing?"
Legolas cocked his head to one side, "You mean to say that you have lived in the wilderness for all these years and you don't even know how to hold a bow?" the warrior said in a tone that was next to shock.
"Uh, well, yes I've held a bow before," it wasn't a total lie; they had taught archery in gym class when she was in high school, "it just seems so long ago that I've held one of these things! It goes like this, right?" Raven lifted up her hands to show Legolas how she was griping the wood and string. Before she gave him time to respond she continued, "You see, I was just never very good at this kind of thing, and I think I'm going to shoot myself in the foot. Watch," she said as she pulled back on the string and aimed to the best of her ability at Legolas's arrow and fired.
At first it seemed that her arrow might have reached it's target until it veered of course without warning (she had shot it poorly) down towards the ground and ricocheted off a rock back towards the two elves.
Raven shrieked slightly as she jumped back just in time to save her nose as the arrow flew passed her, causing a few strands of her hair to fly in its wind-wake. She turned to watch where it headed, and to her utmost horror, it went rocketing like lightning towards the of the other elf's face. She looked away, unable to bare the sight that awaited her.
The forest area rang with the slight twanging sound of the arrow colliding with the ex-prince's flesh.
Raven fell to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks; she had killed him. She threw the bow out of her hands, 'I killed him! How could I? I started to almost- Oh! it doesn't matter now he's dead! I killed him!' she screamed in her head and wept bitterly for a few moments before deciding to force herself to turn around and try to think of what little could be done.
After about a second had passed, (to Raven it felt like a century) she turned her head and all tears where instantly dried up and she turned the rather pale color of chalk. Legolas stood about a foot behind her holding her arrow about half an inch from his forehead.
Raven's eye twitched. A wave of relief passed over her shoulders, but at the same time she burst into tears, "Legolas, I'm sorry! Oh my god I almost KILLED you! How could you even let me hold the stupid thing? (referring to the bow of course)," she instantly threw herself at the elf prince and latched her arms around him, almost as if she couldn't stop herself from doing so.
Legolas looked down at her and a soft smile grew on his lips, "Don't worry, I'm alright," he soothed in her ear. He was slightly surprised at her reaction, and was still slightly tense from the incident with the arrow. She didn't need to be so upset -not that he minded of course (hehehe)- because he had often been in that sort of situation when he battled with orcs and Uruk-hai. Legolas felt one of her tears soak through his tunic and felt her shake in her sobs. Her warm tear went straight to his heart like a dagger. It pained him so much to see her cry. Those tears where for him, even though he was never in any real danger. 'She must care for me then . . .' he concluded silently. The warrior relaxed in her arms and slowly wrapped his around Raven's slim waist. He lowed his head and whispered soothing words in her ear until her trembling stopped and she was calm.
After about a minute of rocking gently back and forth, Raven's sobs stopped. Legolas finally released her reluctantly; she felt so good in his arms! "Now where were we?" he asked with a game-face smile.
"You where telling me how to hold a bow, not that it matters anymore because I refuse to do this again," she said in a stubborn voice and crossed her arms.
"What do you mean?" Legolas said with a slight laugh.
"You heard me," she replied indignantly, "I almost KILLED you. You could have DIED. I would have had to KILL myself if I had done so."
"You aren't going to kill me. C'mon. I'll make an archer out of you yet," the elf said as he handed her the bow, which she took rather reluctantly.
"Again, this feels . . .," she looked at the arched weapon in her hands," . . .not right."
Legolas smiled, "That's because you aren't holding it right. Here," he put his long fingers on Raven's and guided her hands to their proper places.
Legolas's student took in a sharp breath. His hands were so soft and warm against hers . . .
"To fire, you pull back on the string like this," the elf said as he led her fingers with his onto the arrow and directed her arm motions to prepare to fire the bow. This was a relatively difficult task when standing about half a foot away from someone so Legolas decided to make a move. He was a little worried to do so though; he didn't want to scare her off again, but then again, he did have an excuse.
Raven heard Legolas shift his body and come towards her. She felt his strong arms run along with hers; his torso fit against hers, and felt his breath blowing a few hairs on the top of her head. She trembled against lean body on hers, but to her surprise it wasn't out of disgust or fear. His touch sent an odd feeling coursing through her veins that she couldn't describe, but it felt . . . good. She leaned into his chest. Raven felt the steady rise and fall of his torso as they breathed in unison. She couldn't remember the last time she was this close to another living being, or when she last felt so comforted. Nothing came to mind.
Legolas felt his heart skipped a beat but remained calm and kept control of his hormones. He lowered his head to her tear-drop-shaped ear, "Aim just above the arrow,"
Raven did as instructed and let go.
The bolt sped toward its target and split it down the center.
The emerald-eyed girl stared in awe, still posing against Legolas, "Did I just do that?"
Legolas looked down at her with an amused smile, "Of course you did. Excellent job. I told you you could do it."
Raven let go of the bow and jumped up and down repeatedly while saying in a high-pitched voice, "I did it! I did it! I did it!" so fast that she seemed to be saying the phrases as one word. She jumped up suddenly, squeezed her arms around Legolas's, wrapped her legs around his waist, and buried her face in his chest. (Now muttering, "Yesyesyes!")
The girl's unexpected outburst almost caused Legolas to fall over. Not that she was too heavy of course, but rather she had caught him totally off guard. Once he realized what exactly was going on, he abandoned Middle- Earth for cloud nine.
After hanging on the Prince for about forty-five seconds, Raven felt herself slowly begin to slip. She reluctantly slid off and landed as gracefully as she could on the ground and brushed the wrinkles out of her tunic. Next the elf looked up at Legolas to see how he took her 'hug'. She felt a little silly about doing it, but amazingly enough, didn't regret it. The sight that met her eyes made her feel a little confused; he had this bizarre dazed look that people get when they are in the middle of an exceedingly pleasant dream, "Legolas? Legolas? You in there? C'mon, snap out of it!" Raven demanded as she shook him softly.
No reaction.
"Hello?!" she slapped his face a little harder that she had intended to.
The haze instantly vanished from Legolas's eyes and instinctively shot his hands and griped Raven's wrist and shoulder.
The she-elf jumped back out of reflex, but regained control immediately afterwards.
The warrior's eyes softened when reality returned to him, and he loosened his grip on the girl's wrist but didn't remove his hands. He moved closer to her she could feel his warm breath break on her cheeks. The two elves gazed into each other's eyes and lost themselves in oceans of blue and green. Legolas slowly lowered his lips toward her ever-so-slightly open ones.
Raven's heart beat as fast as a humming bird's, but she was perfectly calm. She was going to kiss him . . . what would it be like? Was this really happening? Secretly deep down inside her soul she had been longing for this moment since they had first met, but fiercely denied herself. She couldn't bear to be shattered again . . .
The kiss was only mere seconds away when a rustling noise came from a nearby bush at the edge of the clearing; totally destroying the moment.
The two quickly pulled away from each other looking slightly awkward. Legolas cursed softly under his breath.
The rustling noise swiftly grew louder and a familiar face emerged from the brush, "Uh, I hope I not disturbing anything," Arien said more like a question that anything else. (The red faces gave her a sufficient hint).
"Erm, no. We were just, uh . . ." Legolas stumbled and the tips of his ears turned pink.
"Practicing archery!" Raven saved with a big smile, "Can you believe that I shot a an arrow through his? It's amazing! I'm NOT incompetent!"
"Yes, thank you Raven," he said with feeling, "And what are you doing out here Arien?" the elf tried to hide his annoyance; was it impossible to get any privacy in Eyrn Lasgaelen?
"I had some things to take care of and I'm on my way back to the palace," she shrugged simply.
Raven looked closely at the dark-haired woman's cloak. She could see the faint outline of her sword under the bluish purple fabric. There was a black stain that looked fresh and almost damp over the area where the outline suggested the blade's hilt would be. It looked suspiciously like blood . . . The elf's wandering eyes instantly snapped away and looked into Arien's. The assassin smiled.
"Anyway I'm done for the day, and I promised Raven I'd drop by. I thought I could you watch the 'training' session," she grinned and elbowed Legolas's arm.
"And we WERE training, thank you." He said forcefully, rubbing the area just his shoulder.
"'Course you were," her grin turned playfully evil, "and that's ALL you were doing, right?"
"Shut up please," the Prince said through gritted teeth.
Raven blinked in confusion, "Uh, are we going to continue this or should I go back and let you guys have your bizarre moments to yourselves?"
"Oh no, of course not. Legolas and I were just having a conversation," she said, still smiling.
Legolas wiped the annoyed look on his face off, "Right. Anyway, you seem to have archery down for today. After all, you DID split mine down the middle. Our next lesson would be on swordsman-"
"Or swordswoman," Arien corrected.
"Or swordswoman ship, but as you can see, my arm is still in bandages and though I can shoot a bow easy enough, the vigorous arm movements required for using a sword are almost impossible for me. We can start that in a few weeks."
"Yea, I'd teach you, but my technique is a little 'advanced' for you just yet," she said almost smugly.
Raven rolled her eyes, "Whatever. Does that mean that today's lesson is over?"
"Yes," replied Legolas.
"Well that was quick," the silvery blonde blinked, "What time is it?"
"About a quarter past six," put in Arien.
"WHAT?" Raven yelled, "Where'd the day go?"
The other two shrugged, "We should be getting back now," the unusually tall woman said.
The she-elf sighed and picked up her bow, "Uh, which way is it?" she asked looking at Legolas.
"Follow me," he replied.
"Right. Legolas can be the guide. Hey Raven, can I talk to you?" she asked, letting the Prince get a few yards ahead.
The other stopped, "What is it?" she asked and slowed down so she could walk beside Arien.
"Has he kissed you yet?" she asked in an obnoxiously nosy tone.
The elf's face went from its pale porcelain color to a fiery crimson, "No."
"Are you SURE?" her raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
Raven nodded quickly.
"Did you WANT him to?" the other pried, grinning.
"I don't know," she said looking at the ground. Her blush was so heavy it almost looked like you could burn your fingers on her cheeks.
"Yes you do," Arien said, anticipation dripping from her voice.
"Well . . ." Raven's blush was deepening every moment.
"Say it!"
"Maybe just a little . . ."
"Aha! I knew it!" she shouted triumphantly.
"Knew what?" Legolas asked and glanced over his shoulder.
"Nothing!" the blushing elf shot back quickly, a forced smile that almost looked like a grimace was plastered on her face.
"Oh," he turned away, feeling slightly left out and ignored.
"Keep it down!" she hissed at Arien.
"Sorry," she smiled, "Why did you wanna kiss him?" she questioned and batted her eyes.
"I dunno, I was caught up in the moment I guess," she said, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
"What moment?"
Finally, she couldn't take it anymore, "THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" she shouted, a lot louder than what she intended. Raven slapped her hands over her mouth.
"What's none of whose business?" said the confused Legolas.
Hands still covering her lips, Raven slowly turned her head from side to side slowly.
The dejected Prince sighed towards the palace, "Almost there," he said in a solemn tone.
The next few minutes passed slowly with Arien constantly trying to pry information out of victim, so the girl was very pleased when the elven refuge came in sight, "Sanctuary!" she screamed with delight and prepared to make a run for it, but was stopped by a firm voice.
"Het hemm," an elf with brownish-auburn hair, gray eyes, and draped in deep forest green called for attention, " My Prince, King Thranduil wishes your presence in council," he said with a dignified tone while bowing slightly.
Legolas nodded, "Thank you Darin," he turned to face Raven and Arien with a sympathetic smile, "Sorry we got cut short. I hope to see you later in the evening," the Prince waved and headed off with the other elf.
"Man, being royalty must suck," she said once the two where out of earshot.
Arien smiled, "You better get used to it, 'cause you're gonna be royalty someday, too!"
Raven didn't smile," Don't make me kick you."
The other rolled her eyes, "Well, bye," she said walking off to her quarters.
"Seeya," the elf waved and headed to her room.
Sorry for such a bad ending, but I kinda wanted to get this thing updated *finally*. Sorry to keep everyone waiting for a million years. I hope you like it anyway, thought! Remember, as always, Please REVIEW! ^-^ ^. ~
To Elfaer Giliell- That was a flame if I've ever seen one all right! Damn girl, that's rough! Go whoop Diamond's ass! Man if I ever get my hands on that bitch . . . *cracks knuckles* For a second I thought someone send ME that flame! My eye started twitching when I read it. (That means a lot more that what it sounds) You sure as hell didn't deserve that! What a coward. Did you reply to her disgusting review? I would! After all, she did leave her e-mail. But then again, you might not want to stoop to her low-as- prehistoric-worm-guts level.
Sorry for taking so long to get this chapter up. I just lost a lot of my spare time to power-outs. I was done this chapter and (like the blonde I am) didn't save. A storm rolled in, lightning zapped a power line (you know the story), and -zip- out goes the power. Hours wasted. Guess what was REALLY cool though! My house got struck by lightning and then all of my evil brother's electrical stuff got fried! (Only his by the way) MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY LORD OF THE RINGS CHARACTERS. DON'T WAIST YOUR TIME SUEING ME BECAUSE THE ONLY THING YOU'LL GET IS A BROKEN LABTOP.
* Legolas was busy clipping the feathers of one of the arrows he had set aside for Raven to use. This was going to be splendid! He couldn't think how a day had the promise of being so perfect! He had Raven to himself ALL DAY! He grinned thinking of where today could lead and trembled uncontrollably with excitement, which made trimming the feathers a very difficult task. This was his big chance to show off his impeccable skills to the she-elf that intrigued him so. 'Don't mess this up, Legolas. Here's your chance to show her what your made of!' he gave himself a mental prep- talk.
The faint sound of feet lightly walking on the forest floor met the Prince's leaf-shaped ears. An even wider grin grew on his face; she was coming. He stood up as straight as he could, dropped his shoulders, turned his body slightly so he could see the area he heard the footsteps from, shifted his clothes to make sure no wrinkles where present, draped his cloak over one shoulder, tucked a loose braid behind his ear, planted one of his most kingly smiles, and tried his hardest to look dignified. The almost-silent footsteps grew ever so slightly louder as they drew nearer, and soon a sight that left Legolas no longer dignified or regal but instead made his mouth hang open with shock reached his eyes; Raven was wearing a rather 'revealing' shirt with no arms and showed most of her cleavage. What she wore on her lower body was little more that loincloth. She was leaning against a tree in a very seductive position with one arm going up against the beech's trunk, while the other was draped over her thigh, "Hello Legolas. I'm ready to play now," she said in a voice that was smooth as silk.
Without warning, she bolted to Legolas with such speed she pined him to ground. She firmly brought her lips down on his, engulfing his lips. Legolas was wide-eyed in shock, but quickly abandoned his surprise and sent her a crushing kiss back. He pulled her closer to him, pressing their chests together when suddenly- *
"Legolas? You're asleep! Get up! LEGOLAS!" the non-figment-of-imagination Raven yelled finally.
The elf prince yawned deeply and blinked the world into focus. Raven was towering over him with a slight twinge of aggravation in her eyes. She was wearing the same casual outfit that she had put on that morning. Legolas exhaled, "I'm sorry Raven. I just lay down at the base of this tree to wait for you. I guess the heat must have put me to sleep," his voice was almost sad; it had only been a dream . . .
"What where you dreaming about?" she asked as she helped him up.
Legolas desperately fought a blush from coming on his face, "Uh, I can't remember," he lied quickly.
"Oh," she said simply, "you seemed to be enjoying it. You where smiling this weird smile and giggling," Raven finished as she walked passed him, totally naïve of everything.
"Um, right. This way," he led her out of the group of trees and followed a dirt path that looked as if it was scarcely used. They went at a brisk pace for several minutes and where soon deep in the woods and the palace was out of sight.
"Hey Legs, where are you leading me?" the girl asked, a step behind Legolas.
He smiled, "I wanted this to be your private lesson. I didn't think that you would want Kasseendra and everyone else distracting your concentration. Training is between master and apprentice. With that in mind I thought I'd take you somewhere a little more . . . private, if you will," Legolas thought for a moment, 'Should I take her hand?'
"Yea, but that doesn't answer WHERE we are going!" Raven said ducking and evading some low-hanging branches.
"You'll just have to wait and see!" he said playfully and decided to risk lacing his fingers with hers, praying that she wouldn't pull away.
The she-elf blushed -and almost trembled- at his touch and began to pull away, but something stopped her. She walked in silence for a few seconds, and Legolas held his breath, but then tightened her grip on his hand ever so slightly. Legolas breathed.
After about nine or ten minutes of scattered casual chatting, mostly from Legolas, the two elves reached their destination. It was a grassy area near a small body of water about the size of a large pond. A waterfall that gave off a faint mist stood about eight feet tall and supplied the miniscule lake with its water. Other then that, the water seemed as smooth as glass. The tree line stopped about twenty-five feet away from the bank, except for one or two trees and a few shrubs. One of these trees had an unusually shaped limb that dipped to form a seat. Branch's bark had been slightly worn and was now smooth.
"What do you think Raven?" he asked.
"It gorgeous . . .," she said as her eyes slowly scanned her surroundings, 'Beats the hell out of Macey's Park!' was the thought that shot through her mind when she entered the clearing.
Legolas looked down at her and smiled warmly, "Well, shall we get started? Let's get you a bow. We'll work on your archery first," he said as he led her to a spot about twenty feet away from a tree that looked like it had been attacked by a flock of wood-peckers. He pulled an arrow from his quiver and loaded his bow, "Your task, "he said as he pulled back on the string and released the arrow, "is to split my arrow," Legolas finished with a smug look that read 'how was that shot?'
Raven gawked at the bolt in the direct center of the tree, "You want me, "she pointed to the arrow, "to shoot that?"
Legolas nodded, "Yes, and you will be able to by the end of today's training," the elf said as he handed Raven a spare bow and a quiver -being careful to make sure their hands touched as he did so.
The elvish weapons felt awkward and clumsy in her hands, "Uh, how do I hold this thing?"
Legolas cocked his head to one side, "You mean to say that you have lived in the wilderness for all these years and you don't even know how to hold a bow?" the warrior said in a tone that was next to shock.
"Uh, well, yes I've held a bow before," it wasn't a total lie; they had taught archery in gym class when she was in high school, "it just seems so long ago that I've held one of these things! It goes like this, right?" Raven lifted up her hands to show Legolas how she was griping the wood and string. Before she gave him time to respond she continued, "You see, I was just never very good at this kind of thing, and I think I'm going to shoot myself in the foot. Watch," she said as she pulled back on the string and aimed to the best of her ability at Legolas's arrow and fired.
At first it seemed that her arrow might have reached it's target until it veered of course without warning (she had shot it poorly) down towards the ground and ricocheted off a rock back towards the two elves.
Raven shrieked slightly as she jumped back just in time to save her nose as the arrow flew passed her, causing a few strands of her hair to fly in its wind-wake. She turned to watch where it headed, and to her utmost horror, it went rocketing like lightning towards the of the other elf's face. She looked away, unable to bare the sight that awaited her.
The forest area rang with the slight twanging sound of the arrow colliding with the ex-prince's flesh.
Raven fell to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks; she had killed him. She threw the bow out of her hands, 'I killed him! How could I? I started to almost- Oh! it doesn't matter now he's dead! I killed him!' she screamed in her head and wept bitterly for a few moments before deciding to force herself to turn around and try to think of what little could be done.
After about a second had passed, (to Raven it felt like a century) she turned her head and all tears where instantly dried up and she turned the rather pale color of chalk. Legolas stood about a foot behind her holding her arrow about half an inch from his forehead.
Raven's eye twitched. A wave of relief passed over her shoulders, but at the same time she burst into tears, "Legolas, I'm sorry! Oh my god I almost KILLED you! How could you even let me hold the stupid thing? (referring to the bow of course)," she instantly threw herself at the elf prince and latched her arms around him, almost as if she couldn't stop herself from doing so.
Legolas looked down at her and a soft smile grew on his lips, "Don't worry, I'm alright," he soothed in her ear. He was slightly surprised at her reaction, and was still slightly tense from the incident with the arrow. She didn't need to be so upset -not that he minded of course (hehehe)- because he had often been in that sort of situation when he battled with orcs and Uruk-hai. Legolas felt one of her tears soak through his tunic and felt her shake in her sobs. Her warm tear went straight to his heart like a dagger. It pained him so much to see her cry. Those tears where for him, even though he was never in any real danger. 'She must care for me then . . .' he concluded silently. The warrior relaxed in her arms and slowly wrapped his around Raven's slim waist. He lowed his head and whispered soothing words in her ear until her trembling stopped and she was calm.
After about a minute of rocking gently back and forth, Raven's sobs stopped. Legolas finally released her reluctantly; she felt so good in his arms! "Now where were we?" he asked with a game-face smile.
"You where telling me how to hold a bow, not that it matters anymore because I refuse to do this again," she said in a stubborn voice and crossed her arms.
"What do you mean?" Legolas said with a slight laugh.
"You heard me," she replied indignantly, "I almost KILLED you. You could have DIED. I would have had to KILL myself if I had done so."
"You aren't going to kill me. C'mon. I'll make an archer out of you yet," the elf said as he handed her the bow, which she took rather reluctantly.
"Again, this feels . . .," she looked at the arched weapon in her hands," . . .not right."
Legolas smiled, "That's because you aren't holding it right. Here," he put his long fingers on Raven's and guided her hands to their proper places.
Legolas's student took in a sharp breath. His hands were so soft and warm against hers . . .
"To fire, you pull back on the string like this," the elf said as he led her fingers with his onto the arrow and directed her arm motions to prepare to fire the bow. This was a relatively difficult task when standing about half a foot away from someone so Legolas decided to make a move. He was a little worried to do so though; he didn't want to scare her off again, but then again, he did have an excuse.
Raven heard Legolas shift his body and come towards her. She felt his strong arms run along with hers; his torso fit against hers, and felt his breath blowing a few hairs on the top of her head. She trembled against lean body on hers, but to her surprise it wasn't out of disgust or fear. His touch sent an odd feeling coursing through her veins that she couldn't describe, but it felt . . . good. She leaned into his chest. Raven felt the steady rise and fall of his torso as they breathed in unison. She couldn't remember the last time she was this close to another living being, or when she last felt so comforted. Nothing came to mind.
Legolas felt his heart skipped a beat but remained calm and kept control of his hormones. He lowered his head to her tear-drop-shaped ear, "Aim just above the arrow,"
Raven did as instructed and let go.
The bolt sped toward its target and split it down the center.
The emerald-eyed girl stared in awe, still posing against Legolas, "Did I just do that?"
Legolas looked down at her with an amused smile, "Of course you did. Excellent job. I told you you could do it."
Raven let go of the bow and jumped up and down repeatedly while saying in a high-pitched voice, "I did it! I did it! I did it!" so fast that she seemed to be saying the phrases as one word. She jumped up suddenly, squeezed her arms around Legolas's, wrapped her legs around his waist, and buried her face in his chest. (Now muttering, "Yesyesyes!")
The girl's unexpected outburst almost caused Legolas to fall over. Not that she was too heavy of course, but rather she had caught him totally off guard. Once he realized what exactly was going on, he abandoned Middle- Earth for cloud nine.
After hanging on the Prince for about forty-five seconds, Raven felt herself slowly begin to slip. She reluctantly slid off and landed as gracefully as she could on the ground and brushed the wrinkles out of her tunic. Next the elf looked up at Legolas to see how he took her 'hug'. She felt a little silly about doing it, but amazingly enough, didn't regret it. The sight that met her eyes made her feel a little confused; he had this bizarre dazed look that people get when they are in the middle of an exceedingly pleasant dream, "Legolas? Legolas? You in there? C'mon, snap out of it!" Raven demanded as she shook him softly.
No reaction.
"Hello?!" she slapped his face a little harder that she had intended to.
The haze instantly vanished from Legolas's eyes and instinctively shot his hands and griped Raven's wrist and shoulder.
The she-elf jumped back out of reflex, but regained control immediately afterwards.
The warrior's eyes softened when reality returned to him, and he loosened his grip on the girl's wrist but didn't remove his hands. He moved closer to her she could feel his warm breath break on her cheeks. The two elves gazed into each other's eyes and lost themselves in oceans of blue and green. Legolas slowly lowered his lips toward her ever-so-slightly open ones.
Raven's heart beat as fast as a humming bird's, but she was perfectly calm. She was going to kiss him . . . what would it be like? Was this really happening? Secretly deep down inside her soul she had been longing for this moment since they had first met, but fiercely denied herself. She couldn't bear to be shattered again . . .
The kiss was only mere seconds away when a rustling noise came from a nearby bush at the edge of the clearing; totally destroying the moment.
The two quickly pulled away from each other looking slightly awkward. Legolas cursed softly under his breath.
The rustling noise swiftly grew louder and a familiar face emerged from the brush, "Uh, I hope I not disturbing anything," Arien said more like a question that anything else. (The red faces gave her a sufficient hint).
"Erm, no. We were just, uh . . ." Legolas stumbled and the tips of his ears turned pink.
"Practicing archery!" Raven saved with a big smile, "Can you believe that I shot a an arrow through his? It's amazing! I'm NOT incompetent!"
"Yes, thank you Raven," he said with feeling, "And what are you doing out here Arien?" the elf tried to hide his annoyance; was it impossible to get any privacy in Eyrn Lasgaelen?
"I had some things to take care of and I'm on my way back to the palace," she shrugged simply.
Raven looked closely at the dark-haired woman's cloak. She could see the faint outline of her sword under the bluish purple fabric. There was a black stain that looked fresh and almost damp over the area where the outline suggested the blade's hilt would be. It looked suspiciously like blood . . . The elf's wandering eyes instantly snapped away and looked into Arien's. The assassin smiled.
"Anyway I'm done for the day, and I promised Raven I'd drop by. I thought I could you watch the 'training' session," she grinned and elbowed Legolas's arm.
"And we WERE training, thank you." He said forcefully, rubbing the area just his shoulder.
"'Course you were," her grin turned playfully evil, "and that's ALL you were doing, right?"
"Shut up please," the Prince said through gritted teeth.
Raven blinked in confusion, "Uh, are we going to continue this or should I go back and let you guys have your bizarre moments to yourselves?"
"Oh no, of course not. Legolas and I were just having a conversation," she said, still smiling.
Legolas wiped the annoyed look on his face off, "Right. Anyway, you seem to have archery down for today. After all, you DID split mine down the middle. Our next lesson would be on swordsman-"
"Or swordswoman," Arien corrected.
"Or swordswoman ship, but as you can see, my arm is still in bandages and though I can shoot a bow easy enough, the vigorous arm movements required for using a sword are almost impossible for me. We can start that in a few weeks."
"Yea, I'd teach you, but my technique is a little 'advanced' for you just yet," she said almost smugly.
Raven rolled her eyes, "Whatever. Does that mean that today's lesson is over?"
"Yes," replied Legolas.
"Well that was quick," the silvery blonde blinked, "What time is it?"
"About a quarter past six," put in Arien.
"WHAT?" Raven yelled, "Where'd the day go?"
The other two shrugged, "We should be getting back now," the unusually tall woman said.
The she-elf sighed and picked up her bow, "Uh, which way is it?" she asked looking at Legolas.
"Follow me," he replied.
"Right. Legolas can be the guide. Hey Raven, can I talk to you?" she asked, letting the Prince get a few yards ahead.
The other stopped, "What is it?" she asked and slowed down so she could walk beside Arien.
"Has he kissed you yet?" she asked in an obnoxiously nosy tone.
The elf's face went from its pale porcelain color to a fiery crimson, "No."
"Are you SURE?" her raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
Raven nodded quickly.
"Did you WANT him to?" the other pried, grinning.
"I don't know," she said looking at the ground. Her blush was so heavy it almost looked like you could burn your fingers on her cheeks.
"Yes you do," Arien said, anticipation dripping from her voice.
"Well . . ." Raven's blush was deepening every moment.
"Say it!"
"Maybe just a little . . ."
"Aha! I knew it!" she shouted triumphantly.
"Knew what?" Legolas asked and glanced over his shoulder.
"Nothing!" the blushing elf shot back quickly, a forced smile that almost looked like a grimace was plastered on her face.
"Oh," he turned away, feeling slightly left out and ignored.
"Keep it down!" she hissed at Arien.
"Sorry," she smiled, "Why did you wanna kiss him?" she questioned and batted her eyes.
"I dunno, I was caught up in the moment I guess," she said, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
"What moment?"
Finally, she couldn't take it anymore, "THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" she shouted, a lot louder than what she intended. Raven slapped her hands over her mouth.
"What's none of whose business?" said the confused Legolas.
Hands still covering her lips, Raven slowly turned her head from side to side slowly.
The dejected Prince sighed towards the palace, "Almost there," he said in a solemn tone.
The next few minutes passed slowly with Arien constantly trying to pry information out of victim, so the girl was very pleased when the elven refuge came in sight, "Sanctuary!" she screamed with delight and prepared to make a run for it, but was stopped by a firm voice.
"Het hemm," an elf with brownish-auburn hair, gray eyes, and draped in deep forest green called for attention, " My Prince, King Thranduil wishes your presence in council," he said with a dignified tone while bowing slightly.
Legolas nodded, "Thank you Darin," he turned to face Raven and Arien with a sympathetic smile, "Sorry we got cut short. I hope to see you later in the evening," the Prince waved and headed off with the other elf.
"Man, being royalty must suck," she said once the two where out of earshot.
Arien smiled, "You better get used to it, 'cause you're gonna be royalty someday, too!"
Raven didn't smile," Don't make me kick you."
The other rolled her eyes, "Well, bye," she said walking off to her quarters.
"Seeya," the elf waved and headed to her room.
Sorry for such a bad ending, but I kinda wanted to get this thing updated *finally*. Sorry to keep everyone waiting for a million years. I hope you like it anyway, thought! Remember, as always, Please REVIEW! ^-^ ^. ~