AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks for all the great feedback! I have no intentions of
abandoning this fic, as some of you evidently thought when I posted my new
one. *hands out piping hot Legolas cookies to all who reviewed*.
Bree Cheese!:
Although it was not of my doing (I would never have followed through on such a vile threat) Marilla did find out about Legolas's injury (along with all of Mirkwood, though he had asked that it not be 'publicized') and found it necessary to come wailing to his room. I mean wailing literally, high pitched squealing and tears; the whole deal. It was quite amusing for those of us not on the receiving end of her 'affections', but I soon sent in the healer to put Legolas out of his misery; she told Marilla that her being there could possibly stress him, perhaps causing his immune system to lower its guard, making him more vulnerable to infection, which could possibly kill him. I was quite sure she did not understand a word of it, except for the 'kill him' part, which seemed to be enough to drive her from the room for a while.
A week had passed since Legolas was wounded, and he was now up and about, doing nearly everything as he was before he was hurt. Everything except fighting, that is, which the healer had strictly forbidden for another week, which meant that he had more free time on his hands. . . which was quite a dangerous thing for Legolas to have.
"How did you talk me into this?" I asked drowsily for what must have been the fourth time.
"I do not think I remember anymore," he replied, shrugging. "This is some potent stuff; I believe it has addled my mind a bit."
"Does not take much to do that," I mumbled as I sipped my own drink. We were sitting in the wine cellar drinking some newly imported wine. Legolas had overheard a servant speaking about the new shipment and had insisted on sneaking down here to try it out. I had tried to get him to wait until the next feast, where he could drink it with everyone else, but he claimed to be tired of his bedroom and wanted an outing.
An hour and two jugs of wine later, we were still in the wine cellar.
"I am taking this away before we both get more drunk than we already are," I said as I pushed the jugs away.
"Drunk? Who's drunk?" Legolas, who had imbibed much more drink that I, said quite loudly.
"Both of us," I replied, "But at least I realize it."
"I am not drunk," Legolas maintained stubbornly. "BREE CHEESE!"
"Shhh!" I said, clamping my hand over his mouth. "You are begging for your father to find us out!" I paused a moment. "Bree cheese?"
"Yes," he said, quite calmly. "I want some Bree cheese." I raised my eyebrows.
"I do not believe we have any. . . Bree cheese. I think it is time to go back upstairs, Legolas." I stood up, only to find that my wine-laden legs would not hold me. I steadied myself on the table and started walking over to where Legolas was. "Come now, stand up," I ordered. He frowned up at me.
"Fine," he said haughtily. He stood up too quickly, and tried lean on me to catch himself; however, seeing as how I could barely hold myself up, we both went tumbling to the floor.
"We will never make it upstairs at this rate," I said as Legolas rolled halfway off of me.
"Good," he mumbled into my shoulder as he settled his head there and promptly began snoring.
"Legolas," I said irritably as I shook him. "Wake up!" This was to no avail, however, so I soon gave up. The wine I had drunk soon caught up with me and I was fast asleep beside him.
"And you said *I* was more drunk than you," I heard as I woke up, pressing a hand to my aching head. I cracked open my eyes to see Legolas sitting in a chair above me.
"Well you were," I said. "You just slept it off faster than I did."
"Is that ever an understatement," he laughed. "I woke up two hours ago with naught but a headache. I doubt you can even see straight."
"You mean your craving for 'Bree cheese' also wore off?"
"Bree cheese?" he said incredulously. "What is that?" I shrugged.
"I do not know; you claimed to want some while you were less than coherent." I sighed. "Forget it; Help me up." Legolas complied, and I found that I had to lean on him to walk. I pinched him hard when he started snickering. "I may not get over it as quickly as you did, but at least I had my wits about me the entire time." He feigned surprise.
"You mean you have wits?"
"I swear, Legolas, if I could see straight, I would-"
"Not be having half as much fun," he finished for me.
"However much fun you two may be having, I suggest you clear out of here quite quickly," we heard above us. We looked up to see Aldeon on the stairs. "Galion is on his way down and I suspect he will be less than pleased to find you down here."
"I *told* you we would get caught!" I said, keeping my arms around Legolas's neck to hold myself up. Aldeon took this in with raised eyebrows.
" *What* exactly are you doing?" He said.
"I am having a bit of a problem standing on my own," I said ashamedly. He sighed as he hurried down the steps. He picked me up, cradling me like a baby.
"Legolas does not need to be holding your weight with his injury," he pointed out.
"Oh," I said guiltily. "Sorry." Legolas shrugged.
"You weigh next to nothing. Come, let us get out of here before-"
"I get down here and catch you?" Once again our eyes were drawn to the stairs, where this time we saw Galion staring down at us sternly.
"What possessed you to sneak down there and get into my best wine? Do you know how much that stuff costs?!" Thranduil glared at Legolas, Aldeon, and I. We were all three silent for several nerve-racking moments before Legolas spoke up.
"Aldeon and Mara are blameless, Father. Aldeon was not even there until he found us down there and tried to help, and I talked Mara into it. Besides, had she not been there to limit me, chances are that I would have drunk myself into a stupor and would still be lying down there, passed out on the floor." Legolas smiled a bit at his own attempted humor.
"This is not a laughing matter, Legolas. But you are partially right, Aldeon is free of blame except for the fact that he was tying to keep you from getting caught, which I cannot blame him for. However, despite the fact that you may have saved Legolas from a drunken stupor, Mara, you still knew better than to accompany Legolas on his. . . adventure." I hung my head a bit lower than it already had been.
"However," he continued. "In light of Legolas's recent injury, and the fact that Mara has never done such a thing, or at least never been *caught* doing it," his lips twitched a bit as he held back a smile, "There will be no punishment implemented. But stand warned: should this, or anything else, happen again, the culprits will regret it. Understood?" Legolas and I nodded enthusiastically, surprised that we had gotten off with only a lecture.
Less then five minutes later I was in Legolas's room, fussing as I had never fussed before.
"Never again will I *ever* listen to you! Because when I listen, you convince me to do something incredibly stupid, like drinking your father's wine!"
"But-"
"But nothing! I *told* you that we would get caught! But do you ever listen to me? No! Because you are too busy trying to get me to listen to you!"
"Mara!" Legolas interrupted. He pinned my arms, which I had been waving about with, to my sides and pushed me gently to sit on the bed. "If I had thought we would get caught, I never would have gone down there – or at least would not have asked you to join me. The last thing I would ever want would be to cause you any kind of trouble or pain, no matter how trivial the matter. I thought only of having a bit of fun." He paused. "Which you have to admit, excluding getting caught, it was fun." I smiled a bit.
"Maybe just a little," I allowed.
". . . And despite what happened earlier this week, I think that you are best suited to do this," Thranduil finished. I stared disbelievingly at him and Legolas. He wanted him to go to Rivendell?
"I know that you are still recovering from your wound, but I have spoken with the healers and they all agree that the riding would not slow the healing process. It is your choice, Legolas, I will not make you go; there are others I can send if you do not wish to go." Legolas glanced over in my direction with what looked like an apologetic expression before answering.
"I will go, Father, and represent the Mirkwood elves in this council." Thranduil nodded.
"Good. You will be accompanied by several elves of your own choosing; choose wisely; they will be your only help should you encounter any foul creatures on the way there. You will have to leave tomorrow morning to arrive in time. I am sorry that it is sprung upon you with so little notice, but I did not know myself until the messenger arrived this morning."
Legolas nodded and excused himself to go make ready for the journey. I left soon after and found him standing outside the doors waiting.
"I knew you would be following," he said with a small laugh. We walked toward his room in silence. When we got there, he pulled out a satchel and began packing.
"Can I help?" I asked quietly. He smiled and nodded and I began pulling out his traveling clothes and folding them. "Do you know how long you will be gone?" I asked after a while, trying my best to keep my voice from cracking. He shrugged.
"I do not know. It takes a while to get there, and since I do not know what the council is about, I do not know if anything besides my opinion will be required of me. I will come back as quickly as possible, though, I promise." I nodded and stubbornly wiped away a tear that had refused to stay hidden.
"Do you know who you will take with you?" I said as a thought occurred to me.
"Several members of the guard, I suppose; most likely Aldeon with them." He looked up and saw my hopeful look. "No!" he immediately said.
"Why not?" I said pleadingly. "I would not be any burden, I will be silent and ride my horse and not cause a bit of trouble, I swear it!"
"I know you would not cause any trouble," Legolas said, "But I could not guarantee your safety on such a trip, and I will not take such a risk with you."
"I will protect *myself*," I insisted. Legolas shook his head.
"No. I will not take that risk, and I will not change my mind, however much I will miss you while I am away." I pressed my lips into a hard line and willed my tears to stop coming. Legolas stepped over to me, took the shirt I was folding out of my hands, and wrapped his arms around me. I sighed and breathed in his scent, knowing that it could be quite some time before I would have him here to comfort me, should I need it. After a few moments, I sniffed, attempting to compose myself, and pulled away.
"Should I go inform Aldeon?" I asked. "Just so he can begin packing. . ." Legolas smiled.
"Yes, and I will go inform the rest of the elves that will be going with me." I gave my best impression of a smile before turning to leave.
A/N: Well, that's all for now, folks! I will update as soon as possible, but I *do* have an English project due Friday that I've barely started on, so I wouldn't be looking for anything any sooner than Thursday night. And a big thank you to my new beta, Sugar High5! No more typos! Yay! Ok, anyways. . . if anybody out there has read Rose Daughter and would like to help a poor author with an English project, email me! Lol, and also, I am taking requests for elf-cookies! Haldir, Elrond, Erestor, Figwit. . . reviewers deserve the best!
Bree Cheese!:
Although it was not of my doing (I would never have followed through on such a vile threat) Marilla did find out about Legolas's injury (along with all of Mirkwood, though he had asked that it not be 'publicized') and found it necessary to come wailing to his room. I mean wailing literally, high pitched squealing and tears; the whole deal. It was quite amusing for those of us not on the receiving end of her 'affections', but I soon sent in the healer to put Legolas out of his misery; she told Marilla that her being there could possibly stress him, perhaps causing his immune system to lower its guard, making him more vulnerable to infection, which could possibly kill him. I was quite sure she did not understand a word of it, except for the 'kill him' part, which seemed to be enough to drive her from the room for a while.
A week had passed since Legolas was wounded, and he was now up and about, doing nearly everything as he was before he was hurt. Everything except fighting, that is, which the healer had strictly forbidden for another week, which meant that he had more free time on his hands. . . which was quite a dangerous thing for Legolas to have.
"How did you talk me into this?" I asked drowsily for what must have been the fourth time.
"I do not think I remember anymore," he replied, shrugging. "This is some potent stuff; I believe it has addled my mind a bit."
"Does not take much to do that," I mumbled as I sipped my own drink. We were sitting in the wine cellar drinking some newly imported wine. Legolas had overheard a servant speaking about the new shipment and had insisted on sneaking down here to try it out. I had tried to get him to wait until the next feast, where he could drink it with everyone else, but he claimed to be tired of his bedroom and wanted an outing.
An hour and two jugs of wine later, we were still in the wine cellar.
"I am taking this away before we both get more drunk than we already are," I said as I pushed the jugs away.
"Drunk? Who's drunk?" Legolas, who had imbibed much more drink that I, said quite loudly.
"Both of us," I replied, "But at least I realize it."
"I am not drunk," Legolas maintained stubbornly. "BREE CHEESE!"
"Shhh!" I said, clamping my hand over his mouth. "You are begging for your father to find us out!" I paused a moment. "Bree cheese?"
"Yes," he said, quite calmly. "I want some Bree cheese." I raised my eyebrows.
"I do not believe we have any. . . Bree cheese. I think it is time to go back upstairs, Legolas." I stood up, only to find that my wine-laden legs would not hold me. I steadied myself on the table and started walking over to where Legolas was. "Come now, stand up," I ordered. He frowned up at me.
"Fine," he said haughtily. He stood up too quickly, and tried lean on me to catch himself; however, seeing as how I could barely hold myself up, we both went tumbling to the floor.
"We will never make it upstairs at this rate," I said as Legolas rolled halfway off of me.
"Good," he mumbled into my shoulder as he settled his head there and promptly began snoring.
"Legolas," I said irritably as I shook him. "Wake up!" This was to no avail, however, so I soon gave up. The wine I had drunk soon caught up with me and I was fast asleep beside him.
"And you said *I* was more drunk than you," I heard as I woke up, pressing a hand to my aching head. I cracked open my eyes to see Legolas sitting in a chair above me.
"Well you were," I said. "You just slept it off faster than I did."
"Is that ever an understatement," he laughed. "I woke up two hours ago with naught but a headache. I doubt you can even see straight."
"You mean your craving for 'Bree cheese' also wore off?"
"Bree cheese?" he said incredulously. "What is that?" I shrugged.
"I do not know; you claimed to want some while you were less than coherent." I sighed. "Forget it; Help me up." Legolas complied, and I found that I had to lean on him to walk. I pinched him hard when he started snickering. "I may not get over it as quickly as you did, but at least I had my wits about me the entire time." He feigned surprise.
"You mean you have wits?"
"I swear, Legolas, if I could see straight, I would-"
"Not be having half as much fun," he finished for me.
"However much fun you two may be having, I suggest you clear out of here quite quickly," we heard above us. We looked up to see Aldeon on the stairs. "Galion is on his way down and I suspect he will be less than pleased to find you down here."
"I *told* you we would get caught!" I said, keeping my arms around Legolas's neck to hold myself up. Aldeon took this in with raised eyebrows.
" *What* exactly are you doing?" He said.
"I am having a bit of a problem standing on my own," I said ashamedly. He sighed as he hurried down the steps. He picked me up, cradling me like a baby.
"Legolas does not need to be holding your weight with his injury," he pointed out.
"Oh," I said guiltily. "Sorry." Legolas shrugged.
"You weigh next to nothing. Come, let us get out of here before-"
"I get down here and catch you?" Once again our eyes were drawn to the stairs, where this time we saw Galion staring down at us sternly.
"What possessed you to sneak down there and get into my best wine? Do you know how much that stuff costs?!" Thranduil glared at Legolas, Aldeon, and I. We were all three silent for several nerve-racking moments before Legolas spoke up.
"Aldeon and Mara are blameless, Father. Aldeon was not even there until he found us down there and tried to help, and I talked Mara into it. Besides, had she not been there to limit me, chances are that I would have drunk myself into a stupor and would still be lying down there, passed out on the floor." Legolas smiled a bit at his own attempted humor.
"This is not a laughing matter, Legolas. But you are partially right, Aldeon is free of blame except for the fact that he was tying to keep you from getting caught, which I cannot blame him for. However, despite the fact that you may have saved Legolas from a drunken stupor, Mara, you still knew better than to accompany Legolas on his. . . adventure." I hung my head a bit lower than it already had been.
"However," he continued. "In light of Legolas's recent injury, and the fact that Mara has never done such a thing, or at least never been *caught* doing it," his lips twitched a bit as he held back a smile, "There will be no punishment implemented. But stand warned: should this, or anything else, happen again, the culprits will regret it. Understood?" Legolas and I nodded enthusiastically, surprised that we had gotten off with only a lecture.
Less then five minutes later I was in Legolas's room, fussing as I had never fussed before.
"Never again will I *ever* listen to you! Because when I listen, you convince me to do something incredibly stupid, like drinking your father's wine!"
"But-"
"But nothing! I *told* you that we would get caught! But do you ever listen to me? No! Because you are too busy trying to get me to listen to you!"
"Mara!" Legolas interrupted. He pinned my arms, which I had been waving about with, to my sides and pushed me gently to sit on the bed. "If I had thought we would get caught, I never would have gone down there – or at least would not have asked you to join me. The last thing I would ever want would be to cause you any kind of trouble or pain, no matter how trivial the matter. I thought only of having a bit of fun." He paused. "Which you have to admit, excluding getting caught, it was fun." I smiled a bit.
"Maybe just a little," I allowed.
". . . And despite what happened earlier this week, I think that you are best suited to do this," Thranduil finished. I stared disbelievingly at him and Legolas. He wanted him to go to Rivendell?
"I know that you are still recovering from your wound, but I have spoken with the healers and they all agree that the riding would not slow the healing process. It is your choice, Legolas, I will not make you go; there are others I can send if you do not wish to go." Legolas glanced over in my direction with what looked like an apologetic expression before answering.
"I will go, Father, and represent the Mirkwood elves in this council." Thranduil nodded.
"Good. You will be accompanied by several elves of your own choosing; choose wisely; they will be your only help should you encounter any foul creatures on the way there. You will have to leave tomorrow morning to arrive in time. I am sorry that it is sprung upon you with so little notice, but I did not know myself until the messenger arrived this morning."
Legolas nodded and excused himself to go make ready for the journey. I left soon after and found him standing outside the doors waiting.
"I knew you would be following," he said with a small laugh. We walked toward his room in silence. When we got there, he pulled out a satchel and began packing.
"Can I help?" I asked quietly. He smiled and nodded and I began pulling out his traveling clothes and folding them. "Do you know how long you will be gone?" I asked after a while, trying my best to keep my voice from cracking. He shrugged.
"I do not know. It takes a while to get there, and since I do not know what the council is about, I do not know if anything besides my opinion will be required of me. I will come back as quickly as possible, though, I promise." I nodded and stubbornly wiped away a tear that had refused to stay hidden.
"Do you know who you will take with you?" I said as a thought occurred to me.
"Several members of the guard, I suppose; most likely Aldeon with them." He looked up and saw my hopeful look. "No!" he immediately said.
"Why not?" I said pleadingly. "I would not be any burden, I will be silent and ride my horse and not cause a bit of trouble, I swear it!"
"I know you would not cause any trouble," Legolas said, "But I could not guarantee your safety on such a trip, and I will not take such a risk with you."
"I will protect *myself*," I insisted. Legolas shook his head.
"No. I will not take that risk, and I will not change my mind, however much I will miss you while I am away." I pressed my lips into a hard line and willed my tears to stop coming. Legolas stepped over to me, took the shirt I was folding out of my hands, and wrapped his arms around me. I sighed and breathed in his scent, knowing that it could be quite some time before I would have him here to comfort me, should I need it. After a few moments, I sniffed, attempting to compose myself, and pulled away.
"Should I go inform Aldeon?" I asked. "Just so he can begin packing. . ." Legolas smiled.
"Yes, and I will go inform the rest of the elves that will be going with me." I gave my best impression of a smile before turning to leave.
A/N: Well, that's all for now, folks! I will update as soon as possible, but I *do* have an English project due Friday that I've barely started on, so I wouldn't be looking for anything any sooner than Thursday night. And a big thank you to my new beta, Sugar High5! No more typos! Yay! Ok, anyways. . . if anybody out there has read Rose Daughter and would like to help a poor author with an English project, email me! Lol, and also, I am taking requests for elf-cookies! Haldir, Elrond, Erestor, Figwit. . . reviewers deserve the best!