Chapter 4
Galadwen left Maranwe to think things over in peace, and to go and find her handsome husband. She smile as she walked towards the castle, not sure where he would be. Her mind was still reeling from Maranwe's confession, never in a million years had Galadwen seen that coming. She desperately hoped that Elladan wasn't playing games here, Maranwe meant a lot to her and her family.
"Where have you been all this time?"
Galadwen turned, as she reached the courtyard, to find Legolas standing beside the water fountain. Her smile, instantly, widened as she walked over to him and slid her arms around his waist, burying her head in his neck.
"I have been with Maranwe in the stables, please do not ask me what we were talking about, for Maranwe told me in confidence and I would hate to break that." Her fingertips slid over the tip of his ear, causing his eyes to close and his mouth to break out in a smile. He, in turn, held her closer, nuzzling his mouth in to her dark hair.
"So Elladan's admission has left her confused." He raised his eyebrows as Galadwen moved to look at him, a confused expression etched on her lovely face.
He laughed slightly and placed his hand under her chin. "Yes, I already knew."
"But how?" She crossed her arms over her chest, the important feeling of being the only one to know, now well and truly gone.
"Elladan wrote me, he confessed his feelings for Maranwe. When she showed up here in that state I assumed he had declared his love to her."
Galadwen frowned and went to sit on the cold stone, around the fountain. Legolas laughed and followed her. "You are upset with me!" He said in disbelief.
"Legolas I am your wife and you kept something from me." She would not face him, but instead danced her hand through the icy water.
"It was not my secret to tell, and besides you would not have told me about Maranwe, you said yourself not to ask you!" He stood in front of her and placed his hand under her chin, once more, he tilted her chin to look him in the eyes. She held her scowl a while before she saw him wink, slightly. Slowly, and despite herself, her face lightened and she broke in to a smile. It infuriated her when he did that, making it impossible for her to stay mad at him.
"I hate you." She stood up and pushed him gently, making him laugh even more.
"You love me." He grabbed her round the waist and placed a single kiss on the tip of her ear. Galadwen turned back to dip her hand in the fountain, flicking water in to his face. She giggled hard as she moved away from him, certain he was about to retaliate.
"Tens seconds head start." He warned her, smiling like a fool in love. Galadwen picked up her skirts and began to run, giggling like a small child.
"Ten!" He ran after her at full speed, catching up with her in no time at all. He grabbed her, gently, and turned her in to his arms, resting his fore head against hers. His mouth came down softly, molding with her own.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maranwe sat on the wooden stool in the stable, holding her face in her hands. She had told Galadwen, and she was wondering whether or not she should have. Yes, she had given her advice on what to do now. However, what if she spoke to someone? Maranwe shook her head furiously, no Galadwen was a good friend; she would not tell anyone of what she had spoken.
"And of all the people! Who would have ever guessed that he would be my undoing."
Her words from earlier still rang in her mind. 'Elladan,' she thought. She did not know what to think of what he had said only two weeks ago in Imladris.
She had been taking care of her ill father for weeks, but she had finally been pulled from his side and convinced by her former handmaid to release some of her stress at the ball that night, celebrating Elladan and Elrohir's return from Lothlorien.
FLASHBACK
"Maranwe, how wonderful it is to see you again." Elladan spoke, taking her hand and bringing it to her lips.
She felt herself blush at this; he had never done this before; but she brushed it off and spoke. "The same to you Elladan, I trust things are well in Lothlorien?"
He nodded, "I must admit it was hard going there without seeing our grandmother, but Celeborn is handling it all very well." He glanced around the hall for a moment before speaking again; "I have to say Maranwe, that it is still awfully strange having you here without my sister, even though you've come here yourself plenty of times."
Maranwe nodded, "No I agree. It is still hard to leave Arwen, Estel and the children, I wish they could have come." She paused for a moment before saying, "Arwen is very worried about my father."
Elladan's eyes were full of concern, "Finrod is doing much better Maranwe, he'll be his old self soon, and you know that." she nodded again. There was a brief silence before Elladan spoke once more. More cautiously then he had only a moment before, "Is there another reason that you came to Imladris?"
She looked up into his blue eyes, confused, "What do you mean?"
The tall elf took a deep breath, "I mean that, are you not also glad to see me again as well?"
He was acting odd, and Maranwe knew this, "Of course I am Elladan, I said that only a few moments ago. You are not acting yourself, what is wrong?" What was wrong with her as well, she wondered, for she had never felt her heart pounding in her chest like this? She could hear her unsteady breathing as he stared deeply at her with his crystal blue eyes.
He did not respond. He simply took her hand and pulled her around the corner of the building where they stood. Before Maranwe could object he pressed his lips firmly to her own in a passion stirred kiss.
Maranwe pushed him away shocked, "Elladan!" she cried, her face turning a deep shade of red, "Are you mad?"
"Yes." Elladan said simply, "Madly in love with you, and I have been for years Maranwe, have you not seen it?"
This was a joke, Maranwe thought to herself. He was pulling another one of his pranks, as he had always done to her. Elrohir was probably in the bushes now laughing at the sight of them. "No I haven't." she managed to get out, through her ragged pants of anger, "What I have seen is you flirting with other elf maidens, and leaving them just as they begin to fall in love with you." She turned away from him and faced the stonewall behind her.
Elladan placed his hand at her waist, and Maranwe was shocked to find that she could not make herself shake him off. "Maranwe," he spoke gently, "those other maidens, are-"
"What?" she said, "Beautiful? Elegant? Graceful? Everything I am not." She replied with haste.
"But you are beautiful Maranwe, and elegant and graceful. But that is not the reason my heart has chosen you."
Maranwe felt tears welling up her eyes. It was a game, she told herself. Elladan knows how to play with words to make you think he truly cares. But if she knew it was a game, why did it hurt so much?
"Then what is Elladan?" she said, turning sharply to face him, "Just because I am no longer around the entire time does not make me an easier target to tease."
"Maranwe, I came back from Lothlorien early because I heard you were here. I knew that now was the time to tell you how I truly felt about you. That I want to spend the rest of my life with you, that I -"
She walked off before she heard anymore. There was no way that he would even say those three words to her as a joke, they were too powerful for that.
After his confession, she had avoided Elladan at all costs, every time she saw him she faced in another direction. She was a trained and able-bodied shield maiden of Gondor. She was not going to let herself fall prey to his cruel games. Her father was on the mend soon after that and she was to take her leave from Imladris and begin heading to where Arwen was in the north.
She was in the stables mounting up Asteria when he cornered her against the stable wall, "I am not going to let you leave without speaking to you again Maranwe." He spoke, his blue eyes looking into her very being.
She scowled and took a deep breath, "What do you want?" she asked crossly.
"I want nothing from you, except for you to think about what I told you that night at the ball." He reached his hand over and took her own. Bringing it up to his lips, he pressed a kiss to it and slipped something onto her finger. "The ring belonged to my mother, she gave it to me to give to you before she sailed to the Undying Lands. It's not an engagement ring, I know you don't want that." he said, "However it is a proposal, I want you to know that my heart cares for you Maranwe, more than you know. But I can let you know that I am pulling no prank on you. This is real." He said, lifting her hand to show her the silver ring he slipped on it. "And so is this." Just like he had before he dipped his head and kissed her quickly before he got a knee to his stomach.
Maranwe shot him an angry look and mounted Asteria without a word, "Don't do that again Elladan."
He gave her a cocky grin and his eyes sparkled, "I am in love, I can't control my actions."
She shook her head and kicked Asteria in the sides and took off at a hard run to the north. She could hear Elladan yelling after her, "You know you enjoyed that Maranwe! Do not lie to yourself!" but she pushed all thoughts of it to the back of her head.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Calen rolled his eyes, certain that his marriage to Celebriel was going to be a tempestuous one, and then some. She had a temper on her, and a tendency to storm ahead and take control without thinking it through. As he watched her inform his father why Elven blades were better then that of men, he cringed, knowing his father would not like a lady to speak of weapons, let alone so aggressively.
"They are both stronger and lighter, so they are much easier to wield."
He kept his face set in a deep frown, this was a Princess of Gondor, lady of this realm?
"You wield a sword often do you?" Calbon raised his eyebrows, sitting forward in his armchair. Celebriel, who was most comfortable sitting on the floor, leaned forward.
"Well I did train with the rangers, as you know, and my father taught us all when we were growing up. My brother's wife, she was a shield maiden of Rohan, daughter of the King, she and I spare from time to time, you know to stop from getting rusty." She paused only to take a breath before continuing.
"Then of course there is my mother, who is an Elf, as I'm sure you noticed when you met her. Her father, Elrond of Rivendell had a beautiful collection of weapons, when he past to the grey havens, my uncles Elladan and Elrohir took over and became the lords of Rivendell. They gave me my sword on my fifteenth birthday." She pulled out the exquisite blade and showed it to Calbon. He leant forward to admire it, before returning his sharp gaze to Celebriel. "You carry it with you everywhere?"
Celebriel laughed. "Oh Calbon, when you are a part of this family, you never know when you will need it."
Calen cringed, had she really just called him by his first name. He stood up quickly and held out his hand, to help her up. "Well father it was a joy as always, but we really must be going, I think we are probably expected.
"So soon? I feel as though we just got here." She turned to Calbon, who was now also standing, and extended her hand. "Doesn't time fly when you are having fun."
Calbon took her hand and kissed it politely. "Yes, until next time." He bowed slightly, feeling exhausted, and walked his son and his betrothed to the door. Well it would certainly be interesting having her as part of the family.
TBC!!!
Galadwen left Maranwe to think things over in peace, and to go and find her handsome husband. She smile as she walked towards the castle, not sure where he would be. Her mind was still reeling from Maranwe's confession, never in a million years had Galadwen seen that coming. She desperately hoped that Elladan wasn't playing games here, Maranwe meant a lot to her and her family.
"Where have you been all this time?"
Galadwen turned, as she reached the courtyard, to find Legolas standing beside the water fountain. Her smile, instantly, widened as she walked over to him and slid her arms around his waist, burying her head in his neck.
"I have been with Maranwe in the stables, please do not ask me what we were talking about, for Maranwe told me in confidence and I would hate to break that." Her fingertips slid over the tip of his ear, causing his eyes to close and his mouth to break out in a smile. He, in turn, held her closer, nuzzling his mouth in to her dark hair.
"So Elladan's admission has left her confused." He raised his eyebrows as Galadwen moved to look at him, a confused expression etched on her lovely face.
He laughed slightly and placed his hand under her chin. "Yes, I already knew."
"But how?" She crossed her arms over her chest, the important feeling of being the only one to know, now well and truly gone.
"Elladan wrote me, he confessed his feelings for Maranwe. When she showed up here in that state I assumed he had declared his love to her."
Galadwen frowned and went to sit on the cold stone, around the fountain. Legolas laughed and followed her. "You are upset with me!" He said in disbelief.
"Legolas I am your wife and you kept something from me." She would not face him, but instead danced her hand through the icy water.
"It was not my secret to tell, and besides you would not have told me about Maranwe, you said yourself not to ask you!" He stood in front of her and placed his hand under her chin, once more, he tilted her chin to look him in the eyes. She held her scowl a while before she saw him wink, slightly. Slowly, and despite herself, her face lightened and she broke in to a smile. It infuriated her when he did that, making it impossible for her to stay mad at him.
"I hate you." She stood up and pushed him gently, making him laugh even more.
"You love me." He grabbed her round the waist and placed a single kiss on the tip of her ear. Galadwen turned back to dip her hand in the fountain, flicking water in to his face. She giggled hard as she moved away from him, certain he was about to retaliate.
"Tens seconds head start." He warned her, smiling like a fool in love. Galadwen picked up her skirts and began to run, giggling like a small child.
"Ten!" He ran after her at full speed, catching up with her in no time at all. He grabbed her, gently, and turned her in to his arms, resting his fore head against hers. His mouth came down softly, molding with her own.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maranwe sat on the wooden stool in the stable, holding her face in her hands. She had told Galadwen, and she was wondering whether or not she should have. Yes, she had given her advice on what to do now. However, what if she spoke to someone? Maranwe shook her head furiously, no Galadwen was a good friend; she would not tell anyone of what she had spoken.
"And of all the people! Who would have ever guessed that he would be my undoing."
Her words from earlier still rang in her mind. 'Elladan,' she thought. She did not know what to think of what he had said only two weeks ago in Imladris.
She had been taking care of her ill father for weeks, but she had finally been pulled from his side and convinced by her former handmaid to release some of her stress at the ball that night, celebrating Elladan and Elrohir's return from Lothlorien.
FLASHBACK
"Maranwe, how wonderful it is to see you again." Elladan spoke, taking her hand and bringing it to her lips.
She felt herself blush at this; he had never done this before; but she brushed it off and spoke. "The same to you Elladan, I trust things are well in Lothlorien?"
He nodded, "I must admit it was hard going there without seeing our grandmother, but Celeborn is handling it all very well." He glanced around the hall for a moment before speaking again; "I have to say Maranwe, that it is still awfully strange having you here without my sister, even though you've come here yourself plenty of times."
Maranwe nodded, "No I agree. It is still hard to leave Arwen, Estel and the children, I wish they could have come." She paused for a moment before saying, "Arwen is very worried about my father."
Elladan's eyes were full of concern, "Finrod is doing much better Maranwe, he'll be his old self soon, and you know that." she nodded again. There was a brief silence before Elladan spoke once more. More cautiously then he had only a moment before, "Is there another reason that you came to Imladris?"
She looked up into his blue eyes, confused, "What do you mean?"
The tall elf took a deep breath, "I mean that, are you not also glad to see me again as well?"
He was acting odd, and Maranwe knew this, "Of course I am Elladan, I said that only a few moments ago. You are not acting yourself, what is wrong?" What was wrong with her as well, she wondered, for she had never felt her heart pounding in her chest like this? She could hear her unsteady breathing as he stared deeply at her with his crystal blue eyes.
He did not respond. He simply took her hand and pulled her around the corner of the building where they stood. Before Maranwe could object he pressed his lips firmly to her own in a passion stirred kiss.
Maranwe pushed him away shocked, "Elladan!" she cried, her face turning a deep shade of red, "Are you mad?"
"Yes." Elladan said simply, "Madly in love with you, and I have been for years Maranwe, have you not seen it?"
This was a joke, Maranwe thought to herself. He was pulling another one of his pranks, as he had always done to her. Elrohir was probably in the bushes now laughing at the sight of them. "No I haven't." she managed to get out, through her ragged pants of anger, "What I have seen is you flirting with other elf maidens, and leaving them just as they begin to fall in love with you." She turned away from him and faced the stonewall behind her.
Elladan placed his hand at her waist, and Maranwe was shocked to find that she could not make herself shake him off. "Maranwe," he spoke gently, "those other maidens, are-"
"What?" she said, "Beautiful? Elegant? Graceful? Everything I am not." She replied with haste.
"But you are beautiful Maranwe, and elegant and graceful. But that is not the reason my heart has chosen you."
Maranwe felt tears welling up her eyes. It was a game, she told herself. Elladan knows how to play with words to make you think he truly cares. But if she knew it was a game, why did it hurt so much?
"Then what is Elladan?" she said, turning sharply to face him, "Just because I am no longer around the entire time does not make me an easier target to tease."
"Maranwe, I came back from Lothlorien early because I heard you were here. I knew that now was the time to tell you how I truly felt about you. That I want to spend the rest of my life with you, that I -"
She walked off before she heard anymore. There was no way that he would even say those three words to her as a joke, they were too powerful for that.
After his confession, she had avoided Elladan at all costs, every time she saw him she faced in another direction. She was a trained and able-bodied shield maiden of Gondor. She was not going to let herself fall prey to his cruel games. Her father was on the mend soon after that and she was to take her leave from Imladris and begin heading to where Arwen was in the north.
She was in the stables mounting up Asteria when he cornered her against the stable wall, "I am not going to let you leave without speaking to you again Maranwe." He spoke, his blue eyes looking into her very being.
She scowled and took a deep breath, "What do you want?" she asked crossly.
"I want nothing from you, except for you to think about what I told you that night at the ball." He reached his hand over and took her own. Bringing it up to his lips, he pressed a kiss to it and slipped something onto her finger. "The ring belonged to my mother, she gave it to me to give to you before she sailed to the Undying Lands. It's not an engagement ring, I know you don't want that." he said, "However it is a proposal, I want you to know that my heart cares for you Maranwe, more than you know. But I can let you know that I am pulling no prank on you. This is real." He said, lifting her hand to show her the silver ring he slipped on it. "And so is this." Just like he had before he dipped his head and kissed her quickly before he got a knee to his stomach.
Maranwe shot him an angry look and mounted Asteria without a word, "Don't do that again Elladan."
He gave her a cocky grin and his eyes sparkled, "I am in love, I can't control my actions."
She shook her head and kicked Asteria in the sides and took off at a hard run to the north. She could hear Elladan yelling after her, "You know you enjoyed that Maranwe! Do not lie to yourself!" but she pushed all thoughts of it to the back of her head.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Calen rolled his eyes, certain that his marriage to Celebriel was going to be a tempestuous one, and then some. She had a temper on her, and a tendency to storm ahead and take control without thinking it through. As he watched her inform his father why Elven blades were better then that of men, he cringed, knowing his father would not like a lady to speak of weapons, let alone so aggressively.
"They are both stronger and lighter, so they are much easier to wield."
He kept his face set in a deep frown, this was a Princess of Gondor, lady of this realm?
"You wield a sword often do you?" Calbon raised his eyebrows, sitting forward in his armchair. Celebriel, who was most comfortable sitting on the floor, leaned forward.
"Well I did train with the rangers, as you know, and my father taught us all when we were growing up. My brother's wife, she was a shield maiden of Rohan, daughter of the King, she and I spare from time to time, you know to stop from getting rusty." She paused only to take a breath before continuing.
"Then of course there is my mother, who is an Elf, as I'm sure you noticed when you met her. Her father, Elrond of Rivendell had a beautiful collection of weapons, when he past to the grey havens, my uncles Elladan and Elrohir took over and became the lords of Rivendell. They gave me my sword on my fifteenth birthday." She pulled out the exquisite blade and showed it to Calbon. He leant forward to admire it, before returning his sharp gaze to Celebriel. "You carry it with you everywhere?"
Celebriel laughed. "Oh Calbon, when you are a part of this family, you never know when you will need it."
Calen cringed, had she really just called him by his first name. He stood up quickly and held out his hand, to help her up. "Well father it was a joy as always, but we really must be going, I think we are probably expected.
"So soon? I feel as though we just got here." She turned to Calbon, who was now also standing, and extended her hand. "Doesn't time fly when you are having fun."
Calbon took her hand and kissed it politely. "Yes, until next time." He bowed slightly, feeling exhausted, and walked his son and his betrothed to the door. Well it would certainly be interesting having her as part of the family.
TBC!!!