1 week later...
Kyriana left the dining room quickly, hoping to avoid her father. As the weeks had gone by she had learned to trust Legolas and Maqueden, more than she trusted her own father. She only trusted them because they showed her love, something no one had done since her mother died. As she neared her room she heard the familiar click of her father's heels on the marble floor and scurried quickly into the flickering shadows cast by the torches. She watched as he passed and hoped that he didn't sense her presence. After he turned and went down another hall, Kyriana heaved a sigh of relief and moved back into the flickering torchlight.
Someone laid a hand on her shoulder and she turned quickly, only to see Legolas.
"Why do you hide from your father so?" He asked curiously, feeling that this was something he should not have asked.
"I wasn't hiding from my father." Kyriana lied smoothly, as she continued the walk down the hall to her room. "There was something on the wall and I wondered what it was."
"It's a painting my sister made." Legolas said slowly. Kyriana didn't know about his sister yet- she was the one unfriendly member of his family.
"I never knew you had a sister!" Kyriana mused, as they neared her room. "Why doesn't she ever eat dinner with the rest of your family?"
"She keeps to herself most of the time. She hasn't been the same since my mother died. None of us have." Legolas pulled her door open just as Kyriana's father came around the corner. The two collided and made a loud thud as the latter collapsed in a heap on the floor. Legolas stood there, hand on the doorknob, with a horrified expression on his face. Kyriana stifled a giggle as her father slowly got to his feet, impatiently swatting Legolas's help away.
"Kyriana, may I speak to you for a moment?" He asked once he was on his feet.
"I was about to turn in for the night. Can it wait?"
Her father opened his mouth to argue. Instead, images of what Legolas could do to him if he was seen striking his daughter filled his head, and he closed his mouth. Oh, what could be in store for him... There were the dungeons, for starters. And after Kyriana was the queen, she could do whatever she pleased to him. And Legolas... He almost shuddered thinking about what the blonde elf could do to him... And Legolas was only the prince! The king was worse! Instead of saying anything, he nodded his head and turned on his heel, walking quickly down the hall and away from Legolas.
After the halls were silent from the reverberations of the heels of his boots, Legolas and Kyriana burst out laughing. Legolas walked into her room and leaned against the wall, silent for a moment. Then, he spoke.
"I was going to go camping with Maqueden tomorrow. She'd love it if you came. Want to?"
Kyriana frowned. "Aren't there spiders out there? Or orcs?"
"There aren't that many spiders out there anymore. As for orcs... You can usually tell when they're coming. If you don't want to come, it's fine." He said, cutting off her attempt to speak. "But Maqueden and I will be armed, if it's any consolation."
"It is." Kyriana turned her gaze to the window. "I'll come."
"Are you afraid of your father?" Legolas asked suddenly, hoping to catch her off-guard and get the truth out of her.
"No." Kyriana lied. "I mean yes, he does frighten me a bit, but so do all men. It's not because he hurts me, if that's what you're getting at."
"It's not. Sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned it." Legolas turned to leave.
"Legolas?" Kyriana called as he left the room.
"Hmmm?" He turned back to face her.
"Thanks."
He smiled and walked out of the room.
***************The next day*************
Friday dawned crisp and clear. Maqueden took off from work early, packed a change of clothes and a few things to eat in a knapsack, tied her hair back, and brought a knife. As she walked through the woods on the path (well worn by she and Elenna) she listened to the birds singing in the trees. When she neared the castle, she heard Legolas and Kyriana talking. Silently she crept up behind Legolas, motioning for Kyriana to be quiet. Then, she pounced. What she didn't expect was for Legolas to move away at the last second. Worse than that, she landed in a heap on the ground.
Legolas and Kyriana laughed as Maqueden hurriedly pushed herself up off the ground.
"Good try." Legolas held out a hand to help her up. "Next time, don't be so loud on your last step. That's what gave you away."
Maqueden huffed and rolled her eyes. "So, are we going or aren't we?" Noticing that neither Legolas or Kyriana had the tent with them, she asked, "Who has the tent?"
"It's not supposed to rain tonight... Astoldominien and Allyiah went of somewhere for their anniversary and took the tent we normally use. The others are too small for all three of us, and I'm taking it you don't want to sleep alone..." Legolas sighed.
"Even for an elf, nights in the open can be spooky." Maqueden muttered under her breath, although she knew Legolas could hear her.
"It doesn't bother me."
"Only because you spent a year sleeping outside because there was nowhere to sleep." Maqueden reminded him. "Are we walking?"
"No. We're flying on a giant banana." Legolas answered, setting off in the direction Maqueden had just arrived from.
"Legolas!" She cried. "Why didn't you tell me we were going this way? Then you could have stopped by my house and picked me up and I wouldn't have had to walk all the way here, then back again!"
"Because we're only following this trail for part of the way." Legolas paused. Looking around, he started off again on another trail. "See?" He asked as Kyriana struggled to keep up with him.
"How often do you do this?" She puffed as she nearly ran to keep up with the two elves.
"About once a month, but it's been three months since our last night out here. You know, with all this stuff about..." He paused, still not comfortable with the fact that in 9 months he was to marry a girl he hardly knew and leave the world he was accustomed to behind... forever. "Anyway, it's this way."
As the trio marched through the forest, Kyriana found herself watching the way Maqueden looked at Legolas. The girl was obviously head over heels for him. He was clueless. Kyriana sighed, thinking of the day when she would finally find her true love. Of course, with her upcoming marriage to Legolas, this wasn't very likely...
As the sun reached it's peak in the sky, Legolas took the girls away from the camp and toward a stream that lay nearby. Kyriana refused to go anywhere near the water. Maqueden, on the other hand, jumped right in. Her splash soaked Kyriana, who looked confused for a moment before she realized what had hit her. Legolas had had time to run for cover and he did so. As she surfaced and called out, "Come on in!" He took his head off of the ground and cautiously made his way to her.
Kyriana edged closer to the water. Maqueden looked up at her and asked, "Why are you afraid of it?"
"Because I can't swim and I'll die because I'll drown!"
"If we taught you to swim..."
"Nah-uh." She put her feet in the water slowly, half expecting it to be icy cold.
"Oh, come on now! The water's warm... It's spring... The birds are singing..."
"I can hear just fine, thank you." Kyriana sighed.
"Please?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Goose!"
"No... wait a minute... what?" Kyriana laughed as Maqueden flapped around in the water, imitating a goose.
"Please?"
"If I drown... Or catch pneumonia..."
"I'm not gonna let you drown." Legolas took her hand and led her into the water. Kyriana shivered. The last time she had been in a lake or a stream was with her mother, when she wasn't afraid of everything.
Something shifted under her feet and she screamed and shot off towards the banks of the river. Legolas gave Maqueden an annoyed glance and swam after her, catching her and pulling her back in as she struggled to get out.
"There's nothing in this river that can hurt you." He said gently, swimming for the middle of the river. Maqueden soon joined him.
"Trust us. I'm out here every day to do laundry and get water. There's nothing that can hurt you, or it would have done so by now."
"Oh thanks! That helps a lot..." Kyriana muttered, once again trying to break away from Legolas's iron grip and make it to the river bank.
"You said you wanted to learn to swim. I'm only trying to teach you." Legolas said. "In order to swim, you must first..."
*********3 hours later************
As the sun slowly started to sink, they started back to the camp. Legolas built a fire, then lay on his back and watched the stars as they blanketed the night sky. Maqueden shivered in the wind, and reached for her cloak before she found herself covered in Legolas's. Grinning, she settled back onto the ground. As she yawned, she looked over at Kyriana. The girl sighed as she gazed at the stars.
As the night wore on, a comfortable silence befell the trio. Kyriana was the first to drift off, feeling protected by the fact that Legolas and Maqueden were both armed. That left them to talk quietly for a while.
"Something's bothering her." Legolas pointed out.
"I am aware of that. I just don't know what." Maqueden murmured.
"I think it's her father." Legolas sighed. "She hides from him every chance she gets, yet she won't tell me why."
"Maybe she doesn't want you to know yet." She stated, as though it would be blatantly obvious.
"Why?" Legolas asked questioningly.
"Because she doesn't feel comfortable around you." Maqueden sighed. Really, did she have to explain everything to him?
"Why?" He asked again, shifting so that he was sitting across from her.
"Because she just met you, for the Valar's sake! She doesn't want you to know because she's withdrawn, like your sister. When was the last time your sister ever told you something she wouldn't want anyone else to know?" Maqueden cried, remembering that Legolas was touchy when it came to mentioning his sister.
"Never." Legolas muttered.
"See?" Maqueden asked gently, falling back onto the soft earth and covering herself with her blanket. "That's how Kyriana feels."
Legolas sighed. "I know... It's just so frustrating sometimes!"
"Get used to it."
There was another silence. Then, Maqueden spoke. "Legolas?"
"Hmmm?"
"Goodnight."
"G'night."
She drifted away in to blessed sleep. Legolas stayed awake for a while longer, watching the fire and occasionally putting more sticks on. After a few hours of his "alone time" he, too drifted off... To a world of no forced marriages.
A/N: Sorry... It's not as long as I thought it would be... But I'll make up for it with some...
Thank you's!!!!!!!!!!
moonbunny77- elves have really good eyesight, right? After she left, Legolas was watching her. She was trying to mask her feelings for him but obviously wasn't doing so well. She really doesn't want him to know how she feels about him because that would be confusing for her, Legolas, Kyriana, and Elenna. Did I do a good job explaining?
Arwen's-Fate- Thank you! I'll try to be more faithful about updating...
Lady Deidra- Thanks for not flaming me! I hope u like the ending!
Cherry Fairy- thanks! Ah, this is only the beginning of poor Kyriana's troubles... Her dad only gets worse from here.
Nilimade- thanks for complementing me!
Merenwen/Shili-Dwelf of Lorien- *thinks to self* Interesting name... I'll update roughly once a week. It may be more or less...
Silcawen Uvanimor-dreamgirlfifi- Thanks for reviewing me! I will end up asking you for translations later on in this story!
Kyriana left the dining room quickly, hoping to avoid her father. As the weeks had gone by she had learned to trust Legolas and Maqueden, more than she trusted her own father. She only trusted them because they showed her love, something no one had done since her mother died. As she neared her room she heard the familiar click of her father's heels on the marble floor and scurried quickly into the flickering shadows cast by the torches. She watched as he passed and hoped that he didn't sense her presence. After he turned and went down another hall, Kyriana heaved a sigh of relief and moved back into the flickering torchlight.
Someone laid a hand on her shoulder and she turned quickly, only to see Legolas.
"Why do you hide from your father so?" He asked curiously, feeling that this was something he should not have asked.
"I wasn't hiding from my father." Kyriana lied smoothly, as she continued the walk down the hall to her room. "There was something on the wall and I wondered what it was."
"It's a painting my sister made." Legolas said slowly. Kyriana didn't know about his sister yet- she was the one unfriendly member of his family.
"I never knew you had a sister!" Kyriana mused, as they neared her room. "Why doesn't she ever eat dinner with the rest of your family?"
"She keeps to herself most of the time. She hasn't been the same since my mother died. None of us have." Legolas pulled her door open just as Kyriana's father came around the corner. The two collided and made a loud thud as the latter collapsed in a heap on the floor. Legolas stood there, hand on the doorknob, with a horrified expression on his face. Kyriana stifled a giggle as her father slowly got to his feet, impatiently swatting Legolas's help away.
"Kyriana, may I speak to you for a moment?" He asked once he was on his feet.
"I was about to turn in for the night. Can it wait?"
Her father opened his mouth to argue. Instead, images of what Legolas could do to him if he was seen striking his daughter filled his head, and he closed his mouth. Oh, what could be in store for him... There were the dungeons, for starters. And after Kyriana was the queen, she could do whatever she pleased to him. And Legolas... He almost shuddered thinking about what the blonde elf could do to him... And Legolas was only the prince! The king was worse! Instead of saying anything, he nodded his head and turned on his heel, walking quickly down the hall and away from Legolas.
After the halls were silent from the reverberations of the heels of his boots, Legolas and Kyriana burst out laughing. Legolas walked into her room and leaned against the wall, silent for a moment. Then, he spoke.
"I was going to go camping with Maqueden tomorrow. She'd love it if you came. Want to?"
Kyriana frowned. "Aren't there spiders out there? Or orcs?"
"There aren't that many spiders out there anymore. As for orcs... You can usually tell when they're coming. If you don't want to come, it's fine." He said, cutting off her attempt to speak. "But Maqueden and I will be armed, if it's any consolation."
"It is." Kyriana turned her gaze to the window. "I'll come."
"Are you afraid of your father?" Legolas asked suddenly, hoping to catch her off-guard and get the truth out of her.
"No." Kyriana lied. "I mean yes, he does frighten me a bit, but so do all men. It's not because he hurts me, if that's what you're getting at."
"It's not. Sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned it." Legolas turned to leave.
"Legolas?" Kyriana called as he left the room.
"Hmmm?" He turned back to face her.
"Thanks."
He smiled and walked out of the room.
***************The next day*************
Friday dawned crisp and clear. Maqueden took off from work early, packed a change of clothes and a few things to eat in a knapsack, tied her hair back, and brought a knife. As she walked through the woods on the path (well worn by she and Elenna) she listened to the birds singing in the trees. When she neared the castle, she heard Legolas and Kyriana talking. Silently she crept up behind Legolas, motioning for Kyriana to be quiet. Then, she pounced. What she didn't expect was for Legolas to move away at the last second. Worse than that, she landed in a heap on the ground.
Legolas and Kyriana laughed as Maqueden hurriedly pushed herself up off the ground.
"Good try." Legolas held out a hand to help her up. "Next time, don't be so loud on your last step. That's what gave you away."
Maqueden huffed and rolled her eyes. "So, are we going or aren't we?" Noticing that neither Legolas or Kyriana had the tent with them, she asked, "Who has the tent?"
"It's not supposed to rain tonight... Astoldominien and Allyiah went of somewhere for their anniversary and took the tent we normally use. The others are too small for all three of us, and I'm taking it you don't want to sleep alone..." Legolas sighed.
"Even for an elf, nights in the open can be spooky." Maqueden muttered under her breath, although she knew Legolas could hear her.
"It doesn't bother me."
"Only because you spent a year sleeping outside because there was nowhere to sleep." Maqueden reminded him. "Are we walking?"
"No. We're flying on a giant banana." Legolas answered, setting off in the direction Maqueden had just arrived from.
"Legolas!" She cried. "Why didn't you tell me we were going this way? Then you could have stopped by my house and picked me up and I wouldn't have had to walk all the way here, then back again!"
"Because we're only following this trail for part of the way." Legolas paused. Looking around, he started off again on another trail. "See?" He asked as Kyriana struggled to keep up with him.
"How often do you do this?" She puffed as she nearly ran to keep up with the two elves.
"About once a month, but it's been three months since our last night out here. You know, with all this stuff about..." He paused, still not comfortable with the fact that in 9 months he was to marry a girl he hardly knew and leave the world he was accustomed to behind... forever. "Anyway, it's this way."
As the trio marched through the forest, Kyriana found herself watching the way Maqueden looked at Legolas. The girl was obviously head over heels for him. He was clueless. Kyriana sighed, thinking of the day when she would finally find her true love. Of course, with her upcoming marriage to Legolas, this wasn't very likely...
As the sun reached it's peak in the sky, Legolas took the girls away from the camp and toward a stream that lay nearby. Kyriana refused to go anywhere near the water. Maqueden, on the other hand, jumped right in. Her splash soaked Kyriana, who looked confused for a moment before she realized what had hit her. Legolas had had time to run for cover and he did so. As she surfaced and called out, "Come on in!" He took his head off of the ground and cautiously made his way to her.
Kyriana edged closer to the water. Maqueden looked up at her and asked, "Why are you afraid of it?"
"Because I can't swim and I'll die because I'll drown!"
"If we taught you to swim..."
"Nah-uh." She put her feet in the water slowly, half expecting it to be icy cold.
"Oh, come on now! The water's warm... It's spring... The birds are singing..."
"I can hear just fine, thank you." Kyriana sighed.
"Please?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
"Goose!"
"No... wait a minute... what?" Kyriana laughed as Maqueden flapped around in the water, imitating a goose.
"Please?"
"If I drown... Or catch pneumonia..."
"I'm not gonna let you drown." Legolas took her hand and led her into the water. Kyriana shivered. The last time she had been in a lake or a stream was with her mother, when she wasn't afraid of everything.
Something shifted under her feet and she screamed and shot off towards the banks of the river. Legolas gave Maqueden an annoyed glance and swam after her, catching her and pulling her back in as she struggled to get out.
"There's nothing in this river that can hurt you." He said gently, swimming for the middle of the river. Maqueden soon joined him.
"Trust us. I'm out here every day to do laundry and get water. There's nothing that can hurt you, or it would have done so by now."
"Oh thanks! That helps a lot..." Kyriana muttered, once again trying to break away from Legolas's iron grip and make it to the river bank.
"You said you wanted to learn to swim. I'm only trying to teach you." Legolas said. "In order to swim, you must first..."
*********3 hours later************
As the sun slowly started to sink, they started back to the camp. Legolas built a fire, then lay on his back and watched the stars as they blanketed the night sky. Maqueden shivered in the wind, and reached for her cloak before she found herself covered in Legolas's. Grinning, she settled back onto the ground. As she yawned, she looked over at Kyriana. The girl sighed as she gazed at the stars.
As the night wore on, a comfortable silence befell the trio. Kyriana was the first to drift off, feeling protected by the fact that Legolas and Maqueden were both armed. That left them to talk quietly for a while.
"Something's bothering her." Legolas pointed out.
"I am aware of that. I just don't know what." Maqueden murmured.
"I think it's her father." Legolas sighed. "She hides from him every chance she gets, yet she won't tell me why."
"Maybe she doesn't want you to know yet." She stated, as though it would be blatantly obvious.
"Why?" Legolas asked questioningly.
"Because she doesn't feel comfortable around you." Maqueden sighed. Really, did she have to explain everything to him?
"Why?" He asked again, shifting so that he was sitting across from her.
"Because she just met you, for the Valar's sake! She doesn't want you to know because she's withdrawn, like your sister. When was the last time your sister ever told you something she wouldn't want anyone else to know?" Maqueden cried, remembering that Legolas was touchy when it came to mentioning his sister.
"Never." Legolas muttered.
"See?" Maqueden asked gently, falling back onto the soft earth and covering herself with her blanket. "That's how Kyriana feels."
Legolas sighed. "I know... It's just so frustrating sometimes!"
"Get used to it."
There was another silence. Then, Maqueden spoke. "Legolas?"
"Hmmm?"
"Goodnight."
"G'night."
She drifted away in to blessed sleep. Legolas stayed awake for a while longer, watching the fire and occasionally putting more sticks on. After a few hours of his "alone time" he, too drifted off... To a world of no forced marriages.
A/N: Sorry... It's not as long as I thought it would be... But I'll make up for it with some...
Thank you's!!!!!!!!!!
moonbunny77- elves have really good eyesight, right? After she left, Legolas was watching her. She was trying to mask her feelings for him but obviously wasn't doing so well. She really doesn't want him to know how she feels about him because that would be confusing for her, Legolas, Kyriana, and Elenna. Did I do a good job explaining?
Arwen's-Fate- Thank you! I'll try to be more faithful about updating...
Lady Deidra- Thanks for not flaming me! I hope u like the ending!
Cherry Fairy- thanks! Ah, this is only the beginning of poor Kyriana's troubles... Her dad only gets worse from here.
Nilimade- thanks for complementing me!
Merenwen/Shili-Dwelf of Lorien- *thinks to self* Interesting name... I'll update roughly once a week. It may be more or less...
Silcawen Uvanimor-dreamgirlfifi- Thanks for reviewing me! I will end up asking you for translations later on in this story!