A/N: This continuation starts about eleven years after the last chapter.
In this time, Legolas has gone back to Gondor, populated Ithilien with
elves, as has Gimli, with dwarves in the Glittering caves. Legolas is a
Lord of Ithilien along with Faramir, the Prince of Ithilien. Gimli is Lord
of the Glittering Caves, The remainder of the evil forces on Middle-earth
have been stamped out. The Ringbearers have sailed into the West, and
Celeborn has tired of the new East Lórien, and moved on to Imladris to
dwell with his grandsons. Haldir and Indilisse move with their family to
Imladris, because of Celeborn and their extended ties with the Twins.
Emlin is well past her sixtieth begetting day.
Chapter 16- Invitations
Year 1430 of the Fourth Age- Imladris
"Emlin, would you please come here?"
Emlin looked up from the stitching of her torn gown when she heard her mother's call. With an annoyed sigh, Emlin stood from her seat and placed her mending down on a side table. All she had wanted to do was finish with this project, but seemed every time that she started, she was called away from some reason. This morning it had been when Thoron begged her to go down to the archery ranges to practice their shooting skills. Emlin knew that it would have been pointless to argue with him, especially since she still felt a tad guilty for what had happened so many years ago, but also because Thoron was so persuasive. It also would not benefit her to go down with her brother as he was now very much better at his arching than she was and constantly liked to rub that into her face.
Needless to say, she had gone down with him and lost horribly at their contest of skills. That had been much to her father's pleasure, as it seemed he was extremely proud all of his long hours teaching Thoron paid off. When she had finally escaped from him, she had gone back up to start mending her clothes, but again she had been interrupted, this time by Aranel to go for a walk. And now, only newly returned from the noon meal and only three more stitches into the repair, her mother was calling her.
"Yes, Naneth?" Emlin questioned, putting on her most pleasant face. Something she had learned in the past few years was that any type of snide remark or unpleasant look on her face would earn her an equally sour look from her mother and possibly a lesson in manners. She looked about the room and saw her father sitting in a chair, looking over a piece of parchment. Lovely. Hopefully this would not be another of their 'councils' where they teamed up on her and told her that she was being childish and needed to change her ways.
Ever since her problem ten years ago, they had regularly held such meetings to discuss proper courses of actions for her and them to take, almost as though she was some prisoner and disobeyed the rules of the prison guards. At the beginning of her punishment, Emlin had expected such things, but now such a long time later, she had hoped they would stop their councils. After all, she had grown quite a bit since then with her healthy dose of guilt and shame forever eating away at her mind every time she thought she might do something against her parents' standards or wishes.
Now she at least thought through things before she tried them, always weighing all possible outcomes.
Her mother held up a piece of folded parchment, "This came by messenger for you, Emlin."
Emlin took the parchment and appraised it carefully, finding the red wax seal on the back, and recognized the crest of Gondor with it's tree and seven stars. She cocked an eyebrow up, looking at it more curiously, slowly slipping her fingers under the flap and breaking the seal. "What is it?"
"Read and you will find out." Indilisse replied, turning back to the book in front of her.
Emlin opened the parchment up, and carefully read the elegantly scrawled Elvish.
'To Emlin, the true spice of everyone's life-
The last time we spoke, you were leaving Edoras in the most foul of
moods. I cannot say that I blame you, but it was a little much,
especially since you deserved all that you received. But a few months
before that, I recall a promise I made to you to send word so that you
could come to Minas Tirith as my courtier and as a student of the
teachers here and also of my teachings. My offer still stands, and I
think that now is the appropriate time to invite you to stay in Minas
Tirith. I will be requiring your aide in many ways the coming months,
for what reasons are beyond the explanation of this letter. Your
parents have already expressed their desire to let you try once again
to be on your own, but mind you that Elessar and I will still keep a
watchful eye on you. I will not continue to bore you, Emlin, but I
will request that you come to Minas Tirith now as a personal request
from the Queen of Gondor. If your parents know any better, they will
know not to disregard the wishes of the Queen.
With much love,
Arwen Undómiel'
Emlin read the last line, and forgot that she had held her breath when she started to read. Letting out a long sigh, Emlin took in another deep breath and moved her gaze up to look between her parents. "Does this mean that my punishment is lifted?"
"When we arrive in Minas Tirith it will be lifted." Haldir replied.
"We?" She questioned, feeling an innate feeling of dread come over her. Did Arwen send another letter saying that they were meant to be with her?
Her mother smiled, "We have been invited to the one-hundredth birthday of King Elessar. That was the missive that was originally sent, but Arwen added this."
"But soon after the celebration, we shall be leaving and come back to Imladris." Haldir added, "But you will stay in Minas Tirith."
Emlin could not believe her ears. She could have sworn that this would never happen for her, and that her parents would never allow her to go- and that was even if she ever received another invitation from Arwen. Emlin jumped from her seat and ran to her mother, hugging her closely and then moved to her father, doing the same, thanking them profusely. "Thank you so much, Nana and Ada."
"The celebration is to be a masque," her father said, looking at her.
"What is a masque?" Emlin asked, interested.
Her mother smiled, "It is generally a custom of Men, but it is great excitement for anyone who takes part in it. Everyone that is invited, even the King and Queen, will be wearing masks to cover their faces. Some only cover the half of your face, and others all of your face. I am sure that there will be masks in Minas Tirith that we can choose from so we do not need to burden ourselves with things like that."
Emlin let out a squeal of anticipation, "It sounds so wonderful."
Her father chuckled, "It is."
Indilisse smiled warmly, "We will be leaving within a few weeks with Elladan, Elrohir and Celeborn. I suggest you start preparing for the journey."
"Is Lady Eruanne going as well?" Emlin questioned. Ever since coming to Imladris, Emlin and Aranel found quite a fascination in Elladan's wife who had also come from Lórien. She was elleth with quite a fiery personality and strong resolve, much like Emlin's mother, but not so obstinate as Indilisse, and also had a very light sense of humor, finding almost anything funny. Eruanne had even taken to giving Emlin some lessons on healing in her spare time, for which Emlin was greatly appreciative.
"Aye, of course she will be traveling with Elladan." Indilisse chuckled, "I do not think Elladan would go anywhere unless Eruanne could be on his arm."
Emlin giggled, "But is that not a good thing?"
"That is a very good thing," Spoke the deep voice from the corner of the room. They turned to look at Haldir, and he smiled, "Hopefully you will one day know that devotion from another yourself Emlin."
That could have meant so many things, but it was strange coming from her father's mouth. Emlin shrugged it off and moved quickly for the door, "I will be out if you are looking for me."
"What will I wear, Naneth?" Emlin questioned. "I have nothing befitting of a royal ball."
Indilisse laughed, "Then we will have to visit the seamstress. Or maybe you could take a look through my gowns."
"What gowns?" Haldir questioned. "You are more fond of male garments than you are of female garments."
Her mother shot him a scathing look, "Just because I do not fill them out as well as you..."
Did she really need to hear this? Had her parents ever been so... open... in their words when she was around them? Had she never noticed it before?
Before they could detain her any longer, Emlin was out the door and walking out along a nearby stream. She could not wait to leave! She could not wait to see the White City restored, and from a different point of view than from a child who was about to be severely punished. Would it gleam like she had heard in numerous stories?
But her mind was not fully on what the city would look like. What would she do there? Would her days be filled with learning from the large library of Minas Tirith, and sitting with Arwen? Just that thought was so wonderful. Arwen, the most beautiful elf in all of Arda, and also the busy Queen of Gondor, would spend some of her valuable time with her. Undómiel had always had a special place in Emlin's heart, as she was one of the kindest and most likable high-borne elleths she had ever met, but Arwen's accepting hand was beyond anything Emlin could have hoped for, making Emlin realize just how wonderful she was.
Oh the possibilities of this! And what was more, Emlin realized she would be a lady of the court of Gondor. She would meet knights and lords and... princes.
Emlin stopped and sat down on the river bank, sticking her feet into the cool water and thinking of the princes she would meet. Hopefully one of them would be a certain one from Mirkwood, though she knew that by this point, Legolas must have honored his betrothal to the Lindonian princess. As far as she knew, he could be living happily and comfortably with a child by now, and with a beautiful princess as his wife to boot. This made Emlin's overly excited mood plummet to the ground, and her heart ache. She had not heard of anything about Legolas since her time many years before in Minas Tirith, and even then he had stayed far from her, not wishing to speak with her.
She knew that he probably did this because he thought her completely incapable of being an adult, and whatever interest he had in her before had been trampled over the instant he realized that she still acted like a little elfling. But she had grown since then, in numerous ways, and she wished that she could show him that. She wished that she could stand before him and not be Haldir's young daughter, but be his love and the person he wanted to devour with passionate kisses.
It was hopeless, though, and she knew that, but she still wanted to see him again in Minas Tirith when she arrived. As she would be one of the few people she knew for awhile. It would be nice to have a friendly face.
5 Nénimë 1430- South Ithilien Promontory of Legolas, Lord of Ithilien and Prince of Mirkwood
"My lord?"
Legolas looked up from his reports on the numbers of guards posted about the edges of Ithilien, and the number of things they had come into contact with on the borders. All in all, it had looked very promising, especially since they usually only had to worry about the occasional thief or wicked man now that most of Sauron's forces were eradicated, and it really did not require much of his attention, but he had always liked to make sure that his people were protected first and foremost. Actually, building this colony had been very easy, and he did not see much use for his leadership, but if there was one thing he would do until his last breath, it would be protecting his people.
"Yes, Valandir?" Legolas asked his former guard of Mirkwood, turned good friend, now turned his closest advisor in all matters.
"A missive came from Minas Tirith for you." He said, handing the yellow parchment to him.
Legolas took the letter, and looked back at he seal, finding the red sealing wax and the crest of Gondor. "Did the messenger say what it was in regards to?"
Valandir shrugged his shoulders, "They mentioned something about the King's birthday."
Tearing open the seal, Legolas skimmed the elegantly scrawled Elvish and smiled. "The Queen is planning a masque for the King's birthday celebration. And I have been invited."
"Who will you take to accompany, you?" Valandir asked evenly.
"Of course you, my dearest friend." Legolas said, letting a large smile cross his features.
"Legolas, I say this with the utmost respect on my part, but as you may fancy rather masculine looking elleths, I am not an elleth." His friend replied with the straightest face he could manage.
Legolas chuckled and repositioned himself in his seat, "Since I will not have female attention, I might as well have the companionship of a friend."
Valandir afforded him a cynical glance. "I have been to Mina Tirith with you before, Legolas, and I know personally that women flock to you like a gaggle of geese."
"They do." Legolas nodded his head, "But I mean any appropriate elleth attention."
"You do not think the Queen would invite her brothers to the masque?" Valandir asked. "I am sure they will bring elleths with them."
Legolas chuckled, "Nay, Elladan is bound now, did I not tell you? And Elrohir is still quite happy sowing his oats, so he will not bring any because he cannot choose."
"To whom did Lord Elladan bind to?" Valandir asked.
"Eruanne of Lórien." Legolas replied, motioning for his friend to sit across from him as he poured two goblets of wine. "She was once a friend of Nindë the Abominable One, but luckily she saw through the evilness that Nindë was."
Valandir sat down and sighed, "Maybe it would be beneficial to you if you were to cave into Nindë's advances for a night."
Legolas furrowed his brows in question, handing Valandir a goblet. "Beneficial in what way, Valandir? It would only make her think she had succeeded in her scheming."
"Legolas, it does not take a mind reader to know that you are not happy." Valandir said as he took a long sip of his wine.
Legolas slumped into his seat and lifted his legs so that they would rest on the table in front of him, "You think I am unhappy? Of course I am happy."
"And you cover it so well." Valandir said with a sarcastic tone into his cup. "Really, Legolas, be honest."
"I am honest." He sighed and swished the wine around in his goblet. "I do wish to take to the Sea, Valandir, that does make me exceptionally unhappy, but I will stay in Middle-earth until Aragorn departs."
Valandir smiled, "I meant of a more personal nature, Legolas. You who filled his bed with many unsuspecting elleths, has been completely chaste since the return from the war. I am beginning to think something has happened that you no longer care for such interactions, or that the lack of interactions has made you unhappy."
Legolas chuckled lightly, crossing his arms over his chest as he gazed up at the forest green banner of Mirkwood hanging from the rafters of his study, the golden embroidery of the Greenleaf crest upon it and glittering from the bright candlelight in the room. "I have not fulfilled one area I have long wished to, and my time in Middle-earth is growing closer to its end."
"What is that?" Valandir questioned.
"To be in love and have a family." Legolas said, letting a long sigh come from his lips. "I do not care for casual liaisons now. I wish to experience that physical euphoria again only if it is with my true love."
Valandir nodded his head and was silent for awhile before speaking, "But when you leave for Valinor, there will be many elleths there."
"Aye, there will be." He sipped his wine. "But in the same regard I do not think I would wish to wait so long."
"Maybe you will not." Valandir said, downing the rest of his wine. "King Elessar may not have much longer."
Legolas chuckled, "He still has quite some time left. And knowing my friend, he will forever be resilient to any implication that he is aging, though however much his mind is that of the Eldar, his body is still very much that of a Man. It will fail in time, but he still has many more years left to rule this land."
"I will go with you, Legolas, but do make sure you invite some elleths along to entertain me." Valandir stood from his seat and walked over to place the empty goblet back on the silver platter.
Legolas chuckled, "Then I will do that."
Valandir then walked for the door, but stopped and turned to look back at Legolas before leaving the room. "What color shall I plan to wear, my lord, so that we may match accordingly?"
"Leave me be!" Legolas waived his hand at his friend. After the door shut behind Valandir, Legolas closed his eyes for a few moments, envisioning some far off land. It could have been Valinor for all he knew, but it was paradise, and he was there with an elleth. He could not see her clearly, but what he did see clearly was one very young elfling skipping along beside them with a bow in his hands.
Was that meant to be his son? It did look like a great deal like him, but still he was the one putting these images into his head. He was not looking into the future. With a heavy sigh, Legolas opened his eyes and stood up. He stretched his arms over his head and placed his goblet next to Valandir's before turn back to his work. Legolas picked up the parchment again and smiled. At least he would be spending some much needed time with other friends.
----
Nénimë- February
Chapter 16- Invitations
Year 1430 of the Fourth Age- Imladris
"Emlin, would you please come here?"
Emlin looked up from the stitching of her torn gown when she heard her mother's call. With an annoyed sigh, Emlin stood from her seat and placed her mending down on a side table. All she had wanted to do was finish with this project, but seemed every time that she started, she was called away from some reason. This morning it had been when Thoron begged her to go down to the archery ranges to practice their shooting skills. Emlin knew that it would have been pointless to argue with him, especially since she still felt a tad guilty for what had happened so many years ago, but also because Thoron was so persuasive. It also would not benefit her to go down with her brother as he was now very much better at his arching than she was and constantly liked to rub that into her face.
Needless to say, she had gone down with him and lost horribly at their contest of skills. That had been much to her father's pleasure, as it seemed he was extremely proud all of his long hours teaching Thoron paid off. When she had finally escaped from him, she had gone back up to start mending her clothes, but again she had been interrupted, this time by Aranel to go for a walk. And now, only newly returned from the noon meal and only three more stitches into the repair, her mother was calling her.
"Yes, Naneth?" Emlin questioned, putting on her most pleasant face. Something she had learned in the past few years was that any type of snide remark or unpleasant look on her face would earn her an equally sour look from her mother and possibly a lesson in manners. She looked about the room and saw her father sitting in a chair, looking over a piece of parchment. Lovely. Hopefully this would not be another of their 'councils' where they teamed up on her and told her that she was being childish and needed to change her ways.
Ever since her problem ten years ago, they had regularly held such meetings to discuss proper courses of actions for her and them to take, almost as though she was some prisoner and disobeyed the rules of the prison guards. At the beginning of her punishment, Emlin had expected such things, but now such a long time later, she had hoped they would stop their councils. After all, she had grown quite a bit since then with her healthy dose of guilt and shame forever eating away at her mind every time she thought she might do something against her parents' standards or wishes.
Now she at least thought through things before she tried them, always weighing all possible outcomes.
Her mother held up a piece of folded parchment, "This came by messenger for you, Emlin."
Emlin took the parchment and appraised it carefully, finding the red wax seal on the back, and recognized the crest of Gondor with it's tree and seven stars. She cocked an eyebrow up, looking at it more curiously, slowly slipping her fingers under the flap and breaking the seal. "What is it?"
"Read and you will find out." Indilisse replied, turning back to the book in front of her.
Emlin opened the parchment up, and carefully read the elegantly scrawled Elvish.
'To Emlin, the true spice of everyone's life-
The last time we spoke, you were leaving Edoras in the most foul of
moods. I cannot say that I blame you, but it was a little much,
especially since you deserved all that you received. But a few months
before that, I recall a promise I made to you to send word so that you
could come to Minas Tirith as my courtier and as a student of the
teachers here and also of my teachings. My offer still stands, and I
think that now is the appropriate time to invite you to stay in Minas
Tirith. I will be requiring your aide in many ways the coming months,
for what reasons are beyond the explanation of this letter. Your
parents have already expressed their desire to let you try once again
to be on your own, but mind you that Elessar and I will still keep a
watchful eye on you. I will not continue to bore you, Emlin, but I
will request that you come to Minas Tirith now as a personal request
from the Queen of Gondor. If your parents know any better, they will
know not to disregard the wishes of the Queen.
With much love,
Arwen Undómiel'
Emlin read the last line, and forgot that she had held her breath when she started to read. Letting out a long sigh, Emlin took in another deep breath and moved her gaze up to look between her parents. "Does this mean that my punishment is lifted?"
"When we arrive in Minas Tirith it will be lifted." Haldir replied.
"We?" She questioned, feeling an innate feeling of dread come over her. Did Arwen send another letter saying that they were meant to be with her?
Her mother smiled, "We have been invited to the one-hundredth birthday of King Elessar. That was the missive that was originally sent, but Arwen added this."
"But soon after the celebration, we shall be leaving and come back to Imladris." Haldir added, "But you will stay in Minas Tirith."
Emlin could not believe her ears. She could have sworn that this would never happen for her, and that her parents would never allow her to go- and that was even if she ever received another invitation from Arwen. Emlin jumped from her seat and ran to her mother, hugging her closely and then moved to her father, doing the same, thanking them profusely. "Thank you so much, Nana and Ada."
"The celebration is to be a masque," her father said, looking at her.
"What is a masque?" Emlin asked, interested.
Her mother smiled, "It is generally a custom of Men, but it is great excitement for anyone who takes part in it. Everyone that is invited, even the King and Queen, will be wearing masks to cover their faces. Some only cover the half of your face, and others all of your face. I am sure that there will be masks in Minas Tirith that we can choose from so we do not need to burden ourselves with things like that."
Emlin let out a squeal of anticipation, "It sounds so wonderful."
Her father chuckled, "It is."
Indilisse smiled warmly, "We will be leaving within a few weeks with Elladan, Elrohir and Celeborn. I suggest you start preparing for the journey."
"Is Lady Eruanne going as well?" Emlin questioned. Ever since coming to Imladris, Emlin and Aranel found quite a fascination in Elladan's wife who had also come from Lórien. She was elleth with quite a fiery personality and strong resolve, much like Emlin's mother, but not so obstinate as Indilisse, and also had a very light sense of humor, finding almost anything funny. Eruanne had even taken to giving Emlin some lessons on healing in her spare time, for which Emlin was greatly appreciative.
"Aye, of course she will be traveling with Elladan." Indilisse chuckled, "I do not think Elladan would go anywhere unless Eruanne could be on his arm."
Emlin giggled, "But is that not a good thing?"
"That is a very good thing," Spoke the deep voice from the corner of the room. They turned to look at Haldir, and he smiled, "Hopefully you will one day know that devotion from another yourself Emlin."
That could have meant so many things, but it was strange coming from her father's mouth. Emlin shrugged it off and moved quickly for the door, "I will be out if you are looking for me."
"What will I wear, Naneth?" Emlin questioned. "I have nothing befitting of a royal ball."
Indilisse laughed, "Then we will have to visit the seamstress. Or maybe you could take a look through my gowns."
"What gowns?" Haldir questioned. "You are more fond of male garments than you are of female garments."
Her mother shot him a scathing look, "Just because I do not fill them out as well as you..."
Did she really need to hear this? Had her parents ever been so... open... in their words when she was around them? Had she never noticed it before?
Before they could detain her any longer, Emlin was out the door and walking out along a nearby stream. She could not wait to leave! She could not wait to see the White City restored, and from a different point of view than from a child who was about to be severely punished. Would it gleam like she had heard in numerous stories?
But her mind was not fully on what the city would look like. What would she do there? Would her days be filled with learning from the large library of Minas Tirith, and sitting with Arwen? Just that thought was so wonderful. Arwen, the most beautiful elf in all of Arda, and also the busy Queen of Gondor, would spend some of her valuable time with her. Undómiel had always had a special place in Emlin's heart, as she was one of the kindest and most likable high-borne elleths she had ever met, but Arwen's accepting hand was beyond anything Emlin could have hoped for, making Emlin realize just how wonderful she was.
Oh the possibilities of this! And what was more, Emlin realized she would be a lady of the court of Gondor. She would meet knights and lords and... princes.
Emlin stopped and sat down on the river bank, sticking her feet into the cool water and thinking of the princes she would meet. Hopefully one of them would be a certain one from Mirkwood, though she knew that by this point, Legolas must have honored his betrothal to the Lindonian princess. As far as she knew, he could be living happily and comfortably with a child by now, and with a beautiful princess as his wife to boot. This made Emlin's overly excited mood plummet to the ground, and her heart ache. She had not heard of anything about Legolas since her time many years before in Minas Tirith, and even then he had stayed far from her, not wishing to speak with her.
She knew that he probably did this because he thought her completely incapable of being an adult, and whatever interest he had in her before had been trampled over the instant he realized that she still acted like a little elfling. But she had grown since then, in numerous ways, and she wished that she could show him that. She wished that she could stand before him and not be Haldir's young daughter, but be his love and the person he wanted to devour with passionate kisses.
It was hopeless, though, and she knew that, but she still wanted to see him again in Minas Tirith when she arrived. As she would be one of the few people she knew for awhile. It would be nice to have a friendly face.
5 Nénimë 1430- South Ithilien Promontory of Legolas, Lord of Ithilien and Prince of Mirkwood
"My lord?"
Legolas looked up from his reports on the numbers of guards posted about the edges of Ithilien, and the number of things they had come into contact with on the borders. All in all, it had looked very promising, especially since they usually only had to worry about the occasional thief or wicked man now that most of Sauron's forces were eradicated, and it really did not require much of his attention, but he had always liked to make sure that his people were protected first and foremost. Actually, building this colony had been very easy, and he did not see much use for his leadership, but if there was one thing he would do until his last breath, it would be protecting his people.
"Yes, Valandir?" Legolas asked his former guard of Mirkwood, turned good friend, now turned his closest advisor in all matters.
"A missive came from Minas Tirith for you." He said, handing the yellow parchment to him.
Legolas took the letter, and looked back at he seal, finding the red sealing wax and the crest of Gondor. "Did the messenger say what it was in regards to?"
Valandir shrugged his shoulders, "They mentioned something about the King's birthday."
Tearing open the seal, Legolas skimmed the elegantly scrawled Elvish and smiled. "The Queen is planning a masque for the King's birthday celebration. And I have been invited."
"Who will you take to accompany, you?" Valandir asked evenly.
"Of course you, my dearest friend." Legolas said, letting a large smile cross his features.
"Legolas, I say this with the utmost respect on my part, but as you may fancy rather masculine looking elleths, I am not an elleth." His friend replied with the straightest face he could manage.
Legolas chuckled and repositioned himself in his seat, "Since I will not have female attention, I might as well have the companionship of a friend."
Valandir afforded him a cynical glance. "I have been to Mina Tirith with you before, Legolas, and I know personally that women flock to you like a gaggle of geese."
"They do." Legolas nodded his head, "But I mean any appropriate elleth attention."
"You do not think the Queen would invite her brothers to the masque?" Valandir asked. "I am sure they will bring elleths with them."
Legolas chuckled, "Nay, Elladan is bound now, did I not tell you? And Elrohir is still quite happy sowing his oats, so he will not bring any because he cannot choose."
"To whom did Lord Elladan bind to?" Valandir asked.
"Eruanne of Lórien." Legolas replied, motioning for his friend to sit across from him as he poured two goblets of wine. "She was once a friend of Nindë the Abominable One, but luckily she saw through the evilness that Nindë was."
Valandir sat down and sighed, "Maybe it would be beneficial to you if you were to cave into Nindë's advances for a night."
Legolas furrowed his brows in question, handing Valandir a goblet. "Beneficial in what way, Valandir? It would only make her think she had succeeded in her scheming."
"Legolas, it does not take a mind reader to know that you are not happy." Valandir said as he took a long sip of his wine.
Legolas slumped into his seat and lifted his legs so that they would rest on the table in front of him, "You think I am unhappy? Of course I am happy."
"And you cover it so well." Valandir said with a sarcastic tone into his cup. "Really, Legolas, be honest."
"I am honest." He sighed and swished the wine around in his goblet. "I do wish to take to the Sea, Valandir, that does make me exceptionally unhappy, but I will stay in Middle-earth until Aragorn departs."
Valandir smiled, "I meant of a more personal nature, Legolas. You who filled his bed with many unsuspecting elleths, has been completely chaste since the return from the war. I am beginning to think something has happened that you no longer care for such interactions, or that the lack of interactions has made you unhappy."
Legolas chuckled lightly, crossing his arms over his chest as he gazed up at the forest green banner of Mirkwood hanging from the rafters of his study, the golden embroidery of the Greenleaf crest upon it and glittering from the bright candlelight in the room. "I have not fulfilled one area I have long wished to, and my time in Middle-earth is growing closer to its end."
"What is that?" Valandir questioned.
"To be in love and have a family." Legolas said, letting a long sigh come from his lips. "I do not care for casual liaisons now. I wish to experience that physical euphoria again only if it is with my true love."
Valandir nodded his head and was silent for awhile before speaking, "But when you leave for Valinor, there will be many elleths there."
"Aye, there will be." He sipped his wine. "But in the same regard I do not think I would wish to wait so long."
"Maybe you will not." Valandir said, downing the rest of his wine. "King Elessar may not have much longer."
Legolas chuckled, "He still has quite some time left. And knowing my friend, he will forever be resilient to any implication that he is aging, though however much his mind is that of the Eldar, his body is still very much that of a Man. It will fail in time, but he still has many more years left to rule this land."
"I will go with you, Legolas, but do make sure you invite some elleths along to entertain me." Valandir stood from his seat and walked over to place the empty goblet back on the silver platter.
Legolas chuckled, "Then I will do that."
Valandir then walked for the door, but stopped and turned to look back at Legolas before leaving the room. "What color shall I plan to wear, my lord, so that we may match accordingly?"
"Leave me be!" Legolas waived his hand at his friend. After the door shut behind Valandir, Legolas closed his eyes for a few moments, envisioning some far off land. It could have been Valinor for all he knew, but it was paradise, and he was there with an elleth. He could not see her clearly, but what he did see clearly was one very young elfling skipping along beside them with a bow in his hands.
Was that meant to be his son? It did look like a great deal like him, but still he was the one putting these images into his head. He was not looking into the future. With a heavy sigh, Legolas opened his eyes and stood up. He stretched his arms over his head and placed his goblet next to Valandir's before turn back to his work. Legolas picked up the parchment again and smiled. At least he would be spending some much needed time with other friends.
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Nénimë- February