A/N: Sorry to those of you who will get the references to Phantom of the
Opera. A 'plot bunny' bit me while listening to the soundtrack.
Chapter 17- Masquerade
1 Súlimë 1430- The Citadel
"Emlin, stop fidgeting."
She looked at her mother, nodded her head, and calmed herself as best as she could with a deep breath. But again, she felt a wave of anxiety creep over her and she started moving again, fixing the smoothness of her dress constantly, never quite happy with the way it was draping on her shoulders. It was a beautiful gown though, made of a rich, deep blue velvet and accented with a jewel-toned green fabric that was almost like a fine feather that floated in the breeze. This green fluttered about her arms in long, cutaway sleeves and offered an element of cooler temperatures to the hot velvet. Never before had she worn anything as magnificent as this.
Though, she had never been invited to such a grand occasion, so there had never been any use for such gowns, unless she was playing dress-up with her mother's gowns.
"Why are you so nervous?" Haldir questioned her.
Why was she nervous? Why /I she nervous? Oh yes, she remembered. It was because it was her first time to really experience the grandeur of the city, and be invited to an occasion such as this. The past three days she had been higher than a bird floating about in the sky in anticipation for this night. What did they expect? That she would not be so anxious to go out? Of course, that was only a fraction of the reason why she was acting so oddly. It had been earlier today when she had taken a walk around the gardens when she heard talking. She had crept up to glimpse who it was, and peeked from around the corner carefully, finding Aragorn welcoming Legolas to the city. That was the real reason why she was so petrified for the night. She would finally be able to see Legolas once again, and speak to him for the first time sine Lórien.
Indilisse smiled at her and looked at Haldir, "You should know better than to question that, meleth. It is Emlin's first gala of this kind."
Emlin nodded her head, only half hearing her father's reply to her mother. She focused her attention further down the hallway where they were standing, waiting for any glimpse of her escort for the evening. Elrohir, being the only one without an elleth to share his time with here in Minas Tirith, had graciously offered his services as the arm that would guide her out with the other elves from Imladris. Oh yes, that was another reason why she was so anxious! How could she forget being escorted by Elrohir? That was a monumental occasion in itself, as he was a Lord of Imladris, and did not know her very well. Maybe Arwen had asked him to do it...
She found her fingers now working mercilessly on the gold-painted mask she held in her hands. If her dress had been breathtaking, then this mask was awe-inspiring. She had never imagined that people would wear anything like this out of face masks in battle. But she had been wrong. Very wrong. This certain mask had been ordered upon their arrival to the city, as well as her mother's and father's, but they were nowhere near as wonderful as hers was. Hers was only a half mask, that covered her forehead and some of her cheeks, but rested on her nose with the odd material ending at the point of her nose. Having something decorated in gold paint was one thing, but then with blue and green stones placed alternately over the brows and ending at a point together was completely another. The mask curved around her head perfectly, two wings- one on each side- rested against her temples and stretched backwards, with a satin string attached to the ends of these and tied together at the back of her head.
She felt a hand on hers and looked up to see her mother smile, "You will pluck the feathers out if you keep doing that, Emlin."
Emlin nodded her head and let out another breath. She would hardly make it through half of the night at this rate. All of her worrying had made her quite weary. Down the hall, she heard soft footfalls and then there appeared Elrohir with Eruanne and Elladan, all dressed in their finest and with ornate masks of different things. Not much was said between anyone as Elrohir offered his arm to her and they started again down the corridor that would lead them to Merethrond.
They stepped into the great hall, and Emlin was filled with even more awe. There were so many people, of many different races, talking, laughing and swirling women about on the floors to the lively music provided by very proficient minstrels. The men were dressed in their finest tunics, and the women in their best dresses, all of different colors. Some were yellow, some were red, some purple... it was just a sea of color that seemed to blend into one another, causing it the whole sight to be quite spell binding. Most things did not excite her such a way, but a moment like this was far beyond controlling.
Elrohir led her behind Elladan and Eruanne as they walked up the King and Queen to be welcomed by them. The actions between brothers and sister were formal for a few moments, until Elladan must have said something under his breath that earned him a rather undignified shove from Aragorn. Emlin looked over the King, finding that he had changed since she had last seen him. Instead of a lean Ranger who fought regularly, there was a man who was slightly more filled out from regular meals and lazy life sitting in councils rather than in battle, but he was nowhere near plump. His dark hair had changed also to a dark grey over most of his head and beard, except for a few strands that still remained untouched by mortality. However, he still held a certain youthfulness in his eyes.
Beside him stood Arwen, her crown resting easily on her head, but there was something odd with her. She still looked ever young, but now she too had a few slight streaks of silver running behind her ears, and it was not noticeable if you were not looking closely at her. Emlin sighed, knowing that this must have been an affect of her claiming mortality to be with Aragorn. While it was a sad thought to think that such a wonderful elleth would die mortally, Emlin did not even want to know what it would be like to live without your true love.
The couple stood dignified and smiling as guests continued to pour into the receiving line. Elrohir guided them to the table where they would sit, and goblets of wine were quickly filled by the awaiting servers. There was so much food set out in front of them, Emlin could barely even begin to think how any one army of ten thousand could even finish it off. But she was too excited to eat.
Emlin looked back at the dancers and smiled to herself, realizing she was not watching for enjoyment of the merriment, but searching for familiar faces. Gimli was there with his people, King Éomer had also come from the Mark for this event and probably for council as well, but he brought along what looked to be his wife. Many Gondorian nobles littered the floor as well, including Lord Faramir and Lady Éowyn, his wife. Celeborn now sat at the table next to Aragorn and Arwen, but seemed that not even the happiness of the day could make him smile as he still looked melancholy. It would not be long until he took his journey over sea to join Galadriel.
But there was still no sign of Legolas. Where was he? Had he already been around and then left to retire early? Or had been called away on important business from Ithilien? She turned back to the table and sipped her wine. That at least went down smoothly and relaxed her nerves enough so that she could chew on a few pieces of bread, but nothing more.
It was not long until she was whisked to the floor by her escort and pulled into a lively dance that switched partners enough that she had a chance to dance with Elladan, Éomer and Faramir. The dance ended and Emlin bowed to her original partner. They made their way from the main circle of dancers as Emlin felt the tie on her mask slip down slightly. She reached up behind her head and again secured the tie, turning to find her father standing before her.
He smiled down at her, "May I have the pleasure of this dance, my daughter?"
Emlin nodded her head as he took a hold of an arm and led her back to the floor as the first chords were struck from the viols to announce the next dance. It was slower paced than the last, but still quite fast. She had long since forgotten how well her father danced, as the last time they had done so was at the fall festival when she was only seven. Between that time and this time, so many rotten things had happened between them that it was hard to remember the pleasant times. She smiled broadly when he twirled her around. That had been her favorite step when she was younger because it made her feel that her father would never let anything happen to her even though she was thrust out in such a violent manner. He always kept a strong, protective grasp on her hand.
"Why are you smiling?" He questioned as the portion of the dance they were now into called for close movements.
"I was remembering when I was little." Emlin replied, "How I used to stand on your feet so you could show me the steps easily."
He chuckled, "You remember that?"
"I had forgotten for quite awhile." She said quietly, looking up at him. "But I remember now."
"So had I, Emlin." He replied, a smile remaining on his lips as he twirled her again with the music cue. The rest of the dance did not allow for talking, but it was lovely to be with her father and not arguing over something. Emlin bowed to him and caught his eyes, they were a mixture of happiness and sadness, as was in her eyes, and she knew that he must have been thinking about leaving her here in Minas Tirith. No matter how much she denied it, she would greatly miss her father and mother.
He was about to say something when another masked person stepped up and looked between them. "May I request the hand of your daughter in this dance, Haldir?"
Emlin did not recognize the voice, or the eyes looking through the holes in the mask, but her father still nodded his head and disappeared into the throng of dancers again. She looked over the tall man and found that he was elven by the point of his ears. Where had he come from? He bowed to her and pulled her hastily into the next dance.
"Forgive me, but I do not know your name." Emlin said, looking at his eyes. They were of the lightest shade of green she had ever seen, but they were piercing.
He smiled, "I am Valandir. Advisor to Legolas of Mirkwood."
Emlin turned her gaze to look about, but did not see him, "Is he here?"
"Nay, he is not." Valandir said quietly. "He made his appearance early before your fair party arrived and then went somewhere to be alone."
"Alone?" She questioned.
Valandir nodded, "I know, it seems odd on such a grand occasion, but he has been like this recently. Of course, that is enough from me, telling some strange elleth about my lord and the odd way he acts."
She giggled and looked at his eyes again, "I am Emlin."
"Your father was telling me about you." Valandir spoke, mirth glowing on his face.
"That cannot be a good thing, Valandir." She replied. She liked the way his name rolled off her tongue. As a matter of fact, she found all of him quite appealing, though she could not see all of his face. His long silver hair was smooth against her hand as she held onto his shoulder for the dance. His gaze was almost disconcerting, but it made her feel wanted as company. As with all elven bodies, his was long and lean, but she could feel the powerful muscle that lay hidden beneath his tunic. He was a warrior, not an advisor. "How did you become Legolas' advisor?"
"I was the only one brave enough to take the bait he laid out." Valandir smiled.
"The bait?" She questioned.
Valandir nodded his head, "He said there would be many beautiful elleths if I were to go with him. Unfortunately, he did not make good on his promise until this night."
Emlin felt her face grow warm and removed her gaze from his eyes, it making her all the more nervous. "But I am sure there are many elleths who went to Ithilien with you."
"Many did." He said, "I knew them though and found none attractive. "You, on the other hand, are what I would call a breath of fresh air from the monotony of Ithilien."
She laughed at him, "Well, I am glad you are impressed, but I must say that it is only the fine cloth and mask that I wear that make so different."
"I disagree." He replied, "It was your eyes that first captured me."
Emlin felt herself blush again, but this time it took over her entire body. She was already warm from all the dancing and closeness of people and adding this blush into the mixture only made the heat unbearable. Emlin looked back at his face to find a pleased look in his eyes and large smile on his lips. Often had she had someone flirt with her, and she would do it back, but never had she felt so bare as she did with Valandir doing this. Emlin sighed, shaking her head in an attempt to remove the thoughts from her mind.
The dance ended, and he took a hold of her arm, leading her out of the group of dancers. "What were you before you became an advisor?"
"Only a lowly guard of Mirkwood." Valandir smiled. "It does benefit you to have friends in high places, of course I was fourth in command of all forces of Mirkwood, but I hardly ever saw a great deal of ordering people about."
"What was your weapon of choice?" She questioned.
"I prefer to use my bow than any blade." He said, and gave her playful smile, "Why are you so interested in me?"
Emlin giggled, "I am the daughter of the March Warden! Of course I would have some interest in weaponry! I would go around with him when I was small and watch in awe during warden trainings and morning practice."
Valandir chuckled, "Then you must have a weapon you like."
"Only my sword because my skills with a bow are not that wonderful." She replied.
"That is preposterous!" He exclaimed, "You are elf!"
Emlin laughed and shrugged her shoulders, as they walked slowly, making their way out onto a large balcony, "I have never taken time to work on my skills, and no one has ever really taken a great deal of their time to teach me."
"Well, we cannot have that. I shall be here for a few more weeks." Valandir stopped at the edge of the balcony overlooking the rest of the larger levels of the city and the fields beyond.
"Then we should meet for a day of practice." She said.
Valandir smiled, "Oh, I have every intention of seeking you out, lirimaer, even if it is not for archery practice."
Emlin giggled lightly, only to relieve the bundle of nerves that had returned to her body. "I shall remember that, Valandir."
He chuckled, "Would you care for some wine? I will go fetch us some if you would."
"That would be nice." Emlin replied and watched him leave the balcony. She sat down on the high edge of the balcony and rested her legs on it as she leaned back onto a stone pillar that separated the different sections of railing. Valandir disappeared into the crowd, and she let out a long, relaxing breath while she reached up and removed her mask. Valandir was odd, but definitely someone she felt like would be good to know. At least he was a connection to Legolas.
"He is quite pushy, is he not?" Came the soft, mellifluous voice.
Emlin turned her head to the side to find Legolas creeping around the dark corner from the open gardens to the right. There was different in his voice and the way he looked at her, however. He stood straight and tall, not friendly and open like he had so many years before. It was almost as if he did not know her at all. This hurt her greatly, but she had to realize that maybe things were different now. Maybe marriage had changed him.
Legolas stood around the corner, admiring the new buds on a rose bush while listening to Valandir speak to the elleth. How had he found an elleth anyway in this sea of dwarves and humans all covered in masks? Of course, though, he could always credit Valandir with being one who could find truffles without the usage of a boar, so it probably had actually been very easy for him. It was not as if he cared as it was. Well, he did, because this was his friend making a move on an elleth, but Valandir could take care of it himself. But he had other things on his mind, and had even taken leave of the celebration very early in the evening, much to Aragorn and Arwen's joint dissatisfaction. He did not even know what they were, he just knew he could not stay with all the revelry of the evening.
Instead, he had spent a great deal of time walking about the garden and listening in on conversations that were meant to be private, out in the protection of the high shrubs and dark of night. All in all, he had heard several interesting conversations, most ending with resigned sighs as one person or the other dragged them off to their chambers for the evening. He was even sure that he had heard a couple making love in the center of the maze of shrubbery. Trying his best not to be too invasive, Legolas turned from the path he was on and had now ended up staring at this rose bush, and listening to Valandir spin his magic.
Valandir excused himself to fetch wine, and Legolas heard a sigh come from the lonely elleth's lips. He smiled to himself and turned the corner to gaze upon who his friend had found. Legolas was more than surprised by the beauty of elleth, her long golden hair shimmering in the moonlight, her soft face turned up towards the sky now that she resting on the edge of the balcony. Her dress was of the finest cloth, and hung on her perfectly even when she was sitting, revealing an ample form for that of a female elf.
"He is quite pushy." He said as he walked up to stand beside her. Her eyes lit up then, and she smiled at him.
"Aye, my lord." She replied quietly, looking away from him and up to the bright stars in the sky.
Legolas followed her gaze and sighed. He had not been out on this balcony since the wedding of the King, but still it seemed that the stars were bright and gleaming down onto the city, turning it to mithril. "'Tis a beautiful night."
"For a grand occasion." The maiden said, "I did not see you in the hall, my lord. Where were you?"
"Please, it is Legolas." He replied, "And I was out here walking around the gardens. We do not have many lush gardens in Ithilien, or even in Mirkwood for that matter."
Legolas looked back at her, finding that shadows on her face coupled with the accented gleam of moonlight, added to her beauty if that was at all possible. There was something odd about her. She turned her eyes to him and gave him a sheepish smile. "Imladris has beautiful gardens."
"Aye, it does. But the most magnificent were in Lórien." He said, "Have you been to Lórien?"
"I have," she replied hesitantly, but tried to change the subject, "So Valandir is your advisor, my lord?"
Legolas nodded his head, "I guess you could say that about him, though I think that sometimes he is more my ill-mannered brother than anything else."
She laughed heartily at that. "You are a prince, how could you have better manners than even me, my lord?"
"What do you imply, my lady?" He questioned her with a raised brow, but laughed at himself. It was true a lot of the time that he was easily angered and annoyed by little things and let people know it. And when he was generally unhappy, it was wise just to stay out of his path. "Never mind, I think you know me better than even I do."
The maiden was silent again and looked out over the fields. "I have heard tell that you were betrothed to the Princess of Lindon? I did not think that it was true, but since you are here, you could answer me."
Legolas looked at her and laughed, "I was betrothed. It is quite the story actually. I was resigning myself to do my duty and bind with her, but when she arrived to Mirkwood after the war, she had already bound with the Harbormaster of the Grey Havens. My father was not very happy."
"I can imagine." She said and glanced at him, her eyes sweeping down his body as if appraising him. Legolas felt suddenly self conscious and shifted his weight lightly over his feet. "Why did you have to resign yourself, my lord?"
"I am serious when I say would rather you call me Legolas." He sighed. "And as an answer... she was not the nicest elf to be with. And I had hoped for attentions of another- someone whom I could choose, but when I did find someone intriguing, it was apparent that it would never work between us for so many reasons."
"Here is your wine, lirimaer." Came a voice from beside them. They both turned to look, finding that Valandir now stood before them, interrupting their rather delightful conversation. The maiden took her wine and sipped it gently, holding the goblet in her lap as she looked over both of them. Legolas felt oddly out of place, and it seemed that Valandir wished him to leave as soon as he could from the look on his face, but instead Valandir held out his goblet to him. "Here, Legolas, take this, and I will go fetch my own."
Legolas chuckled and pushed Valandir's hand away, "No, mellon, you drink. It was a pleasure meeting you... I did not learn your name. That is ever rude of me."
"Names are not important, my lord." She smiled slightly and then glanced at Valandir, "I should actually be getting back inside. They will be wondering where I disappeared."
"Who did you come with, my lady?" Legolas asked.
"Lord Elrohir." She said and stood up from her spot, taking a hold of her mask. "Good night, mellyn."
Legolas watched the maiden leave and be swept up again into the sea of people on the dance floor. He turned to Valandir, "What is her name?"
Valandir smiled, "If she does not wish you to know it, then I will not tell you."
"Fine, then, I will bother Elrohir on the morrow for information on this elusive guest." Legolas replied and left his friend standing on the balcony. Why would the maiden not tell him her name? He would think about that the entire night, in addition to remembering how beautiful she was.
---
Sulime- March
Meleth- love
Mellon- friend
Lirimaer- lovely one
Mellyn- friends.
Chapter 17- Masquerade
1 Súlimë 1430- The Citadel
"Emlin, stop fidgeting."
She looked at her mother, nodded her head, and calmed herself as best as she could with a deep breath. But again, she felt a wave of anxiety creep over her and she started moving again, fixing the smoothness of her dress constantly, never quite happy with the way it was draping on her shoulders. It was a beautiful gown though, made of a rich, deep blue velvet and accented with a jewel-toned green fabric that was almost like a fine feather that floated in the breeze. This green fluttered about her arms in long, cutaway sleeves and offered an element of cooler temperatures to the hot velvet. Never before had she worn anything as magnificent as this.
Though, she had never been invited to such a grand occasion, so there had never been any use for such gowns, unless she was playing dress-up with her mother's gowns.
"Why are you so nervous?" Haldir questioned her.
Why was she nervous? Why /I she nervous? Oh yes, she remembered. It was because it was her first time to really experience the grandeur of the city, and be invited to an occasion such as this. The past three days she had been higher than a bird floating about in the sky in anticipation for this night. What did they expect? That she would not be so anxious to go out? Of course, that was only a fraction of the reason why she was acting so oddly. It had been earlier today when she had taken a walk around the gardens when she heard talking. She had crept up to glimpse who it was, and peeked from around the corner carefully, finding Aragorn welcoming Legolas to the city. That was the real reason why she was so petrified for the night. She would finally be able to see Legolas once again, and speak to him for the first time sine Lórien.
Indilisse smiled at her and looked at Haldir, "You should know better than to question that, meleth. It is Emlin's first gala of this kind."
Emlin nodded her head, only half hearing her father's reply to her mother. She focused her attention further down the hallway where they were standing, waiting for any glimpse of her escort for the evening. Elrohir, being the only one without an elleth to share his time with here in Minas Tirith, had graciously offered his services as the arm that would guide her out with the other elves from Imladris. Oh yes, that was another reason why she was so anxious! How could she forget being escorted by Elrohir? That was a monumental occasion in itself, as he was a Lord of Imladris, and did not know her very well. Maybe Arwen had asked him to do it...
She found her fingers now working mercilessly on the gold-painted mask she held in her hands. If her dress had been breathtaking, then this mask was awe-inspiring. She had never imagined that people would wear anything like this out of face masks in battle. But she had been wrong. Very wrong. This certain mask had been ordered upon their arrival to the city, as well as her mother's and father's, but they were nowhere near as wonderful as hers was. Hers was only a half mask, that covered her forehead and some of her cheeks, but rested on her nose with the odd material ending at the point of her nose. Having something decorated in gold paint was one thing, but then with blue and green stones placed alternately over the brows and ending at a point together was completely another. The mask curved around her head perfectly, two wings- one on each side- rested against her temples and stretched backwards, with a satin string attached to the ends of these and tied together at the back of her head.
She felt a hand on hers and looked up to see her mother smile, "You will pluck the feathers out if you keep doing that, Emlin."
Emlin nodded her head and let out another breath. She would hardly make it through half of the night at this rate. All of her worrying had made her quite weary. Down the hall, she heard soft footfalls and then there appeared Elrohir with Eruanne and Elladan, all dressed in their finest and with ornate masks of different things. Not much was said between anyone as Elrohir offered his arm to her and they started again down the corridor that would lead them to Merethrond.
They stepped into the great hall, and Emlin was filled with even more awe. There were so many people, of many different races, talking, laughing and swirling women about on the floors to the lively music provided by very proficient minstrels. The men were dressed in their finest tunics, and the women in their best dresses, all of different colors. Some were yellow, some were red, some purple... it was just a sea of color that seemed to blend into one another, causing it the whole sight to be quite spell binding. Most things did not excite her such a way, but a moment like this was far beyond controlling.
Elrohir led her behind Elladan and Eruanne as they walked up the King and Queen to be welcomed by them. The actions between brothers and sister were formal for a few moments, until Elladan must have said something under his breath that earned him a rather undignified shove from Aragorn. Emlin looked over the King, finding that he had changed since she had last seen him. Instead of a lean Ranger who fought regularly, there was a man who was slightly more filled out from regular meals and lazy life sitting in councils rather than in battle, but he was nowhere near plump. His dark hair had changed also to a dark grey over most of his head and beard, except for a few strands that still remained untouched by mortality. However, he still held a certain youthfulness in his eyes.
Beside him stood Arwen, her crown resting easily on her head, but there was something odd with her. She still looked ever young, but now she too had a few slight streaks of silver running behind her ears, and it was not noticeable if you were not looking closely at her. Emlin sighed, knowing that this must have been an affect of her claiming mortality to be with Aragorn. While it was a sad thought to think that such a wonderful elleth would die mortally, Emlin did not even want to know what it would be like to live without your true love.
The couple stood dignified and smiling as guests continued to pour into the receiving line. Elrohir guided them to the table where they would sit, and goblets of wine were quickly filled by the awaiting servers. There was so much food set out in front of them, Emlin could barely even begin to think how any one army of ten thousand could even finish it off. But she was too excited to eat.
Emlin looked back at the dancers and smiled to herself, realizing she was not watching for enjoyment of the merriment, but searching for familiar faces. Gimli was there with his people, King Éomer had also come from the Mark for this event and probably for council as well, but he brought along what looked to be his wife. Many Gondorian nobles littered the floor as well, including Lord Faramir and Lady Éowyn, his wife. Celeborn now sat at the table next to Aragorn and Arwen, but seemed that not even the happiness of the day could make him smile as he still looked melancholy. It would not be long until he took his journey over sea to join Galadriel.
But there was still no sign of Legolas. Where was he? Had he already been around and then left to retire early? Or had been called away on important business from Ithilien? She turned back to the table and sipped her wine. That at least went down smoothly and relaxed her nerves enough so that she could chew on a few pieces of bread, but nothing more.
It was not long until she was whisked to the floor by her escort and pulled into a lively dance that switched partners enough that she had a chance to dance with Elladan, Éomer and Faramir. The dance ended and Emlin bowed to her original partner. They made their way from the main circle of dancers as Emlin felt the tie on her mask slip down slightly. She reached up behind her head and again secured the tie, turning to find her father standing before her.
He smiled down at her, "May I have the pleasure of this dance, my daughter?"
Emlin nodded her head as he took a hold of an arm and led her back to the floor as the first chords were struck from the viols to announce the next dance. It was slower paced than the last, but still quite fast. She had long since forgotten how well her father danced, as the last time they had done so was at the fall festival when she was only seven. Between that time and this time, so many rotten things had happened between them that it was hard to remember the pleasant times. She smiled broadly when he twirled her around. That had been her favorite step when she was younger because it made her feel that her father would never let anything happen to her even though she was thrust out in such a violent manner. He always kept a strong, protective grasp on her hand.
"Why are you smiling?" He questioned as the portion of the dance they were now into called for close movements.
"I was remembering when I was little." Emlin replied, "How I used to stand on your feet so you could show me the steps easily."
He chuckled, "You remember that?"
"I had forgotten for quite awhile." She said quietly, looking up at him. "But I remember now."
"So had I, Emlin." He replied, a smile remaining on his lips as he twirled her again with the music cue. The rest of the dance did not allow for talking, but it was lovely to be with her father and not arguing over something. Emlin bowed to him and caught his eyes, they were a mixture of happiness and sadness, as was in her eyes, and she knew that he must have been thinking about leaving her here in Minas Tirith. No matter how much she denied it, she would greatly miss her father and mother.
He was about to say something when another masked person stepped up and looked between them. "May I request the hand of your daughter in this dance, Haldir?"
Emlin did not recognize the voice, or the eyes looking through the holes in the mask, but her father still nodded his head and disappeared into the throng of dancers again. She looked over the tall man and found that he was elven by the point of his ears. Where had he come from? He bowed to her and pulled her hastily into the next dance.
"Forgive me, but I do not know your name." Emlin said, looking at his eyes. They were of the lightest shade of green she had ever seen, but they were piercing.
He smiled, "I am Valandir. Advisor to Legolas of Mirkwood."
Emlin turned her gaze to look about, but did not see him, "Is he here?"
"Nay, he is not." Valandir said quietly. "He made his appearance early before your fair party arrived and then went somewhere to be alone."
"Alone?" She questioned.
Valandir nodded, "I know, it seems odd on such a grand occasion, but he has been like this recently. Of course, that is enough from me, telling some strange elleth about my lord and the odd way he acts."
She giggled and looked at his eyes again, "I am Emlin."
"Your father was telling me about you." Valandir spoke, mirth glowing on his face.
"That cannot be a good thing, Valandir." She replied. She liked the way his name rolled off her tongue. As a matter of fact, she found all of him quite appealing, though she could not see all of his face. His long silver hair was smooth against her hand as she held onto his shoulder for the dance. His gaze was almost disconcerting, but it made her feel wanted as company. As with all elven bodies, his was long and lean, but she could feel the powerful muscle that lay hidden beneath his tunic. He was a warrior, not an advisor. "How did you become Legolas' advisor?"
"I was the only one brave enough to take the bait he laid out." Valandir smiled.
"The bait?" She questioned.
Valandir nodded his head, "He said there would be many beautiful elleths if I were to go with him. Unfortunately, he did not make good on his promise until this night."
Emlin felt her face grow warm and removed her gaze from his eyes, it making her all the more nervous. "But I am sure there are many elleths who went to Ithilien with you."
"Many did." He said, "I knew them though and found none attractive. "You, on the other hand, are what I would call a breath of fresh air from the monotony of Ithilien."
She laughed at him, "Well, I am glad you are impressed, but I must say that it is only the fine cloth and mask that I wear that make so different."
"I disagree." He replied, "It was your eyes that first captured me."
Emlin felt herself blush again, but this time it took over her entire body. She was already warm from all the dancing and closeness of people and adding this blush into the mixture only made the heat unbearable. Emlin looked back at his face to find a pleased look in his eyes and large smile on his lips. Often had she had someone flirt with her, and she would do it back, but never had she felt so bare as she did with Valandir doing this. Emlin sighed, shaking her head in an attempt to remove the thoughts from her mind.
The dance ended, and he took a hold of her arm, leading her out of the group of dancers. "What were you before you became an advisor?"
"Only a lowly guard of Mirkwood." Valandir smiled. "It does benefit you to have friends in high places, of course I was fourth in command of all forces of Mirkwood, but I hardly ever saw a great deal of ordering people about."
"What was your weapon of choice?" She questioned.
"I prefer to use my bow than any blade." He said, and gave her playful smile, "Why are you so interested in me?"
Emlin giggled, "I am the daughter of the March Warden! Of course I would have some interest in weaponry! I would go around with him when I was small and watch in awe during warden trainings and morning practice."
Valandir chuckled, "Then you must have a weapon you like."
"Only my sword because my skills with a bow are not that wonderful." She replied.
"That is preposterous!" He exclaimed, "You are elf!"
Emlin laughed and shrugged her shoulders, as they walked slowly, making their way out onto a large balcony, "I have never taken time to work on my skills, and no one has ever really taken a great deal of their time to teach me."
"Well, we cannot have that. I shall be here for a few more weeks." Valandir stopped at the edge of the balcony overlooking the rest of the larger levels of the city and the fields beyond.
"Then we should meet for a day of practice." She said.
Valandir smiled, "Oh, I have every intention of seeking you out, lirimaer, even if it is not for archery practice."
Emlin giggled lightly, only to relieve the bundle of nerves that had returned to her body. "I shall remember that, Valandir."
He chuckled, "Would you care for some wine? I will go fetch us some if you would."
"That would be nice." Emlin replied and watched him leave the balcony. She sat down on the high edge of the balcony and rested her legs on it as she leaned back onto a stone pillar that separated the different sections of railing. Valandir disappeared into the crowd, and she let out a long, relaxing breath while she reached up and removed her mask. Valandir was odd, but definitely someone she felt like would be good to know. At least he was a connection to Legolas.
"He is quite pushy, is he not?" Came the soft, mellifluous voice.
Emlin turned her head to the side to find Legolas creeping around the dark corner from the open gardens to the right. There was different in his voice and the way he looked at her, however. He stood straight and tall, not friendly and open like he had so many years before. It was almost as if he did not know her at all. This hurt her greatly, but she had to realize that maybe things were different now. Maybe marriage had changed him.
Legolas stood around the corner, admiring the new buds on a rose bush while listening to Valandir speak to the elleth. How had he found an elleth anyway in this sea of dwarves and humans all covered in masks? Of course, though, he could always credit Valandir with being one who could find truffles without the usage of a boar, so it probably had actually been very easy for him. It was not as if he cared as it was. Well, he did, because this was his friend making a move on an elleth, but Valandir could take care of it himself. But he had other things on his mind, and had even taken leave of the celebration very early in the evening, much to Aragorn and Arwen's joint dissatisfaction. He did not even know what they were, he just knew he could not stay with all the revelry of the evening.
Instead, he had spent a great deal of time walking about the garden and listening in on conversations that were meant to be private, out in the protection of the high shrubs and dark of night. All in all, he had heard several interesting conversations, most ending with resigned sighs as one person or the other dragged them off to their chambers for the evening. He was even sure that he had heard a couple making love in the center of the maze of shrubbery. Trying his best not to be too invasive, Legolas turned from the path he was on and had now ended up staring at this rose bush, and listening to Valandir spin his magic.
Valandir excused himself to fetch wine, and Legolas heard a sigh come from the lonely elleth's lips. He smiled to himself and turned the corner to gaze upon who his friend had found. Legolas was more than surprised by the beauty of elleth, her long golden hair shimmering in the moonlight, her soft face turned up towards the sky now that she resting on the edge of the balcony. Her dress was of the finest cloth, and hung on her perfectly even when she was sitting, revealing an ample form for that of a female elf.
"He is quite pushy." He said as he walked up to stand beside her. Her eyes lit up then, and she smiled at him.
"Aye, my lord." She replied quietly, looking away from him and up to the bright stars in the sky.
Legolas followed her gaze and sighed. He had not been out on this balcony since the wedding of the King, but still it seemed that the stars were bright and gleaming down onto the city, turning it to mithril. "'Tis a beautiful night."
"For a grand occasion." The maiden said, "I did not see you in the hall, my lord. Where were you?"
"Please, it is Legolas." He replied, "And I was out here walking around the gardens. We do not have many lush gardens in Ithilien, or even in Mirkwood for that matter."
Legolas looked back at her, finding that shadows on her face coupled with the accented gleam of moonlight, added to her beauty if that was at all possible. There was something odd about her. She turned her eyes to him and gave him a sheepish smile. "Imladris has beautiful gardens."
"Aye, it does. But the most magnificent were in Lórien." He said, "Have you been to Lórien?"
"I have," she replied hesitantly, but tried to change the subject, "So Valandir is your advisor, my lord?"
Legolas nodded his head, "I guess you could say that about him, though I think that sometimes he is more my ill-mannered brother than anything else."
She laughed heartily at that. "You are a prince, how could you have better manners than even me, my lord?"
"What do you imply, my lady?" He questioned her with a raised brow, but laughed at himself. It was true a lot of the time that he was easily angered and annoyed by little things and let people know it. And when he was generally unhappy, it was wise just to stay out of his path. "Never mind, I think you know me better than even I do."
The maiden was silent again and looked out over the fields. "I have heard tell that you were betrothed to the Princess of Lindon? I did not think that it was true, but since you are here, you could answer me."
Legolas looked at her and laughed, "I was betrothed. It is quite the story actually. I was resigning myself to do my duty and bind with her, but when she arrived to Mirkwood after the war, she had already bound with the Harbormaster of the Grey Havens. My father was not very happy."
"I can imagine." She said and glanced at him, her eyes sweeping down his body as if appraising him. Legolas felt suddenly self conscious and shifted his weight lightly over his feet. "Why did you have to resign yourself, my lord?"
"I am serious when I say would rather you call me Legolas." He sighed. "And as an answer... she was not the nicest elf to be with. And I had hoped for attentions of another- someone whom I could choose, but when I did find someone intriguing, it was apparent that it would never work between us for so many reasons."
"Here is your wine, lirimaer." Came a voice from beside them. They both turned to look, finding that Valandir now stood before them, interrupting their rather delightful conversation. The maiden took her wine and sipped it gently, holding the goblet in her lap as she looked over both of them. Legolas felt oddly out of place, and it seemed that Valandir wished him to leave as soon as he could from the look on his face, but instead Valandir held out his goblet to him. "Here, Legolas, take this, and I will go fetch my own."
Legolas chuckled and pushed Valandir's hand away, "No, mellon, you drink. It was a pleasure meeting you... I did not learn your name. That is ever rude of me."
"Names are not important, my lord." She smiled slightly and then glanced at Valandir, "I should actually be getting back inside. They will be wondering where I disappeared."
"Who did you come with, my lady?" Legolas asked.
"Lord Elrohir." She said and stood up from her spot, taking a hold of her mask. "Good night, mellyn."
Legolas watched the maiden leave and be swept up again into the sea of people on the dance floor. He turned to Valandir, "What is her name?"
Valandir smiled, "If she does not wish you to know it, then I will not tell you."
"Fine, then, I will bother Elrohir on the morrow for information on this elusive guest." Legolas replied and left his friend standing on the balcony. Why would the maiden not tell him her name? He would think about that the entire night, in addition to remembering how beautiful she was.
---
Sulime- March
Meleth- love
Mellon- friend
Lirimaer- lovely one
Mellyn- friends.