I was escorted down the 80-foot rope by two elves that looked almost
identical. They showed me through the forest to a riverbank. We crossed
over it in a kind of canoe thing and got to a huge open field. There was a
lone figure standing down at the other end with a few targets there. You
could tell it was Legolas by the accuracy he was hitting the targets with.
My armed guard left, and I walked down the, length of the field. Legolas acted like I wasn't there, even when I got up to a few feet away. He just kept on shooting arrows right into the bull's eye.
I don't need to write down just how crummy that made me feel. I'd just finally met this guy of my dreams that I'd been attracted to for, like, forever, and he tried to get me punished for something that was a total accident, frowns at me all the time and acts like I'm a microbe or something. I mean, I was standing like six feet away and he didn't even acknowledge my presence.
And on top of all that, it was all I could do not to reach out and brush back a strand of his hair, or touch his face, or look into those deep blue eyes, or-
"OK, what do you want, Einëssa?" Legolas broke into my thoughts. He had stopped shooting arrow into the bull's eye and was scowling in my direction.
I decided not to answer that question. "You're a really good archer," I said.
Legolas looked straight at me. "What makes you think that?" he asked sharply.
I looked at him sarcastically, and then at the two-dozen or so arrows all clustered in the middle of the target.
Legolas laughed. "I'm not bad."
"Not bad?" I had heard of modesty, but this was Understatement of the Century. "You're fantastic. Seriously. I mean, you could probably shoot an arrow right across this whole field and it would still be accurate enough to ki-" I stopped abruptly, remembering Alassé telling me about her dead brother, but Legolas was still waiting for the end of that sentence, so I finished lamely with "ki...rry on straight into the bulls-eye."
He laughed again. "Kirry on?"
I bit my tongue. "It's a dialect where I come from."
"Strange language," he remarked.
"You wouldn't believe," I fingered that neckline of my dress. The lace was really itchy.
"Where's the necklace?" Legolas asked.
"Necklace?"
"The one you were wearing last night," he replied. "Oh... Alassé took it back after you..." I broke off.
"After we argued."
"Yeah. She said she'd been too hasty giving it away."
Legolas rolled his eyes. "It was one thing giving it away in the first place, but it's another to take it back. That's just rude."
"I don't mind," I lied.
"You do, I know you do," Legolas caught my eye, and I looked into his, and I felt like I was sinking I that fountain-pool again, but this time I didn't mind, because it was warm and friendly and deep and I never wanted to come out...but then Legolas broke my gaze.
"We should really head back to the palace," he said.
"Yeah. We should," I agreed, and the moment had gone, broken, scattered to the wind. We headed back through the forest to the palace and all the way he never met my eyes once.
My armed guard left, and I walked down the, length of the field. Legolas acted like I wasn't there, even when I got up to a few feet away. He just kept on shooting arrows right into the bull's eye.
I don't need to write down just how crummy that made me feel. I'd just finally met this guy of my dreams that I'd been attracted to for, like, forever, and he tried to get me punished for something that was a total accident, frowns at me all the time and acts like I'm a microbe or something. I mean, I was standing like six feet away and he didn't even acknowledge my presence.
And on top of all that, it was all I could do not to reach out and brush back a strand of his hair, or touch his face, or look into those deep blue eyes, or-
"OK, what do you want, Einëssa?" Legolas broke into my thoughts. He had stopped shooting arrow into the bull's eye and was scowling in my direction.
I decided not to answer that question. "You're a really good archer," I said.
Legolas looked straight at me. "What makes you think that?" he asked sharply.
I looked at him sarcastically, and then at the two-dozen or so arrows all clustered in the middle of the target.
Legolas laughed. "I'm not bad."
"Not bad?" I had heard of modesty, but this was Understatement of the Century. "You're fantastic. Seriously. I mean, you could probably shoot an arrow right across this whole field and it would still be accurate enough to ki-" I stopped abruptly, remembering Alassé telling me about her dead brother, but Legolas was still waiting for the end of that sentence, so I finished lamely with "ki...rry on straight into the bulls-eye."
He laughed again. "Kirry on?"
I bit my tongue. "It's a dialect where I come from."
"Strange language," he remarked.
"You wouldn't believe," I fingered that neckline of my dress. The lace was really itchy.
"Where's the necklace?" Legolas asked.
"Necklace?"
"The one you were wearing last night," he replied. "Oh... Alassé took it back after you..." I broke off.
"After we argued."
"Yeah. She said she'd been too hasty giving it away."
Legolas rolled his eyes. "It was one thing giving it away in the first place, but it's another to take it back. That's just rude."
"I don't mind," I lied.
"You do, I know you do," Legolas caught my eye, and I looked into his, and I felt like I was sinking I that fountain-pool again, but this time I didn't mind, because it was warm and friendly and deep and I never wanted to come out...but then Legolas broke my gaze.
"We should really head back to the palace," he said.
"Yeah. We should," I agreed, and the moment had gone, broken, scattered to the wind. We headed back through the forest to the palace and all the way he never met my eyes once.