Dear Readers: Two chapters uploaded in three days--I am so proud of myself! Actually, this chapter is a true collaborative effort between my wonderful beta Kris and me. Kris has the "gift of gab" and the three main dialogues in this chapter are her brainchild. She thought them up and wrote them down in one day and she did a TERRIFIC job. Please read and review and let her know that you agree! That way, she'll be inspired to write more dialogues for ELLIE'S CHOICE. Thank you!
To anon-101-6: You are absolutely right! Meeting her father is going to be the catalyst for a big change in Ellie's relationship with Legolas. Stay tuned to future chapters! ;-)
To Pommekitty: I had never thought of using Haldir as a foil for Legolas, but what a wonderful idea! (I'll keep it in mind for a future fanfic.) Still, I don't want to disappoint my readers. If you want a "very miserable, jealous, furious Legolas," all I can say is that you are going to get one in this chapter. Heh, heh.
And once again, to all my reviewers: thank you for your kind words and encouragement. I depend on them to keep me going with the story!
NOTE: maybe tonight just reviewed this chapter and brought up something that might confuse other readers as well. Please rest assured, Haldir is NOT going to watch Ellie bathe. He simply is waiting for her to finish so that he can speak with her alone!
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: CONFRONTATIONS
After Haldir left them, Legolas smiled down at Ellie and said, "You bathe first, little one." Then he whispered suggestively, "Unless you want me to join you."
She knew he was teasing her, of course, yet her heart fluttered nonetheless, for he sounded serious and the idea was most tempting. But Ellie looked around at the others, collided with Boromir's concerned gaze and her father's surprised one (had he actually heard Legolas?), and decided against it. She shook her head in regret and replied, "I will not take long."
While the rest of the Fellowship filled their stomachs with exotic Elven foods, the Elf maiden who had brought the precious bundles from Caras Galadhon led the girl on a short walk down a narrow, leaf-strewn path to the bathing pool. The path ended on the steps of a lovely, latticed pavilion made of pale wood and built right at the water's edge. The pool was actually a small, spring-fed lake and, except for the pavilion, it was completely surrounded by a dense growth of trees and flowering shrubs that offered privacy to those who bathed in it. A profusion of branches laden with leaves and tangled vines hung over the pool, so that Ellie could not even tell where the water ended and the shore began. The entire bathing area was swathed in soft silver light, for the trees did not meet above the lake waters, and the full moon was visible in the starlit sky. Elllie was enchanted.
The Elf maiden reached up to hang her lantern from a crossbeam in the small pavilion, but the girl stopped her. "There is no need. You take it back with you."
Then Ellie set her new dress, linen towel and soap on a bench and started to tug on the strings that bound the ends of her many braids. The Elf was instantly at her side. "Let me help you with those." And between them, the two unwove the girl's long black hair. It was a formidable task, for Ellie wore more than two dozen braids that reached down below her waist. She had plaited her hair in this ancient fashion after her escape from Ravenwood to keep it from tangling, and had not loosened it since. What came out of each braid was now a crimped, frizzy mess, and the girl groaned in dismay.
"It will wash," the maiden assured her. Ellie dearly hoped so, for she couldn't bear the thought of Legolas seeing her this way.
Once her hair was completely freed, the Elf moved to unlace the back of Ellie's dress. But the girl balked. She felt shy disrobing in front of the elegant Lorien maiden. The Elf was incredibly beautiful, perfect in fact, and Ellie was far from it. "Thank you for your help," the girl told her, "but I will take care of my dress."
"As you wish," the maiden replied with a graceful nod of her head and a slightly amused smile, then departed with her lantern. Ellie could have sworn the Elf knew exactly what had prompted her shyness…
He had left the hunting talan on the pretense of having to relieve himself and had followed her to the bathing pool, hoping to speak with her alone and away from the rest of the Fellowship--particularly Legolas. Now he stood hidden in the shadows of the trees, watching and waiting. As soon as the Elf maiden disappeared down the path, Boromir walked toward Ellie.
To say he had been shocked earlier that day when Ellie returned Legolas' embrace by the stream was an understatement. Then she had shocked him further by practically sitting on the Elf's lap in the hunting talan. The man could not, for the life of him, figure out what she saw in that Elf. Regardless, Boromir was determined to protect her from Legolas, as well as from herself.
"Ellie, may I have a word?"
"Boromir!" Ellie gasped, turning to face the man. She had just begun to unlace her dress and had not heard his approach. "Of course. Is everything all right?" Despite having been caught unawares while she undressed, Ellie was relieved the man was speaking to her again, given the strange looks she had received from him during the past few hours.
"Yes...no...Ellie," he began again, "I am concerned for you."
"Concerned?" she questioned.
"Legolas...has he cast a spell on you?" he asked. "The fair folk," he continued, "they have been known to enchant."
If not for the serious look on Boromir's face, Ellie would have laughed out loud. Ah, so that is what this is about, she thought.
"A spell?" she managed to say with a look to match his, "I do not think so. Do you think he has?"
"Well of course he has," he said earnestly, raising his voice more than he had intended. "How else do you explain your growing fondness for him? Ellie, he tried to kill you in the Mines, and would have if not for your powers of healing..." He stopped short when Ellie stepped back, her face mirroring the pain of the past day.
"Forgive me," he said gently, taking her hand in his, "I only wish to keep you safe. You are a lady of Gondor and we hold our women in very high regard."
Ellie blushed. Boromir had been a much-needed strength for her in the Mines, especially after nearly losing her life to the Elf's blade. His concern for her, for human life, was genuine and she realized why he had been chosen to join the Fellowship--because he was the best of men.
"You are kind, Boromir," Ellie said with all sincerity, "but I have nothing to fear from Legolas. I understand why he did what he did, even if others do not. My feelings for him have not changed." Ellie hoped the man would not ask her to explain those feelings because she herself did not understand them yet.
"Very well," Boromir said simply. He released her hand, resting his lightly on the hilt of his sword. "But I will be watching him, and if he gets so much as a blond hair out of line..."
Ellie lifted her hand to Boromir's cheek. "You honor your people, my lord...and you honor me."
This time it was Boromir's turn to blush. Bowing slightly, he turned on his heels and left Ellie to her bath. They never knew that another member of the Fellowship had witnessed the entire exchange…
He had been suspicious when the man left the talan shortly after Ellie. Boromir had told Aragorn that he would return forthwith, implying that he was only going to relieve himself, but the man had glanced uneasily at Legolas as he walked out. And the Elf had known he was lying.
Boromir was clearly taking his role as Ellie's protector much too seriously, and Legolas had had enough. It had been a harrowing day for the Elf--a day fraught with a lifetime's worth of emotions so intense, that Legolas was still reeling from the shock of them. It had been bad enough that he had had to deal with the pain and horror of what he had done to Ellie, as well as with the love he could no longer hide from her. But then, because of Boromir, the Elf had also had to contend with feelings of rage and jealousy so potent that Legolas could not control them. They had hindered his abilities as a warrior and had endangered the Fellowship. Even after they were safe within the borders of Lothlorien, Boromir had persisted with his intrusive behavior, much to Legola's frustration. The time had come to put a stop to the man's interference once and for all.
To that end--and also because he felt protective of Ellie and did not trust Boromir's intentions--the Elf silently followed the man down the path to the bathing pool. It angered him to know that his suspicions had been well founded. And with every step he took, Legolas' anger increased tenfold. He could not quell it. Perhaps he no longer wanted to. Indeed, he welcomed the heat of that anger in his veins. He relished the strength of it in the tightening of his well-toned muscles. With his eyes narrowed into slits and his mouth thinned into a mere slash on his taut face, the Elf looked every bit like the predator he had been trained to be. And when Boromir ducked behind a tree near the pavilion, Legolas' anger boiled into a murderous rage. Does the son of a whore mean to spy on her while she bathes?
The Elf could have killed him right there and then and might have, only to regret it later, had the Lorien maiden not started back up the path. Legolas immediately slipped into the shadows of the trees, but she saw him anyway with her keen eyesight and smiled as she passed, thinking that he had come to join Ellie after all. The maiden had earlier taken note of the Elven Prince's tender manner toward the bedraggled girl and was secretly amused.
No sooner did she walk out of sight, than Boromir left his hiding place and approached Ellie in the pavilion. Little did he know that that action had in all probability saved his life. Legolas let out a breath he had not realized he was holding and relaxed his clenched fists. He would not have to kill the man just yet. Inching closer to the pavilion, he tried to catch Boromir's words, but the dense vegetation and thick air muffled them. Legolas was not able to get closer than the tree where the man had hidden. And it was not close enough to listen, even with his sensitive hearing.
So, instead, he watched and seethed as the man spoke with Ellie. He saw the concern and the care Boromir showed the girl, and watched in stunned silence as Ellie responded with like kindness. They held hands; she even caressed his face. An outsider would easily mistake them for lovers. And the Elf was overcome with renewed fury and revulsion. Legolas could scarcely believe the man's gall. Boromir had gone too far, had presumed too much. "Arrogant human," the Elf hissed under his breath. Does the fool not know that Ellie is not his for the taking? Legolas meant to confront him then, to put a stop to this foolishness immediately. Indeed, the Elf was eager to confront the man, for he was once again in a dangerous mood. But before he could react, Boromir turned, leaving Ellie alone to bathe.
The man's sudden departure from the pavilion caught him by surprise. As the Elf hesitated, Boromir walked right past him and away. But Legolas' black mood remained.
And now his attention fixed on Ellie. He climbed down from the tree in one quick, fluid movement, and approached the girl with the silent, stalking steps of a predatory cat. She sensed him before she saw him. Turning from the view of the water, Ellie blanched at the look on his handsome face. He was furious and did nothing to hide it. The hand she had just raised to smooth down her unbound hair fell unheeded to her side.
"Legolas," Ellie began, "I was about to look for..."
"What was he doing here, Ellie?" he asked before she could finish her sentence. "What did he say to you?"
Ellie flinched at the tone of his voice, for it sounded threatening, almost dangerous. Gathering her thoughts to answer, she paused, but before she could utter a word, Legolas continued.
"Did he tell you to keep your distance from me...to fear me?" he said, his voice rising as he spoke. "I told you before, I do not regret what I did. Did you tell him I did it to save you from something worse...did you tell him, Ellie?" It was out of character for Legolas to shout, and the fact that he was doing so now spoke of the depth of his fury.
The Elf had seen--and had correctly interpreted--the looks Boromir had directed towards him throughout the day. He knew the man did not agree with the choice he had made in the Mines, the choice that even now could destroy Legolas' deepening relationship with Ellie. He resented that Boromir had been the one she had turned to for comfort following his own heinous act. But he resented more the fact that whatever relationship Boromir and Ellie had begun would not be stained with the blood of that awful memory.
"Legolas, lower your voice," Ellie said quietly, glancing around to make sure they were alone.
They were not. Unbeknownst to them, Haldir was sitting a short distance away, waiting for Ellie to finish her bath so that he could speak with her. The Lorien Elf could not see them, but he could hear the argument between Legolas and his daughter. Probably all of Lothlorien could hear it. And he smiled in amusement. Naia used to drive him crazy the same way.
Since meeting Ellie, Legolas had lost his temper more times than he could remember ever losing it before in his entire life. And he did not like it one bit, but as he stood facing the girl in the moonlit pavilion, he knew it was too late to rein his anger in.
"He was merely concerned for me," Ellie continued, trying to reason with him. Truly, she had never seen Legolas so angry before, not even when she had kicked and bitten and clawed him that first morning.
"You are no concern of his, no concern at all!" he now shouted, completely losing control. "Did you tell him that?"
Ellie's patience was evaporating with every word he spoke. No, she had not told Boromir that. She had seen the concern a brother would show for his sister and appreciated the gesture. Now she simply had to convince Legolas of the human's harmless intent.
"No," she began slowly, hoping in vain that her calm would help to soothe Legolas' temper, "I told him I understood the choice you made and I thanked him for his concern."
"You thanked him!" the Elf shouted, cocking his head to the left. "I would think a woman of nearly 300 years would have some experience with men, Ellie! Are you really that naive?" His eyes bored into her ruthlessly, saying they found her beneath contempt.
"No, I am not naive," she said, her voice rising to match his. "I am quite capable of reading the intentions of others and his was one of an earnest concern for my well-being! I would think it would please you to know he thinks of me so highly!"
"Oh, make no mistake, he thinks of you," he said, his meaning not lost on Ellie. "Does he know? Did you tell him...about you, about what you want?" Legolas ran his eyes up and down her body, took in her partially unlaced dress and her loose, untamed hair, then smiled at her scornfully. She looked ripe for bedding. The small part of his mind that could still reason recoiled from his vulgar behavior and even questioned the fairness of his attack, but he was too enraged to listen.
"If you're asking me if he knows that I desire a daughter, then I do not know. You would have to ask him," she said, hoping this answer would put an end to this ridiculous argument. She was quite furious by now, but determined not to give in to Legolas' boorish behavior.
"I am asking you!" Legolas shouted once again. "Did he offer his services? A stud for your stable?" he continued, an ugly sneer marring his perfect features. "Did you show him your piercing?" he asked, pointing towards her belly. "Tell him all about the gems?" he yelled, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture.
A ringing, open handed slap abruptly ended the Elf's tirade. Legolas' head snapped hard to the right, before returning his stunned gaze to the girl standing before him. Ellie did not speak. She did not utter a sound. She ran out of the pavilion and headed into the forest. But the look on her face spoke volumes.
No, she had told no one else the meaning behind her sacred piercing. Only to Legolas had she entrusted that information. And only to him did she entrust her heart.
"Oh, gods…what have I done?" the Elf whispered in shock.
Sitting in the shadows a few paces away, Haldir shook his head and thought the exact same thing. Nevertheless, his heart swelled with pride at the way Ellie had stood her ground against the warrior Elf. Yes, she was definitely Naia's child. But why would Ellie desire a daughter now? And why not a son? The Lorien Elf did not know…
Boromir had not gone back to the hunting talan. Instead, he now sat under one of the ancient mallorn trees to reflect on his recent conversation with Ellie. She had been steadfast in her belief that Legolas meant her no harm. Perhaps she was right. She further believed that the Elf cared for her deeply, and in all honesty, Boromir believed it as well. Still, he had been sincere when he had said her safety was important to him. And if she refused his protection, he could at least offer her friendship.
She was a lovely, gifted young woman, who had proven her worth on more than one occasion, and had endeared herself to every member of the Fellowship. If Legolas made her happy, so be it. Who was he to convince her of her own misguided affections? He supposed, by the standards of those with a limited view of the world, that the Elf was handsome. Effeminate and prissy, but handsome. He was certainly a formidable warrior and a useful member of the Fellowship with his unnaturally keen eyesight and hearing. Yes, he supposed, the girl could do worse. After all, she could have fallen in love with the dwarf.
Shaking his head to clear his mind of the unsettling image, Boromir looked up to see Legolas standing just off to the side. And let's not forget his unnerving ability to sneak up on others without make a sound, the man thought as he rose to greet the Elf.
"Legolas," he began, "I was just thinking about you."
"Indeed," Legolas replied coldly.
Ignoring the elf's tone, the man continued, "I was just thinking to myself how useful it must be to sneak up on your prey without crushing so much as a blade of grass under your immaculately kept boots." Not that the Elf's boots were immaculate anymore. They were noticeably stained and still faintly reeked of Ellie's vomit.
Legolas continued to stare at him, his face showing no emotion.
"But wait," Boromir reflected, striking a thinking pose, "You prefer to attack your victims head on...but not before kissing them."
Legolas advanced and Boromir instinctively reached for the hilt of his sword. But the Elf did not attack. He simply moved to stand before the man, mere inches separating the two warriors.
"Indeed," Legolas said again, "whereas you prefer to wait until they are alone and vulnerable...or bathing."
The man smiled ruefully. "Attacking her was never my intention," he said matter-of-factly.
"No, I have no doubt your intentions were entirely honorable," said Legolas, his voice laced with sarcasm. "Tell me Boromir, what exactly are your intentions where Ellie is concerned?"
Fascinating, thought Boromir, this Elf is jealous...of me! Boromir realized quickly that he could very well spend the better part of the coming day insulting the Elf, for all Legolas was concerned about was whether or not Boromir saw himself as a potential suitor. This could be entertaining...
"Well," Boromir said, clasping his hands behind his back and turning away to inspect the tree. "I suppose my intentions are the same as yours," he said, facing the Elf once again.
Legolas made as if to speak, but thought better of it. After his confrontation with Ellie, he had felt curiously drained. Now he felt defeated. If this man was Ellie's choice, he would simply have to accept it. After all, Legolas had refused her. He had toyed with her while traveling through Moria. He had nearly killed her. And to make matters worse, he had expressed his love for her all the while making it clear he could not in good conscience give her what she wanted from him...a daughter. Love me, but do not expect anything from me. No, Ellie deserved more. Much more.
Boromir watched as a gamut of emotions ran across the Elf's face. Legolas did indeed love the girl, and the man decided it was time to put the Elf's fears to rest.
"Legolas," Boromir said quietly, placing a hand on the Elf's shoulder, "we are on a quest to destroy the One Ring and as such we are brothers. Know that my intentions are only to keep every member of the Fellowship safe...that includes your Ellie. I have offered her friendship...there is nothing more I desire from her, and certainly nothing more she is willing to give."
Legolas met the man's eyes and saw truth in them. Truth and pity. The Elf's body stiffened and he lifted his chin proudly. Perhaps I do deserve his pity for loving a girl I will never truly have, he admitted to himself. But he neither wanted nor accepted it.
"Thank you," Legolas said simply before turning slowly to leave.
