Dear Readers: I HAVE MADE A MISTAKE! I have been using the wrong Elvish word for "beloved" and I thank Anon SO MUCH for pointing this out to me. The correct word should be "Meldanya" and from this chapter on, I will be using it! In the next week or so, I will go back and correct it in my previous chapters. I do apologize for my mistake! And I encourage all of you to point out any and all inconsistencies/mistakes in my writing. Thank you.
To maybe tonight: In answer to your question, my story is a mixture of both the film and the movie and…well…as for dear Haldir…uh…all I can say is that…well, whatever happens to him will not be permanent. And that is all that I can say!
To KittySuze: At some point I actually plan to make a Haldir/Naia prequel.
To lucki me: Thank you for the wonderful, insightful review. I love reviews that raise questions and make me think. I hope my email clarified all of your concerns, but if you have any more questions/doubts, just keep on asking!
To kwannom: Thanks for the reassuring words. I was a little concerned about that bath scene!
To all my other reviewers: Thank you once again. You cannot imagine just how much I depend on your comments to keep my momentum going!
AND A BIG THANK YOU TO MY BETA, KRIS!
W A R N I N G: This chapter is rated R for explicit sexual material. Please read at your discretion.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: OF KITH AND KIN
By the time Legolas had finished climbing the winding stairs of the talan, Jamie was fast asleep in his arms. Except for Frodo, the rest of the Fellowship was sleeping also, on pillows and bedrolls provided by the Lorien Elves. Legolas took the boy to the same platform where the two of sat earlier with Ellie that evening. With the little hobbit's help, the Elf arranged three makeshift beds--one for the boy, one for himself next to his longbow and quiver, and one for Ellie in between.
Seeing the sadness in Frodo's eyes, and knowing that Gandalf's loss was the cause of it, Legolas pressed the small hobbit's shoulder in reassurance. "He lives, Frodo," the Elf whispered. "Otherwise, Ellie would have known…and would have told us. Gandalf is a powerful wizard. He will find a way out." Frodo smiled wistfully at the Elf's comforting gesture, but remained silent.
Then Legolas donned his new shirt and climbed down to the base of the mallorn tree to wait for Ellie. After their encounter in the pool, he was eager to see her again, to touch her. And to gage her reaction to what had happened between them. Legolas knew that Ellie was at a crossroads in her life, and which path she chose to follow might well depend on him--on how tightly he could bind her heart to his.
What is taking her so long? the Elf wondered, as the minutes passed. She should have been here by now. He was about to go in search of her, when he heard her soft voice, and Haldir's, approaching through the forest…
As they slowly made their way back to the talan, Haldir answered Ellie's questions about his life in Lothlorien and about her Elven relatives.
"Please tell me about my kin. Have I a grandmother here?" she asked him. After the loss of her mother, Ellie had desperately longed for other female relatives--a grandmother, an aunt, even a distant cousin. But there had been no other Ilissans in Ravenwood. No other Ilissans in all of Middle-Earth that she knew of. Even with Jamie at her side, she had felt lonely at times. But now the prospect of having female Elven relatives filled her heart with renewed hope.
Haldir saw the hope kindle in her eyes and understood her loneliness. "Most of our kin, including your grandparents, have already journeyed to the Undying Lands, and you shall meet them there someday," he told her gently. "But a few remain in Lothlorien."
"I see." Ellie quelled her disappointment at not being able to meet her grandmother. "Who lives here still?"
"Rumil, my youngest brother, for one. He is always getting himself into mischief, Ellie. He is a true hellion, and proud of it," Haldir said, with a wry face. "Rumil has a quick wit, and a quicker temper…"
The Elf paused to give his daughter a speculative look. "Something tells me you and he will get along exceptionally well."
Ellie grinned, and then yawned sleepily. She was having a difficult time imagining a "hellion" Elf, but she looked forward to meeting him nonetheless. "How old is he?"
"Sixteen hundred thirty years to the day," Haldir replied. The Elf knew that the news about Naia had hit Ellie hard, and he was pleased to have coaxed a smile out of her. Now the girl's mouth gaped in surprise. She had obviously expected someone slightly younger!
"He once shot an arrow at Prince Legolas," Haldir continued, watching her closely.
Ellie started and squeezed her father's hand. "Really! Why? What awful thing did Legolas do to make him so angry?"
"You will have to ask Legolas that." Haldir was not about to tell her, but he took note of her keen interest--and chuckled at her assumption that it had been Legolas' fault. Which, of course, it had been.
"I have another brother here in Lorien, Ellie. He is Orophin, the middle son, and he is the exact opposite of Rumil. 'Phin is an austere, scholarly Elf. Always dependable. He is bound to take his role as Uncle very seriously," he warned her. In truth, Orophin was something of a pontificating bore, as Ellie would discover soon enough.
"Am I their only niece, then?" She found it strange to be surrounded by male relatives.
"Yes, that is so. Neither my brothers nor my sister have had children and I have only you."
Sister? Ellie's face suddenly lit up with excitement. "I have an aunt?! Is she in Lothlorien too?"
Haldir smiled at his daughter, yet his eyes took on a guarded look. "Your aunt is Nevladiel--Nev for short. And, yes, she is here," he said simply.
Ellie was truly pleased to learn that she had come home to a real family. A real family! It was what she had missed most after Naia's death two hundred years earlier, and what she had sought to regain through her unorthodox relationship with Jamie.
Haldir did not speak anymore of his life with Naia, and Ellie did not press him. There would be time enough for that once she sorted out her own feelings on the matter.
But she did speak to her father about growing up in Ravenwood with her mother, and about her life after Naia's passing when she became head of the Houses of Healing. She told him of her closeness to Jamie--having raised him from infancy--and of their frantic escape into the wilderness. Finally, she briefly described their journey with the Fellowship and, although she did not mention her feelings for Legolas, her eyes and her voice nevertheless betrayed her love for the Elven prince whenever she spoke of him.
Haldir smiled to himself as the girl continued with her tale. So she does love him, after all. And he was gratified to know that her affection was returned, for he believed that Legolas cared deeply for Ellie. Still, Haldir was a little apprehensive, considering her Ilissan heritage and what had happened with Naia. But his daughter had already accepted having a father. If anyone could persuade her to take on a lover too--or a husband--it would be Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood. Between them they would make an Elf out of her yet.
"…And that is how we came to be here, Father," Ellie concluded, yawning once again, and unaware that she had given her feelings away.
In the next instant, the talan--and Legolas--came into view.
Ellie's pulse quickened when she caught sight of Legolas leaning, with his arms crossed over his chest, against the smooth trunk of the giant mallorn. He straightened the moment he saw her, letting his arms drop to his sides. And as their gazes met, the girl and the Elf were so enthralled by one another that, for the time being, they took no further notice of their surroundings, or of Haldir.
To Ellie, Legolas was perfection itself. He had tied his damp hair into a single thick rope that hung down his back, so that every angle, every curve, of his beautiful face was exposed. The new shirt he wore hugged his perfect body, stretching tightly over his muscled shoulders, arms and chest, before flaring at the hips. The white silk fabric was so fine and sheer that, even from forty paces away, she could see the shadowy imprints of his nipples. She suddenly longed to caress them, like he had caressed hers during their bath. Desire sparked inside of Ellie, but it was not heated and frenzied. Instead, it was warm and mellow, softened by her tired mind and body. All she wanted was to wrap herself around Legolas, press her soft curves to his hardness, and fall asleep in his arms.
Walking hand in hand with her, a bemused Haldir felt Ellie's gentle arousal to the very core of his being. He looked at his daughter's blushing face and then at the Elf who stood frozen a short distance away. Do they even realize that I am here?
Legolas was stunned by Elllie's appearance. He had always thought her pretty, even with her tattered clothes and bedraggled state. But, although her beauty would never rival that of the other Elves, to Legolas' loving eyes, Ellie looked exquisite. The Elven dress clung becomingly to her body, and was just as sheer as his shirt, leaving little to his imagination. His fingers clenched with the sudden need to touch her as he recalled the feel of that soft body writhing against them. Later he would have to see about finding her some undergarments, before the others in the Fellowship awoke. But for now, he slowly drank her in, his eyes traveling from her face to the tips of her toes and back again, as she and her father approached him.
If Haldir had still harbored any doubts about the depth of Legolas' feelings for his daughter, they disappeared a moment later when the Mirkwood Elf lifted a hand to Ellie's face and told her, "Meldanya, you are beautiful."
Then he shifted his gaze to Haldir. The two Elves had been acquainted with one another for hundreds of years (indeed, Legolas was the older of the two by at least a millennium), but this was the first time they had faced each other as a father and a would-be suitor. Legolas' eyes seemed to challenge Haldir, daring him to disapprove of their love. To disapprove of him, given his past liaisons. But Haldir had no intentions of disapproving. He greeted his daughter's beau with a nod and a slightly amused smile.
"Elanae has had an eventful day," the Lorien Elf said, then turned to smile tenderly at his daughter, "as have I."
Legolas watched him coolly, and thought, You have no idea. For he knew that Ellie had not told her father about what had happened in the Great Hall of Moria. If she had, Haldir would now be shooting arrows through his heart instead of greeting him so affably.
"It has been a trying day for all of us," Legolas agreed.
"Then I leave her in your capable hands. I shall return in the morning to take you and your companions to Caras Galadhon." Facing his daughter once again, Haldir brought the palm of her hand to his lips. "Sleep well, Ellie. We will talk again tomorrow."
"Good night, Father." She embraced him warmly before turning back to Legolas…
As Ellie and Legolas started to climb the long winding stairs to the talan, Haldir settled himself against the trunk of a nearby mallorn and watched them. Their path will not be an easy one, he reflected, for he knew that Legolas would have to battle Ellie's Ilissan heritage every step of the way. From what Ellie had told him of their years together in Ravenwood, Haldir realized that Naia had done a very thorough job of indoctrinating their daughter in the Ilissan way of life.
And he resented it. Naia should have known that Ellie would not come to Lothlorien right away--indeed, the girl would not be here at all if Ravenwood had not been destroyed. How could you do that to her, Naia? Did you not know how lonely she would be? That Ellie had so readily accepted him as her father was testament to the profundity of that loneliness. For two hundred years, their daughter had lived without kin, with only mortal humans for companionship--mortal humans who had invariably aged and died and left her all alone, while she herself remained unchanged. All in the name of a misbegotten, outdated sect that was virtually extinct in Middle-Earth. Haldir was determined to break the Ilissans' hold over their daughter. Completely and irrevocably, so that she would suffer no self-recriminations, no doubts, or changes of heart later on, as Naia had done.
To that end, he would help Legolas in any way he could to win Ellie over.
From a distance, Haldir could see the Prince of Mirkwood caressing his daughter's back as she climbed the stairs ahead of him. Legolas and Elanae. The thought of it truly pleased him. In fact, he felt almost giddy. And then Haldir burst out laughing, for he remembered what Ellie had told him about Ilissan women and conception. If his daughter and Legolas were to marry--and if they were not careful--they might conceivably end up with hundreds of children over their immortal lifetimes! Haldir looked forward to being a grandfather--but to hundreds? Does Legolas even suspect this? he wondered, and laughed again…
Ellie yawned and stretched sleepily as she settled down on her bedroll next to Jamie, unaware that her movements had pulled her dress tautly across her chest. Legolas stifled a groan when his eyes fastened on her breasts, so clearly visible beneath the filmy material. Then his gaze drifted downward, to the shadowy triangle visible between her legs, and his loins tightened painfully. The dress was so clingy that it adhered to every dip and curve and crevice on her body--she might as well have been naked. Ah…Ellie, you are going to be the death of me! Legolas thought. He had to force himself to look away. Force himself to take a blanket and cover her. And, finally, force himself to lie down on his own bedroll instead of on top of her. She is tired, she needs to sleep, he told himself.
But Ellie had other ideas.
For once, she did not snuggle up to the boy. Instead, she faced Legolas and watched him through dreamy eyes. With her thin blanket pulled up to her chin, only her face and hair were now visible. Freed from its braids and freshly washed, her hair was glorious. It fell in a lush, black curtain all about her, curling seductively around her covered body. Legolas reached out to touch it. He could not stop himself.
"I will not let you bind it again," he mumbled, as an errant curl wrapped around his wrist.
Ellie smiled and moved to the edge of her bedroll, to get closer to him. And then, because she had to share it with him, she whispered, "Legolas, my mother loved my father. I know that now."
"Is that so surprising?" Legolas replied. The Elf shifted his gaze from her hair to her face. His blue eyes bore into hers, burning with such intensity, and with so much hunger, that Ellie gasped and momentarily forgot what they were talking about. As she stared at him in silent awe, he also moved to the edge of his bedroll. A mere hand's span separated them now. His fingers burrowed through her hair until they found and cradled the back of her head. "Does it surprise you that Naia loved Haldir?" he repeated.
Ellie swallowed hard. "No," she whispered, "how can it, when I feel so much for you?" It was the closest she had ever come to admitting her love for him, and Legolas quietly rejoiced. Then she continued, "But it is not our way. Such love is forbidden to Ilissans because there is no future in it. At least there wasn't for her."
"Your mother left him…"
"Yes. Because of me. She stayed true to her Ilissan vows once she knew about me. But before then…" Ellie paused. She could not tell Legolas' about her parents' ill-fated marriage. She was not ready to discuss that yet. She was not even ready to think about it.
Legolas could sense the confusion inside of her. And he wondered, What about our future, Ellie--yours and mine? You are not so sure anymore that there cannot be a future, are you?
"Perhaps Naia stayed true to her Ilissan vows for your sake, but right before she died, she must have had second thoughts. She told you about Lothlorien," he reminded her.
"Because of my father," Ellie agreed. "Because she loved him." Then, to Legolas' surprise, she nestled close to his body and pressed her face against his neck. And in a voice so muffled that even his keen Elven ears had to strain to understand her, she said, "Just as I love you…"
Ellie had finally said the words.
And Legolas was amazed. Amazed and delighted and…yes, even honored that she would share this with him now. He closed his eyes and savored the moment, replayed it in his mind. Just as I love you. He was the Prince of Mirkwood, and he had lived a life of singular wealth and privilege, surrounded by others eager to do his bidding, eager to please him. Surrounded by riches. And yet, as he lay there next to Ellie in the hunting talan, all of that seemed trivial and unimportant. For Legolas felt that he had just been given the greatest gift of all.
The Elf lowered his hand from the back of her head and reached beneath her blanket to wrap his arm tightly around her waist. He shifted them both onto the middle of his bedroll, but he was careful not to press his hips against her yet. And as a delicious heat enveloped their bodies, he buried his face in her thick, curling hair. "Stay with me for always," he entreated. He had not meant to ask her so soon; the words came unbidden to his mouth.
Ellie said nothing and he pulled back a little so that he could watch her face closely. "Tell me, Meldanya, if I leave you with child and survive the Fellowship's quest, will you still expect me to stay away? Or, can there be a future for us?"
"I do not know," Ellie whispered. "I just do not know anymore." And truly she didn't. It had been an emotional, chaotic day--an exhausting day--and she could not think clearly. Not about the future. Please let it go, Legolas, she silently begged. At the moment, she only wanted to be held by him--to bask in their newfound love--even if it was just for a little while.
Legolas somberly watched as Ellie's eyes filled with weary, frustrated tears, and he took pity on her. "Forget that I asked you this, Ellie. Just go to sleep here in my arms." He would challenge her convictions, and try to change her mind, another day. For now it was enough that she had said she loved him.
But Ellie did not sleep right away--for Legolas covered her face and her lips with feather-light kisses, and caressed her hair and back with gentle hands. On and on he soothed her in this manner, forsaking his own desire, until she drew her hand out from beneath her blanket and laid it over his heart. She briefly closed her eyes and felt the strong, steady beat beneath her palm--the same beat that echoed inside her own heart. And she quipped, "I hold your heart in my hand."
She was feeling drowsy and languid…and very aroused.
Slowly Ellie slid her hand upward, her sleepy eyes trailing her fingers, until they found the small, hard nub of his nipple. She smiled at his sharp intake of breath. "Your breast is so different from mine," she observed, as she first rubbed her hand over the nub and then pinched it through the thin fabric of his shirt.
"Indeed…" Legolas croaked. Ellie, do you have any idea what you are doing?
She did. Ellie wanted to find release in his hands once more. She stared into his eyes, and told him as much. "I want you to touch me like you did in the pool."
She didn't have to ask him twice. In the next instant, he rolled Ellie onto her back and pinned her with his leg. He covered them both with her blanket, lest the boy wake up and see, and pressed his body close to hers, careful not to crush her. Then Legolas kissed her senseless--her mouth, face, throat--sucking and nipping and licking, while he caressed her breasts with his hands and ground his hips into her thigh, bruising her tender skin. He left her feeling boneless.
The onslaught of his mouth was so sudden and so devastating, that she could not even react at first. But then, Ellie lifted her hands to his hair and untied it, so that it fell in a silky stream all around them. And while he busied himself with her throat, she laced her fingers through the blond strands, and suckled desperately at his ear, her lips and tongue teasing the delicate shell, tasting every fold and curve. Legolas groaned…loudly, startling them both. He lifted his head and glanced around to make sure no one had awakened, and then he looked at Ellie. Her eyes were huge and round, and she was biting her lip.
"That was wicked of you, Ellie," he hissed, but his face was faintly amused. And flushed deep red.
"I didn't know…Honest."
"Next to my…uh…," and he reached down to slip a hand between her thigh and his groin so that she would have no doubts about what he was referring to, "next to this, my ears are the most sensitive part of my body."
"Thank you for telling me," she answered primly. Then she let go of his hair and placed her hands on either side of his face. And with her fingertips, softly traced the outline of his ears, from the lobes to the dainty points.
Legolas shuddered and Ellie smiled smugly.
He pulled his body back and studied her for a moment, as he tried to slow the raging torrent in his veins. What game are you playing, Ellie? he wondered. How far do you intend to take this? And when she raised her hands toward his face again, he said in a soft, slightly dangerous voice, "I think, little one, I would have you turn on your side." Legolas was very, very close to losing control, and if she kept touching his ears, he would simply have to take her--and he was not willing to do that until matters were settled between them.
Ellie was not about to argue. She did as he asked. And Legolas immediately pressed his body to her back, slipped one arm under her neck to cradle her head, and entangled his long legs with hers. She was no bigger than a child, but she fit perfectly against him. The top of her head tucked under his chin and her buttocks rested on his lap as they lay with their knees slightly bent. He had never been able to do this with any other lover, and he found pleasure in the novelty of it.
Then he took hold of her skirt. Ever so slowly, Legolas disentangled the silky material from her limbs and pulled the garment upward, his long fingers trailing fire over her smooth skin. Ellie delighted in the feel of his heated touch on her legs and in the teasing caresses of the fabric in his hand. When he reached her private parts he paused, and softly petted the springy curls with his fingertips. Oh, gods…Ellie gasped and, without thinking, closed her legs tightly around his hand. But Legolas merely chuckled in her ear and whispered, "I really love body hair," before pulling the skirt higher and bunching it up around her waist.
"Legolas, please move your hand back down," Ellie pleaded. She was tired and sleepy, to be sure, but her body was throbbing.
Legolas thought to make her wait--as punishment for teasing his ears--and started to finger her belly ring instead. But then he abruptly stopped. He had no wish to remind her of her Ilissan vows. And so he quickly lowered his hand back to the dark triangle between her legs.
Ellie sighed contentedly as he played with the soft curls, pulling them up and smoothing them down, and wrapping them around his fingertips. Her body hair was yet another novelty for him, and he had not lied when he told her that he loved it. Indeed, Legolas would have played with her curls a while longer, but Ellie wanted more.
She was arching her hips against his hand, almost frantically now, needing him to touch her in her most sensitive areas. He briefly considered loosening his breeches so that she could hold him between her thighs while he brought her to climax, but discarded the idea. Better that I pleasure her first, he decided, so that then I can teach her what to do to me--something that did not involve ears.
Legolas parted her folds gently and was hardly surprised to find her moist and ready for him. Gods, but I wish I could enter her now! he thought, as he started rubbing her tender clit. Ellie moaned, and he clamped his free hand over her mouth, wrapping her head in his arm in the process. "Hush, sweetling," he whispered in her ear. "You will wake the others."
Ellie always felt hot to the touch; now her skin was ablaze, scorching him and melting his insides, until they were both awash in sweat. Her small body bucked and thrashed against his and her hands clawed and twisted the blanket in front of her, as he stroked and rubbed her mercilessly. And when he inserted a finger inside of her, Ellie sucked hard on her lips to keep from moaning again. Legolas' fingers were long, and Ellie was small, and he moved slowly upwards until he reached her maidenhead. Then he inserted a second finger, stretching her gently, and moving them both in and out, while his thumb continued to rub her clit and his hips ground into her buttocks. Ellie was gasping for breath now--her lungs straining to breathe, but he would not let go of her mouth, for fear that she would scream. As it was, she was whimpering uncontrollably. It was a faint, mewling sound that tugged at his heartstrings, even as it filled him with masculine pride. I am her master, he thought with satisfaction.
In the next instant, Ellie's body convulsed. Her legs tightened around his hand so fiercely that it hurt him. The heel of his palm rammed so hard against her that he could feel her pubic bone. Over and over again, she shuddered around his fingers. And even after her body quieted, he continued to indulge in her lush wetness and did not withdraw them.
Ellie was crying. Her tears streamed down her face, and wet the hand that Legolas held over her mouth. She had never felt anything like this before, not at the pool and not at the mountaintop. Oh, Legolas, what you have done to me? she wondered. And dazed and exhausted as she was, she still knew that he had won. Ellie closed her eyes and let her weariness overtake her.
Legolas uncovered her mouth. "Ellie, are you all right?" His concerned voice filtered through the lethargy that was sweeping over her.
"Yes," she lied. And he kissed her hair.
"Turn around, love." As she did so, Legolas removed his fingers from her core and lifted them to his mouth. "Open your eyes, Ellie." She did, for a brief moment only, and saw him taste, and inhale, the creamy essence that was uniquely hers.
"I love you, Ellie," he said and covered her mouth with his. She kept her eyes closed as he pressed soft, loving kisses all over her face. Both his arms were wrapped around her body, molding her to him, and she could feel his aroused member through his breeches as it pushed against her naked privates.
And Ellie thought, It is only a matter of time now.
She would go through the motions. She would think things through. Ellie owed that much to her mother for the sacrifices she had made on her behalf. And Ellie owed it to her faith. But the truth was, he had won.
As she finally succumbed to her fatigue, Ellie knew she could not bear to live for an eternity without Legolas' touch…
She is asleep! Legolas could scarcely believe it. For an instant, it outraged him and he was sorely tempted to shake Ellie awake. What about me? he wanted to yell at her. He had been a considerate lover. Patient. Selfless. He had treated her body with reverence and care, and given her pleasure like she had never experienced before, while ignoring his own need. His own aching need.
The same fire that had consumed Ellie was still raging out of control inside of Legolas, waiting to be quenched. Did she not realize it? How could she not realize it? The Elf eased his body away from hers, gritting his teeth and shaking his head in consternation. Then he looked at her, really took a good look at her. And immediately felt contrite.
In her sleep, Ellie seemed incredibly young and vulnerable. In fact, she looked to be no older than Jamie was. Her skin was so translucent that Legolas could see the vein throbbing in her temple. For the first time, he also noticed the purple shadows under her eyes. Deep shadows that spoke of the fatigue that had finally overcome her. And he saw the remnants of her tears. It had not surprised him that she had cried. In the past many of his lovers had responded that way to his passionate lovemaking. But now Legolas wondered if there was more to her tears than the simple aftermath of her release.
"I am sorry, Ellie," he whispered, even though she could not hear him. Then he gently lowered her dress to her ankles and tucked the blanket all around her, before rising to his feet.
Legolas knew he would never be able to sleep tonight, especially lying next to her. That would be nothing short of torture. He was too frustrated, too restless.
Too aroused.
After one last, lingering look at Ellie, Legolas turned, and left the hunting talan…
He was surprised to find Haldir still sitting and fully awake a short distance from the talan. As Legolas approached Ellie's father, he eyed the younger Elf coolly. "She is asleep," he told him, anticipating Haldir's question. And then he added, "She needs some undergarments."
Haldir quirked his brow in surprise and nodded. He had realized this, of course, the moment he first saw Ellie in her new dress, and now he recalled Legolas' hungry eyes roaming up and down her body. At the time, Haldir had thought Legolas would never be able to keep his hands off her. But seeing the other Elf's taut face and body, he now wondered if his daughter's suitor had more self-restraint than he gave him credit for.
"I will see to it that she gets some," Haldir reassured him, as he rose to his feet. Then, he chuckled. "One would think that being half-Elven, Elanae would have our ears or, at the very least, our height. Instead, she is the very image of her mother…" And, just for a second, his eyes took on a wistful, faraway look, but the other Elf caught it.
"Do you think of her often?" Legolas asked, referring to Ellie's mother.
"Often enough. But whereas in the past my heart was filled with pain and bitterness at Naia's betrayal, now it is filled with the warmth of remembered love…and gratitude. She has given me a daughter, Legolas."
"You do not regret loving her, then?" Legolas' eyes were intent on Haldir's face.
"No," Haldir replied without hesitation. "Given the opportunity to do things over, I would still choose to love Naia--to possess her--if only for a moment."
Legolas nodded thoughtfully. And as he started to turn away, Haldir pressed his shoulder in encouragement, for he understood the obstacles the other Elf faced. "Ellie is worth it, Legolas. She is her mother…and also much more. She is one of us. Trust in her heart."
Legolas smiled at the Lorien Elf in gratitude. They understood each other now. And they both understood what was at stake. As Legolas walked away from Haldir, he did so with a lighter step and a lighter spirit…
Neither of them had brought up Nevladiel.
