Dear Readers: Originally, I intended to write one very long chapter to cover the sequence of events leading up to and including Legolas' and Ellie's first make-up scene. In order to be able to update more quickly, I have since decided to split it into three shorter chapters. The following is the first of these. I hope you enjoy it. Once again, I will address individual reviewers at the end.
I owe a big thank you, as always, to my beta Kris, for her brilliant ideas and suggestions!!!
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: TELL-TALE HEARTS, Part One
She was not a goddess, but she was the closest thing to a goddess Ellie had ever seen. With the majesty and grace born of some five thousand years of holding court in Caras Galadhon, the Lady Galadriel entered the oval-shaped talan and instantly possessed it, drawing every eye and beating heart present. Just moments earlier, the chamber had been half in shadow, lit only by the lamplight that streamed in through the open archways. But now the entire talan was bathed in soft white light--a light that emanated from within the Lady herself, creating a mystical, dreamlike ambiance about her.
For the next hour, Ellie and her companions stood mesmerized as the Lady Galadriel, and her consort Lord Celeborn, addressed the Fellowship. It was a somber occasion, for they spoke at length about Gandalf's parting and the perilous journey that lay ahead. At their words, Ellie found herself instinctively edging closer to Legolas, as if in so doing, she could keep him by her side a while longer, safe and out of harm's way. And, yet, she felt no true alarm, no melancholy. For the Lady's voice was so deep and melodic, so soothing, that it wove a spell of calm and comfort around all those who heard it--with the exception of Boromir, who seemed troubled. Ellie briefly glanced at the man, a faint frown furrowing her brow, before her attention was drawn back to Galadriel. Peace descended upon the girl once again, like a warm blanket.
At last, Lady Galadriel approached the members of the Fellowship, one by one, and touched their minds with her own. She offered them the strength of her conviction. She offered them hope when there was so little hope to be had. She carried the wisdom of the ages like a mantle around her shoulders, and shared it selflessly.
And then she came to Ellie. The girl stood between Legolas and her father, with Jamie in front, snuggled in her arms.
The Lady did not speak at first, as she waited for her husband to join her, but her smile said much. She truly welcomes me here, Ellie realized with a start. She approves of my presence.
I do, Elanae. Galadriel replied inside her mind. Your father needs you. And Ellie smiled back.
In fact, the Lord and Lady of the Wood remembered Ellie's mother with great affection, as well as sadness. They had known of Naia's Ilissan heritage when they offered her sanctuary almost three hundred years ago. They had regretted her hasty departure. Now they were pleased to have Naia's gifted, half-Elven daughter make her home with Haldir in the Golden Wood. The circle that had been broken was once again complete. And the March Warden's wounded heart would heal.
With Celeborn now at her side, the Lady Galadriel cupped Ellie's chin with one hand and Jamie's with the other. Her touch was as cool and smooth as alabaster, but the expression on her exquisite face was as warm and bright as the noonday sun.
"You are welcome in Lorien, Elanae, daughter of Haldir and Naia. Both you and the little prince. We are your people, and for as long as Elves dwell in the Golden Wood, you will have a home here."
Then her knowing gaze shifted briefly to Legolas. As will the Prince of Mirkwood.
She did not say it out loud. She did not have to. Galadriel's thoughts, like her voice, resonated, and haunted her listeners. Ellie and Legolas looked at each other, surprised that she had spoken of their love, and then smiled…
By the time Haldir and the Fellowship returned to the green lawn, the Lorien Elves had finished erecting the guest pavilion. The tent was spread among the trees near the fountain, and in it they laid numerous velvet cushions and colorful pillows, bedrolls and blankets. Oil lamps hung from the tent poles, casting long shadows on the painted canvas. In the center of the pavilion, at least a dozen silver trays rested on a large woven carpet. The trays were piled high with food and drink--an assortment of cheeses and breads, nuts and fruits, greens, meat pies and roasted venison, and tall, slender pitchers filled with strong Elven wine and sweet juices.
"It's a veritable feast!" exclaimed Pippin, as the hobbits raced to the food, tripping over pillows and each other's feet. Gimli and Jamie ran close behind them.
"We will be lucky if they leave us one crumb," Aragorn commented drolly.
Ellie chuckled and looked around her. Only a handful of Elves remained near the pavilion to attend to the Fellowship's needs. Nevladiel was not among them.
"Will my aunt not join us for supper?" she asked Haldir, with a puzzled frown.
The Elf pursed his lips for a moment and met Legolas' cool gaze. "I do not think so, Ellie. She…had to leave quite suddenly." Then he turned toward his daughter with a smile. "You will have the chance to speak with Nev soon enough. In the meantime, you should follow the others' example," he said, nodding toward the food trays, "and eat. Then I will show you to our family's talan."
Ellie clapped her hands together in excitement. To think--she would now live high in these magnificent trees! In a real house, and not just a makeshift nest--where she and Jamie had spent many a long night hiding from Orcs--or a simple platform like the hunting talan.
"Will I meet my uncles there?" she now asked, her eyes bright with expectation.
But Haldir shook his head. "Your uncles have been sent for. They were patrolling Lorien's southern borders and should arrive before the end of the week."
Ellie quashed her disappointment. A few more days were not too long to wait. She took a deep breath and smiled, linking arms with her father, and then--after only the slightest hesitation--with Legolas. "Let us sup, then!"
He ate only sparingly, as Elves were wont to do. Afterwards, Legolas reclined on a large pillow with a goblet of wine and watched Ellie indulge herself. Because she did not eat meat--"Life is precious. We should not have to take it to nourish ourselves," she had once told him--Ellie had subsisted on nuts and wild berries, stale biscuits and hardtack, throughout her journey with the Fellowship, the companions having run out of fresh fruit and potatoes long before she joined them. He had worried about her, but like all Elves and, he supposed, like all Ilissans, she never sickened and never weakened. Still, she had missed dinner the previous evening because of her bath, and she had barely touched her breakfast because of Nev. Luncheon on Cerin Amroth had been a simple affair. But now, she had more food spread before her than she had seen in months. The Elf was both amused and relieved to see that she could not resist it.
"Ellie, I did not know that so much food could fit into such a tiny body," Legolas teased her, as she stuffed her mouth with an enormous chunk of cheese. She looked at him with wide eyes but could say nothing while she struggled to chew. Legolas lifted his hand to her face and lazily ran a finger from her packed cheek all the way down to her collarbone, his eyes following his hand's movement. Then he paused, raised mischievous eyes to hers, and continued trailing his finger downward between her breasts until he reached her stomach. Spreading his hand over it, he chuckled. "Your appetite tonight rivals a hobbit's!"
Sitting next to Ellie on the other side and having witnessed the entire scene, Haldir laughed out loud. Legolas instantly removed his hand. He had momentarily forgotten her father--not to mention the rest of the Fellowship, but fortunately they were still absorbed with supper. Indeed, Legolas had forgotten that he and Ellie had yet to settle their differences. Yes, she had been warming up to him ever since Cerin Amroth, had accepted his occasional touch and even the kiss, but he needed to tread carefully. Right now, Legolas had been too bold.
It must be the wine, he thought. This was his fourth goblet. The Elf was far from drunk, but he had lost his edge. Legolas needed his wits about him to deal with Nev and persuade Ellie to choose him. He put the goblet down.
The girl watched him through narrowed eyes as she finally finished chewing the accursed cheese and swallowed. "I am done," she announced primly, lifting her own goblet of wine for one last sip. "And I do not have the appetite of a hobbit!"
Haldir laughed again. Like Legolas, he too had reclined back to drink and watch Ellie eat. Now he leaned across his daughter to address the other Elf, while at the same time taking the goblet from her. "So I gather my daughter does not eat like this all of the time…thank the Valar," he said, draining the rest of the goblet's contents. "Or does she?" Haldir looked Ellie up and down with speculative eyes. His face was concerned, excessively so. He was teasing her too.
Legolas smiled, relaxing once again. "No. She has eaten more tonight than she did throughout our entire journey."
"Well…then one would hope that tonight is not a portent of things to come," Haldir replied, lying back once more, with a hand behind his head.
Ellie looked from one Elf to the other. They were both staring at her with amusement in their eyes and decidedly devilish smiles on their faces. Heart-stopping…breathtaking…beautiful smiles. To be teased at once by two Elves as magnificent as these was simply too much for the girl. Without giving it a second thought, Ellie grabbed the two nearest cushions, one in each hand, and squashed them against their perfect faces…
"Are you mad at Legolas and your father now?" Jamie wanted to know. The boy had been happily eating with the hobbits until he saw Ellie hit the Elves.
She settled him onto her lap and replied, "I am mad at neither of them."
"But you smacked them with those cushions. I saw you!" Jamie accused. "You smacked them real hard. Didn't she, Halder?"
"Haldir," the girl corrected absently, as she smoothed the boy's hair.
"She most certainly did, Jamie." Ellie's father was growing rather fond of the human boy. With the Elves leaving Middle-Earth in ever-increasing numbers, no child had been born in Lorien for many long years. Jamie--like his daughter--brought with him a spark of life and an innocence that had been sorely lacking in the Golden Wood. In many ways, the boy was an extension of Ellie herself. From what she had told Haldir earlier today, the two had been inseparable since Jamie's birth. No wonder then that Legolas seemed so attached to the child.
"I was only playing," the girl insisted.
"Uh-huh," came the scoffing reply. Jamie didn't believe her at all. Ellie looked downright mean when she hit them, and he knew for a fact that she was mad at Legolas. Or had been until lunchtime. The boy glanced over at the Mirkwood Prince, and Legolas winked back at him.
A short while later, Legolas cradled the sleeping child in his arms, as he accompanied Ellie and Haldir to their family's talan.
For the time being, he would not be staying with them. His place was with the Fellowship, but Legolas knew he would sorely miss having her and the boy next to him while they slept. Already, he could feel the first faint pangs of sorrow in his heart at their imminent separation.
"We have arrived," Haldir quietly announced, stopping before a white wooden staircase. It was not as elaborately carved or as wide as the one that graced the Lady Galadriel's home, but just like that grand staircase it too spiraled around a mallorn trunk, under tiny lit cloisters with slender columns shaped like vines. Other dwellings in Lorien were reached by climbing rope ladders, but Haldir's family was of a noble and ancient lineage, and their home reflected their status. Indeed, his parents had accompanied the Lord and Lady when they first settled in the Golden Wood thousands of years ago.
Legolas looked up at the talan and saw several small buildings. Although dozens of green and white fairy lights were strung along the eaves and also among the branches, the interiors remained dark. No one else was home. He then scanned the stairs and landings and branch bridges, but they too were empty.
"She will not be here," Haldir said shortly in Elvish, instinctively knowing whom Legolas was searching for. Ellie raised questioning eyes to her father--she had not understood all his words--but he did not notice, or chose not to.
The Elf now reached over to take Jamie from Legolas' arms. "I will put the boy to bed. Whenever you are ready, Ellie, come up to the first landing and I will meet you." And with a quick nod of farewell, he started to climb.
Legolas and Ellie stood in companionable silence and watched until Haldir and the boy were no longer in sight. Then the Elf turned toward her, and smiled tenderly. "Your father thinks we mean to make up. Let us do so, Ellie. Let us put Nev behind us." He lifted his hands to her hair, and gently brushed some of the curls back, his eyes lingering on the shadowy peaks of her breasts, before meeting her gaze again. "I love you. I will always love you."
As she looked into Legolas' beautiful eyes--so earnest and sincere--Ellie's throat swelled with emotion. She wanted to make up. She wanted to tell him that she did forgive him after all, because she knew that he was truly remorseful. To give him a second chance was the mature and selfless thing to do. The correct thing to do. And yet, she hesitated.
If Ellie were to follow her heart, she would agree to everything and anything he asked, because she loved him. And he loved her. She would go wherever he might lead. She would give up her faith, her life, her very soul if need be.
But before Ellie could even consider following her heart, she had to be able to trust Legolas again. She still did not. Physical desire was a powerful emotion. And he had felt enough of it for Nev to kiss her last night.
"Legolas, I…" Ellie started to say, and bit her lip. Her eyes strayed from his naked face and followed the stairs upward. A lamp had been lit in one of the dwellings and she could just make out the silhouette of her father against a green-gold curtain. "He…does not seem to mind our…relationship," she said carefully.
Legolas followed her gaze. "Haldir wants to see us together, Ellie. He has told me as much."
"In spite of Nev?" she asked in a quiet voice. Her somber eyes were watching him again. In them, he thought he saw a shadow of doubt.
"In spite of her," he replied with conviction.
"He doesn't know about last ni…"
"He does," Legolas interrupted. "Because I told him."
Ellie's mouth gaped in surprise. You did that? For a moment she stared at him with something akin to awe. Then she shook her head in bewilderment. "I don't understand…How can he approve of…"
"Listen to me, Ellie," Legolas said earnestly, grabbing hold of her shoulders. His voice sounded almost desperate. "For once, please listen to me. Nev ceased to be a part of my life a long time ago. I…love…you. You, not her. Haldir knows this. Nev and I are like the moon and the sun. We do not suit. We never did and we never will. Your father knows this too. But you and I…" and he raised his hands to embrace her face, "you and I, Meldanya, are two halves of the same whole. You are my soul's mate, and I am yours. There can never be another. Not for me. Not for you. Talk to Haldir, Ellie. He will tell you. He knows what it is like to have, and lose, a soul mate."
The girl winced. Talk to Haldir. Yes, her father knew better than anyone else would, what it was like to love and lose someone for all eternity. It was no wonder then that he would choose to side with Legolas.
She nodded her head slowly, finally understanding. Then Ellie took a step closer to Legolas and lifted her own hand to his face. Oh, my love. This is so hard for me. And harder still for you, she thought. She softly stroked his cheek and his chin, down and up and down again, with her small, slender fingers and her knuckles. His skin was so smooth, so flawless…
"Just like Jamie's," she muttered. At that moment, in her eyes, Legolas seemed to be no older than the boy was. Do you not realize what is at stake for me? she wondered, her expression bittersweet. Ellie did not think so, although she had spoken endlessly to him about her faith. Because he was an Elf, one of the Firstborn, he naturally assumed that he was right--in this, if not all matters--and that she should readily agree to everything he asked. That she should continue to trust him, regardless of what he had done.
"Ellie?" the Elf questioned.
"I said that your skin feels just like Jamie's."
My skin? What is she talking about? Legolas dropped his hands back to her shoulders and looked at her in disbelief. "Did you hear what I just said to you? Did you even listen?" he asked, not bothering to hide his exasperation, as he gave her a little shake.
Ellie sighed. "I did listen, and I will talk with my father." Then she leaned even closer, slid her hand to the back of his neck and lowered his head.
Legolas now stood utterly still and waited, willing her to kiss him. Kiss me, Ellie, his eyes pleaded, searing her with their intensity. He pushed her slightly forward, so that her body grazed his, scorching him in turn. Kiss me, his heart commanded hers.
He had kissed her earlier; she would be the one to kiss him now. Because he willed it.
And Ellie did.
But not in the way Legolas expected. When her mouth was a mere hair's breadth away from his, she tilted his head to the side and pressed her warm lips to his pale cheek. The Elf dropped his hands in shock.
"I will see you in the morning," she told him with a sweet, tender smile. "And then you will hear what I have to say." With that, Ellie turned away from him and started to climb the stairs.
She had kissed him on the cheek as a comforting gesture, to reassure him that--despite their uncertain future--she still loved him. But in her inexperience, Ellie never realized that Legolas would misinterpret it…
The Elf was completely dumbfounded. For the second time this day, he watched her walk away, without having persuaded her to let Nev go. Or had he? Ellie had given him no indication one way or the other. No clue as to what she was thinking.
Except for the kiss. The kiss that was worse than no kiss at all, for it was no different from one she would give to her father or to Jamie. After all the intimate moments we have shared, this is the best she can offer? he fumed, suddenly outraged.
What is in your mind, Ellie?
She had not kissed him as a lover would.
What is in your heart?
She had kissed him as a friend!
Legolas was tempted to go after her. Oh, how he was tempted! But the Elf was afraid he would only make matters worse with his anger and frustration. Instead, he stalked back to the guest pavilion, plopped down on his bedroll and brooded, only to rise up again a short time later. For a while he paced in front of the tent, back and forth like a caged beast. Then he followed the small stream that spilled from the fountain until he reached a secluded spot, away from the bright dwellings and the strings of light. On a soft mossy bank that sloped toward the water, Legolas sat alone in the dark and despaired.
To Nikki1: I love it when my readers know their Tolkien! While it is true that most of the Mirkwood Elves were Sylvan Elves (you're a smart girl!) and Legolas' mother may have been a Sylvan Elf (we simply do not know), Tolkien himself wrote in the Index of The Silmarillion that King Thranduil--Legolas' father--was a Sindarin Elf. Hence, Legolas is, at the very least, half-Sindarin. Not many LOTR fans are aware of that fact, so your assumption that Legolas was Sylvan is understandable--and not necessarily incorrect, if his mother was Sylvan. :-)
To ACE: I am always happy to know when a reader of the original version of E.C. is now reading my new version. Thank you for coming back to the story! And between you and me, I don't like Nev either. She's shallow, selfish, and cowardly. But, she may redeem herself soon!
To nap-003: Fear not! The Nev issue will be resolved very soon!
To Jay: Wow! Thank you so much for the wonderful review and for telling me that my writing has improved. I have been trying!
To elfiehead: Hah! You have got some sense of humor! Your reviews make me laugh out loud. And thank you so much for making them so detailed. Feedback like yours lets me know that I'm headed in the right direction.
To Nimrothon: Thanx for the review. I hope you like this chapter as much as the others!
To Avian Lee: Yes, ma'am. I am familiar with both the books and the films!
To Wicklowe: Thank you for your kind words! By the way, great nickname!
To clumseysweetpea: OK, I heard you, and I LISTENED. Hopefully, you were pleased with the "lighter" moments in this chapter. Poor Ellie really needs some after everything she has been through! Unfortunately, there will be some rough waters ahead for her after Legolas leaves Lothlorien! :-(
To Briamber: I am so touched that I was able to brighten your day! And thank you so much for your long, positive review. I was a little wary that my readers would get frustrated at how long it's taking for Ellie and Legolas to make up (although storywise, only one day has actually passed since Ellie learned about Nev!).
To Elvesmagic010: Thank you, thank you! I love to make my readers' days, especially when your kind reviews make mine!
To Anonymous (sdsdsds): Oh-oh! I hope you weren't expecting the dramatic make-up scene in this chapter. But it's coming, I promise!
To Harmony99: So glad you're still with the story! I've got some awesome readers!
To maybe tonight: By "new" story, I simply meant that I would post the second part of ELLIE'S CHOICE as a separate story. Originally I meant to keep it all together, but I wasn't sure if it was getting too long for my readers. Is it?
To Anon-101-6: as always, you take the time to review and point out what you like in my chapters. Thank you so much for your encouragement and support!
