The Passing

The Prince and I

Getting to know you-

Getting to know all about you . . .

The Roger and Hamerstein musical 'The King and I'

The rumors on the streets of Mirkwood were full of 'soap opera- like' drama. From young maidens walking arm and arm through the marketplace, to kitchen maids in the palace scullery; the rumors were making their way down the grapevine.

"The Prince is secretly engaged to that mysterious girl who walked along side him at yesterday's arrive."

"Really! No! I heard that she was a visiting Lady of Rohan."

"Your both wrong! She's a witch!"

Lord Celebrindal huffed as the gossiping ladies scurried past him.

The brooding elf had decided to take a stroll through the marketplace outside the palace walls, but alas! He could not even find peace from the daily aggravations in his crowded solitude.

'All the Kingdom could talk about was that retched girl!' The elf huffed again.

'Kohana.'

That was her name. The girl didn't know it, but she had made the Lord's job much easier.

Lord Celbrindal had seen the Prince's eyes when he looked at that human girl. She would be the distraction that would be the Royal line's final undoing.

He would encourage this string of events.

Legolas paced his room while popping his knuckles.

'Just go say good morning to her, coward. That is the proper thing to do. (Pause) What if she thinks I'm is too needy? What if she's angry with me (Pause) Ohh, come on Greenleaf, get your act together!'

Legolas felt so out of control. Why was he feeling this way? All these foreign emotions were flooding his brain. The Prince tried to rationalize his anxiety. Kohana was just some insignificant girl he was stuck in a stressful situation with for a month.

That's all.

Sure- she was the only female he had ever talked to freely- and for a human she wasn't half bad looking either. . .

Suddenly there was a knock on his door.

"Minno!"

The door hesitantly opened, and there stood Kohana with a meek smile. Her hair had been braided in the Elvish fashion, and she was dressed to match in a white frock and woolen cape. She curtsied in the doorway and muttered 'My Lord' under her breath. She was not happy with all the customs, but she wanted to respect her hosts.

Legolas almost forgot his manners at the shock of Kohana in his room, but quickly caught himself and bowed in return.

"I was told this was your room."

"That it is, My Lady." There was an awkward silence, but Kohana saved it.

"Did you rest well?"

Legolas nodded.

"Yes, very well."

Kohana stared at the Prince a moment longer before grinned ear to ear.

"Look at the two of us." She paused. "We act as if we are not friends! Has so much changed from our outpost to this palace?"

Kohana's question seemed to clear the air, and Legolas physically relaxed.

This was the same girl he found confidence in when he was wounded and near death.

"Surly not, my Lady . . ." Legolas walked over to Kohana and offered his arm.

"Shall I take you on a tour of the grounds?"

Kohana smiled up at the elf.

The Prince had obviously had a shower, and with fresh clothing, he looked really good. His silver hair had been straightened, and his radiant glow had returned along with his improving health.

"Yes" she squeaked out under his gaze.

'He is seriously to hot for his own good . . .' she thought.

The two walked through the palace halls, Legolas describing everything in sight. Kohana laughed to herself.

"Once he opens up, you can not get this elf to shut up."

The two reached the inner gardens on the East wing of the palace. Large skylights ran across the labyrinth of trails and hidden passageways that created the garden. The skylights filtering the suns rays heated the foliage, creating a greenhouse effect. Kohana never thought an in-caved Palace build into a mountain would be as beautiful as it had turned out to be.

"Have your people always lived in the mountain?"

"Legolas's eyes became misty with sorrow.

"No. The Mirkwood elves used to have a giant palace deep in the woods thousands of years ago. Only elders such as my Father remember those days, when the forest was called Greenwood. There was none of Sauron's evil dwelling in our lands then."

"Someday Sauron's evil will leave these lands."

Legolas stopped and looked at Kohana intensely.

"I hope so, Kohana." He looked away. "I will die fighting to rid his evil from my kindom."

"Aye." She whispered. "It might come to that."

Legolas pretended not to hear her comment, but it struck his heart. She knew that there would be a reckoning, and the price that would be paid. It might be his life.

He felt it too.

"Lady?"

Kohana looked up to him. "Call me Kohana. I believe we are close enough for lack of ceremony."

Legolas nodded. It was indeed odd to feel so close to this girl, but he delighted in having a companion.

"Tell me more of your home. It seems such a wonderful place."

"Aye. My home was a mix of beauty and peace, but there was also much pain. I believe it is much like Middle Earth in some ways." Kohana paused. "What do you wish to know?"

"Does your homeland have archery?"

Kohana laughed. "A little single-minded, are we?"

Legolas grinned.

"Yes, Legolas, my home had archery. However, it was not a popular activity. My sisters and I were interested in other things."

"I wouldn't expect young women to be interesting in such a skill."

Legolas did not say this out of rudeness, but more as a general statement.

Kohana rolled her eyes anyway.

"Acually, one of the best archers in my homeland was a woman. But that is no matter. My home had many activities that do not exist here. My eldest sister, Shina, loved music. She was also very academic, but she could play every instrument under the sun, as well. And my other sister, Tori, was passionate about social things, such as protest rallies and activism."

Legolas, of course, didn't understand a lot of what Kohana was saying, but he politely nodded anyway.

"And you, Kohana. What did you enjoy?"

Kohana became nostalgic as she thought of her high school days on the debate team. The sad realization that she would not be able to use that skill in this world left a sour expression on her face.

Women were meant to be silent in these lands.

"I liked to debate." She finally answered the Prince.

"I do not understand." Legolas responded. The girl liked to argue as a hobby?

"Debate is the art of publicly defending a position. I learned the skills of rhetoric and ethics."

Once again, Legolas did not fully understand all that the girl was talking about, but he nodded in mock understanding.

"I do not know of these skills; 'rhetoric' and 'ethics', but I would like to know more. Could you teach me?"

Kohana looked up at the Prince.

"Really?"

Legolas nodded sincerely. "I may not know about this art of 'debate', but it seems like I should. It could help me rule my kingdom,"(Pause) "Yes, I think it would be quiet helpful. Do you mind introducing it to me?"

Kohana was thrilled. 'Ummmm yeah!'she thought.

"Of course, we can start whenever you wish."

Legolas loved to see Kohana excited, it was so refreshing. Her actions were openly transparent with her thoughts and feelings- and he loved the way her face lit up like an elfing's when she was pleased with something he said. The Kohana he was beginning to know thus far was so different than the scared girl so long ago on the road from Rivendell and in the dark forest.

It was fairly obvious that the change in her demeanor had to do with their new location. Being that Legolas wasn't dying, she wasn't being loathed as a witch made her much more agreeable.

Although he would never forget her self sacrificing kindness during their time in the outpost.

He had learned to trust her there.

The Prince and girl continued their wall through the rest of the garden, and toward the grand hall.

"Oh, Legolas . . .this room is so beautiful!" Koana looked around herself in awe, mouth parted and wide eyed shock.

Gilded walls of carved ivy and forest trees met a giant dome ceiling filled with skylights. Beams of light leaked though, painting bright washes of color in designs along the mosaic floor. She could see servants bustling around carrying parcels of ribbon, silks, and winter greenery.

What is going on, Legolas?"

"Ahh" the Prince responded, "The Feast is tonight. The Palace is preparing for the celebration."

"Oh, to honor your homecoming?"

Legolas smiled.

"And to honor a certain guest from Rohan."

Kohana's jaw dropped.

"What! They are honoring ME. But I'm nobody!"

The Prince laughed, ignoring her previous statement. "Do not worry; I will be there to help you. You will be fine."

Kohana continued to walk around the Grand Hall, Legolas in tow, letting the girl take her time to let her new home settle in. She inspected the detail on the walls, starred at the ceiling until her head hurt (at the amusement of the Prince) and admired the tapestries and painted murals.

She came across a tapestry with a scene of an ancient elven battle on it. Her fingers ran across the perfectly stitched elven figures, some fallen, and other valiantly fighting the enemy with flags of victory in their hands.

"Umm, Legolas?"

"Yes."

"Do your people know of the Nazgul massacre?"

"The families are being notified as we speak." He whispered.

"Oh."

Kohana turned around to face the Prince.

"And your Father would still have a feast, even when others will be mourning?"

Legolas was silent as he thought of how to phase his response to Kohana.

"Elves do not see death the same way as the race of man does." (Pause) "Men see death- and are filled with sorrow, for every day is precious to ones that sustain live for what is a second in eternity. But for the immortal, death is the great honor and their valiant sacrifice is celebrated. When elves see death, they see the greatest honor there is for our kind."

Kohana nodded. She still felt sorrow for those that had lost their lives in the battle with the Nazgul- her view was still quite different from the Prince's.

But she was also mortal.

The Prince and girl had parted ways soon after that. Legolas had matters of the kingdom to attend to, and Kohana was hungry.

She soon found that meals were served on an individual basis in your chamber, and dinner was in the Grand Hall.

The girl begin her walk alone to her room on the far West wing of the Palace. As she made her way, gusts of wind coming threw the shafts above chilled her to the bone. Unlike elves, who were not terribly affected by weather conditions, Kohana was finding herself in a constant state of cold.

In her chamber, she buried under her linens and pillows, and remained there for some time.

The hardest thing about this Palace, she found, was there was nothing for her to do. Unlike Rivendell, where she had been under house arrest, in Mirkwood she was free to roam, but who would want to in the artic that blew outside?

With her belly growling, she rang for a maid to bring her lunch.

Noon soon turned to evening, and Mirkwood became a glowing wonderland of holly and flame. Torches and candelabras filled every nook and cranny of the Palace, filling it with light, and sending light through the shafts that repelled it to the snow below.

In the Grand Hall, Lords and Ladies surrounded themselves with a banquet of food and drink while singers entertained them with songs of old.

Outside the Grand Hall stood Kohana, filled with a bundle of nerves and waiting to be announced. A servant had retrieved her, and brought her to wait presently for the Prince.

She played with the hem of her gown, for it was vary uncomfortable and itchy.

After lunch, an elf maiden by the name of Alasse had come to help her BATHE.

Bathe! Where these people on crack! She could bathe herself, dress herself, and brush her own hair!

Kohana had politely declined, but Alasse had seemed so hurt, she had hesitantly agreed.

After the bath (ok- the elf tried to wash her . . .), and the ordeal of wardrobe (lots of poking and prodding), and designing the hair-do, Kohana officially felt sorry for all the elf maidens out there.

Primping was torture.

But here she was, freshly coifed and really, really nervous.

Legolas could feel her nervousness from a mile away. Her aura radiated it.

As he approached her, he kissed her hand and placed it above his.

Legolas was not able to talk to her, for the King was approaching, along with Amroth, and his Royal Counsel. The Prince, however looked to Kohana, smiled sweetly, and clasped her hand supportingly.

The Royal Court organized into a formation, and the Giant doors leading into the Grand Hall opened accompanied by horns announcing the King's entrance.

Hear we go . . .

Kohana's eyes fell apoun hundreds of curious faces watching her every move. Legolas walked beside her, head held high with a firm expression which demanded respect. Kohana called it his 'Leader Face', beautiful, but terrifying all in the same. She had seen it before, during their arrival the eve before.

The royal party made its way to the head table raised by two platforms, and facing the rest of the feast in its entire splendor.

Kohana was mortified when the King ushered Prince Legolas and her to his side with one hand, while using the other to call attention to his guests.

Legolas's Father had gray hair mixed with his silver, and his face, however beautiful, did not share the youthful radiance of his eldest son. Still, Kohana thought to herself, the King looked more of an older brother than a father next to Legolas.

"Thank you for joining me on this Grand Eve! (cheers) Tonight, we celebrate all those who have departed in honor and courage, (cheers), (looking at Legolas) and those that have returned from perilous journeys (cheers). On this joyous occasion, I have the honor to introduce you to a most honored guest, Lady Kohana, Sheildmaiden of Rohan."

Kohana bowed as a large applause erupted forth across the Grand Hall.

"Make merry this Eve, as we celebrate together under the glorious Mirkwood sky! Enjoy, and welcome! Indulge in the fruits of my House!" The King clapped his hands, and suddenly an army of servant emerged carrying the main attraction, elvish wine.

"Never have you tasted a wine so sweet." Legolas whispered in her ear.

The wine flowed; the food filled the Hall with sweet aromas, and entertainment begun. Kohana was seated between Legolas and Amroth, and the two coached her on the dinner etiquette, and described the songs elves were singing.

"This song is honoring true love. It is the official song of engaged couples." Amroth commented.

"There will be an engagement announcement tonight." Legolas added." At the end of the song, the mystery couple will walk up to the platform to receive the Kings blessing."

When the music did stop, the entire Hall grew silence in anticipation. Cheers irrupted when the mystery was revealed.

She watched in delight as an elf and his maid walked up to the platform for the Kings blessing.

King Thandruil kissed the elf and his fiancé on the cheek, and recited a poem of blessing to honor them.

Legolas leaned over to explain.

"Engagements are a very serious production for the Mirkwood elves. After this night, the elf maiden's intended will live with her family, and become a servant in their house. This will teach him humility. The elf maid will do the same in his home, but for a more practical reason."

"The engaged couple can not live under the same roof until they are married." Amroth added.

The couple walked to the center of the Hall, and danced a special 'engagement dance'.

Kohana was barely able to eat any of the good food that was put in front of her, for interest of what was happening before her.

The night went on, more songs, dancing, and merrymaking dazzled about.

Kohana sat in her chair as elves littered the dance floor in a uniformed partner dance. The dance was very meticulous and looked really entertaining from her perch on the platform.

Legolas was in an intense discussion with royal councilmen below, and Amroth had left the platform earlier to dance. She knew that the main reason no none approached her was the language barrier, everyone spoke Sindarin. Kohana folded her hands on her lap and sighed. She didn't mind being alone, for there were dances to entertain her, but she just felt nervous up on the platform by herself.

"Greetings, sheildmaiden."

Kohana turned to lay her eyes on an older elf bowing before her. "May I join you?"

The girl smiled and nodded.

"I am Lord Finrod, forever at your service." He gingerly clasped her hand and kissed it.

Kohana blushed. The older elf had kind eyes and a sincere smile, and she immediately fell in love with him. He looked to be about the same age as the King, but his demeanor was very different. He was wise, but still approachable.

"I was the royal tutor to both the Princes. I am ashamed to admit that right now, however, for I never encouraged a Prince to leave his guests unattended. Especially when they are as beautiful as you." Lord Finrod sighed as he sat down beside her, "I fear that for a very smart and amiable elf, Prince Legolas is quite clueless when it comes to maidens. You will have to forgive him of that flaw."

Kohana smiled.

"He is already forgiven."

Lord Finrod grinned. "I would be honored if you would dance with me, Lady."

Kohana blushed.

"But My Lord, I fear I would embarrass you, for I do not know these dances."

"Ahh, that is true, but come! We will brave it together."

Lord Finrod clasped her hand, and led her to the dance floor. Luckily, the elvish dance that seemed to be going on around them was similar to a waltz, and Kohana (with the help of Finrod) was able to keep up.

The older Elf began to describe the origins of the dance they were partaking in, and answered Kohana's thousands of questions about Mirkwood's history, culture, and any other tid bit he could think of.

Across the room, Legolas stood with his back to the dance floor, discussing Mirkwood issues with the royal advisors.

"Ahh I see Lord Finrod has finally brought our lovely Sheidmaiden onto the dance floor." Lord Celbrindal commented.

Legolas turned around to see Kohana tilting her head back laughing as Lord Finrod whispered something in her ear.

Legolas smiled. Lord Finrod (or 'Fin Fin' as he called him as an elfling) was like his segregate father. It warmed his heart to see the two dancing together, or more like Kohana stepping all over his feet.

She was so cute, Legolas thought. Her blonde hair was coifed at the crown of her head, but the rest flowed freely about her shoulders. Her frock was purple and silver, and gracefully flowed over her body in the elven fashion.

Prince Legolas excused himself, made his way over to the dance floor.

"May I have this dance, My Lady?"

Kohana turned to met Legolas's joyful eyes.

"It is about time, my young Prince." Finrod commented, handing Kohana over.

"My most sincere apologizes." The Prince mock sighed.

Kohana let out a snort. Legolas was being SILLY!

"Are you laughing at me, Lady?" Legolas jested.

Kohana grinned from ear to ear.

"I am shocked to find that a certain Prince as a wicked sense of humor."

"You wound me, Lady!" Legolas sighed as he spun her around.

The two began to banter back and forth until they lost track of the time.

Slowly the Feast died down, the candle wax melted, and Kohana found herself being escorted back to her room by Prince Charming.

"So, what did you think of your first Mirkwood Feast?"

"It was wonderful." Kohana sighed tiredly followed by a yawn.

"I think a certain maiden needs to rest."

"Aye." Was all she said.

The two reached her chamber and Kohana leaned against her door.

"It all just seems to perfect."

Legolas looked at the girl with concern. "What do you mean?"

Kohana sighed and began to play with the hem of her dress again.

"I'm just not used to being welcome with open arms." She looked up at the Prince. "Thank you . . .for your kindness."

Legolas felt something inside of his chest begin to stir. His pulse quickened and with no warning, his hands found there way to Kohana's.

"You deserve all the happiness in the world."

The two stood there like that for many seconds- both feeling a closeness, but neither admitting it.

He's just being nice.

She just needs my comfort right now.

Soon they both departed, but neither slept.

Notes:

Minno- Enter

R/R people! Much love- Queenie