Author's Note:
Thank you very much to all of you who have reviewed for saying such lovely things. I'm so glad you like it so far.
Hope you enjoy this chapter. Please read and review.
WARNING this chapter contains some adult content but it's nothing to graphic and this story was rated 'R' for a reason, and not just for some violence.
Ten
Of Dreams And Pond ScumA light breeze blew softly across the Elven Lord's left ear, causing him to stir in his sleep. When he felt warm lips pressed gently against the sensitive ear he turned his head only to have the lips fall upon his own. At first only brushing against before turning into a passionate kiss, one he found himself returning eagerly. He still did not know to whom the lips belonged but for the moment he didn't care, nor did he dare open his eyes. He had not shared a kiss such as this since his wife. His probing tongue slipped from between his lips to lick lightly along the length of the others, seeking entrance into the warmth of the mouth behind them. It was eagerly granted and soon his tongue was sliding up against the others.
Breathless he pulled back from the kiss and opened his eyes for the first time. A set of half lidded yellow-green eyes, glazed with lust stared back at him. He inhaled sharply as he recognized the eyes to belong to the Roc Princess. He pulled back slightly from her and allowed his eyes to roam over her gloriously naked body, laid out beside him in her Final form. He felt the blood rush to his groin and reveled in the feeling. As his eyes found hers again she smiled seductively, before swinging one leg delicately across his body and lifting herself to straddle his hips. His breath hissed out as she settled across his still clothed lap, her hands placed upon his chest to brace herself.
She ground her hips down against his, stimulating his already hardening member and eliciting a deep moan from the Elvin Lord. He reached up and placed his hands upon her hips, sliding them smoothly up her sides before cupping her breasts and gently massaging them. She began to unfasten his green tunic, tracing light fingers across his skin as she slowly exposed it. It was soon discarded and she gathered the top of his tights in her hands before sliding down his body, taking the green leggings with her. As she moved back up his naked body she placed light kisses across his legs, hips, stomach, chest, her lips were everywhere but where Elrond craved them the most. She knelt, straddling his hips once more and he reached up to grasp her hips in his hands again. This time he positioned her body before thrusting up into her in one swift motion. He groaned in blissful pleasure and she tossed her head back crying out his name.
"Elrond!"
Elrond woke suddenly, sitting bolt upright and staring out into the darkness of the still night. His breathing was erratic and when he placed a hand over his face to ensure he was, in fact, awake he discovered he was drenched with sweat. Wiping most of it from his face with his hand he found he still felt far too warm.
Fragmented images from his dream seemed imprinted to the backs of his eyelids and whenever he closed them he would relive a snatch of the moment. The physical effect of the dream straining against the thin fabric of his leggings another reminder of the perverted dream he had just lived, but it had felt so good. Oh how it had felt so good. A quick glance to his left assured him that Aquila was still sleeping. It also served to make him more uncomfortable then he already was.
He needed to get away from there, from them, and he quickly stood, casting aside the thin blanket he had mostly kicked off anyway. Striding out, his footfalls making no noise as he padded lightly across the leaf strewn forest floor, he made his way deeper into the forest. Hoping to find the small lake Legolas had suggested may be there.
It was not long before the trees stopped and a small lake appeared before him, the moonlight reflecting off it's surface making it seem as if its bottom were coated with silver. The Lord's thoughts however had little room for the beauty of nature at that moment. The only thing on his mind was to cool down and chase the remnants of his dream from his mind. It was not as if he hadn't enjoyed it. He would not lie to himself about the simple pleasure his thoughts had brought him. He merely feared he would not be able to look her in the eye once morning came if these images kept replaying themselves. He knelt at the waters edge and bent down to scoop up a handful of water. He then proceeded to splash it over his face. He sighed contently as the cool water sapped the heat from his flushed face. He remained bent over the waters edge, staring down at his shadowy reflection, as he allowed his breathing to return to normal. It wasn't until he was sure all signs of his arousal had dissipated that he splashed another handful of water over his face and stood.
Slowly he made his way back to their camp, resolved to put the entire incident out of his mind. He was however mindful of the disappointment stewing at the back of his mind. As to what he was more disappointed about, that he had allowed his emotions to go so unguarded, or that it had in fact been a dream. He did not however wish to dwell on it nor any other thoughts regarding the matter. He had spent thousands of years guarding his feelings when he needed to. He would simply employ those skills now.
He strode into the campsite with every intention to return to bed in order to catch some more sleep. However when he realized just how close the Roc was sleeping he decided that move was not such a good one.
He instead made his way to the edge of the forest and found a smooth boulder to sit on. Back to the forest and his sleeping companions, eyes fixed upon the horizon stretched out before him. He hoped morning would come swiftly and that he would not be left alone with his thoughts for too long.
Aquila shifted as that familiar tug that came with morning pulled her from her much welcomed sleep. There was no fighting nature though and once that feeling had crept its way into her system it wouldn't leave her till she rose. So rise she did. Sitting up and stretching her arms above her head she cast her eyes to either side of her. Legolas remained fast asleep to her left, oh to be an Elf. Not forced to wake with the rising sun. Head turned to her right she raised her eyebrows as she noticed Elrond was missing. She blinked in confusion as she picked herself up and stood stretching her back. Her eyesight being better in the dark easily picked out the Elven Lord, perched on a boulder at the forests edge. He appeared to be lost in thought, no surprises there, as he stared out at the colour slowly seeping into the horizon.
Keeping in mind the others were still asleep she made her way as silently as possible towards him. The fact that he made no move to show he had been alerted to her approach told Aquila he was in very deep thought.
She slid onto the rock to sit beside him. Startled from his thoughts he looked over at her and mild shock swept across his features. Aquila put it down to her having crept up on him, which was not a task easily preformed when Elves were concerned.
"I didn't know Elves rose with the Sun now too." She smiled and he returned it.
"Well if that were true would the sleeping Prince over there not be up? Instead he sleeps like a babe. No I woke and could not return to sleep so I thought I would watch the Sun emerge. I forgot your kind has a habit of doing the same."
She laughed at that and he smiled wider. It would seem as if he wasn't going to have a problem with feeling uncomfortable around her. But then why should he, she didn't know of his lustful dream. He felt a slight blush rising in his cheeks and fought to suppress it.
"It's not so bad, rising with the Sun."
"No."
Both allowed silence to stretch between them for sometime.
"Bad dreams?"
Elrond would have fallen backwards off the rock they were perched on had it not been for his natural grace. Instead he managed to steady himself enough to make it look as if he was simply shifting his position.
"Bad dreams?" he repeated still trying to gather his thoughts, having nearly made a complete fool of himself.
"Yes. I was wondering whether or not it had been more bad dreams keeping you awake. You know, maybe you'd seen some more of what was going on at the Western shores. I know I haven't dreamt of it since I left Cirus."
"No haven't had any visions of that nature since leaving Rivendell but I haven't really been concentrating on bringing them forth."
"No visions then?"
"No."
"Pinecone under the bedding? That hurts and would keep even Prince charming over there awake."
Elrond burst out laughing but was quickly silenced by Aquila's hand clamped over his mouth.
"Shh, you'll wake him and the others." She smiled as she removed her hand.
"I know. It just sort of got the better of me." He decided he wasn't going to be able to dodge this line of questioning but was not going to lie to her. "It wasn't a pinecone that kept me awake. It was indeed dreams or a dream to be more precise." Aquila tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "Not a bad one." He finished.
"Good dreams don't keep you up if you don't mind my saying my Lord."
He gave her a quizzical look at the sudden formality.
"It was………interesting." He turned his attention back to the horizon, which by now was well coloured and the sun had begun to show itself. Aquila followed his gaze and decided he was probably better left to whatever thoughts she had roused him from. She stood and made to leave but was stopped by his voice.
"Where are you off to? Dawn has barely broken."
"To engage in yet another bird habit or do Elves still bathe as well?" She replied over her shoulder as she disappeared off into the dense shrubbery in search of the small lake.
A twig snapped close to Legolas' head and he groaned quietly in annoyance at his sleep having been disturbed. He rolled onto his side and opened his eyes to see what it was that had woken him. He was greeted with nothing but the forest floor.
More twigs snapping above his head altered him to the fact that the person who had woken him had since moved on. He flipped himself onto his stomach and, propped up on his elbows, his sleepy eyes made out Aquila's form disappearing off into the trees.
He rose up onto his knees and rubbed the sleep from his eyes before standing. He briefly turned to see Elrond perched upon his rock before he made off after Aquila. It was not hard to follow the exact path the Roc had taken, despite her bird-like feet leaving little impression upon the ground.
When he emerged from the trees Legolas found himself on the shores of a small lake, not a particularly scenic one but it wasn't stagnant either. His eyes took in little of the scene though except for the female before him. She stood waist deep in the lakes waters, naked in her Final form, with her back to him. Wide-eyed and mouth gaping Legolas quickly gathered his senses and spun around on his heel to put his back to her. He then coughed loudly.
"Aquila."
Upon hearing her friends voice she turned around smiling but when she found his back turned to her confusion spread across her features.
"Legolas?"
It was after she spoke his name that she became suddenly aware of her nakedness and quickly sank into the water till it pooled about her neck.
Legolas meanwhile hadn't even heard her call his name as he breathed deeply, attempting to slow the blood he could hear rushing about his head.
"You can turn around now if you like."
He did so slowly at first but when he realized that her body was well hidden beneath the murky waters he turned fully to face her and made his way down to the waters edge. Unsure of what to say after the awkwardness of the encounter Legolas simply settled with a smile as he desperately tried not to picture what she looked like beneath the cloudy water.
Legolas however was not alone in his feelings of unsettlement. Aquila too was trying to slow her own breathing as the male Elf slowly approached the water. Oh how she wanted him to strip off and dive in with her but she knew he never would. Not only that but the mere thought was most inappropriate. So she smiled back, she was also the first to find her voice.
"Care to join me?"
She didn't just say that did she? Judging by the expression on Legolas' face and the fact that he'd stopped dead suggested she had. She inwardly slapped herself but was determined to salvage the situation. The last thing she wanted, after being separated from her friend for so long, was for things to become weird between them because they no longer knew quite how to act around each other now that they were grown.
"It's not all that cold and it's not like we didn't used to swim naked together as children." Legolas, trying to stop the blush he could feel beginning to stain his cheeks, was about to interject and point out the fact that they were in fact no longer children when Aquila, seemingly having read his mind, continued.
"Once you're in the water it's really too murky to see anything and I'll turn around while you undress if you like?"
Legolas really wasn't quite sure how he should respond. He knew how he wanted to respond but what he wanted and what she wanted were probably two entirely different things. How could she possibly make it all sound so innocent? Probably because in her mind it was, it was only his mind that was conjuring up dirty images.
He must have been standing in silence arguing with himself for too long because Aquila gave him the 'well? Have we made a decision or not' look.
"Fine" he gave in and to his surprise she smiled. He stood for a few moments more. "Well?"
"Well what?"
"Are you going to turn around or are you determined to see me strip off in front of you?" Legolas teased, hoping to unnerve her as much as she had him. When he noticed her blush before spinning around in the water he knew he had been successful. Satisfied with himself for getting her back he quickly unfastened his tunic and threw it over a dry rock. He then swiftly removed his leggings and, after tossing them on top of his tunic, walked into the water.
Aquila, who had her eyes fixed firmly on a cluster of reeds on the other side of the lake, heard him enter the water and was quite surprised he'd actually gone through with it.
"You can turn around now." He said from just behind her.
She turned but when her eyes feel level with his chest she looked up at him in confusion.
"I think we have established that you are the taller one Legolas but somehow on dry land you were never that much taller. I think maybe you're standing on a rock?"
He grinned and stepped down off the rock, letting his feet sink into the sludge resting on the lakes bottom. He could stand quite comfortably, with the water coming most of the way up his chest. Aquila however had already discovered that the lake got no deeper then where they were and if she planed to keep herself below the water she had to crouch slightly.
Legolas seemed quick to pick up on this and too bent his knees, lowering himself into the water till their heads were at around the same level.
"Better?" He queried.
"Much, though it's quite strange being the same height as you. Even when we were younger I remember you being taller."
"That was always inevitable. I was never taller than your brother though."
"True, but you forget Pandion is older. You would be taller than him now I think." Her eyes saddened at the mention of her brother and Legolas quickly changed the conversation.
"You know I can't help but wonder why you were even in this lake to begin with."
"Well I did come here with intent to bathe."
"You bathe in pond scum often?" He teased, scooping up a hand full of the green slim that seemed to collect on the waters surface. She gave him a slight roll of the eyes before continuing.
"I came here in the hope of bathing, however when I saw the state of the lake's water I decided it was probably a lost cause. But then I'd walked all the way over here I thought I'd go for a swim, you know, just for fun, before we had to head off again."
"You will never cease to amaze me with the odd things you do. No one in their right mind would get in here 'just for fun'."
She simply started blankly at him.
"I don't count because you asked me to come in."
"You didn't have to. You could have stayed on the shore. After all it would be an awful shame for those pretty golden locks to get pond scum in them." With a smirk she cupped her hands together and filled them with water, topped with a healthy helping of green slime. Legolas furrowed his brow in confusion and it wasn't until she raised her hands, overflowing with the slimy water, over his head that he realized her intentions.
"Don't!" he laughed. Swiftly he grasped her wrists and pulled them down to his sides, spilling the water from her hands before she had a chance to dump it over his head. However by pulling her hands to his sides he also pulled her up against him. The shock of the sudden contact caused Legolas to stand, taking her with him.
She looked up at him, the tops of her breasts visible just above the water, as he gazed down at her. Boldly Legolas, who still had his hands clasped about her wrists, pulled her still closer to him. Her body pressed up against his, he lowered his lips to hers. She eagerly accepted them and when he released one of her hands to cup the back of her head she moved her now free hand up his back. As their tongues entwined and Aquila pressed her body closer, Legolas felt his member begin to stiffen and it was this that caused him to pull back suddenly.
Fear and shame filled his eyes as he released her and all but ran to the lakes shore. He gathered his clothes up off the rock he had left them on and bolted into the trees.
It all happened so quickly that by the time Legolas had disappeared Aquila had barely registered his departure. Once she did however she simply stood in the water, staring at the spot in the trees that he had fled through.
Confused and hurt she transformed into her Half form, temporarily forgetting she was still in the water, before slowly wading back to shore. It was once she had stepped out of the water that she realized her feathers were now wet. She groaned in frustration and wandered over to a large flat rock by the waters edge. There she laid herself out on the rocks heated surface to absorb the morning's suns heat and dry her feathers.
Meanwhile Legolas had fled only partway into the forest before he realized he was still unclothed. He stopped to dress himself and then lent his back against the rough bark of a tree. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the tree. He allowed the tree to sooth him until he felt his heart stop racing. He began to feel stupid for what he'd just done. He'd found himself in the same position with Elven maids before and had not fled but this was somehow different. Aquila was his childhood friend and for the first time he was beginning to see her as a sexually attractive being. Most of all now he feared what she must think of him. Invite your friend in for an innocent splash about with you only to have him jump you. But then hadn't she kissed back? Did she feel the same or were his thoughts so clouded that he simply imagined she'd responded to his advances?
A sigh of frustration escaped his lips as he pushed himself off the tree and began walking. He made his way back to the campsite, his mind flooded with thoughts of guilt at leaving Aquila the way he did. It was not as though he hadn't wanted what happened back in the lake. That he had wanted very much. It just took him by surprise was all. He felt confused and wanted nothing more than to be alone to contemplate what had happened, however he had by now walked himself back into the camp.
He blinked several times as the suns light flooded his vision. Everyone had begun to pack up their things. The four men had collapsed their tents and were setting about rolling them up before strapping them to their horses. Elrond was packing away the last of his bedding into the bags strapped to his horse.
"Ah, Legolas!" Elrond called out upon spotting the other Elf emerging from the shrubbery. "I was wondering where you had got to. We'll be setting off soon. I don't suppose you've seen Aquila anywhere have you?"
"Yes actually. She over by the lake."
Elrond wondered briefly why Legolas sounded so far off but he moved off to begin packing up his bedding before he could further question him.
Elrond left the other Elf to gather his things and set off into the forest to fetch Aquila. Honestly why did it always take women so long to bath. He pushed through the trees until he found himself back at the lake. He did not however, allow himself to remember anything of the last time he stood at the waters edge.
He cast his eyes across the lake in search of the Roc but did not spot her. It was when he began to search its shores that he located her, lying upon her back on a large rock.
He strolled over to the rock and sat beside her. She did not open her eyes but he knew she knew he was there.
"How can you justify sleeping when we are about to leave?"
"I am not sleeping, I'm drying my feathers." Still she did not open her eyes.
Elrond could not help but admire her beauty. Tentatively he reached a hand out to stroke her cheek. At the feather-light touch her eyes fluttered open.
Above her hung the face of the Elven Lord, smiling but not like she had ever seen him smile before. Her lips parted slightly and she raised herself up to perch on her elbows.
As she brought her face closer to his Elrond felt as though he had gone beyond the point of no return. He lent over her, bracing himself by placing a hand on the rock. His lips then descended upon hers, claiming them in a brutally passionate kiss. She kissed back with fever, reaching one hand up to tangle her fingers in his long dark hair.
When they parted she lay back down and closed her eyes again. Elrond remained perched above her, his lips still tingling from the sensation of their kiss.
"I wont be much longer Elrond but I can't ride with damp feathers."
"Very well. I'll tell the others you'll be with us in a moment." With that said he rose and walked, almost mindlessly, back to where the others waited.
Had they kissed or had he imagined it. He was sure it had happened yet they had both acted as if it had not. Still they had a long ride ahead of them and plenty of time for him to ponder the matter and perhaps question Aquila over it, if he could get her alone that is.
Legolas had finished packing his bags and strapping them to his horse and now sat upon the grass at the forests edge. The men were talking amongst themselves, all except Seobryn who sat upon his horses back. Looking as if he were the saddest thing in Middle Earth at that moment.
As Elrond wandered back the others all looked to him.
"We well leave in a moment. Aquila will be with us once her feathers have dried."
Legolas blushed and turned away as Elrond said this, assuming the Lord knew of what had gone on between him and Aquila in the lake. Elrond took little notice in the other Elf's behaviour, too absorbed in his own thoughts to take much notice of anything.
"Should I pack her things for her?" Legolas enquired after a moment.
"Yes, that would be most helpful. Then we can leave as soon as she arrives."
Addramyr muttered something nasty about Aquila but Elrond chose to ignore it. Instead he walked her horse over to where Legolas was packing her bags so that he could strap them to the horse when he was done.
It wasn't long before Aquila emerged from the trees to find everyone already mounted upon their horses. She walked over to her horse and pulled herself up onto its back. Legolas walked his horse up along side hers and with nothing more then a warm smile, handed her the brown cloak. She cast it about her shoulders and fastened the clasp at her throat. She left the hood down as Elrond had said that would be ok but made sure the rest of the cloak covered her feathers and feet well.
The group then set off with not so much as a word, travelling swiftly across the open plains laid out before them. Elrond, Legolas and Aquila rode at the head of the group while the four men followed behind. They were sure to keep Seobryn at the centre of their group so that he could not fraternize further with the Roc. Elrond hoped to cover as much ground as possible before nightfall and then to reach Lothlórien before the night of the following day. He knew it meant a lot of hard riding for the horses but he was beginning it feel as if time was running out.
To be continued…
Disclaimer:
I do not own Lord of the Rings or any of the places, characters, items, etc associated with it. I am not making any money from this piece of fiction and am merely borrowing these places and characters to place in a new situation for your and my amassment.
However, the Rocs, the City of Cirus, Aquila, Pandion, Audax and any other characters, weapons, places, etc associated with the Rocs are my own creation and I lay full claim to them.