The Lost City Of Cirus

Author's Note:

Happy New Year to everyone and thanks for reviewing, I hope this is a good one for all. Felt inspired so I got this one out a little bit more quickly, hopefully the trend will continue but it all depends on how distracted I get. Please enjoy and review.
WARNING this chapter contains adult content and as mentioned before the story is rated 'R' for a reason and this chapter certainly comes in under that statement.

Nineteen

Something New

Aquila stepped out into the glittering halls of Aglarond and gasped.

"Oh it's beautiful."

"Glad you like it Princess, we are quite proud of it's beauty." Their Dwarf guide said as he continued to lead them through the hall.

"I told you you'd like it." Legolas whispered in her ear.

His warm breath sent a shiver down her spine that Legolas mistook for the cold.

"If you're cold put this on." He smiled and handed her the cloak she had to take off before changing to her Eagle form.

"Thank you." She smiled and wrapped the cloak about her, even though she really wasn't that cold.

Several Dwarves called out to Legolas as he went by and he waved and responded to each. Aquila was met by a few stares but mostly the Dwarves didn't seem too concerned with her. It certainly made a nice change from her arrival in Minas Tirith.

Legolas knew the way to the throne room well but allowed the Dwarf to lead them anyway. He snuck a look at Aquila and smiled as she gazed about her at the shimmering cave walls.

For a moment Legolas pictured her wearing the dress she had worn at lunch but in this image her head was toped with a crown of flowers. Legolas blinked and the image was gone. He shook his head, deciding he really needed to get some sleep as they entered Aglarond's throne room.

No sooner had they walked through the doors did Gimli leap up and race over to greet his friend.

"Legolas! It is wonderful to see you back so soon!"

"It is good to see you again too Gimli though I'm afraid this really isn't a social call, even though I wish it were."

Gimli became somber at that and motioned for Legolas to follow him into the room. Legolas indicated that Aquila should join them and they were quickly left alone as their guide left and shut the doors behind him.

"What is you've come here for then Legolas?"

"Before I tell you, as it is not a pleasant topic, there's someone I'd like to introduce you to first." Legolas smiled. "This here is Aquila, Princess of the Rocs. Aquila, my good friend and King of Aglarond, Gimli."

Aquila shook the hand offered to her and smiled down at the Dwarf.

"I've heard much about you King Gimli and of your heroic deeds as part of the Fellowship of the Ring."

Gimli wasn't sure why but he liked her straight away. She presented a confident image without being overbearing or snobbish.

"Aquila is an old friend of mine. We have been separated for many years."

"But no longer it would seem." Gimli said with a knowing smile. "I'm afraid I have heard no mention of you my Lady but I'm sure it was only because the topic was too painful to bring up."

Aquila smiled at Gimli; she could see why Legolas considered him such a good friend. She liked him from the moment he'd smiled and was beginning to look forward to her stay in Aglarond.

"Well now that formal introductions are out of the way you best be telling me what it is you've come about then Legolas."

Gimli motioned for them to be seated round a small table where Legolas proceeded to spill the whole tale to Gimli. The Dwarf listened on in silence, guessing early on what it was the Prince had come to ask of him.

While he was speaking of sending the Mirkwood Elves on to Minas Tirith without him Gimli noticed a silver ring on Legolas' right ring finger, one he'd not seen before though he knew of it's importance.

"Your father has returned your Princeship to you then?"

Legolas stopped mid sentence and looked confused. He followed Gimli's gaze to his ring and understood.

"Yes, and no. It's not important right now." He slipped his hands beneath the table, almost as though he was embarrassed by the ring's presence on his hand. "What is important is whether or not you can help."

"You know I will help you whenever you call Legolas but you also know how Dwarves feel about getting involved in anyone's affairs but their own."

"I know this Gimli but I had to try. I thought maybe because you were king you could convince them to come," Legolas sighed, "I'm not really sure what I was hoping you could do."

Gimli placed a comforting hand on his friends back and Aquila smiled at the two.

"I will return to Minas Tirith with you my friend. Tonight at dinner I will proposition the other Dwarves and I will bring with me those who are willing to come."

"Thank you Gimli." Aquila spoke up. "Legolas was so sure the trip here would be worth it and I'm now assured it has been. Even if we only return with you, that will be a formidable army in itself."

Gimli couldn't help but blush slightly at her flattery and became flustered, at which Legolas laughed warmly.

"Now, I believe you mentioned dinner my friend. Aquila and I have been traveling for two days and we are quite famished."

"First time I've heard an Elf talk about needing a feed before a bath. If you'll both follow me you are welcome to join us for dinner."

The dinning hall was enormous and it appeared that everyone ate together, very unlike Mirkwood or Cirus. Legolas had stayed before and so was used to the communal dinning, for Aquila it was new but a welcome experience.

They sat with Gimli at the head of the largest table in the center of the hall. The room was filled with the dull roar of gruff voices all immersed in conversation.

Gimli and Legolas caught up quickly and the Dwarf showed a polite amount of interest in talk about the Rocs but he was really more interested in Aquila and this companionship she had with Legolas. They could pretend all they wanted that there was nothing more than friendship between them but the Dwarf could see otherwise.

"I must compliment you on your beautiful kingdom Gimli. These are truly the most incredible caves I have ever been in. They out shine even Mirkwood's palace."

Legolas laughed and Gimli smiled over at her.

"Thank you Princess. Though Mirkwood's cave don't glitter as ours do I'm sure you have found more lovely things within it." The Dwarf smiled smugly as Aquila blushed and attempted to hide her face.

Legolas simply stared from across the table. Aquila didn't see his gaze but Gimli did.

Aquila managed to recover relatively quickly and she tried desperately to change the topic.

"I would love to be able to take you to Cirus Gimli. Our smiths would love to show a Dwarf around and get your opinion on our metal crafts."

"Well after seeing your weapons Aquila I would truly be honored to meet those who created them. They are fine works though I can't help but wonder where you found such masses of mithril."

"Well now, if I told you that it would reveal the location of my father's hidden city."

"And that is something she will never do." Legolas chimed in.

"Well at least someone has loyalties towards their father, huh Legolas?"

"You know I have my reasons Gimli." Legolas had a somber tone to his voice as he pushed his food about his plate. "And you know what they are."

"I know Legolas. You are very loyal towards your father he's just…"

"A difficult man to please." Aquila finished for him.

Gimli and Legolas both looked at her in surprise but she simply smiled and continued to eat her meal.

As the meal came to a close Gimli stood and banged a fist loudly upon the table, calling for silence. One he had the entire hall's attention his booming voice filled the cave so all could hear him.

"My fellow Dwarves! I hope you have found tonight's meal satisfactory."

A huge roar went up from the Dwarves before Gimli silenced them again.

"Tonight we are joined by my good friend the Prince of Mirkwood, Legolas and his friend the Princess of the Rocs, Aquila. They have come with a call for help from Gondor and have asked that any Dwarves who will answer it travel with them to Minas Tirith in the morning. I myself will be going and though I will not order anyone else to join me I can only hope that some of you will be selfless enough to help our friends in need. They say a war is likely and if it is lost who knows who and how many will be affected. All those who will journey with us to Minas Tirith are to gather in the main hall following breakfast because no Dwarf goes to battle on an empty stomach!"

Another roar went up from the crowd and beakers of ale were raised before they were downed. Legolas laughed and Aquila joined in as they shared a toast with Gimli.

By the time they had finished eating and talking it was well into the night and Gimli suggested it was time for them to retire. He led his two guests down to the sleeping halls where he showed them to the guest rooms.

Legolas bid them goodnight as he let himself into the room Gimli had shown him to.

The Dwarf then lead Aquila further down the corridor and around a slight bend to one of the other free guest rooms.

"I hope it's to your liking Princess. We're not fancy people but we appreciate comfort."

"I'm sure I will sleep wonderfully Gimli, thank you."

The Dwarf nodded and left her to slip into her room to catch up on some sleep.

Gimli then made his way to his own sleeping quarters, shaking his head in wonder.

Aquila sighed as she closed the door and lent back against it. The soft glow of a torch mounted on the wall provided the only light in the room as the others had been put out for the night.

She looked over at the bed up against one rock wall. It was large enough to fit two and was strewn with various animal furs. The Dwarves were not ones to waste anything and she could see bones and horns had also been used to construct many of the other items in the room.

She wandered over to the bed and sat on its edge. The furs were soft and warm as she stroked her fingers across them. A large blanket made of many furs stitched together covered the bed and the pillowcases were made of furs too.

Aquila flopped onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. She wasn't tired and, even as she tried to push the thought to the back of her mind, she wished that Legolas were here to share the large fur covered bed with her.

"Sometimes when you want something enough, you have to make the effort to get it."

Elrond? The memory of the Elven Lord's words to her floated through her mind and it suddenly seemed like the best advice in she had ever been given.

An hour later found her outside Legolas' room with her ear pressed up against the door, trying to determine whether or not he was asleep. After hearing nothing for a few minutes she safely assumed he was and, with a swift glance either way down the corridor, transformed into her Final form in a flash of brilliant light.

Without a sound she open the door to Legolas' room and slipped inside, shutting the door with a soft click behind her. She held her breath and pressed her back to the closed door as Legolas shifted beneath the fur blanket. When he turned in his sleep to face her she sighed in relief to find his eyes still closed.

Aquila then padded softly across the stone floor to his bed. She'd come too far to turn back now and, taking a deep breath to still her trembling hands, she lifted the heavy fur blanket just enough to allow her to slide in beneath it.

The blanket was soft and warm against her bare flesh as she pressed herself up against Legolas' front. She nuzzled against his chest and he wrapped an arm about her waist as he murmured something in his sleep.

She lifted her ear to his mouth to try and hear what he was saying.

"Hmmm…..Aquila……" whispered past his lips, though barely audible.

He tightened his grip about her waist and buried his nose in her soft brown hair. His whole body then stiffened and his eyes flew open.

"Aquila!?" Panic filled his bright blue eyes as he looked down into Aquila's yellow-green eyes. "I…I'm so sorry…I thought I was in…and then I…" He looked horribly confused and upset so Aquila silenced him with a hand across his mouth.

"Shhh Legolas. You are still in your bed, in your room. If anyone should apologize it's me." She sighed heavily as disappointment sunk in. "I just thought……anyway, I was wrong." Sadness flickered through her eyes and she shifted away to remove herself from his bed.

His arm however, was still draped about her waist and he now tightened his hold on her, pulling her closer. He traced a finger gently down her cheek before slipping that hand into her hair.

"No. I don't think you are wrong."

He pulled her head up to his and pressed a kiss upon her lips. It was a gentle, loving kiss that lasted only a moment before he pulled back and looked into her eyes again. The fear and disappointment he had seen displayed so prominently before had been replaced by confusion.

"I thought somehow I'd found my way to your room in a state of wakeful sleep and…taken advantage of you." He blushed slightly but held her gaze. "I would have died if that were true."

While he spoke Legolas ran the hand upon her up her back but stopped suddenly as he reached the middle of her back and felt no feathers. He then slid his hand down her back; lower, until his fingers ghosted over her bare behind.

"You're naked?" The Elf swallowed hard as he let his hand rest on her rear.

"Yes. And I have come so willingly into your bed. If you don't want me all you need do is say so and I'll return to my room and we can forget this ever happened."

Legolas knew what she was asking of him and he knew she wanted it. What he also knew was that he wanted it too and for once, he was going to claim what he wanted. To hell with everything else, everyone else, and all his bloody responsibilities.

He crushed his lips to hers in a more brutal and passionate kiss than before, born of pure desire and need. She kissed back and tangled her fingers in his silky blond hair. When she felt his tongue trace across her lower lip she parted her lips and he wasted no time sliding his tongue in to join hers.

Aquila trailed a hand down Legolas' front and began to rub him through his thin leggings. The Elf groan loudly as her hand massaged his already stiffening member. He ground himself against her hand before she removed it in favor of helping her other hand to undo the delicate clasps running down the front of Legolas' tunic.

Frustrated by the removal of her stimulation to his groin he took to kneading his hands in the soft flesh of her rear, and pressing himself against her.

Having undone all of the tunic's clasps Aquila pushed the delicate fabric back off Legolas' shoulders and lowered her lips to the newly exposed flesh. She trailed hot kisses from his shoulders down to his navel, where she dipped her tongue in briefly before her lips moved back up his chest to cover a nipple. He moaned loudly as she took the hardened bud between her teeth and nipped gently at it.

Grasping her shoulders in his hands he rolled her onto her back. Quickly shrugging out of his tunic he lowered his lips to her right breast and flicked his tongue across her already hardened nipple. She arched her back towards him and moaned loudly, tangling her fingers once again in his golden hair.

He alternated between sucking and biting gently before moving his mouth to lavish attention on her other breast. Her breath was coming out in soft gasps by now and Legolas grinned against her flesh. He moved his hand down her flat stomach and slid a finger between her folds and into her wet opening.

She gasped and pushed herself against his hand, forcing his finger deeper into her. Legolas drew his finger in and out of her as his mouth continued its work on her breast. With a slight twist of his hand he slipped a second finger into her and she pulled his head up to kiss him. As he continued to pleasure her with his hand Aquila drew back from their enflamed kiss and drew Legolas' lower lip between her teeth.

Aquila felt her climax approaching as Legolas added a third finger but before she reached her peak Legolas stilled his actions. She whimpered softly in protest but he only smiled down at her, taking in the sight of her naked flesh through eyes darkened by lust.

Legolas withdrew his hand and moved it up to massage her left breast as she hooked both her hands in the waistband of his tights and began to pull them from his hips. Legolas rolled onto his back and lifted his hips from the bed so that Aquila could get his leggings off. Once tossed aside, Aquila moved back up between the Elf's legs and reached a hand out to grasp his erection.

Legolas groaned and his hips lifted from the bed as he thrust into her hand. Aquila smiled up at him and tentatively flicked her tongue across its tip before sliding his engorged member into her mouth. She pinned his hips to the bed as he tried to push further into her mouth. She ran her tongue along his length and pulled him almost out of her mouth before descending upon him again.

Legolas shivered and grasped her head in his hands, pulling her up for another kiss. He then rolled them so that she lay beneath him on the pile of furs strewn across the bed, the fur blanket having long since been pushed to the floor.

Aquila parted her legs, allowing Legolas to lie between them. He held himself above her with a hand to either side of her head. He lent down and pressed a swift kiss to her lips before drawing back, his long golden hair falling over them like a curtain.

"You want this?"

She nodded swiftly and kissed him fiercely as she felt him enter her. She gasped softly and wrapped her arms around his back, clinging to him, and he groaned loudly as he finally sheathed himself inside her.

He waited a moment for her to adjust to him and when she started to push her hips towards him, urging him to move, he withdrew slowly before thrusting back in. Aquila cried out and wrapped her legs around Legolas as he buried his head in her shoulder.

His breathing was heavy and labored as his thrusts became faster and deeper. Aquila cried in pleasure beneath him and he raised himself up on his elbows to watch her face contort in bliss. Her eyes closed while his lids dropped heavily, weighted by lust, he watched her succulent lips part in a silent gasp as he thrust particularly deep and he bent to claim her lips in a bruising kiss.

Aquila was panting beneath him and her moans were escalating in volume. As her orgasm crashed upon her she cried out Legolas' name as she clung to him, riding out the waves of pleasuring still washing over her body. After a few more deep thrusts Legolas tensed before his own climax claimed him, throwing back his head with a howl of pleasure he released himself inside her.

They lay, tangled in each other's arms in silence for sometime before Legolas looked down at Aquila as he stroked her dark, damp hair, a brilliant smile playing across his face.

"I love you Aquila." He whispered into her ear. She looked up at him in mild surprise and he smiled "I think I always have. I was just too young to understand what love was or what it meant. But the pain I felt when you left and which I don't think would ever stopped aching, it's gone now."

"I love you too Legolas." She planted a chaste kiss upon his parted lips. "I just wish I had of know how you felt sooner, I would have returned a long time ago."

The two said nothing more after that; content to just hold one another and stroke loving hands over rapidly cooling flesh. Aquila was quick to fall asleep, her head pressed against Legolas' chest. Just as the Prince of Mirkwood was about to join her he felt her body begin to shiver against his.

Worried, he opened his eyes to find her pressing herself against him for warmth. He had forgotten these halls of stone could get quite cold for those whole felt it. Carefully untangling himself from her he cast a hand about in search of the fur blanket. Not finding it he assumed it had fallen to the floor. So just as carefully he disengaged his legs from hers and pushed himself from the bed to search for the blanket.

He found it quickly enough, it having just slipped from the edge and pooled beside the bed. He climbed back onto the bed piled with furs to find Aquila had turned herself over, presenting him with her back as she sought warmth from the furs upon the bed.

The Elf smiled and lay beside her, his front pressed to her back, and pulled her close to him with an arm draped over her waist. He then cast the thick fur blanket over them and nuzzled his face against her neck, inhaling her sent, before he too drifted off to sleep.

To be continued…

Author's Note 2:

I'm rather sick of the disclaimer, I think by now both you and I know what I do and do not own and we shall leave it at that. If you would really like to read it again it features in all the chapters leading up to this one.