The Lost City Of Cirus
Author's Note:
Yes it's a long one but hopefully a good one. The war is almost at hand and there's plenty of excitement still to come.
THECheeseTurkey happy to hear you started to read my story and had good things to say about it. I hope you have read on and continue to do so in the future.
As per usual I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review.
Twenty-nine
Tensions Grow
Legolas returned to his room in the early hours of the morning and undressed as quietly as possible, cringing when a boot landed on the stone floor instead of the soft rug. However he had not woken the sleeping form of Aquila, who had tossed the sheets off her body as it was a hot night and she was still in her dress.
Legolas finally shed his leggings and slide onto the bed next to her. Her back was to him and he reached out a hand to stroke long fingers lovingly down her side.
His hand froze at her waist as he felt her shift beneath his touch. She rolled herself to face him and reached a hand up to lightly touch his cheek. He caught her hand in his and brought it to his lips.
"I thought you were sleeping."
"I was but I became hot and woke. You didn't remove my dress when you put me to bed."
"You are so sure I put you to bed?"
Aquila looked shocked and confused and pulled away from him slightly before he laughed and pulled her closer, planting a tender kiss upon her forehead.
"I thought perhaps you would think it inappropriate were I to do that."
"But you have undressed me before."
"No, I have not."
Aquila had to think for a moment before she realized this to be the truth. Legolas had indeed never undressed her, though she still thought it overly proper of him not to do so on the occasion because of the fact.
She sat up on her knees and encouraged Legolas to do the same. Sitting before him she took his hands and guided them around her body to the back of her dress where a series of hooks and ties held it to her body. She then released his hands as she allowed hers to fall to her sides.
She raised her eyes to meet his soft-blue eyes that looked warmly upon her. He smiled down at her before she felt his hands begin to gently release the many clasps running down the back of the dress. He lowered his lips to her neck as he tugged carefully at the ties hidden beneath the clasps he had undone.
Aquila gasped quietly as his lips continued to taste her pale flesh. He lifted his head and pulled back slightly as he finished with the ties. A hand upon each of her shoulders he pushed the dress from her upper body, sliding the sleeves down her arms till they were freed. He drank in the sight of her breasts bared before him and took her into his arms as he pulled the dress from the rest of her body.
He flung the garment to the floor before pulling her close and laying them both down upon the bed. Still too hot for sheets he left them pooled at the beds end as they shared tender kisses in the dark before both fell asleep in each other's arms.
Legolas sat bolt upright as a loud knocking at the door startled him from his sleep. He glanced to his side where Aquila had been but found her missing, his eyes flicked to the bathroom where steam was flowing out the open door and assumed she was bathing. The knocking persisted and so he turned his attention back to the door.
"Who's there?" He called out from the bed.
"It's me, Aragorn. Are you alright?"
"I was sleeping."
Legolas could hear muffled laugher coming from the other side of the door before Aragorn answered.
"Are you going to have me continue this conversation through the door Legolas or can I come in?"
"Of cour……." Legolas suddenly realized he was in a state of undress and leapt up to search fro his tights. "Just a moment Aragorn."
The King waited patiently on the other side of the door as Legolas retrieved his leggings from the floor and began to tug them on.
He hopped over to the door as he pulled a second leg into them and paused a moment to pull them up to sit at his hips before he opened the door.
Aragorn stood in the open doorway with a raised eyebrow as Legolas smiled at him.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." He looked back into the disarray of the room, clothes scattered about the floor and bed sheets pushed almost to the floor. "It was a hot night." He finished as he stepped aside to allow Aragorn to enter.
"I'm sure it was." Aragorn replied as he took in the sight of the room.
He turned and smirked at Legolas who blushed at what the King was implying.
Aragorn took a seat in one of the chairs that furnished the room. Legolas picked up a silver tunic from the floor and pulled it on over his bare chest as he sat down in the chair across from Aragorn.
"Where is Aquila?"
"She is bathing. I'm sure she'll join us when she is finished."
"She can hear you!" Aquila's voice sounded from the bathroom and both males shared a knowing smile.
"Pandion woke me this morning just after dawn to inform me that their plans are ready and are only awaiting news of the Chameles movements before we set off for war."
Aragorn could not miss the slight look of disappointment in his friend's eyes, which was quickly replaced by one of anticipation.
"They have sent scouts?"
"Birds. Pandion has called in the help of several small falcons to be our eyes. They will return with news of the Chameles whereabouts. Pandion feared they would not move from the beach but as they issued the call for war and we have yet to physically respond he thinks they may have already been forced to come further inland."
"He would hope to get them to the mountains." Aquila emerged from the bathroom in her Half form, scarf tied about her hips.
"Why would you say that?" Aragorn turned to in his chair to face her.
"If the battle takes place by the mountains we will have the upper hand. Rocs can fly up and over the mountains, attack from that side, while the rest of the army keeps them walled in, pushing them up against the mountains."
Aragorn looked plenty impressed by the strategy and Legolas smiled proudly at Aquila. As he looked upon her in her Half form though, with weapons hanging at her sides, he began to feel something quite different. He felt distressed and yet didn't know why. His blood ran cold as her hand strayed past Silmar's handle. He realized for all his talk of the Rocs strength and capabilities, he did not want her to fight in this war.
As she turned her eyes to him he lowered his gaze so that his eyes would not betray him.
"I should be going Legolas. I just wanted to inform the both of you to be prepared should we get word back from the falcons Pandion sent out and we need to leave for war immediately."
"Thank you Aragorn. I suppose you have to alert everyone this morning don't you?"
"It will be a long time before I'm able to sit down to breakfast my friend."
Aragorn placed a hand upon Legolas shoulder as he walked past the Elf, on his way to the door.
After Aragorn had closed the door behind him Aquila sat in the seat he had been occupying.
Legolas finally looked up and she caught the expression prominent in his eyes.
"What is it Legolas?"
"I don't want you to go."
"Go where?" She tipped her head to the side curiously.
"To war. I want you to stay here in Minas Tirith, where it's safe."
"What?" Aquila tried to keep the hurt and indignation out of her voice but it crept in anyway.
"I just can't bare the thought of loosing you or seeing you hurt."
"What about me? Don't you think I feel the same concern for you? I would have you not go to war if that were possible but I would never think to deny you the opportunity."
"It is different for me Aquila you know I have to go, my father expects it, my kingdom expects it. You don't have the same duties to live up to because…"
He stopped himself before he made things worse but Aquila already knew what he was going to say. Legolas immediately regretted even thinking the remark, as her eyes became ice cold.
"Is that all I've become to you Legolas, a pretty bride to stand by your side? To please your father because by wedding me you are reuniting the Elves with the Rocs once again?"
"Aquila you know that is not true."
He reached out to her but she pulled away from him as she stood from the chair. He looked hurt and it broke her heart but his words had stung her deeply.
"Legolas I was born into a race of warriors, my family has raised me to fight, and it is all I know. You know I used to hold my own well against most of the Rocs and Elflings our age, except for maybe you."
"But this is different, you have never been to war."
He leapt up from his chair and embraced her tightly, crushing her lithe body to his firm chest. She resisted him at first and struggled to get out of his arms but he only held her tighter, desperate to calm her down.
Finally she gave up and allowed her body to mould with his. He eased up the pressure his arms were applying and nuzzled his head against the side of her face as he felt her arms circle around him.
"I just want you safe. Promise me you wont go."
"I promise you I will go Legolas. For if you go, I will go. I'm not going to let you go without me."
Legolas sighed loudly and looked up at the roof for inspiration but, not too surprisingly, found none.
"Is there anyway I can make you stay?"
She shook her head defiantly.
"Besides if I'm there with you you'll be able to keep an eye on me and assure yourself of my safety."
"That's what I'm afraid of. I'm afraid I will spare too much thought to your safety and begin to overlook mine."
"Then you will just have to learn to trust my abilities as a fighter."
"I do, I just want to keep you safe more than anything. I wont loose you again Aquila."
"Legolas if you want me to be the passive, pretty wife by your side once you are made King of Mirkwood then you will let me fight in this war."
"I would never have you passive Aquila, that would not be you and I would not change you for the world."
He then pulled back from her and held her at arms length, looking her straight in the eyes. His ice-blue stare penetrating her soul further than she thought he could.
"Will you promise me one thing? Promise me you will not fight in the front line."
He watched carefully as she fought with her own emotions, conflict evident in her yellow-green eyes. Finally she sighed and locked her eyes with his again.
"I promise you this Legolas."
"Thank you."
A small smile graced his face as he hugged her tightly to him. He still wished she had obeyed his wishes for her to stay in the city but in his heart he knew she would not. This was the closest to safe he could keep her and he would be sure to inform both Pandion and Sphenurus of his plans to keep her out of trouble.
"I expected to find your brother out, here not you." Elrond said as he made his way to the Citadel wall where Aquila stood, looking out at the horizon.
"Why, have you lost him Lord Elrond?"
"I am unable to locate his whereabouts."
"You've lost him."
She smiled at him as he lent against the wall beside her. He sighed and smiled back at her.
"Fine, have it your way Princess. I have temporarily lost your brother."
She chuckled quietly to herself and turned her attention back to the horizon.
"And what of you Princess? You seem to be missing one handsome blond Elf."
"You say that as though we come as a package, not finding one without the other." She replied with a smile.
"For the past few weeks it has certainly seemed that way. It was no different when you were children. If we needed to find one of you all we had to do was locate the other."
She lent forward against the Citadel wall and let the cool breeze blowing down from the mountains shift her hair delicately about her face.
"You've seen many wars Elrond. Do you think we will come out of this one?"
"I cannot say for sure Princess…."
She opened her mouth to interrupt but he held a hand up for silence before he continued.
"Even with the visions I have seen regarding this war it cannot be said for certain that this will be the outcome. Even a slight change of action will alter the entire course of that history."
"I take it the outlook is not too good for us then?"
"We shall see."
"There you are Princess Aquila." Aniond called out as he made his way across the Citadel courtyard.
"You were looking for me Aniond?"
"Yes, there's a rather distressed blond Elf rushing about trying to find you. He thinks you're mad at him for something he said earlier, or something along those lines, and he's worried you're going to get yourself into trouble."
"He's worried I can't take care of myself now?"
"I'm not sure what happened earlier or whether you are still mad about it Princess but the rest of us would truly be grateful if you would just assure him of your safety."
Aquila laughed at the thought of Legolas running about in a state of near panic, harassing the other inhabitants of the city. Elrond too couldn't help a quiet chuckle that escaped his lips as he too imagined a similar scenario.
"Don't worry Aniond I'll be right in."
The Elf turned and went back into the King's Halls, leaving Aquila and Elrond alone again in the Citadel.
"I feel trapped in there sometimes is all. Our city is very open and the palace has many windows. I just needed to feel the wind through my hair for a bit. After all it may very well be the last time."
"Do not talk like that Princess. We have not yet begun this war and until we do you must keep your hopes up."
She hugged him in gratitude for his wise words and he smiled down at her before pushing her gently in the direction of Aragorn's halls.
"Now I believe you have handsome Prince to calm down while I have one that needs finding."
Elrond poked his head into Aragorn's study to find the King, Glorfindel, and Pandion going over a stack of papers piled before them.
"Elrond." Aragorn called out as he beckoned that the Elf should enter.
Elrond did so and closed the door carefully behind him before he stood before the others and gave them a questioning look.
"I take it then that we are almost ready to go to war?"
"We are my Lord." Glorfindel answered simply.
"How long?"
"We will march at dawn tomorrow." Aragorn replied, his voice lacking in any enthusiasm.
Elrond nodded and looked about the room at the glum faces before him. Pandion held his gaze the longest and in that moment Elrond knew that the Roc was prepared to die in this war if it came to that. A familiar dull ache gripped his chest and he knew he would do all he could to protect the Roc from harm, for if he lost him he was not sure he would survive; he couldn't go through the pain again. He did know that the Roc was a formidable warrior, he had seen him in training and had even sparred with him on occasion, and he was probably a better fighter than himself and that made him more than capable of taking care of himself in battle.
"When are you going to announce it?" Elrond finally questioned of Aragorn.
The King sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair.
"I will tell everyone today at lunch and following the meal I shall announce the news to the rest of the kingdom."
"Then I shall see you at lunch Elessar."
Aragorn nodded to him as Elrond stood and the others inclined their heads out of respect at the Elven Lord as he left the room.
As he set off down the hall in search of his sons he heard the door to Aragorn's study slam behind him and before he could register what was happing he found himself slammed up against the wall, hot lips pressed to his own, hungrily devouring him.
He turned his head to the side, sucking in lungfulls of air as the lips moved across his jaw and down his neck. A wet tongue flicked across his pale skin and the lithe body of the Roc Prince pressed him harder up against the stone wall.
"Pandion……we can't……not here."
"Why not Elrond? You worried we might get caught?"
Pandion asked slyly before he trailed his tongue back up the Elf's neck till their lips met once again. Elrond kissed him back as enthusiastically as the lustful Roc was kissing him but pulled away again as he felt a knee nudge his legs apart.
"This is a very public hallway Pandion."
The Roc chuckled quietly, his lips close to the shell of Elrond's ear, as a servant, doing their very best to ignore what the two males were obviously doing, walked briskly past.
"Fine, I wont ravish you in the hallway."
Pandion eased his weight off the Elf pinned beneath him and gripped his wrist firmly in his hand before opening a door to Elrond's left and pulling him in behind him.
It was dark inside and while Elrond waited patiently for his eyes to adjust Pandion, whose eyes were well suited to the dark, crept up quietly behind him. They seemed to be in some sort of informal dinning room, probably Aragorn's personal dinning room; used for simple dinners consisting of only himself, Arwen and perhaps the occasional guest.
Pandion wrapped both arms tightly around the Elf and planted hungry kisses up and down the back of his neck.
Elrond lost himself in the sensation of Pandion's soft lips upon his skin and moaned as he arched back again the Roc. Pandion chuckled lightly and spun the Elf in his arms and crushed his lips to Elrond's.
Elrond reached his hands up and tangled them in Pandion's fiery red hair, tugging the Roc's head back to expose his neck to him. Pandion allowed him to trail wet kisses down his neck and over the top of his exposed chest. He gripped the Elven Lord's rear in his hands and lifted him up onto the table behind him.
Pandion maneuvered himself in between Elrond's legs and bent down over the Elf to kiss him fiercely. Elrond looked up and saw the hunger flaming in the Prince's eyes and knew a similar fire must be burning deep within his own. He was grateful for the billowy robes he was wearing and just before Pandion changed to his Final form he hoped that no one decided this room needed cleaning.
"You have been looking for me my Prince?"
Aquila asked as she placed her hands gently over Legolas' eyes from behind and whispered into his ear. He smiled and placed his own hands over hers.
"Yes I have. I was worried I'd upset you."
She allowed him to remove her hands from over his eyes and he turned slowly to face her, clutching her hands in his own, he pulled her closer to him and reached one hand up to run through her hair.
"You did upset me, I just needed some time alone to get over it. Why would you worry?"
She tipped her head to the side and smiled up at Legolas' loving blue eyes.
"I don't know. I suppose after what happened the other night…I was just worried about you alone, out there in the city."
She planted a soft kiss upon his cheek and wrapped her arms around his neck. He slipped his arms around her waist and let his hands come to rest at the small of her back.
"Legolas, I can take care of my…"
Her eyes suddenly clouded over and seemed to stare off to some distant place. Legolas, worried, shook her gently to try and snap her out of it and when she responded only by blinking very slowly he realized what had triggered the change.
"Aquila you cannot blame yourself for what Addramyr did to you, or tried to do to you. You were unarmed and he caught you by surprise. Even I found my limitations when outnumbered and caught off guard."
"But if I can't even…"
"Shh….let's not worry about it my love. You are fine, I am fine and we should be relishing this time to ourselves as we wait for the call to go to war."
"You're right Legolas, when did you get so smart."
She smiled up at him before leaning up to plant a swift kiss on the end of his nose.
"I was always the smart one."
"No you, Prince of Mirkwood, were always the naughty one." Sphenurus interrupted as he had just rounded the corner to find the couple entangled in one another's arms.
"At least I wasn't the adult encouraging the behavior." Legolas quipped.
"Ahh well children will be children and boys will be boys huh Legolas? I didn't have the heart to ruin your fun. Plus the naughtier the two of you were the more you needed watching and that meant more time off from my more mundane tasks."
He winked at the two and Aquila laughed quietly as she rolled her eyes.
"If only father knew what a bad influence you were on us." Aquila commented with a sly smile.
"And wouldn't your father love to know about the two of you having sex out of wedlock." Sphenurus winked slyly at the two as he continued off down the hall.
Legolas laughed heartily at the slowly disappearing form of the Roc. Aquila however looked legitimately worried.
"You wont tell him will you Sphenurus?" She called out after him.
This only invoked more laugher from Legolas and Sphenurus joined in just as loudly as he waved farewell over his shoulder before disappearing around the next corner.
When Aragorn finally found Legolas the Elf was standing out in the Citadel courtyard with his head tilted towards the sky. Aragorn came up slowly behind him but knew the Elf had heard him coming long before he reached him.
He stood beside him and followed the Elf's gaze up into the sky. There he could see three Rocs in their Eagle forms darting about through the clouds, chasing one another up and down and around in circles before flying as high as they could and then falling into a step nose dive, recovering only at the last moment.
Legolas had a brilliant smile plastered across his face and his bright blue eyes danced as they followed the three Rocs through the air.
Aragorn had never seen the Rocs flying about in such a carefree manner. In fact the only time he'd seen them flying was when they had arrived. I almost looked as if they were playing, suppose one can get away with acting like a child only when one is a child or when in the form of a bird.
"Who is it?" Aragorn asked Legolas without taking his eyes off the sky.
"Pandion, Aquila and Sphenurus." Legolas said as he pointed out each of them.
As far as Aragorn was concerned there was little difference between them, Aquila was slightly smaller than the two males and the feathering about her neck and chest wasn't as thick, but if it weren't for the coloured scarves about their waists he wouldn't have been able to keep track of who was who.
"Would you like to go for a ride?" The Elf suddenly asked him.
"Excuse me?"
"Aquila promised she'd take me for a flight once they're done stretching their wings." The Elf smiled at him but the blank look remained on Aragorn's face.
"Go for a flight?"
"Yes. I'm sure Pandion or Sphenurus would be happy to take you up if you want to."
"How do you…?"
"You saw me fly in with Aquila. You just sit on their back and hold onto a handful of feathers, just make sure you don't pull too tightly or you might find yourself pitched off."
Aragorn threw an arm across his eyes to shield his face from the swirling dust kicked up by the three Rocs as they landed. Legolas exchanged calls with them before he lifted himself onto Aquila's back.
"Pandion says he'll take you up if you like Aragorn." Legolas called down to his friend as he seated himself up near Aquila's neck.
"You're sure you don't mind?" Aragorn asked Pandion, who responded with a quick shake of his head seeing as Aragorn wouldn't understand his calls.
With a level of uncertainty Aragorn lifted himself up onto Pandion's back, who waited patiently as the Man seated himself comfortably in a similar position to that Legolas had taken up on Aquila's back.
Pandion called out quietly and Legolas was quick to translate so that Aragorn could understand.
"Are you ready Aragorn?"
"I believe so. Anytime you're ready." Aragorn punctuated his comment with a swift pat upon Pandion's back.
The Roc stretched his wings and flapped them a few time before leaping up from the Citadel wall. Aragorn held on tightly with both hands but made sure not to tug on the feathers in his grip. Pandion rose slightly into the air before he fell into a steep nosedive heading straight down into the city. Aragorn looked about fearfully until he saw Sphenurus pull up on his left and on his right Aquila; with Legolas upon her, his head tossed back, hair flowing freely as the wind rushed over him, laughing and enjoying every moment of the steep dive.
Suddenly all three Rocs pulled up and flapped their wings vigorously as they cleared the tops of the buildings and climbed back into the sky. Once they were up higher and had flown around for a while Aragorn began to feel more relaxed on Pandion's back and even eased up his hold on his feathers a little. Soon he was laughing along with Legolas as the Rocs showed of their agility in the air. Aragorn was most impressed and was certainly glad to have them with him in this war.
As noon drew near Aragorn knew he had a very important lunch to prepare for and so the three Rocs came back down to earth and landed in the Citadel courtyard. Legolas and Aragorn slide off Aquila and Pandion's backs respectively and waited for the Rocs to transform.
They watched in interest however as Pandion almost knocked Aquila off the ledge with his large wings and Aquila snapped her sharp beak at him in response. The Roc Prince reacted by rising up on his legs, billowing his wings out and puffing up the feathers on his chest and around his neck. He screeched loudly at her and she lunged forward, snapping at him again but this time closer to his exposed neck. He screeched louder at her and was about to lung down at her before she lowered herself before him and turned her head away, emitting a quiet cooing noise. She shifted back from her brother and he lowered his body again and folded his wings back down along his back.
By this time Sphenurus had already transformed into his Half form and was watching the display as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. As Aquila and Pandion transformed into their Half forms Aragorn looked over to Sphenurus to get a commentary on what just went on.
"What was that all about?" The King asked inquisitively.
"That, King of Men, was a display of power." Sphenurus started to explain.
Aragorn waited with interest for the Roc guard to continue.
"When in our Eagle form we often revert to a more animalistic state of mind and react accordingly. The Princess though her life threatened when her brother almost knocked her off the wall and in a purely instinctive reaction snapped at him. The Prince's reaction to this of course is to remind his sister that as Prince of the Rocs he both out weighs and out ranks her. She recognized this and so shows her willingness to submit to him by lowering her body and back off. Had she not done so the end result could have been a bloody one."
"Fascinating." Aragorn mused as he rubbed a hand thoughtfully over his short beard.
"I suppose you would find it thus, I'm just glad they didn't resort to violence, I really wouldn't want to have to be the one to explain why one of them was dead to their father."
Aquila and Pandion strolled over, Pandion ahead of her with his head held high while she looked more than a little irritated with his smug attitude.
"Thank you for that Pandion. It was most enjoyable and should a Roc ever offer to take me for a flight again I would be sure not to pass up the opportunity."
All three Rocs smiled at him and Legolas, who was standing a little off to the side couldn't help but also smile.
"You didn't come out here to fly with us though, did you Aragorn?" Pandion finally asked.
"No I'm afraid I did not. I will be holding a very important lunch in a matter of hours to discuss our plans to march for war tomorrow."
All but Pandion looked surprised by the news but all nodded to confirm their attendance at Aragorn's lunch.
"I will see you all later then." The King forced a smile before turning and disappearing off to find the others that needed to be informed of the lunch.
Aquila sighed heavily and sat down on the Citadel wall. Legolas sat beside her while the other two Rocs remained standing.
"I didn't think it would be so soon."
Legolas wrapped a comforting arm about her shoulders and pulled her to him. She rested her head on his shoulder as he held her.
"I don't think any of us expected it to happen this soon but I suppose we really should have. How long did we really expect to be able to stall this?" Sphenurus brooded. "I suppose that's why you and Elrond were getting intimate in Aragorn's personal dinning room earlier today huh Pandion?" He added with a sly wink and an elbow nudged into Pandion's ribs.
"How did you…..?" Pandion began to ask before he shook his head. "Never mind Sphenurus, I don't want to know. You really take far too much interest in other people private lives."
"I just love a good scandal my Prince."
Aquila shared a concerned glance with Legolas, which went unnoticed by Sphenurus and her brother. She now felt guiltier than ever about what she would have to do to her brother once this war was over.
Aquila woke, sprawled across Legolas' naked torso, her hair damp and matted to her forehead and her body tired and sticky with perspiration. Legolas was in a similar state of affairs and neither of them had bothered to cover their nakedness in the night with the sheets.
Aquila pushed herself up off her lover's chest and yawned widely. She smiled to herself as the events of their night together replayed in her mind. She desperately wanted to wake him for another round but he looked so peaceful lost in sleep and she thought it unfair to rouse him, as it was only dawn.
She carefully got out of bed and made her way to the bathroom to bathe before they had to meet at the city's gates. She sank down into the hot water and began to wash herself with a soft washcloth.
She turned her head as she heard water slosh about behind her as Legolas joined her in the bath. He took the washcloth from her and pulled her into his lap, with her facing away from him, as he began to wash her back.
She moaned quietly and relaxed back against his muscled chest as he continued to wash her. She returned the favor and once both had washed the others hair they finally pulled themselves out of the bath, which was now lukewarm at best, and as Legolas began to dress Aquila transformed into the Half form.
For a moment he'd almost thought she'd wear the blue riding outfit the Lothlórien Elves had given her but then he reminded himself that it would be too difficult for her to transform into her Eagle form were she wearing it. When Rocs fought they used every aspect of their being to their advantage, flight was only one of them.
"Are you ready?" Legolas asked sincerely as he pulled snugly fitting boot on.
"No. Are you?"
A smile was his only form of response before he stood up straight, now fully dressed and armed with quiver, bow and fighting knives, and walked over to his Princess. He held her hands in his and pulled her to him before planting a lingering kiss upon her partly opened mouth.
"No I don't think I am, but we go anyway." He whispered quietly to her as he pulled her into a tight embrace.
She too wrapped her arms about him and looked up into his sparkling blue eyes.
"I love you Legolas."
"I love you too Aquila."
The two held each other until a knock on the door told them it was time to go. Time to meet at the gates of Minas Tirith and leave for a war they might not come back from.
To be continued…