Something Special
Author: Lil-Hellraiser
Disclaimer: I think you all get the picture. I'm poor and don't own anything…except possessions that are otherwise mine.
So…who's gonna be my 100th reviewer?
Exploring the forest with Chase was real fun. He showed me little secluded groves and creeks that looked simply otherworldly, and in return, I let him listen to his favorite songs on my Discman, which he sorely missed.
"You know, I've never heard this song before," He would say occasionally. And I would point out that the band hadn't been formed while he was still on Earth. I told him that Penelope Cruz was still gorgeous, Halloween had finally been on a full moon, and the Harry Potter movies weren't as awesome as the books. I also told him, regretfully, that his girlfriend, Pauline, hadn't helped out in the search for him.
He shrugged. "Her loss."
I cocked my head to one side. "You aren't upset?"
"I'm over her," He said, shrugging again. "We really didn't have anything going for us, though we did connect, in a way."
I was silent.
"It doesn't hurt that someone wasn't out looking for you?" I asked, rephrasing the question.
"Does it matter now?" He reasoned, pulling back a tree branch to reveal a hidden dirt path. "No matter how much they searched, or how far, or how long, they wouldn't have found me. I'm actually surprised that it was such a big deal."
That caused me a great deal of silence.
"Do you think that when I disappeared, people looked for me?"
"Why wouldn't they?" He asked, leading me down the path. "Any friend of yours would have looked for you. And besides," He added, "you aren't someone people could just forget about. People loved you. They still do."
He held my hand.
"I still do."
I glanced up to see him grinning in his trademark brotherly fashion. I smiled in return and squeezed his hand as we walked.
"I bet we'll be on Unsolved Mysteries," Chase added as an afterthought. I chuckled.
"We need to find you a good elvish wife whileI'm here," I said, shaking my head. Chase murmured something that I couldn't hear and when I glanced at him curiously, he was staring at someone further along the path. As we got closer, I realized that the someone was actually a very beautiful elvish woman, with long dark hair and shining gray eyes that even I could see from a distance. Her dress wasa creamy off-whitecolorand made of airy material that looked elegant and comfortable for the season. She wore an extraordinary pendent that seemed to glow with an inner light and she was currently distracted, smoothing the feathers of a tiny bird in her palm.
She was, if possible, even lovelier than her grandmother, Galadriel. This, make no mistake, was Arwen.
It was no wonder that Chase found it hard to set his sights on any other female. I felt a whirlwind of emotions bubble up at the sight of her: awe, happiness, jealousy—but I shouldn't get carried away.
I still have my great personality, I reminded myself, when I was finished comparing Arwen's beauty to my own.
"Chase!" Arwen lifted her palm and the bird flew into the air, chirping merrily. She slowly, gracefully, made her way closer to us. "I haven't seen you in months, dear friend. My heart gladdens for your safe return." She offered a genuine smile.
Okay, so does she…"My fair lady," Chase lifted her hand and tenderly brushed his lips her knuckles. "Your kindness never surprises me, yet always amazes me."
I gave a forced smile.
"My lady, this is Jolie Aurenàrë of Imladris, a true friend from back on Earth." I was surprised that Arwen knew of where Chase really came from, but it made sense that she would find out eventually, if she was originally the one who found him.
"Welcome to Lorien, Lady Jolie." Arwen said, politely curtsying. I curtsied back, concentrating on not making a fool out of myself in front of the future Queen of Men. "I trust that you have been in my father's care?"
"Yes, actually," I cleared my throat. "It's been about six years since I was first sent to Middle Earth, and Lord Elrond has shown me nothing but gracious hospitality. You have a wonderful father."
"Thank you," She said, warmly smiling, her large eyes brightening. "It's a shame I haven't heard from him lately. Perhaps I will write to him sometime."
"When are you planning on leaving Lothlorien, my lady?" Chase spoke, obviously hopeful that she'd never leave.
She laughed, a beautiful, happy sound. "I do plan on returning home eventually, but I do wish to spend time with my Grandmother and Grandfather. I could not say when I will go back to Imladris." Chase, satisfied that she would be staying a while longer, nodded.
"I will leave you to your devices now, Lady Arwen. I was just showing Jolie around the forest." He bowed low and kissed her hand again. Arwen nodded.
"Goodbye, then, Chase. And you, too, Lady Jolie. Until next we meet."
I smiled my goodbye and Arwen turned to continue down the path in the opposite direction as we were going, occasionally stopping to admire a flower.
Once we had started walking again and turned a bend, I said, "In roughly eight years she'll be coming back to Rivendell."
"Why?" Chase inquired, sending an obscure look over his shoulder.
"I don't know that it's for any serious reason," I shrugged. "She's probably just going to want to see her dad. And anyway, that's when Estel turns twenty and they're supposed to meet while she's visiting."
"Oh," Chase said, his face drooping. He changed the subject. "Is that when Aragorn goes into the wild?"
"Don't remind me," I said as we turned a sharp corner in the path and came to a fork in the road. We took the right one. "It's been gnawing away at me for years. I don't know how I'll go on without that kid. He's always been the one who keeps me company. I really don't have anyone else. Well, I guess I can still hang out with Gilraen." I said thoughtfully. "She's not that much older than I am, and she's very nice."
"Aragorn's mom?" Chase questioned, and I nodded. We treaded along the path for several more minutes, chatting idly until we were in a clearing that I recognized.
"I'm going back to my talan to change for dinner," I said, remembering that if I took another path across the clearing I would be back to the housing region.
"Then I'll go and check to see if anyone has news from the border. There's been no interesting news for months." He patted my shoulder and then turned left and ran through the trees and bushes. I watched him until I couldn't see him anymore, and then turned to make my way back to my talan. Without Chase here to guide me, I would have been lost for sure. Nearly everything looked the same—I pointed this out to Chase and he only said 'Oh, no, see, on this tree the moss is lighter than on that one' and 'the fourth tree down the path has a fox den at the base and it's the only one close enough to see directly, so you know we're almost back to the main path.' And then when I got my signs wrong he would say 'Jolie, have you been listening to anything I've said? Now, when the sun shines on those leaves…'. Blah.
It was all very confusing to me. In Rivendell, there obviously aren't any huge forests to get lost in. Just an airy palace. And I guess the gardens were a little hard to get right, but soon I managed to walk in them without assistance. Here, everything was…well, the same. Everywhere. But I was learning. At least I knew how to get to dinner.
I spotted my talan and quickened my pace, remembering that dinner wasn't far off, if my time was correct by the sun. I deftly climbed the fun ladder up to the platform (pausing a moment to look over the landscape) and hastily stepped inside. Everything was the same as I left it…except…
"Glorfindel?" I was dumbfounded. "Why are you in my room?"
'Lo and behold, there sat Glorfindel on the edge of my bed, idly twiddling his thumbs and studying the embroidery on a handkerchief. His head snapped up and he gave me an attractive smile.
"Jolie, there you are! I looked all over for you and simply decided to wait here. Does that bother you?"
"No, no!" I shook my head. "I was just startled, that's all. Sorry." I cleared my throat. "So…why are you here, exactly?"
"Why, to ask if you would accept the offer of accompanying me to dinner tonight." He smiled again.
That can't be all he wanted…I thought, watching him carefully. Finally, I could deduct no ulterior motive other than he seriously wanted me to go with him to dinner. "I do accept," I said, sending him a friendly smile. "Gladly. But I do have to change, so if you could come back in fifteen minutes or so…"
"Of course, my apologies," Glorfindel stood up from the bed and casually touched my shoulder in a good-bye gesture as he did so. He left without another word.
That was beyond strange. Glorfindel had never just wandered into my room before, even if it were to wait for me to return to it. An unwanted thought entered my head.
Does Glorfindel…like me?I was almost totally sure that I turned a sickly shade of green. No, that wasn't it. Glorfindel had never shown interest in me before, he certainly wouldn't start now. Something was definitely going on. He left rather quickly, too.
And he had seemed to get right to the point of his visit almost immediately. That just wasn't like Glorfindel. He usually liked prolonging the inevitable, using mind games and things of that sort. He wasn't the kind of person…ah, elf, who could stand for being blunt.
Unless he was hiding something.
I tore across the room and swung open the door of the talan.
"Glorfindel!" I screeched, birds in the tree next to me squawking and rustling the leaves. But that wasn't what caught my attention.
It was Glorfindel himself slinking off into the bushes. At the sound of his name he turned, saw me, and promptly bolted. And I was left standing on the talan platform feeling delightfully furious.
I contented myself with the thought that he would have to come back in fifteen minutes to escort me to dinner, and, still radiating anger, returned to my talan to dress.
Twenty minutes later found me sitting ungracefully on the floor counting graining in the floor. I didn't notice that the bottom of my light blue gown was beginning to wrinkle, and that I didn't even have my shoes on anymore. I was still waiting for Glorfindel, who was late. Boredom is a bitch. A soft knock brought me back to reality and I stood unsteadily on my legs, which were already half-asleep. Much like myself. Prepared to give him a scolding, I opened the door.
But it was not Glorfindel who was standing there, dressed regally in a silver tunic and a matching circlet of silver vines and leaves.
"Hello, Jolie," Legolas breathed, looking down at me. "Why so surprised?"
I was at a loss for words. "But," I said stupidly. "But—Glorfindel was supposed to…"
"Oh, dear," Legolas frowned—and so did I.
"Oh, dear?" I repeated, brows furrowed, feeling foolish with every passing word. "Did I miss something?"
"Did you receive my message?" He asked, looking past me and into my room.
"What message?" I asked, now definitely feeling foolish. "I was supposed to get one?"
I turned back to my room to inspect it. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary…except Glorfindel had left my handkerchief on my bed, looking harassed. I made a 'tut' noise and walked over to fold it and put it away. And then I noticed it—a note. A note that was just barely hidden underneath the carefully placed fabric.
Legolas had quietly ventured into the room after me and was staring at the note over my shoulder as I picked it up and unfolded it. Then, giving him a disapproving glance, moved so that he couldn't read.
Lady Jolie,
It is my honor to inform you that Prince Legolas Greenleaf of the Woodland Realm of Mirkwood has asked that you accompany him to dinner. I am sure he has feelings for you and that you might for him as well, and that is why I am going to let this all be a surprise until you meet him at the door. With any luck, you are just reading this as you come back from dinner, and have had a good time.
Glorfindel, Slayer of Balrogs, Tamer of Hearts
I stared at the note for longer than a minute, then angrily ripped it in two. Well, that explained his behavior. Glorfindel was just trying to be sneaky and I had caught him in the act of leaving as I came up…but with his elven hearing he had already heard me coming and had time to make it look as if he were simply waiting. I actually shouldn't have even seen him until dinner.
And he was afraid that I would find the note too soon, so he made up a lie about wanting to go to dinner with me, so that I would still be surprised.
I shook my head. Glorfindel did mean well, but he could have simply not said anything at all and explained himself when dinner was over. Or, of course, he could have hid the note somewhere else, like under my pillow. I always fluffed it before I went to sleep and I would have seen it. But Glorfindel wouldn't know that.
My anger simmering, I calmly took the torn note and sat the two pieces face down on my dresser. I looked up at Legolas, who was watching me questionably and smiled a nervous woman's smile.
"Why did you do that?" He asked, motioning to the note. I laughed lightly, hoping to divert his attention. I didn't. I tried a different approach. I stood right in front of him and held out my arm.
"I think we're wasting enough time as it is. Why don't we just go down to eat and forget this happened?" I suggested. He smiled a beautiful smile and took my arm, linking it with his own.
"I would like that very much," He said smoothly, and led the way out of my talan.
At dinner, the guests were all seated around a long table, most of them already there. I scanned the table for Glorfindel, who was smack dab in the middle with two open seats next to him. Grinning, I pulled Legolas in that direction, heading right for the poor older elf. However, Chase suddenly appeared out of nowhere and plopped down into the seat that should have been mine, and I couldn't help but notice how relieved Glorfindel looked. Frowning, I settled for sitting far away from anyone I knew (save Legolas), with Lorien elves. He didn't seem to know many of them either, but we chatted with some of them over this and that while the food was being served.
Lorien elves are very conservative and polite, much unlike the ones in Rivendell who knew that laughing was just as important as being serious. But they are very nice, and they had me hooked as soon as they complimented my hair. Legolas seemed amused at how taken I was with them all, but, hey, anyone who compliments me is okay in my book.
However, when a younger, blonde elf chick made a fishy comment to Legolas (something about his posture or his hands or whatnot; I can't remember) I noticeably put my right hand on top of his idle left one in a clear interpretation of 'You can look all you want, but you touch and you DIE'. The elf chick looked surprised, but quickly recovered and was soon locked in conversation with an elf sitting across from her.
As soon as I was sure she wouldn't try anything again, I removed my hand and continued to eat.
Who was I kidding? I was jealous of that lady-elf. Legolas actually seemed interested in her conversation, her compliments…that was what made me uncertain. Did he like me? I was partly sure, now, that I was crushing on him, if not slightly infatuated. But that did not make him mine. And after what I just did, everyone probably had the wrong idea…Legolas was probably so embarrassed with my actions. How would I ever look at him again?
Too despaired to eat, I laid my fork down and stared blankly ahead at the fluttering lights in the trees, wondering what they were. Lanterns? Torches? Or, could they be fairies, flying around the enchanted forest of Lorien, unknowingly lighting up the darkness with their soft glow? As I was lost in my thought, I felt a strong hand atop mine, squeezing it gently.
I turned my head to see Legolas' handsome face, smiling an unsure smile at me while others seated around us continued with what they were doing, unaware. Feeling warmth spread into my cheeks, I softly squeezed his hand back in a reassuring way.
Glorfindel was right—I did have a good time.
What will make me happy…oh! That's right…reviews! Tell me how you think I did!
And remember—Who will be my 100th?