Disclaimer: Anyone in the movies or books: I don't own.
Author's Note: Took me long enough, didn't it? I finally saw "Return of the King" and it sparked my interest again.
Chapter Two: The Tale of Two ElvesPrince Legolas Greenleaf was older than many elderly humans in the world of Middle Earth, yet he was still considered young among his people. He was a light-hearted young elf; but he was a master with the bow and arrows. All the little elflings admired him for his kindness and gentle nature, as well as his skill and speed. His father painstakingly observed and sorted every detail of the prince's schooling and training; he wanted nothing but the best for his son. This put a burden on Legolas, who strove to make his father proud.
However, the burden was temporarily forgotten. Legolas stood in the space between two roots of a giant tree, leaning against the wood with his face hidden in his hands. He was in the woods his father owned, which was often times used as a hunting grounds. Thus was the reason the elf carried a bow and a quiver of arrows on his back. However, they were there merely for protection, and had no real use at that moment.
"Three… two… one… Ready or not; here I come!" He quickly turned, his usual smile in place. He wore a plain green tunic and pants with brown boots. His light blonde hair was kept out of his eyes by being pulled back and put into a loose ponytail with a dark green band. His blue eyes carefully searched the green foliage around him for any movement, and found none.
"Selene…" he called out in a singsong tone as he turned to move around the tree. With one hand on the rough bark, he quietly stepped at an angle to traverse half of the tree's circumference before taking several steps deeper into the woods. The faint sound of giggling reached his ears and he quickly turned to his right. His smile grew slightly and he walked as quietly as he could towards the source of the noise: an even larger tree twenty feet away. Putting both hands on the trunk, he circled it until he reached the opposite end. No one was there, but he caught sight of dark green fabric and dark hair trailing behind a moving person.
Thinking quickly, he moved as fast as he could back to the other side of the tree to nearly run into the elven maiden he was pursuing.
She had dark eyes and a fair face, along with long dark brown hair that was almost black that was left down. She wore a plan dark green dress. She had come to Mirkwood nearly a year and a half ago as a wandering young traveler. She was taken in by an older couple who cared for her as they would their own child. Legolas had met her in one of his many trips to the area; she had bumped into him. Their relationship had blossomed from that point on, seeing each other nearly every day and roaming the woods of Mirkwood together.
A small yelp of surprise escaped Selene as she jumped, not expecting him to be there.
"I found you!"
A grin found it's way to her features. "Ah; but you must catch me first!" She quickly turned and ran in the other direction, hearing Legolas follow her around the tree. Their game of Hide and go Seek turned to Hide and go Seek Tag.
She wove around the trees; she could hear him only a few feet away. Their laughter echoed around the woods, a welcome disturbance from the silence that usually reigned.
Meanwhile…There was a light knock on the heavy wooden door to Prince Legolas' bedchamber, the sound echoing hollowly around the room behind it.
"Legolas?"
There was a minute of silence before the knock came again, this time slightly louder.
"Are you here, my son?"
Another minute of silence, and then the door handle slowly turned and the door itself slowly opened. The face of Legolas' father, the king of Mirkwood, appeared in the partially opened doorway. His hair, which was the same color as his son's, was left down for the day. His green eyes wandered around the ivory-colored room to find no trace of his son.
"Hmmm…"
He closed the door behind him as he left. As he walked casually down the lightly colored hallway, Thranduil smiled slightly as he withheld a chuckle. His son was with Selene no doubt; off romping though the woods as they usually do. He couldn't help but remember back to those far-off days when he too was young, running through the trees with the woman he loved- of course, the woman who would later become his wife and the mother of his only child.
This time there was no holding the chuckle back. Oh, if only his son knew…
Meanwhile (again)…The game had stopped once they reached the cliff. The rock below their feet stretched off to a dull point before stopping, a sheer wall of rock leading almost straight down an undoubtedly lethal height towards a small pool of water down below. The pool was large, yet shallow, and the water was clear. They could easily see the bottom from the height with their elfish eyes. It was fed from a small waterfall that flowed out of a hole some distance down the cliff, its dull roar easily heard by the two elves. The ground around the pool was grassy (and apparently recently grazed); the trees began growing several feet away from the edge. Back up on the cliff, the brink of the forest lay several feet behind the pair, grass growing thickly where the sunlight was unhindered by leaves. However the grass faltered as it neared the cliff edge, giving way to tan rock underfoot.
The maiden was the first to sit, her legs tucked beside her at her right and letting her dress fan out on the ground. The prince sat to her left, sitting on his knees while being careful not to sit on the dark green fabric.
Selene liked this place; the view from the cliff top was grand indeed, and the sounds of the waterfall and the wind rustling the treetops was soothing. This was something she told Legolas the first time they came here together. They had visited it several times after that day, and had since then almost become a place they shared together. It was a place where they could forget their troubles and stresses for a while; even forget that Legolas was royalty and Selene was not. When they were here it was just the two of them, and rarely anything else mattered.
"Legolas?" came her voice, quiet at first. "What does your father think?"
His blue eyes turned towards her as he responded. "What of?"
"Us," she answered as she looked towards him. "Always being in the woods together."
"He's never spoken of it. Surely he would speak to me if he disapproved."
Despite his reassurances, her dark eyes still looked up at him with concern. "Are you certain? I would never be able to forgive myself if I caused any rifts between you…"
Her sentence faded as he smiled at her, the reassuring and kind smile that seemed to always make her worries melt away. It made her smile as well, albeit a small one. She then looked back out towards the view before them, leaning further to her left so her arm was touching his. Legolas' gaze followed hers, and together they sat until the sun began to set.
To be continued…Author's Note: I LIVE! I LIIIIIIIIVE! -Insert evil cackling here-
Anyway, HUGE thanks to Ashley Langager XP for helping me with ideas and getting me motivated to work on this. So send the hugs her way if you want to.