Realizations

Legolas had just finished a dance with Queen Arwen and now stood back, watching as other dancers filled the floor. It was a lovely evening and the doors to the garden outside were open, bringing in the lovely scent of flowers. The ballroom was large and well lit. There were many balconies in various places along the sides where nobles and royalty could sit to enjoy a break from the dancing and watch others enjoy the festivities. On the main balcony sat Lord Celeborn and King Elessar, deep in conversation.

Above Legolas was a small balcony on which a few servants were peeking through the draperies, watching the dancers below. With Legolas's superior hearing he could not help but hear their gossip. Mostly they exclaimed over the beautiful dresses and which dancers looked handsome together. Legolas's attention was peaked when he heard them speak of Gilraen and Elfwine, who were dancing together at the moment.

"My little boy, the rascal, do you know what he did today?" one servant said.

"What?" answered the other.

"He followed Prince Elfwine around without him knowing. When the little beast came home today he told me that he saw the prince and the princess kissing by the lake!"

"No! Really?" said the servant.

"Yes! I think those two will be married someday. It would make sense wouldn't it? A princess should marry a prince."

Legolas was startled at these words. Gilraen kissing Elfwine! He looked at them dancing together and noticed how lovely Gilraen looked tonight. He was so use to seeing her as a child that he felt he hardly recognized her as she was now. Her hair was intertwined with jewels and pearls and her silvery gown shimmered with her movements. When had she changed so? Was she old enough to kiss boys?

His eyebrows knit together in deep thought. That would not be a good match, he thought. Gilraen had a far superior bloodline than Elfwine's. She was descended from Kings of Numenor and Kings of Elves. As much as he liked the people of Rohan, he did not think of them as worthy of having Gilraen.

Legolas walked over to the table where sweet wine was being served. Gimli was there, imbibing of the liquid.

"Ah, my friend, try some of this good wine," Gimli said, trying to hand Legolas a glass. He did not think Legolas would accept as Legolas rarely drank anything with alcohol in it. So Gimli was very surprised when Legolas took the wine from his hand and gulped it down in one shot. He stared at his friend amazed and studied the elf's face.

Gimli noticed that Legolas was watching the dance floor with a distracted look. Finally Legolas glanced at Gimli, handing him the glass.

"More," Legolas said to him, his eyes darting back to the dancers. Gimli took the glass and filled it while trying to see what seemed to upset Legolas so much as to cause him to drink.

He noticed nothing unusual to his eyes.

The happy couple did not escape the notice of others as well. Lord Celeborn on his balcony now studied Gilraen as she danced with Elfwine. She was laughing and seemed to be enjoying the young prince's company very much. Lord Celeborn also did not like the idea of this match. He believed Gilraen's destiny to be much greater than to be the Queen of Rohan. Something may have to be done, he thought.

It also did not escape his attention that a certain elf was watching the couple and not looking pleased about it as well. Lord Celeborn thought back to the day he had pulled Gilraen's memories and how he had seen her child's love for Legolas. Celeborn believed that even Legolas was not good enough for his granddaughter, but he would be infinitely better than Elfwine. Perhaps she could be swayed to pay attention to Legolas again, he thought. At least until Elfwine had gotten the message and returned to Rohan.

Celeborn turned to Aragorn, who was sitting next to him, "Gilraen seems to be enjoying herself." Celeborn wanted to draw the king's attention to what was happening. He was sure that the king would not approve as well. But he was disappointed when Aragorn replied, "Yes, doesn't she look lovely tonight? I'm afraid she does not realize the effect she is having on the young men."

Celeborn looked around the room and saw that there were many young Dunedain men watching Gilraen as well.

Legolas was now climbing the stairs to their balcony and made his way over to Aragorn's side.

"Do you not think it is time for Gilraen to retire? It is late for her to be out," Legolas said.

Aragorn looked at his friend and laughed. "Have I lost my post as father?"

Legolas looked at the ground in embarrassment. "Forgive me. I was just making an observation."

"I cannot embarrass Gilraen by sending her to bed before her peers," Aragorn said. "There are many other young ladies here who will stay for the entire ball. She looks to be very happy and enjoying herself."

"Of course," said Legolas. His glance caught Lord Celeborn's and he could see that Celeborn had felt the same as he. They began to speak mentally to each other.

Why do you not ask her to dance, Legolas? She has spent too much time with the Prince of Rohan.

Legolas was glad that he was not the only one who felt that this would be a bad match. He nodded to Celeborn and made his way back down the stairs to wait for his opportunity.

Gilraen could not help but feel overwhelmed and flattered by Elfwine's attentions and feelings towards her. She decided that she would not think about these things too hard and especially not the kiss he had given her earlier as she really did not know how she felt about him yet. She decided she would enjoy the ball and dance to her heart's content. Something had definitely changed between them however, and she could not help but feel a certain line of intimacy was crossed. These feelings were very new and exciting to her ideas of romance and so she let herself fully enjoy them.

When there was a break in the music, Elfwine led her over to the wine stand to have refreshment. They sipped their wine and talked, oblivious to anyone else watching them. She was startled to find Legolas by her side asking her to dance when the next set of songs began. Gilraen felt flustered at this unexpected request and she agreed, handing her empty glass to Elfwine.

Elfwine was not so happy about this. After watching them for a few moments he turned and left, going out the opened door to the garden.

Gilraen put on a pleasant face for Legolas, thinking that he was just being courteous to her, as a friend of her father's. Inside she felt in turmoil as she noticed something different about Legolas, something she had never noticed before. It took her a few moments before she realized that it was something in his eyes, eyes that he took great pains to keep unfocused. He looked around at the other dancers as he turned her around the floor, elegant as always, but seeming at a loss for words.

She decided to speak first, "Are you enjoying yourself tonight?"

He took a quick glance at her and then looked up over her head as he answered, "It is a different type of event than I am used to." His answer seemed stiff and cold.

"Is there something wrong, my Lord? You seem distracted with something," Gilraen observed.

Legolas then looked at her and gave her a pleasant smile, "Not at all." He studied her face for a moment, wondering why he was feeling so at a loss for words. He was not himself tonight and he couldn't figure out why. "Are you enjoying yourself Gilraen?" he now asked, trying to be more pleasant.

She smiled at him, "Yes, very much so."

What a lovely smile she had, he noticed. It lit up her whole face as bright as those jewels in her hair. He looked away, feeling even more strangely.

"It is becoming very warm," Gilraen said after a few minutes more of the dance.

"Let us go outside then for some air," Legolas suggested, taking Gilraen's arm through his and leading her out into the garden. They walked down the newly laid paths and talked about the freshly planted garden and how it may look when the seedlings were full grown. "Perhaps by autumn, you will see a different garden," he told her.

They spent many happy minutes discussing these things unknowing that a pair of hazel eyes watched them from his bench in a hidden alcove. Elfwine waited patiently for Legolas and Gilraen to end their walk so that he could claim her once more. It did not pass his notice, however, that something seemed different between them tonight. Elfwine felt the familiar jealousy building up inside him, the jealousy that he had thought he learned to control so well.

When Gilraen and Legolas started heading back towards the ballroom, Elfwine had stepped out of the shadows and made his presence known.

"Elfwine?" Gilraen said seeing the upset expression on his face.

"Can I speak to you?" Elfwine asked, looking at Legolas in a way that made clear his wish for privacy with Gilraen. Legolas patted her arm.

"I will see you inside," Legolas said as he took one last look at Elfwine and entered the tower. Gilraen slowly walked over to Elfwine, curiosity on her face.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Come with me," he said, taking her by the hand and pulling her along the pathway, to a place of more privacy in the darkness.

When they had stopped, Elfwine looked into her eyes and asked, "What does he mean to you?"

"Legolas?" she asked, but it was obvious that was who he had meant. "He is a good friend."

"Do you desire otherwise?" he questioned. He felt his heart begin to beat faster as he waited for the answer to this most important question.

Gilraen turned away from him and walked a few steps. He was asking for her most confidential feelings and she did not feel like telling him. "I will not have this conversation with you," she stated, a bit of anger to her words.

"Gilraen," he stepped up closer behind her, "do you really think that you could be happy with someone like him? Look at how he lives, traveling around. He is like those wandering elves, never staying anywhere for long. Would you like a husband who is always leaving you for long periods of time?"

She turned around to face him, angry that he would douse her dreams in such a way. "Perhaps I would travel with him!"

These words cut right through him as his fears were now realized. She did love Legolas! His anger and hurt bubbled up to the surface.

"He could never love you as I do! I would live my life to make you happy Gilraen. He cares only for himself!" Elfwine declared passionately. Gilraen stared at him in anger and hurt at his words. How could he be saying all these things? They were having such a pleasant evening until now.

"I shall speak of this no longer," she stated angrily, spinning on her heal to walk away. But Elfwine took hold of her arm and brought her back to him, wrapping his arms about her waist to make her stay.

"Tell me Gilraen, has your Legolas ever kissed you like this?"

Elfwine pressed his lips onto hers, his anger quickly becoming passion. Gilraen tried to push him away but her attempts became feebler as her body betrayed her. The passion and strength of Elfwine washed over her and she felt her resolve to leave him diminish. She wrapped her arms about his neck and the kiss deepened even more. How she enjoyed these pleasurable feelings.

After a few minutes, Gilraen's mind began to fill once more with the words Elfwine had said against Legolas and she found a new strength to push Elfwine away from her. He stood now staring at her, just as confused as she.

"Stay away from me," she snapped. She turned and ran down the path in the opposite direction of the ball as tears began to fall. She did not want anyone to see her so upset.

Further and further Gilraen ran, knowing she had hurt Elfwine and that he had hurt her. She was not familiar with the pathways of Annuminas yet, but she did not care if she became lost. She needed to be alone. On and on she ran until she was stopped very suddenly by a man, covered in a cloak. He stepped out onto her path, stopping her flight with his body and quickly taking hold of her.

At first Gilraen thought that she had just ran into someone on accident, until a hand covered her mouth and the stranger did not release his hold. She struggled but he did not let her go.

"Hush Princess," he said as she tried to wiggle out of his grasp. "It is convenient that you have come out to me, as I was wondering how I would get close enough to you," he told her. Gilraen's eyes were wide with fright and she tried to scream through his hand with no luck.

"If you will stay calm, I will not have to hurt you," he warned. But Gilraen would not stop trying to get away. "I am sorry it will have to come to this then," he said as he picked up a large rock with one hand and bashed her over her head, causing her to fall unconscious.

The man sighed as he laid her down on the ground. He went off the trail to fetch his horse and brought it back with him. After hoisting her and laying her across the front of his saddle, he mounted and rode off towards the north.

Please review this chapter and thank you to all of you who have been reading this fiction so far. 