Sorry for the long delay, but am dealing with much stress from nursing. Hope you enjoy this!
Chapter Twelve: To Sleep
Satisfied that they had named their newborn daughters, Legolas and Síriel decided to put them to sleep in their bed. With a child in each of their arms, the Prince of Eryn Lasgalen and his half-elven wife made their way carefully to the corner where the infants' bed stood. Síriel did not immediately lay Selina down in it. She stood awhile, silently, before the bed, looking down into it, a most curious expression on her face.
"Is something wrong?" Legolas asked after he laid down Selena.
Síriel shook her copper-red head and laughed softly.
"There is naught wrong, only I was thinking." she answered.
"What were you thinking of? Does the bed not suit them?" he said.
Síriel looked serenely at Legolas.
"I was thinking of how I did not expect to give birth to twins." she whispered quietly, stroking Selina's head tenderly. "Now, instead of one child, we have two, at the same time. My joy is twice it was before."
Legolas watched as she kissed her infant's forehead then slowly lowered her into the bed beside her sister. She carefully tucked the small coverlet around them and smoothed it at the same time.
"If your joy is twice the amount it previously was, then mine is now thrice, for if you are happy, then so am I, and the unexpected arrival of our twins is a blessing from the Valar." he told her lovingly.
They were about to kiss when Celebrindal came into the room.
"Am I interrupting something?" she asked as she averted her gaze.
Legolas and Síriel immediately let go of each other.
"Of course not. We just laid the infants to sleep." Síriel said.
Celebrindal cocked her eyebrows.
"You did? Very well, I came here for that very reason. But it is good that you are up now. Do you have any pain while you walk?" she said.
The half elf shook her head.
"Good. Let me check you, then bathe." Celebrindal told her.
While Celebrindal inspected his wife, Legolas prepared the necessary items for Síriel's bath. He decided to bathe her himself. After all that she went through to give him their daughters, it was his duty to do whatever he could to show his ever-deepening love for her.
"You look fine." Celebrindal said as she finished her check.
Síriel smiled.
"I am glad." she replied wearily.
"Go to your bathing room. I will follow shortly." her friend said.
As soon as Síriel left the chamber, Legolas turned to Celebrindal.
"Celebrindal, I want to bathe her." he said.
The handmaiden smiled.
"Very well, ernil." she said with a bow. "Once again, I am a part of your conspiracy! This time, however, it will be unmasked quickly."
Legolas laughed.
"Síriel and I are both blessed to have you with us, Celebrindal. I feel that you are like a sister to me. You have helped me in more ways than I can ever repay or count." he told her honestly,
Celebrindal smiled proudly.
"I am quite honored that you think of me as a sister, hîr nín. Síriel is my dearest friend, and without her, life has no meaning to me. I will do anything to make her happy." she said before departing.
Legolas stood after she left, thinking a few moments, then gathered the items he was going to need and left the bedchamber and headed down the hall to the bathing chamber. He opened the door silently and found, to his relief, that Síriel had her back towards him.
"Ah, there you are, Celebrindal. I was beginning to wonder what took you so long." his wife said. She seemed quite exhausted.
Legolas busied himself by arranging the items he brought.
"You are not Celebrindal…" Síriel said. "I know that scent."
Legolas laughed, and threw up his hands into the air, defeated.
"I did not count on your sense of smell to reveal me." he told her.
She gave a small laugh.
"It was your footsteps first, then your scent." she told him.
Legolas stood behind her and massaged her shoulders lightly. She sighed in satisfaction and dipped lower into the water.
"You did not have to bathe me." she whispered. "Celebrindal could have done it. She would not have minded at all."
"I want to, Síriel. After what I put you through tonight, I want to show you how much you mean to me, meleth nín." Legolas told her.
He removed his tunic, took a small washcloth in his hand, dipped it into the water, and with his other hand he held a small bar of soap with which he generously lathered the washcloth. Then he walked around the bathing tub until he faced his wife and began to bathe her.
"As I told you before, Legolas, it was a labor of love. I regret not a moment of it. Did you see how perfect they both are?" Síriel said.
Legolas smiled intimately at her and nodded.
"I did. They are beautiful, just like their mother." he replied.
Síriel blushed as she said:
"Hand me the soap for my hair, you forgot to begin with my hair."
Legolas handed her the small vial of hair soap. She opened it slowly with one hand and poured a generous amount into the palm of her other hand. Then she began to lather her hair with it as Legolas continued to bathe her body very gently. He paused momentarily when he came to her breasts, swollen with the nutrients their daughters needed, and caressed them tenderly. Síriel moaned in response.
When the bath was over, Legolas wrapped a large cloth around his wife's body and carried her back to their bed. She fell asleep in his arms. Carefully, he laid her down on the bed before lying beside her.
"Losto mae (sleep well)." he whispered to her.