NOTE: This is somewhat long. A line from Pirates of the Caribbean has been used and modified slightly. If any of you are curious, belly dancing is indeed very seductive, and there are many types of belly dancing costumes, with each region having its own. Darrion, from chapters 2 and 3, is a Beorning relative of Síriel, just to refresh your memories a bit, hopefully. I provided translations to all the Sindarin words except mellon nín and Ai. I think it's well known. You may think it cruel that Selena and Selina are being trained to nurse at scheduled times, but, hello, they are Elves. They are not regular babies. Just thought to clear that little matter up before someone decides to curse me. As for the title, I could not find a suitable one that I liked, and so this will have to do. I hope you like this chapter, and please review!
Chapter Fourteen: Return to Normal
Legolas and Síriel entertained guests at their home for a full fortnight. Elessar and Faramir stayed for several days before leaving to their homes. No sooner had they gone than Éomer and Gimli arrived, along with Lady Éowyn, who was visiting her brother at the time. Once they were gone, other Men came to congratulate the Elves. It was not after the last guest left, and after the entire house was cleaned rather thoroughly, that both Legolas and Síriel could rest for awhile. Yet, they were not allowed to do so completely, for Selena and Selina proved to be another problem that they had to deal with effectively.
"Gimli appears to love our daughters." Síriel said.
It was near evening, five days since the last of the Men had left.
"Indeed." Legolas agreed, removing his tunic.
Síriel's green eyes shone brightly as she saw his bare chest.
"Come, let us go outside and look at the stars." he told her.
She nodded and slipped out of her dress, remaining in her under-dress. Legolas parted the heavy curtain that led to their private garden and allowed his wife to pass through before following her. The curtain was made of a fabric not permeable to the weather. At the same time it allowed sunlight to shine through. Being elven made, this was possible.
Borne towards them on the evening air was the scent of many evening flowers. To their right, separated by a living wall of thick hedges, was the nursery garden. They could hear music playing from it. Síriel recognized it as coming from one of her Beorning music boxes, passed down to her from her mother. Celebrindal was no doubt playing it for Selena and Selina. Síriel began to dance to it in the traditional Beorning way. Legolas admired the way her moves were executed so smoothly. When the song was nearing the end, she took hold of his hands and they danced together in their private garden. His eyes roved over her, taking in her intricate hand movements and seductive bodywork.
"Is there a certain name for that dance?" Legolas asked when she finished. "It is so very seductive. It should be banned." he added, jesting.
Síriel laughed. Her body was covered with a very fine sheen of sweat. She dropped down to the ground beside Legolas.
"Some call it belly dancing, for as you saw, it requires much use of the stomach. It is the entire body moving: hands, arms, shoulders, stomach, hips, legs, feet." she said. "There is a special outfit for it. Each region of the land of the Beornings has its own outfit. If my sire had left me amongst my mother's people I would have become a belly dancer."
She paused, and Legolas took the time to imagine his wife as a belly dancer. He could see the crowds of men gathered at her feet, her lithe body seducing them by her sheer fluid movements—
"And, if it was banned, I know you would not like that." she said, her voice bringing him out of his reverie. "Am I correct?"
Legolas laughed richly.
"Ai, indeed, Síriel, you know me only too well. I was imagining you as a belly dancer." he told her. "I did not know that there was a special outfit for it, nor that each region has a different outfit."
His wife nodded her copper-red head. Her green eyes were lit up with excitement. She loved to speak to Legolas about her Beorning heritage. He, at least, found it interesting, and did not mock her.
"Do you recall when Darrion took us to his village, and on the eve of our departure they held a great feast in our honor? Did you not notice the women dancers wearing different outfits?" she asked.
Legolas was quiet for a moment as he recalled that night.
"Now that you mention it, I do remember it. At the time, caught up in the excitement of the moment, I did not think of it at all." he replied. "I was too absorbed in my beautiful wife, dancing seductively in my arms."
Síriel blushed.
They continued to sit outside for some time talking with each other, watching the sun as it began its slow descent beneath the horizon.
"Do you know that Arwen is pregnant?" Síriel suddenly said.
Legolas, who was nuzzling her bronzed neck, stopped.
"Is she really? Elessar failed to mention that." he said, surprised.
"I am sure it slipped his mind. He seemed quite happy for you. Even Arwen made a jesting comment about that." his wife said. "Mind you, she is not far along, so it is not noticeable yet."
They remained in the garden for awhile longer before returning inside—Síriel had heard her daughters' cries of hunger from the nursery.
"We really must put an end to this problem." she said while nursing Selena, as Celebrindal passed Selina to Legolas to be held.
"What problem?" Celebrindal asked.
"Síriel cannot sleep during the night because of our daughters' frequent feedings. She is very exhausted, and so am I." Legolas said.
"I told you not to rise with me, Legolas." Síriel told him serenely.
"It is quite alright, my dear."
Celebrindal took Selena from her friend when she finished nursing.
"Well, the only solution to your problem is to have a regular feeding schedule for the girls. This way, you can rest." the handmaiden said.
Síriel looked at Legolas.
"They will cry, will they not?" she asked softly. "If there is one thing I hate in this world it is to hear my daughters crying. How very ashamed of myself I will feel knowing it is my doing that makes them cry!"
Celebrindal smiled. She knew well the hearts of mothers, and she knew especially well the heart of her dear friend Síriel.
"I will not lie to you and hide the fact that they will cry. Yet, you are not doing it out of cruelty; you are doing it for a good purpose. It is training, mellon nín. Tell me, when you first started working with your sire rafting to Lake-town, was it easy to rise so early in the morning and then contend yourself on a raft for several days?" she said kindly.
"No, it was not easy. But I became used to it." Síriel said slowly.
Celebrinal smiled at her friend.
"Exactly. You became accustomed to it." she repeated.
Síriel looked at her handmaiden friend, slightly puzzled. Yet she offered no explanation as she lay the girls down to sleep, each in her own little bed. When she finished, she turned to Síriel.
"Heniach nin (do you understand me)?" Celebrindal asked her.
Síriel slowly shook her head.
"I am afraid I do not." she replied.
Legolas cleared his throat.
"I see what you mean, Celebrindal. At first, though, I was like my wife, hesitant to do so because I do not desire to see my daughters crying because of something we have done to them." Legolas said, as his wife turned her emerald eyes questioningly upon him. "Síriel, our daughters will become accustomed to their feeding schedule if we keep on it, just like you became accustomed to rising early in the morning."
"It is only training them for a desired positive solution." Celebrindal added. "You will not regret it. And it will not take long, a month at most."
Síriel was quiet for several minutes as she thought about what her friend and handmaiden was proposing. It was not a bad resolution at all, considering the amount of sleep she and Legolas were getting. She could see the beginnings of dark circles forming underneath his eyes, and his normally fair skin was starting to turn pale. She knew that the same signs were developing on her, though harder to see due to her darker skin color. And a month…that was not long. The only thing was that she would have to contain herself when she heard their cries at night. Taking a deep breath, and looking from her husband to Celebrindal, she said:
"Very well, I accept."
Legolas and Celebrindal smiled at each other.
"We shall start tonight, then." Legolas said.
Síriel stared at him.
"Tonight! But…it is too soon!" she exclaimed.
Legolas smiled.
"Too soon? For whom?" he asked gently.
She did not answer, and he smiled knowingly.
"As I thought." he said to her. "Tolo (come), let us go to bed now."
The pair bade Celebrindal a goodnight. They kissed their daughters before entering their private bedchamber. Síriel sighed to herself.
"Avo 'osto (worry not), cuil nín (my life)." Legolas whispered to her.
"How can I not worry? How can I not?" she said, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "The heart of a mother cannot stand her children's cries. And that is what I have become, Legolas, a mother."
The elven Prince brushed away her tears with his thumbs.
"Hush, my beloved." he told her.
He held her to his chest as she sobbed quietly. His hands rubbed her back comfortingly before untying her under-dress ties. Then, with one arm around her, he used his free hand to remove his leggings.
"Come, I desire you tonight." he said into her ear.
When she did not respond, he lifted her into his arms. She looked up at him apologetically. He always remembered her during that night: the way she lay in his arms, her long copper-red hair falling behind her like a river, her emerald eyes shining brightly, her bronze skin glowing.
"Do you desire me as I desire you?" he asked her softly.
His reply was a passionate kiss.
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Much later that night, Síriel lay sleeping peacefully in Legolas' arms. They had an excellent time together. Legolas had to restrain her when she heard their girls' crying hours afterward for their night feeding.
"But Legolas, they are so young. They will die." Síriel protested.
Legolas had smiled as she tried to get away. He held her firmly, yet gently, his muscles straining slightly from his effort to stop her.
"They will not die. I am their sire and will not allow any harm to come to them. And I will not allow you to go to them, either." he told her.
He then bent his head to hers and kissed her. She refused at first, but then gave in. Legolas allowed himself to relax somewhat, but not altogether, as he knew she would attempt to go to their daughters. He knew it would take her some time to control herself. He would watch her. Legolas also knew that he himself was not immune to his girls' cries. Twice in the night he caught himself rising from bed to quiet them.
All that day he kept his eyes on Síriel, but she did not slip away. The Prince ordered Celebrindal to keep the girls with her at all times. The only time Síriel was allowed to see them was when they needed to nurse. She appeared slightly anxious when not with them. Nighttime differed.
Legolas was late returning to Síriel due to an important council. By the time it finished it was well past midnight. Legolas, weary from all the discussions, hastened as fast as he could to his bedchamber. All he could think of was his warm bed with Síriel lying unclad beside him.
"Síriel, meleth nín (my love), I am here!" he called when he entered the bedchamber. "I apologize for my lateness. I attended a council."
There was no response. Thinking she was fast asleep, Legolas approached their bed, removing his tunic as he went.
"Síriel—" he called again, then stopped.
Their bed was empty.
"Legolas?"
The Prince turned to find his wife standing in the doorway that led to the nursery. On her face was a guilty expression.
"You fed them?" he asked calmly.
She hung her head.
Legolas chuckled.
"I had a feeling you would do so." he told her lovingly.
She burst into tears and launched herself at his feet.
"Goheno nin (forgive me)! I meant it not! I lay here the first time they cried and played one of my music boxes. When they quieted, I shut it and went to bed. After sleeping for a few hours, they cried again. I tried, I really did, but in the end I could not stand it. I went and nursed them." she wailed. "I hoped you would not come and find me out of bed, but you did."
Legolas looked at his wife tenderly. Those silver tears streaming down her cheeks broke his heart. She did what any mother would do. He could not blame her. He knew how much it was killing her on the inside.
"Ú-moe edaved (there is nothing to forgive), Síriel." he told her softly, raising her to her feet.
"I promise that from this moment onwards I will not nurse them except when it is their appointed time. Gweston (I swear), Legolas." she said.
Her husband smiled at her as he brushed away her tears. Softly he kissed her several times on her lips, tasting her sweetness, then said:
"You have no need to swear. I know you will uphold your promise."
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The month passed slowly. Síriel learned how to control her strong motherly instincts whenever her daughters cried and followed the plan Celebrindal had set. The half-elf found that she had more time on her hands to do what she wanted now that her daughters were fed on a set basis, especially at night with Legolas in bed. Their passion for each other grew stronger every day, as evidenced by their ardent lovemaking. Legolas always managed to surprise her every night, but he remained ever gentle with her. Each night he found her awaiting him excitedly, and each night he outdid himself. They were both blissfully ecstatic.
"At last, everything has returned to a normal state." Síriel said.