NOTE: The saying is a rather loose translation from another language; it is an actual proverb. I did not make it up. This will be somewhat long. As always, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Merry Christmas!

Chapter Fifteen: An Unexpected Surprise

With Selena and Selina trained to expect their feedings at certain times, Síriel was free to do as she pleased. She spent most of her daytime with her daughters, and, resultantly, Celebrindal. The two friends would talk about many things, often speculating how things were in Eryn Lasgalen. A strong desire welled up within Síriel to take her daughters and go to her sire. She wanted to show him her beautiful children that Legolas sired. Legolas also wanted to show their girls to his sire.

"We should go, Legolas. They would love it." Síriel told him.

Legolas sighed and nodded, running his hand through his hair.

"We will. But we should wait for the messenger to return." he said.

Síriel agreed.

It had been a month and a half since the messenger had ridden away. Legolas thought it strange that they had not heard anything from him, not even a dove delivering them a message that he arrived safely, as was custom. Maybe he had encountered a problem, such as Thranduil being away. Still, Legolas found it odd that no word at all had come back.

"There is a saying amongst the Beornings, 'The absent person has an excuse': do not judge him until he returns." Síriel said soothingly.

Legolas smiled weakly.

"That is true." he said heavily. "I wish I knew what his excuse is."

"Patience, hervenn nín (my husband)." Síriel said. "He will return in due time."

To take Legolas' mind off the messenger, Síriel tried to think of a suitable distraction that night. The following morning, she had an idea.

"Legolas, what say you to an excursion in the woods? We can ride our horses and shoot targets with our bows." she said to him sweetly.

"That sounds wonderful. Unfortunately, I must journey to Faramir's castle, where he is holding council. I will be gone for a week, but when I return, we can do whatever pleases you." he answered.

Síriel smiled.

"Very well." she replied. "When will you leave?"

They had reached the dining hall and seated themselves.

"After I finish my meal. Several councilors of mine are joining me. I would take you with me, but I do not dare for the girls' sakes." he said.

Síriel patted his arm affectionately.

"I would not got even if you asked me to, for the same reason you just mentioned. If they were but a little older, than perhaps I would have joined you. Celebrindal will keep me company, and the girls will have us occupied. Only one thing I ask of you." she told him, filling her plate.

"Ask whatever you desire, and it shall be done." Legolas replied.

Síriel smiled before saying:

"Give my regards to Lady Éowyn."

"Consider it done." Legolas told her.

The morning meal was eaten slowly. Elves are not ones to rush through a meal. As with everything else, they take their time and enjoy every moment of life. By the time they finished, it was midmorning.

"Well, I should be going." Legolas said as he stood.

The servants came in silently to clear the tables as the household rose and left the hall, each ready to face their daily duties.

Síriel followed her husband to their chamber, where he opened his wardrobe and removed the gray Lórien cloak from within it. He stood before a mirror and watched as Síriel donned it on him. When she finished, he fingered it fondly, reminiscing on the days of the Quest.

"This is very dear to me. It is all I have left that links me with the Fellowship, though one of us is no longer walking this earth." he said.

Síriel imagined him for a moment as the fierce fighter he was, his bow bringing merciless death to any foe that stood in his path. She had seen him once wielding his bow, and she marveled at his precision. In that moment, she knew that she did not wish him to be her enemy ever. Legolas was fell in battle, terrible and beautiful to behold. The Prince was more like his sire in two areas: in battle and in the manner of his ruling.

"You are very loyal, Legolas, to your friends." she said softly.

Legolas turned towards her, a faraway look in his eyes.

"When first I embarked on the Quest with the Fellowship, I did not feel such love for them as I now do. There was much latent suspicion and caution amongst us. The only ones I trusted in the beginning were Aragorn and Mithrandir, naturally. The others I did not care for much." he said slowly. "It is not that I did not care for them, but rather I did not know what to make of them. Hobbits were new to me. As for the other Man, Boromir, I was very weary of him. From what I witnessed coming from him at the Council, my heart warned me against him. However, as the days progressed, I came to love them all, even Boromir. A certain respect for him lies deep within me. He was living proof of what we could have all become if we so desired the Ring for ourselves. If it were not for him, Síriel, I myself would have fallen prey to the Ring's illusionary powers." Legolas continued, and noticing his wife's gasp, he chuckled. "Do you think I was immune to its deadly calling? Nay, even I, son of Thranduil, desired it for a moment. It happened when I saw it for the first time in Imladris. To each one who beheld it, the Ring called to it and showed whatever the person desired most. If I had lusted for it as Boromir had, then I would have been betrayed by it and found my death, as he had. Yet, he did not die in vain. He died nobly, upholding his honor to the very end. Aragorn confided in me privately what Boromir told him as he lay in the forest of Parth Galen, dying. He tried to take the Ring from Frodo. It drove him mad, Síriel. Rest in peace, Boromir!"

He paused for a moment, his eyes closed, then went on:

"How can I not love them? We are more than Companions, Síriel, brothers we became. We went through much together: Caradhras, Moria, Lórien, Parth Galen, losing Boromir and our division into two groups, as well as everything else that occurred. We came to realize early on that our survival and the completion of our Quest meant the very survival of all the Free Peoples of Middle-earth. For had we not united and bonded so tightly together, then there would not have been any hope at all to overcome Sauron. Our union or division was essential to Middle-earth as a whole. Each one of us represented something so precious and valuable that to protect our lands was not an option, but an honorable duty."

He finished, fingering his cloak. He saw before him the Lady as she handed him his cloak, along with his Lórien longbow. Síriel stood rooted to her spot. She was moved by his speech. Never had she heard such emotion from him except when he spoke at The Choosing.

"Such beautiful and wise words, Legolas. You should be counted among the Wise, for such things do they say." she said in awe.

Legolas looked at her and laughed softly.

"No, my dear, I am not worthy of such an honor. The Quest has taught me many valuable lessons, and the hardest one for me to learn was to put aside the feud that lay between us Elves and Dwarves. Oh, how I longed to be rid of Gimli simply because he was a Dwarf, but after I realized that he is like me, a being with feelings who loves and hates, we became very close friends, inseparable. And now, look at us!" he said.

She laughed and shook her head. Legolas let his eyes take her in before he kissed her passionately on her lips.

"I must be off." he murmured into her hair.

"Not before you kiss the girls." she whispered back.

They went into the nursery to find their daughters lying in their beds on their backs. Legolas kissed each one softly on her forehead. His wife followed him as he made his way outside, where those who were accompanying him waited patiently astride their gleaming white horses.

"A week, and I shall return." he told Síriel before riding away.

She watched him until he disappeared from elven vision. Then she returned inside and spent the remainder of the day with Celebrindal and her daughters. Towards evening, as she and Celebrindal were preparing the girls for sleep, Síriel sighed to herself. She looked wistfully at the place where Legolas slept. Rising, she went over to it and buried her face in his pillow, inhaling his woodland scent as if it were wine to her nose.

"I miss him." she whispered to Celebrindal.

"He has not even been gone for a day!" her handmaiden said.

Síriel sighed.

"I know, but still. I will miss him more at night, in bed." she added.

Then she blushed fiercely. Celebrindal laughed understandingly.

"That is nothing to be ashamed of. It is natural." she told her.

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Legolas arrived at Faramir's castle two days later. He could have arrived earlier, half a day earlier, but he did not see the purpose of hastening the journey. He enjoyed the beautiful scenery and the company of those who rode with him. They took his mind off from pining for his beloved wife. He thought it foolish of himself to pine for her so early on, but could not stop himself from doing so, try as he may.

Faramir and a small group of his men greeted the Elves.

"Hail, Legolas, Prince of Eryn Lasgalen, lord of edhellen-Ithilien." a man called out as the Elves dismounted from their white steeds.

Legolas and Faramir exchanged warm greetings as they embraced.

"So good to see you again. How is Lady Síriel?" Faramir asked.

Legolas was proud to hear his wife being called Lady. When he would return home, he would make mention of this to her.

"She is well, thank you for asking." he replied with a smile.

"And the girls, they are well, too?" Faramir added.

Legolas said that they were doing well.

"Well, come inside. There is a feast awaiting you." Faramir said.

Legolas followed the Prince of Ithilien inside his castle.

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It was evening, a day after Legolas had arrived at Faramir's castle. The elven Prince had a very long day full of much-heated debates and councils. Elessar and Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth had arrived the same day he had come. The matter they were discussing was one of dire importance, which was why all of the lords in the surrounding area were present. Only Éomer was not there, but he was away from Rohan.

As Legolas gazed out of his chamber windows, he noticed a small group of riders stopped before Faramir's castle. One of them dismounted and approached the gates. He called out; words were exchanged with a guard on the inside before the gates were opened, but they were too far for him to hear them, even with his elven hearing. The riders rode inside.

Turning away from the windows, he sighed to himself. He had been away three days from his beloved Síriel, and he missed her terribly. His dreams were filled with images of all the times they had made love. Four days, he reminded himself, and he would be with her once again.

Turning again towards the windows, he glimpsed the riders once again. They were ten in number. A guard was with them, and gesturing towards the chamber in which Legolas was. One of the riders looked up, and Legolas caught the glint of his golden hair in the moonlight. It seemed familiar. The guard finished speaking, and the riders sped away.

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On the fifth day of Legolas' departure, Síriel decided to spend her afternoon outside amongst the trees. She felt she would go mad waiting for Legolas to return. Only two more days before he would return to her. After nursing her daughters, she left her home, taking no one with her. She carried with her a small basket one of the kitchen maids gave her. Inside of it was carefully packed a light meal and water vessels.

Leisurely she made her away among the trees, delighting in the light breeze that toyed with her copper-red tresses. Birds sang softly from their perches high up in the treetops. Her bow rubbed against her neck. She carried it out of habit, not out of fear. All her years in the land of the Beornings, Eryn Lasgalen, her ventures to Lake-town, and elsewhere taught her that those who came unprepared were likely to perish at the hands of a merciless foe. And there were many foes in those areas, the most dangerous were the ones found in Eryn Lasgalen: spiders. At times there would be a few stray Orcs that lost their way back to Dol Guldur. Elves delighted themselves if they chanced upon a lost Dol Guldur Orc. They would lead it deeper into the woods of Eryn Lasgalen until they would strike it down with their bows. In time, it became a game.

But those days were now over, thankfully. Síriel remembered well the times where she had been almost killed by the ruthless spiders, only to be saved by her sire. Although on one occasion, Legolas had saved her, though he did not know. This she kept hidden from him. It was when she had glimpsed him as the famed archer warrior Prince he was.

The hours passed by slowly for Síriel. When her hunger became unbearable, she stopped to eat. She chose a small area filled with boulders to eat her meal that overlooked a path. She removed the strap that held her bow to her back and lay it by her feet. Opening the basket, she took a daintily wrapped meat pie and ate it with relish. As she ate, she looked at the contents of the basket: meat pies, one water vessel, one cordial vessel, assorted sandwiches, and small cakes. What she expected to eat it all? Síriel laughed. There was no way she would eat everything! If Legolas were with her, that would not be a problem at all—bless him! He ate and ate and remained so slim—but he was not with her.

A sudden sound caught her attention. Quickly, she grabbed the basket and her bow and hid herself behind a tall oak tree. Not a moment too soon, for ten riders came slowly down the path.

"A very beautiful place." one voice said. It sounded like Legolas.

"It is, aran nín(my king)" another said. His voice sounded very familiar to Síriel.

The riders neared to where Síriel was hidden. She could not see their faces clearly, for they were hooded. The leader had blond hair, she could see a lone lock escaping the prison in which it was thrown back. Its color was that of Legolas' hair. A curious feeling filled her. She knew that person. Slowly, she emerged from her hiding place.

"Good day, my lords. You have entered the realm of Lord Legolas." She said, and the words filled her with pride. "I am his Lady. If you are lost and desire lodging, our home is not far."

The rider behind the leader rode forward; his sapphire eyes glowed. Síriel had a strong sense of nostalgia. Those eyes, she knew them well. She stared hard at him, trying to remember who owned those eyes. The leader, seeing her expression, laughed richly. His eyes twinkled.

"Well, Lady Síriel, we will not keep you in the dark about who we are." he said, and threw back his hood with a flourish.

It took Síriel only a moment to realize who was sitting before her, but it took her a full minute to regain control of herself and speak.

"It cannot be." she managed to whisper at last.

For she now gazed upon Thranduil and her sire, Gil-celeb.

"Why can it not be?" Gil-celeb said, his eyes sparkling.

In a flash, his daughter was beside him before he could even dismount. Tears of joy were streaming down her face.

"It is an honor to have you amongst us." she said.

"And it is an honor to be home again, híril nín(my lady)."

Síriel turned and found herself facing the messenger Legolas sent. Now she knew why his voice sounded familiar when he had spoken.

"Welcome back." she smiled at him warmly.

The ten elven-men dismounted and proceeded to eat the entire contents of the basket Síriel still carried with her. As she watched them, a warm feeling filled her. What a pleasant surprise Legolas would receive.

'A pleasant surprise, yes, but unexpected.' she thought to herself.