The sound of metal against metal rang sharply throughout the field. A crowd gathered to watch the match between the two opponents. Brown and blond hair flung wildly as the two fighters spun to avoid each other's blows. The strikes were quick and concise, but so were the blocks – each contact of the swords making a ringing noise that did not die out before the next began. Some male elves watched the brunette one with particular interest whereas the female elves watched the blond one with admiration. But neither of the opponents noticed the onlookers. They were too focused on the match.
Somewhere along the fight the brunette lost one of her short swords and the blond kicked it out of her reach. She used her remaining sword to block off the blond's attacks, but it was hard to block two swords with her one. Soon she lost that sword as well and was lying prone on the ground with the blond about to close in and finish the match. She quickly swiped her legs along the ground, tripping the unsuspecting blond long enough to run and retrieve her two swords. And the match resumed. But the brunette was tired and getting sloppy. She left an opening in her defenses and the blond's sword cut the air in front of her neck.
"Dead," the blond said.
The brunette grunted with frustration as she panted for air. "How long did I last?" she asked, directing her question to Aragorn who had been watching the match.
"Almost ten minutes," Aragorn replied.
She grunted again. Some of the males in the crowd wore amused faces due to the rather unlady-like noises she was making. Some of women wore sneers.
"Not bad, Kari," Legolas said as he put away his short swords and pushed a few stray strands of hair away from his face.
She grunted a third time. "I have yet to last longer than ten minutes against you. After three years of training with the swords," she muttered, frustrated that her hair was sticking to her neck and her forehead was slick with sweat. It was not fair that Legolas look so perfect after a match while she looked tired and beaten and sweaty. Well, perhaps it was fair. Was he not perfect? And was she not tired, beaten and sweaty? Granted, he was far from perfect, but he certainly could look perfect. Especially when he wore his dressing tunics to parties and festivals…
"Kari!" Legolas said loudly to get her attention. She had such a distant look on her face as she was drinking her water.
She startled but quickly recovered. Daydreaming about Legolas' physical appearance was not smart, especially not around so many people. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"
"I said that you should not be so hard on yourself," Legolas repeated.
Kari smirked. "Sounds awfully familiar," she commented.
"Perhaps because I say it to you everyday. Eventually, you will actually do as I say," Legolas replied, feigning annoyance.
"And have you not continually remind me? What fun would that be, Legolas?" she bantered.
"Repeating myself endlessly makes me feel like my old fighting instructor who was ancient," Legolas said.
"Well, you could do with adding a few years of maturity," Kari commented flippantly.
Legolas scoffed. "Are you implying that I am immature?" he accused.
"Quite."
"You are the one who is only eighteen years old," he countered.
"Females mature faster than males. It is expected that you would be more immature than me," Kari replied loftily.
Legolas got that mischievous glint in his eyes and Kari knew she was in trouble. She ran away from him and he chased after her. She wasn't trying hard to outrun him, and he quickly caught her up around the waist.
"Is this immature enough?" he asked as he spun her around in circles.
Kari laughed with delight. "You prove my point," she said as he spun her.
He stopped quickly and set her down on the ground, causing her to lose her balance with dizziness. He steadied her by putting one arm on her waist and the other on her shoulder. She closed her eyes and rested her sweaty forehead against Legolas' chest, trying to reacclimate herself with the ground.
"Dizzy?" Legolas asked, his voice full of amusement.
Kari punched him lightly in the gut. "Immature," she muttered.
"Yes, Kari, I realize you are immature," he countered as he patted her head with mock affection.
She sighed loudly with annoyance and pulled away from him. The chase had taken them away from the crowd of people that had assembled to watch them fight. Kari walked back towards the sparring area and Legolas followed her.
In the past few months people had been gathering to watch the end of their practices when they would spar. Kari did not quite understand why because Kari always lost to Legolas. The question was how long would she last. Legolas had teased her that some of the male elves enjoyed watching her fight. Kari had countered that a large percentage of Rivendell's single female elves were out to watch the matches as well. Legolas did not tease her after coming to the same realization.
"Are you two quite done now?" Aragorn asked humorously, alluding to their bantering and chasing.
"Yes," Kari said.
"I liked that you used the tripping technique I showed you," Aragorn said proudly to Kari.
"So he taught you that," Legolas said, comprehension dawning on him.
"Yes," Kari replied.
"What else has he taught you?" Legolas asked.
Kari smirked. "You will see with time," she said. For the past couple of years Aragorn had been helping her with hand-to-hand combat because that was all one could rely on when weapons were no long an option. Since she was proficient in archery and gaining competence in the short swords, Kari's upper body was very strong when it came to hand-to-hand combat. Her punches and blocks were quick and she was agile. Her kicks and other legwork were not as strong, which was why Aragorn was so happy she had been able to incorporate legwork into her fight with Legolas earlier.
"You have some admirers that would like to speak with you," Aragorn said to Kari.
Legolas tried to suppress a laugh while Kari scoffed.
"They just want to know my techniques because I fight better than they do," she said disdainfully.
"Perhaps that is part of it. But it is not the entire reason," Aragorn said.
Kari shifted uncomfortably. She hated the topic of admirers and Legolas and Aragorn both knew it. She would never believe anyone when they said that someone admired her. She would rationalize it so much that there was absolutely no way the person could genuinely be interested in her.
"Come now, those elves cannot be so terrible," Aragorn said glancing over to the three young male elves loitering around and sneaking occasional glances at Kari, Aragorn and Legolas.
"Their physical appearance has not changed since I first arrived and soon enough I will look older than them. How could they want someone who will diminish before their eyes while they remain the same?" Kari asked.
Legolas was standing behind Kari and was grateful she could not see his stunned expression. It was times like these where she was in fact the mature one out of the two. He knew she had a valid point. Some elves may have brief interest in her but realize that the complications were too much for them. She deserved someone to take her completely and for as long as she lived. But then again, if someone were to do that, he may fade of a broken heart once Kari died. And perhaps the fear of that alone would deter someone from ever making that commitment to begin with. Had Kari realized all this? She must have, for the comment she made indicated such.
"I asked Arwen that once," Aragorn said.
Kari's eyebrows lifted. If anyone ever had any idea what she was feeling, it would be Aragorn. He had grown up among elves and had fallen in love with one of the loveliest. He left Rivendell to gain experience of the world, only to return and realize he was still in love with her. And how lucky he was that she loved him in return!
"How did she answer?" Kari asked.
"She said that she chose me. And choosing me included such things as my mortality. She said she was prepared to deal with my mortality because she did not want someone else." Aragorn smiled thoughtfully as he continued to speak, "She said she would not settle for someone else just because he would be immortal."
Kari smiled as she watched Aragorn continue to smile as he remembered Arwen's words.
Was it possible to be just as fortunate as Aragorn and Arwen? Were they fortunate or doomed? Although Aragorn smiled, Kari knew he feared the day he died, not for his own sake, but for Arwen's.
Was it fair of Kari to want an elf to love her? Was it not better to be with a mortal man?
Of course these questions hinged on the assumption that she would one day stop having feelings for Legolas. Although she no longer blushed when he wore his formal clothes or became nervous when he looked in her eyes or touched her, she still loved him. She had long accepted the fact that her feelings were unrequited, but knew that Legolas cared deeply for her as a friend. If he did not care, he would not still be in Rivendell.
"I hope someday I will find someone who will feel for me what Arwen feels for you. But it is hard to have such hope, and I doubt they feel that way about me," she said, pointing discreetly to the loitering male elves.
"You will never know until you know them more," Aragorn replied.
Kari sighed. Aragorn was being quite adamant her talking with those male elves. "What do you think?" she asked Legolas, who had been uncharacteristically quiet during the conversation.
"Excuse me?" Legolas said, coming out of whatever meditation he had been in.
"I asked what you thought. About me going over and talking to those elves," she said, a bit annoyed that Legolas had been distracted. Perhaps he was looking at those she-elves that were waiting for him to come over.
Instinctively Legolas' jaw clenched. If he were to be honest with himself, he would understand that this reaction was because he strongly disliked the idea of Kari talking with the male elves, but it was not his place to say such things.
"Do what you like," Legolas replied vaguely.
Kari nodded, unsure what she had expected Legolas' answer to be in the first place, but knowing that she felt disappointment with his response.
"I shall see you two at the celebration tonight," Kari said as she left them to talk with the elves who waited for her. Their eyes lit up as she approached them and soon they were talking animatedly. Legolas watched all this and clenched his jaw tighter. It was not right for him to have this reaction.
"Excuse me, Aragorn, I must speak with those who wait for me," Legolas said as he walked over to the she-elves. His demeanor brightened immediately and he talked with them charmingly as though completely unbothered.
Author's Note: I am so sorry it took this long to update, but it has been hectic. I realize with some of the reviews I have gotten showing the weaknesses of my story is that there is a fundamental difference in how people view fanfiction. Some people seem to view fanfiction as an extension of what the author has written, as closely as possible to how the author writes, and containing storylines that are as closely accurate as possible to the world the author created. And I greatly respect and admire these people because they must spend so much time learning and appreciating what the original author wrote in order to create a story. However, I am not one of those writers. In all the fanfiction I have written, I take an idea inspired by the original creators and try to create a story from that. When beginning to think of an idea, I always ask, "what if?..." This story started out with the question, "What if Lord Elrond took care of another mortal right before the fellowship?" and grew from there. Underneath the icon it reads, "unleash your imagination and free your soul" which is what I do with all the stories I write. I cannot expect people to always respond positively to that, but I ask that they respect that. So, thanks to all those who read/review, I appreciate the time you take to read the story.