"Look, Legolas, the lake, how beautiful!" Kari exclaimed as she got off her horse to look at it closer.
"Kari, it is not yet dusk and we have time to go bit further to set up camp," Legolas urged.
"May we set up camp here? Look at how the setting sun is reflecting on the water. The pinks and oranges…" she said enthusiastically.
Legolas nodded. Though he had staked out a small plot of a lush green field to set camp, he had to admit that it was beautiful right there. This excursion was for Kari's twentieth birthday, so what she wanted she would have. He got off his horse and tied both horses to a tree.
Seeing what he was doing, Kari smiled. "Thank you," she said.
"It is your day," he said. "But I need to pick some wood for the fire."
Kari nodded. "In the meantime, I shall take a swim in the lake," she said.
He shifted uncomfortably. This was not the first time Kari's words caused him to have very inappropriate visions of her. They had begun ever since he had seen her and Estorel together. She would say something casually with no intention of a deeper, sexual connotation, yet Legolas somehow managed to create these visions of her that were improper and objectifying.
Aside from her internal qualities, Kari now possessed the body of a woman. Legolas supposed that she had developed a feminine physique a while ago, but he only just now really began to notice. Although a head shorter than himself, she did not look small. Her body had become strong, curvy and lithe and her skin was a golden brown from continual training outdoors. Her dark brown hair now reached the small of her back and her brown eyes held maturity beyond her twenty years though not the almost haunting wisdom many Elvin eyes had. Legolas would often catch himself looking at her hands, wondering how such small hands could hold such strength. He would often catch himself looking at her bare feet, wondering how such small feet could race him so competitively. He wondered what was the color of her skin that wasn't exposed to the sun – the skin he had never seen. He wondered…too many things. Things he should not be wondering about but still did.
"That should be fine," he replied awkwardly.
He tried to rationalize these visions. Kari was a beautiful adult now. And it wasn't as though he never had these sorts of visions of other females. He had fantasized (and subsequently experienced the fantasies) about Virania and many other females throughout the centuries. Even while with Virania, if Legolas saw a beautiful female in passing, he would allow his mind to indulge in a fantasy, although he physically remained true to Virania.
The only difference now was that Legolas' visions contained only one female.
Kari ran towards the lake, took off her clothes and dove into the lake while Legolas looked for wood. She swam around and floated on the surface, reveling in the feeling of the water surrounding her. This birthday was much better than the others. Legolas had woken her up loudly before the sun was up telling her to get dressed for horseback riding. She obliged and they rode out of Rivendell and up to the top of a hill to watch the sunrise on this beautiful April morning. They then ate breakfast and rode for a long time just for the fun of it.
She looked to the shore and realized that Legolas was not there. It did not take that long to collect wood when there was abundant wood in the area. She looked around but still could not see him. She swam towards the shore and grabbed the towel that Legolas had left for her. She dried her hair and wrapped the towel around her body.
Suddenly, she heard a rustle.
"Legolas? Is that you?" she called out, looking towards the trees and shrubbery where she had heard the noise. No one answered, but the horses suddenly started to act uneasily. She looked around for her bow and arrow or her swords, but realized that she took it all off in her haste and Legolas had moved them to an unknown location so they would not get wet.
Kari became quiet and listened more intently. All of the sudden, a black mass leapt towards her, tackling her on the ground. Though she had never seen one before, she was certain this had to be an orc because of the smell and ugliness of the creature.
It emoted evil.
She screamed and pushed the orc off of her, but it lunged for her again, grabbing at her towel. She kicked the orc hard and punched it as Aragorn had taught her. She desperately looked around for her swords but could not find them. The orc took out its sword and ran towards her. She narrowly dodged its attack as she fell to the ground. She swiped her legs in a circular motion, effectively tripping the creature. It dropped its sword. She ran towards the weapon but the orc grabbed her ankles and pulled her to the ground once again. She punched its head hard and it let go. After crawling towards the sword, she grabbed it and plunged it through the orc's chest, killing it.
She panted heavily, her towel in shreds around her body and black orc blood all over her. She sat up and tried to gather her wits.
"Kari!" Legolas yelled as he ran towards her, the wood he had been carrying forgotten when he heard her scream. When he saw her sitting on the grass with black liquid all over her and a dead orc nearby, he took out his short swords as he made his way over to her.
"Legolas!" she said, relieved when he hugged her.
"Are you hurt?" he said, touching her face gently.
"I…I am fine. The orc…it came out of no where and…my swords, my bow…gone… and I was naked and I…I was so scared," she rambled. She looked down. "Oh, I am still naked," she added as an afterthought, embarrassed.
Legolas blushed slightly and turned around. Her skin was just a few shades paler in the places he hadn't seen before. Yes, he had looked briefly, how could he not? But it wasn't as though he could see much with orc blood covering her.
He coughed, clearing the huskiness from his voice. "Wash the blood off and get dressed quickly, we mustn't stay here. It was probably a scout, and there could be more," he said as he heard her splash near the edge of the water as she washed the blood off of her.
After a while, she said, "I am dressed now." Legolas turned around and looked at her. She looked a lot more composed than she did a few minutes ago.
"I am sorry I was not there to help you and that I put your sword and bow and quiver over by that tree. I should have kept them nearby you, but I did not want then to get wet and…"
"Legolas, I am fine. Couple of scratches from the ground and that is all, the sword strikes missed me completely. I took care of it," she said, cutting him off.
Legolas nodded slowly. "You did a good job too, but if something had happened to you…"
"Nothing happened to me. Worry when there is something to worry about."
"There is something to worry about. There could be more than just that one orc around," Legolas said.
"What do you suggest we do? It is too late to start traveling back to Rivendell and even if it was not we could be traveling into the orc herd," Kari said.
"We will have to stay here; we shall sleep in that tree just to be safe," Legolas said, pointing to a tree with a thick trunk and numerous branches and leaves.
Kari frowned. Though Legolas was used to sleeping in trees from his life in Mirkwood, Kari preferred sleeping on flat surfaces like the ground like she did when she went on trips with Aragorn. Kari liked trees, she loved climbing them, but she never slept in one.
"Okay."
"I'm sorry, I know how you like the ground," Legolas teased.
Kari gave him a stern look and started climbing up the tree's wide trunk. She found a sturdy branch and sat on it as she heard Legolas follow up behind her while carrying a blanket and some weapons. He sat on the same branch she was on and leaned against the trunk. He took the two bows and quivers and hung them on a nearby branch just in case they would be needed before daybreak.
"Kari, come here, you can sleep against me. That might be more comfortable than the position you are in right now," Legolas teased again. Kari was straddling the branch while resting her face against her hands that were on the branch as well. The branch was pressing into her stomach.
She pushed herself up and looked behind her to him. "I do not need you teasing me, Legolas. This is my first time," she replied, an annoyed smile dancing on her lips.
Legolas gulped. Yet another vision. And now, having seen a glimpse of some of Kari's more intimate parts, the vision was more real. Of course she meant it was her first time sleeping in a tree, but Legolas' vision put Kari on a bed…He shook his head. Inappropriate.
Kari did not seem to notice Legolas' discomfort, but then again it was dark and her eyes were not as strong as Legolas' in the dark, though they were just as accurate in the sunlight. She scooted back towards him until she felt his chest against her back. She tensed.
"Kari, are you alright?" Legolas asked, concerned. She seemed terribly uncomfortable.
She closed her eyes and felt the rise and fall of his chest as he spoke to her, trying to calm her never-ending nerves. "I'm worried that I will fall off the tree," she lied. She knew it sounded foolish and immature, but it was much better to say than what was really on her mind.
Legolas smiled though he knew Kari could not see it. "Do not worry," he said, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her even closer to him. "I will not let you fall," he whispered in her ear.
Kari inhaled sharply as she felt his breath on her skin. This was getting too much. She should take her chances on the ground with the orcs because Legolas surely would be her undoing up in the tree. As her thoughts flew around in her head, Legolas draped the blanket over their bodies.
"Sleep now, Kari. You need to rest after what has happened," he said.
"It was one orc, Legolas. You have slain more than that at one time. It was not a big deal," Kari replied, unable to hide the sleepiness in her voice.
"It was a big deal, it was your first orc and you were practically naked while fighting it," Legolas replied, laughing a bit.
Kari chuckled lightly.
"And I never thought you would ever come across one," Legolas added.
"What? What do you mean? Why else would Lord Elrond want me trained in such things as fighting?" she asked him. Her body began to relax against his and instead of being afraid of the close contact, she savored it.
"I just thought that you would be well protected in Rivendell and whenever you were out with Aragorn or me," Legolas replied, a hint of the guilt he felt seeping into his voice.
Kari heard it and turned slightly to look into his blue eyes. "Legolas, do not feel bad for what has happened. I do not blame you. Besides, I am glad that you were not there because it tested my skills as a fighter. I do not need you by my side all the time just in case something happens to me. I can take care of myself."
He looked down, saddened. "I am sorry for overstepping my boundaries when it comes to you, Kari. I am just accustomed to you needing me. It is an awkward feeling not needed by you," he confessed softly.
Realizing the mistake in her words, Kari quickly apologized, "Forgive me, Legolas, I am too blunt with my words. I do need you. You are my best friend, Legolas, you mean so much to me. I only hope that one day I can prove to you that I am an adult instead of the child I fear you still see me as." She blushed at the bluntness of her words again, but she hoped Legolas would forgive her.
She could see him smile in the moonlight. He certainly did not see her as a child any longer. "I realized you were an adult before, but it does not mean that I do not want to be protective of you. Give me some time. I am an old elf, but I will see that you are more than capable of taking care of yourself," Legolas said.
Kari felt him smiling against her neck after he whispered those words in her ear. "You are not old, that is not an excuse," she said, nudging him lightly in the ribs.
Legolas laughed quietly. "Sleep, Kari."
"What if the orcs come?"
"I will wake you if that happens, but let us hope they do not," he said.
She rested against his chest and held the arms that were wrapped around her with her own. Legolas felt a strange tingle course though his body when he felt her skin against his, but ignored it. She was his dear friend and it was not right to think of her as he had been lately.
Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews. This chapter takes place in April of 3018 of the Third Age. According to website sources, the Council of Elrond takes place on the 25th of October of this year.And the fellowship leaves on December 25th. This gives you a general idea of where my story and the FOTR will be intersecting. Stay tuned...