"So, Bilbo, how are you feeling?" Kari asked. The morning after that dreadful dinner was the time of Bilbo's monthly check-up.
"Oh fine, fine, fine. It's been very exciting here with the arrival of the messengers from Mirkwood. The Lady Virania with them is quite a looker," Bilbo gossiped happily.
Kari bit back a sour look before replying, "Yes, she is."
"But she pales in comparison to our Kari," Bilbo said.
"You flatter me, Bilbo," Kari said as she examined him. "She has that Elven beauty that I can only aspire to possess."
"Perhaps, but beauty doesn't encompass only outward appearance, Kari. I sense that your inner beauty far surpasses hers," Bilbo replied candidly.
She couldn't help smiling at her small friend.
Kari walked towards Lady Virania's guest room later that morning to apologize. She did not want to, but she knew she should to keep relations between Rivendell and Mirkwood strong. The last thing she wanted was for Virania to report back to King Thranduil that Kari was a terrible person, and his son was wasting his time in Rivendell.
She knocked on the door and waited for a response. None came for a long time, but then the door opened and Virania appeared in a robe.
"Yes?" she asked Kari, running a hand through her disheveled hair.
It was rather late in the morning to still be in bed, but Kari took morbid pleasure in waking Virania from slumber. "I wanted to apologize for my comments during dinner. It was rude of me," Kari said, burying her pride.
Virania smirked. "It is alright, you are young and unworldly. You do not know how to wage war to claim the one you love," she said frankly.
Kari's eyes narrowed. She never said she was in love with Legolas, but perhaps it was obvious to the shrewd woman in front of her. "He chooses who he will. Manipulation is cowardly," Kari replied coldly.
Virania smirked. "Hm, indeed," she said softly as she opened the door a little wider.
Kari's eyes traced the movement of the door until her eyes rested on what Virania wanted her to see. On Virania's bed was Legolas, his eyes closed lightly as he rested. He was shirtless with just a pair of loose pants hanging low on his slim hips. The light from the hallway caused his eyes to twitch and finally open. When his eyes did open, the first thing he saw was Kari's stunned face.
"Kari?" Legolas said softly, a little disoriented.
Kari's heart froze for just a moment, but the ache it left was painful enough. So she had not interrupted Virania's slumber but rather something infinitely more intimate. With Legolas. She glanced at Virania, who had a satisfied smirk on her face. He had chosen Virania.
"I am sorry for intruding," Kari mumbled weakly. She averted her eyes and dashed out of the hallway.
Legolas remembered all that had happened. The walk in the gardens, the kisses, the softly whispered words, the loving caresses…with Virania. The memories were clear, but felt as though it was another person doing those actions
"Kari!" Legolas said, running after her and grabbing her wrist lightly.
Kari turned around, trying to prevent the tears in her eyes from spilling over. "I shall not tell anyone, Legolas, if that is what you are worried about. Please let me go, I have a lot of work…"
"I can explain," Legolas said quickly, cutting her off.
He cursed himself for allowing her to see him in such a position. He knew he would have kissed her if they had not been interrupted the day before. But Virania's arrival brought back all these suppressed emotions and he had not felt female comfort in a long, long time. Everything had been very confusing, he had quickly come to many realizations. He wanted Kari to understand…
"I do not want you to," Kari replied, trying to pull out of his wrist.
"Kari, you must let me…"
"No," she said quietly but sternly, breaking his grasp on her wrist and running towards the Healer's Hall.
She did not go to practice that afternoon. If Legolas expected her to, he was a fool. And he probably would have forgotten about it anyway because of Virania's intoxicating presence.
Kari worked tirelessly that night to prepare the herbs for treating patients. She could not sleep when she knew what Legolas and Virania would be engaging in that night. What hurt her so much was that recently Legolas was showing more affection towards her. Did it not seem like he was going to kiss her the day before? And suddenly Virania arrives and he does not even bother defending Kari to the heinous she-elf who insults his supposed best friend. Instead, he sleeps with the heinous she-elf.
Sweat accumulated on her brow and she wiped it away angrily. It was a warm, slightly muggy July night and the humidity only added to Kari's perspiration. It was times like this that she wished she were a full elf, and she wouldn't become fatigued, wouldn't sweat, and would live for an eternity…just for the chance to be with Legolas.
But suddenly she felt ashamed. She did not mean to curse her parents whom she never knew. She was grateful to have the life she did, knowing that she could have had a terrible fate being an orphan. She should be thanking her life instead of resenting it.
And it was not as though Legolas was her only reason for existence. Granted he was a large part of her life, but she had duties here in Rivendell now. She was a member of society here. She did not need him to define her life and if he were to leave and return to Mirkwood with Virania, she would be fine. No, not fine, devastated. But she would move on because she had to.
"It is rather late," a voice said from the doorway.
Kari frowned. "This has to get done. The other Healers use the materials and do not bother to replenish them, so there is hardly anything available if someone were to become dreadfully hurt," she replied, continuing to grind the herbs together and not looking at the owner of the voice behind her.
"Kari, we should talk," Legolas said, slightly disheartened by her lack of attention towards him but understanding why.
"I am busy," Kari said shortly. "Please leave me alone."
"You are upset," Legolas stated, walking into the Healer's Hall.
"I'm working," she retorted.
"It did not mean anything," he said quietly, coming up behind her.
"What you do is none of my business. You needn't justify your actions to me," she said unemotionally as she worked.
"But I want to."
"Well, what about what I want?" she asked angrily, sweeping stray hair away from her face and turning to look at him directly in the eye.
Legolas was surprised that she reacted so harshly, but he was grateful at least that she reacted.
"What do you want?" he asked her softly.
Kari looked towards the herbs and her work and then to Legolas. She wanted just one thing, but she knew that she would never get it. That was what hurt the most.
"I want to know why you insist on telling me this," she said straightforwardly, still with a hint of coldness in her voice. She had enough of his affections that could be interpreted as love or friendship. She had enough of his words that could be interpreted that he cared for her deeper than she had imagined, only to have it ripped away by the image of him in a bed that wasn't hers.
Legolas swallowed hard. He was finally willing to admit that he found Kari attractive. But the implications of all this? He was not ready to face. She was his best friend. She was mortal and…he was just so confused.
"Because I care about what you think of me. In Mirkwood, I thought I was in love with Virania. I found her one day with my best friend in bed. I was enraged and felt completely betrayed. I came to Rivendell because I thought I would have faded in Mirkwood. When Virania came here, I was confused because I thought I might still love her. She confessed her love for me and I wanted to relive the happier times with her. But being with her was empty. I know not when I stopped, but I do not love her anymore. Perhaps I never loved her as much as I thought I did. She is gone now, from Rivendell and from my heart. You need to know this," Legolas explained.
"So you have this revelation after you sleep with her? Do you not hear how awful that sounds? Must you sleep with a female to know how you feel about her?" Kari asked passionately. She knew her questions were inappropriate. She went through a similar situation, though not to the same degree, with Estorel. She was attracted to the elf, but even after he had kissed her, she could not love him.
No, he knew that much from current personal experience. Legolas sighed, realizing that his esteem in Kari's eyes may be permanently tarnished. It actually made his chest ache to think of losing Kari's favor.
"No. Her presence surprised me, made me vulnerable," Legolas replied.
"I did not know you to have such a weak disposition when it came to females," Kari said her voice laced with disdain.
Legolas looked to the floor, truly ashamed. Kari's words were terribly true in this situation. Legolas knew Virania was eager to be with him, and he was rather lonely and Virania was familiar. He knew sleeping with Virania simply because she was there was wrong, but he did it regardless.
"I am sorry. There is no excuse for my actions," he said.
An awkward silence followed, until Kari finally spoke quietly. Her anger diminished when she saw how regretful Legolas looked. "Like I said previously, your actions are none of my business. I am just your friend. Those questions I asked were inappropriate just now."
"No, Kari," Legolas said, grasping her hand as she walked away from him.
She pulled away quickly, almost on reflex. She did not need him touching her and making her weak.
Legolas frowned. "You should ask me those questions. I do not resent you for that. I am sorry you are still upset."
"You were not a friend to me yesterday," Kari said bluntly.
Legolas said nothing. Her words echoed in his ears and cut through his heart.
"When Virania was attacking me. Disrespecting the time and effort I put into being a healer and a skilled fighter, which you very well know about, you said nothing. When she was questioning my parentage, which you know is a sensitive subject for me, you said nothing. Instead, it seemed you condoned her actions by sleeping with her," Kari admonished.
"Once again, I am sorry. It seems recently I no longer know how to act in your presence. A few months ago you were telling me not to worry about you when we faced over fifty orcs. I thought you would resent my interference in this situation as well," Legolas explained.
Kari fell silent, knowing that Legolas had a point. She had wanted independence from him, yet she was angry that he did not rescue her from Virania's cruelty.
"I will always choose to help you," Legolas said. "But I cannot tell when you want my help."
"I am sorry. It is unfair of me to expect opposite things from you."
Legolas shook his head. "I will step in when I feel it is necessary, and if you disagree with my decision, you may yell at me afterwards."
Kari laughed and stepped closer to Legolas.
Hearing her laugh warmed him and made him smile. He reached for her hand, and this time she did not pull away. "I would rather you scold me for being overprotective than for not being a friend."
Kari wrapped her arms around Legolas, knowing they had reached a compromise in this awkward time of change. She was still disheartened by his indiscretion with Virania. Not because she thought he did not take it lightly, but because she still felt a bit slighted. Knowing Legolas, Kari knew he would feel guilty about it for some time. But knowing herself, she knew she would feel hurt about it for a while. Perhaps it was because he slept with such a seemingly manipulative female, or that he slept with any female (though now that Kari thought about it, he could have slept with plenty of females since his arrival in Rivendell), or that he seemed as though he was going to kiss her the day before and then slept with a female. Perhaps it was a combination of all those reasons.
"I am glad that your heart no longer resides in your past," Kari said as they hugged.
"I am too," he said quietly.
Author's Note: Thanks, as always, for the reviews and support. I'm glad you guys had such passionate views on the situation with Kari-Legolas-Virania. And yes, Virania truly is gone from Rivendell. I know this chapter makes Legolas look like a typical male (thinking with his second head), and that is the intention. I don't view Legolas as faultless even if he's an elf, and I think it's important Kari no longer seems him that way either. Next chapter jumps ahead two months to September. Council of Elrond is October 25th.