A/N: I have told you in the past, that the sooner you want me to update,
the shorter my chapters will be! So, I've had a nice long three week break,
and then kicked my ass into writing-mode.
Orli: She went skiing! The lazy butt!
Me: I brought my new pocket pc that I got for Christmas there, because it has Microsoft Word on it, so I could write.
Orli: Oh.....well, she's still a lazy butt!
Me: shut it, blondie.
Orli: Hey! I'm not blonde!
Me: In this you are.
Orli: But that's not *me*.
Me: Well, as *I* seem to remember it Quote: Well, everybody out there thinks of me when they think of Legolas, don't they? Unquote.
Orli: I said that?
Me: Check chapter 11. And that's just about as good as saying you're blonde. Now go make yourself useful and stand in a corner looking sexy.
This chapter and the next chapter are ONE. It took me SO LONG to write, and honestly, it has nothing to do with the story, although the council of Elrond is briefed. Don't bug me about it...this isn't a 'fellowship' tale, it just happens to be happening during that time. This is a quarter of Legolas' two months of down time before he leaves, and then ON WITH THE STORY! *hazaa!*
Chapter 20: The Contest
A beam of sunlight was conveniently hitting the exact place where Legolas' eyes were, which caused an abrupt return to reality after a lovely nights sleep. He sat up in his bed, pushing the covers off of his bare chest. The cool air was very pleasant on his warm body.
He walked into the bathroom, where, suprisingly another bath was run and steaming. 'honestly, the elves in Rivendell read my mind...' he thought, slipping into the warm, soothing, and, as everything had a tendency to be in Rivendell, slightly scented water.
He ran his fingers through his wet hair, combing it slightly with a soap he found on the edge if the tub. He dipped his head back into the water, ridding it of the soap, and then he squeezed most of the water out and stood up.
Again, he stood in front of the mirror, a towel wrapped low around his waist, he ran the brush through his wet hair.
He remembered that the council of unknown purposes was being held today, and he added a few more braids to his usual style of a half ponytail with a fishtail braid, and two braids above his pointed ears. He decided to wear a slightly fancy tunic and breeches... but not so fancy that he could not go practice archery first!
_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_
Again he popped into the dining hall to grab only a wafer of lembas and then he was off to the training fields. He let arrow after arrow fly, and every time he would have to switch targets... He hit the bullseye every shot!
There were 9 targets lined up in front of a forest (newcomers to the sport could at least get the satisfaction of hitting something) so he stood at the fifth target and aimed at the first. Nine arrows hit each target in succession, each one hitting dead center. He walked to the first target and wrenched the first arrow out, then the second, and the third. When he had all nine, he would resume his place at number five, and do it all over again.
A bell rang in the distance, signaling the council was soon going to start. Legolas walked to a medium-sized -he guessed you might get away with calling it a 'room'- as it was just outside of a hallway, and was just a patio with a pedestal in the center and chairs in a semicircle. A large...throne? It was really just a large, ornate chair, was at the head of the 'room'.
Legolas chose a chair next to where a Mirkwood elf was sitting. The blue-eyed halfling appeared on the edge of the 'room', and took the seat next to the wizard Mithrandir, and following the young hobbit was the older hobbit, Bilbo, who took the seat on the other side of Mithrandir. One by one, elves, men, and dwarves filed in and took seats. Legolas noticed that Aragorn was back in his ranger clothing. Upon looking up, he saw a balcony where Arwen was standing, silently watching. When she saw Legolas had seen her, she pressed a finger to her lips, and winked. 'she still has the spirit of an elfling...' he thought, smiling.
When his gaze was brought to ground level, he jumped to find a dwarf sitting next to him.
"What're you jumpy about," grumbled the dwarf, shifting in his seat to find a more comfortable position.
Legolas did not reply, instead turned to watch Elrond walk in. He didn't sit in the chair, but stood and peered around the group.
"Strangers from distant lands, friends of old. You are summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor..." he began. Legolas leaned back in his chair casually, ready for a very long morning...
_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_
Hours later, the council was dismissed. The man he knew now as Boromir had acted up, Mithrandir had said the rhyme of the One Ring in Black Speech... And the Ring of Power was found. He, Legolas, Elven prince of Mirkwood, was part of a fellowship of nine, made up of the blue-eyed hobbit, Frodo, his faithful fellow hobbits, Sam, Merry, and Pippin, the men, Aragorn and Boromir, Mithrandir, and that dwarf, Gimli.
Legolas was sitting in his room, enjoying a quiet dinner by himself. He heard singing outside. He walked to the balcony, and leaned on the railing calmly, letting his hair blow around his face in the fall breeze. Two months from now, he would leave this paradise, on a quest to go into Mordor. Two months from now, he would put his full trust in his eight companions. Two months from now his life would be put in jeopardy. Two months from now, he might be able to see Fanya again.
_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_
In the week after the council, Aragorn (after quite a scene with Arwen) set out with a couple elves on scouting missions. They were hunting for any of the dark lord's followers.
Legolas wanted to know his companions well enough so that he wouldn't feel that uncomfortable traveling with them for an unknown amount of time. The mission could take months, and it could take years. Not even Elrond could tell. So, for the next few months, he spent time with 7 of his companions. Gimli stayed with his dwarven companions, and avoided most contact with elves, which was no problem on Legolas' terms.
Around the four hobbits, he felt thousands of years younger. There was a memorable time with Merry and Pippin...
~Flashback~
"Legolas! Come here!" whispered a voice from a bush. Legolas, who had been sitting in a tree, looked down to where the voice had come from. He had been watching Aragorn come back, looking quite weathered and worn. Arwen had rushed out to meet him, and they were currently standing on a bridge kissing.
"Pip, here had an idea. We want to pull some kind of prank on those two lovebirds over there... it'll be fun!" Merry whispered to Legolas, who had hopped down and crouched to the ground.
"Problem is, we don't know what to do. We've done almost everything in the book." Pippin said almost sadly. Legolas thought back to any pranks pulled by Elrohir and Elladan. Suddenly, a memory caught up with him. A few whispers, and an argument about who was going to pull the prank later, Pippin was creeping to the oblivious couple.
SPLASH!
"Waytogo, Pip!" Merry high-fived Pippin. Legolas was walking to Aragorn and Arwen, who were glaring at the hobbits and Legolas from the water.
The water was about waist high, and they both waded out, soaked. Legolas was grinning impishly, and peering down at them from the bridge.
"Enjoy your swim?" Legolas asked them. As they both walked back up to him.
Aragorn glared at him. "What do you think?"
But Arwen burst out, "That's not the first time that's happened to me either!"
Aragorn looked confused, but Legolas said, "You remember as well?"
"Remember?" She laughed, "I'm still plotting against them!"
Merry and Pippin appeared, both trying to hold back giggles.
"Wait, what?" Aragorn asked, still looking confused.
"2000 years ago," Legolas began.
"When Legolas and I were lovers," Arwen continued.
Aragorn looked confused. "You were...?"
"Haven't I mentioned that?" Arwen asked.
"Obviously not." Pippin answered her.
"When Arwen and I were lovers, Elladan and Elrohir spotted us kissing on...actually, it was this bridge."
"I guess it was," Arwen commented. "Well, they decided to play a little trick, and shove us into the water. Kind of like this." Arwen pushed Legolas over the bridge.
"Like that?" Aragorn asked.
"Yep. Just like that." Arwen smirked.
~End Flashback~
But Merry and Pippin weren't the only people he spent time with. Around Mithrandir, he would talk about Mirkwood, and business around Middle Earth. Around Boromir, he would often be bored with tales of Gondor... although he knew that Fanya was in Gondor, and that was a topic he loved. He spent a lot of time with both Aragorn and, if she was there, Arwen. Aragorn would sword fight with him, and one day, Arwen showed up...
~Flashback~
"I bet you can't get 1000 bulls eyes in a row."
"I bet I can."
"Probably not."
"Want to bet?"
"You're on. What's the deal?"
Legolas thought a minute. "I win, I get to kiss your girl. You win, you get to kiss mine."
"Deal." Aragorn shook Legolas' hand.
And so Legolas took shot after shot, Aragorn counting. An hour later, when Legolas was on 964 bulls eyes, a female voice said, "And what would two men be doing on this fine afternoon?" Legolas had been aiming, and when he heard the voice, he jumped and let loose an arrow. The arrow flew, and missed the bulls eye by an inch. Aragorn laughed, and jumped up and down like a child.
"Ha! I win!" He cheered.
"That one doesn't count!" Legolas said indignantly. "Arwen startled me!"
"It does count!" Aragorn laughed.
"What?" Arwen said, suspiciously.
"Legolas and I bet on whether or not he could be able to shoot 1000 bulls eyes in a row." Aragorn said happily.
"What were the terms of the bet?" She then asked.
"I win, I get to kiss you. He wins, he gets to kiss Fanya." Legolas grumbled.
"And Fanya is?"
Legolas realized what he had said. He cursed under his breath. "And this is the mystery girl that you have been so cleverly avoiding telling us about?" Aragorn said, grinning.
"Yes..." Legolas mumbled.
"Ha!" Aragorn laughed again. "I get to win something twice today!
"Well, I certainly hope this kiss will be a modest one, won't it?" Arwen shot at him.
Aragorn stopped, and his face fell. "Oh... ya."
Arwen glared. Only then did Legolas realize what Arwen had with her. She had brought a sword and a quiver full of arrows, as well as a Galadrim bow with her. She dropped her sword to the ground beside her and slung the quiver over her shoulder. She took aim and let loose an arrow. It flew slightly to the left of the center. She glanced at Legolas and Aragorn, who were both staring at her dumbfounded. She flipped some hair out of her face, and smiled flauntingly.
"What are you doing?" asked Legolas, who seemed to come to his senses first.
"You have not heard? There is a weaponry contest in two weeks. There will be the best swordsmen and archers there, and I'm going to enter."
"Really?" asked Legolas hopefully.
"Yes." She replied, shooting again.
"Except one thing. You said the best archers were coming, Arwen. The best archer is here already." Said Aragorn smartly.
"So I guess that you both are entering, now?" Arwen asked.
"Why wouldn't we?" Aragorn and Legolas said in unison.
"Because." Arwen began.
"Because, why?" Legolas said.
"Because you might not want to be shamed and beaten by a she-elf."
And so training began. Legolas and Arwen trained in both archery and with a sword, and Aragorn practiced with only his sword, even though he was quite skilled with a bow. Whenever Arwen and Aragorn sparred, Aragorn found himself afraid to hurt her. So she most always won those. Legolas and Arwen would have silent archery competitions, on the other hand. She was good, but not as good as an elf who had been on scouting missions most of his life.
A week before the competition, others started to show up for training. Legolas found about 10 more targets placed outside one morning, because the previous day, many elves complained that they had to wait for targets.
There were only two she-elves competing. Arwen and Larien. Legolas watched Larien as she sparred with Arwen, and saw that she stood as fair competition.
She moved gracefully and her moves were powerful. The only problem that Legolas saw, was that his old friend thought too much. In combat, you trust your instincts and strike when possible, Larien was plainly concentrating too hard, for it was written for all to see on her face.
Arwen faked left and Larien fell for it. She was ready to strike, when Arwen placed her sword to her throat. You could see the surprise etched on her face! Arwen patted her on the back, and walked back to the archery targets, while Legolas took the time to talk to his old friend.
"Mae govannen, mellonamin." he greeted her. "Sut naa lle?"
"N'quel, I should have seen that coming!" she complained. She was breathing heavily, and wiped the sweat beads that had appeared there away.
"You did well. You have gotten much better since I last saw you."
"Yes, Legolas, but that was long ago! This is now, when the competition is a few days away!"
"There is one thing that I can point out to you, for the time being, Larien..." Legolas tempted her.
"Oh, so princy boy knows everything now, does he?" She stared at him expectantly. When he said nothing more, she whined, "Legolas tell me!"
"Maaaaaaybe." he taunted. "I don't know if I want to say, now that you were so rude."
"Leggy!" she whined.
"I haven't been called that in years..." he said, reminiscent.
"Tell me!" she said, tugging on his shirt sleeve like a begging child.
"Nuh uh." he shook his head.
She poked him in the side, but he danced out of her reach. "I'll tell you... If..."
"If what, mellonamin?" she asked sweetly, still trying to poke him.
"If you teach Meriadoc and Peregrin, the mischievous halflings, a few of the old pranks we used to pull. Apparently, they're running out." he said, smiling.
"That? That's what you want me to do? I was expecting to have to run around Rivendell naked!" she laughed.
"A few people here wouldn't say no to that..." he commented. She poked him again.
"Are you going to tell me or not?"
"Look, during a fight, a real life or death situation, do you that you will have time to figure out what move you are going to do? Not likely, mellonamin. You have to relax, feel the air in your chest, sense all that is around you without distraction, and most importantly, you have to let your surroundings power you. Mother Nature was one of the most powerful spirits created by Eru, and she gives you the gift of being able to draw energy from your surroundings. Keep that in mind when you fight."
"How do you know all that?" she asked in awe.
"Larien, near 2000 years of fighting has taught me a lot." he smiled and turned away, feeling that he was finished training that day.
_-~^*^~-_-~^*^~-_-~^*^~-_-~^*^~-_-~^*^~-_
A/N: Next chapter is part B! Review responses at the end of next chapter...like I said...it use to be one chapter, but I'm breaking it in half... :D
~Ivy
(THANKS ARDONELLE FOR BETA-ING!)
Orli: She went skiing! The lazy butt!
Me: I brought my new pocket pc that I got for Christmas there, because it has Microsoft Word on it, so I could write.
Orli: Oh.....well, she's still a lazy butt!
Me: shut it, blondie.
Orli: Hey! I'm not blonde!
Me: In this you are.
Orli: But that's not *me*.
Me: Well, as *I* seem to remember it Quote: Well, everybody out there thinks of me when they think of Legolas, don't they? Unquote.
Orli: I said that?
Me: Check chapter 11. And that's just about as good as saying you're blonde. Now go make yourself useful and stand in a corner looking sexy.
This chapter and the next chapter are ONE. It took me SO LONG to write, and honestly, it has nothing to do with the story, although the council of Elrond is briefed. Don't bug me about it...this isn't a 'fellowship' tale, it just happens to be happening during that time. This is a quarter of Legolas' two months of down time before he leaves, and then ON WITH THE STORY! *hazaa!*
Chapter 20: The Contest
A beam of sunlight was conveniently hitting the exact place where Legolas' eyes were, which caused an abrupt return to reality after a lovely nights sleep. He sat up in his bed, pushing the covers off of his bare chest. The cool air was very pleasant on his warm body.
He walked into the bathroom, where, suprisingly another bath was run and steaming. 'honestly, the elves in Rivendell read my mind...' he thought, slipping into the warm, soothing, and, as everything had a tendency to be in Rivendell, slightly scented water.
He ran his fingers through his wet hair, combing it slightly with a soap he found on the edge if the tub. He dipped his head back into the water, ridding it of the soap, and then he squeezed most of the water out and stood up.
Again, he stood in front of the mirror, a towel wrapped low around his waist, he ran the brush through his wet hair.
He remembered that the council of unknown purposes was being held today, and he added a few more braids to his usual style of a half ponytail with a fishtail braid, and two braids above his pointed ears. He decided to wear a slightly fancy tunic and breeches... but not so fancy that he could not go practice archery first!
_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_
Again he popped into the dining hall to grab only a wafer of lembas and then he was off to the training fields. He let arrow after arrow fly, and every time he would have to switch targets... He hit the bullseye every shot!
There were 9 targets lined up in front of a forest (newcomers to the sport could at least get the satisfaction of hitting something) so he stood at the fifth target and aimed at the first. Nine arrows hit each target in succession, each one hitting dead center. He walked to the first target and wrenched the first arrow out, then the second, and the third. When he had all nine, he would resume his place at number five, and do it all over again.
A bell rang in the distance, signaling the council was soon going to start. Legolas walked to a medium-sized -he guessed you might get away with calling it a 'room'- as it was just outside of a hallway, and was just a patio with a pedestal in the center and chairs in a semicircle. A large...throne? It was really just a large, ornate chair, was at the head of the 'room'.
Legolas chose a chair next to where a Mirkwood elf was sitting. The blue-eyed halfling appeared on the edge of the 'room', and took the seat next to the wizard Mithrandir, and following the young hobbit was the older hobbit, Bilbo, who took the seat on the other side of Mithrandir. One by one, elves, men, and dwarves filed in and took seats. Legolas noticed that Aragorn was back in his ranger clothing. Upon looking up, he saw a balcony where Arwen was standing, silently watching. When she saw Legolas had seen her, she pressed a finger to her lips, and winked. 'she still has the spirit of an elfling...' he thought, smiling.
When his gaze was brought to ground level, he jumped to find a dwarf sitting next to him.
"What're you jumpy about," grumbled the dwarf, shifting in his seat to find a more comfortable position.
Legolas did not reply, instead turned to watch Elrond walk in. He didn't sit in the chair, but stood and peered around the group.
"Strangers from distant lands, friends of old. You are summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor..." he began. Legolas leaned back in his chair casually, ready for a very long morning...
_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_
Hours later, the council was dismissed. The man he knew now as Boromir had acted up, Mithrandir had said the rhyme of the One Ring in Black Speech... And the Ring of Power was found. He, Legolas, Elven prince of Mirkwood, was part of a fellowship of nine, made up of the blue-eyed hobbit, Frodo, his faithful fellow hobbits, Sam, Merry, and Pippin, the men, Aragorn and Boromir, Mithrandir, and that dwarf, Gimli.
Legolas was sitting in his room, enjoying a quiet dinner by himself. He heard singing outside. He walked to the balcony, and leaned on the railing calmly, letting his hair blow around his face in the fall breeze. Two months from now, he would leave this paradise, on a quest to go into Mordor. Two months from now, he would put his full trust in his eight companions. Two months from now his life would be put in jeopardy. Two months from now, he might be able to see Fanya again.
_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_
In the week after the council, Aragorn (after quite a scene with Arwen) set out with a couple elves on scouting missions. They were hunting for any of the dark lord's followers.
Legolas wanted to know his companions well enough so that he wouldn't feel that uncomfortable traveling with them for an unknown amount of time. The mission could take months, and it could take years. Not even Elrond could tell. So, for the next few months, he spent time with 7 of his companions. Gimli stayed with his dwarven companions, and avoided most contact with elves, which was no problem on Legolas' terms.
Around the four hobbits, he felt thousands of years younger. There was a memorable time with Merry and Pippin...
~Flashback~
"Legolas! Come here!" whispered a voice from a bush. Legolas, who had been sitting in a tree, looked down to where the voice had come from. He had been watching Aragorn come back, looking quite weathered and worn. Arwen had rushed out to meet him, and they were currently standing on a bridge kissing.
"Pip, here had an idea. We want to pull some kind of prank on those two lovebirds over there... it'll be fun!" Merry whispered to Legolas, who had hopped down and crouched to the ground.
"Problem is, we don't know what to do. We've done almost everything in the book." Pippin said almost sadly. Legolas thought back to any pranks pulled by Elrohir and Elladan. Suddenly, a memory caught up with him. A few whispers, and an argument about who was going to pull the prank later, Pippin was creeping to the oblivious couple.
SPLASH!
"Waytogo, Pip!" Merry high-fived Pippin. Legolas was walking to Aragorn and Arwen, who were glaring at the hobbits and Legolas from the water.
The water was about waist high, and they both waded out, soaked. Legolas was grinning impishly, and peering down at them from the bridge.
"Enjoy your swim?" Legolas asked them. As they both walked back up to him.
Aragorn glared at him. "What do you think?"
But Arwen burst out, "That's not the first time that's happened to me either!"
Aragorn looked confused, but Legolas said, "You remember as well?"
"Remember?" She laughed, "I'm still plotting against them!"
Merry and Pippin appeared, both trying to hold back giggles.
"Wait, what?" Aragorn asked, still looking confused.
"2000 years ago," Legolas began.
"When Legolas and I were lovers," Arwen continued.
Aragorn looked confused. "You were...?"
"Haven't I mentioned that?" Arwen asked.
"Obviously not." Pippin answered her.
"When Arwen and I were lovers, Elladan and Elrohir spotted us kissing on...actually, it was this bridge."
"I guess it was," Arwen commented. "Well, they decided to play a little trick, and shove us into the water. Kind of like this." Arwen pushed Legolas over the bridge.
"Like that?" Aragorn asked.
"Yep. Just like that." Arwen smirked.
~End Flashback~
But Merry and Pippin weren't the only people he spent time with. Around Mithrandir, he would talk about Mirkwood, and business around Middle Earth. Around Boromir, he would often be bored with tales of Gondor... although he knew that Fanya was in Gondor, and that was a topic he loved. He spent a lot of time with both Aragorn and, if she was there, Arwen. Aragorn would sword fight with him, and one day, Arwen showed up...
~Flashback~
"I bet you can't get 1000 bulls eyes in a row."
"I bet I can."
"Probably not."
"Want to bet?"
"You're on. What's the deal?"
Legolas thought a minute. "I win, I get to kiss your girl. You win, you get to kiss mine."
"Deal." Aragorn shook Legolas' hand.
And so Legolas took shot after shot, Aragorn counting. An hour later, when Legolas was on 964 bulls eyes, a female voice said, "And what would two men be doing on this fine afternoon?" Legolas had been aiming, and when he heard the voice, he jumped and let loose an arrow. The arrow flew, and missed the bulls eye by an inch. Aragorn laughed, and jumped up and down like a child.
"Ha! I win!" He cheered.
"That one doesn't count!" Legolas said indignantly. "Arwen startled me!"
"It does count!" Aragorn laughed.
"What?" Arwen said, suspiciously.
"Legolas and I bet on whether or not he could be able to shoot 1000 bulls eyes in a row." Aragorn said happily.
"What were the terms of the bet?" She then asked.
"I win, I get to kiss you. He wins, he gets to kiss Fanya." Legolas grumbled.
"And Fanya is?"
Legolas realized what he had said. He cursed under his breath. "And this is the mystery girl that you have been so cleverly avoiding telling us about?" Aragorn said, grinning.
"Yes..." Legolas mumbled.
"Ha!" Aragorn laughed again. "I get to win something twice today!
"Well, I certainly hope this kiss will be a modest one, won't it?" Arwen shot at him.
Aragorn stopped, and his face fell. "Oh... ya."
Arwen glared. Only then did Legolas realize what Arwen had with her. She had brought a sword and a quiver full of arrows, as well as a Galadrim bow with her. She dropped her sword to the ground beside her and slung the quiver over her shoulder. She took aim and let loose an arrow. It flew slightly to the left of the center. She glanced at Legolas and Aragorn, who were both staring at her dumbfounded. She flipped some hair out of her face, and smiled flauntingly.
"What are you doing?" asked Legolas, who seemed to come to his senses first.
"You have not heard? There is a weaponry contest in two weeks. There will be the best swordsmen and archers there, and I'm going to enter."
"Really?" asked Legolas hopefully.
"Yes." She replied, shooting again.
"Except one thing. You said the best archers were coming, Arwen. The best archer is here already." Said Aragorn smartly.
"So I guess that you both are entering, now?" Arwen asked.
"Why wouldn't we?" Aragorn and Legolas said in unison.
"Because." Arwen began.
"Because, why?" Legolas said.
"Because you might not want to be shamed and beaten by a she-elf."
And so training began. Legolas and Arwen trained in both archery and with a sword, and Aragorn practiced with only his sword, even though he was quite skilled with a bow. Whenever Arwen and Aragorn sparred, Aragorn found himself afraid to hurt her. So she most always won those. Legolas and Arwen would have silent archery competitions, on the other hand. She was good, but not as good as an elf who had been on scouting missions most of his life.
A week before the competition, others started to show up for training. Legolas found about 10 more targets placed outside one morning, because the previous day, many elves complained that they had to wait for targets.
There were only two she-elves competing. Arwen and Larien. Legolas watched Larien as she sparred with Arwen, and saw that she stood as fair competition.
She moved gracefully and her moves were powerful. The only problem that Legolas saw, was that his old friend thought too much. In combat, you trust your instincts and strike when possible, Larien was plainly concentrating too hard, for it was written for all to see on her face.
Arwen faked left and Larien fell for it. She was ready to strike, when Arwen placed her sword to her throat. You could see the surprise etched on her face! Arwen patted her on the back, and walked back to the archery targets, while Legolas took the time to talk to his old friend.
"Mae govannen, mellonamin." he greeted her. "Sut naa lle?"
"N'quel, I should have seen that coming!" she complained. She was breathing heavily, and wiped the sweat beads that had appeared there away.
"You did well. You have gotten much better since I last saw you."
"Yes, Legolas, but that was long ago! This is now, when the competition is a few days away!"
"There is one thing that I can point out to you, for the time being, Larien..." Legolas tempted her.
"Oh, so princy boy knows everything now, does he?" She stared at him expectantly. When he said nothing more, she whined, "Legolas tell me!"
"Maaaaaaybe." he taunted. "I don't know if I want to say, now that you were so rude."
"Leggy!" she whined.
"I haven't been called that in years..." he said, reminiscent.
"Tell me!" she said, tugging on his shirt sleeve like a begging child.
"Nuh uh." he shook his head.
She poked him in the side, but he danced out of her reach. "I'll tell you... If..."
"If what, mellonamin?" she asked sweetly, still trying to poke him.
"If you teach Meriadoc and Peregrin, the mischievous halflings, a few of the old pranks we used to pull. Apparently, they're running out." he said, smiling.
"That? That's what you want me to do? I was expecting to have to run around Rivendell naked!" she laughed.
"A few people here wouldn't say no to that..." he commented. She poked him again.
"Are you going to tell me or not?"
"Look, during a fight, a real life or death situation, do you that you will have time to figure out what move you are going to do? Not likely, mellonamin. You have to relax, feel the air in your chest, sense all that is around you without distraction, and most importantly, you have to let your surroundings power you. Mother Nature was one of the most powerful spirits created by Eru, and she gives you the gift of being able to draw energy from your surroundings. Keep that in mind when you fight."
"How do you know all that?" she asked in awe.
"Larien, near 2000 years of fighting has taught me a lot." he smiled and turned away, feeling that he was finished training that day.
_-~^*^~-_-~^*^~-_-~^*^~-_-~^*^~-_-~^*^~-_
A/N: Next chapter is part B! Review responses at the end of next chapter...like I said...it use to be one chapter, but I'm breaking it in half... :D
~Ivy
(THANKS ARDONELLE FOR BETA-ING!)
