A/N: AND PART B! Review responses at the end of the chapter! Enjoy!
Chapter 20B: The Contest
"Legolas?" Fanya asked to the gloom. "Are you here?" no answer came. She was standing in that open field. This time, though, there were rocks. Big boulders were jutting out of the ground. She found a rather large one and clambered onto it with some effort... 'This is one of those times when elven grace would be nice.' she thought, situating herself on the top of the big rock. She looked at the sky. Strangely, you couldn't tell whether it was night or day. It appeared to be a kaleidoscope of colors, changing and glittering... ~
"Legolas?" he heard his name being called as sleep took him back in his room. He wanted to answer, but found that he could not.
And he, like Fanya, found himself in the field. He walked a ways, and found his favorite elf sitting on a rock, staring into space.
"Fanya?" he called up to her. She looked down, and upon seeing him, she hopped off the rock.
Legolas took her in an embrace, holding her tightly. He kissed her softly on her forehead, and the both of them sat on the ground, looking at the sky as it changed. Fanya rested her head on Legolas' shoulder. One of her hands was in Legolas', the other was playing with Legolas' silky hair.
Fanya looked up at Legolas and smiled sweetly at him. He looked at her curiously. Not that he didn't like her to smile, she was beautiful and the changing skylight danced on her face.
"What are you thinking?" she asked him quietly, scooting closer to him and wrapping her arms around him.
"Mostly about you, partially about the real world."
"What is happening? I mean, everybody is so tense in Gondor." she commented, thinking back to her visit with the steward...
Legolas sighed before starting. He didn't want to bring Fanya into this big mess. "The one ring of power is found again, the ring that the dark lord Sauron created to control the other twenty rings of each separate race." he answered her confused thoughts. She was too young to have heard about all the tales of the one ring.
"That's awful! But why are you worrying about it now?"
"Because...I am in a company of nine and we set out in a few weeks to destroy it." he told her about the council, and of the past month.
"But...what if I never get a chance to see you again?" she asked, frowning.
"I don't know, mela."
"The ring has to go into Mordor to be destroyed, right?" she asked him, a plan forming in her mind.
"Uma,"
"Then we can still see each other!"
"What?" he was confused. She was in Gondor, he, in Rivendell. How was there a chance to see each other?
"Chances are, something is going to go wrong on your way to Mordor. All plans encounter faults. If I know Aragorn and Mithrandir during a crisis, he will go for refuge."
"But where is safe enough for that?"
"Lorien. It is beautiful, and quite untouched by evil."
"But-"
"Just try and get there. I'll be waiting." she interrupted him. She picked up his hand from where it had been dangling at his side and looked up into his soft brown eyes. "I must leave, the daylight calls me."
Instead of vanishing, this time she leant over and kissed him deeply. Somehow, Legolas knew that she missed him just as much as he missed her. When they broke apart, she whispered, "Amin mela lle," kissed him lightly and disappeared into thin air.
_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_
"Welcome to Imladris, my friends! I am sure you have trained long and hard for this year's weaponry tournament!" Spoke Elrond, standing on a podium in front of a crowd of about 100 competitors and about 200 spectators. "In the next two days, we will find out who is the best in archery and swordsmanship. Today is the archery contest, tomorrow the sword competition. And now, let the tournament begin!" Elrond stepped to the side, as archers prepared themselves for the first elimination round.
Legolas found Arwen with Aragorn, who was encouraging her in whispers.
"Arwen, we must go." Legolas said. Arwen gave Aragorn a last kiss (for the time being) and left to walk with Legolas. She was plainly a nervous wreck. She was staring straight ahead and was running her hands up and down her bow. "Calm down," he said, stopping her hand from its travel up the wood, "If your this nervous, you'll miss every shot!"
Arwen nodded and stopped running her hand up the bow but was still staring rigidly in front of her.
The way the contest worked was through elimination rounds. Legolas walked to a board where the contestants and their competition were listed. He located his name with some difficulty and learned he was paired with someone named Estelye. The target that he was set up on was number 34, and Estelye was 35.
More targets were set up, so each person could compete. Legolas stood next to his target, waiting for his competitor. He spotted Arwen down the line, and waved. She nodded back at him. Spectators were lined in a circle around the circle.
"M...Mae govannen," spoke a nervous voice behind him. Legolas turned his attentions to a nervous looking elf, with long dark hair, and dark eyes. "Vedui," Legolas replied.
"Its going to be a great day today, isn't it?" he said in what must have been a higher voice than normal. Legolas would have calmed the boy down, but he was starting to feel the excitement that only a tournament could bring. A buzzing energy seemed to flow through him, as a whistle blew, and the judg started to walk up the rows. When the judge reached Legolas and Estelye, he stopped and started to talk.
"On my whistle, both of you aim. On my second whistle, shoot. The one who gets closest to the center advances. If you tie, we will repeat until one of you misses." he situated himself between them and blew his whistle once. Legolas aimed. Estelye was breathing heavily next to him, and his arms were shaking. The judge blew the whistle again. Legolas took one last breath before letting the arrow go. It hit dead center. Estelye's arrow on the other hand was two rings out from the middle circle.
"You advance, you train harder." the judge said, first addressing Legolas, then Estelye.
Legolas grinned, glad that he had advanced. He looked forward to a better competition in the next round.
He found Arwen in a group of people who had made it to the second round.
"I got lucky," she announced as Legolas walked over to her, "An elf of little practice stood as little competition."
"I thought you said the best would be here in this competition." Legolas said as he stretched and yawned.
"Well yes, but first you have to get through the elflings." she smiled. "And then comes the real fun."
'Such a dramatic change in behavior' He thought, remembering the nervous wreck she was before.
"...Can't wait, can you?"
"What? Oh, no, I can't wait another minute." Legolas agreed, not entirely sure what he was agreeing to.
Another whistle. "Come here and see who you're going to beat." Arwen dragged him over to the board, now with another list of names.
Again, Legolas located his name, at target 25, and his partner, Hithrion. He walked with Arwen until she had to leave at target 36. Then he approached his assigned target and an elf standing next to it.
Legolas' previous competition had dark hair and eyes, but this elf looked dark, almost evil.
His jet black hair contrasted dramatically with his fair skin, and his eyes were clouded in shadow.
He didn't speak, but merely glared at Legolas from his sunken eyes. He ran a calm hand up and down his dark, wooden, polished bow, letting his fingers linger here and there. Whistles blew every few seconds as the second round began.
Hithrion was now fingering one of his blue-feathered arrows, made of the same dark wood as his bow. Legolas was watching him out of the corner of his eye while the judge came closer...
The same judge, Legolas could have sword he was the only judge, arrived at their targets. He explained the rules again, even though they had not changed one bit, and blew his first whistle. Hithrion whipped an arrow out of his quiver, and Legolas did the same.
'this isn't going to be as easy as last time,' he thought. Hithrion seemed to have quite a bit of skill. The second whistle blew, and Legolas released his arrow, to his left, Hithrion did the same.
"Alright," the judge said, walking up to where both arrows had hit the target center. The judge leant close to both of the targets before straightening up and walking to Legolas.
"Nice job, you advance." Legolas smiled and his eyes sparkled. (*autheress melts*) Hithrion glared at Legolas and sulked away.
Legolas walked over to get some water, glad that his day was going well.
Legolas advanced through the next few rounds with ease. Arwen, however, made it to the last elimination round before she was beaten by TirĂthon. Legolas saw her with Aragorn and walked over towards her.
"How are you?" he asked sympathetically.
"Disappointed, but happy. You at least will win, and ayways, theres the sword tournament tomorrow."
"Yes, yet theres no gurantee of my winning today."
"Yes there is. You're much better than the rest of the competition!"
Legolas looked around at where the remaining elves were standing. There were four left and they were all quite good. "I must take my leave, I'm sure you want to talk." Legolas winked at Aragorn, who grinned.
Legolas wove through the crowd, back to the competition grounds, where 4 other elves, strong and probably the best of each elven realm.
One of them, Legolas observed was cheerful and talking animatedly to another, who was in an equally happy mood and seemed to be bouncing on the balls of his feet.
The other two were looking grim. One was slightly nervous, the other quite expressionless. Legolas could pair one of them with a name, but the other one was a mystery. He knew he had seen him before, but couldn't pinpoint it. Gilion, the one who was looking almost queasy, was one of the higher rank guards of the palace.
As he approached, Gilion snapped attention and bowed. "My lord, it is wonderful to see y-"
Legolas interrupted him. "Gilion, no formalities, please. I did not leave Mirkwood to be treated as if I am glass." He said.
"Very well, my lord Legolas." He said. There was an awkward pause as Gilion thought of something to say. "Tis a beautiful day. It is perfect for archery."
'Oh, the originality. A weather comment.' Legolas thought. "Yes, it is." He agreed out of good nature. A person behind him spoke coldly.
"We meet again, Prince Greenleaf," the elf spat.
"Althon." Legolas finally concluded, saying the word coolly. Althon was a schoolmate of Legolas', and had been so jealous of Legolas in every aspect of his young life. So jealous, that it drove him to despise him. Legolas had always had the upper hand of everything: he was a prince, was excellent in archery, and had every elf maiden swooning over him every waking moment.
"Long time, no see, mellon." Althon hissed sarcastically.
Legolas could not think of something to say, but stared coldly at Althon. "Truly, I am amazed that you have advanced this far, Prince. I would have thought that somebody was to beat you. But no matter, I will have the honor to do that now." He said, his voice dripping in .
"Beat me? Oh no. Why would I allow myself to let that happen?" Legolas asked sarcastically.
"Oh I will. Trust me." He hissed again. A whistle blew in the distance.
"I will defeat you." Legolas replied. "There is no question of that."
A judge walked over to the group, and explained the rules. "You will each fire a shot. The elf farthest away from the center is eliminated. You will shoot again, and the process starts over again. Any elf who does not play fair is disqualified. Good luck." The judge led them over to five targets in the middle of a crowd of elves. Some were calling out the names of competitors, and other jeering them. Legolas heard a few choruses of "Legolas! Legolas!" or "The prince will win!" and he waved, then settled himself at his target. A whistle blew, and he aimed. The crowd was silent...another whistle blew, and he fired.
WHAM. Dead center.
The crowd cheered and whistled and hollered in joy. The judge examined all five of the targets, then pointed to Gilion, who walked away. The crowd enveloped him in cheers and pats on the back. He hung his head in defeat yet continued to watch the remaining four.
Legolas calmed himself down. He was overjoyed at his advance, but concentrated. 'any distraction will throw me off.' he thought.
The whistle blew. He took aim again. The second whistle, and four arrows soared to their targets. One of the cheerful elves left. Two more whistles, and the other cheerful elf left the grounds. The last whistle... it was between Althon and him...
One whistle... 'Concentrate...' he aimed, blocking out the entire world. 'Don't worry, princy boy...' came an invisible whisper... 'Fanya...' he thought. Another whistle. Legolas let the arrow fly and watched it as if it was slowed down... Closer and closer it flew, before inserting itself into the center of the target.
Legolas beamed, and he looke to Althon's target, which the arrow was slightly off.
"I WAS DISTRACTED!" Althon yelled over the roar of the crowd. "ALL OF THE CHEERING THREW ME OFF BALANCE!"
"I am sorry, but distractions resulting in bad aim is no reason. You take second place." The judge said comfortingly to Althon. Althon, however struggled to get to Legolas. "I will not be second to him!" he cried, being held back phsically by several elves.
Legolas backed away from the scene, to the tumultuous roaring crowd. He was inhaled by the mass and drowned in cheers. He was smacked on the back a couple times, and was jostled around madly. Aragorn and Arwen found him. "Great job!" Aragorn said, dragging him out of the mob. Arwen kissed his cheek, "I told you that there was no competition!" she squealed. Legolas just nodded his head. Her face fell.
"Legolas what is wrong?"
"I...actually...don't know, myself." He said. "I'm happy about winning, but something drags my heart downward."
Arwen looked concerned. "Let's go to your room, we can discuss it there." She whispered. She looked at Aragorn, "Meet me on the bridge tonight." She whispered into his ear, before kissing it
Yells of "Great job, Legolas!" and "Congratulations!" followed him and Arwen as they wove in and out of the crowd. Arwen was guiding him, and he was just walking wherever she went.
Yes, he was happy. He was glad he won the contest, but he realized something, as Arwen steered him through the hallways and into his room. He wasn't, and would not be happy until he saw Fanya again.
The force of this thought hit him head on, that he, Legolas was so lovesick that when he was away from her he would despair until reunited. Even if she didn't love him, he would continue to feel this way... even if it was his death.
_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_
Arwen stared at him, her eyes searching for emotions in his. With the gift that she inherited from her grandmother, she could see emotions a lot easier than most elves could, although she had not mastered reading minds, she could pick up on some thought waves, though not many.
The eyes of an elf show emotion. Mortal's faces show emotion, and if they are not trained in the ways of elves, they could see an elf as happy, when an elf is despairing. In Legolas' soft brown eyes were written all of his emotions; including love, loneliness, and happiness... a strange trio to mix; yet they can mix all the same. Arwen took one of his hands, and rubbed it gently with her thumb. Legolas looked up at her, and grinned a silent 'thank you'.
"Arwen, you know, if you want to go be with Aragorn, you can." Legolas murmured.
The truth was, Arwen did want to be with Aragorn. She was in love, and when you are in love, you have to be with whoever they are, else you despair. But she couldn't see him now. She had a friend to be with. Arwen remembered something. Something from back when they were in love.
*Flashback*
"Come on!" Arwen grabbed Legolas' elbow and dragged him across the courtyard, up the stairs, through the hallways, and into her bedroom. They sat on her bed, and chatted about what had happened since they saw each other last.
Legolas took the time to survey her. She was beautiful; she always had been, but she sort of glowed... it was all very strange. She was related to Galadriel and Luthien Tinuviel, two of the most beautiful elves in existence, so it was no question that she appeared ethereal. She had wavy raven hair, a pale face, perfect complexion... wow, he had never noticed her this way before.
"Legolas? Are you alright?" she asked curiously, peering at his face.
"I'm fine." He replied, giving his head a little shake.
"What about you? Something must have happened in 500 years." She asked.
"No, not really...." he commented. She looked disappointed, "Hey, there's gullible written on the ceiling," he laughed. She looked up, but glared when she realized it was a joke. "Of course something happened, it was 500 years!"
He started on a few topics, such as meeting Larien, his best friend, learning archery, and just being a prince in general.
"It's all quite boring, to be quite frank." He said. "I mean, you're a princess, you know what I mean. Arwen?" she had been gazing at him strangely, and he waved a hand in front of her face. She snapped back to attention and nodded.
"Yes, I agree."
"Do you know what you just agreed to?" she shook her head. Legolas grinned evilly and pushed her to the edge of the bed, where she wavered on the edge, and finally fell off. She lay there on her back, laughing and trying to tell Legolas off for shoving her off the bed. Legolas rested on his stomach on the bed, placing his elbows in front of him and letting his chin rest in his palms. He was laughing as well, glad that the two of them could enjoy menial discussions and fun without having to act important or formal.
She stood, and pounced on the bed, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at him. He parried it, and snatched at another pillow, and sent it in her direction. She squealed and turned; letting it hit her back. The pillow fight went on for a couple minutes, before they both lay flat on their backs on the bed, breathing heavily.
"Having fun?" she asked, through breaths.
"No, not yet." He rolled over and sat up.
"What?" she asked, sitting as well, frowning slightly. How could he not be having fun after all that?"
He leaned over and planted a feather soft kiss on her lips. She gasped, but strangely returned the gesture.
"Now I'm having fun."
*end flashback*
She grinned, and grabbed a pillow. Legolas was looking curiously at her, when she threw it at him. Legolas picked it up, and tossed it at her. She grabbed two at once, and threw them both at the same time. Legolas just grinned, and returned the gesture. The two of them threw pillows at each other until they were both lying on the bed, out of breath.
"Having fun?" she asked him, looking at him.
Legolas nodded, staring at the ceiling. "You know, I would kiss you, but I don't think Aragorn would agree with that." He said slyly. She slapped his hand playfully. Legolas turned over, and scooted over to be closer to her. "So I'll just do this." He kissed her forehead.
Arwen sat up. "I'm going to go to dinner, are you coming?"
"No, I'm going to turn in early."
"But you haven't eaten anything all day!"
"I'll eat something tomorrow," he said grinning. "Now go and fool Elrond into believing that you don't love Aragorn, and I'm going to go to bed." She nodded, and walked down the hallway. He lay down on his bed, but realized that all the pillows were scattered all over his room. So he grudgingly stood up, and tossed all the pillows into a heap where his head was supposed to be, and flopped down on the bed. Instantly falling asleep.
A/N: Well, there you have it! I'm so proud of myself! *hugs self* *Orli looks scared* I hope you liked my flashback. Let me know if you want to read the little story I got that from...yes, it's my story, I didn't steal it from someone else!! I'll email you it. It's a vocabulary 'essay' and it's about Leggy and Arwen falling in luv! *sigh* (I'm such a romance freak!)
And now, review responses!:
Shivvers: Well thanks! I hope your story is going well........and Orli's abs are nice, aren't they? *Orli in background* I HEARD THAT!!! ......whoopsiedasie! ^^ Well, I hope that this chapter keeps you entertained!
The Lady Ellesar: Did I spell it right? *hopeful expression* Hope you had fun beta-ing this chapter! *evil laugh* No not really.....so how bored are you? Was Henry *youknowwho* cool? When's the next chapter I'm beta-ing coming my way!? Anywho, I need not say anything here, because I've already thanked you enough...and if I haven't......THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHAAAANKK YOOOOOOUUU!!! :D
Feanen: I can always expect a review from you! Thanks!
Bethany Wood: I spy a new reader! I hope you like it, and I hope you enjoy this new chapter. :D Thanks! Loveroflegolas: I TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY AGREE!!! *shields orli's eyes from screen* :) Enjoy! And thanks for dropping the review!
Bex13: I've never heard that. I knew that Aragorn was one of the Dunadain, but I've never heard of half-elven....with all of his human ancestors, I'd think that he's like 1/5390th elven. :D And about the elvish, just go to google, and type in "Elvish Prases" and click the first one. It'll bring up a whole bunch of phrases, grammar, etc. Thanks for the review!!
Evilducktape101: I'm sorry for putting spiders in my story. I just had to. It's all part of the plot...my EVIL PLOT TO SCARE PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR MINDS!! MUAH HA HA!! *calms down* Okay... yeeeeaaaah. I'm done. Thanks for reading, and I hope that you like this chapter!
And there you have it everybody! All the review responses! I noticed I'm not getting as many, what gives? No, really. I love reviews, and almost getting 150 is bouncing me to the moon and back! I luv you all!!!!!! *huggles everybody...orli looks (sexy) and scared.
Is anyone else SUPER HAPPY that Orlando Bloom (yes, the real one) signed in for Pirates of the Caribbean TWO!!! I'm super super happy!!! Because MORE ORLI MOVIES, MEANS MORE SUPER HAPPY FANS!!! *goes wild...orli slips out of room unnoticed*
Yeah. Go read The Lady Ellesar's stories, Elijah Orphen's stories, and Fire Sage's stories. I beta for all of them... and I'm still in the market! If any of you need stories to beta, I'm open!
My friend asked me to ask for feedback on a story she's writing how would you like to read a (mary sue...i'm sorry people) story about an elf named Bella, who cannot talk. Legomance, then she is captured by the orc that killed her parents, and I don't know what happens after that...she hasn't written it yet! The way she's writing is quite like my style, kind of modern-tolkien kind of mix. So just send feedback!
I want several things in my reviews: ~Something you liked ~Something you want to see in this story (with either Fanya or Legolas, I don't care) ~Something I can work on/change. ~And Something about what you think of my friend's stories.
Thank you so much, I love you all! ~The Hobbit Ivy 1/15/04
(THANK YOU ARDONELLE FOR BETA-ING, YOU ARE THE BEST ELF IN ALL OF ARDA!)
Chapter 20B: The Contest
"Legolas?" Fanya asked to the gloom. "Are you here?" no answer came. She was standing in that open field. This time, though, there were rocks. Big boulders were jutting out of the ground. She found a rather large one and clambered onto it with some effort... 'This is one of those times when elven grace would be nice.' she thought, situating herself on the top of the big rock. She looked at the sky. Strangely, you couldn't tell whether it was night or day. It appeared to be a kaleidoscope of colors, changing and glittering... ~
"Legolas?" he heard his name being called as sleep took him back in his room. He wanted to answer, but found that he could not.
And he, like Fanya, found himself in the field. He walked a ways, and found his favorite elf sitting on a rock, staring into space.
"Fanya?" he called up to her. She looked down, and upon seeing him, she hopped off the rock.
Legolas took her in an embrace, holding her tightly. He kissed her softly on her forehead, and the both of them sat on the ground, looking at the sky as it changed. Fanya rested her head on Legolas' shoulder. One of her hands was in Legolas', the other was playing with Legolas' silky hair.
Fanya looked up at Legolas and smiled sweetly at him. He looked at her curiously. Not that he didn't like her to smile, she was beautiful and the changing skylight danced on her face.
"What are you thinking?" she asked him quietly, scooting closer to him and wrapping her arms around him.
"Mostly about you, partially about the real world."
"What is happening? I mean, everybody is so tense in Gondor." she commented, thinking back to her visit with the steward...
Legolas sighed before starting. He didn't want to bring Fanya into this big mess. "The one ring of power is found again, the ring that the dark lord Sauron created to control the other twenty rings of each separate race." he answered her confused thoughts. She was too young to have heard about all the tales of the one ring.
"That's awful! But why are you worrying about it now?"
"Because...I am in a company of nine and we set out in a few weeks to destroy it." he told her about the council, and of the past month.
"But...what if I never get a chance to see you again?" she asked, frowning.
"I don't know, mela."
"The ring has to go into Mordor to be destroyed, right?" she asked him, a plan forming in her mind.
"Uma,"
"Then we can still see each other!"
"What?" he was confused. She was in Gondor, he, in Rivendell. How was there a chance to see each other?
"Chances are, something is going to go wrong on your way to Mordor. All plans encounter faults. If I know Aragorn and Mithrandir during a crisis, he will go for refuge."
"But where is safe enough for that?"
"Lorien. It is beautiful, and quite untouched by evil."
"But-"
"Just try and get there. I'll be waiting." she interrupted him. She picked up his hand from where it had been dangling at his side and looked up into his soft brown eyes. "I must leave, the daylight calls me."
Instead of vanishing, this time she leant over and kissed him deeply. Somehow, Legolas knew that she missed him just as much as he missed her. When they broke apart, she whispered, "Amin mela lle," kissed him lightly and disappeared into thin air.
_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_
"Welcome to Imladris, my friends! I am sure you have trained long and hard for this year's weaponry tournament!" Spoke Elrond, standing on a podium in front of a crowd of about 100 competitors and about 200 spectators. "In the next two days, we will find out who is the best in archery and swordsmanship. Today is the archery contest, tomorrow the sword competition. And now, let the tournament begin!" Elrond stepped to the side, as archers prepared themselves for the first elimination round.
Legolas found Arwen with Aragorn, who was encouraging her in whispers.
"Arwen, we must go." Legolas said. Arwen gave Aragorn a last kiss (for the time being) and left to walk with Legolas. She was plainly a nervous wreck. She was staring straight ahead and was running her hands up and down her bow. "Calm down," he said, stopping her hand from its travel up the wood, "If your this nervous, you'll miss every shot!"
Arwen nodded and stopped running her hand up the bow but was still staring rigidly in front of her.
The way the contest worked was through elimination rounds. Legolas walked to a board where the contestants and their competition were listed. He located his name with some difficulty and learned he was paired with someone named Estelye. The target that he was set up on was number 34, and Estelye was 35.
More targets were set up, so each person could compete. Legolas stood next to his target, waiting for his competitor. He spotted Arwen down the line, and waved. She nodded back at him. Spectators were lined in a circle around the circle.
"M...Mae govannen," spoke a nervous voice behind him. Legolas turned his attentions to a nervous looking elf, with long dark hair, and dark eyes. "Vedui," Legolas replied.
"Its going to be a great day today, isn't it?" he said in what must have been a higher voice than normal. Legolas would have calmed the boy down, but he was starting to feel the excitement that only a tournament could bring. A buzzing energy seemed to flow through him, as a whistle blew, and the judg started to walk up the rows. When the judge reached Legolas and Estelye, he stopped and started to talk.
"On my whistle, both of you aim. On my second whistle, shoot. The one who gets closest to the center advances. If you tie, we will repeat until one of you misses." he situated himself between them and blew his whistle once. Legolas aimed. Estelye was breathing heavily next to him, and his arms were shaking. The judge blew the whistle again. Legolas took one last breath before letting the arrow go. It hit dead center. Estelye's arrow on the other hand was two rings out from the middle circle.
"You advance, you train harder." the judge said, first addressing Legolas, then Estelye.
Legolas grinned, glad that he had advanced. He looked forward to a better competition in the next round.
He found Arwen in a group of people who had made it to the second round.
"I got lucky," she announced as Legolas walked over to her, "An elf of little practice stood as little competition."
"I thought you said the best would be here in this competition." Legolas said as he stretched and yawned.
"Well yes, but first you have to get through the elflings." she smiled. "And then comes the real fun."
'Such a dramatic change in behavior' He thought, remembering the nervous wreck she was before.
"...Can't wait, can you?"
"What? Oh, no, I can't wait another minute." Legolas agreed, not entirely sure what he was agreeing to.
Another whistle. "Come here and see who you're going to beat." Arwen dragged him over to the board, now with another list of names.
Again, Legolas located his name, at target 25, and his partner, Hithrion. He walked with Arwen until she had to leave at target 36. Then he approached his assigned target and an elf standing next to it.
Legolas' previous competition had dark hair and eyes, but this elf looked dark, almost evil.
His jet black hair contrasted dramatically with his fair skin, and his eyes were clouded in shadow.
He didn't speak, but merely glared at Legolas from his sunken eyes. He ran a calm hand up and down his dark, wooden, polished bow, letting his fingers linger here and there. Whistles blew every few seconds as the second round began.
Hithrion was now fingering one of his blue-feathered arrows, made of the same dark wood as his bow. Legolas was watching him out of the corner of his eye while the judge came closer...
The same judge, Legolas could have sword he was the only judge, arrived at their targets. He explained the rules again, even though they had not changed one bit, and blew his first whistle. Hithrion whipped an arrow out of his quiver, and Legolas did the same.
'this isn't going to be as easy as last time,' he thought. Hithrion seemed to have quite a bit of skill. The second whistle blew, and Legolas released his arrow, to his left, Hithrion did the same.
"Alright," the judge said, walking up to where both arrows had hit the target center. The judge leant close to both of the targets before straightening up and walking to Legolas.
"Nice job, you advance." Legolas smiled and his eyes sparkled. (*autheress melts*) Hithrion glared at Legolas and sulked away.
Legolas walked over to get some water, glad that his day was going well.
Legolas advanced through the next few rounds with ease. Arwen, however, made it to the last elimination round before she was beaten by TirĂthon. Legolas saw her with Aragorn and walked over towards her.
"How are you?" he asked sympathetically.
"Disappointed, but happy. You at least will win, and ayways, theres the sword tournament tomorrow."
"Yes, yet theres no gurantee of my winning today."
"Yes there is. You're much better than the rest of the competition!"
Legolas looked around at where the remaining elves were standing. There were four left and they were all quite good. "I must take my leave, I'm sure you want to talk." Legolas winked at Aragorn, who grinned.
Legolas wove through the crowd, back to the competition grounds, where 4 other elves, strong and probably the best of each elven realm.
One of them, Legolas observed was cheerful and talking animatedly to another, who was in an equally happy mood and seemed to be bouncing on the balls of his feet.
The other two were looking grim. One was slightly nervous, the other quite expressionless. Legolas could pair one of them with a name, but the other one was a mystery. He knew he had seen him before, but couldn't pinpoint it. Gilion, the one who was looking almost queasy, was one of the higher rank guards of the palace.
As he approached, Gilion snapped attention and bowed. "My lord, it is wonderful to see y-"
Legolas interrupted him. "Gilion, no formalities, please. I did not leave Mirkwood to be treated as if I am glass." He said.
"Very well, my lord Legolas." He said. There was an awkward pause as Gilion thought of something to say. "Tis a beautiful day. It is perfect for archery."
'Oh, the originality. A weather comment.' Legolas thought. "Yes, it is." He agreed out of good nature. A person behind him spoke coldly.
"We meet again, Prince Greenleaf," the elf spat.
"Althon." Legolas finally concluded, saying the word coolly. Althon was a schoolmate of Legolas', and had been so jealous of Legolas in every aspect of his young life. So jealous, that it drove him to despise him. Legolas had always had the upper hand of everything: he was a prince, was excellent in archery, and had every elf maiden swooning over him every waking moment.
"Long time, no see, mellon." Althon hissed sarcastically.
Legolas could not think of something to say, but stared coldly at Althon. "Truly, I am amazed that you have advanced this far, Prince. I would have thought that somebody was to beat you. But no matter, I will have the honor to do that now." He said, his voice dripping in .
"Beat me? Oh no. Why would I allow myself to let that happen?" Legolas asked sarcastically.
"Oh I will. Trust me." He hissed again. A whistle blew in the distance.
"I will defeat you." Legolas replied. "There is no question of that."
A judge walked over to the group, and explained the rules. "You will each fire a shot. The elf farthest away from the center is eliminated. You will shoot again, and the process starts over again. Any elf who does not play fair is disqualified. Good luck." The judge led them over to five targets in the middle of a crowd of elves. Some were calling out the names of competitors, and other jeering them. Legolas heard a few choruses of "Legolas! Legolas!" or "The prince will win!" and he waved, then settled himself at his target. A whistle blew, and he aimed. The crowd was silent...another whistle blew, and he fired.
WHAM. Dead center.
The crowd cheered and whistled and hollered in joy. The judge examined all five of the targets, then pointed to Gilion, who walked away. The crowd enveloped him in cheers and pats on the back. He hung his head in defeat yet continued to watch the remaining four.
Legolas calmed himself down. He was overjoyed at his advance, but concentrated. 'any distraction will throw me off.' he thought.
The whistle blew. He took aim again. The second whistle, and four arrows soared to their targets. One of the cheerful elves left. Two more whistles, and the other cheerful elf left the grounds. The last whistle... it was between Althon and him...
One whistle... 'Concentrate...' he aimed, blocking out the entire world. 'Don't worry, princy boy...' came an invisible whisper... 'Fanya...' he thought. Another whistle. Legolas let the arrow fly and watched it as if it was slowed down... Closer and closer it flew, before inserting itself into the center of the target.
Legolas beamed, and he looke to Althon's target, which the arrow was slightly off.
"I WAS DISTRACTED!" Althon yelled over the roar of the crowd. "ALL OF THE CHEERING THREW ME OFF BALANCE!"
"I am sorry, but distractions resulting in bad aim is no reason. You take second place." The judge said comfortingly to Althon. Althon, however struggled to get to Legolas. "I will not be second to him!" he cried, being held back phsically by several elves.
Legolas backed away from the scene, to the tumultuous roaring crowd. He was inhaled by the mass and drowned in cheers. He was smacked on the back a couple times, and was jostled around madly. Aragorn and Arwen found him. "Great job!" Aragorn said, dragging him out of the mob. Arwen kissed his cheek, "I told you that there was no competition!" she squealed. Legolas just nodded his head. Her face fell.
"Legolas what is wrong?"
"I...actually...don't know, myself." He said. "I'm happy about winning, but something drags my heart downward."
Arwen looked concerned. "Let's go to your room, we can discuss it there." She whispered. She looked at Aragorn, "Meet me on the bridge tonight." She whispered into his ear, before kissing it
Yells of "Great job, Legolas!" and "Congratulations!" followed him and Arwen as they wove in and out of the crowd. Arwen was guiding him, and he was just walking wherever she went.
Yes, he was happy. He was glad he won the contest, but he realized something, as Arwen steered him through the hallways and into his room. He wasn't, and would not be happy until he saw Fanya again.
The force of this thought hit him head on, that he, Legolas was so lovesick that when he was away from her he would despair until reunited. Even if she didn't love him, he would continue to feel this way... even if it was his death.
_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_-^*^-_
Arwen stared at him, her eyes searching for emotions in his. With the gift that she inherited from her grandmother, she could see emotions a lot easier than most elves could, although she had not mastered reading minds, she could pick up on some thought waves, though not many.
The eyes of an elf show emotion. Mortal's faces show emotion, and if they are not trained in the ways of elves, they could see an elf as happy, when an elf is despairing. In Legolas' soft brown eyes were written all of his emotions; including love, loneliness, and happiness... a strange trio to mix; yet they can mix all the same. Arwen took one of his hands, and rubbed it gently with her thumb. Legolas looked up at her, and grinned a silent 'thank you'.
"Arwen, you know, if you want to go be with Aragorn, you can." Legolas murmured.
The truth was, Arwen did want to be with Aragorn. She was in love, and when you are in love, you have to be with whoever they are, else you despair. But she couldn't see him now. She had a friend to be with. Arwen remembered something. Something from back when they were in love.
*Flashback*
"Come on!" Arwen grabbed Legolas' elbow and dragged him across the courtyard, up the stairs, through the hallways, and into her bedroom. They sat on her bed, and chatted about what had happened since they saw each other last.
Legolas took the time to survey her. She was beautiful; she always had been, but she sort of glowed... it was all very strange. She was related to Galadriel and Luthien Tinuviel, two of the most beautiful elves in existence, so it was no question that she appeared ethereal. She had wavy raven hair, a pale face, perfect complexion... wow, he had never noticed her this way before.
"Legolas? Are you alright?" she asked curiously, peering at his face.
"I'm fine." He replied, giving his head a little shake.
"What about you? Something must have happened in 500 years." She asked.
"No, not really...." he commented. She looked disappointed, "Hey, there's gullible written on the ceiling," he laughed. She looked up, but glared when she realized it was a joke. "Of course something happened, it was 500 years!"
He started on a few topics, such as meeting Larien, his best friend, learning archery, and just being a prince in general.
"It's all quite boring, to be quite frank." He said. "I mean, you're a princess, you know what I mean. Arwen?" she had been gazing at him strangely, and he waved a hand in front of her face. She snapped back to attention and nodded.
"Yes, I agree."
"Do you know what you just agreed to?" she shook her head. Legolas grinned evilly and pushed her to the edge of the bed, where she wavered on the edge, and finally fell off. She lay there on her back, laughing and trying to tell Legolas off for shoving her off the bed. Legolas rested on his stomach on the bed, placing his elbows in front of him and letting his chin rest in his palms. He was laughing as well, glad that the two of them could enjoy menial discussions and fun without having to act important or formal.
She stood, and pounced on the bed, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at him. He parried it, and snatched at another pillow, and sent it in her direction. She squealed and turned; letting it hit her back. The pillow fight went on for a couple minutes, before they both lay flat on their backs on the bed, breathing heavily.
"Having fun?" she asked, through breaths.
"No, not yet." He rolled over and sat up.
"What?" she asked, sitting as well, frowning slightly. How could he not be having fun after all that?"
He leaned over and planted a feather soft kiss on her lips. She gasped, but strangely returned the gesture.
"Now I'm having fun."
*end flashback*
She grinned, and grabbed a pillow. Legolas was looking curiously at her, when she threw it at him. Legolas picked it up, and tossed it at her. She grabbed two at once, and threw them both at the same time. Legolas just grinned, and returned the gesture. The two of them threw pillows at each other until they were both lying on the bed, out of breath.
"Having fun?" she asked him, looking at him.
Legolas nodded, staring at the ceiling. "You know, I would kiss you, but I don't think Aragorn would agree with that." He said slyly. She slapped his hand playfully. Legolas turned over, and scooted over to be closer to her. "So I'll just do this." He kissed her forehead.
Arwen sat up. "I'm going to go to dinner, are you coming?"
"No, I'm going to turn in early."
"But you haven't eaten anything all day!"
"I'll eat something tomorrow," he said grinning. "Now go and fool Elrond into believing that you don't love Aragorn, and I'm going to go to bed." She nodded, and walked down the hallway. He lay down on his bed, but realized that all the pillows were scattered all over his room. So he grudgingly stood up, and tossed all the pillows into a heap where his head was supposed to be, and flopped down on the bed. Instantly falling asleep.
A/N: Well, there you have it! I'm so proud of myself! *hugs self* *Orli looks scared* I hope you liked my flashback. Let me know if you want to read the little story I got that from...yes, it's my story, I didn't steal it from someone else!! I'll email you it. It's a vocabulary 'essay' and it's about Leggy and Arwen falling in luv! *sigh* (I'm such a romance freak!)
And now, review responses!:
Shivvers: Well thanks! I hope your story is going well........and Orli's abs are nice, aren't they? *Orli in background* I HEARD THAT!!! ......whoopsiedasie! ^^ Well, I hope that this chapter keeps you entertained!
The Lady Ellesar: Did I spell it right? *hopeful expression* Hope you had fun beta-ing this chapter! *evil laugh* No not really.....so how bored are you? Was Henry *youknowwho* cool? When's the next chapter I'm beta-ing coming my way!? Anywho, I need not say anything here, because I've already thanked you enough...and if I haven't......THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHAAAANKK YOOOOOOUUU!!! :D
Feanen: I can always expect a review from you! Thanks!
Bethany Wood: I spy a new reader! I hope you like it, and I hope you enjoy this new chapter. :D Thanks! Loveroflegolas: I TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY AGREE!!! *shields orli's eyes from screen* :) Enjoy! And thanks for dropping the review!
Bex13: I've never heard that. I knew that Aragorn was one of the Dunadain, but I've never heard of half-elven....with all of his human ancestors, I'd think that he's like 1/5390th elven. :D And about the elvish, just go to google, and type in "Elvish Prases" and click the first one. It'll bring up a whole bunch of phrases, grammar, etc. Thanks for the review!!
Evilducktape101: I'm sorry for putting spiders in my story. I just had to. It's all part of the plot...my EVIL PLOT TO SCARE PEOPLE OUT OF THEIR MINDS!! MUAH HA HA!! *calms down* Okay... yeeeeaaaah. I'm done. Thanks for reading, and I hope that you like this chapter!
And there you have it everybody! All the review responses! I noticed I'm not getting as many, what gives? No, really. I love reviews, and almost getting 150 is bouncing me to the moon and back! I luv you all!!!!!! *huggles everybody...orli looks (sexy) and scared.
Is anyone else SUPER HAPPY that Orlando Bloom (yes, the real one) signed in for Pirates of the Caribbean TWO!!! I'm super super happy!!! Because MORE ORLI MOVIES, MEANS MORE SUPER HAPPY FANS!!! *goes wild...orli slips out of room unnoticed*
Yeah. Go read The Lady Ellesar's stories, Elijah Orphen's stories, and Fire Sage's stories. I beta for all of them... and I'm still in the market! If any of you need stories to beta, I'm open!
My friend asked me to ask for feedback on a story she's writing how would you like to read a (mary sue...i'm sorry people) story about an elf named Bella, who cannot talk. Legomance, then she is captured by the orc that killed her parents, and I don't know what happens after that...she hasn't written it yet! The way she's writing is quite like my style, kind of modern-tolkien kind of mix. So just send feedback!
I want several things in my reviews: ~Something you liked ~Something you want to see in this story (with either Fanya or Legolas, I don't care) ~Something I can work on/change. ~And Something about what you think of my friend's stories.
Thank you so much, I love you all! ~The Hobbit Ivy 1/15/04
(THANK YOU ARDONELLE FOR BETA-ING, YOU ARE THE BEST ELF IN ALL OF ARDA!)
