Friends and Foes

"Le'ariel, do not tell me you are still mad?" Sirawen watched her pace back and forth.

"Why would I not be?" She threw her hands in the air. "Of all the things he could have done, could have been with, he picks Reylien! She is so...so...innocent!"

"Well, actually, I heard her father asked the king for Legolas to escort her to the festival," Sirawen took a bite of her apple. "As for the innocent part..."

She stopped pacing for a moment and replied, "You know what I mean."

"Maybe Legolas will never really change?"

Sirawen's words hit her. "You know…for some reason I thought he would. Stupid me."

"Oh, do not say that, Le'ariel. At least you gave him a chance."

"What chance? I did nothing."

"Well...it seems for centuries you were so upset with him then one day when you finally blew up at him, the prince realized how you felt and tried seeing things from your point of view."

"From my point of view? How is that exactly?" Le'ariel tilted her head to one side.

"You two became friends, did you not?"

"I suppose," she gave a noncommittal shrug.

"During that time, he stopped spending his nights with maidens and was up bright and early fulfilling his princely duties, and—"

"Wait. How do you know this? Even I do not know of these things. Is there something you should be telling me?" Le'ariel eyed her friend.

"What?" Sirawen used her most innocent voice. "Do not be ridiculous, Le'ariel."

"Sirawen..."

"You even said so yourself that whenever you enter his chambers in the morning it was empty. I merely assumed it was because he finally changed and took responsibilities for his actions and prioritized his duties."

"Oh, really?" The chambermaid still sounded unconvinced.

"And maybe because…Velhar has been spying on him?" Sirawen hesitated to add.

"What? Spying? Why?"

Her friend winced. "Le'ariel, please do not tell Velhar I told you! He was not supposed to tell anyone, let alone me." She lowered her voice in case someone overheard the conversation.

Le'ariel now demanded some answers. "Who told Velhar to spy on Legolas?" Sirawen bit her bottom lip. She already said too much. "You have already told me this much, Sirawen, now spill it!"

Even though they were friends, Sirawen found Le'ariel scary at times. She placed her half-eaten apple on the table and looked around to make sure no one was perhaps spying on them. "Velhar would kill me but it was...Captain Keldir."

"What?" Her friend exclaimed in surprise.

"Keep it down!" She hushed. "Fine, I will tell you what I know. But you must keep this a secret."

For the rest of the morning Sirawen explained to Le'ariel how Keldir approached Velhar for a task he wanted him to do in exchange of archery lessons. Velhar always wanted to master the craft but never had anyone to train him properly and Keldir was the perfect instructor.

The captain told Velhar in order for the lessons, he needed to report to him daily of Legolas's activities—where he went and who he talked to. It sounded like an easy enough command so Velhar agreed to the terms.

It now made perfect sense to Le'ariel why she hadn't seen the other servant around as often these days and why he was always in a hurry when she bumped into him. And as she promised, Le'ariel kept Velhar's assignment a secret.

Minar finally had Sirawen take care of something else so Le'ariel was stuck folding the rest of the table clothes in the courtyard by herself. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice Reylien approach with her ladies in waiting.

"Hello, Le'ariel..." she walked over to her cautiously.

"Oh, Lady Reylien! I did not see you." Both felt the air thicken at the awkward meeting. "What brings you to this area?"

"One of the guards told me you were usually here this time of day. Do you mind if we speak for a moment?"

"No. Of course not." Le'ariel stopped her folding and focused her attention on the maiden.

Reylien led Le'ariel away from her ladies in waiting so they could have some privacy. She cleared her throat and sighed. "Well, firstly, I wanted to apologize to you for what happened this morning and..."

"Apologize to me, my lady? For what?" She was confused about the apology. She was the one who walked in on them, not the other way around.

"Oh, Le'ariel...I did not mean to do it!" Reylien suddenly pleaded innocently as if she was caught committing a terrible crime. The maiden's hands on Le'ariel's wrists surprised the servant. "If you really knew me, you would know I am not that kind of maiden. But, the miruvor and Prince Legolas and his charms...oh! My father would be so disappointed in me. What if he banishes me?"

"My lady, I do not think your father will banish you for something like that."

"You do not know my father..." she frowned.

"You really should have nothing to be worried or sorry about. And, I do not know why you are apologizing to me when it was my fault for not knocking before I entered. If anything, I should apologize to you, Lady Reylien. If you are worried that your father or the others might find out, I promise I will not tell anyone."

Well, to any more elves that is, since I told Sirawen everything…

Reylien smiled, looking relieved. "Oh, thank you, Le'ariel! If you ever need a favor please just ask. The prince said he would keep it a secret as well. It seems as though he feels guilty himself."

Le'ariel's ears perked up. "If you do not mind my boldly asking, my lady, what exactly did Prince Legolas say?"

Reylien thought for a moment. "Well, after you left and all the commotion I made trying to gather my things, he rose with a terrible headache. It is to be expected with all the miruvor he drank last night. Anyway, when he realized what happened, he apologized to me and said that he should never have let it happen. And that he did not want to do anything that would disgrace my honor as a maiden."

"Really? Prince Legolas said that?" Le'ariel asked skeptically.

The elf-maiden nodded. "Yes, he did. It was quite sweet, really. You know, Le'ariel...he may be the prince and could have any maiden in Mirkwood, but I think you have a really good chance. You should see where things take you."

"Pardon?"

"I may be shy and timid at times, but I am not blind," she half-smiled. "He was staring at you for most of the night during the festival. Surely, you noticed?"

"Well, I...I..." The female elf didn't know how to respond so she simply shrugged her shoulders.

"It is all right. Perhaps he is in the same situation and does not know how he really feels yet? In my opinion, anyone is better than that spoiled brat Varien."

"No, no, my lady," she shook her head. "You must be mistaken. Adanion is the one who has been trying to win my affections, not Legolas." Le'ariel tried to explain to clear up any misunderstandings Reylien might have about her and the prince.

"In my honest opinion, it could be both…" Reylien smiled, which were her parting words as she headed back to her entourage.

Le'ariel got the feeling that other elves knew something that had to do with her and Legolas that she was in the dark about. She didn't like that feeling, especially matters that concerned her. If she was able to speak her mind then they should as well, but everyone acted as if they knew nothing.

I I I

"Is that so?" Keldir shot at a target.

As usual, Legolas sliced his in half. "Yes, I did...and I do not know why?"

The captain gave him a bewildered look. "You do not know why? That is not the Legolas I know. Normally, I would find a mischievous grin on his face once I hear news of another maiden sneaking out of his chambers."

"Well, she did try to sneak out. And I felt almost guilty about the entire thing."

"Almost or you did?" Keldir asked.

"I did," Legolas sighed. "Having Reylien there did not feel right. Well, it did at the moment. But having her in my bed…"

"What is the difference with Lady Reylien? You have had many in your bed."

Legolas walked over to the target and removed his arrows. "Yes, I know. But, this time...I felt no real pleasure by her company. Reylien is still quite innocent and yes, I normally would take delight in making her a bit more...open, more adventurous. But..."

"But, what? Le'ariel's words finally getting to you?" Keldir handed him rest of his arrows.

The prince chuckled. "Maybe in some subconscious way it has."

"Le'ariel's words or Le'ariel herself?" Keldir rephrased his words.

"What is with all this talk about Le'ariel? Why do elves keep bringing up her name?" The elf-prince was starting to get annoyed. "Is there something I should know?"

"Not that I know of, your Highness. And may I ask what other elves?"

"Oh, never mind. I have something to attend to. I will catch up with you later." Legolas walked away after placing the last arrow back in his quiver.

"Of course, my prince," the captain replied, slightly confused.

"Should I follow him, Captain Keldir?" Velhar called from one of the trees above. He was relieved when they finally stopped shooting their arrows for fear that he might have been an accidental target.

"No, Velhar. Let him be today. The prince needs time alone." Keldir continued to watch Legolas walk back to the palace until he disappeared from view. "You can come down now. I will teach you a few more techniques."

I I I

"Oh, stupid wind!" Le'ariel was about done with folding the tablecloths when the wind picked up in the courtyard undoing some from the stack she had piled. "Great, now I have to carry all this inside and finish it there."

"It would be my pleasure to help you."

Le'ariel's eyes widened from the sound of the voice behind her. She slowly spun around to see a smirking elf. "Adanion...what brings you here?"

"Who else but you, of course," he smiled. Her cheeks turned slightly pink. "Let me help you with those."

"No, no, there is no need." She stood and tried grabbing the ones he picked up from the pile.

As soon as they were face to face, he leaned in and kissed her. The female elf was startled at first, blinking in shock, but she immediately came to her senses and pushed him away. "What are you doing, Adanion?"

He staged back a few steps and scoffed at the loss of contact. Adanion stepped closer to her again. "You know exactly what I am doing. I did not hear any complaints from you last night at the festival when our lips touched for the first time," he reminded her.

"Yes, and I admit I gave in to you last night but it was only a kiss, nothing more. I also remember specifically telling you that and how I do not hold any feelings for you," Le'ariel replied sternly. "I am sorry, Adanion."

"You act so coy and distant, Le'ariel, when I know deep down inside you desperately want to be loved by someone!" He shot back at her. "And if not by me then by whom? Legolas?"

"Seeing your true colors—better Prince Legolas than you! And you know nothing about me." Her anger was now bubbling to the surface.

"Oh, but I do." Adanion grabbed her shoulders.

"Stop it, Adanion!" Le'ariel tried to get away from his grasps but he was stronger than her. "Do not do something you will regret."

"There is no need to continue this pretense when we both know it is what you truly want, my love." He leaned in for another unwanted kiss. His lips muffle her protest until a forceful hand broke them apart. Everything happened so quickly. One minute, Adanion was all over her and then the next, she saw Adanion on the ground lying unconscious.

Le'ariel stood here in shock, staring at the one who saved her.