CHAPTER 37:

The Day Off - Part II

Le'ariel sat up in bed with the prince's bedsheet the only thing covering her. Legolas caressed the small of her back and assured her that another servant would be by to take her place in the Eastern corridor. Minar had to follow his orders if she didn't want to have to explain herself directly to the king.

He also took care of sending letters to her mother, Sirawen, and even Velhar, telling them that she would be missing for the day. Her mother's letter, of course, explained a little bit more than the letter to her friends. Le'ariel wondered what he said in them.

She got out of bed and dresses herself. Legolas took another sheet to cover his lower half and walked over to her. He took off her apron that she just tied around her waist and threw it on the chair closest to him. "You will not need that."

"Legolas...about tonight—"

The prince placed a finger on her lips. "Yes, I have not forgotten. Tonight, the floor will belong to you. But, for now...humor me a little, please."

"Very well," she sighed unhappily.

Legolas started laughing. "I promise it will not be as bad as it sounds, my darling. Can you try to promise me something?"

"Which is what?"

"That you will try to enjoy the day with me?" his eyes softened as she met them with her own.

"Of course I will, Legolas. I always do." She gently touched his cheek.

He held her hand and kissed the inside of her palm. "Then stop worrying so much."

She managed to give him a reassuring smile and lingered in his arms, hers wrapping around his waist. With her head against his chest, Le'ariel gave a final sigh and looked up to meet his gaze. "Ready when you are..." He kissed the top of her forehead and left to change, which only took him a few minutes. "You are not bringing those?" she asked. She saw his bow and arrows sitting against the wall.

The prince chuckled. "It is our day off, remember?"

"But, what if...just in case..."

He rolled his eyes. "Honestly, Le'ariel, do you think I would lead us into danger?"

"Of course not! I—" He dragged her out of his room before she could finish.

It was still quite early in the morning so not many of the nobles were outside yet. Legolas led her by the hand to his mother's garden. She stopped short, yanking him a little with her, when she saw where he was headed. He laughed again. "I promise I will not blindfold you this time. Have a little faith in me, Le'ariel."

"What do you have planned, Legolas?" She crossed her arms. The chambermaid didn't like to be kept in the dark and surprises aren't a very good friend of hers unless she was in on it.

He turned to face her and took both her hands into his. "Do you not trust me?"

The word trust is what got her and panicked for a brief second. Maybe it was the prince who shouldn't trust her. "Of course I do, Legolas...completely." He smiled then continued to led her down the southern side of the garden where no elf was allowed. "Are you sure about this?" Legolas gave her an irritated look for doubting him. She shut her mouth tightly and nodded.

Le'ariel was worried for this area was reserved especially for the queen. She normally held tea for their guests here, and wasn't a place as open to the public as most of the garden. There was an elf-made path with flowers tracing the sides that opened to the secluded clearing. All around were trees and bushes that hid it from the rest of the main garden. The only way in and out was the path they walked on.

The prince stopped right before its opening and walked around behind her, placing his hands over her eyes. "What are you doing, Legolas?" She put her hands over his to remove them.

"Trust me..." he whispered in her ear.

Le'ariel hesitantly dropped her hands to her sides and sighed, walking blindly inside. "This is beginning to seem oddly familiar."

He leaned his face beside her ear. "I said that I would not blindfold you...and this is not blindfolding you. Besides, you still have my silk handkerchief."

"Which is now mine," she stated in a matter-of-factly voice, a smile playing on her lips.

"As it has been since that very day," he laughed softly.

After a few minutes of walking, Le'ariel started to feel anxious again. "Really though, Legolas, is this all necessary?"

"Yes..." He finally removed his hands. She blinked a few times to get her vision to focus. Her jaw dropped open at the wooden gazebo. Not necessarily at the structure, but what was inside it. The chambermaid was stunned.

There were flowers picked directly from the garden that sat in vases all around the inside of its frame. There were also pastries of different varieties, muffins, bread, cookies and other breakfast treats sitting on the table. Legolas prepared a grand breakfast for them.

"Do you like it?" he waited for her response, searching her face for a different reaction.

She slowly turned to him, blinking in disbelief. Legolas looked concerned. Le'ariel flung herself at him, squeezing her arms tightly around his neck. "I love it, Legolas!"

Legolas caught her and almost stumbles backwards in the process. He laughed in her hair. "I was beginning to worry there for a second." Le'ariel joined in the laughter and gave him a sincere kiss.

"This is really way too much though, my love," she finally said after looking at everything in front of her for the hundredth time. "Are you planning on inviting the rest of the Woodland Elves?"

"No, milady." Legolas pushed her toward one of the chairs, pulling it out for her, and sitting her down in it.

"Why, thank you, dear prince...what a forceful gentleman you are."

Legolas rolled his eyes and sat himself on the opposite end of her. "This is all for you."

"For us," she corrected.

He nodded with a smile. "Yes, for us."

"But why so much? Even my mother does not serve this big of a meal to your family."

"Well, I was not sure on what you liked for breakfast so...I just made everything." He blushed a little from the embarrassment.

She looked at him in disbelief again. "You made this?" She emphasized on the whole table.

"Yes."

"All by yourself?"

"Yes."

"Without any help?"

"Yes!" She made him laugh again. "Why is that so hard to believe?"

"I am just very surprised. For one, I did not know you knew how to prepare something like this, and secondly, this must have taken you all morning to accomplish."

"And all night, actually," he slightly grinned.

Le'ariel frowned. "Oh, Legolas...have you even slept?"

The prince put his hand up to stop her. "A little, but do not worry about me. This is our day." He reached over the table for her hand.

"Yes, it is..." She sighed quietly and smiles at him, placing her hand where he wanted it.

"So then, could you also please give your worries the day off?"

"Yes, Your Highness," she grinned.

"Let us eat!" Legolas started to fill her plate for her.

The prince had trouble sleeping the night before, his thoughts lingering back to Le'ariel's face and how disappointed she looked. Throughout the discussion with the king and his advisors, Legolas's mind was preoccupied with ideas on how to make it up to her. He got his brilliant idea in the middle of the night and rushed down to the kitchens to make whatever he could think of. Luckily, he still remembered a few things his mother taught him about baking.

After placing the food back in the ovens to keep them warm, he ran to the Queen's Garden to set up the next part of his plan. The prince made sure to leave his mother a note telling her that he was using her gazebo that morning for a special breakfast in case she planned to have tea there unannounced that day.

He also took whatever flowers he could pick in her garden and all the vases he could find for decorations. When that part was complete, he ran back to the kitchens to bring out the morning meal. Legolas was in his room just before Le'ariel got there, changing his clothes back to his nighttime attire as if he had never left.

"No, no more, Legolas." Le'ariel waved away the strawberry pastry he placed on her plate. "I have no room left!"

"Are you sure?" He laughed at the disgusted look on her face from the sight of it.

"Yes!" Le'ariel took the napkin on her lap and placed it on the table. "Do not tell me you are still hungry?"

Legolas took a bite of the pastry she didn't want. "No...but I could still eat if I want," he grinned while chewing. "Keldir and I can eat for an entire battalion according to your mother."

She laughed softly as he stuffed the rest of the pastry in his mouth. "Yes, I can imagine."

He wiped his mouth and hands on his napkin then threw it on the table. "Are you ready for the next part of our day off?"

"There is more?" He hadn't yet ceased to surprise her. Le'ariel thought it was just breakfast. She hadn't really thought about the rest of the day.

The prince smiled, "The day has barely begun, love."

The chambermaid leaned into the table on her elbows. "And what else do you have under those sleeves of yours, my prince?" She eyed him with a smirk.

"Let us play it by ear." Legolas stood and extended his hand to her. She took it and let him pull her out of her seat and kissed her cheek.

They strolled in the market place, picking fruits and other things that tickled their fancy. Many of the vendors were happy to see them, offering different items from their carts, some even insisting that they not walk away empty-handed. Le'ariel was a bit overwhelmed with all the focused attention on her that she felt should be for the prince. Legolas walked a few paces behind her as if he was no one important, letting the elves get a glimpse of her before him.

"This fabric would look great on you." One of the vendors draped a part of it over her frame. The female elf imagined the design on Le'ariel's figure.

Le'ariel looked at Legolas and the old female vendor and shook her head. "Thank you, but—"

"We will take it." Legolas cut her off. She held her mouth open in protest as she watched him give her a few coins.

The old vendor shook her head at his offer. "No, no, dear prince. It would be my pleasure to give your maiden one of my best materials."

Legolas grabbed her hand into both of his as if he was going to shake her hand. "Please, I insist." He let go leaving the coins in her palm.

She looked at the gold pieces and smiled at him. "Thank you, Prince Legolas. You are much too generous." She then turned to Le'ariel. "If you give me but a few days, milady, I can turn this into the most exquisite dress you have ever worn."

Le'ariel hesitated on letting her take her measurements. Legolas leaned against a wall, watching in silence, his arms crossed in front of his chest with a pleased look on his face. The chambermaid gave him uneasy glances as the old vendor did her work. He could tell she wasn't used to being measured for a dress. The old vendor was aimlessly talking about the dress and the fit of it on her frame, hardly noticing that Le'ariel wasn't really paying attention. She kept calling her 'milady' and telling her how beautiful she was.

"Just as I thought...all done!" she smiled. Le'ariel was confused by her words but thanked her politely anyway.

"Yes, thank you, Marien." Legolas bowed with his head. "I know you will work your magic on this dress as you do with all your others."

"You will not be disappointed, milady," Marien smiled at Le'ariel.

"Please, call me Le'ariel," she touched her shoulder. She felt a little like Legolas when they called him 'Prince' or 'Highness' and not by his given name. "I am not a lady of any sort. I am merely a servant in the palace," she whispered.

"Yes, I know..." Marien whispered back with a wink. "But, regardless...you are still a lady."

"Again, thank you." Legolas grabbed Le'ariel's hand.

"It is my pleasure."

"Le'ariel?" the prince looked at her. She snapped back to reality and smiled. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"Before you go, prince, please give my regards to your mother."

"I will," he promised.

Legolas tugged his beloved along to their next destination. She looked back and saw Marien still smiling at them. "I did not know you knew her? And she also knows your mother?"

"Who do you think makes my mother's dresses?" he grinned. "Marien is the best seamstress in all the Elven lands. She has been known to give the Lady of the Wood a few of her designs as well. Who do you also think also provided the dress you wore to the Spring Festival?"

"I...I thought my mother borrowed it from the queen?"

He looked back Le'ariel, grinning widely. "Of course she did."

Now the old vendor's remark made sense to her. She must have guest her measurements for the dress she wore at the Spring Festival. From her accurate measurements, she didn't really need to check and see if she was off by any inch as the dress fit her perfectly. Le'ariel thought back to that night. Instead of it being a good, memorable moment for her, she frowned upon it.

That night reminds her of Adanion and how well he treated her and then how quickly things changed. She now walked beside Legolas, searching his face for any signs of anger or regret regarding his cousin. But his features seem relaxed enough, scanning the rest of the market place for something that might catch his eye.

He finally looked at her and smiled. "Is something the matter, love?"

"No...nothing at all." She leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

Legolas kissed her hand. "I told you..."

"Told me what?"

"That I was not all that bad..." he chuckled.

She rolled her eyes, trying to suppress a smile. "Yes, I suppose."

The prince laughed, picking her up into his arms, holding her there. "You know...you are really hard to please."

Le'ariel cupped his face, not caring who saw them. "For an elf that has everything, a little challenge is always...healthy," she smirked.

The prince rolled his eyes. "I suppose." It was now Le'ariel's turn to laugh. They lost themselves in a passionate kiss, shortly realizing that everyone was staring at them.

It wasn't that hard to notice two elves showing their displays of affection in the middle of the walkway. Legolas put her down and smiled sheepishly at their audience. Le'ariel hid against his chest from the embarrassment. He took her hand once more and walked quickly toward the end of the market place.

Both laughed quietly as they ran into the forest.

The two spent the rest of the afternoon lying down on a bed of leaves in the forest, Le'ariel using Legolas's arm as a pillow. They told each other stories, laughing together and at each other. It was a perfect moment—a moment that they hadn't experienced in a long time; a moment without worries or responsibilities weighing them down. Just a moment of being...free.

Legolas tried to make this day last forever, at least, for as long as he could. They ate whatever they were able to get in the market place for their afternoon and evening meals. The leftover food they left in the Queen's garden was surely cleaned up by now. That part, he was going to do himself the following morning—but knowing his mother, she won't allow her private area to be left a mess and unattended. Legolas made it a point to apologize to her when he saw her next.

I I I

The sun had fully set behind the mountains. The colorful sky no longer a beautiful painting but a dull and starless sky. They sat on the branches of a tree, continuing to enjoy each other's company and the scenery. The prince still didn't want to retreat inside but he had a promise to keep. "Shall we go?" he finally asked.

Le'ariel turned her attention away from the sky to look at him. Panic sunk into her eyes and body, knowing what was next on the agenda. She turned away to try and hide what shown through her eyes.

The female elf forces a believable smile and nodded. "Yes, let us go..." she said quietly.

The prince didn't seem to notice her hesitation, or none that she saw on his face. He jumped down from the branch and held his arms out to help her down as well. They walked silently back to the underground fortress, hand-in-hand. Le'ariel ran the correct words to say repeatedly in her head—but regardless of how it sounded—she saw the same outcome...Legolas very angry and upset.

It broke her heart to have to shatter this wonderful and blissful day that they had shared, knowing all too well on how it will end. Nevertheless, down deep inside, she still had a small shred of hope that maybe she was turning it into a bigger deal than it was?

She glances at Legolas who looked very pensive. He was probably trying to figure out what she wanted to talk to him about. "Would you like to speak in your chambers?" she asked. It might be easier there, she thought. If he didn't take the news well, she could easily avoid his rage by simply running away and hiding in her own quarters.

But, he wasn't going to give her that leeway. "No, let us go to your quarters...in case we run into my father again," he replied. Le'ariel nodded, now hoping that they did run into the king so she could postpone this dreaded conversation for another day.

The prince yawned as they walked down the hallway to the servant quarters. She remembered that he barely slept the night before getting their duty-free day prepared. Le'ariel noticed this and tried to get him to agree to wait until the morning. "No, love..." Legolas kissed her hand, "I made a promise to you and I intend to keep it."

She absentmindedly started biting the bottom corner of her lip. Something she never did unless she was extremely anxious or nervous. It was a bad habit she hated having and she was usually good about keeping it under control—but Le'ariel wasn't strong enough to suppress it this time.

The chambermaid opened her door and lit a few candles to brighten the dark room. Legolas kissed her cheek. "Now...what is it that you wanted to talk about?" He sat himself on her bed.

Le'ariel remained standing in the middle of the small room. "Actually...it is something I need to tell you..." She inhaled deeply, only now realizing that she was holding her breath the entire time.

Her bed looked inviting to him. Legolas still showed no signs of concerns on his features. "Do you mind if I get a little more comfortable?" he asked politely.

"No, of course, not," she quickly replied to his request. Being comfortable, she thought, might ease his mood. If he fell asleep during her speech, even better! He yawned again and laid down on her bed with his hands behind his head, ready to listen.

"I am all yours," he smirked. She knew all too well the double meaning behind it.

"I received—" Her first words froze in place as she watched Legolas fluff the pillow he laid on so it wasn't so flat under him. Then, as if on cue, the letter inside the pillowcase fell out and landed on the floor.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion after Legolas picked up the letter and read it; from her blinking, to Legolas's change in expression, and to him standing up...slowing looking up at her with a look in his eyes that she didn't want to see.