Catching Up
Legolas skipped out in joining the rest of the elves for the late meal and wandered back to his chambers. He later found out Reylien wasn't there to help greet the late arrivals because she retired early for the night. Legolas was glad she wasn't present as the situation might have felt more awkward for everyone.
He had to show Reylien now more than ever that Le'ariel's presence was welcomed. And it was...to a certain degree. The elf-prince also had to prove to his fiancée that he was over the chambermaid. However, that part was still debatable.
"Really, Le'ariel, you do not need to help me," Halien said. "As much as I do not mind the extra hands, you are a guest here now."
"Do not be silly! Doing this for over of half of my existence, do you really think that I can easily get it out of my system? Even in Rivendell I made Adamar's bed for him every morning," she replied.
Halien sighed with a smile. "Oh, very well. But know that you do not have to help with all the rooms."
"Yes, I know," Le'ariel smiled back. "I will help you with a few, then I think I will go visit Sirawen."
"You should. I hear she is very excited to see you, even Velhar."
She smiled at the thought of her friends. "Yes, even Velhar I have missed."
Le'ariel kept in touch with Sirawen from time to time but their letters weren't very detailed. There were still many things about their intricate lives that neither one knew since she left Mirkwood. She hoped to fill in the gaps that their letters didn't reveal.
"A lot has happened since you left, Le'ariel."
"Yes, I see that..." she half-smiled. To avoid further talks of other things she didn't want to think about, she changed the subject. Halien was the type of elf to be easily distracted with stories so it didn't take much to change her interest in knowing what Rivendell was like.
After Le'ariel helped her with a few of her morning duties, she went in search for Sirawen. One of the servants said she wasn't feeling well and had been in bed for the last couple of days; a very uncharacteristic trait for an elf. Le'ariel's growing concern made her want to see her friend even more. Le'ariel headed to the old bed quarters Sirawen used to have but it was empty. Another servant told her she moved to another wing, which she found a bit strange as those rooms were meant for two elves to share.
She lightly knocks on the door that now supposedly to belonged to Sirawen. "Come in!" The voice surprised her as it didn't belong to Sirawen. Le'ariel slowly opened the door and peaked inside. Her eyes widened at the elf she saw. "Velhar!" She burst into the room and hugged him tightly.
"Le'ariel, it is good to see you!" he smiled, hugging her back. "We have missed you...especially Sirawen."
"I have missed you both very dearly, Velhar." She looked at her friend and sighed. "I hope that you are not mad at me."
Velhar gave her a strange look. "Mad at you for what? You did nothing wrong."
"With my abrupt leaving and all...I did not really get a chance to say goodbye and—"
Velhar stopped her and put a finger on her lips. "As I said, Le'ariel...you did nothing wrong." His voice was gentle.
"Thank you, Velhar."
The elf smiled and grabbed her hand. "I am sure you are anxious to see Sirawen."
"Yes, where is she? I was told this was her new quarters. Why did she move?"
Velhar averted his eyes away for a quick moment. "It is probably best that I show you."
"What do you mean?" Her concern for Sirawen grew. Velhar led her to another room and carefully opened the door. Sirawen was quietly sleeping on her side with a blanket tucked all way under her chin. She fluttered her eyes when she heard them enter.
"Le'ariel?...Le'ariel!" she gasped with delight and tried to turn her body into a sitting position. Velhar rushed to her side to help her. She smiled at him then back at Le'ariel.
"The doctor said no sudden movements," he whispered and adjusted the blanket.
"I am fine, Velhar," she rolled her eyes. Le'ariel smiled a little. "He always worries about me."
"I am worried about you myself. Are you all right? I heard you were not feeling well. It was such an odd thing to hear as we are not subdued to sickness. Unless..." Le'ariel didn't manage to finish her words.
Sirawen nodded to confirm her thoughts and removed the blanket. "A lot has happened since you have been away, my friend."
"Oh, Sirawen! Why did you not tell me?" Le'ariel ran to her side and hugged her as gently as possible.
Her friend laughed. "Well, I knew you already had a lot of things going on in Rivendell and well...I did not want you to worry about me or make you feel obligated to be here to support me."
"Do not be silly, Sirawen!" she rolled her eyes. "If I had known you were expecting a child, I would have come to visit you much sooner. You are my best friend so of course I would support you—no matter what."
"We were going to send word to you once the baby was born and maybe even visit you in Rivendell. It would be nice to be able to leave Mirkwood for a while and have the baby see how beautiful our other Elven Realms are." Sirawen rubbed her belly and loving smiles at the elf-babe growing inside of her.
"Sirawen..."
"Yes?" she replied while still rubbing her belly.
"Who is...the father of your child?"
Sirawen stopped rubbing her belly and looked up at her friend then at Velhar with a blank expression on her face.
"I am," Velhar stood proudly.
Le'ariel's jaw dropped open. "What?"
Sirawen couldn't help but laugh at her reaction. "Yes, hard to believe is it not?"
"Wha...when...how?" she couldn't form coherent words.
"Maybe you better sit down, Le'ariel," Velhar gently pushed her down on the chair near the table.
"Well...when you left, Velhar and I started spending more time together doing this and doing that. After a while I found him to be less irritating than I normally did and started to see a different side to him," Sirawen explained and smiled again at Velhar. He rolled his eyes at her words. "I found myself always wanting to be around him and excited every time I saw him. He later was able to get the courage to tell me that he felt the same way."
"I started to get butterflies in my stomach whenever I was around her," he confessed shyly.
"And, well, things began to progress between us and soon I became pregnant…unexpectedly, of course. We did not want a big ceremony or anything, so King Thranduil married us with only a few elves in attendance. Your mother was one of the witnesses."
"And so was Prince Legolas…" Velhar added. "Forgive us for not inviting you! It all happened very quickly." Sirawen quickly glared at him for mentioning the prince. He looks at her with a clueless expression and shrugs.
"No, it is fine..." Le'ariel tried to assure her. "I am just still trying to take this all in."
"Please do not be mad at us for not mentioning it to you, Le'ariel..." Sirawen frowned. "It was not something we were trying to keep from you. I wanted to tell you in person and as I said, we planned to visit you."
Le'ariel took Sirawen's hand and squeezed it. "You do not need to explain or defend yourselves to me. I understand, really," she smiled. "You even said so yourself that a lot has happened since I have been gone. I am very happy for the both of you."
A sigh of relief escaped Velhar's lips. "So, will you be staying for a while? Just at least until the baby is born."
"Yes, please, stay for a little while, Le'ariel. I am due any day now."
It was Le'ariel's turn to frown. "I truly wish I could stay here longer and spend time with you and your first child, but...I need to get Adamar back to his father. He does not like him missing lessons with Lord Elrond. He tends to get distracted easily, day dreaming about the outdoors...much like a certain elf here that I know."
Velhar and Sirawen smiled. But then Sirawen said, "Wait—who is Adamar?"
"Now, it is my turn to share my stories," Le'ariel took a deep breath.
I I I
Legolas and Keldir were in the courtyard enjoying watching the two elf-children chase each other around the area. It reminded them of how they were at that age. They let Darion and Adamar pretend to shoot each other with imaginary arrows. "I bet those two get into trouble quite often," Keldir said to Legolas.
The prince agreed with a smile. "I am sure they do."
Darion ran ahead of Adamar shouting, "You will never catch me! You are slower than a snail!"
"Oh, yeah? We shall see about that!" Adamar shouted back and picked up his pace. He continued to shoot him with his imaginary arrow. Darion just laughed and pretended to dodge the attack.
"Darion! Watch out!" the elf-boy heard Legolas exclaim in panic. He turned his body to face the front and saw a crack in the pavement and tripped over it before he could stop himself. Darion rolled onto the grass with scrapes on his knees and elbows. Legolas and Keldir made a dash to his side. "Are you all right, Darion?"
He slowly nodded while trying to fight back tears and quietly rubbed them away on his sleeve as Keldir brought him back to his feet. "I can take him to the Houses of Healing. You can let his mother know where he is in case she is looking for him."
Legolas agreed and placed a gentle hand on Darion's shoulder. "You are very brave for if it were me that had fallen, I would still be on the ground not wanting to move at all."
"Really?" he asked a bit skeptical. "But according to my mother, you are a great warrior."
Keldir quietly laughed. "Your uncle used to be quite the scaredy-cat."
Legolas rolled his eyes. "Thank you, captain."
"Really?" Adamar asked in disbelief himself.
"When I was younger, yes. But, I learned to overcome certain fears as I grew older," he explained. "And you both will, too, in time. But always remember that there is a difference between being fearless and being arrogant."
"What do you mean?" asked Darion.
"Our kin might say that I am a great warrior and willing to head into any battle but that does not mean that I do not get scared of not knowing what lies ahead of me. I do not put myself in danger without considering those who are fighting with me, my Mirkwood comrades...my friends. I also take their safety within my own life. I would take an arrow for any one of them because I know they would for me. That is what makes me fearless and confident when I go into battle."
"And," Keldir added, "being arrogant is only thinking about yourself, boasting, and taking all the glory and fame for yourself when it was you and your comrades who achieved the victory. They say that an Elf can win a battle, but Elves win the war."
"That is why when it is your time to go into battle, you must always look out for each other," Legolas told the two young elves. They nod as if a promise was just made.
"C'mon, Darion. Let us get you some medicine to sooth those wounds of yours."
"All right…"
"Feel better, cousin," Adamar said.
"Thanks."
Legolas looked at Adamar. It never occurred to him that they were cousins until he said that. It was obvious enough but it didn't register in his brain as quickly as it should have. He was about to open his mouth to ask Adamar something when he heard a familiar voice come up from the stairwell.
"Adamar! Darion!"
"Over here!" Adamar yelled back in response.
Le'ariel followed his voice and stopped short when she saw Legolas. She quickly regained herself and smiled as she walked over in their direction. Legolas politely smiled as Adamar ran into her arms, embracing her waist. "Where is Darion? Elenia sent me to get you two for lunch."
"He hurt himself," Adamar told her.
"What! Where is he?"
"Do not worry. He only has a few scrapes on him. Keldir took him to the Houses of Healing not too long ago," Legolas answered.
"Yes, he was very brave," Adamar smiled at Legolas. The prince returned the smile knowingly.
"Well...all right. If you say so. I will tell Elenia," she nodded, still a bit concerned. She put her arms around Adamar's shoulders not knowing what else to say. Le'ariel looked at everything except at Legolas.
"Adamar is becoming a very good archer..." the elf-prince finally broke the silence.
Le'ariel smiled. "Yes, the bow and arrow was the first thing his father wanted him to learn...then music."
"I do not understand why father will not let me use the elven-blades," he pouted.
She ruffled his hair. "Adamar, we have been over this. He thinks you are still too young."
Legolas chuckled. "I was about a decade old before my father let me go near them."
"See, Adamar. You still have time." Le'ariel kissed the top of his head. "Go inside now. Your meal is probably getting cold."
"Fine..." he sighed and walked inside the kingdom leaving Le'ariel and Legolas to themselves.
Le'ariel sighed as he disappeared. "He can be so stubborn sometimes. I do not know who he gets it from, certainly not Adanion."
"Adanion?" Legolas repeated his cousin's name.
"Well, yes, I..." she paused suddenly, "I thought you knew Adamar was Adanion's son? I am sorry I should have introduced him more formally when we arrived."
"No…I figured he was from his features. Now that you have confirmed it, I do see a little bit of Adanion in him. He was not so fond of music or the written word until he was much older and acted much in the same way as Adamar." Legolas softly laughed at the memories. He suddenly got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"Are you...all right, Prince Legolas?" Le'ariel noticed the slight change in his features.
"Yes, I am fine," he dismissed it. "And please, just call me Legolas." He didn't understand why she was back to formalities, just because they hadn't seen each other in a couple of decades. "Anyway, Adamar probably gets his stubborn ways from his mother...do you think?"
"Yes, she can be stubborn at times," she chuckled. "I remember she kept throwing things at Adanion because he would not leave her alone and how he would show up every day at her door step and every day she would turn him away. But eventually, she grew fond of his ways and no longer turned him away. They married quickly and had Adamar shortly thereafter."
"I see," Legolas nodded with his jaw clenched. "Are they...happy?"
"Yes...very happy," she said quietly with her eyes toward the garden.
The sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach returned. He could feel all the emotions he went through when she left trying to make their way back to the surface again. He couldn't let her see him like this and put his practiced nonchalant facade to work and continued to smile. "That is good to hear."
Le'ariel broke out of her small daydream and brought her full attention back to Legolas and genuinely smiled. "Nilawen does not know what she would ever do now without him or Adamar."
Legolas looks at her confused. "Who is Nilawen?"
"Adanion's wife, of course," Le'ariel gave him an equally puzzled look.
"Oh..." he said dumbfounded. "Yes, of course."
"I am sorry, again," Le'ariel chuckled. "I should really practice on introducing names properly. Nilawen, as I mentioned, is Adanion's wife. He was already trying to pursue her before I arrived in Rivendell. I suppose if you ask him it was me that really brought them together as he asked me for help in winning her over. When Adamar was born, I also helped take care of him while they were busy with their duties. Watching over Adamar is what I have been doing ever since as his caretaker."
"No wonder he is so fond of you."
"Yes, he can be a handful," she laughed quietly. Le'ariel noticed Legolas's expression change again. He almost looked...relieved, but she didn't comment on it. His eyes bored into hers, making her uncomfortable. "Legolas...please do not do that."
"Do what?" he whispered with an unreadable expression. Le'ariel slightly furrowed her brows with different thoughts running through her head. Her eyes darted aimless on the ground but she couldn't concentrate on one solid thing. The prince slowly cupped her chin to bring her eyes back to his. She looked hesitantly into his blue orbs. "What are you thinking?" The elf-prince whispered again.
The female elf's throat was dry. "I am thinking that I really should head back inside to tell Elenia about her son."
"Yes, of course..." Legolas dropped his hand back to his side. He said nothing further but kept his focus on her features.
"Good day, Legolas." Le'ariel broke away from his gaze and quickly headed back to the dining hall. She wiped her tears away in the darkened stairwell, just before the corner where the lanterns were lit, so that no one could see her disheartened features in the light. She mentally kicked herself in the head for acting so foolishly.
I told myself that I would get over this...and I must! Le'ariel said over and over again to herself.