Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Chapter 5It was a very awkward moment. He stared at her. She stared at him. No one said a single word for what felt like a few minutes. It was intense and neither one of them knew really what to do. I mean what is there to do.
The last time they had met wasn't exactly a favorable situation for either one of them. She had accidentally insulted him, not knowing that he was the crown prince to the throne. He was trying to avoid his father's guards that were trying to find him in the process. In other words, both of them didn't exactly know how to respond to each other at this very moment.
"I'm sorry, my lord," Aleayan said finally breaking the silence. Her eyes did continue to stare at him though.
This was the first time she really got a good look at him. His long slender body and his long blonde hair were just mesmerizing and she couldn't help but stare at him. After all, the last time she saw him, she didn't quite know exactly whom she was talking to. There was that factor and the fact that he was partly in the shade of the trees and everything. His deep eyes, somewhat void eyes continued to stare at her as well.
Those eyes were known throughout the kingdom rather than the rest of the prince. The reason behind this was due to the fact that he was known for wearing cloaks especially while traveling. His eyes were one of the parts of his body that you had a tendency of seeing rather the rest of him. They seemed fair, wise and, at the exact same time, they were strange and mesmerizing. That was the main reason Aleayan convinced herself about the reason why she was still staring at them.
"No reason to apologize," Legolas finally responded after a while. "Are you okay?"
She finally got up from where she was sitting and dusted herself off. Her left arm was slightly scratched up but she paid it no heed. It'd be all right and it'll heal all right as long as she washes it. I'll just go the stream near by the castle and wash it off or go to one of the bathing places in the castle and do it there. Either way, this is nothing new.
"I'll be fine. Thank you for helping, my lord," Aleayan finally replied after it took her a while to realize that he had spoken to her. She looked at him and nodded. Aleayan didn't want to cause any more problems for the prince especially after unintentionally insulting him.
One of the rules of the land speaks of the fact that one can get into lots of trouble if they speak ill of the royal family. This included the crown prince. He doesn't seem to be angry with me. But then again, he doesn't seem to convey any type of emotion. Maybe he's playing with me. Maybe he's plotting something involving in order to get something that he wants. Or maybe I'm just being overly concerned for no apparent reason. All of these thoughts started filling her head especially after finding out that the one she was speaking to in the forest with her friends was Prince Legolas.
She looked at him again. She knew she had to say it to get it off of her conscious and everything. "I am sorry for earlier, my lord," she said as she looked down at the floor.
Legolas sighed. One of the reasons why he wasn't always at the palace was the fact that he didn't want to be considered, even though he was, in higher standards than all of the other citizens. He knew he couldn't escape who he is but it did not stop this feeling and desire. If insults are apart of being an ordinary citizen then what could he do about what he feels except to learn.
"Do you really view me that way?" (Refer to chapter 1) Legolas asked in a monotonic voice. He was curious but did not want that to change her answer.
Aleayan looked at him in a somewhat alarming way. "Why do you ask such a question, my lord?" she asked, trying not to let your tongue get the best of her.
He looked at her and a small smirk surfaced on his lips.
"I think it is a logical question considering what happened?" Legolas replied back.
Aleayan stared at him for a moment and looked around nervously. She didn't understand why did was asking such questions and everything. It was more than just a bit uncanny the way he was looking at her on top of that. After looking at him for a moment longer, she paused and began looking at the floor. She didn't understand how she was supposed to answer. What if I say the wrong thing? Will he reprimand me no matter what? Will he tell the king? Will he beat me?
Inwardly, Aleayan started freaking out. She didn't want anymore harm to come to her that night. She already had to deal with so much and with this to add onto it was something that she was even more so not prepared to deal with. Why ask such a question?
Legolas looked at her for a moment. She was even quieter than when they started this slow conversation. He wasn't good at conversations. Yet the exact same time, he had a tendency of asking the most blunt questions, sometimes at the wrong time. He waited for an answer.
After a while had past and not a single word was said, Legolas sighed in deeply. "You do not need to answer me tonight, but sometime before you leave here, I wish for an answer."
When he said this she stared up at him and sighed in deeply with partial relief. He wasn't going to make her tell him right away. At least that was something. The beating will be later. This is what she convinced herself. She bowed her head slowly and started walking toward the bathing areas. He watched her as she left and then retired into his bedroom.
He found commoners interesting. He wondered about their lives and their thoughts on these things. One of the first things he has a tendency of asking new servants, whether or not they actually answer him is one thing, is how they think of him. It was a strange question but it wasn't strange to him. In this sense, his father had no ideal what to do with him. Legolas, on the other hand, cared regardless of the answer he received even though sometimes, if not most of the time, the answers were biased due to the fact that they came directly from him. But of course, Aleayan had no idea that this was a common occurrence.
Meanwhile when Aleayan finally reaching the bathing areas, she watched to see if she could find a spot that was just for her and that she didn't intrude on anyone else's space. She got one of the towels in which someone had handed to her for after the bath and some clean clothes, rather than the rags she was used to wearing. After she got this, she slowly removed her clothing, which revealed an assortment of marks that scarred her back under her long deep violet hair. There were also visible scars on her shoulder but not that much from earlier. Due to paranoia, she quickly washed herself before abruptly getting up and dries herself off in a secluded area.
She slowly put on the new fresh clothes and began to walk back to her room in which the servants of the ball resided in four people to a room basis. She sighed in deeply and almost faltered when she walked passed Legolas' room and had to force herself to walk further. She didn't understand exactly why felt the compulsion to stop. After pressing her feet to continue walking, she returned to her room and sighed in deeply.
Tomorrow is going to be a long day.
NOTE: if something is written in italics and not quoted then that is someone's thoughts. If there are italics and quotes, then someone is speaking elvish.
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