Chapter 3. part II.

After nearly two hours of sitting on pins, trying his damndest not to stare at the gates where Númi and Aragorn had departed, and trying even harder not to follow them,
Legolas reason failed the battle against the will of his heart. He desperately wished to see her, just a glimpse would satisfy the ache he felt all over his body,
especially around the area of his heart. He needed to feel her scent, fill his lungs with the irresistible fragrance that surrounded her entire being and much of the air around her.
He simply had to catch a glance of her...
No longer able to control himself he stood up and as if in trance made his way toward the open gates. Eówyn however, whom had, had her eyes on the Elven Prince the last hours
picked up on the sudden change in his appearance even before he left the table, and quickly caught up with him half way. With a fast and strong hand on his left shoulder she
hindered him from going any further.
"Legolas!"
The startled Elf jump high in surprise from the rude and sudden awakening, before turning to face her.

"Eówyn?" his voice did a poor job of hiding his chock.

"My friend, if you are thinking of sneaking out there to eavesdrop, or what ever other reason ye might have, hearken to me and do not! For if she detects your presence, she will
never again give you as much as the time of day. I do not wish to see you hurt, so for both yer sakes thwart yerself."

The genuine surprise in the eyes of her Elven friend made Eówyn both amused and puzzled. Could it be that he was really not aware of his own feelings? Or did he believe himself
able to hide them so well that none would notice? Which ever the reason the Elf looked truly bothered and mazed.

"I..." was all Legolas could bring himself to voice before he blushed terribly from the neck up.
"How... how could you tell my intent?"

Eówyn looked deeply into his eyes and with a voice more serious then he had ever heard from her before she answered,

"As Númi's closest and most trusted friend I discern most of what concerns her that others may not perceive. And if it is of any comfort to you, not even I know of her past... and
most likely never will! As to why she has chosen to let Aragorn know... well my one guess is that it is because he is her only still living true kin."

With this said she smiled and invited him to join her at Eómer's table, which he politely declined, and then she was gone leaving the blushing Elf to his thoughts.
He realized off course that she had most likely hindered him from making an irreparable mistake that would have cost him dearly. The notion of what he had almost done made
his beautiful face even redder, only this time from deep shame and anger over himself.

"What am I striving at? If there is one thing that I do not do, is eavesdrop on private conversations. What ever evil force possessed me to act in thus heinous demeanour?"

With a mixture of anger, shame and worry he turned and went up to his room, securely looking the door once inside. As if believing that this would hinder him to leave his
quarters if that were in fact his desire...
He lit a small fire and lied-down in bed in an attempt to sleep, however his thoughts granted him no rest. So after a few pointless hours of tossing and turning he sprang out of bed
and seated himself on the window sill, trying to calm his restlessness. Finding that not even this seemed to grant him any solace, he tiredly decided to go for a walk.
It was pitch black and quiet in the big hall, everyone had long ago gone to rest, so he would truly have the loneliness he craved for without having to walk to far. His thoughts
were as dark as his surroundings, and grew darker by every event that shook his foundations concerning Númi.
Why was he acting this way? He could not grasp it, every time he believed to have figured it out something new came to light and obliterated his assurance...
Suddenly in the midst of his bothered chain of thoughts, he came to a brutal halt. For just outside of the gates a shadow was moving around, suspiciously none the least!
He drew his blades and sharpened his hearing along with the rest of his senses, yet nor heard or felt anything alarming. In fact, he heard nothing at all... there was only the same
complete silence as before.
The first thing that came to the cautious Elf's mind was that there had to be a demon of some sort lurking around. He snuck as close to the open gates as he could manage without
risking being caught, and blended with the shadows. Looking towards where the mysterious shadow was moving around, his Elven eyes quickly found their aim whereas he nearly
dropped his knifes in surprise. For the moving shadow came not from a demon but from a woman dressed in an all white robe, so thin one could see the contours of the body inside it.
She was hooded so he could not make out whom she was, but his immediate guess fell on Númi, and he was unable to tear his eyes of the beauty of her body. It was in every way
perfectly shaped, hard and muscular yet still very much female.
She was engaged in doing some sort of very slow movements that seemed to flow together in a never ending motion, like the flow of water. Every move done with perfection,
and every single muscle following in the same smooth harmony. To the Elf this was no less then breathtaking, it was the most beautiful sight he had ever witnessed and he found
himself frozen to the ground for the second time that day. Suddenly her pace quickened and she pulled out two long blades from somewhere underneath her robe, where she could
possibly have hidden them was beyond the bewildered Elf.
Embarking in a different set of motions, even more advanced then before, she began dancing around the fire bending her body in ways Legolas earlier had believed to be impossible,
while at the same time cutting through the air with the blades in an impressive speed.
Her pace just kept increasing and combined with the jumps through the air her performance gave the illusion that she was moving around more in the air then on the ground.
Legolas could only gape, and to his utter surprise he suddenly realised that what she was doing was actually combat techniques. Paying even more attention to what she was actually
doing he slowly began to understand why she had the huge admiration and respect of her trainees.

"Where and from whom has she secured skills like these? No one I have heard of from these lands has ever seen or heard of anything close to what she is performing... Who are you Númi?
So fair, yet so impossible to get close to... like fire and ice combined. A warrior in a bewitching woman's disguise... untouchable to all. Why?"

It also dawned on him why he had not heard anything when sharpening his ears earlier, Númi did not make a single sound even at the pace she was presently keeping.

"How in the name of Valar does she manage that?"

And suddenly it was over, she landed crouched after a twisted jump straightening her arms to her sides parallel with her shoulders, the blades pointing in a deadly angle straight out
from her hands, her head bowed facing the stone floor at her foot and knee. She sat like that for a while panting silently, holding the blades as motionless as possible while her muscles
must have been screaming from the lactic acid pumping through them.
Slowly she rose putting the blades away before bowing to all four cardinal points and slowly caressing the hood of her head. She then turned and looked straight at the hidden elf.
Her steady gaze immediately found his eyes, and gave him a sense of being pierced through all of his protective walls which he had built around himself since early childhood,
all the way into the darkest corners of his soul. The sudden notion was like a merciless blow to his solar plexus and all air left his lungs in an instant, granting him no chance to draw
a single breath. He felt as if being choked by an ice cold invisible par of hands tightening around his throat.

"How can she possible have known that I am standing here?"

He knew he had made no sound what so ever sneaking into and blending with the pitch black darkness close to the gates. In fact, how was it even possible that she saw him,
staring straight into his eyes, when he himself hardly saw his own two hands in front of him in the deep darkness?
The choking sensation was slowly vanishing along with the smile that was beginning to grace Númi's lips.

"So it is You whom believe to be able to sneak up on me unnoticed!"

He found himself unable to speak let alone move a muscle.

"Hannon le, for not disturbing my training, now please, do not lurk around in the shadows like a haunted ghost any longer, but come join me by the fire Legolas."

The piercing gaze in her eyes had completely vanished and was now replaced with a genuine kindness and warmth that seemed to relax the uneasiness Legolas had felt but
a moment ago. Slowly he stepped out from the darkness and approached her, stopping at a respectful distance a few feet in front of her. Bowing his head in forgiveness he said,

"Goheno nîn, im naitya... it was not my intent to gander..."
His voice was low and full of shame and regret. In contrast hers was gentle as she spoke,

"Is that what you were doing? And if so...why?"

The last words said with a hint of a smile in her voice.
Legolas could hardly bring himself to look at her in his embarrassed state, yet forced himself to meet her eyes.

"I... I could not tear my self from the sight... it was the most beautiful performance ever to grace my eyes..." feeling himself blushing he hastily lowered his gaze
to the ground between them again.
Númi walked up to him, and standing really close to the Elf, gently put her hands around his face lifting it, forcing their eyes to lock. The softness of her touch
made him weak-kneed.

"Ú-moe edored Legolas... please do not be ashamed when there is no need to be. I am neither angered nor offended, you are a friend and therefore welcome to watch."

The gentleness of her touch, the beating of her pulse generating through her hands and the closeness between their bodies; so close... yet not close enough to touch the other;
made Legolas realise just how desperately he wished to kiss her at that moment. The notion frightened him, yet his entire being ached for her and all he could do was go with
the urge and need he felt. Much to his surprise he picked up on the feeling that she wished the same, and reading her confirmed that her entire being ached just as much for his
touch... they both felt it in the other.
Just as gently as she had touched him she withdrew her hands from his face, softly letting them rest on his chest where his pounding heart layed, feeling its fast yet steady beating
through his shirt and vest. Still gazing into the deepness and emotions playing in their eyes the Elven Prince could no longer resist the passion and an even stronger unknown feeling
boiling up inside him.
He raised his hand and ever so gently caressed her hair, feeling the tiny shiver of pleasure going through her body in response to his touch. His caress continued its slow, soft motion
along her jaw line and halted first when it reached her chin. His eyes were filled with fervour, hers with intense hunger. Slowly he leaned closer to her face only pausing when their
noses met and he felt her warm breath on his skin. Both of their hearts were now racing, and a look of immense longing for the other one was mirroring in their eyes. Legolas continued
his motion towards her lips when a sudden glimmer of fear showed up in her eyes, and just as their lips were about to meet, Númi hastily turned her face away whilst gently pushing him
a few inches away from herself.

"Please... do not... we can not do this..." her whisper was barley hearable and her voice was trembling from withheld emotions.
When she looked back into his eyes her gaze was so full of pain and sadness that it stung Legolas right in the heart. A shocked surprise was written all over his face, and his eyes
were filled with both concern and agony.

"Why? Did I do something that displeased you? I believed you wished this as much as I... I felt your longing... was I wrong?"

She could hear the pain behind the words and saw the hurt in his eyes. His pain tormented her even worse then what she was already experiencing.

"I..." She could not bear to tell him the truth seeing what devastation her denial had already caused.

"Forgive me..."

And before Legolas had a chance to react she flew over the fire releasing her robe from her body and jumping over the edge of the terrace down to the grass below.
Without thinking he followed her, with no intention of letting her out of his sight. Jumping gracefully down from the same edge he caught her robe in the air and landed softly on his feet,
scouting the area around him with the precise and accurate eyes of a hunter.
However Númi was nowhere to be seen, desperately he used all of his senses trying to locate her whereabouts, yet failed miserably. It was like she had been swallowed by the earth itself.

"Why Númi... why..."he whispered to the emptiness surrounding him. His hand went to his heart and a grimace of intense pain shadowed his face.

Númi, whom was standing only a few feet away from him, shielded from all his senses and melted together with the shadows of the stonewall, saw and felt his pain as if it had been her own.
Biting her lip not to scream out loud from the sudden heartache Legolas felt, all she wished to do was comfort him and tell him the reason why she had acted the way she had.
But she stayed put, torturing both herself and Legolas till he finally began to walk away with slow steps and a slumped body posture. And once he was finally gone she allowed her feelings to
take the best of her, and she slowly sank down with her back still against the stonewall. Once seated she clenched her arms around her legs and with her head resting on her knees she silently wept...