Chapter Four – A Proposal

SIX MONTHS AGO

"Where are you taking me?" Belle asked with a questioning smile. She reached up to touch the blindfold that Legolas had tied around her eyes. He had woken her that morning and asked her to get dressed, for he had somewhere special that he wanted to take her. After she had gotten dressed, Legolas had put the blindfold on her after insisting that where they were going was a surprise.

"Do not take that off yet." Legolas scolded her playfully as he took her hand away from the blindfold. He kissed the tips of her fingers as he looped his arm tighter through hers, and pulled her closer. "We are almost there."

Belle had returned to Mirkwood with Legolas after spending a few weeks with him in Rivendell. The chemistry between them, which had been obvious to anyone from the very first night they met, had continued to bubble and strengthen over the weeks that they spent together. Legolas had asked Belle, three weeks to the day that they had met, if she would come back with him to Mirkwood to meet his father. She had agreed, though she had been terribly nervous about the whole thing.

When they had arrived, they were met by almost all of Mirkwood. Legolas had written a letter to his father about Belle, and, ever since he had received it, King Thranduil had been anxiously awaiting his son's return.

Legolas had gently lifted Belle down from his horse by her waist. When she was on her feet, Belle had run her hands along almost the entire length of her dress to smooth out any wrinkles or brush off any dirt. She had worn her best dress in her attempt to look as proper as possible. She had also brushed harshly through her usually wavy hair to straighten it out. Even after all the work she had gone to, Belle feared that she smelled badly after the journey as Legolas led her up the stairs towards his father.

Belle stood alone while Legolas embraced his father. She studied the king. It was evident that his hair had once been dark, though it had grayed considerably. He was almost as tall as Legolas, but he appeared to be just as powerful. Belle dared not to try and see if he had the same blue eyes as Legolas. She decided to avert her eyes before the king noticed her looking him over.

"Father, I would like to introduce you to Belleruraina." Legolas then reached out towards her as he gave her an encouraging and comforting look.

Belle placed her hand in Legolas'. He then placed her hand into his father's. Belle was surprised when King Thranduil pressed his lips momentarily to her knuckles.

"It is wonderful to finally meet you Belleruraina. You are just as beautiful as my son described." King Thranduil gave her hand a gentle squeeze before returning it to Legolas'.

Belle, very carefully, curtsied to the king. She had practiced curtsying several times over the past few days. She remained in her position though she could feel her hands shaking nervously as she held her dress out slightly.

"It is an honor to meet you King Thranduil."

Belle felt a hand take hers. She looked up slowly to see that it was the king. He took hold of her other hand. She stood up and out of her curtsy, her arms outstretched as the king held her hands in his. She wondered if she had curtsied wrong, or if she had done something she shouldn't have. As different thoughts raced through her mind, Belle felt a blush cover her face.

"My dear girl, I hope you have not been this nervous over the course of your journey. It must have been exhausting for you, if that is the case." King Thranduil smiled warmly at Belle. He squeezed her hands once more before turning towards Legolas. "You and Belleruraina must be tired from your travels. Go and rest."

After that, Belle felt much more comfortable about being in Mirkwood. Though, there were several things that she hadn't gotten used to.

"Alright, we are here." Legolas said suddenly, stopping in his tracks.

Belle waited anxiously for Legolas to remove her blindfold. She could feel him behind her, his fingers untying the knot. Soon, he was pulling the blindfold away from her eyes. When he did, Belle gasped.

Before her was the most breathtaking sight. There was a rock face standing across a decent sized pond. A thin, but wide, waterfall was flowing over the rock face, a large plunge pool beneath it. A much smaller rock face was submerged beneath the water, over which the water from the plunge pool flowed. The waterfall and pond were surrounded by green trees and green plants. They fell into the picture before Belle's eyes and made it more colorful.

"Legolas…this is…" Belle's voice trailed off as she took several steps closer to the pond.

"I found this place a long time ago." Legolas walked after Belle. "I have been coming here for many years now. I still find it just as beautiful as the first day I came upon it."

Belle turned around to face Legolas. She wrapped her arms around his neck with a smile.

"Thank you for sharing it with me."

Legolas returned her smile. He leaned down, his hand going instinctively to her face. He pressed his lips to hers chastely.

"You are most welcome." He replied softly as he pulled away. After a moment, his smile grew wider, and his eyes became like those of an elfling's. "Would you like to swim?"

"I did not bring anything to swim in." Belle answered, furrowing her brow.

Legolas began to remove his brown belt, as well as his bracers. When he did so, Belle suddenly began to blush. Legolas noticed immediately, and stopped.

"I apologize. I should not have assumed-"

"Legolas, it is not that." Belle could feel her face becoming redder. "I…will you turn around while I undress?"

"Of course." Legolas nodded, spinning around after. He removed his olive green tunic before he unbuttoned his long sleeved shirt. After he had pulled that off, and let it fall on the ground along with his other clothing, he stepped out of his boots. He was left in his trousers. "Is it safe for me to turn?"

"Yes." Belle answered quietly.

Legolas turned back around to face her. When he did, he felt as though he was seeing her for the first time again. Belle had cast off her dress, corset, knickers, and boots. She was left in only her white camisole. She had clearly pulled all of her waist length hair in front of her body. It fell in two, thick sections, hiding most of her front. She was still blushing.

Legolas slowly approached her. He brought his hands to her waist. He could feel Belle's warm skin beneath her thin camisole. He began to feel as though he might start blushing along with her.

"You need not be embarrassed Belle." Legolas assured her, as he felt his palms beginning to sweat. He pulled his hands away from Belle's waist before she could feel his sweat through her camisole. He walked around her towards the water. "Come."

He moved backward into the water, waiting for Belle to follow. The water was cool and refreshing on that warm day. He waded in up to his waist before he stopped. He motioned with his hand to Belle, smiling.

After a moment, Belle followed. When her feet were underwater, her steps hastened. Soon, she was standing in front of Legolas. She smiled when he lifted her off of the ground, and brought her close. She, in turn, wrapped her legs around his waist. Legolas moved in a slow circle, his arms around Belle.

Suddenly, she splashed him right in the face. He was slightly taken aback. Belle had her moments when she was playful, but she didn't reveal that part of herself very often in intimate settings. She was usually timid and shy, even more so than usual. But Legolas, laughing, retaliated quickly.

They chased one another through the water, splashing and laughing. At one point, Belle even climbed up onto a flat rock near the edge of the pond. She leapt into the water, sending a wave of water up and over Legolas' head. When she came up for air, she looked around for him, but couldn't see him.

"Legolas?" She cautiously stepped through the water, searching the trees for him in case he had gotten out of the water. Suddenly, she was very aware of him behind her, but it was too late. His arms surrounded her, pinning her arms at her sides, and pulled her backward into the water.

When they surfaced, Belle's hair was hanging down her front, in front of her face. Legolas began to laugh hysterically at her appearance. He reached out and swept her hair out of the way so that he could see her eyes. She was pretending to look insulted by his laughter, but her eyes danced with some of her own.

Legolas watched as Belle leaned back, dunking her hair underwater. She smoothed all of it back before she stood up once more. She ran her fingers through it, trying to comb through the snarls that had developed from all of the splashing. He always caught himself staring at her at even the most mundane of times. He couldn't help it. He thought she was the most beautiful creature upon Middle-Earth, even from the first moment he saw her.

"I love you Belle." He said suddenly, and very seriously.

Belle, though caught off guard by the tone of his voice, pulled her lips into a smile.

"I love you too Legolas."

"I must confess that there was another reason that I brought you here today." Legolas looked around at the waterfall and at the green plants. "My second intention was to share with you this place, because it is special to me."

"And what was the first?" Belle asked curiously, taking a step towards Legolas. She went to put her hand on his chest when he moved back suddenly.

"This ring belonged to my great grandmother." Legolas reached into the pocket of his trousers. He produced a simple chain with a diamond ring on it. He began to take the ring off of the chain delicately. "My great grandfather pulled this diamond from the earth himself. He had it cut, and used to make a ring for my great grandmother, whom he was courting at the time. It has been in my family ever since."

"It is beautiful." Belle murmured as Legolas held the ring out for her to see. It was a silver band, the diamond rising slightly out of the prongs that held it in place. There were two, small pieces of silver looping around the prongs. It was as if they each made a half of a heart.

"Aye. It is." Legolas agreed, clearing his throat. He looked from the ring to Belle. She was still looking at the ring, smiling. He felt a tug at his heartstrings. He had always found her so endearing, for she truly never caught on when he was giving her a compliment, or trying to subtly tell her something. "My great grandfather used this ring to propose to my great grandmother."

Belle's eyes snapped up from the ring to Legolas' face. The smile that had been on her face had disappeared. He couldn't read the look on her face. He hoped that was a good thing as he slowly got down on one knee in the water.

"Belle, my first intention for bringing you here was to ask you a very important question." Legolas reached out for Belle's hand with his free one. "Belleruraina, will you marry me?"

Legolas looked up at Belle while his question registered with her. He watched as all sorts of emotions flickered across her features. He waited patiently for her. Then, suddenly, she broke out into a grin. It was a smile that she smiled rarely. His face mirrored hers in seconds.

"Yes. Yes I will marry you." Belle answered in a happy whisper.

Legolas slowly slid the ring onto Belle's finger. He took a moment to see how it looked on her. It shined brilliantly on her finger. It only made him smile wider.

He stood up to embrace Belle, but was pleasantly surprised when she threw herself into his arms with a kiss. Her lips fluttered against his excitedly. They shared many, many kisses as they stood in the water, holding each other tightly. After awhile, Belle pulled back from Legolas to laugh happily.

"Here, I wanted to show you something else." Legolas took Belle by the hand and led her towards the waterfall. He stepped onto the smaller rock face and turned to help Belle up. They didn't stop when they came to the waterfall. Legolas led Belle past it into a good sized cave. "I used to come and sit here very often. It is so peaceful to lie here with your eyes closed, listening to the waterfall and to the wind and the trees."

Belle immediately sat down on the cave floor and then lay on her back. Her eyes fluttered close, and her hands folded on her stomach. Legolas lay beside her. He didn't close his eyes. He looked over at Belle's face. He watched her eyelids twitching, watched her bit her lips.

His eyes moved lower. Belle's camisole, having gotten wet from their swim, was soaked flush against her skin. It revealed more than just the shape of her body to Legolas. He could make out the shapes of her nipples at her breasts, of her navel at her stomach. For the first time, Legolas suddenly felt an unfamiliar nervousness around Belle. It was only made worse when Legolas became aware of his trousers growing tighter.

"Legolas?"

He realized that her eyes were open, studying his face. He looked into her eyes, knowing that his lustful thoughts were probably swimming in his. He cleared his throat loudly before he sat up.

"Perhaps we should go." He cleared his throat again when he heard the huskiness in his voice. He had never heard himself sound that way before.

"Legolas," Belle sat up beside him, her hands creating a manacle around his upper arm, "you should not feel embarrassed either."

"Belle-"

"Legolas, we are going to be married one day." Belle smiled as she moved her finger into his line of vision. After she knew he had seen it, her face settled into a more serious expression. "I…I want this with you…as you want this with me."

"I would not want to push you." Legolas looked up at Belle. He ran his fingers along the length of her cheek, and then along her jaw. "I do not want you to feel like we have to do this now. We can wait."

"I appreciate that. But I do not need time." Belle took the hand that was upon her face and pressed it to her breast. "I love you. My heart does not lie."

Legolas did indeed hear, and feel, the anxiousness and excitement in Belle's heartbeat. It matched his perfectly. He moved his hand so that it grasped Belle's breast more firmly as he leaned in and kissed her. He used his other hand to slowly lower himself on top of her, not wanting to crush her with his weight. It was hard to concentrate on that, though, as their kisses changed from chaste and innocent to passionate and frantic.

After that afternoon, Legolas had Belle moved from the guest room she had been staying in, and into his bedroom.