Chapter 3
Idrial leaned back on Legolas. He dipped his head, gently nuzzling her neck. She squeaked, giggling as he playfully nipped her ear.
"We are still in hearing distance. Hold five minutes, if you mind!" Celeborn's teasing voice came from the hall.
"Hurry up, Father!" Idrial easily tossed the tease back at her father. She rolled off Legolas' chest onto the bed. He slid down beside her, wrapping her tight in his arms and returning his lips to her neck.
"If we are to move back here, I want to go back out tomorrow and find a place for a palace."
"So you admit you like it." His breathe tickled her neck.
"Yes." Her response was slow to come. "They have a lovely forest. I would still bring some mallorn."
"Of course. We would be here to enrich the city."
"Oh, so we cannot live in seclusion and secrecy to make love and multiply like rabbits?" she looked up at him with almost a pout.
Legolas pulled back. "What?"
She laughed. "Pretend you didn't hear anything." Legolas raised one eyebrow with a similarly lopsided grin, the way he always did when he was making a joke.
"I'm so excited." Idrial stretched in his arms. "The war is over, we are to start a new colony… I only feel like one thing is needed." Legolas looked down quizzically. "A child. A little one to wreck havoc on the palace."
"First you need a palace."
"Yes, I guess that is true."
"Tomorrow we will find you a place for one. But tonight, we have other things to do." he loosened his hold on her.
"Oh, Legolas, I missed you." She sighed as he sank into her.
. . . . . . . . . . .
The sun was peaking as she rolled onto the mattress with a sigh of contentment.
"Do you still have enough energy to take a walk?"
"Of course. And maybe when we are far enough away…" She gave a mischievous grin.
"You are a temptress, my love."
"And you are a lucky elf."
The two raced to a corner of the path. Turning into the woodland, they walked together between the boughs. The trees were spaced widely, and the wood was light and airy. Soon a small clearing was opened before them, a little stream running through the edge.
"Here. Space large enough to plant mallorn, and build a talan. All around here…" Legolas swept his arm to take in the wood about them. "…is the perfect place for the rest of the settlement."
"I can picture it. It is perfect."
As they walked about the site, they did not see the two shadowy forms that crept silently through the underbrush, waiting for an opportunity. They watched as the elf moved down to the stream, his back to the she-elf who remained in the clearing.
. . . . . . . . . . .
He had turned his back on her for only a few minutes. Yet suddenly her voice screamed inside his head, her warning so strong he nearly dropped to his knees. Turning, he was shocked by what he saw. Idrial was slumped in the arms of a lanky, cloaked man. He held a cloth over her mouth and nose, his other arm wrapped tight under her chest. She was limp, her eyes closed.
Another man similar in appearance was advancing toward him, also armed with a rag. Legolas swung at him as he came in range. The man lifted an arm to block him, but the elf's strength was greater than his; his arm snapped back down and the blow fell hard. His assailant stumbled back. Legolas too stumbled away. The man had brought the cloth close to his face, close enough for him to feel a wave of dizziness pass over him. Desperately he gathered himself as the other dropped Idrial and moved to assist his companion.
Legolas didn't like the odds. He could easily take the two, but if whatever they had with them had rendered Idrial unconscious he knew it would put him under fast as well. He put his back to one of the wide trees near the river so they could not surround him.
"Come on, elf. Don't make us work. We have your lady, after all."
It was not the right bargain to strike. No sooner had the man's mouth closed than he was reeling back from another blow. The other took the opportunity as Legolas leaned forward to leap at his back. The elf dropped hard to the ground, surprised by the man's speed and agility. The man's long legs were locked around him, perfectly designed to hold tight as the elf attempted to grind him off. He managed to get his cloth over Legolas' mouth and nose.
Eru, this stuff is fast. Even as he thought it the world fell away.