Legolas lowered his head to the side as he stared down at the woman in his arms. He smiled slightly as she let out a low snore. She had fallen asleep almost immediately after he had begun to carry her, and he didn't believe she would be waking anytime soon. She shivered in her sleep, and Legolas instinctively pulled her closer to him, attempting to warm her freezing body. With slight difficulty he tucked her cloak back tighter around her legs and took the opportunity to stare down at her freely.
She looked so peaceful as she slept; blissfully unaware of everything that was going on around her while she wandered through her dreams. Her deep blonde hair, initially tied in a side-braid, now hung loose and clung to her cheeks with moisture. Legolas fought the urge to tuck the stray pieces behind her ears with his fingers. He was startled at how drawn he was to her; never before had he taken such notice of a human woman, now she was all he thought about.
She was a puzzle, an enigma. She used bizarre language, and spoke in a blunt, unladylike way. The clothes she wore were a man's clothing, yet she wore them more comfortably than she wore a dress. She behaved like a man, and cursed like a man, but the unintentional sway of her hips and her light, feminine laugh betrayed her as definitely a woman.
Ever since he had seen her in the woods- lost and alone- she hadn't been far from his thoughts. Overall, he was uncertain of how he felt about her. Victoria. Such a bizarre name, such a bizarre woman. 'No, not bizarre,' he thought, trying to think of a better word to describe her. 'Interesting, fascinating, surprising.' All three fit.
Legolas couldn't imagine how she must feel, away from her world, stuck with four hobbits, two men, a wizard, a dwarf and him. He knew he had not made her journey any easier and she probably wished Aragorn, not him, had been chosen as her protector.
Most of all, Legolas did not feel like himself and it shook him to the core. He had always prided himself on knowing what to say, even if he hardly spoke. He possessed his mother's internal sense of grace and until recently had not known how awkwardness felt. In addition, he had never second-guessed his feelings before until now, until her.
Legolas was still pondering this when Aragorn approached him, breaking his thoughts.
"Do you need a rest?" he asked, motioning to Victoria. "I will take her if you do."
"I can manage," Legolas said shortly. Seeing the ranger's confused look, he added, "Elves do not tire as easily as humans."
Aragorn gave him a knowing smile, "I understand," he said, walking away. Legolas sighed to himself. His eyes flicked up towards the front of the group, and then towards the horizon. It was brighter and calmer than yesterday's blizzard, but the sun's rays weren't enough to affect the wind which was still perishingly cold. Legolas looked down at the strange, yet compelling woman he was carrying and vowed not to think about her anymore. He failed.
Victoria opened her eyes slowly and was immediately aware of two things: One, Legolas was still carrying her, and two, he was staring down at her rather intensely. Intensely enough to make her uncomfortable. She shifted, trying to put some distance between their bodies and politely cleared her throat.
"Um, how long have I been asleep?" she managed.
Legolas blinked and snapped his head up, looking straight ahead, "several hours."
"Holy shit!" she muttered in awe, "you've been carrying me for several hours?"
"Yes," Legolas said, trying not to let his amusement show.
"Well aren't you tired?" Victoria knew that elves were stronger than humans, but this was insane.
"No," he said with a small grin. "You are light."
'Well, I have lost weight since this trip began… something about hardly eating and walking a million kilometres a day,' she said to herself.
Legolas couldn't help but tease her, "you were snoring again though," he trailed off as she looked down in mortification.
'Do I really snore?' she wondered frantically. "I haven't been carried since I was 15," she said, trying to steer the conversation away from that embarrassing topic.
"By whom?" Legolas asked, finally looking down at her again. "A beau?"
Victoria laughed boldly. "A beau? Like a boyfriend? Hell no," she chuckled, "get your head out of the gutter, Greenleaf."
Legolas gave her a confused look, "Why would my head be in a gutter?" he asked seriously.
Victoria couldn't stop the smile that rose on her lips. "It's an expression, it means stop thinking dirty thoughts."
"There are alot of weird expression like that from where I come from," she reasoned aloud.
"Like holy shit?" Legolas asked with a playful smirk.
Victoria felt her eyebrows shoot up, way up. She could not believe that he had just said that, she was surprised that she was talking to her at all, let alone joking around with her.
She grinned wickedly. "Do they have an elvish word for that?" she asked, and was shocked and pleased to hear him laugh. It was a true laugh, a beautiful laugh, it lit up his whole face. It made him glow.
"You should laugh more often." she whispered without thinking.
His face immediately turned serious again. "Why did your father carry you?" he asked.
Victoria closed her eyes, remembering that day so long ago. They had been at the park and she was climbing a very tall oak tree, she had slipped and fallen, breaking her leg when she landed on the ground. "I got hurt," she whispered. "My dad carried me to the car and complained that I weighed a ton." She smiled sadly at the memory.
"I am sorry if my questioning has upset you," Legolas apologised quickly, noting the look of sadness in her eyes.
"It hasn't, it's ok," she assured him. "I think I can walk now," she added boldly, feeling as if she had taken up too much of the elf's time.
Wordlessly, he stopped walking and set her down on her feet. The ground was no longer snowy, but more rocky and jagged.
"Thanks for carrying me Legolas," she whispered as her eyes met his.
"You are welcome, Lady Victoria" the elf replied slowly before walking off to join the front of the group.
Darkness swiftly took the sun's place in the sky, dragging the temperature down to make it even colder, if that was possible. As soon as dinner was prepared, the Fellowship huddled around the fire to eat and keep warm. Nobody spoke for a long time, even the hobbits were too cold to ask questions. Victoria glanced across the fire at Legolas. He looked so mysterious sitting there- flames dancing over his handsome face. She looked away before he could catch her staring and tried to think of something to say to break the silence.
"Who was Lothriel?" She asked suddenly, surprising herself with the question.
Both Legolas and Aragorn's heads snapped up, but it was Gandalf who spoke. "Why do you ask?"
Everyone turned their eyes to her, waiting for her answer.
"Elrond mentioned something about her," she said as her mind flicked back to the discussion she had with Elrond when she arrived in Rivendell. He was boring her to death with his questions and she had started to vague out when she heard him say the name. Lothriel. It had been playing in the back of her mind ever since.
"She was an elf." Gandalf paused for a long moment, studying her closely in the firelight. "I think someone might mistake you for an elf, if they did not know you."
Victoria peered over at the wizard, wondering if he had maybe gone crazy. "You mean before they heard me speak or saw me walk?"
Gimli snorted, "Aye lass, you aren't very graceful." The dwarf said in a chuckle. "Who is this elf lady? Not that I care to know," he hastened to add.
Aragorn cleared his throat and looked up into the starless sky, his serious demeanour quieting the group.
"Lothriel and her husband Eldamar lived in Lothlórien with their only child. Lothriel was the only sister to Galadriel, the Lady of Lothlórien. Long years ago the couple were attacked by a band of orcs as they were travelling to Mirkwood. Some believed the orcs were sent to ambush the elves; to kill them."
"Or take the child." Victoria thought out loud.
Aragorn nodded in agreement and continued. "Many elves died during the battle, including Lothriel and Eldamar. The child's body was never found."
"So the orcs took it?" Victoria asked, grimacing at the thought of those monsters with the child. She wrapped her cloak tighter around her shivering body. "It would be better off dead than to have it in the hands of those filthy creatures."
"Plus," Victoria added, feeling compelled to continue, "If the child were found alive, it would have to grow up without parents; having to live it's entire life mindful of their deaths."
"Not knowing your parents is like having a hole in your heart," she whispered.
Aragorn was taken aback by the at the depth of sadness in her voice. "Do you suffer this loss?" He asked kindly.
Victoria sighed. "No, I have parents which are still alive… Well my mum died a while back when I was a teenager, but when she was alive, she and my dad never spent any time with me. Always busy with therapy for my brother. It was like I was living in a house filled with ghosts."
She cut herself off at that point, and prayed that someone would change the subject. Legolas stared across the fire at her, looking puzzled. He hadn't spoken a word the entire conversion, and now opened his mouth to talk. He abruptly snapped it shut as Sam cleared his throat.
"Didn't you say that your dad was still alive?" Obviously, it wasn't cold enough to not ask questions.
Victoria groaned inwardly, she really didn't want to go down 'Memory Lane' at this point, or at any point.
"He is Sam. He is with my brother at the momen-"
"Why did your brother need therapy when he was younger?" Merry interrupted.
Literally biting back a scream of annoyance, Victoria told them. "My brother has to get therapy because he is autistic, a kind of-"
"What does that mean?" Merry asked.
"Is it bad?" Pippin added.
Both hobbits opened their mouths to ask another question, but were silenced by Legolas.
"Let her tell her story." He said firmly. Victoria felt a rush of gratitude for him and her annoyance of the hobbits lessened slightly.
"So," Victoria continued quickly, "My younger brother has to have therapy to help his autism- a kind of mental issue that prevents you from communicating normally," she added, mostly for the hobbit's sake. "Unfortunately, the therapy did nothing and my mum had a nervous breakdown… By the time I was 17, she got a heart attack and…died," she said hesitantly.
"After that, I moved to England while my dad took care of my brother, but he started drinking and I noticed the signs of depression when I visited him. Every time I visit he has been getting worse."
"Any more questions?" she finished, a little cross at baring so much personal information to her companions.
"You moved out by yourself, and your father allowed this?" Boromir asked, unable to hold his tongue.
Annoyance flared up again, and Victoria shot him a piercing look. "Yes, Boromir, my dad was perfectly fine with it." she stated plainly as the group handed back their bowls to Sam for him to clean.
"But a woman should not live on her own, especially with the danger of orcs and goblins; how would you defend yourself without a man with you?" He asked, dumbfounded.
Victoria let out a small laugh, trying to perk up the otherwise irritating and depressing conversation.
"There aren't any orcs or goblins in my world, in fact, there aren't any elves or wizards or dwarfs or hobbits either, just us humans. And, um, even if there were orcs, I'm pretty sure I could take care of myself," she answered cheerfully, attempting not to turn any interaction with Boromir into a conflict.
"Humans are also dangerous, and you have never been trained for battle, you would be extremely vulnerable… I do not understand why your father would let you move away to a different kingdom with so many risks."
Victoria, seething with freshly boiled anger, clamped her mouth shut. 'He'll shut up in a minute, just don't say anything you won't forgive yourself for later.' She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, draining away some of her temper. Boromir unfortunately didn't stop his rambling, it was as if he was purposely antagonising her.
Gandalf, noticing Victoria was about to blow a gasket, called the conversation to an end. "I think it is late enough, you should all be getting some rest, I shall take the first watch."
The group started to disperse away from the fire and walk over to their respective bedrolls. Victoria was among the first to get up and leave, but Gandalf called out to her, "Not you my dear, I would most enjoy your company, if that is alright."
She turned around, half surprised, half baffled, 'Ok, what. Gandalf never talks to me, he either wants to talk about something incredibly important, or he just smoked way too much weed,' she said to herself before plopping herself down on the boulder next to him. She shifted around awkwardly until finally deciding to look up at the wizard beside her. He was shorter in stature than she had pictured him; but his long, sweeping silver beard, and his broad shoulders, made him look like some wise king. In his aged face under great snowy brows were his eyes, set in like soft, pale orbs that could turn and strike you down with only a glare. Gandalf himself was more than just an old man with magic spells and a pointy hat.
They silently examined the fire in front of them for a few minutes before Gandalf was certain they weren't going to be overheard, "You know our future," he stated, getting straight to the point.
"Yep."
He turned and bent his head closer, "then you must promise not to tell anyone."
It took a couple of seconds for her to realise the issue with this, and drew her eyebrows together in a frown, "What?! I can't do that! That is the whole reason I am here!"
Gandalf nodded his head and sighed, "Then you must at least no tell anyone about my death."
Her mouth literally fell open, "You know?!" she nearly shouted while everyone in the camp stirred slightly.
"Quiet," Gandalf hissed, giving her a stern and piercing look.
"Yes, I know," he continued once he was again, certain that no one was listening. "And I know that I will come back stronger, that is why you mustn't tell anyone, for they will only interfere if they tried to protect me."
A million thoughts flooded her head; she knew that the entire Fellowship would be furious with her if they knew that she knew and didn't tell them. It put her right back in the same position as before. Ugh, great…
"Alright," she said finally. "I won't tell anyone about your…um… you know." She really wasn't comfortable talking to the wizard about his own death.
Gandalf rose to his feet whilst leaning on his wooden staff and gave her a fatherly pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, he will forgive you."
She looked up at him just as he was turning away to see a friendly smile appear on his lips. Victoria smiled back and watched him stride over to the far corner of the camp, sit down, and pull out his smoking pipe once again.
Victoria stood up herself and quietly walked to her bedroll that was spread out on top of a particularly soft patch of grass, which she found to be quite comfortable for a change. As she pulled off her boots and laid down on her back to sleep, she stared at the trees above her, still deep in thought. 'Who did he mean by 'He will forgive you', did he mean one of the hobbits? They're pretty attached to Gandalf, but what about Boromir? He's just bad tempered altogether so he won't forgive me for anything I do… What about Legolas? Did he mean Legolas?'