"Elvish dialogue"
A/N: I don't own Lord of the Rings, or anything.
***Chapter 40***
**Deirdre's POV**
A moan escaped my lips, as I awoke to the sensation of open-mouthed kisses against my neck, nipping lightly. My eyes fluttered open and I glanced down to see Legolas' blonde head against my neck, leaving love bites across my skin.
"Good morning, melethnin." Legolas said, pulling away from my neck and leaning forward to place a kiss on my lips.
"Mmm, I love it when you wake me like that, babe." I sighed, before pressing our lips together once more.
We kissed for a few more minutes before he pulled away and slowly began to leave the bed. A frown crossed my face when I realized that he was going to leave.
"Where are you headed, love?" I asked, leaving the warmth of the sheets as I followed him out of bed. The cold air assaulted my bare skin and I failed at suppressing a shiver.
"We need to get dressed, melethnin. We are leaving today." He answered, moving back over towards me and kissing me once more before moving to grab clothing and slip it on.
"I wish we could just stay here forever, never have to leave our room." I informed him, wrapping my arms around his waist and pressing a kiss in between his shoulder blades.
His chest shook with laughter as he turned in my arms and wrapped his arms around me. "So do I. However, I must return to Mirkwood now that the quest is complete and Aragorn is upon the throne of Gondor."
"True, will you tell me what Mirkwood is like?" I asked him, grabbing a corset from the chair beside the bed and slipping it over my head.
"I have told you every day for two weeks now. I don't know what else to tell you about it." He replied, now almost entirely dressed as he pulled on his boots.
"Yes, but you can't blame me for wanting to know more. Besides, you hardly ever tell me about your father. Should I be worried that he won't approve of me?" I asked, my worry seeping into my tone as I looked at Legolas.
With a smile he rose from the bed and moved over towards me. After pressing a kiss to the side of my neck, he began lacing up the back of my corset as he spoke.
"How could anyone not approve of you?" he questioned while his fingers deftly adjusted the ties.
"I don't know. I'm allowed to be nervous about meeting your father, aren't I?" I questioned, half teasing him.
"There is no reason for you to worry. I love you and he will as well." He informed me, spinning me around as he had finished with the laces. "Though nowhere near as much as I do."
I sighed in happiness at that and kissed him softly, loving the way that his lips moved against mine and the sweet taste that was Legolas. He pulled away from me, moving his lips across my cheek before lingering on the shell of my ear. His breath teased the delicate point before he pulled back and took a step away from me.
"Come, melethnin. We must finish preparing for our departure." He said, collecting his weapons that had been resting on a chair in the corner of the room.
I smirked at the thought that even though we were safe in Minas Tirith he was still insistent on keeping his weapons nearby, always ready for an attack. Then again, my own weapons had been sitting on the same chair as his. I pulled my traveling dress on quickly before slipping on my boots and fastening my weapons about my person.
We left our room and made our way to the garden near the royal chambers. The majority of the highest circle of Minas Tirith was intended for use by the nobility and royalty of Gondor. But within the main part of the palace itself, there were the rooms set aside for the King and his family. Legolas and I made our way through the royal quarters until we found the door which led to the garden where we would be eating with the others.
Sitting at the table in the center of the garden were Aragorn, Arwen, Saffy, Nimiwen, Gimli, and the four hobbits. The table was laden with fruits, cooked sausages, and various breads; crystal glasses were filled with sparkling liquid. We took the open seats at the table where there was a plate laid out in front of each chair.
"What took you so long?" Saffy asked, "Or do we want to know?"
I rolled my eyes while there were a few chuckles around the table before responding. "I don't like mornings. I haven't changed that much."
Saffy smiled at me before placing a piece of fruit in her mouth. Legolas had already begun placing some of the food on both his plate and mine.
"Are you all sure that you want to depart today?" Arwen asked to our group. "You will always be welcome here."
I couldn't help but smile at Arwen. A pure white crown rested on her head, contrasting with her dark hair. Aragorn had requested we remain in Minas Tirith for a while, not only so that we could ensure that all the hobbits were healed but also for his wedding to Arwen. It had been a beautiful affair, held in the courtyard outside of the main hall of the palace. The white blossoms that had grown on the white tree since Aragorn's return had blown fairly down and drifted in the air like snowflakes.
"It is time that we return to the Shire; I have missed the hills and pastures." Frodo admitted to Arwen, explaining his desire to return home.
"And I need to return to my home once more. But hopefully we will return soon." Legolas informed Arwen who nodded her head understandingly.
We all chatted lightly during the meal, knowing that we would not see Arwen and Aragorn for a while or in the hobbits case probably ever again. Legolas and I were going to return to Gondor if he could get consent from his father to establish an elven home near to Gondor so that he could be an advisor to Aragorn. Gimli was going to travel with us, as he was still close friends with Legolas. They had both promised each other that they would return and visit both the caves of Helm's Deep for Gimli and Fangorn Forest for Legolas. Because of this, I was going along with them for these visits. But luckily all the others were going to remain with us for a time. We all would escort the hobbits back to the borders of the Shire, where they would continue on their way home separately. Then our remaining group would travel to Lothlorien, where Saffy and Nimiwen would remain while Gimli, Legolas, and I would continue on to Mirkwood.
We left behind the table in the garden and walked to the stables as a group. Each saddling our horses or ponies while Gimli stood off to one side watching Legolas attend to their horse Dallin. After a few minutes of the only sound in the stable being that of leather moving across leather and bags being tied to their saddles, I led Bladen out of the stable by the reins.
Standing outside in the courtyard were Aragorn and Arwen, waiting to say farewell to our party. It seemed strange that I was going to be leaving for a journey without Aragorn. Slowly, the fellowship was dissolving and returning to how life was meant to be. Gandalf had already left Minas Tirith to take care of something, not entirely sure but I think it had to do with one of the other wizards of his order that was still alive in Middle Earth. But then again, Gandalf was still to this day a very private wizard who didn't always share what he was planning. Now though, we were leaving behind our secondary leader, who had guided us through many perils and now was the ruler of the largest kingdom of men in Middle Earth.
"My friends, never hesitate to come and stay here. Minas Tirith will always be open to you all. May your journeys be safe and the Valar be with you." Aragorn told us, as he watched our group which had gathered in the courtyard before him.
I moved forward and gave him a tight hug, before saying "Never fear, Aragorn. We will meet again. I'm sure of it."
He smiled and nodded his head before pulling away and embracing Saffy who had approached. Hesitantly I moved towards Arwen, we hadn't grown as close as I had with her husband, but since she had come to Minas Tirith it was nice to have another woman around. We had all gotten together, along with Eowyn when she wasn't spending time with Faramir, and spent some time planning the wedding. Arwen smiled at me before opening her arms and we embraced each other.
"Namaarie, melamins." Farewell, my friends. Arwen said after we had all given farewell embraces.
I mounted Bladen and our party took off, making our way through the levels of the city after waving our last goodbyes to the King and Queen of Gondor.
The days passed on the plains, it only took about five days for us to reach Edoras; we had planned to stop there for a night to see Eomer settling in as King of Rohan before we continued on towards Helm's Deep.
Weeks had passed since our departure from Minas Tirith. And since then, we had traveled through Rohan and up through the pass beyond Isengard until we reached Bree. The hobbits bade us farewell, planning on returning to the shire the same way that they had left it, only this time on ponies. A sad smile crossed my face when the time came for their departure.
"I hope to see you all again one day." I said before pressing a kiss to each of their foreheads.
When the hobbits departed, there had been many tears and hugs. I hated to see the hobbits leave. Especially since I knew that the likelihood I would ever see any of the hobbits, other than Frodo, again was slim to none.
Our path took us through Rivendell before we headed through the mountain paths and reached the edges of Lothlorien. We walked under the eaves before we were stopped by the forest guard of Lothlorien, who when they recognized Nimiwen allowed us entry into the elven kingdom and we traveled to see Caras Galadhon once more.
To be perfectly honest, I didn't expect Gimli to continue on with Legolas and me after he had once again seen Lady Galadriel. And he didn't, he remained behind in Lothlorien, promising that he would visit Mirkwood soon, but wanted to spend some more time under the golden trees and in the company of Lady Galadriel.
So here we were, Legolas and I alone traveling along the side of the Anduin River, heading towards Mirkwood. It was a shame that we couldn't take one of the boats any further than our crossing, but considering that we were headed against the current of the river, it would have been more trouble than it was worth.
My eyes came back into focus one morning when we were probably only about three days from the edges of the forest which housed Mirkwood. Legolas was lying beside me, his arms wrapped around my frame and providing me warmth through the night. He must have felt my slight shift when I awoke as he shifted around me, showing that he was conscious. His lips danced across the rim of my ear, earning a sigh from me as I turned in his arms.
"Deirdre, melethnin," he began, slowly stroking my face as he stared into my eyes. "There has been something that I wanted to ask you."
"What is it, my love?" I questioned, running my fingers through his hair as I awaited his question.
"I love you so much, and I was wondering if you would do me the honor of marrying me." He quietly asked, seeming almost nervous.
I smiled softly to him hoping to ease his nerves before responding happily with a "Yes!" and pressing a passionate kiss to his lips.
That day we rode as close to each other as possible and I don't think that either of us stopped smiling for the entirety of the day.
We reached the forest of Mirkwood two days later and I watched a change come over Legolas. Instead of looking fairly carefree, as he had the previous day and before when we traveled and only rarely keeping watch intensely for any Orcs that may be around, he watched every shadow as though it contained Sauron himself. Because of this, my own guard was up significantly, a hand resting on one of my swords most of the time as we made our way among the shadow infested forest.
A distant sound roused our attention from somewhere nearby in the forest, seeming to be coming closer, as though it was a rustling in the trees. Suddenly, a flash of fear filled me, as I imagined that it could be a giant spider. A spider would be bad enough, because I was terrified of a regular little household spider. But one the size of a horse? I think I might pass out now. I would rather face an entire army of Sauron's forces on my own than a single giant spider.
Legolas whipped his bow from his back in a second, and had an arrow notched immediately. I tried to be as fast, but was a few seconds slower. However, my bow was out long before the sound came within about twenty feet of our location.
"Prince Legolas, you have returned." A voice came from our right, amongst the shadows.
The only words of that I had understood was Legolas and you. But I had turned my bow and arrow in that direction, about to release the arrow.
"Naril, is that you?" Legolas asked in return, lowering his bow.
I kept my bow pointed in the direction of the other person who had approached us, even as they stepped out of the shadows. It was a male elf, with gold hair similar to Legolas. I think gold hair must be an attribute of the Silvan elves, as the others of the party who stepped from the shadows had the same hair. The elf who addressed Legolas had no weapons drawn, though several were resting at both his sides as well as his back.
Legolas and the elf, I think named Naril but I wasn't sure, continued to talk in Elvish and I wasn't sure if I should put my bow away or do something.
"Uh, what's happening?" I asked, finally annoyed with not understanding a single thing going on around me.
"I apologize, Deirdre. This is Naril. He was one of the elves that I patrolled with. He is going to escort us back to the city." Legolas explained then eyed the way that I still held the bow and arrow, prepared to fire. "You should be safe to put away your arrow, my love. We are in good company."
I nodded my head and replaced my arrow, before spurring Bladen to walk alongside Legolas. The elves that had approached us were now moving through the trees, some on the high branches and others moving through the underbrush as though they were ghosts.
We reached a complex cave structure that held the city inside it. The walls of the caverns were smooth and they were lit by great torches. After a few minutes, it stopped feeling as though we were underground. Legolas dismounted from Dallin and came over to me to help me down, while an elf came to take our horses to the stables. I paused for a moment from the nerves, realizing that I was very close to meeting Legolas' father. Legolas must have realized that I was nervous as he turned to me and brushed a strand of hair away from my face before bending down and pressing his lips to mine.
"I told you not to worry, my love." He assured, stroking my hair. "My father will absolutely love you. There is no reason for you to fear."
I nodded my head, even though there was still a feeling in my stomach that my meeting his father wasn't going to go as smooth as he thought that it was. Maybe it was because I was mortal and knew that his father wouldn't be too happy about our relationship, because I was endangering his only son's immortality. After another quick kiss, Legolas led the way through the caverns until we reached a great set of double doors that seemed as though they were thirty feet tall. I took a deep breath and looked at Legolas, smiling gently. He returned the smile before pulling the door open.
Inside was a great chamber, with a throne set upon the far wall. There were tables set up along the side of the room, and I couldn't help but be reminded of both Rohan and Rivendell at the same time. Instead of having windows looking out onto gardens like they did in Rivendell, there were paintings and carvings along the walls. It seemed as though tree roots had crept through the rock, as vines wrapped around the pillars and crept along the wall. The overall affect was that the room was stunning. Sitting on the throne, was a fair-haired elf dressed in green livery. He looked directly at us as we walked into the room, before he rose from his seat and descended the steps before his throne.
"Legolas, you have returned." He declared, seemingly to have realized that I probably didn't understand Elvish. Either that or he had gotten a warning ahead of time from one of the guards that I only spoke the common tongue. "And who is this lovely creature that you have brought with you?"
"Father, I would like to introduce you to Deirdre." Legolas said as he presented me to his father. "The woman I intend to marry."
**End Chapter 40**
There is chapter 40, I know that it isn't the best, but I promise that the following chapter will be better. For those of you who are curious about the names of the horses, the names are old English. Bladen means Glory, and Dallin means people's pride. Mortal Elf is coming to a close soon, I think there will only be one more chapter after this and then an epilogue.
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