Title: Until We Reach Valinor

Chapter 16: And What Came Next

NOTE: This story is sequel to "A Teacher's Duty" and you'll have to read that one first to understand this. Also, this story does not contain slash, and it is not a romance, despite what the first chapter might suggest.

WARNING- This chapter contains some strong language.

SPECIAL THANKS to Cassie for her wonderful beta-reading job! While she didn't actually finish beta-reading it, I read it myself and spotted a lot of the typos she mentioned in her e-mail. Since she's 'off the radar' again, I decided not to wait any longer and go ahead and post this since it's already been a long gap. Oh and thanks to Kellen for helping me to name Alannna 'Alanna.'

…

Legolas watched in wry amusement as Alanna, for all her insistence that she was too nervous to eat anything, was unable to resist her sweet tooth. He had learnt from the few meals he had shared with her over the past month that she was very fond of anything sweet. Now, he watched as the rest of her food remained untouched while she nibbled on candied apple. Honestly. Sometimes her eating habits reminded him of a teenager's.

In fact, he her whole aspect could seem so very childlike and innocent at times; it really amazed him. Her laughter was lighter than any grown Elf he knew, and much more forthcoming. Her round face and twinkling eyes made her seem far younger than she really was and her personality exuded innocence and warmth.

Aragorn, for one, was quite taken by her. Legolas could tell that he was charmed by her frequent laughter and her vivaciousness. There was no doubt that the Man could not have approved of his wife more. He grimaced at the thought. He could foresee his friend trying to convince him that he and Alanna were 'destined' for each other, and since he could not tell him that she was already in love with someone else without betraying her trust, he knew he would come across as stubborn when he kept refusing to entertain the idea.

"…and then I tripped and he tried to catch me, but it was so wet and slippery that we both fell in a heap on the floor! My dress was completely ruined, and you should have seen his face; he was absolutely mortified!" Legolas forced a smile as Alanna related to Aragorn the story of their first meeting. Luckily, most of the table was occupied in their own conversations so no one but his father and Aragorn heard.

"You did not mention such an incident to me, Legolas," Thranduil said over Aragorn and Alanna's shared laughter, his eyes shining with amusement.

"I did not think it would be conducive to my dignity to relate the hapless incident, father," Legolas retorted, trying to muster said dignity.

"No, it certainly would not have been," his father replied, his blue eyes crinkling in amusement, "But it would have been greatly conducive to my considerable amusement."

"Forgive me, father, but I was under the impression that my life's aim was something other than to serve as an object for your amusement," Legolas said, with searing sarcasm. "Or did I miss something when you were bringing me up?"

Thranduil was about to retort, but was interrupted by one of Alanna's not infrequent snorts of laughter. Aragorn was relating an amusing anecdote of his own this time.

"It was truly hilarious," The Man exclaimed, sounding unusually animated, "And the best part was- it was for a good cause! We did not intend to insult anyone! All we needed was a consensus on the number of married women, unmarried women, and children in the poorer parts of Gondor and Arnor, so we would known whom to aid and how best to do so. Does the task not seem simple? I directed my secretary to send a few of our men from house to house and ask the women in each house if they were married, and if so, did they have children, and if they did, how many.

"Neither of us calculated on the questions offending anyone. Don't mistake me, everyone we sent was literate and most were intelligent enough to exercise discretion when asking questions, but there was one who would have surpassed anyone's wildest expectations of idiocy. He was bubbling with enthusiasm to serve me; so eager was he, that I daresay he forgot the original purpose of the questions. He knocked at the door, and told the woman who opened it that he had to ask some questions in the name of the King. Of all the things to do, he brought my name into the mess! First he asked, 'Are you married?' and the woman replied, 'no.' And then," Aragorn paused dramatically, 'He asked, 'How many children do you have?'"

Alanna burst into peals of laughter, and even Legolas' lips twitched in amusement.

"And if that wasn't enough," Aragorn said when his own mirth had died sufficiently so he could speak again, "The same thing happened five or six times, and when the man returned to report to the secretary he had fingernail marks on his face and a handprint on each cheek-" Alanna dissolved into laughter again- "and he raved and ranted at how so many women had slapped him and he could not think why. My poor secretary sat him down, and tried patiently to explain to him why he'd incurred the wrath of so many women. When the man displayed the most incredible stupidity and adamantly refused to understand, the good man, hit by a stroke of inspiration, told him to change the order of his questions. He told him to first ask the women if they had children.

"The next day, the Man went, and knocked on the door to the first house on his assigned street. A woman opened the door. He asked, 'Do you have children?' and she answered yes, and then he asked, 'How many?' and she said, 'four' and then," Aragorn gave Alanna a mournful look, "He asked, 'Are you married?'"

Alanna lost the last of her self-restraint, and gave herself up to mirth. Her uninhibited laughter was drawing the attentions of more than a few Elfs around the hall, and Legolas shifted uncomfortably at the disapproving looks. Women were to be seen and not heard in this country, and while it was one thing to laugh, it was quite another to laugh like that.

He nudged her with his foot under the table, and when she raised streaming eyes to his, he pointedly shook his head.

Her laughter stopped so abruptly that no one present was left with any doubt that he had reprimanded her, and Legolas cursed Alanna in his mind, wondering why she could not be more subtle. But Alanna was having more than a little trouble controlling her mirth. Aragorn's narrative had been truly hilarious, and Legolas himself had had trouble keeping a straight face during the telling. The woman tried; she pressed her lips together, the color rose in her cheeks and her shoulders shook slightly from her efforts to stop. Quickly, she speared a sizable chunk of candied apple with her fork and stuffed it into her mouth, to stifle the giggles, and Legolas heaved a sigh of relief.

He was just turning away from her to ask his father something, when he heard a fork clattering and a spluttering noise from beside him. His head whipped towards his wife- as did everyone's close by- and he saw, to his dismay that both her hands were at her throat, and there was an expression of wild panic on her face.

"Are you choking?" He asked, cursing her inwardly for not eating more slowly; and cursing himself for forcing her to drown her mirth.

She nodded frantically, her eyes bulging out slightly as she tried, and failed to breathe. Legolas hesitated for a split second, before bringing his hand down on her back, hard. The resounding thwack which followed drew everyone's attention, if they were not already watching. He continued to thump her on the back, with growing force when her condition did not change.

"Come on, come on, come on," He muttered, rising from his chair and nearly knocking her into her plate in his efforts.

But Alanna's expression grew only more panicked, and to his horror, her lips became tinged with blue. By now, half the hall was on their feet, muttering agitatedly. Aragorn leapt to his feet from before them, and ran as fast as he could around the agonizingly long table. He seized Alanna by the arm roughly, and pulled her forcibly to her feet.

"Try not to lose consciousness, and don't panic; this will be over in a moment," He said in brisk, healer's tones, locking his hands around her midriff, and pulling her against him roughly. A half-choked cough; but Legolas's sigh of relief was short-lived as a large blob of half-solid apple flew across the room…and landed directly in Aradhel's face.

As Aragorn helped a gasping and clearly overwhelmed Alanna back to her seat, Legolas watched Aradhel with apprehension. The Lord froze in outrage. He reached for a napkin, wiped his face with calculated deliberation, and rose, seething. His boots echoed ominously on the floor as he walked with deliberate steps and stopped only when he was directly in front of Alanna.

She had not heard his approach over the sound of her own gasping breaths, and only noticed him when he was directly in front of her, blocking her light. Her eyes widened as he raised his hand, and she braced herself for a blow…Legolas's lightening-quick reflexes saved her. With amazing speed, the Elf intercepted the blow with his own hand, his fist closing around Aradhel's elbow in a bruising grip. The whole hall froze, and those who could see Legolas's expression shuddered at the unadulterated rage blazing fire in his normally cold blue eyes.

"How dare you," He said his voice shaking with barely restrained fury, "How dare you presume to raise a hand on my wife?" He was so incensed that he barely registered that referring to her as 'my wife' had not been as awkward as he'd anticipated it to be.

Aradhel looked outraged. He wrenched his arm away from Legolas's grasp, seething. "She spat in my face!"

Legolas cringed inwardly at the alcohol on his breath. This was not going to end well. "She was choking!" he exclaimed incredulously, "It could have happened to anybody! Her actions were not deliberate, and they certainly did not give you reason to raise your hand on her!"

"You take her part against mine?" the Elf said, his voice rising till it echoed around the hall, "The word of a slut against my word, the word of the most respected, the most powerful Lord in Mirkwood!"

The whole hall gasped at his words, and even Aradhel paused as he realized what he'd said. From beside Legolas, Alanna whimpered as if she had been struck. He caught a glimpse of her face, which were streaked with tears. The sight affected him beyond anything he'd ever known, making him so angry that he almost lashed out at Aradhel then and there. He fixed his gaze on the offender, his blood boiling, but forced himself to speak with some semblance of control.

"If you do not retract those words, I will have no choice but to have you physically removed from here," He said in a calm, yet deadly voice. "And those who know me will testify that I do not make idle threats."

Aradhel's expression changed, his lip curling in an infuriating smirk that made Legolas clench his fists in suppressed fury. "You cannot know what you have married into, my Lord, or you would never have done so, and you would certainly never have stopped me from striking her. Let me enlighten you, then," He continued, with a scornful glance at Alanna that brought Legolas perilously closer to the edge of reason. "She proved to me herself that she is a slut, a whore, and a liar, in the truest senses of the words, and she will never, ever be true-"

He was cut off as Legolas's fist connected with his face. Aradhel yelped in shock and stumbled back, his nose gushing blood. Legolas's eyes blazed with a fire that made every other person in the room fervently thank Eru that his ire was not directed at them. He wished more than anything that it was not such a long walk around the banquet table; he would so have loved to give the Elf a few more of those. He took a step forward, and leaned as far over the breadth of the table as he could without falling into the dishes of food.

"I told you I would have you forcibly removed if you did not retract your words, and you should have listened to me," He said softly, "You are no longer welcome here. When I am crowned tomorrow, my first act as King will be to strip you of your status as a Lord."

A gasp echoed around the hall; and Aradhel's eyes widened as he saw all the power and respect he commanded slip away with those few words. "You cannot do that!" he shouted, but this time his voice was tinged with desperation.

"You will find that I can, as of tomorrow," Legolas said coolly, "I will also cease all business dealings with you. You are not irreplaceable, contrary to what you seem to believe." He glared at Aradhel as the man flushed in anger and embarrassment, "And should you return here, or come anywhere near either myself, or my wife," he paused for a moment to let the words sink in, "I will not hesitate to use violence to make you leave. Now please leave of your own accord; before you humiliate yourself more than you already have by forcing me to drag you out," He turned away in disgust.

"You cannot do this to me!" Aradhel shouted, humiliated, angry, desperate, and horrified. In those few moments of unguarded inebriation which had loosened his tongue, he had lost the respect of the entire Kingdom, and his powerful status. All he had left was wealth, and that would do little to help him when no one was willing to associate themselves with him. The Elf was completely and utterly ruined. And he knew it, too.

As Legolas turned from him in scornful dismissal, Aradhel launched himself across the table at him, murder in his eyes. Food flew in all directions, and glass dishes smashed to the floor. Shocked cries filled the air as people all around tried to get away from the drunken brawl that had taken place on the most auspicious of occasions. Legolas reacted with instinct honed by his many years of battle. He quickly grabbed Alanna, and pulled her away from the table so that she was out of harm's way. Aradhel's momentum carried him over the table and he landed unceremoniously at their feet, yelping as shards of glass from broken dishes cut into his hands cruelly.

"Guards, get him out of my sight," Legolas commanded, refusing to even grace the fallen man with even a contemptuous look.

The guards complied, and Aradhel struggled against them. "You will pay for this, miserable whoreson!" He said, manic hatred shining in his eyes as he struggled against the guards. In spite of himself, Legolas could barely restrain himself from shivering. He had never had such hatred directed at him, ever.

"You will both pay for humiliating me!" Aradhel continued, struggling furiously, "You will regret every day of your miserable existence that you chose to heed her word over mine!" This last was to Legolas, who flicked his eyes to the guard, his heart banging in his chest. Get him out of here before this becomes worse…The guards started to drag him, but he continued to struggle. "I will make sure of it! Every day, miserable whoreson, every day; when I've paid you back for this…" The door shut, drowning his voice. A stunned silence filled the room, and the only sound was the steady dripping of spilt wine. Legolas released a breath he had not known he was holding. All his fury died suddenly, leaving him completely drained.

He turned to Alanna. "Are you alright?"

She nodded, refusing to meet his eyes. He frowned slightly, concerned by the fact that she still had yet to speak. He tried to gauge her expression, but her veil had fallen back onto her face during the skirmish, and she was refusing to meet his eyes. "Your Majesty," He asked in an undertone of his father, "May we be excused?" He wanted to get her out of there was another scene.

Thranduil glanced from Legolas to Alanna with an uncharacteristically grim expression, and then nodded, an audible sigh escaping him. Legolas looked pointedly at his new wife, but she was too preoccupied with staring at her hands to notice him. He touched her shoulder, and she started, looking around wildly. He frowned;suddenly all too aware of the entire hall was watching their actions. Before he could have time for second thoughts he gently took her arm and guided her towards the exit, acutely aware that at any moment, she could trip over her dress and cause them both to fall. She actually did stumble once, but luckily he was able to steady her before anyone noticed. Finally, they had reached the door and turned a corner. Legolas breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you…?" He began, letting go of her arm cautiously.

"Fine," She rasped, wincing and put her hand up to her throat to massage it.

He frowned, "Perhaps you should drink some water," He said, "There's a jug in my…our bedchamber, if you can wait."

She nodded again, her eyes still averted. He glanced at her, wondering what to say, then settled on saying nothing. If there was something on her mind, she would share it; he knew it wasn't in her nature to keep things inside her. When they reached their rooms, Legolas wordlessly poured Alanna a glass of water, which she drank, grimacing each time she swallowed.

"Better?"

She nodded tersely.

"I might believe you if you actually spoke."

"I'm alright, thank you," a little hoarsely, but he let it go.

After a pregnant pause she rose a little stiffly and went to the adjoining dressing room with a muttered explanation of having to change into her nightclothes. Once he was sure that she had locked herself in securely, he quickly changed into his nightshirt, breathing a sigh of relief when she didn't come barging out to catch him unclothed. His mind turned to the scene in the banquet hall, and he closed his eyes briefly. He did not regret his actions, not in the least, but he fervently wished it had not come to that. It had been so…explosive. He shuddered again at the memory of the hatred in Aradhel's eyes. There was something so disturbing about it, so manic…

He lay down on his- no, their- bed (Valar, this was going to take some getting used to), and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought, until he heard the dressing room door open and shut. He watched out of the corner of his eyes, hoping to catch a glimpse of Alanna's face and gauge her expression. She had a painfully expressive face, he reflected. If only she would turn towards him…But she looked studiously away.

She emerged from the dressing room in a bright blue nightgown, completely oblivious to the fact that her soon-to-be-no-longer-white wedding dress was trailing over her arm onto the floor. She dumped the dress in an unceremonious bundle into the clothes basket, and then proceeded to wage a war with her hair, causing Legolas to wince on a number of occasions as she tried to extricate her long hair from innumerable hairpins. He wondered how the woman had managed to get her veil off without getting the pins out first. It must have considerably complicated the procedure- not to mention her current struggle to get the pins out. He winced again as the last of the pins pulled a few strands of hair off as she yanked at them forcefully, and began to attack her hair with a brush, pulling at it so hard that he had to wonder how she hadn't gone bald a millennia ago.

Finally she was finished, and she laid down the brush down and shook her hair back. It glinted suddenly with shades of red and copper in the candlelight, and he was caught by surprise, as he had previously supposed it to be a plain shade of dark brown. Yet as she moved in the candlelight it flowed down her back like liquid embers, and he realized with amazement that it was probably her most attractive feature. He would never have thought it could look so nice, as she normally tied it up.

As she bent over the candles to blow them out, he finally caught a glimpse of her face, and noted with apprehension that her eyes were ominously red and her cheeks showed traces of tears. If she turned to him for comfort, or burst into tears, he would have no idea how to go about it. But she did not weep; merely extinguished the candles and lay down. He waited with bated breath, but no words were forthcoming.

For the longest time, he stared at the ceiling, too preoccupied with the day's events to even consider sleep. Alanna's incessant tossing and turning would not have allowed it even if he had wanted to. Suddenly, without any warning, Alanna shot up in bed, causing Legolas to gasp involuntarily. He watched wordlessly as she got up with what sounded very much like one of Celin's huff, groped by her bedside and then proceeded to light the candles.

"Alanna?" He ventured, as she turned and stomped towards him. She started at his voice and stubbed her toe against the bed, hissed, and dropped the matches on the floor. With a groan she sank to the floor, from whence, after a good deal of groping under the bed, she emerged with creased nightgown and irritated expression.

"Don't startle me!" She exclaimed with a glare, and the next thing he knew her long hair was swirling in his face as she bent over him to light the candles on his side. His breath caught as different shades of amber came to life in her hair. It was beautiful to watch; completely unlike anything he'd ever seen before, and different colors were revealed every time Alanna lit another candle. Really, she had the most beautiful hair…

Then suddenly, it was gone, and he could not help the pang of regret at its loss as he watched her storm grumpily around the bed and flop down on it with another huff. Legolas waited expectantly for her to speak, but was amazed and infinitely puzzled when she stared moodily at the bedclothes, apparently completely unaware of Legolas's scrutiny. If she just wanted to sit there why on earth did she light the candles?

"Alanna? Is there something wrong?" Legolas asked finally, unable to bear her just sitting there like that.

She turned to him, regarding him with a partly frantic, partly disgruntled expression. "Yes!" She exclaimed finally, in such an odd combination of exasperation, petulance and confusion that he stared at her in surprise. He sat up and rearranged his pillow.

"Is this about Aradhel?"

"Yes," She replied in a strained voice, "I just…I don't understand why you- defended me like that when…" She paused, struggling with herself, and then suddenly burst out, "You incurred the animosity of the most powerful person in Greenwood!"

Legolas blinked. Whatever he had been expecting, it hadn't been that. "Well, wouldn't you say he more than deserved it?" He asked incredulously.

"No! I mean, yes! Yes he deserved everything you gave him for what he said but…"

"But?" Legolas prompted her.

"But your vow to honor me was not so binding as to compel you to incur his eternal hatred just to uphold it!" She exclaimed after a moment's hesitation, "Did you see the look in his eyes? Nothing is worth that kind of hatred!"

Legolas hesitated, suddenly aware that whatever answer he gave would affect her greatly. If he said he had acted as he did for appearance's sake, he would lose his one chance of showing her that she wasn't as worthless as she thought. But if he said it had nothing to do with the vows, that it had to do with her…he did not want to delve into the implications of that, not when she was regarding him with that eager apprehension. The problem was that he himself didn't know why he'd been so incensed; it had seemed so natural that he hadn't even questioned himself until she had questioned him. And he had to answer her…

"I did not defend you just to keep up appearances," He said, throwing caution to the winds and making his decision. "Or because of the vows I made you. I defended you because in the little time I have spent with you I have come to know you at least a little. I know that you would never do anything to deserve that kind of slander. I know that your relationship with Rilian was too pure to be sullied by those words, because I know you don't give attachments lightly."

"Really?" She asked, clearly surprised.

Really? He asked himself, more surprised than her. "Yes," He answered, both to her and himself.

There was a short silence, and then Alanna's face suddenly broke into a smile. "I thought you were just pretending," She said, the relief clear in her voice. "I thought you were going to start reprimanding me the moment we reached our quarters.

"Did my fury seem feigned to you? And do you really think I'd start nagging at you right after you nearly choked to death?" He asked

"No," She said, "I suppose not…you were quite terrifying, actually. If I had discovered your fury was feigned I would have second guessed your every word from this point on and always believed you to be always lying or acting."

"Well thank the Valar it wasn't acting then," intensely relieved that he had said the right thing. "As if I could act that well, anyway," He added as an afterthought

A comfortable silence descended between them, the first since they'd met each other. For a long time they sat, each lost in their own thoughts. "I'm sorry I could not control my mirth," Alanna said softly, ashamed. "I didn't think…"

"It isn't your fault. You didn't choke on purpose," Legolas reassured her, "It will take time for you to get used to what you should and should not do in public. We both ought to have realized that. Next time, try not to make it so obvious when I correct you. I don't want the entire Kingdom to witness me prompting you when you go wrong."

"I'll try to keep that in mind," She said, and then grinned. "I warned you about my blunders…" Legolas returned her smile, and then leaned over and blew the candles out. The days events were finally catching up with him; he was feeling exhausted and about ready to go to sleep. She too blew out her candles, and for awhile, darkness and quiet descended over the room.

Legolas was just about to drift off to sleep, when he was jerked to awareness again. "All said and done, though, you have to admit," Alanna said softly from beside him, "I couldn't have aimed better if I had actually tried."

"What?" He asked, confused.

She shifted beside him. "Can you think of anyone who deserved getting smacked in the face by half-digested candied apple more than Aradhel?" She asked.

He stared in her direction for a moment, unable to believe he'd heard right. And then he surprised them both by throwing back his head and laughing more uninhibitedly than he had done in years.

…

TBC…

I had been planning on making them have the real 'wedding night' but I doubted either of them would be up for it with everything else that happened, LOL. How did you like the chapter? It was quite dramatic and intense to write…I had writer's block for a couple of days after writing Aradhel's scene. Anyways, I think it was one of the better chapters in this story. Oops, before I forget, that joke at the beginning is from the Bollywood movie "Malamaal Weekly." I thought it was too good not to use. Thanks for reading, and please review!