Disclaimer: I am not Tolkien
AN: Sorry about the wait- traveling with super intermittent internet access put a damper on the whole writing thing. Anyway, we're finally getting on a bit with the plot. Keep up the feedback! You guys are great!
Side-note: If you haven't figured out by now that I'm shamelessly using elements from the books and movies that work best for my plot, mashing them up, and calling it a day this is your warning. Also, I have no beta and some of you have commented on spelling/grammar issues. If anyone wants to volunteer I'd be grateful!
Happy Reading!
Chapter 15: Confirmations
Nina woke to the feeling of being weighed down slightly. A moment of exploration of the warm weight lying across her stomach confirmed that she was indeed resting against Legolas in the exact position they'd fallen asleep in. Her head lay on the ellons shoulder and his arm wrapped possessively around her, keeping her close to him in sleep. As much as the elleth wished she could continue lying in the intimate embrace or wake him to continue their kisses from the night before it was approaching dawn.
"Legolas, wake up." Nina turned more onto her side to look the sleeping ellon in the eye as she swept some of his lose blond hair out of his face. He closed his eyes for a moment and tightened his hold on her before opening his eyes again in true wakefulness.
The ellon shot her a grin so full of satisfaction that it stopped her breath for a moment. He truly was stunning. Taking advantage of her distraction Legolas placed a light kiss on her lips before pulling her with him as he sat up. "Good morning, my love." The murmured elvish greeting seemed so natural coming from his lips and Nina couldn't help but smile back at him. This was really happening. Last night was not a wonderful dream but real.
"Good morning Legolas. We need to move if we're going to make it back before dawn." Nina placed a small kiss on his cheek and motioned to the light beginning to turn the dark sky grey with morning light. The ellon nodded and finally released her from his hold to redo the now hopelessly unraveled braids that stated at his temples. Nina watched with unconcealed fascination as his deft fingers plaited the hair into the complex knots in moments. Seeing her almost jealous stare Legolas laughed. He motioned for her to turn with a wave of his hand and Nina complied immediately. She was uncomfortable with maids and servants but she really did enjoy other people playing with her hair. She was mostly hopeless at anything beyond a basic braid and she fondly remembered the times Mary had French braided her hair as a child or when she'd created complicated but beautiful up-dos for prom and school formals. It appeared that having Legolas's hands in her hair was a vastly different experience than what she'd expected.
The casual intimacy was just as lulling as it had been in the past but somehow it being Legolas performing such a domestic task caused warmth to grow in her chest. He combed the long black mass of wavy hair through his fingers slowly and she felt him picking out bits of leaf and small twigs from their rolling around the night before. He broke her hair into more parts than she'd expected and it felt like there were actual multiple complex braids starting from different parts of her skull which fed into each other and interweaved until he tucked several stray strands under his masterpiece and turned her back to face him with a smile on his face. "Thank you." She said with a kiss on his lips and put a hand to the back of her head to feel the ellons creation. "How did you learn to do that?"
"My mother taught me when I was an elfling before she sailed." The ellons eyes were full of bittersweet longing at the memory and Nina couldn't help but feel guilty for bringing it up. He shook his head as if banishing the melancholy mood that had suddenly overtaken their little clearing. "We should return to camp." He rose and offered her a hand, pulling her to her feet and into his embrace. Nina was beginning to think their newly realized relationship would be common knowledge before they knew it. Between Legolas' apparent need to maintain contact if at all possible and the strong urge to kiss him every time he smiled she was currently fighting they would certainly be discovered within moments of returning to camp. Legolas straightened her tunic before retrieving his own from where she'd tossed it the night before and putting it on. The small pout that accompanied her pang of regret as he covered himself startled a laugh out of the ellon who took her hand and kissed the back of it before interlacing their fingers and pulling her in the direction of camp.
"So… are going to tell people? I mean besides the fellowship?" She was certain a betrothed couple traveling together and spending so much time alone together was frowned upon by what Nina saw as archaic rules of propriety. Would Legolas seek to minimize the rumors of their uncouth behavior by keeping the nature of their relationship quiet? She sincerely hoped not and wasn't entirely certain it wouldn't be impossible anyway. She and Legolas couldn't help but touch when they interacted and Gimli would likely shout the news to the entire company anyway.
"Unless you have any objection I would like to." Nina shook her head and smile, squeezing his hand in affirmation. It appeared they would be in for quite a bit of teasing.
-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-
Legolas was convinced he had never been so happy. Waking up with his elleth in his arms was growing to be a dangerous habit and he had a feeling he would miss the feel of her against him as he slept when she left on her mysterious next quest. Frowning slightly, Legolas squeezed the hand he was still holding as they approached the treeline by camp. "When are you leaving us again?" He asked quietly half out of curiosity and half to distract her as they came into sight of the camp. There were few people awake at the early hour but Legolas noted Gandalf was among them and the wizard was watching with an amused smile. As forward as Nina appeared she truly was far shyer about discussing private matters in public than most knew. Keeping her thoughts away from the gossip that had no doubt started the moment the first sentry saw them return to camp was likely for the best.
"We'll catch up with Pippin and Merry, return to Edoras, celebrate for one night and then I'll ride out in the morning." Nina said frowning slightly. "If all goes well I'll make it to Lothlorien for a few days, complete my task, and meet up with you in short order." It appeared he wasn't the only one uneasy about their coming separation and he tried not to feel too gratified that she shared his discomfort. "Would you be willing to play messenger for me again? You'll be running into someone I don't have the time to visit myself." Legolas was intrigued by the request and had to forcibly tamp down the urge to question her for details. He'd learned early on that she would give him as much information as possible the moment she could. Instead he simply nodded and basked in the happy smile she shot him in return.
The elves picked their way over to the Fellowship's camp and Legolas felt the tensing of Nina's muscles as she noticed Gandalf was awake. "Good morning Mithrandir." Legolas greeted the wizard lightly; he'd begun rubbing small circles on the elleth's hand, hoping to calm the nervous girl.
The wizard simply raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Good morning Legolas, Nina. Did you sleep well?" The teasing tone was unmistakable and when Legolas darted a glance to his loves face she was turning a very fetching red color from embarrassment.
"Very much so." Legolas asserted, releasing her captive hand only to wrap his arm around her waist in a comforting gesture. If, as a side effect of this attempt to make her feel better, he managed to make his partnership with the elleth clear then Legolas was not going to complain. Nina simply blushed a deeper shade of red and muttered something under her breath that sounded like "teasing jerks".
The ellon decided to take pity on the embarrassed elleth and set about making her feel at ease. "There is no need to be ill at ease. None of our friends would judge you poorly; we have done nothing wrong." Nina took a deep breath, staring at her hands as she fidgeted and simply leaned her head against his shoulder in recognition. Gandalf took that moment to join him in reassuring the frazzled girl.
"My dear, I believe congratulations are in order?" He asked with a sincere smile. Legolas suppressed a laugh as she removed her face from where it was buried in his shoulder to meet the wizard's eye and nod in affirmation. Gandalf's smile widened, "Well then there is nothing to be embarrassed about. You will be pleased to know that Gimli has lost quite a bit of coin to Pippin. I believe our Master Dwarf was rather certain neither of you would act upon your feelings until after the fighting ended." The twinkle of amusement in Gandalf's eyes was unmistakable and Legolas could feel Nina shaking with suppressed laughter.
"Poor Gimli" Nina said, layering her voice with false sympathy before seeming to consider something. She turned her head up to look at him and a mischievous smile crossed her face. "Do you suppose this simply gives him another reason to dislike elves?"
"I would not be surprised my dear." The wizard laughed before getting up and wandering towards the small collection of king's advisors who looked to be making breakfast at the next fire.
The elves reveled in the uninterrupted quiet of the moment and Legolas decided to soak in the unexpected comfort of just having her near. He had spent his life combating the darkness which was poisoning his home and longed for the days that the Mirkwood could once again be worthy of its former title. The end of this war and the demise of this evil had been a focal point in his life since his first memory and yet he had never been so impatient for peacetime as he was the moment Nina had agreed to marry him. Thoughts of introducing her to his people (who would undoubtedly love her and would likely adore her odd behavior) and thoughts of the elfling he had seen in the future she'd shown him the day they met consumed his mind. In the back of his mind the elfling had been an ever present thought since she'd shown him that image but now it seemed so much more tangible. He would be their child, a piece of Nina as well as him.
Legolas was pulled from his thoughts by a slight tensing of Nina's shoulders and quickly caught the source of her sudden tension. One of the Kings advisors, a man named Derof who had made his distaste for elves quite clear at Helms Deep, was headed right for them. "Good morning, my Lord." He addressed the pompous man, hoping in vain to preserve some of the peace from the moment before the stupid human had decided to ruin the morning.
"The King requests that you and your…Lady rouse the rest of your company as we will be leaving once everyone has been fed." From the corner of his eye Legolas saw other soldiers moving down the row of camps to wake the remaining men and nodded in assent. He had heard the distain in Derof's voice and would like nothing more than to force the man into apologizing for his tone but deeply trained court behavior saved him from acting on the impulse.
"I want to hit him." He heard Nina mutter so quietly that he doubted the human could hear her even if he did understand Elvish. It took considerable willpower not to laugh at the disgruntled declaration.
"You can hit him after we eat, or better yet tell Gimli to tell him the story about the time he and his father got lost in the marsh for a month. That is punishment enough." Nina shook with silent laughter and Legolas looked up in surprise when the man cleared his throat indignantly. Legolas assumed he would have been a significantly more interesting shade of red if he'd know what the discrete whisper was actually about.
"Was there something else Lord Derof?" Why would this man not go away?
"I would also request that you keep your 'interactions' private. I am sure Elves are far freer with their liaisons but as you are traveling with the King it would behoove you to display a bit more decorum in public." Legolas sat in shock for a moment staring at the arrogant man's face. His stupor was broken when Nina literally exploded out of his lose hold.
The enraged elleth was standing less than a foot away from the startled man in less time than it would have taken him to blink. To Legolas' surprise she did not hit him but fixed him with a cold gaze and a false smile. "Lord Derof has your dislike for our kind blinded you to the obvious or are you simply stupid?" The man's face went red in anger and moved to speak but a raised hand form Nina was enough to silence him. "Firstly, the behavior of those not in your house is not for you to dictate. We are not your family, your vassals, or your underlings and thus you have no power over us except that which we allow you. Second, as your King has said nothing to either of us in the many council meetings and private meals we have shared with him I am confident that he is unaware that you are currently insulting two of his personal guests. Now I think it would be best for you to run along before my patience wears out and I decide to hurt you." The thoroughly chastised man stood in shock for a moment before his mind caught up with his body and he stormed off muttering obscenities loudly enough that even the men in the area could hear him.
Legolas was forcing down laughter at the sight of his diminutive betrothed turning back to him and smiling innocently as if she hadn't just dressed down one of the most respected men in the Kingdom. "I believe the man said something about breakfast." Legolas mentioned with an unrestrained grin as he took custody of her hand and tugged her in the direction of their sleeping companions with the intent of waking them. Nina's answering grin was brilliant as she all but skipped off to nudge Gimli with her foot, wisely jumping out of range after waking the raging dwarf. The ellon shook his head indulgently as he knelt next to the ranger who had clearly been awake for some time.
"I would have much preferred it if she'd actually hit the man." Aragorn muttered as he sat up. "Somehow I think she's only managed to earn herself yet another enemy." The ranger's tone suggested the list of those who did not wish the elleth well was quite a bit longer than Legolas had expected.
"Just how bad is it?" Legolas asked quietly. He and Nina had been together nearly constantly since meeting and he wondered if Aragorn had heard more away from them then he was able to in her presence. His interest had been sparked when Nina had said Eomer was 'one of the only humans' who didn't dislike her. Was the situation worse than he'd expected?
"There isn't one among the ladies of Rohan who look on her kindly. This kingdom is run on older values than most and her status as warrior is enough to ruin whatever reputation she could have. And she is an elf; unfortunately your kind is not trusted in these lands." Legolas nodded sadly. Nina had asserted the same concerns several times before. He'd begun to feel small pangs of regret at making her friendship with Eomer a source on contention. As much as he was an outsider among these men she was doubly so. Nina was a human woman from a land with drastically different societal norms who had become an elleth with the same marked upbringing. She identified so strongly with the subset of people who accepted her least.
The ellon shot a glance over his shoulder when he heard Gimli shout "What!?" at the top of his lungs and proceeded to gape at the elleth opening and closing his mouth without words. He caught the elleth's eye and mouthed his question, smirking when she nodded in affirmation. She had told Gimli their news. Aragorn fixed him with a curious look, clearly hoping to be clued in.
"I believe Nina has shared the news with Gimli. We are betrothed and will marry as soon as some sort of peace has been attained." Aragorn smiled at him and clapped his shoulder in congratulations though Legolas could see the shadow of grief in his eyes. Not for the first time he wished he could share the news about Arwen's choice to stay in Middle Earth but he understood Nina's caution. All of the Ranger's concentration needed to be on the coming battles. Deciding to distract the man from his melancholy he grasped his arm and dragged him to his feet, giving him a light show I the direction of the King's camp. Breakfast would solve nothing but at least the man could brood on a full stomach.
-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-
Gimli's reaction was about what Nina had expected. After the initial exclamation and momentary speechlessness he'd given her a rough hug and begun spouting off that he'd know it all along and how it was about time. Out of the corner of the elleth's eye she saw Aragorn smiling in response to Legolas' revelation and she felt an unprecedented surge of warmth. All of the people important to her supported them. She had not actually spoken to Orophin or Rumil yet but she was fairly certain Haldir was going to have the rowdy Ellyn prepared for her announcement when she saw them. As much as she was excited to return to the place which had felt the most like home since her arrival in middle Earth, Nina was dreading the impending separation from Legolas. For a moment the elleth felt mildly disgusted with herself. She had always mocked the girls who made their boyfriend's their whole world when they started a new relationship. Then again, this was no simple boyfriend who would be out of her life in a matter of weeks. She and Legolas were going to be mated and married for life (and considering they could conceivably live forever, for life was a serious commitment). There would be no next boy for her. Elves only loved once and they did it so intensely any human emotion she may have known if she'd stayed in her world paled in comparison. It took her a moment to realize Gimli had stopped talking and tried to remember what he'd asked. 'Why I woke him, right.' She thought sheepishly. "There's breakfast and then we're leaving." She explained belatedly and followed Gimli as he began walking (unusually quickly as if excited for the coming meal) towards the King's camp and the rest of their company.
The pair found open space on a fallen log next to Aragorn and claimed it quickly. They were served identical bowls of porridge and nuts almost immediately after they arrived and Gimli dove into the meal. "Congratulations, my friend. I wish you and Legolas happiness." Aragorn said, leaning around Gimli. For once the dwarf did not complain about the language switch. The elleth smiled at him and noticed the same gloom Legolas had spotted earlier.
Nina patted his shoulder comforting and wracked her brain for a way to make him feel better without causing herself a headache with intersecting timelines. Vague seemed to be the best path. "Aragorn, you will be happy again. I swear to you there is always hope." The ranger raised an eyebrow attempting to suss out what she meant but seemed to eventually take it as the simple assurance and comfort she'd meant it as.
"The elleth does see the future, Aragorn. Perhaps it would be wise to believe her." Legolas' voice sounded from Aragorn's other side and the Ranger began looking between the two elves suspiciously. Nina simply smiled at him and tried not to be amused by his clear confusion.
Eventually the man relented and turned to Legolas, "Have you sent a message to your father yet?" His words caused Nina to pause in bringing her spoon to her lips, suddenly not interested in her food. This was a conversation she definitely wanted to hear.
"No. I considered sending a message with Haldir of my intentions but we hadn't yet made our intentions known to each other." Nina nodded despite the fact that he was not talking to her before something obvious occurred to her. "I can carry something to Lothlorien at the end of the week if you'd like." She offered, leaning back on the log to catch his eye.
"You're leaving again?" Aragorn questioned. Clearly this was the first he'd heard of it. He seemed surprisingly sad to see her go. Aragorn was her friend but they had not become as close as she and the other members had.
"I have something I need to do. First, however I need to consult with the Lady so I'll be riding to Lothlorien after the company returns to Edoras." Aragorn nodded, accepting her vague reasoning.
"I would appreciate it if you could carry a message for my father. Lady Galadriel should be able to get it to him from Lothlorien." Her ellon smiled and Nina tried not to grin back. This was insane; every time he smiled at her she felt like she'd just won a prize or something. As insane as these moments made her feel they also strengthened her resolve to accomplish her next self-appointed task. Nina simply nodded, not certain she could actually speak at the moment.
Deciding to take a step back before she gave herself away, Nina handed her remaining food over to Gimli who was staring at the bottom of his bowl almost longingly and headed in the direction of Gandalf who was speaking with Shadowfax near the other horses. The wizard looked up when Shadowfax's ears pricked forward and smiled welcomingly to her.
"Could I speak to you in confidence" she asked him as she held her hand out for the Lard of all Horses' inspection. The beautiful stallion lipped her skin and she took that as a command to pet him. The wizard watched how she handled the horse and seemed to be considering her request carefully before he nodded. "What do you know about the sea longing?"
AN: So…this chapter… not one of my favorites. Anyway next up we finally have Isengard and Edoras for sure. The chapter is half written (since a large part of it got cut from this chapter when I realized it was turning into a monster…) and should but up in the next 48 hours at most.
Let me know what you think!