Title: "Moira Revealed"
Author: LegolasLover2003 aka Ashley
Category: Book - "Lord of the Rings"
Genre: Drama/Fantasy
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to "The Lord of the Rings". I just adore it to pieces! Characters from the Real World are actual people however. You may NOT use them. Sorry.
NOTE: This is Part III (3) of the Fate Quartet. It already consists of Part I (Flashes of Light, Rulers of Fate) and Part II (A Destined Journey). Reading those stories first will ensure that you understand this one. Please, no flames. I know this would be classified as a Mary-Sue but, like I said back in the day, I wanted to have fun with merging book and movie and seeing just how someone from the real world... might have been able to influence the events of this literary masterpiece. Thank you!
The Lord of the Rings:
The Fate Quartet - Volume III:
Moira Revealed
Chapter 8:
The First Thing You See When You Wake Is Never What You Expected
Remind me again why I thought it would be a wonderful idea to travel with a bunch of guys?
I mean normally that wouldn't seem like a bad deal at all... but now Eowyn's all fussy because I'm always around guys and I won't wear a dress because let's face it... hiking across the plains of Rohan in a skirt does NOT SOUND FUN AT ALL. She keeps telling me it's tradition this or tradition that and I keep trying to explain nicely to her that it's hardly a tradition where I come from. Besides, how am I supposed to fight in a skirt? Though when you think about it, Elven armor is kinda skirt-y... might ask Thranduil about that provided we all live and he doesn't kill me at first glance... or worse toss me in the dungeon. Course I might find that educational... hanging out where Thorin, Balin, Dwalin, Fili, Kili, Gloin, Oin, Bifur, Bofer, Bombur, Ori, Nori, and Dori were stuck. Good lord I can remember all their names... Granted that would probably just bring up the entire issue of barrels and escaping Dwarves and most likely just end up pissing off Thranduil more. Then again, back to my original train of thought, I guess robes aren't really a skirt... And even if not robes those almost down to your knees long strips of clothing are still going to hinder some movement even if they've a big slit down the middle. Elves... -sigh- I worry about the practicality of their attire sometimes...
But still the point of it all is that I can't wear a skirt and fight at the same time. End of story.
Least, unlike her, I know how to cook...
Laters!
-Nil
It hadn't so much been a dream as it had been a strange feeling. In fact, if Nil thought back on it, she really wouldn't have been able to recall if she had been dreaming that night, or that morning rather. But she felt herself stretch a bit and half yawn as waking began to filter through her mind. Dark eyes blinked sleepily and she was tempted to turn onto her back and just try to get a bit more sleep...
But the blue gaze which was only a few feet from her killed that idea.
With a start, Ashley popped up in the bed and very nearly fell over backwards. In fact she would have if not for one arm that shot out and grabbed her by the wrist, keeping the woman steady.
"Don't scare me like that!" she admonished the Elf who was sitting in a chair.
Well no sitting probably wasn't the proper word for it because the chair was actually backwards and his arms had been draped over the back, chin resting on his forearms.
"I was waiting for you to wake up." Legolas replied seriously, letting go once he knew she wasn't going to spill over the side of the bed in a jumble of bedclothes and linens.
Nil arched an eyebrow at him. "So you decided to sit there and watch me sleep?"
"Yes."
She sighed, running a hand through her hair... or trying to until she realized it was still braided, so instead the woman just rubbed her eyes and yawned. "I worry about you."
"Why?"
"Valar, Legolas if you have to ask then don't ask..." Ashley replied rolling her eyes and falling back onto the pillows dramatically. "What do you want anyway? I know it's not day time because if you weren't all glow-y then I never would've seen you to begin with it's so dark."
Smirking, the archer stood and turned the chair back around properly, returning it to it's place beside a desk on the other end of the room. "I have a surprise for you." he spoke as carefully he lit a nearby candle, casting the room in a soft orange and non-Elf-like glow.
This... was unexpected. Which made Nil really curious. "Surprise? Did you sleep at all last night?"
"No." the Elf replied as if it hardly mattered.
As strange as that might have sounded to some, to the woman it was hardly unlooked for. As far as she knew, the prince barely ever slept... However...
"You need to rest, Legolas. Seriously. You're no good to us half alive." but then Nil stopped and blinked, tilting her head to the side slightly. "I've heard that before..."
"I was not tired. Besides, I wanted to spend some time with you before we left today. I know it is not yet dawn, but I have made a surprise for you just outside. Please?"
Ashley laughed, "How can I say no?" she asked with a smile... before her clothes were promptly tossed to her by the ever cheerful Elf.
"Get dressed and meet me in the hall then." he replied, mirroring her own smile before leaving the woman to change.
Ashley had grossly underestimated Legolas' version of a 'surprise'. In fact, what she saw was more like a god send really because while she had been resting... the woman hadn't exactly gotten to leave her room much... and in all seriousness if she had been forced to eat pork one more time...
So when the Elf lead her onto the porch, well that was really what it seemed to be to her, that surrounded Meduseld... and showed her a blanket with a couple of pillows and a plate of sliced fruit and nuts and a very light and mild wine sitting there in the dark between a couple of torches... well... Nil couldn't help but just grab the Elf's arm and point at it.
"You did that?"
"I did." Legolas replied with a barely hidden smile. "Is it a welcome surprise?"
Laughing, Nileregwen hugged him... though she had to jump to do so due to their height differences. "Of course! How did... when did... why did..."
"One question at a time, I beg." the prince spoke, sitting down on the far side of the blanket and letting his legs dangle over the side of the precipice... which was quite a ways down. "I thought you might want to watch the sunrise with me... and the Lady Eowyn did give me permission last evening in regards to the refreshments. She said the food might spoil before we returned so I put together a small breakfast. I know it is not much... but I thought perhaps you might have tired of so much meat lately."
Ashley was quick to make herself comfortable beside the archer, one hand reaching out to grab a small blackberry. "It's perfect, Legolas. Really." she turned dark eyes on him and smirked. "I suppose I can forgive you for waking me up so early..." the woman teased... which only garnered her a blackberry to the forehead as the Elf laughed.
"Nooooo it's too delicious to fight with." Nil replied, eating the berry in her own hand before picking up the one the prince had thrown, which was now on her lap... and tossing it back at his own head.
Of course Legolas caught it... then popped it in his mouth. "As to answer your question for 'when'... well obviously last night. I found that the more I tried to sleep... the louder a certain Dwarf became... How Estel can sleep with all that noise... I have no idea." he joked in turn, blue eyes turning toward the horizon where the sun was soon to rise from. But he couldn't help leaning back for a time and staring up at the dark sky and the stars overhead. "So I took comfort in the stars and prepared breakfast and made sure my weapons were in order. I even found more arrows for that empty quiver in your room."
"Ugh don't remind me... I lost my bow. Guess I'll have to borrow one... wonder if the bows of Rohan will feel different..." she mused, laying down too and watching the stars. "They're really beautiful you know."
Legolas sighed softly, "Beautiful... but even they begin to dim in the shadow of these dark times. I wish you could see them bright like beacons that sparkle in the night." he glanced to his side and smiled, "That is one thing I like about Rohan... the stars are in full view. If you are going to live somewhere with few trees... I suppose this would be the best way to spend the day."
"So instead of sitting in a tree you would star gaze?" Ashley asked with a light laugh. "That doesn't surprise me at all... Silven Elves and their stars..."
"Sinda."
The woman rolled her eyes, "Yes well they still rubbed off on you. Don't try to be all high and mighty over there with your lineage. I know where you come from."
Legolas laughed before propping himself up on his elbows and looking at the woman beside him. "And I know where you come from... and you are no Elf... and yet you appreciate many of the same things as the Eldar."
"Aragorn does too you know." Nil countered. "Besides it's hard not to appreciate the same things when we've so much in... common..." her voice trailed off, because once again there were those blue eyes that were staring so intently at her. "Legolas..."
Before the woman could say another word, the prince moved just enough to claim her lips in a soft kiss. For a moment she froze. Then, Nil's arms moved to wrap around the Elf's shoulders. Time seemed to slow and when finally the kiss ended... Nileregwen found herself completely out of breath.
"That too was part of the surprise..." Legolas whispered, touching his forehead against her own and smiling. "It was also the answer... as to 'why?'."
The silence was golden... at least until there was a noise behind them both that sounded suspiciously familiar.
"Damn it, Aragorn..." Ashley whispered, rolling her eyes and knowing immediately who was behind them.
For his part, the prince couldn't help it and he started to laugh.
"I do hope I am not interrupting." the Ranger spoke, though the smirk on his face said he knew he obviously was. "I had thought perhaps you would like to know that most of the Hall is waking in preparation for the evacuation to Helm's Deep."
Sighing, Nil leaned back onto the stone so she could see the man, albeit he was upside down in her vision. "Guess I should thank you from sparing us embarrassment..."
"Yes. Because it is perfectly alright to be embarrassed in front of me but not the others?" the man asked.
This only garnered him a berry thrown at his head, courtesy of Ashley... and a laugh from the Elf.
"I'll get him back for it. Mark my words." Nileregwen was saying as she and the Elf headed back into Meduseld once they had finished breakfast.
In fact, the pair had invited Aragorn to join them... which had then turned into Gimli as well. While Ashley was busy joking with the Dwarf, man and Elf were watching with amused smiles and everyone was enjoying the morning sunshine. The lull before the storm, or so Gandalf probably would have phrased it if he had been there too. But no, the Istar had been in discussion with Theoden that morning.
Thus, when the companions entered the Hall once more, they found people already beginning to pack things up... and a wizard hastening toward the exit.
The small break from the darkness had lightened their hearts... but seeing the white wizard off to seek out Erkenbrand only served to remind Nil that things were about to get very bad and very soon. She couldn't help glancing back toward Lothlorien, hoping Haldir had heeded her and Vidlothiel's warning before. But thinking of this only drew her gaze toward Mordor... and she wondered, not for the first time, how Danielle, the Merry to her Pippin, was faring with two Hobbits in the wastes of the world.
To Be Continued...
Preview of the Next Chapter:
3 Paths... well technically 2 paths about now because 2 of them are converging into 1 path but... 3 Ultimate Destinies... 3... oh who am I kidding, you know the story!
Nil still has to give Eowyn a cooking lesson and Gimli needs to make Dwarven Women jokes while Aragorn pretends to stroke a fake beard... which is weird because Aragorn HAS a beard... How will everyone fare on their way to Helm's Deep... and what has Vidlothiel been up to lately?
Find out next time in chapter 9 of...
"Moira Revealed"
Author's Note:
-The scene of Legolas watching Nil sleep was semi inspired by a scene in "Pushing Daisies" where Ned (played by Lee Pace... aka Thranduil, hehe) is watching Chuck (the childhood sweetheart that he brought back to life but can't touch cause she'd die forever) sleep.
Only difference is that Legolas is more clueless than Ned... which is REALLY sad when you think about it. But that's our beloved "Captain Obvious" for you.
The scene went something like this...
-Chuck wakes up to see Ned watching her- / Chuck: Are you watching me sleep? / Ned: Uh no. Sorta. But mainly I was just waiting for you to wake up and in the process of waiting for you to wake up I was, yes I was watching you sleep. / Chuck: You do that a lot don't you? / Ned: It's like watching you come back to life. / Chuck: Again. / Ned: Heh. / Pushing Daisies : Season 1 : Episode 6
Muse Moments:
Nil peeked around the corner, looking for any sign of a rather irked Elvenking. Luckily she didn't see Thranduil in her room at all, much to her own happiness, so she went in and sat down at the computer.
At least until a pair of hands pushed their weight onto her shoulders.
Nil blinked, her entire body going stock still. "I um... I wasn't doing anything... really..."
"Oh?"
She closed her eyes, knowing that tone all too well. "Really, hir nin. Nothing at all."
Thranduil smirked to himself, leaning down to whisper in the woman's left eat, "I do not believe you. In fact, I had a look at this contraption yesterday and, while I must confess it baffled me at first... young Paris was kind enough to show me how it worked..."
Mentally, Nil was filing away the thought to 'kill Paris' as soon as she escaped... if she escaped... "Well you know, Thranduil... I really didn't intend for you to read something not finished and..."
"And nothing." the Elvenking replied, his hands tightening on her shoulders painfully. "What was this talk of blackmail in the last chapter?"
Her eyes went wide, "I... I uh... umm... crap..."
Thranduil smirked again, "Yes... perhaps we need to discuss just what you think is so important to hold over my head, hmm?"
"No really. We don't. It's fine. Fine really. Don't worry about a thing. Really. OH! Is that the oven?! I really should go check that pie!" Nil tried to get away but the Sinda Elf wasn't about to let her off the hook so easily.
"I think not. Besides... I am confident Legolas can attend to the pie. Can you not?" the Elvenking spoke, glancing to the doorway where he spied his son watching the entire affair.
Legolas smirked, "But of course." he replied, heading toward the kitchen.
"DAMN IT, LEGOLAS! HELP ME!" is all the Elf prince hears before he bursts into laughter at Nil's rather precarious predicament.
"She really never should have called ada, Fernando..." he said to himself with a more than amused smile.
Muse Moments Notes:
- The blackmail that Thranduil refers to is what Nil said in the last chapter.
- "Fernando" refers to a Muse Moment in chapter 4 of the story "Revenge"wherein I called Thranduil 'Fernando' in reference to Lee Pace's part in the movie "Lincoln".