THE FORGOTTEN
The leaves are turning
Author's Note: the chapter in which - the wedding approaches… the content gets more mature… you've been warned! Teens... actually, you've probably read racier in English Lit by this point... but parental figure - I warned this is more mature-ish!
Autumnal equinox was upon them and enderi was drawing nigh… which meant their wedding wasn't far off at all. The envoys from Gondor and Rohan had left already. It had been lovely to catch up with Faramir and Imrahil and Lothril found herself looking forward to living in Ithilien… but not just yet… for as much as she was sure she could happily spend a lifetime in the Woodland Realm, Ithilien had it's charms and… the Sea still called…
As for the gifts sent from Arwen and Aragorn, well, as soon as they had gotten a chance, they went to his room and opened up the chest. There were two letters inside, one addressed to each of them, and Legolas' seemed to be all congratulatory and Aragorn telling him he was giving him gifts in accordance with their friendship. This proved to be a hunting knife, a beautiful hand carved fishing lure, and whatever the last object was, it made Legolas laugh and he wouldn't let her see it on claims it was rude.
Lothril had her gift from Arwen already, safely tucked away in a drawer in her closet where Legolas would never accidentally find it. However, for sake of appearances, Arwen sent along a box that was for them to open in their bedroom on their wedding night. This was all prearranged back in Minas Tirith though. As for the letter, it was mostly Arwen giving her congratulations and well wishes with regrets she couldn't be there, but looking forward to a reunion when they moved down.
Legolas, upon learning the box was not to be opened until they were to wed, placed it on his mantle to wait until they married. The box had the hallmarks of an Arwen plot, and Legolas was more than a little curious what his friend was up to.
-⸙ - ⸙-
"Elrond, I have awkward questions for you," Lothril said as she entered the apartments shared by Elrond and the twins.
"I think I hear a lonely Legolas calling, Elrohir," Elladan said.
"So do I," he replied.
"He's in the drawing room or the art room," Lothril said.
As they left the room Elladan said over his shoulder, "If you manage to find the question that makes Ada blush, do let us know!" And with that he shut the door behind himself.
She stared at the shut door a second, blinked, then looked at Elrond.
"So anyway, Elrond the healer, I have seriously awkward questions and I am truly sorry, but you are the only one I am comfortable asking."
"Ask at will."
"Do ellith have a hymen?"
"Yes."
She frowned and looked slightly disappointed. "Are there any wedding traditions that revolve around the breaking of it?"
"No. It usually thins out and is gone by the time most reach majority," he answered. "Why do you ask?"
"Different human cultures where I am from have various traditions revolving around it, and I grew nervous as the wedding approaches."
"I can understand that. I take it she-"
"No, no..." Lothril said, turning light pink. "That one is my own doing. And thank goodness I don't have to explain that one to Legolas... Or anyone else."
"Pardon my curiosity, but so far as I have observed, you have been exceptionally open with him about everything. Why not this too?"
"He doesn't know how mortal women's bodies work and I would just as soon not explain it."
"You needn't be ashamed of it. It was perfectly natural. You were human. It was normal."
"Normal, painful, uncomfortable, embarrassing, nerve wracking, shame inducing..."
"Shame inducing?"
"There two overly vocal camps back there - the camp that made embarrassing jokes about women menstruating and the camp that got freakishly giddy about it and wanted to celebrate it. I just wanted it to be over without anyone noticing."
Truly, sometimes he marveled she was as well-adjusted as she was given the world she was from. As soon as he had that thought he wondered if she was. Elrond studied her carefully. "Do you have trouble vocalizing or showing your pleasure with Legolas?"
"I did at first, but I have gotten more comfortable with it."
"You are getting married in four weeks, do you feel any shame or embarrassment at the thought of him seeing you naked?"
"I keep thinking I should, but honestly, I think I am more eager than anything else."
"Why do you suppose that is?"
"Well, the ugly reason is, I know he's not the first to see me. The far nicer reason is that he has proven himself to me over and over again that he loves me and respects me and I am certain that seeing me naked will not change that. The third and arguably vain reason is that he has seen me in swimming clothes. They might cover, but they do not hide. I reckon he knows almost exactly what he is getting."
Elrond nodded. "I ask this because I want you to have a very enjoyable wedding - is there anything, anything at all about yourself that you are uncomfortable with or self-conscience about?"
She shook her head. "Nothing comes to mind."
"Out of curiosity, what sort of traditions revolved around breaking the hymen?" Elrond asked.
She gave a mildly disgusted frown. "Oh, the newlyweds would disappear for a short while in the middle of the celebrations to consummate quickly and the bloodied sheet would be shown as proof of her virginity and/or their consummation. Sometimes and places the woman would embroider something like flowers over the stain and it would become an heirloom, weird stuff like that."
"Yes, we have none of that, as we can tell whether or not we are married at a glance, it makes it irrelevant to prove virginity, and given most ellith have theirs thin and disappear by the time they get married, that also makes it irrelevant," Elrond said.
"And thank goodness for that!" Lothril said.
"Did you have such traditions where you grew up?"
"No, thankfully," she answered.
There was a knock at the door.
"Pardon me," Elrond said as he stood up to go answer the door. He opened it to find Thranduil.
"Good afternoon, I - oh, hello pen mell! I beg both your pardons if I am interrupting anything," Thranduil said.
"Not at all, we were just discussing various wedding customs," Elrond replied. "Please, come in!" He stood aside to let him in
It was clear Thranduil had just popped by while doing other things as his secretary and Marion were in tow.
"Thank you, I shall be brief as I only stopped in because I was close, and I am glad to find you both here. Gandalf has offered to do fireworks for the wedding and I told him I would ask if-"
"Yes! Yes! Definitely yes!" Lothril enthusiastically answered.
Thranduil chuckled. "Very well then! Marion-"
"Noted," the servant replied.
"What wedding customs were you both discussing?" Thranduil asked.
"Various customs from where I am from," Lothril answered vaguely.
"Ah. And while we are on the topic, are you sure there are not any customs or traditions you wish to incorporate from your old world, Lothril?" Thranduil asked for the third time over the course of the wedding planning.
"Certain," she said definitively.
He nodded. "Alright. As you are certain, I shall not ask again, pen mell," he said and stood, kissed the top of her head and excused himself and left.
"Why are you so opposed to bringing in any of your marriage traditions?" Elrond asked when they were alone again.
She took a deep breath and answered, "I am already bringing enough of my past into my marriage. Those were human traditions and superstitions and I am not human or superstitious. Anything that actually mattered in the ceremony has an elven counterpart similar enough to make the human version redundant. This is an elven wedding and I am an elf."
"Are you going to wear your ring and necklace from your father and mother?" Elrond asked.
She nodded. "That is the only thing I am doing. Well, sort of… Filegon fell in love with how the moss agate looks when held up to the light and is absolutely determined to recreate it in dress form."
"Oh?"
"He has layers of sheer green and soft white and grey fabric over an opaque under layer. It is absolutely beautiful, and I think Legolas will adore it… I am not sure how I feel about it, honestly… I never knew what I wanted for a dress back there and I wasn't sure here either. I knew I wanted something very elvish, but..."
"It reminds you of Michigan?"
She nodded. "And all the many things that entails. If it did not seem so incredibly perfect and appropriate…"
"If you hate the dress so much, tell Filegon you want to wear something else. As our traditions on wedding clothing are fairly lax, you could wear nearly any dress that I have seen you in and be fine."
"You say that because you haven't seen it. Filegon has managed to tap into my vanity to a spectacular degree and I love it and hate it at the same time."
"Can we go see it?" Elrond asked.
"Well, he's not expecting me, but I think he won't mind," Lothril replied.
They went to Filegon's studio to find him busy fussing with her wedding feast dress sleeves.
"Milady! You read my mind! I was about to send word I need you. What brings you here?" Filegon greeted.
"The dress. I wanted to show it to Lord Elrond," she replied.
"Ah, here it is, incomplete, but I hope to the approval of all," Filegon said, gesturing to the dress on the sewing mannequin.
"It is very lovely," Elrond said with a smile and looked over at her. She seemed rather pleased he liked it.
"If my lord and lady wish it, it would do well for me if she would try it on," Filegon said.
"Oh, of course, since I am here," Lothril said and immediately the dress was taken off the form and she went behind a screen to change. Did she say he tapped into her vanity? Her vanity, her fancy… first of all, the thing draped and laid in her favorite way that made her slender figure look fabulous and made her feel… 'pretty' came to mind, but it seemed so shallow and fickle. 'Sexy' also came to mind…
"There you are milady," said the seamstress attending her.
As if on cue, Filegon swept behind the screen and said, "Now, the sleeves; they clearly are not attached all the way or even fully cut out. I wanted you to see yourself in it with the bodice finished before we made those decisions."
She nodded in agreement and he signaled the screen moved to block the door, should the prince casually wander in, and Lothril invited Elrond to come look.
"Here has been my debate, milady," Filegon said as he stood behind her and started fussing with the fabric under her arm. She held her arm out a little to make it easier for him. "Now, I know we discussed fitted sleeves like this with the fluttering sleeves off the elbow," he said as he hastily pinned the fabric and swept the excess out of view. "But as I was looking at it, a thought occurred to me." He unpinned the fabric that was to flutter off from the elbows and repinned the needlepoint lace to up at the arm hole at the bodice and then pinned it so it hung down with the opening on the top of her arm and let it just be split and open from the elbow down.
"Is it just me, or does this sort of frame the bodice of the dress?" Lothril asked as she studied the dress in the mirror.
He nodded. "It does."
"What do you think, Ada?" She asked.
"I think you should do the sleeves like that," he answered, then used ósanwe and added, "I also think you made up your mind the moment you saw it."
"Well, yes," she admitted, her thoughts feeling somewhere between mischievous and jovial. "Let's do it, Filegon!" she said with a smile.
"Done!"
Shortly after they left Filegon, discussing the dress and how cleverly Filegon worked stars into the trim by using silver threads or shining beads to create stars amidst the green leaves and lothil. They went back to his rooms and Elrond checked to make sure Elladan and Elrohir hadn't returned.
"We are alone," he stated as he sat down on the arm chair opposite her. "Lothril, I know we have discussed this before, but we are only five weeks out from your wedding and I want to make sure - are you ready for puith?"
Without hesitation she nodded and said, "I am. I really don't think it is going to be traumatic for me. I am still not sure if I will actually be able to reach farthannen, but at this point, I think the only way I might be able to would be with him and the only way to test that out would be marrying him, so… yes. I am."
He gave a nod. "Now remember - you want to reach it the first time, if possible, but do not allow things to become uncomfortable or painful for you. You may not the first time given everything. However, if you find yourself struggling, come talk to me or Taraves."
"Taraves?" Lothril repeated, surprised.
"She is a very knowledgeable and talented healer. I have not talked to her about you, obviously, but from the time I have spent talking to her, I think she might be able to help. For that matter, Linnrien, Cîlwen, and Thranduil night be able to as well," he replied. "Either way, do not let yourself suffer in silence.
"I won't."
-⸙ - ⸙-
Over the next three weeks, the leaves began to turn in earnest, Gandalf disappeared to the Lonely Mountain for a little while to get what he needed to make fireworks, and wedding gifts arrived from the mountain, Dale, Laketown, and Gimli. It puzzled Lothril a little that the gifts were all coming so early from their near neighbors until Legolas told her it was because the official word was that they were getting married "in autumn when the leaves turn" and nothing more specific than that.
"Why so vague?" she asked.
"Because our wedding traditions are ancient, sacred, and private and we do not allow outsiders. Gandalf being a notable exception," Legolas answered.
As well, she began realizing there was a significant number of "unofficial" traditions surrounding elven weddings. There was the getting ready traditions, which she suspected she still didn't have a full grasp of, and gift giving traditions, customs for the day before the wedding, certain songs to be sung or played at the feast, and so on. Upon reflection she realized these things more or less existed where she was from too, but it threatened to be a bit overwhelming learning it all at once as her wedding approached.
Her wedding… good sweet Elbereth she was getting married! In just a couple weeks! For all that though, she found she wasn't as giddy or nervous as she might have supposed she would be. In fact, she wasn't nervous at all. She was a little giddy, but honestly…it all felt so natural! It was nice. The only thing that was giving her any sort of pause was the bond. Legolas seemed to be looking forward to it quite a bit and… she remembered what Elrond said about how it felt but… with ósanwe, at the end of the day she was alone in her head. With her weird gift, she stopped knowing what he was feeling the moment the kiss ended. How weird and (possibly) invasive was it going to be to feel him constantly? But it was him… somehow, she didn't think she'd mind.
In the meantime, per tradition, Thranduil kept giving Legolas advice on marrying and marriage but mostly love making. Thranduil had been thinking he would need to coach Legolas on how to get Lothril to relax and open up to him, but then after that day in his garden when she told him her past, he realized poor Lothril wasn't just a bit self-conscious and reserved, she had been hurt and was healing. That was a different ball of wax. One he actually consulted Elrond about to make sure he wasn't giving less than helpful advice.
Legolas, being neither proud nor a fool, took all the advice from his father and Elrond on these matters to heart. He also took their admonishments to move slowly and carefully to heart. However, what became increasingly apparent to him as time went by is that they really didn't understand where she was.
Ever since she had told his father of her past, they went from him usually having to make the first move and initiating anything romantic and sensual, to her doing it as often as not, to her being a bold little tease nearly constantly and stealing kisses and touches at every opportunity. Somewhere in the back of his mind, it occurred to him of part of this new aggression might be her exploring her desires, but he knew her well enough by now to know this wasn't just her pretending or play-acting. To his utter joy, he knew he was the one person around whom she dropped all pretense and facades. He was the only one she didn't have to edit any part of herself with because he had seen her old life. She might be honest with Elrond, but she had to explain and translate things into terms he could understand; but not with himself. Everything about how teasing, flirty, sensual, and aggressive she was starting to be had that relaxed and unedited feel to it. What is more, it felt healthy and natural. So much so it left him wondering in his heart of hearts if this new facet being unearthed slowly is exactly how she would have been, had she been born there and none of that happened. He was still wary, of course, that some shadows of her past may still come back to haunt them, but they would deal with that as it came up.
This however, was why Legolas was borderline exasperated one day a couple weeks out from the wedding at the end of one of their pre-wedding talks in Thranduil's study.
"Now Legolas, before you do any of that, you need to make absolutely certain she is ready for it and willing," Thranduil warned. His voice and eyes teetering between fatherly and warning, and fatherly and threatening.
"Of course, Adar. I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise!" Legolas replied, his exasperation seeping into his voice.
"Legolas, she has been hurt-" Thranduil started sternly but was cut off by his son.
He snapped upright in his chair. "Adar, I am painfully aware of that fact, and I certainly would not press any wife of mine to do anything she didn't desire, especially puith nâva*; especially Lothril! You do seem to be forgetting I have known about this and have been walking beside her in this for two years. She has shown me her memories. I understand her hurt and pain even better than Elrond at this point. I appreciate your love and concern for her, but for pity's sake, give your own son some credit!" Legolas replied, slipping into his native dialect which, thanks to when he was born and to whom, was Silvan influenced Sindarin with a distinct Doriathrin accent.
Thranduil hadn't heard that from his son in a good long while and realized he had crossed a line.
"Díheno nin, ion nín (forgive me, my son). I have lost sight of my son out of concern for my soon daughter. You are right, you do know her hurt better and also her healing and I know you are and will be considerate, conscientious, and honoring of her in all things. That is inexcusable of me."
Legolas relaxed a little. "You are forgiven. I truly do appreciate your love and concern for her though, Ada." He paused a second then added, "This does me make glad I never had a sister. You would have been a terror to her suitors!"
Thranduil chuckled. "Perhaps, perhaps not. Your mother certainly wouldn't have let me. Left to my own devices I might have been tempted though."
"Speaking of Naneth, that reminds me, I was thinking about showing Lothril the clearing soon before the wedding," Legolas said.
"For i cýron rîn nan gilgalad bestad? (the new moon remembrance of starlight marrying)"
"Yes, I thought she might like to see it first, but I wasn't sure if the spells would work or if we would be giving away its location."
"Ah, logical question," Thranduil said with a nod. "As it is, the spells would work for not being overheard. That only requires two Elves to be present. The concealment spells only work if their fëar are related by blood or marriage. So you and Lothril would not be overheard, but you could be seen. You and I would not be seen or heard. However, I do not necessarily recommend you both going to it just yet unless you wish to be wed before the feast."
Legolas raised a brow. "I think I am in possession of enough self-control to wait another two weeks even if I am alone with her there."
"I think it is time I explain to you exactly what all Lauríel and I did creating that place," Thranduil said. "Do you recall the story of our wedding?"
"Yes," Legolas answered.
"So then am I safe in guessing you figured out why we created it?" Thranduil asked.
"For celebrating your wedding anniversaries by recreating the completion of your ceremony."
"You always were clever," Thranduil said as he left the chair behind his desk to pour them both some wine.
"I had long suspected the reason, but Naneth told me when she brought me there to help her plan for your begetting-day one year," Legolas said.
"Which one was that?" Thranduil asked over his shoulder with a smile and looking amused.
"The year we threw that surprise party for you and she gave you that small silver key," Legolas answered.
"Ah yes," he said, his grin stretching wide as he handed his son a cup. "I remember it well."
"What was that key to, if I may ask?"
Thranduil gave a contented sigh and said, "We were always doing little romantic gestures for each other. That was one of ours. I am sure you have seen that silver box in our bedroom with the elk on it?" Legolas nodded and Thranduil continued, "We would put little gifts to each other in the box and to let the other know there was something inside, we would lay our key on the table in front of the box. Her key is silver and mine is gold, so her giving me that silver key told me she had something in the box for me." The look in Thranduil's eyes was suddenly far away and he almost looked like he was dreaming.
"Ada," Legolas said, to no effect. "Adar," he tried a second time to no avail.
"Ab-so-lutely nothing," he said, drawing out the words in a dreamy voice.
"Thranduil!" Legolas said sharply, which seemed to do the trick.
Thranduil blinked and gathered himself and said, "My apologies, I got lost in my thoughts. But about the clearing – that is why we created it, but we decided there could be multiple uses if we were careful how we did it. Inside of it, any two people will not be heard, two people with fëar related by blood or marriage will not be seen or heard. If any go in with any sort of affectionate feelings towards the other person they entered with, those feelings will be magnified. So you and your mother, I do not doubt, felt very close while you conspired there. If you went in with a friend, your feelings of friendship would be magnified while you were there. Therefore, if you went in with Lothril, whatever desires you have towards her would also be magnified, and then because they are romantic in nature, compounded by other spells we laid."
"Such as?"
Thranduil gave a sly grin and said, "Things to make it all better than it already is, but I shall say no more at present. I want you to experience it first-hand sometime after the feast. However, before you move to Ithilien, I shall write it all out for you in case you wish to make one for yourself when you are there."
Legolas smiled, "Thank you, Ada."
-⸙ - ⸙-
"You are officially down to a fortnight**," Thranduil declared at supper.
Lothril's eyes went slightly wider as he hadn't exactly been doing a countdown prior, and the way he said it sounded like a thing... Yes, this was definitely a thing...
"Every night for the next two weeks one person a night pronounces a blessing upon our marriage," Legolas explained with ósanwe.
"As father of the daer (bridegroom), I shall go first," Thranduil said. "May your arrows always find their mark and your table never be bare."
"Thank you, Ada," Legolas said gratefully. Legolas quickly informed her with ósanwe that the he thanks his family and she thanks hers.
Dinner was nice, with roasted venison and onions with spiced potatoes and carrots and roasted buttered brussel sprouts. Prior to living here, she had never had brussel sprouts, and promptly decided they didn't deserve the bad wrap they had back home. Liver, yes. Brussel sprouts, no. Dessert was apple dumplings with sweet sauce and chopped nuts, and during it, everyone decided tonight should be a music night and Legolas was promptly asked to play his lute and Elladan his flute.
So, after dessert, both went to fetch their respective instruments and played. They, along with Linnrien plucking on her psaltery and Galadriel on a harp. They played several songs together before Elladan was asked to play a solo or two and then Lassethuil asked Thranduil and Legolas to play a duet saying, "Indulge me and let me pretend I have two minstrels in the family."
Yes, yes… Lassethuil and her grandma would have gotten along famously! They played a longer song and sang together and Lothril absolutely loved how their voices blended so perfectly together. After that song, Cîlwen suggested Legolas play one of his original compositions so his grandmother could hear one. He obliged and started playing one of the songs he composed for Lothril, but without singing the words. He did, however, look at her as he played certain parts, and she found herself thrilling as he did, knowing what the words were just there and what he was thinking about… what she was thinking about… This was one of his more recent compositions too, which meant the lyrics were not elfling friendly…
…Your tongue is like a heady wine and I will drink so deep!
Let me rest my head upon your breast and there let me sleep,
Let my hand touch you softly where no other has a claim,
And dream about the coming day when I will cry your name…
No, not elfling friendly… nope! And of course he stared at her as he played that verse and not the one about getting lost in the depths of her dark eyes, or even the one about how her dancing enchants him. No, he stared at her through the part where he says he's dreaming of sex. And judging by the little look on his face as he did look at her, he knew full darn well what that was doing to her and it wasn't fair!
After that song, Elior said, "That was very fair cousin, but now play one of your lighthearted ones so your grandmother may hear what sort of wit her minstrel prince grandson is!"
"You should, Legolas," Thranduil seconded. "Perhaps that one you came up with some years ago, as I recall the first line went, 'Some gentlemen like women who are tall and willow thin..."
For a split second, Lothril could have sworn a look of absolute horror crossed Legolas' face before he straightened it out into something congenial and began singing some ridiculous song about a squirrel critiquing how all the other squirrels buried their nuts. She sort of got the feeling this was about Acharon, weirdly enough. After that though, Legolas insisted Elladan play again with Elrohir, who in turn asked his father to join them and they did a lovely flute, lute, and harp trio.
They did not stay past the first song though because as Legolas sat beside her, he had his arm around her waist and kept tracing small circles into her side. It didn't tickle at all, and Lothril wished it had because what it was doing was turning her on and making her want to moan and kiss him and be rather inappropriate in front of all their family members plus Glorfindel. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Do you wish to leave with me?"
She looked at him askance and replied, "What do you think?!"
He grinned and as everyone started in on the second verse of a very old song about the autumn moon, they left.
As soon as the door to his bedroom shut behind them Legolas took her over to the bed and laid her down with a grin.
"What are you doing?" she asked with a giggle as he began pulling off a shoe.
"Helping you get comfortable," he replied with a smile as he slid off her other shoe. He gently began pushing up the hem of her skirt.
She looked at him with a raised brow and a smile. He looked up at her face and as she was smiling and not protesting, he continued slowly sliding the skirt up past the top of her knee and began untying her stocking before gingerly pulling it down and then gently massaging from her foot to her knee before moving to her other leg and doing it again.
"You have the loveliest legs," he complimented as he began massaging her foot. "I am glad I have so long to look at them, for I shall never tire of them."
"Are you trying to make me vain? Because if you are, it is working," Lothril teased.
"I am merely telling you the truth. And I am also telling you the truth when I say I have missed seeing them. We have not swam together in too long and I am sorely missing seeing your fair self barely clad in amethyst and silver. I am growing very eager for the day when I can see you clad only in light," he confessed, his eyes all but burning into hers, his touch warm and sensual as he began working back up her calf.
"I cannot wait to show you," she replied with a lascivious smile.
That was too much for him. He abandoned his massaging her leg so he could lean over top of her and kiss her as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down on top of herself. Did she ever feel good! They were less than two weeks out from their wedding… More easily counted in days at this point...
"May I?" he asked as he reached down and began pulling up on the hem of her dress.
"You may," she answered with a smile and a slight nod. Her breath caught as she felt her skirt trailing up her thighs. He kissed her as he let his fingers begin softly tracing up and down the warm, soft skin of her thigh. She could let him do this for hours… at the same time, she was eager to see what he would do next. She reached up and tentatively undid the top couple of buttons on his outer tunic as they kissed.
"Please continue," he muttered against her lips.
She kept getting distracted by the feeling of his warm fingers tracing designs on her thigh and had to firmly ignore it for a second so she could focus on feeling her way through undoing a string of a small buttons. As he kept stealing kisses she hadn't quite reached the last one, but she had gone as far as she could reach. His hand left her leg and undid the last two and let his tunic hang open as he continued to kiss her. She reached for his under tunic and began pulling it up until she could sneak her hands underneath to touch his warm torso.
He moaned quietly into their kiss before he sat up enough to hastily take off his tunic and toss it beside them on the bed as Lothril looked up at him with a crooked half grin on her face. She sat up and undid her belt and pulled off her dress, leaving herself in her under dress. He had seen her in it before, many times, but he still enjoyed the sight of it and smiled. "You are lovely and fair to behold. I will never tire of the sight of you," he said before drawing her to himself and kissing her.
She wrapped her arms around his bare torso and drew him down on top of herself. She liked feeling the weight of him against her now. She loved feeling his warmth. She also loved how he asked if he could untie the drawstring on the neck of her underdress before he did so and began to pull the loose neck down over the curve of her shoulders.
He had been slowly and methodically mapping out every inch of her he could touch since she told him she wanted to amend their rules in the pool last autumn. There were some favorite places he was finding and he was very eager for their wedding night when he could use them not only to pleasure her, but to lead to something more. He knew she wanted more, so did he, but they both were firmly set on waiting until after their wedding feast. It was maddening, but there was a sweetness to the longing he was trying to savor despite the ever growing desire for more. By now, he had thoroughly mapped her exposed skin with his hands and he was starting to learn the difference in its feel, but he had already moved on to mapping it out with his lips also. He had offered to wait on certain places until they were wed, but Lothril had just shaken her head and told him if he could see it, he could kiss it and in a voice that left no question in his mind she wanted it, so he happily obliged. In his own sweet, slow time of course.
"Where did I leave off exploring?" he asked playfully as he lowered the neck on her dress another inch. "Was it here?" he asked as he pulled it down an inch more with his finger and kissed the newly exposed skin. "Or here?" he asked, lifting her skirt again until it was halfway up her thigh and lowering himself to kiss just below the hem. "Or was it somewhere on your back? What is your pleasure?"
"Hmm… So many tempting choices… but I have been thinking of that time at Farion's house and my words stand, if you are willing," she answered with a smile that was equal parts hopeful but nervous he would say no.
He looked her in the eyes with some seriousness and asked, "Are you certain?
"I am certain," she replied before rolling onto her stomach. She felt his fingers brush her back as he took hold of her underdress and carefully slid it down her back. Once it got low enough she pulled her arms out of the sleeves and rested her head on her arms as he pulled it down to her waist.
By the stars, this was so close to what he wanted… to everything he wanted… watching her back be revealed as he pulled down her dress… her letting him pull it down… the feel of her bare skin beneath his fingers… It was truly amazing the difference the lack of a thin purple string made. Her hair was already off to the side pooling in a dark shadow glinting with hints of silver light, leaving her back displayed to him in unobstructed loveliness. All he wanted was to feel every inch of her and that was what she was inviting him to do. How in Arda did he get so lucky?
"I have a balm in my nightstand if you want to use it on me, but treat it like you would an oil. I have been experimenting with getting different consistencies and this one melts very quickly."
He briefly reveled in the fact she was so moved into his rooms that she was putting things in her nightstand as he quickly made his way over to her side of the bed and reached into the nightstand and pulled out a small jar and took off the lid to reveal a slightly used balm. He settled back beside her and got some on his fingers and it immediately began melting so he quickly rubbed it all over his palms, then got a little more out and began spreading it on her lower back before he began massaging her properly. He liked the scent of it… especially on her.
The moment he began she hummed a quiet moan and mumbled, "I swear I shall return the favor one day."
"Nay, this is me repaying you for saving me; but if you ever wish to do it for your own enjoyment, I shall let you," he replied, a smile warming his voice and teasing his mouth.
"I swear one day I shall enjoy massaging you," she amended with a little half smile that looked more like a smirk with her face lying on her arms as it was. "Hold," she said, lifting her head slightly trying to get a look at him, "you are not doing this out of some sort of obligation, are you?"
He kept rubbing her back as he answered, "No, not solely anyway. I enjoy doing this for you a great deal. Believe me when I say I am deriving more than a fair amount of pleasure from this. Now relax melethril and enjoy yourself."
"Mmm… you certainly make it easy to do both," she moaned and closed her eyes and let her mind drift... and it drifted to two weeks from now and him pulling down the clothes at her waist just a couple inches further and him pulling up the hem of her dress a couple inches more and letting his fingers wander beneath the fabric and –
"Lothril, I do not think you meant to share that," Legolas said quietly as he kept working his way up her back. His own thoughts had been consumed with the moment and enjoying the feeling of her body beneath his hands and slowly his thoughts became muddled with desires and he realized they were from her point of view.
"Hmm? Oh, did I share that?" she asked, almost sounding groggy. "I did not mean to, but I cannot say I am upset that I did."
"I am not upset that you did either, but I thought I would let you know you were sharing involuntarily again," he replied quietly.
"I would not say no, by the way," she commented, letting a relaxed and lazy smile mosey across her lips.
That muse might have been cut off by him speaking, but it had been very clear where her thoughts had been going. They were not married just yet… but he could indulge a little. Heavens knows he wanted to! In order to avoid possibly staining her underdress, he carefully dragged down the fabric at her waist with a single finger several more inches until he was almost sure another inch would reveal too much, and then he pulled up the hem until he was certain any more would definitely reveal too much. He used the residual balm on his hands to rub her thighs starting at the back of the knee and working up before turning aside and letting his fingers slip up the outside of her thighs to nearly the joint before sliding them back down. She didn't make a sound, but judging by the grin on her face and how she was breathing, she enjoyed the tease.
And boy, did she ever! She wanted nothing more than to let him run those warm, strong hands of his straight up her sides and not stop until he reached her finger tips. Modesty be damned, they were almost married and she could not care less what he saw or didn't except for respect to his own preferences. She would have bared herself to him months ago if he had asked. She loved him, she wanted him, she trusted him – with everything she was and everything she had. He had all but seen it anyway. She had nothing to be shy about. Not with him.
"You are the fairest and most desirable thing I have ever beheld," Legolas complimented as he let his hands rub up the sides of her back. "Do you know how greatly I desire to turn you over and see you?" he asked as he leaned down close to her ear.
"Do you know how readily I would agree if you asked?"
"Do not tempt me!" he warned as he let his hands knead low on her back. "I am almost in a mood to do it."
"I am almost in a mood to turn over anyway. It is permitted… but we have made it this far…" she mused, half mumbling the words as her face still rested on her arms. "Mmm… you feel good! I cannot wait to feel you on our wedding night!"
"I feel the same way," he replied. He let his hands slide up her back and lowered himself over her until his chest was lightly pressed against her back. He leaned his mouth close to her ear and whispered, "We are but days away."
"So close and so far!" she murmured.
"Are you ready for it?" he asked lying down beside her and letting his hand rub up and down her back.
She paused a moment trying to figure out how she wanted to word her answer. "I am very ready to be wed to you, but as for the rest – it is hard to say if one is ready for something one has never done before. I suppose I am a little nervous even though I know it is silly to be so. What you have not seen, you can surely guess at. I am just sorry there is not more of me for you to discover."
"It is not silly to be nervous. But what do you mean there is not more of you to discover? There is much for me to discover," he retorted. "And I am looking forward to every last inch of it."
"As that is about all there is to discover, I hope you enjoy it," she joked.
"You still do not understand, Lothril. I am not a lust driven firion (mortal man) who only thinks of your body in terms of my pleasure," he replied quietly and with a subtle smile.
"How do you think of my body?" she asked, half thrilling and half nervous but all eager to hear his answer.
He ran his finger up her spine until he reached her neck which he began gently massaging one handed and very slowly worked his way down as he answered, "I think very highly of it. I think it is fair and desirable and I can find no fault with it, nor shall I when I finally see you unclothed." As he said the last bit, his fingers trailed down to the side of her chest and almost to the bed but he stopped just shy and ran his fingers down her side and then back up onto her back.
She shuddered and inhaled sharply as her eyes seemed to fall shut on their own. He smiled at her reaction and watched her face carefully as he let his fingers go down right to the edge of the fabric that covered her. Her eyes snapped open and glittered when he dared skim just under the edge of it and he just heard the faintest little moan.
"You know what is odd," she said, sounding almost sleepy with how relaxed she was and yet amused, "I said a minute ago I was nervous, but then you do things like this and I am not nervous anymore. In fact, I feel so comfortable with you, I have to keep reminding myself I cannot just sit up and kiss you. I… I want to tell you some things but every time I try to word it in my mind I cannot figure out how."
"You could show me," he replied, his hand now rubbing up and down her back.
She frowned a little. "For once, I do not think ósanwe would help matters either. It is too big and ill-defined in my head. Though… close your eyes."
He immediately obeyed and she pushed herself up onto her elbows and kissed him. He skimmed his hand up her back and to the back of her head, holding her there as she deepened the kiss. When she pulled away she settled back down on her belly then said, "You can open your eyes."
He did and smiled at her. "That was nice, but I still wish to know your thoughts."
"That was it. I know I can do that and I do not have to worry about anything. I know you think too much of me to do that. You have given me a sense of value I thought was long gone and by doing that you earned my trust. I love knowing I can. I love knowing that when I do show you, you are still going to see me. I was used as an object and felt cheapened for years. You treat me like a queen and make me feel worth more than silmarils."
"That is because you are worth more silmarils and you are my queen," he answered. He leaned in to kiss her and closed his eyes before carefully finding her shoulder and rolling her over so he could kiss her more easily. As he kissed her he groped for his discarded tunic and draped it across her. "Are you covered?" he asked, pulling away slightly, eyes still tight shut.
"I am covered," she answered with a smile. He opened his eyes and she smiled up at him and added, "See? That is what I mean. You did not try even a little to brush against me and it would have been all too easy. I know you want to, but you checked yourself. I would have let you. I would have welcomed it, but I feel… honored? I am not sure that is the word I want…"
"I think I understand and I can see why you are having trouble wording this, but I think I see the spirit of your words," he replied. "Do you mind if I try something new with you?"
"Not at all. What do I need to do?"
"Nothing except relax and tell me if you grow uncomfortable with it," he answered as he gingerly tucked his shirt under her sides.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before opening them again and watching him as he moved to above her head and rested her head in his lap. Part of her really wanted to ask what he was doing and part of her thrilled at the unknown and just waiting to see what unfolded.
He began massaging her shoulders and then down her arms and even to her finger tips. He was pleased that she was basically dead weight in his hands as he lifted one hand and then the other. He returned his hands to her shoulder and carefully began working on the muscles of her upper chest above the tucked in tunic. Her eyes were closed and her face looked utterly serene as he worked but he could not help but notice the slightly heavier way her chest rose and fell, like she was trying very hard to keep relaxed.
"How do you like it, Lothril? Should I continue?" he asked softly.
"Continue for days," she answered, her voice sounding closer to a moan than proper speech.
He smiled. "Then I shall keep on." He was ever, ever so glad he had thought to approach Taraves after they returned from Farion's house and have her teach him how to do this properly. If naught else, the relaxing effect it had on her was worth it. As it was though, the healer that was teaching him was also a very good and old friend who offered to add a few more sensual techniques to their lessons, as she guessed immediately why he was there asking to be taught, and he was very much looking forward to using them.
"What would you say if I asked you to eat dinner here alone with me tomorrow night?"
"So utterly tempting, but I told Ada and the twins I would be at supper tomorrow and we both said we would spend time with them afterwards," she replied.
"Then the day after perhaps? I believe there are no set plans for then. Let us start by eating supper here alone and then we may move onto other things," he said.
She smiled. "I like that idea. And it sounds to me as if you have a plan in place."
He grinned wide as she looked up at him with a smile that betrayed the amusement and anticipation beneath her suspicious tone.
"Indeed, I do and I have for some time."
"And may I ask what those plans are?"
"You may ask, but I shall not tell," he answered as he began slowly moving his hands back to her shoulders and bring her back down to earth.
"Very well. And how long have you had these secret plans?" she asked, tilting her head back a little as she smiled up at him.
"A while now. I have been plotting the last few weeks before we wed for some time now; and before you ask, I have also been plotting the weeks after we wed also, but I have left plenty of room for anything you may have planned as well," he answered.
"Oh? And what would those plans be?"
"Love making. Days and days of it! And exploring your body for days, and letting you explore mine, and showing you in every way I can think of just how much I love you and how much you mean to me… amongst other things," he answered.
"Amongst other things?" she asked with a raised brow.
"In your words, I plan on spoiling you – heavily," he teased as he let his fingers trace up the sides of her neck and along her jaw line.
She shuddered but didn't say anything. His fingers tracing her jaw felt surprisingly nice.
He moved his fingers down to trace her clavicle and asked, "Shall I leave and let you dress for bed?"
"I would prefer you help me," she replied, staring up at him with a playful grin.
"As my lady wishes," Legolas replied with a smile.
-⸙ - ⸙-
A/N: **fornight – twelve days in this case, as elven weeks have six days because they're obsessed with the number twelve… Don't ask, it's canon. I didn't make it up! *puith náva- (lit.) mouth sex. Note though on "náva"- it is a Quenya import as it is all encompassing of lips, teeth, tongue, and everything we think of when we refer to the mouth. When I first made that phrase though, "egas" was the word for mouth in all the dictionaries I was consulting. I was double checking the spelling when I wrote this though only to find everyone's mind had changed since I downloaded the one dictionary I have been consulting all this time and when I wrote this chapter. The new word for mouth is "gobem" but I rather reject that for this because "gobem" basically means "lips together". Now, both "gobem" and "egas" are reconstructions, "gobem" being a pure Sindarin reconstruction and "egas" being a Sindarin construction from Noldorin, which, tracing it back, basically means "gap, hole", which, to my mind, is a better option for mouth verses "lips together", given the mouth is more than lips and that also sounds like an oversimplified definition of a kiss. However, the Internet was disagreeing with me, which drove me to consulting David Salo's "Gateway to Sindarin" at 4am when I made this discovery, and upon realizing he never bothered to translate the word mouth, I was left singularly unhappy and realizing I really need to remember to consult his book the next time I want a second opinion on a sentence translation. However, I did find the very short chapter on Sindarin word imports, realized I need to double check the word "pumpkin" and Sindarize it accordingly, and that the Quenya word "náva" imports beautifully because it needn't really change at all, and it properly means mouth. And that, dear readers, is the *checks time* hour and a half linguistic rabbit hole I travel down frequently when creating my little phrases and sentence constructions. And that's what makes me a nerd.