THE FORGOTTEN
While in Lothlorien
Disclaimer: I own nothing! Or anything else!
Authors note: The chapter in which – Bets are placed and Legolas is determined to say something.
After Renee returned to her cottage, Legolas and Lothril decided to resume their interrupted exploration and so quickly bade the others a good afternoon and wandered off.
"So who wants to bet those two are betrothed within a week?" Merry asked as he watched them walk off.
"What makes you think they are in love?" Frodo asked.
"Oh come Frodo, it is quite obvious they are! Since I met them in Rivendell I have hardly seen one without the other and the way they look at each other - it is as plain as the beard on Gimli's face!" Merry answered. Turning to Pippin he said, "Well?"
"I think it might be more than a week, but less than two," Pippin replied. "Provided we stay here long enough." Aragorn over heard them and came and sat down by them.
The two hobbits gulped. They figured they were going to get in trouble about saying such a thing. "You are both wrong," Aragorn said, "but that is because you do not know Elvish customs. Even if they decide to bypass certain traditions, I am very sure that Legolas would not enter into a betrothal without a silver ring to give, and to my knowledge, he has no ring."
"Very well, then I think it less than a week until they reach an understanding," Merry said.
"I hold with my idea of more than week but less than two," Pippin replied.
"Did you see how red his eyes were when we came up to see Lothril?" Merry returned.
"Yes, but did you notice Lothril? She was as calm and cool as a deep lake in summer, and she still is even though he looks like he is nearly ready to burst at the seams," Pippin answered.
"How do you know they do not have one already?" Frodo asked.
"They do not," Aragorn said definitively.
"And it is obvious they do not, or else Legolas would not have been so eager to whisk her away just now," Pippin added. "That was exactly how my sister Pimpernel's husband used to be when he was still courting her. At the first possible moment they would disappear. As soon as she agreed to marry him he was happy to sit and chat with the rest of us after supper for a while before disappearing."
"I am not sure if I would compare Elves to Hobbits in these matters," Frodo said.
Aragorn grinned and said, "In this I think one may safely compare Elves, Men, and Hobbits freely."
"We are getting off point," Merry said. "As Strider is certain they have no understanding between them, the question is how long until they do? I still say within a week."
"I am still convinced closer to two," Pippin said.
"Do you want to make this interesting?" Merry said glancing at Pippin, Frodo, and Aragorn. He got a funny little smile on his face.
Pippin said, "I'll bet two pipe-fulls of Old Toby on it being more than a week, but less than two."
"I agree with Merry that it shall be within a week," Aragorn said.
"I do hate to take your pipeweed, gentlemen," Pippin said, leaning back in his chair.
"Well you are getting none of mine, because though I think they shall before we leave, I will not guess more specifically," Frodo said.
"I am with Master Peregrin in thinking more than a week but less than two," Gimli chimed in. "I shall bet a pipeful. What do you think Boromir? Do you have an opinion?"
"I? I do not smoke, so I have nothing to bet, but until Aragorn spoke otherwise, I thought they already had an understanding between them, if they were not pledged already, so I suppose I would wager with sooner than later, but my opinion matters little," Boromir answered.
"Well I think it's sweet that them two are in love! It'd be a shame to see such a nice elf as Legolas live forever without ever getting married or nothin'. And I think that Lothril is a wonderful lady if ever I met one! I think they look nice together!" Sam interjected. His comment held a tone of disapproval. He added, "I don't see what difference it makes whether they come to an understanding now or in a year from now. I don't think it matters!"
The others took the point to heart for nearly a minute before Merry confirmed everyone's bets and they gave their pouches of pipeweed to Boromir to hold as he was the only one who wouldn't be tempted to smoke any of it.
Meanwhile, Legolas and Lothril were strolling along and talking about this and that, all the while Legolas was trying to decide when and where he wanted to tell her how he felt. He was tempted to take her back to her little guest house and tell her there, but then there were servants coming and going and as they had been interrupted earlier that day by a messenger from the Lady, he realized that could happen again, so he wanted to get away to somewhere they were unlikely to be disturbed.
Even as these thoughts ran through the back of his mind, a servant walked up. She bowed in the elven style and said, "Prince Legolas, Lady Lothril, the Lady Galadriel wishes to speak with you, milady."
Lothril excused herself from Legolas' company, and followed the servant.
While Lothril was heading towards Galadriel and Legolas was coming back, the Fellowship held a quick council.
"Legolas is coming back alone!" Pippin whispered. Everyone assumed a casual position with some success.
"All right, we must keep track of Legolas and Lothril, but subtly! Nothing obvious or too pointed! Understood?" Merry whispered, seeing Legolas was still a ways off.
Legolas walked up and said, "Gimli, would you like to walk around with me?"
"Where is Lothril?" Gimli asked.
"She was called away by the Lady Galadriel," he answered.
"Well then, I would be glad to join you!" Gimli said with a grin.
As he and Legolas walked away, Gimli turned his head and winked at the others. The others looked on in mild horror at the realization Gimli was likely about to try to ferret out information about the status of things between them, even though the two of them had really only been gone an hour or so. Boromir sat back and quietly chuckled at the thought of Gimli being strangled by Legolas' bow string for asking a personal question. Sam was still annoyed at his friends for betting on their private lives at all.
Meantime, Legolas and Gimli were talking. "So Master Elf, what do you think of Lady Lothril?" Gimli asked stroking his beard.
"Why do you ask?" Legolas gave a quizzical look. He did not wish for the Fellowship to find out before she did.
"Well, I think she is a very nice elf maid, and I was wondering if you felt the same," Gimli tried to answer nonchalantly.
"Oh... well, I think she is very nice as well," he replied.
"Very nice. Do you think she is a pretty lass?" The dwarf was painfully obvious.
Legolas suddenly went from wary of letting things slip to suspicious of some plot in a flash and was determined to be as evasive as possible. "Yes, I suppose so," he casually replied.
"So you only suppose she is pretty?" the dwarf asked.
Legolas kept his face neutral as he replied, "What one considers fair, another may consider plain. I believe her to be pretty, but who is to say?"
"You two are close friends, are you not?"
"Gimli, what are you driving at?"
"Oh, nothing," Gimli innocently replied. "I am simply trying to make conversation." There was a moment's pause before he added, "Do you like her?" the dwarf asked with a glimmer in his eye.
"I cannot say I have ever heard of friends that disliked each other," Legolas replied.
"Yes, but do you like her?" he asked again.
"I believe I have already answered that," the elf answered, clearly exacerbated.
"I meant no offense! I am just trying to have a conversation, is all," the dwarf replied as if he was consoling an upset dwarf child.
Legolas didn't reply or react, but he did wonder what drove this conversation. Suddenly he remembered those looks Merry and Pippin had been exchanging for weeks on end now and he wondered if they had something to do with it. Now that he thought about it, he was almost certain the others had some sort of scheme or other going that clearly revolved around him and Lothril. He hoped to the heavens they weren't about to try playing match makers, but surely Aragorn would intervene if they were. He was almost certain that what he told Arwen got passed on to Aragorn. At this point, telling one was almost as good as telling both if they were anywhere near each other. He decided then and there he was going to have to say something sooner than later and then let it be known on his terms and not at the needling of a less than subtle Dwarf.
The Lady had not kept her long, and had mostly called her to get her clothes fitted and see how she liked her accommodations. It was clear to her that Lothril's mind was elsewhere and she was certainly going to encourage things between the two, especially after seeing how utterly devastated Legolas had been. As far as she was concerned, they were two halves of a whole that had been apart too long and desperately needed to be put together. So it was after but a brief time, Galadriel told her she should go spend time with the others.
"Welcome back Lothril!" Pippin exclaimed when he saw her come walking up.
"Greetings all!" she replied.
"What did the Lady want with you?" Pippin asked.
She grinned at the hobbit's inquisitiveness. "Dress fitting, mostly. I outgrew everything I brought."
"I thought you seemed taller," he replied.
Boromir broke into the conversation, "Good Lothril, it seems to me that you have not had much time to practice your swordplay since you awoke. We have not tested ourselves against the other since Rivendell, would you join me now in a bit of practice?"
Lothril grinned a little and said, "Certainly! Though, I would prefer we use practice swords. I believe there are some to be found near the practice field, which is not far from here."
The Fellowship followed the two to the practice field, which wasn't a proper field, half so much as a larger space between tree trunks. They found a variety of swords and other weaponry and each chose one. The Fellowship seated themselves outside of a small area corded off for sword play and awaited what all were sure was going to be something of a show. Aragorn agreed to act as a referee of sorts and upon his word the two began.
For a brief moment the two stood on their guard and ready then Boromir gave a great cry and charged at Lothril. With the first attack she could tell he was holding back both strength and speed and so when her opportunity to go on the offensive came, she returned blows with the same force and rapidity.
"Come Boromir, you have not held back like this since we first fought. How can we test ourselves if we do not go at it with some force?" Lothril asked as they exchanged blows.
"Very well," Boromir said grinning. "But if I hurt you, do not say I did not warn you," he added as his face grew serious and he attacked with renewed vigor.
Lothril could tell he was almost at his battle strength and speed and so returned it. Everyone was riveted to the swordplay as the two began fighting with increased intensity. Lothril's blocks soon turned into blows and soon Boromir was on the defensive and being driven back towards the ropes. Suddenly, Boromir and his sword were on the ground and Lothril was standing over him with her wooden sword at his throat.
A look of shock was quickly replaced by awe and then a smile in rapid succession. "Indeed, if I had not believed it before, I certainly would now – you are much changed. Before I do not think you would have bested me in such a contest."
"I do not think so either," she replied, holding out a hand to Boromir.
He took it and was surprised at how strong, yet gentle her hand felt in his, and even more so at the effortless way she nearly pulled him to his feet on her own. "I do not think I shall worry about you in battle anymore," he said.
She smiled and thanked him.
"That was very impressive, Lothril but you still need a little work," Aragorn said.
"Indeed, I did notice you were a little sloppy at moments," Boromir said. "Perhaps you should fight with her, Aragorn, so that way I may critique her further."
"Very well," Aragorn said. He went over and chose a sword for himself and entered the arena where Lothril stood waiting.
"Begin!" Boromir cried. No sooner had he then Lothril went on the offensive. Though Boromir was a master swordsman, Aragorn did have some experience on him and had learned a few techniques the man of Gondor had not had opportunity to learn. She held her own, but more than once found herself barely making a block in time or having a hit blocked and blow returned faster or from a different direction than she had anticipated. Boromir began calling out instructions from the sidelines which Lothril heeded and began making better progress against the Dúnedain.
"Stop helping her cheat!" Aragorn cried as she began driving him back, laughter flickering briefly in his eyes as he concentrated on exploiting a weakness he had noticed in her form. Slowly he began turning the tables which resulted in both Boromir and Legolas, who had just walked up with Gimli, shouting instructions at her in two languages. Just when it looked like Aragorn had Lothril and he swung for the deciding blow, she leaped back and up onto the rope and then up and over his head in a graceful flip, landing as solidly and lightly as ever an elf did and Aragorn found himself with a wooden sword in his back.
She poked him a couple times playfully then lightly tapped his neck with the edge of her wooden sword and said, "I won!"
Aragorn turned around and was smiling. "Very good. And your footwork improved once Boromir started helping."
Legolas then stepped into the ring. "Perhaps now that you are warmed up it would be wise for us to go a round."
"As you wish," she said.
"You shall be at something of a disadvantage this time," Legolas said grinning, "for I know all your tricks."
"That is not entirely true," Aragorn interjected. "It seems we have drawn a small crowd." When others on the field had seen that Lothril was fighting and that Legolas had joined her, several of them had decided this would be a match well worth the watching and so had come over and were on the opposite side of the arena from the Fellowship. After all, it was not every day one could see their northern kin fighting one who was half elf and half maia.
The two turned and saw the new spectators. "No calling out help from the sidelines!" Legolas called to them, jokingly.
"We would not dream of it, at least not until the next round," one of them replied.
Aragorn resumed his referee duties and gave the call for them to begin. They circled each other, tension growing by the second, then Legolas attacked. There was a rapid exchange of blows that hobbits struggled to follow, and then they broke apart and circled again for a second and then Lothril attacked, the grey wood of her elvish practice sword looking more like a blur until it made sudden contact with Legolas' sword and then it would harden for a split second into a sword shape before resuming its form of blurred grey light.
"Who is winning?" Merry asked Aragorn.
"They are at something of a stalemate, though I think Legolas is merely biding his time. He has much more experience than her and I think in the end that will be what decides things," Aragorn answered.
Lothril was enjoying herself immensely. It had been too long since she and Legolas practiced together and besides one or two of her teachers in Rivendell, he was her favorite sparring partner. She had felt some need to hold back with Aragorn and Boromir and being able to flex her muscles a little was exhilarating. She knew Legolas was not really giving it his all. Neither was she, as far as sheer force was concerned anyway, but she knew though she and Legolas should be fairly well matched in strength, he was far more skilled. However, she wanted to see exactly where she stood and so she pulled away from him and said, "Do not hold back. I want to see exactly how much I have progressed."
"Very well," Legolas said and charged at her with renewed vigor.
Lothril watched the look in his eyes go from playful to serious in a blink. The fighting, which had hitherto been as graceful and coordinated as a dance, escalated to what looked more like an actual fight. Clack, clack, clack went the wooden swords in a rapid staccato. Lothril was slowly losing ground as Legolas attacked relentlessly and it seemed no matter what she tried he would foil her attempts to regain mastery. Suddenly she found herself cornered against the ropes with few options. Legolas knew he had her and kept using attacks aimed at keeping her from jumping up and flipping over him like she had Boromir. He pressed in towards her a little harder and as she tried to block one of his attacks, her sword was knocked out of her hand. Legolas held his wooden sword to her throat and said, "I won."
Cheers broke out from sides and a flurry of comments swirled around them praising both of their performances. Lothril didn't hear them though as she stood there looking at Legolas who had since lowered his sword and bent over to retrieve hers.
"Are you alright?" Legolas asked the silent Lothril.
There was a moment or two of silence before she replied, "You know, I think I could pick you up and toss you if I had a mind."
"What?" Legolas asked, taken aback by such an unexpected statement.
"I really think I could. I could not have done so before I awoke you know, but I really think I could now. And a fair distance too, well for throwing something as heavy as you anyway."
"It is nice to see your propensity for saying the unexpected has not left with the last traces of your human-ness."
She broke into a wide grin. "I know I could pin you if we wrestled."
"Perhaps but I do have a size advantage on –" he was cut off as Lothril suddenly threw herself at him and knocked him onto the ground and pinned him. A surprised silence quickly followed by laughter came from the spectators as Legolas was now pinned and try as he might, he could make no progress against her. It felt to him as though a warm and living iron cage had clapped itself around him. "I yield," he said after a brief but vain struggle.
She released him and helped him up. "I was right," she said, completely devoid of ego or pride but merely satisfied as to the result.
"Perhaps I should have named you mithril instead of Lothril," Legolas said in a voice only she could hear.
They ate supper with the Fellowship and afterwards they stayed and talked a little until the others began saying their goodnight's and then they stole away back up to her cottage.
"Lothril, would you like to picnic with me tomorrow?" Legolas asked.
She got that funny little thoughtful look of hers then said, "I suppose if after a month living outside you wish to picnic, I will go along with it."
"To be perfectly honest, I wish to return to Cerin Amroth and picnic there. It is not far, and as it will be just us and no unconscious woman being carried, I well imagine we can make it there in good time. If we leave early, we could spend the day there and return here by nightfall, or just after if you so wish," he replied.
"Aah! In that case, I shall picnic with you gladly, but we shall need provisions for the whole day," she pointed out.
"Leave that to me. The servants shall return soon to make sure you are in want of nothing and I will tell them what we need," he replied.
She smiled, "I shall leave it to you then."