Written by
Zhie and Maggie.
Rated NC17. Work In Progress;
The main characters are Legolas, Gimli, and Haldir.
Haldir spent nearly the entire trip silent, glancing over his shoulder in
the direction of Lothlórien.
“What troubles you, Master Elf?” asked Gimli as the trio neared their
destination.
“I am not troubled.” Denied Haldir.
“There must be something. I
have watched you take note of everything behind us for many miles now.”
Gimli said as he half turned to look at the elf, careful not to lose
balance.
“I know not of which you speak.” The elf almost took a peek over his
shoulder again, but he was mindful of the dwarf watching him.
“There must be something amiss, and I imagine it must only affect you,
for if it were of greater concern, Legolas would be showing just as much
apprehension.” Gimli reasoned.
“Gimli…” hushed Legolas under his breath as Haldir edged his horse
to match speed with the mare Legolas and Gimli rode.
“<Can not your dwarf remain quiet for a short journey such as
this?>” grumbled Haldir in Elvish. His
eyes were focused upon the castle ahead.
“<He is not my dwarf, and no.>”
sighed Legolas, forgetting what little tolerance Haldir had of dwarves.
It reminded him much of his own father, of what had happened when a party
of dwarves wandered into Mirkwood. They
had been locked up in the dungeons, from what he could remember of the incident,
and somehow made their escape. It
had infuriated Thranduil, and there was a war and a dragon later – just one of
the many unpleasant dealings between his father and dwarves.
Come to think of it, Legolas believed Haldir seemed a fitter son for his
father than he was. He wondered how much of their logic would be similar, and
then decided to push the thought from his mind.
They were nearing the gates, and Legolas would have to do some quick
thinking and quick talking to sort this situation out.
“<If he is not your dwarf, perhaps then you are his elf.>”
Haldir slyly slid a sideways glance to the Prince of Mirkwood to see the
reaction.
Legolas could not think of a retort to what he was sure was an insult,
though the thought crossed his mind to bop the March Warden on the head with his
bow if it would but reach. His
silence revealed his frustration, and from the corner of his eye, he saw the
other elf’s smirk grow as no reply was made.
“We have reached the entrance of our destination.”
Legolas finally said once they had passed through a guarded gateway. “Gimli will show you the way to the stables as I proceed
ahead to announce our arrival to King Elessar.”
Quickly dismounting and helping Gimli to the ground, Legolas jogged to
the keep, not allowing Haldir the chance to question him further or protest the
idea of being left to be led by a dwarf.
“Well, then, Master Elf, shall we stable our horses?”
Gimli asked, motioning to the buildings and pasture nearby.
Haldir gave a brief nod, and directed the stallion to follow behind the
dwarf and mare.
King Elessar was conferring with various members of council on the
importance of crop irrigation. At
each side, sat an elf, one impassive and silent as he simply listened to the
concerns of the men in the room, the other intently interested and leaning
toward her husband. Without warning, the double doors to the great hall were
forcefully pushed inwards, and a lithe figure hurried himself in and straight up
to an amused yet confused King of Gondor.
“Estel, there is an emergency. I
must speak with you alone.” Legolas said after a quick bow to the king and a
nod to the Lady Arwen. After a
moment’s thought, the elf then turned to one of his kinfolk whom he did not
expect to find in the room. “Lord
Elrond – Why aren’t you in Rivendell?”
King Elessar made apologies on behalf of Legolas to the men in the room,
ushered them out of the hall, then sat down once again between his wife and
father-in-law. “You have my full
attention, Legolas, but I have little reason to believe this interruption is an
emergency as you speak. Unless, of
course,” he added, a smile tugging at his lips, “there is an enraged dwarf
at your heels. Or elf, depending on
what has transpired since I last spoke with you.”
Legolas shifted his gaze from Elessar, to Arwen, to Elrond, and back.
“Estel, I really, really think we should speak in private.”
“I do not see reason why I should have to leave.” Elrond said calmly,
slightly taken aback.
“And I am not leaving either. I
have known you long enough, Legolas Greenleaf, to know something is to happen
that will not make me pleased. I
will not have it happening without my knowledge.”
Warned Arwen.
Legolas would have liked to shoot a look to Elessar, conveying his
amusement at the Lady Arwen's seeming power to control the mighty King of Gondor,
but declined, not wanting to incur the wrath of both Arwen and Elrond.
Sighing, and knowing Haldir and Gimli would not be long in coming to the
keep, Legolas first filled in Arwen and Elrond on the bet made earlier in the
week, carefully leaving out the exact wager made.
He continued to explain to all three of them his plans for a festival,
briefly mentioning that Haldir was already in Gondor, suspecting of nothing, and
wasn’t it about time for a celebration of some sort anyhow?
Initially, the reaction from the trio wasn’t bad, however, it was not
exactly good. All three traded looks among each other, waiting for one of
the others to speak. Finally, it
was Elrond, taking his queue from the silence.
“While your plan would seem sound, even if it is not polite in regards
to the Galadrim, there simply is no time in which to put it into effect.
The celebration would have to be planned, guests would need to be
informed and would need time to arrive.”
“Simply no time! I quite
disagree, Ada. I have been
dreadfully bored as of late, and not that matters of the affairs of the country
do not concern me, I would welcome a distraction such as planning a festival. As for guests, we already appear to have a representative
from Lothlórien,
and also one from Mirkwood.” Arwen reasoned, inclining her head in the
direction of Legolas. “There are
many others close by who would not take long to reach. Within the month, I shall have a splendid celebration planned
and commencing here in Gondor.”
“Forget not the representative from Rivendell.” Legolas added,
turning to Elrond again. “You must forgive me, Lord Elrond, but I do not recall your
reason for being unexpectedly in Gondor when it was believed you were in your
own realm.”
“I gave no answer on that matter.” Elrond confirmed, and still gave
none, as he spoke to Elessar. “Estel,
you will have to make the decision in this matter.
I advise against it, for if Haldir were to find out the true nature of
the gathering, his pride would be much injured.”
“Or greatly inflated.” Arwen offered.
“I would expect that if Haldir of Lórien
were to find that a party were being planned entirely because of he and his
secretive nature, he would more than smirk at the thought of the trouble it will
cause us.”
“Before you decide, Estel, do remember, it was you who caused this
entire affair.” Reminded Legolas. Elessar
raised a brow, awaiting an answer to the accusation. “Had you not brought up the question to a drunken dwarf and
a half-drunken elf, I would not be here now.”
“Could you not simply ask him?”
Elessar shook his head. “No,
you have already gone too far into this. Besides,
perhaps there is a reason for this. Perhaps
we are in need of a celebration.”
Arwen grinned at this revelation, but Elrond let out a very dignified
grunt of sorts. “If none of the rest of you ask him, I shall ask him
myself. I plan to play no role in
this other than to end it.”
Elrond prepared to stand, but Legolas stood in his way, inclining his
head in a slight bow. “I
apologize for interrupting again, Lord Elrond, but my curiosity has not been
sated. Your presence here, and not
in Rivendell, confuses me. I had
thought you to be in your realm, entertaining the Lord Celeborn and Lady
Galadriel.”
Sinking back into his chair, Elrond crossed his arms over his chest.
“It was necessary I came here to discuss matters with Elessar.
Glorfindel has been placed in charge of taking care of their needs during
their stay until I return.”
“It would seem as if most of your work here is completed, as the
council appeared near decision. However,
a celebration would detain you longer, and I can see how such a thing would be a
burden to your immediate return.” Legolas
nodded. “Now that I think of it, I shall ask Haldir myself, and
avert his even entering the castle so that we might have him on his way back to Lórien
within the hour.” Turning to
leave, Legolas was stayed by a rather hastily placed firm hand upon his
shoulder.
“It is of course Estel who is king, and not I.
It is he who shall make decisions in this matter.”
Elrond released Legolas, and looked to Elessar.
Notes
We know Elrond left after the one ring was destroyed...but not in our universe. Neither did Galadriel, which we probably should have mentioned last chapter...eventually, yes, but...oh, just go with it for now.