Gwaedh [Legolas Love Story] - COMPLETED

XXVIII.

When Legolas looks, Elarinya has already left. He noticed how the song had affected his friends, and taking in consideration that Elarinya had been lost in the forest, it was comprehensible she had to go rest. Legolas felt sad, he had been distracted once again over his duties as a prince, with every elf wanting to talk to him, and he had failed her once again, told her he would take her whenever she was tired, but after all didn't. 

His mind wandered, in moments like this the seagulls would scream and the sea would crash loudly inside his head. But the torment never came, there wasn't a single whisper, the sea had stop calling ever since that day on the beach. Legolas smiled to himself, he was home with the woman he loved and that was all that mattered. He would show his palace to her tomorrow, take her to the river to go berry picking, spend the day with her and try to win her heart. None of his royal duties were to step on his way.

The party continued and his friends grew tired and affected by the wine. Legolas took any possible moment to escape from the annoying elves and lead each of them to their rooms, but the party kept going even without its guests. After all, it would continue until Thranduil decided it was time to finish, which happened just before sunrise. 

Legolas walked by his side, escorted his father to his room. "Your friends will be tired tomorrow," Thranduil speaks "I was thinking about detailing the territory to king Aragorn though maps, to avoid crossing the woods again."

Legolas nods "Yes, it's a good idea. Take Gimli too, so he will know how to instruct the dwarves. After lunch they will be with capable minds, certainly."

Thranduil tilts his head "You're not joining?"

"Perhaps at the end of the afternoon. I have other duties to attend, some arrangements that must be settled."

"Surely. I will see you tomorrow then, son."

"Yes, have a nice rest, father."

Thranduil finds it strange that Legolas turns to the opposite side of his room. He must be busy with his return, of course. The king goes to sleep. 

Legolas loses no time. He walks to the kitchen and gathers some food, and then to an empty room of a couple who had already left for the Undying Lands. He opens the wardrobe and holds a dark green simple dress, then returns to his room where he prepares a bag and changes to his casual hunting clothes. 

The sun has already risen so he deduces she must be waking up soon. He heads to Elarinya's room and waits outside until he hears anything. The blankets ruffle and he hears a yawn, she is awake. He enters. 

"Legolas?" Elarinya is confused, rubbing her eyes as she sits on the bed.

"Good morning," he smiles at her and places the dress on the corner of the bed "Here, I need you to get dressed."

"Hm, yes, but am I late to something?"

"No, no, I'll turn around," Legolas turns his back to her, gives her space and privacy for her to change. He can guess she is confused "Almost everyone is resting, so we'll leave quietly before anyone comes searching for me," he can hear her undressing her nightgown and dressing the dress he brought, it makes him want to peek, which in turn makes him blush. He remains looking at the wall "Our mission is just to escape any elf." 

"You were bored last night, weren't you?"

"They can be very persistent and annoying sometimes. I was bored to death."

Elarinya laughs "That is saying something, coming out of a mouth of an immortal. Alright, I am ready. Have you seen my boots?"

Legolas turns around, she looks pretty in the green elven dress, like she too belongs to that palace and his people. He has brought elven boots for her too "Try these on. They are very quiet but offer great protection. I thought you would like them for your sneaking," before she refuses, he adds "They are a gift from me to you. I would feel very miserable if you didn't accept them."

She furrows her eyebrows and takes the boots, putting some socks first "That is bribery, you know?"

He smirks and pretends to be offended "Me? An innocent soul?"

She rolls her eyes and shakes her head with a smile. He holds her hand and pulls her away from the room. They sneak through the castle, escaping all guards and curious elves, until they arrive the back fields. 

Elarinya's jaw is floored. The golden sun comes and shines on the grass and trees, some starting to turn orange, yellow and red, others remain with their deep ancient green, the birds chirp sweetly, the Forest River runs by. It's what Mirkwood can be without the shadows. Legolas smiles "Yes, it is beautiful."

He lets go of her hand and nods her to follow him near the river. There are bushes and he searches among them. Elarinya follows and soon realizes what he searches for "Blueberries!"

They eat as they pick, both sighing at the first time they taste them. It makes them laugh. Both their lips are tainted dark red with the berries juices, and unbeknownst to each other the same passionate thought crosses their minds, but both do nothing. 

Elarinya keeps berry picking as Legolas sets a large towel with food for them to eat. Peaches, pears, cheese, warm fresh bread. They sit, talk and eat. Legolas knows both of them would be completely satisfied with a little bit of lembas bread, but he prefers to share this meal with her instead, satisfy her human needs as they had plenty of lembas during their journey to Mirkwood. Futhermore, he did miss the taste of the famous blueberries. 

They start sharing their routines while they grew up. Much of it is common to both of them, learning to walk, learning to speak, read and write both Westron and Sindarin, learning how to fight, hunt and climb trees, their small rebellions as they were younger when they would try to explore the woods out of permission. 

Then they have their differences. There are two main ones. One is that there is a mother in her story but not in his. The second one regards time, his story happened two thousand years ago, while hers only two decades. And then there is the war. He is a seasoned warrior, having fought in too many battles along the years, his sleep conquered by the darkest dreams. She didn't fought many great battles, but she had to escape death many times over her short life, her sleep too conquered by nightmares. It didn't matter, she said. War is war, no matter the years. 

"Legolas, you have to know," she states while she lays on her back and looks at the clear blue sky, bashing in the sun "If everything turns out right in this war we will face, I intend to rob the library of this palace."

He is shocked and laughs "You are a welcome guest here! I would have given you the keys!"

"It would be your mistake, I would steal slowly to build my own library. It has to be as grand as this one."

"You give me no choice, I will have to reinforce the guards," he chuckles and picks a book from his bag "But, here, you can start your little side quest with this one."

Elarinya smiles and accepts the book, rolling to her belly and opening the book on the grass, resting her head on her right hand, the hair falling to the same side. Legolas watches her read, the peacefulness and the concentration make her look like the most beautiful statue, only moving to turn the pages. He takes a notebook with thick pages, a brush and small flasks with several colored inks. He paints the trees, the river flowing, an animal that passes nearby. He can't resist and he draws and paints her too, capturing the moment she smiles while reading her book. He paints her eyes with a soft green and brown flecks, just as they are right now, just as they were at beach. It's perfect, he has imortalized her beauty with the love of his hand. 

They sit together, watching as the sun sets. It will be their last peaceful moment, perhaps forever should anything in the battle go wrong. They both know this to be true but speak none of it, only relying on each other's company. They finally walk inside, head to the war room where Thranduil, Aragorn and Gimli have started to master a plan. They have sent a warning to Gundabad, bait to the adversary, calling them out of the mountains. 

It's there, they feel it. The strong scent of blood and death. The growing smell of war.

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