Legolas promised Thaliniel that he would keep an eye on Narylfiel for the morning. His wife's new winter gowns needed fitting, and she would much rather not take her little sister with her. Narylfiel had a knack for getting into the most inappropriate things and situations! Thaliniel supposed she could have left her back in the royal hall by herself, but again, she worried that Narylfiel would not be there when she returned! Her little sister liked to explore the king's halls and on more than one occasion would disappear for hours at a time. The idea just did not sit well with Thaliniel, especially after that incident in the armory, so Legolas had cheerfully volunteered to spend the morning with her.
He had brought back a rather large sack of walnuts from his last outing with the Forest Guard, so he and Narylfiel stretched out in front of the fire, cracking walnuts and throwing the shells into the flames while he intermittently sharpened his knives.
"One of these days," Narylfiel said wistfully admiring the gleaming blade, "I'm going to have me a big knife like that."
"Oh?" Legolas said with a smile. He knew Narylfiel's fondness for sharp objects. In fact, he had taken to storing his knives on top of the wardrobe out of her reach at his wife's request.
Narylfiel expertly cracked a walnut and chucked the shell into the fire. "Definitely," she said with relish. "I wish I had one right now, but Thaliniel says I'm too little." She rolled her eyes at the mention of her older sister.
Legolas set down his knife, sheathed it for good measure, and set it up on the mantle. "I'll get you one when you get a little bigger," he promised, taking a walnut and cracking it.
"Really?" she asked. Narylfiel struggled a second with her current walnut, and Legolas took it from her cracked it and handed it back to her. "Thanks," she told him appreciatively, "but what about right now? How am I going to defend myself against goblins?" She bit her lip and looked up at him so seriously that Legolas had to fight back a grin.
"Well," he said, weighing how much trouble he might get into for this. "You don't always need a weapon to win a fight, Narylfiel. I can show you a move that anyone can use to disable an opponent."
Her eyes lit up, and she clambered up from the rug. "Show me!" she begged.
Just then Galion entered, his eyes narrowing at the hopeless amount of little walnut shell pieces littering the hearth.
"Good morning, Galion!" Legolas said brightly. "Did you know little Narylfiel here can make you go to sleep in less than half a minute?"
Galion tutted as he reached for the whisk broom to sweep the remaining shells into the fire. "I highly doubt it," he scoffed, though good naturedly. "What sort of trick it this, Legolas?"
"No trick," the prince assured him, sharing a knowing look with Narylfiel. "Would you mind sitting down on the rug?"
"That rug?" Galion pointed. "That once beautiful woven masterpiece that now has walnut shells embedded in the wool?"
Legolas had the good sense to look sheepish. "Tell you what, if Narylfiel can't put you to sleep in less than a minute, I'll pick all the shells out myself. Prince's honor," he swore.
"Prince's honor, my foot," grumbled the butler, but he set the broom down and sat down on the rug.
Then Legolas showed Narylfiel exactly where to put her arm around Galion's neck and how to brace her hold with her other arm. "Nice and secure," Legolas told her, "then you gently apply pressure."
Galion turned a little red, and then he started to protest, and then he said nothing at all. His eyes rolled back in his head, and Narylfiel let go.
She gently lifted his head off her lap and then prodded him in the chest just once to see if he was faking. It was at that unfortunate moment when Thaliniel returned from her dress fitting.
Her sweet husband, her adorable baby sister. Both leaning over the unconscious form of the king's butler sprawled out across the rug in front of the fireplace. And were those...walnut shells?
Needless to say, Legolas did not babysit again for quite some time.
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Kingsfoil: the Secret Scenes!
फैनफिक्शनShhh! These are the secret scenes for Kingsfoil!
