Jewel In The Palace(Lord Of The Rings Fanfiction)

Shot Through The Heart

~~O~~

As soon as the sun rises high in the sky, Lenneth padded her way to Mirien's room. Today, she will be teaching her songs and the Queen would soon be joining them. But the moment she stepped into her room, the Princess was not there. Wandering around the halls, the elf maiden went to the library, into the courtyard and in the dining room but Mirien was nowhere to be found.

"Hmm. Where is she?" she asked herself.

Lenneth thought that she might have gone outside the palace, so she walked along the forest. It was not long until she heard her voice. Mirien was laughing. Standing under a tree, she saw the Princess holding out a small bow.

"Let's do it again!" she said sweetly to her companion.

Lenneth smiled widely when Mirien's companion came into view. He walked over to her and handed several small arrows.

"Alright, let's try a few more." Legolas replied eagerly.

Watching the two spending their time together, Lenneth could not help but think that the Prince has changed.

"Yes, he did change, right after seeing the world." she thought.

However, seeing him teaching Mirien on how to wield a bow, she recalled a memory. One that truly touched her heart and will remain forever...

~~O~~

"Higher, Lenneth." Legolas said with a slight groan, saying her name in that way again - hoping that it would relax her and cause her form to be better. The moment was ruined when he pushed her arm to try and keep it steady. It didn't work though because her arm kept faltering from the weight.

"Steady."

"Legolas, this is not the easiest thing to accomplish," she said with a huff of her own. People think that it was easy keeping a bow steady but it was not. Her arms kept slacking off and she was cursing herself at her weakness.

"And why did you choose this day to be an archery teacher?"

Legolas ignored her comment and focused on her form. They spent the last hour trying to perfect it but Lenneth kept faltering every few minutes. He understood – after all he didn't get his form right at the first try either. But after all of the threats against Mirkwood ever since his father became king, he wanted Lenneth to be able to protect herself without actually putting herself in the field because that was too risky. He would know – he did it all his life. But the thought of her going through the same things he went through – he was sure to lose the next battle. After all, how could he keep his mind straight and focus without worrying about his friends if they were in the battle arena? And to think of the possibility of losing them in mere seconds.

"Keep your feet farther apart," Legolas instructed as he patted her thigh, indicating that she should spread them farther apart. Lenneth obliged. It still wasn't enough.

"Keep them as far apart as your shoulders."

"I am wearing a gown." the elf maiden told him pointedly. The Prince just shot her a stare clearly asking if she would do it or not. She rolled her eyes and did as she was told. She spread her legs as far apart as her dress allowed her.

"Satisfied, my lord?"

"Keep your eyes straight forward," Legolas told her.

Lenneth turned away from him to follow his instruction.

"Slowly pull the string."

They've already gone through the proper way to pull a string while keeping the arrow intact a million times and to the Prince's delight, Lenneth was slowly getting it.

"Keep your fingers under your chin. Keep your posture up, Lenneth."

"I know, my lord." She said with a sigh as she tried to pull the string as hard as she could.

She focused on her target – an apple on top of Calen's head. The young soldier was trying to keep still but Lenneth knew that he was spooked out of his wits. After all, he was the sole witness of Legolas and Lenneth's tirade about her imperfect form all the while knowing that the thing she was supposed to hit was right on top of his head. But all the targets were being used by his father, as he was training the other guards, and they had to improvise.

"Keep one eye shut," the Prince said, completely unfazed that Lenneth could possibly kill his loyal advisor. He walked next to her, and placed his hands on her shoulders to relax them. They easily complied. He leaned forward grazing the tip of her ear with his lips, and Lenneth glanced at him suspiciously before he whispered,

"Release."

Her fingers went on their own accord, releasing the string and the end of the arrow. She watched as the arrow narrowly went past the side of Calen's head before embedding itself into a nearby tree bark. Lenneth sighed at her failure as Calen slightly swayed, probably terrified that her arrow nearly hit him. Legolas fetched his own bow and arrow and easily shot it in a few seconds, and the arrow hit the top of the apple. All color was now drained from Calen's face.

"You just need more practice," Legolas said as he dropped his bow and arrow. He instantly shot his eyes up when he heard Calen shout, "By the Valar, have mercy!" and he was surprised to see that another arrow was embedded in the middle of the fallen apple.

"Or maybe I just don't need the Prince distracting me," Lenneth said with a grin as she settled her bow down. She walked over to Legolas and placed her hands on his shoulders and stood on her tiptoes to look at him in the eye. "Legolas, you are an excellent archer but you are the most awful teacher anyone could ever have."

With that, she took a few steps back, bowed and smiled shyly before walking away.

~~O~~

"Lenneth? Lenneth?"

A sound of clap snapped her back from the memory. The Prince was standing before her with a concerned look.

"Huh?" was all she could say.

"Are you well?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm fine. I just...remembered...something." she shied her face away. "I was actually looking for the Princess."

"You remembered a memory. I'm sure it was a beautiful one." he said.

"How do you know?" she tilted her head, looking at his unreadable expression.

Finally, Legolas smiled and said, "Because you're blushing."

Lenneth lowered her head and touched her cheeks, and felt that it was hot. He walked over to her and whispered,

"I remember a memory too. And guess what, you're a part of it."

He suddenly placed a soft kiss on her cheek and walked away.

Lenneth stood there like a statue, with her heart beating fast.

~~O~~

The picture was Lenneth, portrayed by Melanie Lynskey. The actress who played Jacqueline De Ghent in the movie 'Ever After'.