Do Not Go Gentle

Down By The Riverside

My chest immediately tightened as my cheeks became red with shame. I immediately turned away from him, setting the basket on the ground to roll down the sleeves I had thoughtlessly uncovered.

"I never noticed the scars that covered your arms," he commented, sounding forcibly nonchalant.

I shrugged, turning back to face him. "It's not really a big deal. I usually keep them covered up with sleeves or makeup."

Glorfindel's bright features were darkened by this knowledge. "Why do you try to keep them hidden?"

I shrugged again, this time feeling the blush staining my cheeks become even hotter. "It's nothing, really. Don't worry about it."

He pursed his lips, and I could see the blatant worry in his eyes. However, he seemed to realize that I wasn't a fan of opening up about certain things and kept quiet.

We prepared the picnic in silence, and let our horses graze the grasses amongst the trees while we sat to prepare our meal. He opened the basket to show a great amount of food that I was surprised to see he had prepared for us.

"Did you get this ready before you came to apologize to me?" I asked, raising a brow as I peered into the basket full of goodies. It had various meats, bread, cheese, and fruits. "This seems like more than what you could have done in that short amount of time before we left."

This time he was the one who blushed. "I might have prepared for this just in case you were to forgive me," he said slowly, running his hand through his unbound hair. "I was not truly expecting it, as I did not believe I deserved it."

I shook my head exasperatedly. "We've been over this, Goldilocks. I trust you completely and because of that I forgive you completely no matter what."

His eyebrows raised. "You would have forgiven me had I been intimate with Lady Mirwen?"

I balked. "Were you?"

His laughter was all I got in response. I grabbed a spare blueberry from the basket and chucked it at him in annoyance. "Shut up, you."

Glorfindel had the gall to look hurt. "You did not throw the food I prepared for you at my face."

I grabbed another blueberry and looked between him and the fruit dramatically. "It's possible it was me."

He placed a hand on his chest, feigning pain. "You are horrible, you mad woman!"

I laughed and popped the blueberry in my mouth with a closed smile.

The smile I received back was radiant.

"I believe I heard your favorite food was blue food?"

I let out another laugh. "You heard correctly."

He leaned down onto an elbow and lay on his side while peering up at me curiously. "Why is blue food your favorite? I believe there must be a story behind this."

"You're not wrong," I admitted, leaning down on my elbows and stared out at the rushing water before us. "My mother used to make blue food for me as an inside joke. It sort of just stuck with me, I guess."

"That is understandable."

We sat in silence for a moment, and I pictured my mother taking out a batch of her freshly made blue chocolate chip cookies. My mouth watered, and I could feel a small pang of remorse run through my heart.

Even though it was slightly sad, it was nice to remember the good things.

"From what you have spoken of her, it seems your mother was a good woman," Glorfindel commented, breaking the silence.