With a secret mission to marry an elf, Wynne must join Legolas' and Elvenking Thranduil's new quest as a horsekeeper. She begins an adventurous journey, encountering orcs and monsters, friendly uruk-hai, a lady dwarf and many Fellowship heroes - but...
In the end she had to resort to the horses again. The air was more damp this close to the river, and a bit chilly, but it worked anyway. Within moments of mounting Vatna she slept soundly on the mare's back.
oOo
Despite her talk yesterday of sleeping in, Wynne woke only a few hours later. She started the day with an icy cold swim that cleared her head nicely and chased away the headache that had begun to form.
Legolas, who had the early morning watch, came down to join her.
"Oh, hello Leggy."
"Good morning, Lembas Lover." His face turned serious. "I noticed you slept outside tonight. Why? Even here, danger lurks."
"I'm safe with the horses."
"You have a nice tent. Why not use it? All that space to yourself while others – such as myself – must lay cramped and listen to my tentmate's snores."
"Thranduil snores? Really?" Wynne shook her head in disbelief. "I'd never have guessed."
"He does." Legolas nodded solemnly.
"Maybe I can sneak in sometime and listen." She laughed at his shocked look.
"You are evading the question. Why do you sleep on your horse?"
"I dunno, I just sleep better there." Wynne shifted uncomfortably and dove back into the river to evade further questions.
When she emerged Legolas had finished bathing and was braiding his hair.
She tried to use the water as a mirror but her dropping head made it difficult. She was sure her hair must look like the wiry end of a besom though; the pretty braids Legolas had made a few days back had almost disappeared under stray strands of hair.
She undid them with some effort, losing a few tufts of hair in the process. "Can you plait my hair too when you are done? If it's not too much trouble."
"Of course, no trouble at all. I enjoy doing it." He glanced at her bare calves and wet outfit and averted his eyes with an embarrassed cough.
Wynne was glad her chemise was wide and nontransparent.
When Legolas had finished his own braids and moved closer to begin on hers, she noticed that his undershirt was thinner than hers. The damp fabric clung to him and revealed the shape of his muscled chest. Being an archer, he must have very strong arms, and it showed.
She wondered what he looked like without a shirt and how his skin would feel if she touched it.
Just then he looked up, smirking.
She realized she had been staring and quickly turned her head toward the river. A pair of black swans came serenely swimming down it. "I heard those used to be Sauron's spies," she said, trying to hide her embarrassment at being caught ogling him like that.
"Aye. But they are free now." He stood on his knees behind her and began combing her hair. Like before, his touch sent warm tingles through her body.
He took longer this time. The bone comb soon glided through her tresses without resistance, yet he continued, stroking her hair almost reverently.
At last he moved to her side and started on the braids, standing so close she felt air tickling her neck when he breathed.
He seemed intently focused on what he was doing so she seized the opportunity to study his beautiful face, peeking sideways rather uncomfortably to avoid turning her head in a telltale way. His skin really was amazingly smooth, even this close, without even a hint of facial hair except for slender eyebrows and long, dark lashes. Under them his irises were an unusual shade of blue, almost gray, like the sky of a summer evening. His nose was straight and his jawline strong and masculine, and he had pointed ears like all elves – but somehow his were prettier.
She suddenly wanted him to hug her again, like he did after her rescue – but not to comfort her, this time. Another kind of hug.
Again she thought of Mother's demands. Marry an elf... the king or his father. Would Legolas accept her if she asked?
Or was that not the way this was done? Maybe she had to wait until he asked.
Just thinking about it filled her with a swarm of butterflies. Something was happening. Something new and amazing.
Legolas had completed one set of braids and moved to her other side. She innocently turned her gaze back at the swans and saw that one of them had buried its long neck into the rippling water. Its black, webbed feet waggled in the air.
They heard voices from above as the others were waking up. Legolas threw several glances at the tents while finishing the final braids a lot faster.
Why did he suddenly seem so nervous?
He was just done when Thranduil and Galion came down to the shore. Wynne could tell from Thranduil's lowered eyebrows that he was not pleased when he saw what his son had been doing.
It surprised her, but also made Legolas' behavior more understandable. Clearly hair and braids meant something different to elves than humans.
Legolas hurried away, muttering something about dirty laundry, but before Wynne could follow him Thranduil put a hand on her arm.
"May I have a word with you in private, my lady?"
Uh-oh, he was back to calling her "my lady" again. That didn't bode well.
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A/N:
I wish they had let Orlando Bloom keep his own eye color as Legolas... His real eyes really are rather amazing (see below).
Oh, and for a taste of Thranduil's singing voice, search for "Lee Pace singing" on Youtube or watch the clip below! :)
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Orlando Bloom, in the movie Troy.
Lee Pace (acting Thranduil in the Hobbit movies), singing.
Image Credits:
Top image: Public domain (Pexels), source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/bird-lake-nature-sunset-74047/
