Silvery moonlight gilded the satin mane of Legolas and a wreath of leaves about his fair form glistened. Nearly an hour flowed by since Faeriel had settled into slumber. That giddy flutter persisted in Legolas' heart as he stood in the garden and sifted through all that had come to pass.
Legolas could hear Radagast's approach from the orchards long before his dilapidated hat bobbed into view surrounded by little blinking lights.
"Prince Legolas!" The wizard chirped. "I am sorry, that took longer than expected. Sebastian was sick and needed me." He gestured to a hedgehog held to his chest.
In his other hand, the wizard carried a full basket of berries and herbs. A flock of fireflies swooped and winked in whimsical patterns about his wizened frame. "How fares Faeriel?"
"She sleeps in the meadow," Legolas responded.
"Ah! Very good." Radagast nodded, halting before Legolas. "Prince Legolas, Would you tell me precisely what happened in the Forest today?"
Legolas took a deep breath. "As I went forth upon my scout routine, I chanced to hear her cries from afar. As I arrived upon a skirmish of orcs and forestlings, a light flashed so brightly that naught could be seen. As it faded, Lady Faeriel fell unconscious to the ground. She was...bound by the hands." His voice cracked slightly, his own hands shaking with anger but he willed himself to continue the account. "Animals stood all around her, protectively. They had a strange amount of blood upon their fur but appeared unhurt."
Radagast was hanging onto his every word, his kind, crinkled eyes tense.
"After the orcs were slain, to her side I hastened. Terribly faint was she, but your name she uttered weakly. The animals followed as to you I bore her."
Legolas watched the wizard sag for a moment and close his eyes.
Then he opened them, smiling warmly even as his eyes remained haunted. "Thank you, young prince," Radagast said emphatically. "Faeriel is like a daughter to me, and you have saved her." His voice too cracked.
Legolas felt a bit strange being called young, for he was nearly a few millennia old. But he knew the Great Wizards were far more ancient than he who was but a child to them. "Thank me not. I would gladly do anything to see her safe."
And secretly he did dearly wish that keeping her safe also involved coming to know her. He found it intriguing that Faeriel lived with the wizard. Perhaps she was raised by him. Her age then must be young indeed, for he knew the wizard had lived alone for centuries, and Legolas had only begun glimpsing Faeriel for the past year or so. Faeriel must be rather young, perhaps even as young as 50.
"Well, I must thank you profusely regardless." The wizard insisted. "If ever I can be of service to you, or your father..."
"I shall call upon you," Legolas graciously accepted, witnessing the monumental relief that swamped the older individual. The prince bowed his head with his hand upon his chest. "Though I assure you, you owe me nothing..."
A silence meandered between them. Radagast seemed to stray to some other place, humming absently as he beamed at the fireflies flickering around his head. He was surely an odd fellow, Legolas mused, but one of the kindest he knew.
At length, Radagast spoke again. "What errand has brought you hither so far from your halls, Legolas?"
"Darkness creeps yet further over the forest, orcs and fell creatures such as the spawn of Shelob have spread. The guard is now dispersed every moon to scout and dispense the enemy." Legolas gazed into the forest as he spoke, before turning back to Radagast. "You know the Forest well. Have you seen anything unusual of late?"
Radagast blanched at his words. "Spawn of Shelob you say? As a matter of fact. Something about the air is off in some parts of the wood even here. It grows ever more difficult to stave off the darkness." The wizard paused, his eyes growing wide as saucers. "Oh dear, oh dear! Thank the Valar you came along, good Prince!"
"Thank the Valar indeed." Legolas agreed wholeheartedly.
Radagast nodded solemnly, before stepping towards the door. "Do come inside if you wish," Radagast told him. He must have noticed the Prince's alert stance, for he added, "My shield is laid upon the Forest all around, I shall feel it if any fell things approach the borders. Here it is safe."
"That is well. Yet, I think, I shall like to remain in your garden whilst she sleeps. It is a balm to my heart."
The wizard smiled and disappeared inside with the basket of berries. The fireflies meandered into the garden to swirl around Legolas instead. Amid their flickery luminescence the Prince allowed his thoughts to wander.
A tautness grew in his chest as he hoped that Faeriel and Radagast would be of agreement that Faeriel should come with him to dwell in his father's Halls. Loth would Legolas be to leave her here so exposed. Dark things that creep under twisted sunless boughs would relish the destruction of such a lovely, tender creature.
Legolas resolved to voice this request when Faeriel awoke. Though delay his scheduled rendezvous it might to linger there, he would not interrupt the poor maiden's sleep. If Radagast and Faeriel agreed, she would depart with him and when they regrouped with his waiting Woodland Guard, he could explain.
Legolas' musings were interrupted an hour later as the sound of footsteps crossing the meadow reached his ears. Legolas circled around the cottage to see Faeriel's form stepping beside Nalie and Arastor towards a thick stand of bushes bordering the Forest. Even more fireflies danced around her.
He crossed the distance to her in a thrice, his movement so graceful and silent that she jumped slightly. Legolas reached for her arm. "I apologize, my lady, I did not wish to startle you."
Faeriel smiled up at him. Legolas drank in the sight of her, noting her pallor had been replaced by a dewy, rosy sheen, and from her arm he felt her aura pulsing strong. The wounds upon her face were nearly healed, Legolas noted with surprise.
Curious, he allowed his gaze to lower briefly. The nasty gash along the swells of her chest was fast fading. The prince's mouth parted in astonishment. Even elves did not possess such rapid rejuvenation abilities. Legolas wondered if Radagast had healed her earlier. Did he have such power?
Regardless of the reason, it pleased him to see her so significantly recovered...and then there was a certain fascination in the sight of her soft curves.
Legolas' eyes darted up to hers, his face heating with guilt as he realized his gaze had endured beyond the momentary glance he had intended. How long, he wondered. I mustn't do that again, he chastised himself. Faeriel simply peered up at him with wide, innocent eyes, seemingly unaware of his transgression.
Legolas gathered himself, removing his hand from her arm and lowering it to his side. "Faeriel...how do you feel?"
"Much better, thank you..."
"I would be of help to you, my lady. Do you require anything?"
"Oh—no, thank you, I—I just go to bathe in the stream."
"Ah," Legolas said. A gurgling stream and small waterfall could be heard not thirty paces away just beyond the thick shrubbery. Of course she would wish to cleanse off the filth of the orcs. "Then I shall await you with Radagast. He has returned."
Faeriel smiled shyly. Legolas noticed dimples under the curves of her cheeks. "I shan't be long," she said.
Legolas returned her smile and departed for the cabin. He glanced back as he reached the door. Faeriel had stepped behind the large, thick bushes beside the stream.
Legolas entered the cottage to find Radagast preparing tea. Lanterns lit by magic rather than fire cast everything in light and shadow.
"Lady Faeriel has wakened, and she bathes in the stream."
"Ah, very good, very good!" Radagast nodded.
The wizard hummed as he bustled about, and Legolas went to stand by a set of shelves, examining the many books, vials, and natural articles like feathers, stones, and crystals arranged there. Some of their belongings were strewn in disarray, whereas others were neatly arranged. Legolas supposed that was Faeriel's doing.
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Faeriel gasped as her feet sank into the icy streamwater. She did not oft bathe at night, and the chill vernal air and water made the task a bit unpleasant. Though in comparison to the day she had endured and given her strong desire to be clean it was nothing to balk at.
Nalie and Arastor alternately lowered their long necks to drink and raised them in cautious observation. Faeriel stepped over the pebbles up the stream to the far rock wall over which a small waterfall tumbled into the stream from the side. She braced herself and stepped under the cascade.
The icy, purifying water exhilarated her but paled next to the excitement that had hit her the moment she had awoken in the meadow. As she bathed she absorbed more elemental energy until she felt her powers buzzing once more.
Her giddiness prevailed as she climbed out of the water and wrapped herself in the blanket Legolas had laid over her earlier. Legolas... The most beautiful creature I have ever beheld. Her friends were safe, and at last she had met the one who had long been on her mind...and he was far more magical than she had dreamed.
But as she headed across the meadow, a thought occurred that popped her blissful bubble. Legolas would likely be leaving soon. He lived very far away. How often will I be able to see him? Maybe once a moon? She hoped that often at least...but it did not feel like enough.
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Through keen ears Legolas knew Faeriel had stopped splashing in the stream and glanced out the window to see her blanket wrapped silhouette approach. A thrill shot through his chest. But though her whispering feet reached the cottage the door did not open. Instead, Legolas distinctly heard her rustle through the side garden and enter the window in her alcove. His eyes fixed on her curtain as he heard her moving about within.
A minute later, Faeriel stepped out dressed in clean clothes, another blanket draped around her shoulders. Wonder bubbled up in the depths of Legolas' heart as her eyes flickered up to his.
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Author's Note: Please let us know which scenes you would like cosplayed or made into art, and we shall try for you! 😊🦋