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𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑬𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻𝑬𝑬𝑵
❝ 𝒋𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 ❞
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THE FELLOWSHIP HAVE BEEN TRAVELING THROUGH the lands of Middle Earth for nearly a month now. Many peculiar things have happened to the Fellowship during their journey, and they find their bonds stronger with each other than it was before.
Vera finds herself enjoying the presence of the Fellowship as more days pass, forgetting the sorrow of leaving her family behind at Rivendell. The Fellowship gave her something new; the unconditional love of family. Even if Vera did have a blood family with her mother and her brother, their bonds — even if she didn't want to admit it — weren't as tightly connected as her bonds with the Fellowship. Although she has spent centuries living with her family under the ocean, her family seemed too distant compared to her friends now.
Friends never came naturally towards Vera. As princess of the waters of Arda, her whole life was spent trapped in the castle walls and golden prison, keeping her in there for her protection and away from people who would deceive her. Laws surrounding the royal family were quite strict, keeping their bloodline healthy and alive, letting the kingdom remain protected and safe from any plots.
So, when she magically managed to befriend Arwen Undómiel, she couldn't help but feel eternally grateful towards the elleth as she brought out a spark in Vera she never knew was there. Ever since her appearance on land, Vera's social skills have skyrocketed and her friendship list grew longer and longer as time passed. However, she knows which friends to keep and which friends to let go. Soon, she considers many people in her life closer to family than friends, never being able to justify their friendship any less.
The Hobbits and their bond with Vera grew every day. Frodo Baggins normally confided in Vera whenever he felt the ring bring him down or taint his soul, seeking her guidance and counsel. Samwise would normally keep his sanity at bay by talking to the mermaid princess about his life at home and the people he adores there. He mentions a Hobbit named 'Rosie' quite a few times, leaving Vera with a bright grin on her face.
Pippin and Merry were admittedly the closest friends Vera had, causing mischief with one another and embarking on long, meaningless, and stupid arguments that ended with laughter. You could say, they were the life of the party, for the Fellowship, as their personalities clash with one another only helped keep their bonds tightly knit. Vera couldn't be more thankful for her Hobbit friends.
Gimli is a rather interesting character to befriend. His common dislike for elves brought Vera closer to him — despite her love for Arwen and Lord Elrond. They would share nice laughs about the Elven Prince, always keeping the conversation light and airy but never misleading and patronizing, maintaining their own growing friendship with the elf steady. Another common thing that the two shared was Gimli's love for gold and Vera's abundance of it. Trades between the two would often confer, bringing the agreement that Gimli would give her food and she would give him gold in return.
Despite their major differences and puzzling displeasure towards each other, Boromir and Vera's relationship deemed to be rather confusing, if not amusing. They would argue like siblings — a fact that deeply graved Vera as it would remind her of her own brother — but protect each other against others. Many would've thought that Vera's grudging nature would stop any sort of bond to blossom with the sexist man but her time on land brought her some wisdom and guidance.
Gandalf and Aragorn were, more or less, other family figures in her life. Due to the lack of fatherly figure she had growing up, or older man paternity, their bonds with Vera only grows more significant with time. Because she didn't have her brother to confide in, she normally let her thoughts come out in Aragorn's presence whenever they had their deep talks about life and love — a concept that Vera hasn't thought about often.
Gandalf reminds Vera of old man Caspian as their calming and knowledgeable nature brought out the best in Vera. The times in which they would make conversation while walking, the topics would normally range from magic to Marella, a common interest they both take in as Vera finds more and more about her mother's dark past. At times, Vera would think about Elrond and Neptune, missing them dearly and wishing that they were with her.
Out of all the bonds she has made with the Fellowship of the Ring, Legolas would have to be the most intriguing. While there were certain themes going on between the other members, Legolas is always different and mysterious, challenging Vera to do the same. Though they don't talk as much, they feel like they've known each other ages, talking to one another like close friends. Vera couldn't exactly pin-point what she felt for the elf as, at times, he could be infuriating or downright earnest. He confused her but somehow managed to bring out the best in her anyway.
Currently walking along the countryside of Middle-Earth, nearing the mountains nearby, the Fellowship walks in clutters. Boromir and Vera stand side-by-side, towards the back of the line, as they indulge in a conversation about family.
"My mother died when I was ten," Boromir lets out grimly. "Father was always so grief-stricken by it. I have a brother, Faramir. I miss them dearly and I hope to see them again, hopefully, I'll be successful in this quest and bring safety back to Gondor." His eyes sparkle at the thought of returning back home and his family, basking in the glory of achieving success and celebrating with his brother.
Vera smiles. "Well, I suppose that's one thing we have in common," she replies, referring to her tale about her parents. "And don't worry too much about not returning home. You're a strong warrior, Boromir, and you'll be able to fight through whatever battle becomes you. Your selflessness will bring you your glory...but I'm not sure about the bold streak you have there."
Boromir smiles curtly. "What happened to your parents?" he asks, before quickly adding, "if you don't mind me asking." He didn't want to give his new friend a reason to mourn, hoping that the death of her father isn't one that comes with sadness. He didn't know what he would do with a crying woman.
Vera sighs. "Well, Mother never really speaks about her past but from the small bits I've heard from Gandalf, I think she's still grieving the death of my Father. He died when I was young — I barely remember him — and I don't think she ever got through it. Even if she is a wonderful ruler, she sacrificed the chance of raising her children properly."
"Ah, an explanation for everything."
Vera laughs and gasps at the same time, pushing him slightly to let him topple off the small hill they walk upon. "I suppose so. Though, you're a lot better than me in some departments."
Boromir puts an arm around Vera's shoulder and ruffles her hair, careful not to knock off her golden crown. "Don't worry too much about it, it's mostly our parents who do this to us."
Vera nods brightly. "Cheers to that!"
Finally finding the best time to rest, the Fellowship agrees to rest upon the Eregion Hills on a group of massive boulders, deserted enough for them to relax and wide enough for them to have enough space from each other.
Gandalf sits on a boulder, like everyone else, and asks Vera to help him up. Sharing a chuckle with Boromir, they soon depart — Vera to help Gandalf with his staff, and Boromir to the Hobbits — as the other members shrug their cloaks off to rest. The sun peeks through the clouds before moving back into another mass, keeping the day bright but not too catching. The weather of mid-stirring season seems to bring peace within the Fellowship.
"Alright, old man, what do you need help with?" Vera asks nicely, helping him shrug off his grey cloak to reveal — oh, what a surprise — a grey robe. She internally rolls her eyes but lets the smile slip as he situates himself on a boulder.
"Don't think me daft, Vera." Gandalf answers back, almost grumbling in his tone, "I called you here to inform you that a certain Elf Prince doesn't seem particularly too happy with you." He takes his hat off, briefly pointing it at Legolas before setting it beside him, by his staff.
Vera raises an eyebrow. "You called me over to discuss youngling drama? How surprising of you, Gandalf. And, honestly, I didn't even do anything wrong! He's got his knickers in a twist."
The wizard only pulls his pipe out as he smokes thoughtfully. "Maybe it isn't a matter of what you did wrong, but what you didn't do at all."
Vera blinks. "That doesn't make any sense."
"You've been spending an awful lot of time with Boromir," he comments, focusing his attention on his pipe. "Jealousy is a fickle thing."
Vera snorts.
Gandalf gives her a knowing smile, before waving his arm off to dismiss her, "Even elves get jealous, Vera, it's in everyone's nature, like you, or I, or Legolas."
"We must hold to this course, west of the Misty Mountains, for forty days. If our luck holds, the Gap of Rohan will still be open to us. From there, our roads turns east, to Mordor," Gandalf foretells thoughtfully, mostly mumbling to himself.
Boromir and Aragorn both decide to teach Pippin and Merry a few tricks with their sword, showing them their techniques. They were fast learners, in Vera's opinion, as she watches from afar, sitting atop a separate boulder secluded from everyone else. Gandalf's words rack her brain as she ponders the thought with curiosity, her eyes flitting from the group forming around Boromir and Pippin to the elf who scouts the area with his keen eyes.
She narrows her eyes as he bounces from one rock to the other, her questions only piling in her head more and more. Legolas would come close to her rock at times, his eyes looking at something above them before leaving with a fleeting look towards Vera. She would huff at the lack of attention but bring her eyes back to the group or the river below them, feeling the familiar yearn to go and take a swim.
Thankfully, her thoughts about the elf prince distracted her enough. Sighing for what seems like the millionth time, she props her head on her hands, groaning quietly to herself as she mumbles about stupid feelings and princes.
"I know you're staring," he suddenly says, bringing her full attention back to him. Surprised, she sits upright. Having to look up at him isn't entirely pleasant for Vera but she doesn't complain.
"I wasn't staring," she defends. "I was...gazing."
He quirks an eyebrow. "Isn't that the same thing?"
"You know what?" Vera snaps, standing up. "Many people would enjoy the fact that an attractive woman is gazing at them without having to tell them to. Why are you talking to me now? Weren't you just ignoring me a few seconds ago?" she then asks, crossing her arms and looking at him right in the eye.
"Yes, I suppose many would like the fact that a beautiful woman such as yourself were gazing at them but I doubt your gaze has anything to do with admiration. I wasn't ignoring you, Vera," he sighs out. Vera ignores the feel in her stomach at the thought of him calling — and thinking — her beautiful, masking it with a scoff at him.
"Right, because people just don't talk to each other for no reason at all," Vera scowls.
Legolas takes his leave, hopping onto another rock as he observes the landscape before them while answering sharply, "I wasn't ignoring you. Besides, you seemed too indulged in your conversation with Boromir to seem to care."
Vera follows him with ease, standing on a rock behind him so they weren't face-to-face. "Well, I do care. And, what does this have anything to do with Boromir? Are you jealous?" she blurts out unintentionally, pinching herself for the lack of self-control she has over her mouth.
Vera has never seen anyone turn around so quickly. Legolas practically ballerina-spins in his place, his eyes piercing into Vera at the accusation. The true-but-would-never-admit-it-to-himself accusation. Her head dizzies slightly at the sight of him whipping his body to look at her, but still managing to appear like a graceful angel. "I'm not jealous," he argues hotly.
Vera raises her eyebrows with interest. "Really? Then, say, what is the reason for your sudden dislike towards Boromir and I's friendship?" she interrogates with a knowing look.
"I don't have a dislike for your friendship," he says immediately, a little too fast to be considered truthful.
"Right, and I don't have ten hundred dolphins ready to do my bidding back at home," She laughs.
"Do you really?"
"No...but that's not the point." Vera shakes her head. "You're just jealous."
"Am not," argues Legolas. "Why would I have a reason to dislike your friendship?"
"I don't know—"
"See, you don't know. You shouldn't be making assumptions like this without any reason—" he counters stubbornly.
"—Leggy—"
"—And besides, yours and Boromir's relationship is entirely up to your wishes. You could go ahead and kiss the man if you want to—"
"—Uh, no thanks, but tree prince—"
"—Who am I to stop you? No one, I'm no one to stop you. So, go ahead and do as you please but I am not jealous," the prince finishes with a curt tone.
Vera blinks. "Tell me, Greenleaf, if you aren't jealous then why are you so winded up by the fact that I assumed so?"
They were silent.
"I'm not jealous," he finally replies.
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Vera."
"Legolas."
"I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"Am not."
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Damnit, Vera."
"Legolas."
"Am. Not."
"Are. Too."
"You're never giving up are you?"
"Not a chance."
The two stare off at one another, not backing down as their distance grows shorter and shorter with each word uttered until they're centimeters away from each other. The only time they were so close was when they were preparing to leave from Rivendell but their faces wasn't so near.
Vera glares intensely at him, refusing to back down from the claim she said earlier. Call it pride, but there has to be a reason why Legolas would be so snippy towards her friendship with Boromir, considering that he wasn't salty towards her other friendships with the rest of the Fellowship.
Legolas, having been raised by his stubborn father and hardheaded mother, whilst having countless arguments with his strong sisters and numerous brothers, is rather accustomed to the pride that comes with never backing down from an argument, always keep his mind clear and his stare straight into her eyes. Even if it was true — which Legolas strongly believes it isn't — he would never admit it to himself for the reason behind his jealousy would be too...strange. Feelings didn't come naturally for the boy.
Soon, however, their staring contest is cut off. "Are you two too busy with your flirting or can we steal Vera away?" Aragorn calls out, a bright smile on his face.
Legolas snaps out of the daze first, giving one last glare at Vera's triumphant grin, before returning back to his duty of keeping their surroundings safe and guarded from any intruders. Smiling happily as she won the battle, she twirls on her feet and bounds over to the group of boys sword-fighting with one another.
Aragorn has taken a break from the dueling he had with Merry, eating a piece of bread in his hands as he watches the two Hobbits fight against Boromir. Vera soon approaches the scene with a big smile, sitting down adjacent to Aragorn, and Frodo and Sam. "Whatcha doing?" she happily asks, plopping down at the boulder carefully to not ruin her clothes.
"Teaching," Aragorn answers, his eyes glued to the duel. "And I assume you're so happy because you had time to flirt with Legolas."
Vera rolls her eyes. "Please," she scoffs. "That Leaf is so far up his arse for me to even think about—"
"I heard that!"
"I was joking!" She shouts back, grinning sheepishly at the glare he throws. When he glances away, she shakes her head with a look.
"Get away from the blade, Pippin," Boromir instructs, dodging an attack coming from Merry and simultaneously clashing his sword with Pippin's in concentration. "On your toes...good, very good." The trio continue to battle against one another peacefully, never set out to purposefully attack someone or injure the other. Even if they wanted to, they couldn't. Their supplies are limited and little mistakes could cost them much.
"What am I doing here?" Vera frowns.
"Well, I thought it'd be nice for you to stop sulking but you were rather busy when I called you," starts Aragorn. "However, I do think that this could be a nice form of entertainment. As well as keeping a few tactics in mind."
"Ah, nice," nods Vera understandingly.
"I want you to react, not think!" Boromir tells the cousins before moving away from the incoming attack from Pippin and blocking Merry. Impressively, Pippin manages to land a small hit on his chest while Merry feigns a slash on his back. Boromir comes out unharmed, but proud.
"Quite good, Pippin," Merry compliments.
"Thanks," he beams. "I reckon we'll be better than Vera by the time Boromir's done with us."
Vera smirks. "Keep dreaming, princess."
As they continue to battle, Vera lets her ears reach the conversation Gimli is having with Gandalf and frowns. "If anyone were to ask for my opinion, which I note they have not, I would say we are taking the long road around. Gandalf, we can pass through the Mines of Moria," Gimli suggests, his eyes twinkling. "My cousin, Balin, would give us a royal welcome."
"No, Gimli," the wizard disagrees. "I would not take the road through Moria unless I had no other choice."
Vera furrows her brows. He seems awfully dead-set on not going to Moria. Why? She lifts her eyes to meet Gimli's, a similar frown on both of their faces. They seem to have a silent conversation with one another before Vera's attention is brought back to Pippin.
Boromir seems to have struck at Pippin because the Hobbit lunges himself at Boromir with force, abandoning his sword, with Merry by his side in an instant. As the two Hobbits attack the elderly man, Aragorn and Vera laugh merrily. The former stands, approaching the wrestling trio with a bright smile.
"Gentlemen, that's enough," he says for Boromir, coming to his mercy. He takes ahold of the Hobbits and tries to pry them off of Boromir but remains unsuccessful as they cause him to fall, pushing the weak link on his knees. Vera laughs even more, clutching her stomach at the sight before her.
Unaware to some of the group, Legolas turns to look at the mermaid, hearing her laughter, and smiles to himself before returning his attention back to the strange mass of black coming towards them at an alarming rate.
"What is that?" Sam asks, the wisp catching his attention immediately. Vera looks away from the entertainment, standing up as she did so, and approached the rock where Legolas stands, her eyes trained at the things before them.
"Nothing," Gimli brushes off, "A wisp of cloud." Legolas fleetingly glances at Vera as she moves closer to the thing, adjusting his stature so he stood closer to her, before looking back at the 'cloud.' Using his keen eyes, he tries to see past the distance and his eyes widen considerably. "Crebain from Dunland!"
Vera's eyes widen as the words escape his mouth, immediately back-tracking but yelping in surprise as Legolas grabs her waist to shove her gently under a bush, taking cover himself. She hears rustles from around the boulders and comes to the conclusion that the rest are hiding as well. Alarmed by the sudden movement, she looks at Legolas sourly. Suddenly, she realizes their position and blushes red before moving herself so she lies in a more appropriate position and away from the particular area.
Legolas raises an eyebrow.
"Not a word, Elf Boy."
.
author's note:
someone's jealous ;) anyway i hope y'all liked this chapter and if you did feel free to share and show it some love it will be appreciated 🥺🥺