Fan Fiction ❯ Elves Make For Strange Bedfellows ❯ Do Not Talk Unless You Can Improve The Silence ( Chapter 11 )

Chapter: 11 - Do Not Talk Unless You Can Improve The Silence…Or

"Come, Kimber it is time to, wake up," she looked up to see Aragorn's face; she smiled at him and he at her before moving on to the hobbits.

"Sam, Frodo, Merry, Pippin," he called tapping each one on the shoulder.

"Oh Strider, what time is it?" Samwise moaned pulling a wool covering over his head.

"It is time we be on our way," Aragorn replied before heading back to the others.

"Not like a hobbit to get up before the sun," Sam grumbled once more as the rest of them stirred.

"Oh to be a fairy," Pippin smiled as Kimber had awoken with little complaint. She was now gathering their wool blankets, folding each and placing them in a neat pile on the ground.

"Do you think you could bottle some of that energy and give it to us?" Frodo yawned.

"Master Frodo," she smiled.

"Come on Merry, Pip, we best be on our way, we don't want Kimber to show us up," Frodo grinned impishly in her direction.

"Good morning, Kimber" Merry and Pippin chorused in unison, she looked on as they fumbled about and gathered their belongings.

"Good morning," Frodo walked over to where Felicity was standing; she had her back turned away from the group.

"Ah, Frodo," she smiled "good morning!"

"I was worried when I did not see you, thought that you might have gone off again without me," he smiled in return. Felicity turned to see Haldir's eye upon them.

The nerve of him! Especially after all that had happened yesterday; he actually had the audacity to crawl into bed with her after his watch. She had pretended to be asleep as he fondled her. She made it a point to wake early so as to not be seen with him by Kimber, thankfully by the time she had, he was already gone.

Lucky for him, she had a little self control, lest she would march right up to him and poke him in those very eyes that now glared at her.

"No master Frodo, I would not have gone off without the likes of you," she offered him her hand and he led her back the group.

"Well now that we are all here, let's be on our way," Haldir announced smugly. "I will tell you now that the route to Caras Galadhon is of no easy journey. Aragorn, it would be in our best interest if you and perhaps, Boromir, travel close to the halflings and the dwarf to help them keep speed. Orophin…"

"I don't need anyone, helping me along, I can manage far better than most," Gimli gruffed.

"Orophin," Haldir continued ignoring his words, "You and Legolas will take up the rear, and Rumil and I will take the lead."

Having made no mention of the fairies, Kimber took her usual spot of choice next to Merry and Pippin, Felicity followed suit.

"I feel it would also be in the best interest of all if you were up here with me," he fashioned his eye in Felicity's direction who was now ducking behind her sister.

"Me?" Kimber looked at him in bewilderment.

"Kimber, you know who I mean," he looked past her; Kimber moved to the left, as did her sister, then to the right, Felicity followed suit. The hobbits giggled at her antics and crouching behind her sister she did the same, ceasing only when upon turning she saw Haldir standing in front of her looking rather unamused.

"Let's go," he took her by the hand and led her to the front. She was a bit surprised by his delicacy.

"Now are we ready?" he offered a look over his shoulder before embarking on the trodden path before them.

"Do you see that Aragorn, at least `he' has sense enough to keep a watchful eye upon them," Boromir motioned to the fairies, "had we done so from the beginning instead of let them run wild, their devilry would be of no issue now."

"Boromir, what is this issue you speak of, I am beginning to think that `you' have succumbed to the very devilry of which you speak," Aragorn sighed having had quite enough of Boromir's insinuations.

"Can you not see it Aragorn? The way in which Legolas pines after Kimber, he is no longer of any use to us, for how can his elven sight be of any use to `us', if his eye is constantly fixed upon her?" he pleaded.

"And now Frodo and that Felicity…he was so pure, Aragorn, have you seen the way he looks at her now with eyes of lust?" he continued.

Aragorn had seen it and he had also seen the relationship now blossoming between Kimber and Legolas. He deemed it in everyone's interest to say nothing though as he hoped such things would blow over, the last thing the fellowship needed was a distraction or worse yet, two.

"Boromir, please, do not worry yourself with matters that do not exist," Aragorn insisted, now looking at the hobbits, they were fully engrossed with Kimber as she now told them about her home and the time her and Felicity, well actually Felicity, as it were, turned a member of their father's royal guard into a frog. They all roared with laughter and disbelief, she then assured them that it was her who provided him with the herbs to counteract the spell after Felicity refused to do so.

"Kimber you are a gem," Pippin beamed, "Just like you to save the day," he smiled. Merry nodded in agreement, he wondered how long they would be together. He had formed such a friendship with her and the thought of it coming to an end in a few days brought a feeling of sorrow upon him.

"Merry what is the matter?" Kimber placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Aw, nothing much I suppose," he looked at the ground as they walked along.

"I know why he's sad," Pippin offered. Merry looked at him. "He's all upset because we're gonna be leaving in a few days, and he doesn't want to," Pippin continued. "He's gonna miss you."

"Oh Merry, and I will miss you as well, but you know where we live", she offered reassuringly.

"That's right, Mer, now that we've left the Shire once, there's no reason why we can't do again," Sam smiled, "Can you just see the old Gaffer's face now, Frodo, when we go strolling out of the Shire again?" he laughed, "He'll say, I reckon you're a might bunch of travelers now, where ya off to?" he chuckled at his own wit, "And of course we'll say, Gaf, we're off to see the fairies!" he was now roaring.

As were the other three.

Kimber was glad to see a smile on Merry's face once more as they now busied themselves with the prospect of telling their adventurous tales to the folks back home.

"The fairies, " Frodo repeated to himself as he looked from Kimber to Felicity who was looking at him over her shoulder. He smiled at her and then offered her a pout, wishing that she were with them, to which she nodded in Haldir's direction.

He shrugged his shoulder indicating that he had no idea what Haldir's problem was. Felicity smiled at Frodo and began making faces behind Haldir's back. She plugged her ears with her thumbs and stuck her tongue out at him. She then wrinkled up her face and moved her mouth in a mocking fashion, all the while looking over her shoulder at Frodo, perhaps that is why she's didn't realize that Haldir had stopped to address the group. Felicity stumbled into him sending him crashing to the ground, she fell squarely on top of him; nose to nose.

"Felicity!" he roared; cheeks aflame with embarrassment.

"Sorry", she mouthed, trying to stifle a laugh, she felt like Kimber lying there in a heap.

"Do not," he began; Rumil lifted her from him and dusted her off.

"My apologies," he tried to compose himself before the group. Felicity stood a foot behind him now face red as if it were about to burst; "Our journey," he began. Kimber erupted with laughter at the sight of her sister's hue; Felicity did the same causing Haldir to cut her a glare over his shoulder.

"Our journey has been easy so far, the paths that lie ahead are not well trodden and may prove tricky at times, please watch your footing," he turned and looked at Felicity "And I will watch yours," he took her lightly by the arm and walked beside her.

"I do not know what it is you are doing, but I would prefer that you would cease in doing it," he whispered to her. She did not answer as they continued along. She tried to sneak a glance over her shoulder at Frodo once more but Haldir met her gaze instead.

"So is this how you envisioned married life?" Rumil asked his brother in a tone that only he could hear.

Haldir looked at Felicity who was now twisting a braid in her long black tresses and smiling at him innocently.

"Oddly enough it is," Haldir replied.

"So much for elves being light on their feet," Gimli chuckled.

"All right Master Dwarf," Legolas called from the rear.

The sound of his voice brought a smile to Kimber's face. Oh how she had wished that it had been him lying beside her yesterday instead of Rumil. Rumil! She still had to have the talk with him. What was she going to say? She lifted her eyes to look in his direction, yep, there he was staring straight at her. It figured, how do you let someone down easy when you really don't even know what your are letting them down from. Had she been sending him mixed signals? Impossible! She barely even exchanged words with him since their arrival in Lorien. And there he was, eyes fixed steadily upon her. Secretly, she wished he too would stumble into Haldir; perhaps then he would be forced to look where he was going instead of at her.

"Will you make it?" Kimber was drawn back to reality with the continued resound of Legolas' voice. He was half-heartedly laughing at Gimli as he trudged up the steep incline.

"Listen here, my little pointy eared friend," he grumbled, trying to steady himself. His armor was heavy and quite frequently threw off his center of gravity.

Legolas smiled at his comrade and despite protest nudged Gimli along.

He and Orophin each took an arm and gave him balance.

"Now this is absurd, " Gimli retorted. The two elves paid no mind to him as he went on about not needing any help from the likes of clumsy elves. Legolas thanked Orophin for his generosity and then looked over to Kimber. He had caught her stealing a glance at him and offered her a sheepish grin.

He looked now to Felicity who was still at Haldir's side and wondered how she would ever manage to pose a distraction long enough for him to spend some time with Kimber. He needed to tell her how he felt, but perhaps he should not. Was it fair to burden her with such emotion knowing the task which lay before him? It wasn't as though he were going away on a picnic, they were journeying to Mordor and his return was not guaranteed.

"Lle anta amin tu? (Do you need help?)" Haldir asked Felicity as they neared the top of the first incline; there were many more along their journey though this was the steepest.

"No, thank you," she replied curtly. Though she had spoken too soon as she stumbled over a tree root. Haldir caught her and led her gently by the hand over the last few feet of the uprising.

She wondered if what Legolas had said was true, were they really married? What then? Surely she did not consent to such an arrangement! If they were, then he had tricked her and as soon as they set foot before Galadriel it would be no more. But isn't this what she wanted? She had come to his borders a few nights ago, but he rejected her. Made a fool out of her right in front of his brothers and worse yet her sister! And he was still making a fool of her, talking that elvish nonsense to her and she fell for it hook, line and sinker, ugh! And she didn't want to even think about Frodo and his involvement in the equation she did not have the mental capacity for it at the moment.

**********

"Frodo," a whisper rang through the halflings ear.

"What?" he looked at Sam.

"What's that Mister Frodo?" Sam turned to him.

"Sam, did you say something?" Frodo inched closer in hopes of hearing him better.

"No Mister Frodo," Sam replied once more.

"Frodo, ring-bearer," he stopped short in his steps and looked around as though something was terribly wrong and it was, he was hearing voices in his head.

"Mister Frodo, are you alright?" Sam looked at him with concern.

"Sam, I don't know, " he looked a bit peeked.

"You know what the trouble is? We haven't eaten!" Pippin insisted. " We haven't had second breakfast,' he insisted.

Haldir stopped walking and turned to see what commotion was ensuing.

"Frodo," Kimber whispered placing a hand to his head, "Are you alright?"

"Kimber, I …I…am not," he placed his hands to his knees and bent down low.

"We must stop," Boromir insisted.

Kimber placed her arm around Frodo and led him to a nearby downed log; she rested his head on her shoulder and tried to reassure him.

Felicity headed toward them but stopped as she felt Haldir's hand upon her shoulder, "Perhaps you should help Sam," he insisted, motioning to the hobbit. She shrugged his hand off and went over to where her sister and Frodo now sat; it was not long before Legolas knelt down before him as well.

"Legolas," Frodo began, feeling comfortable enough to share his predicament with someone he knew, "I heard a voice, it was in my head, a woman's voice," his eyes were wide with fear.

"It was the elf witch!" Gimli offered.

"A witch?!" Boromir panicked.

"The voice you heard is not that of a witch, Frodo, it is of the Lady Galadriel," Legolas bowed his head in respect even as his lips spoke of her. "She is the Lady of the Golden Wood," he continued.

"She is calling me?!" Frodo offered nervously.

"Do not be afraid. She is the epitome of all that is of elves; purity, grace, beauty," he smiled.

Frodo's mind was a little more at ease now as Legolas further explained who Galadriel was; noting that she was not an elf witch as he cast a downward glance at Gimli.

"No need to go into all of that now," Sam insisted, "he doesn't have nothing wrong with him that a bit of seasoning from the Shire can't cure," he removed a small box from his pack and sprinkled about one-third of its contents into a tin pot resting on the fire.

Haldir offered a sigh; it wasn't enough that Frodo was ogling his possessions now he was slowing their progress as well.

Rumil came up behind him, "Ah, do not fret my brother, we could all use a rest," he smiled.

Haldir wanted to slap the grin right off of his brother's face. He wondered why he was so cheeky today. He watched as Kimber fussed over Frodo all the while keeping Legolas in her sights. Rumil was an ass if he could not see how she pined for the "Prince of Mirkwood." For a moment he looked at them detestfully. All seemed well before they showed up. Well, with exception of the fight he had with Felicity and Kimber; he knew that eventually they would be back; for there were few who would not.

He and Rumil had planned to venture into Ediwione to see them. Rumil insisted he apologize for his harshness, as he was fretful that it would ruin any chance he had with Kimber. He had agreed, though Orophin had insisted that it would probably be a cold day in the underworld before Felicity spoke to `him' again!

He had not been concerned though, all he had to do was whisper a few elvish phrases and she would be dropping her breeches for sure. That was until they showed up unexpectedly and with this group! He had done nearly everything in his power to keep his jaw from hitting the ground. He figured his threat to be Legolas, knowing that Felicity had little tolerance for mortals. However, the elf seemed to be posing quite a threat to his brother who was oblivious to the whole thing. What a fool! To just sit there and watch while the prince swept what was rightfully his right out from under his nose. He shook his head again as he watched Legolas' sit next to Kimber.

"Ah Rumil, what seems to be the matter with Haldir?" Orophin wondered as he took a seat on the ground.

"My brother, when is there not something the matter with the Warden, I am sure he is vexed because someone other than `he' suggested that we rest," Rumil laughed.

"Touche' (pronounced too-shay) Rumil! You seem to be a bit saucy there, what brings this about?" Orophin replied.

"Tonight Orophin, I am thinking about tonight", he smiled looking over to Kimber. She was so delicate as she tended to Frodo. She would make a wonderful wife, he decided, and a loving mother as he now envisioned her tending to their talan with a few strapping boys running around. Though now that he thought about it he would rather have daughters about, they would take after their mother; graceful and beautiful; putting others always before themselves. Tonight he decided, he would profess his love for her to the group tonight. He would take care to make sure that there was a feast prepared though he didn't want to spoil things; it needed to be a surprise. He would just ask Sam to cook up a little something special; though come to think of it, Orophin was handy with the pots and pans to which Haldir referred to him as being "Ve' ah edainme (Like a woman)". No matter though, this eve his culinary talents would come in handy.

"Rumil?" Orophin waved a hand in front of his face.

"Oh, I am sorry, brother, I was just thinking," he paused, "Listen, I may need your services later, and by that I mean in meal preparation," he continued.

"It would be my pleasure," Orophin smiled widely, for now he would be able show the fellowship `his' talent for preparing a repast.

**********

"What are you looking for Kimber," Legolas offered as she looked around the outskirts of the camp.

"Oh just a bit of white chestnut leaves," she replied. He raised a brow as she now looked intently at the surrounding trees.

"May I ask what for?" he inquired.

"Well, here I've got some mimulus, a few red chestnut leaves and a bit of rock rose, I just need a few leaves from," she began.

"Whoa, though I am a wood elf, you seem to have lost me at the red chestnut," he smiled.

"Oh I am sorry, I was just gathering some herbs for Master Frodo," she replied.

"Some herbs?"

"Yes, will boil them down and Valar willing, this will ease whatever anxiety he is feeling at the moment," she stated as-matter-of-factly.

"Incredible, " he replied.

"Not really," she replied, "just a few plants, here and there, is all," she offered.

"Not the plant, Kimber, you. I am amazed by you; everything about you" he stood back and admired her now.

"Me? Please Legolas, there is nothing special about me," she blushed.

"Well to me there is," he offered.

"And what of you; Prince of Mirkwood?" he looked a might surprised in her addressing him in such a way.

"Tis just a title, my fair Kimber", he replied.

"Just a title? And by what means do you have keeping such a title to yourself," she smirked.

"Kimber, while I am here I am but one of nine companions. I would rather be known by my friends than by my bloodline," he smiled shyly, "That I am the son of a king makes me no more important then Samwise being the gardener of Frodo," he continued. She stopped and looked at him; it touched her deeply to hear him speak such words.

"Well, that is very noble of you Legolas, I can only hope that you will share more about your heritage with me," she went back to looking for the leaf.

"And I would ask the same of you, Princess," he smiled coyly at her.

"I've got it!" she announced picking up the white blossoms.

"Well then let's be on our way, Frodo awaits," Legolas led they way back to camp.

Upon their return to the area, the mood was unsettled as the hobbits were anxiously milling over Frodo. Gimli was chastising Boromir, who was now pacing back and forth looking around as though Morgoth, himself, were after him.

Aragorn approached them now, "Legolas, Kimber, I am glad that you have returned. Frodo wants to keep going but I feel he should rest for a bit, Kimber perhaps you could talk to him."

"Me? Felicity would be better suited for that," Kimber conceded.

"Kimber I do not know where Felicity is," Aragorn offered. Instinctively, her eye wandered to Haldir, who to her surprise, was sitting on a nearby rock speaking with Rumil and Orophin.

"Then I will talk to him," she agreed as she grabbed a pot and headed over to where the hobbits were sitting.