Fan Fiction ❯ Tên Mûel ❯ Rewards ( Chapter 20 )

Title: Tên Mûel
Authors: Makiko Igami (makikoigami@yahoo.de) & My-chan (My-chan@gmx.de)
Archive: http://www.yaoi.rulestheweb.com
http://www.fire-angel.net/Seek%20Truth/ main.html
http://lotr.lirimaer.com/
http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfi c/src.php?auth=58906
http://fanfiction.alansworld.com/viewuser.php?uid= 74
http://adultfan.nexcess.net/aff/authors.php?no=2588
Legolas In Chains Archive
ALSlash Archive
Library of Moria, too
Category: AU, RPG
Rating: this chapter... PG? May go up soon... *is getting poked by My-chan: "NC-17!"* *sweatdrops*
Pairings: Aragorn/Legolas, others as well *glances over to Elladan & Elrohir*
Warnings: Slash, OOC (of Arwen mostly), slavery, angst...
Spoilers: A few... not really as I don't remember much of the book, just that Aragorn became King of Gondor in the end and that Arwen was his Queen.
Summary: After seven years of marriage, the excitement of being together has vanished from Aragorn's and Arwen's marriage... maybe a present might change this.
Disclaimer: You know the deal don't you? J.R.R. Tolkien invented them, and if we owned them, we would be related to him, but since neither I nor My-chan are... we just play around with them, toy with their minds and use them for fun only. <insert evil laughter here>
Notes&Comments: This was written by me and My-chan as a rpg and ever since Pretending And Being, a wild mix of German and English, we have this nearly "exhibitionistic" need for feedback from various places. ^^;; So please be gentle.
Now on to the story itself. I know that this may look like a serious Arwen-bashing story, but please be reassured that we don't mean to cause any harm to anybody who likes her. She is just for causes of story-telling such a bitch here. ^^;
The Sindarin we used (and transformed for ourselves) comes from a little program called Dragon Flame (which I always think that it is this game I don't want to play unless I know I am on my own), but since it didn't have all the words we needed, we had to make them up. If you have any questions feel free to send an email to any of us... and hope that we still know what we wanted to say. ^^;;;;
________________________________________________________________ _______

Aragorn crossed another corner and found himself closer to his wife's chambers than during the past few months, years almost. If he thought about it a second time, he found though that he had never really visited Arwen's chambers. He only came over to see her in the first months of their marriage and then he didn't see much of the interior than maybe the bed.

But even that was seldom. Arwen rather spent the night in his chambers than in hers when they spent their nights together. And that ceased within the passing months of their life as a married couple. Mostly because Aragorn found that with the change of the government people thought they had to bother the King with all their wishes and laments. Thus he had to spend more and more time in his office than he liked, especially since the requests didn't ebb out with the time but increased even.

But now this had changed and he had more time to do what he liked, thanks to his brothers and especially Jamiriel and he was utterly grateful for their suggestions and advises, even if he might not admit it most of the time. It was easier with Jamiriel though, as he knew that they both had the same goal: they wanted to make Gondor a good land where justice was served and worshipped, while his brothers seemingly only wanted to have fun. And that was mainly the reason, why Aragorn felt so awkward around them, while at other times he was totally at ease with them, glad that they were there to comfort him.

Awkward he felt now as well, standing only a few steps away from the Queen's chambers' door. But then he blinked in surprise as he saw how the head servant, the one who had beaten up Legolas so badly, came into view and walked right up to the Lady's chambers. He saw him knock onto the wooden door in a special pattern and then entered the rooms swiftly.

The King frowned at his behavior and slowly crossed the short distance and stared at the now closed door for a few moments, hearing two arguing voices through the thick walls. He chose a moment of silence, in which he could imagine his wife glaring at the man, to be perfect to knock on the door and make his presence noticed.

"Please come in," he heard Arwen's muffled alto and complied immediately. He saw both their shocked faces as they took in who their visitor was.

"Estel..."

"Milord," Ban murmured and bowed low.

"Please, be at ease, I didn't want to disturb your conversation. Ignore me while you continue," Aragorn said in reply and moved to sit on an empty chair.

Two incredulous gazes fixed him where he sat and he felt somehow light-hearted as he still saw utter surprise in them. Obviously he had interrupted something that he shouldn't know about.

Arwen was the first to overcome her surprise and look away from the King to raise her voice again. "Ban, please hand them over to my custody."

"But milady, you know that you wouldn't be able to..." the man said in protest, but stopped in the middle of the sentence as he seemingly felt too awkward with the King around to speak openly.

Aragorn could see how his wife's eyes narrowed dangerously, something he had seen only seldom and he also saw how the man started to shrink under her glare. But neither of them made a move or said a word. Finally the man had enough of the silence and spoke up to both of them.

"What is it that you two are bargaining about?"

Again he was fixed by the gazes of the two of them.

"We are talking about the keys to your slave's chain," Arwen confessed, still not ashamed at all by the wrongness of keeping somebody innocent in chains against his will and thus made Aragorn cringe unintentionally. "He doesn't want to give them to me," she stated matter-of-factly, sounding almost like a child.

"But Milady... There is no reason why they shouldn't stay in my hands..."

Aragorn's blood froze, as well as his look. "Do you want to keep them so that you can sneak in and beat my slave up again?"

"No, milord, I just don't think that it is..." the man said lowly, but hesitated with a glance over to Arwen, who was still glaring at him, now sporting a pout as well.

"I don't care what you think!" Aragorn erupted. "As the King of Gondor I order you to give those keys to me immediately and then leave me and my wife alone!"

Ban paled until his face had the color of snow. He was brave, yes, when it came to other servants and slaves, but these were the King and the Queen and to say that he was intimidated by them would have been an understatement, closing in onto a lie. Nervously he glanced from one to the other and back again, but he couldn't gather enough courage to take it up with both of them. Arwen maybe, she was just a woman and naïve as well, but never with Elessar.

So as soon as he regained his composure he nodded and bowed low again before the King, and then dived with his hand into the pockets of his clothing, from which depths he produced two small silver keys. Carefully he placed them on the table and stepped away quickly as he heard the other man approaching. Aragorn saw that the keys were fine Dwarven handicraft and carried Gimli's unmistakable handwriting. This made his face harden even more.

How could the Dwarf have possibly betrayed him like that? The last time he saw him, the smaller man had been very caring and protective of the Elf, so why should he help to keep him in chains? Was it maybe his long hidden disliking of Elves in general that made him act like this?

"How did you get these?"

If Ban had thought that he was able to flee from these chambers without anymore inquiries from the King he was now facing the opposite. He fidgeted where he stood, bowing his head low but said not a word.

"I know Gimli gave them to you. How did you get him to do that?"

"I simply asked him, milord," Ban said lowly in response to the growl of the King. "He was a little surprised at first, but after I gave him enough gold from your treasures, he stopped asking questions and handed them over freely."

Aragorn's eyes narrowed. "Everybody seems to think that the royal treasures are for everyone in these walls to use at their own will." He glanced over to Arwen, who seemed not to notice his hints. "I will see an end to that, soon. Some changes are necessary to be made here," the man added stubbornly and glared at Ban. "You can go now."

The servant nodded quickly and was out of the room faster than Aragorn could blink. He probably went to let off some steam at his own underlings.

The King let out a sigh before he looked at his wife. He had come there to talk to her, but now that he was face to face with her, the keys for Legolas' chain safely in his pocket, he had no idea what they should talk about. Like so many times before, but then they were around officials and they could use the official small-talk. But now, in private, he didn't know what to say.

"I've heard what happened last night. I am sorry," he heard Arwen say through the daze that had built inside his mind. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am. Thank you," Aragorn answered awkwardly.

"Really? I heard this assassin had a poisoned blade."

"Yes, but I didn't get hurt. Legolas saved me..." he trailed off. 'He got hurt by it though and it seems as if he needs more than just Athelas to recover from it.'

"You gave the slave a name?"

The man's eyebrow twitched, anger rising inside him and he had to hold back any snappish retort. Instead he spoke with his teeth clenched, "I didn't give it to him. He told me that was his name."

"They told me he didn't have a name yet," the woman said and looked a little sheepish. An awkward silence fell upon the two, who stared at the ground in shame. It was only broken when Arwen spoke up again. "Estel... what did you want to tell me?"

"I..." Aragorn started, still at a loss of words. 'I wanted to come here, yell at you - well, not really - and get the keys for Legolas' chain... and that I did, though not from you.' "I don't know," he said truthfully in the end and saw how his beautiful wife sighed.

"Estel, what changed between us?" she asked as she looked up, fixing his steel-blue eyes with her bottomless blue ones. "We were such a good match before you became King, there was nothing that could come between us, no distance, no problems or call from the Grey Havens, but look at us now. We are strangers to each other."

"That is not true and you know it."

"It is? Then why do you not know what to say to me?"

The King of Gondor opened his mouth, wanting to come up with reasons that meant the exact opposite of what they both know was true, but he couldn't. He knew that they were no longer the great match they had been when he was a mere ranger and she the most beautiful Elf in Middle-Earth, maybe even more beautiful than the legendary Lúthien Tinúviel.

They were a strange pair indeed, but there was nothing that could come between them. But it seemed as if a few years marriage managed what endless miles and careful schemes to get them apart couldn't.

"I don't know," Aragorn murmured and resumed looking down on the ground. "I don't know what has come between us, what it is that made us drift away from each other when years of separation couldn't do that... Have you any idea?" he asked and looked up again, now his turn to lock her eyes with his. She looked away though and kept silent for a very long time.

"No."

Aragorn sighed and stood up, somehow needing to vent some steam with moving around.

"Why are we still keeping up the façade of a happy marriage? You don't have time for me anymore..."

At this point he was interrupted by his wife.

"I don't have time anymore for you? Who was burying himself behind a mountain of stupid letters?"

"Arwen, you know that this wasn't my fault... nor idea of spending the day as King."

"Then why didn't you get a secretary earlier? It took you only one day to get this woman to do that job!"

"I didn't want to have somebody doing this job that I didn't trust! This is no game, me being King affects everybody in this land and this land I have to take care of!"

Arwen stared at him, stubbornly wanting to miss what he just pointed out. "You didn't think of it yourself, did you? You needed Ellani and Elloni to figure this out for you," she said coldly, quite a contrast to the hysteric yells before.

"I didn't!" Aragorn protested. "I just had too much to do to think about that."

"And their mere presence changed that?" she inquired. "Estel, I don't believe you. Something must have happened."

From the malicious grin that seemed to have sprung free from one of her brother's faces onto hers, Aragorn could figure out that she knew exactly what had happened.

"You... You! You sent them after me!" he glared, not caring that he sounded absolutely childish. "What is this? Your idea of revenge that things died out between us?" Laughing sarcastically he threw one hand in the air. "That is fouler than any idea I ever encountered in my whole life!"

Now it was Arwen's turn to jump up and glare at him. She waved her hand in a frustrated manner. "I don't have to listen to this! I don't need to get accused by you. Who let the fire between us die down? It was definitely not me!"

"Then who kept avoiding me and rather spent her days and nights in the stables? What is it that you find so fascinating about equines?"

"I simply like horses! There's nothing wrong about that, now is there?" Arwen yelled back, looking seriously hurt. "It's not like I have an affair with the groom! Did you know that Sîdh gave birth to her foal?"

"Arwen, that is not the matter! The matter is between you and me!" Aragorn was beyond frustrated now. He turned around and fully intended to go. "I don't even know why I came here." He stalked out of the room, hearing Arwen's now shrill voice behind him.

"And now you're running away! What a brave man you are!"

The man stopped dead in his tracks, whirled around and stalked back to trap the woman between his body and the wall. She winced as she felt the sill of the mantelpiece slam into her back. and squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, a little tear escaping from the corner of her eye.

"I'd rather be a coward than somebody who doesn't value the individuality and freedom of a person!" Aragorn growled dangerously, glaring into her face, but not able to meet her eyes as she stared down in shame. Slowly he let go of her, releasing his steel-like grip on the narrow shoulders.

"I think I'll better go now."

And without any further word or glance he turned around and walked right out of his wife's chambers, somehow disappointed that this conversation didn't go as he had planned it to be. But in fact the turn of events didn't surprise him at all. Also it was the reason why he would rather not talk to his wife.

The last thing he caught a glimpse of as he slammed the door shut, was how Arwen sagged down on her knees, her shoulders shaking as a curtain of dark hair hid her face and any emotion that might have been displayed there.

Once outside the room, Aragorn took a very deep breath, then another one, but it wasn't enough to calm him down and he knew that if he went back to Legolas now, he would probably hurt him unintentionally. Just like he did when he was so furious to find new wounds and bruises on him.

No, he had to get rid of these aggressions in another way and before he could even think of what he was going to do, his feet had carried him downstairs to the training chambers, where he found a training sword and a battered tree stump. He shed his royal clothes that would only hinder his movements and started his work-out.

About an hour later he came back upstairs, sweating, his hair lying damp on his shoulders, clothes clinging to his body everywhere, but his aggressions were gone and he could almost grin again as he returned to his chambers. Swiftly he opened that heavy oak-door and searched his pockets for the little key he had gotten earlier.

"I'm back!" he announced almost too cheerily.

But Aragorn didn't get an answer from the Elf. Actually Legolas was fast asleep once more, comfortably wrapped in and snuggled up in the soft blankets. He was lying on his left side, his left hand next to his relaxed face. Curled up on his palm there lay a little squirrel, also sleeping peacefully.

Next to Legolas on the nightstand lay a few stones from cherries and a handful of cracked peels from nuts. The Elf's chest was rising and falling evenly, and nothing showed that he had heard the Human or woken up from it. Only the squirrel was now wide awake and looked at the Human crossing the corner with wide eyes.

Aragorn crossed the little decorative wall to where his bed stood and felt his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Another animal had made its way into the Elf's embrace, jealously watching his sleep and well-being. Inwardly Aragorn thought that Legolas was worse than a child, one second you turn away and as soon as you turn back you find him having another pet. Outwardly he smiled though.

"Did I wake you? I'm sorry," he said as he sat down on the side where Legolas hand lay and looked gently down at the squirrel, amazed that it put so much trust into the Woodelf.

The little animal blinked a little nervously and glanced to the window, then back to the Human, as if it was considering to flee any second. Finally it was rising from his more than comfortable position, without taking his eyes from the stranger, and moved. Not away though, but closer to Legolas. Under the blanket to be specific, where it curled up against the smooth chest.

The Elf stirred in his sleep as something tickled his sensitive skin, and his lips deformed into a smile.

"Dari-ha, Wiz", he murmured sleepily, hoping that his plea would stop him from moving around too much.

Aragorn smiled a bit more amused and grabbed an un-cracked nut, cracking it open as silent as he could with his fists. With the little crumbs in it he extended his hand, placed it before the little bulge in the blanket close to the entrance and offered the nuts.

"Your name is Wiz, huh? My name is Aragorn. Nice to meet you," he said and looked down expectantly, hoping that the little being would sense that he had once belonged to the forest as well and didn't want to cause any harm to him.

Legolas laughed silently as the squirrel moved yet again, and he heard Elessar's deep voice next to him. Still he didn't bother to open his eyes since the Human was obviously having a conversation already, and he didn't want to interrupt. Instead he concentrated on not being too sensitive to the soft hide against his bare skin.

Wiz wasn't really afraid of Humans, he just knew better than to get too close to them. But the scent of the nut was inviting and so he slowly moved towards the opening in the blanket where the offering hand was waiting. Sniffling carefully he hopped a little farther, thus brushing his whisker against the skin of the Elf's chest, causing him to squirm slightly.

Finally the little animal stuck his nose out and glanced up to the big stranger in front of him, before it shot forward and snatched the biggest crumb of the nut away. Only to retreat back into the safety of his little cave.

The man chuckled silently at the behavior of the little animal, but let his hand be where it was, in case Wiz wanted to snatch up another crumb. He also smiled at the little movements of slight discomfort coming from the Elf whenever he saw the little bulge in the sheets move. Legolas was obviously a little ticklish.

"So... Do you come here often?" he asked, out of no better idea what to do or say.

Wiz soundlessly munched the crumb in his tiny paws and Legolas sighed contented that he finally stopped moving, just when the squirrel hopped forward again to snatch the two other big crumbs from the Human's hand. The Elf let out a little irritated sound before he shifted a bit and blinked his eyes open.

Covering his mouth with a hand he muffled a small yawn before he answered for the little being.

"Yes... He's been keeping my company a lot of times... Though I don't know if it was more to my pleasing or to his..."

Raising his gaze from the little animal to Legolas' sleepy face Aragorn nodded slightly. "I see..." He watched how Wiz ate the last crumbs of the nut and then pulled his hand away. After he had shook the remaining crumbs away, he fished for the little keys in his pocket and held them right before the droopy blue eyes of the Elf without saying a word.

Legolas blinked at the little silver items before his eyes and tried to wet his eyes to get the slightly blurry sight clear again. He then took in what was held in front of his face and his eyes widened slightly. He glanced at Elessar and then back at the keys, his eyes flashing with insecurity. At the same time his heart skipped a beat just to make him feel like it wanted to bust his chest with the next few pounding-like beats.

The Elf swallowed dryly and met the Human's gaze, a silent question in his violet-blue eyes since he knew his voice would give in if he tried to talk. Hope could not be killed...

"These keys..." Aragorn started, "one is for the lock of the collar and the other is for the chain connected to it. As soon as your wound is healed you will accompany me outside." He smiled a little bit. "So we can see you back to your old condition."

Without noticing it, Legolas eyes became watery as he stared into the steel blue depths of Elessar's eyes. He had heard his words, but the Elf couldn't fathom it. A crystal drop made its way down his cheek and he closed his eyes, causing another tear to fall.

After all these month he should be free again... actually free. Free to do what he wanted... free to go wherever he liked.. like home.

Legolas felt so happy in this moment, that he didn't even realize the tears that streamed down his cheeks, unstoppable as it seemed.

"Hinead," was all he managed to whisper between two silent sobs.

Placing the keys into his hand, the man put the other one gently on the shivering shoulders and squeezed it lightly in a reassuring manner. He knew that this was really much for the Elf to fathom, that he would be free, able to walk under the open sky again, stretch his limbs and not feel the heavy weight of the chain around his neck.

Tempted to pull Legolas into his embrace, Aragorn leaned down slightly and whispered, "You're much welcome... it's the least I can do to thank you."

Out of a sudden impulse Legolas threw his arms around the Human's neck and pulled him closer, pressing his trembling and salt stained lips against Elessar's. Just for a few seconds though, before he slightly backed away again and just hugged the other man, as tightly as he could. Easily ignoring the pain in his side in the process as his injury was almost forgotten.

Aragorn blinked when he suddenly had an armful of an Elf in his arms and felt the salty lips on his... again. That was probably the best 'thank you' he had ever gotten and he was even tempted to kiss back, as his thoughts during his work-out had soon drifted from the fight with his wife to the feeling of Legolas pressing his lips to his own that managed to dominate his mind more than anything before. The soft feeling, the sweet scent... everything that was uniquely the blond Elf... if he hadn't concentrated on shredding the solid trunk into tiny little pieces he might have done things that were not really suitable for a king.

But then just as he thought he could risk kissing Legolas back, the Elf squeezed him tight, almost choking him in the process and he would have smiled, if he hadn't suddenly remembered that the Elf was actually injured... and then there was Wiz between them.

"Careful!" he chided silently and pushed Legolas a bit back, looking into tear-stained blue eyes. But the fact that they were happy tears made his expression soften.

"Sorry," the Elf whispered sheepishly and bowed his head down to hide his embarrassed features. But there he was confronted with a not so happy looking squirrel, which actually glared at him from under the blanket and peeped angrily.

Chuckling lowly at the angry tone of the little animal, Aragorn said, "You don't need to excuse yourself to me... but rather to your little friend there. We almost smashed him."

"Nícaer, Wiz," Legolas said truthfully, since he really felt guilty for almost hurting his little friend with his stupid behavior. The little thing just snorted and retreated deeper under the blanket, again tickling the sensitive skin of the Elf. But this time he managed to hold his reaction down to a slight squirm before he finally rose his hands to wipe the tears away.

In the last few hours... he'd been crying more than over the last hundred years together...

Legolas shook the thoughts away and raised his head again, now looking at the Human almost expectantly.

Aragorn tried to look innocent, but then he knew he wouldn't succeed and simply sighed.

"Your wound has to heal a little first," the man said, but added quickly, "Maybe we can go out a little tomorrow. I would love to see you in the garden."

The Elf was silent for a few seconds before he nodded. "Can't you... at least remove the chain...now?" he asked then, almost pleadingly.

'Not again the puppy-look!' Aragorn groaned inwardly, but managed to look like he was deep in thought. In fact he was contemplating whether he could risk it or not. But the only threat he could find was Ban and as long as Legolas kept his company, nobody would dare to lay a hand on the Elf after his display of anger some time ago. So it should not be a problem, if he removed the chain now.

"Hm..." he made, wanting to seem as if he was still thinking about it.

He was rewarded with violet-blue eyes which darkened visibly, and Legolas who turned his head away. His heart and soul felt as if he sat on the back of a giant bird and it was flying loops with major speed. On one hand he was happy that he should be free soon, but Elessar's hesitation made him sad at the same time. A not so good mix of feelings, which was displayed rather clearly in his eyes.

And the man was not able to bear this look upon him, so he turned away and stood up from the bed, playing with the keys in his hand and walked a few circles in front of the bed. Maybe he would get another hug from Legolas, when he undid the chain... but on the other hand, he would rather get a glare or worse.

So he turned back to the Elf quickly and sat back down on the bed, his free hand cupping Legolas' cheek, while the other still held the keys for the chain. He ran his thumb almost lovingly over the smooth skin, and had a hard time keeping a straight face.

The blond man raised his head again as the Human sat down next to him and now looked right into the steel blue eyes in front of him.

"Why are you hesitating?" he asked lowly.

Aragorn was startled and it showed clearly in his wide eyes. Then he gathered his composure and tilted his head a bit. "Maybe I wanted to tease you a little bit? So that I would get another hug..."

He sighed and reached out for the lock. And of course he used the wrong key first and fumbled with the second one.

Legolas moved his head a little upwards so the Human had better access to the lock at the chain and waited until he could hear the low clicking sound. Then he lowered his head again and looked straight at Aragorn.

"You don't have to tease me," he said bluntly, his features not showing a single emotion.

Aragorn sighed. "I know... I even find myself hugging you in my sleep... but the few times it happened..." He hesitated a bit, reformulating his words. "It... was just different. Whenever I touch you I feel like I do something unjust, as if I force myself on you..." He trailed off and was pretty sure that his words were not really understood.

"You did," Legolas stated matter-of-factly, without a moment of considering. "..at fist," he added then. "But I didn't mind. You never took advantage of the.. power you had over me..." The Elf's voice faded out and he swallowed, not sure why his voice was so unstable all over sudden.

"I'm grateful for that, and I just wanted to... thank you." Meanwhile his eyes had left Aragorn's face and his gaze wandered over the blanket, not sure where to stay.

"I..." Aragorn wanted to protest. He thought about what he wanted to put against what Legolas just said, but he couldn't think of anything. But he remembered clearly what he did that one night after the Elf was beaten up and looked at him directly, although he was looking away. "I am sorry I hurt you."

Legolas looked up and blinked at the words, quite startled by them. And all he managed to get out was a very intelligent "Huh?".

The man sighed and looked down on his hands which now lay in his lap. "I am sorry I let somebody hurt you... and that I hurt you myself in my fury over that," he admitted.

"It's okay," Legolas stopped Aragorn's drowning in self-reproaches. "You couldn't know that something like that would happen, and it's not your fault. Besides... the wounds are healed, you have no reason to be sorry..."

The Elf slowly raised his left hand and softly touched the Human's cheek with his palm. "Stop accusing yourself, please."

The man followed the soft urging of the hand with his head, to look into Legolas' eyes and wondered slightly if the wounds were really healed, but he chose not to ask this question yet. Instead his stomach chose to say something for him. It growled loudly in protest of its maltreatment. Even though he had had some breakfast, but it definitely wasn't enough for the whole day and now his body called out loudly for nutrition, making him look rather sheepish once more.

Legolas smiled gently at the slightly embarrassed look of the other man.

"It seems you're hungry... get something to eat..." he suggested, copying Aragorn's words from a little more than three weeks ago, with a little smirk on his lips.

"You don't happen to have any nuts or fruits left?" the man asked with a little smile.

Again the Elf blinked and then took a glance around.

"Actually... I don't even know where the ones came from that I ate earlier... Wiz brought them..." Legolas looked at the nightstand but saw only peels from cracked nuts there.

"I'm afraid... I don't..." he said lowly while his right hand carefully caressed the squirrel under the blanket, without him really noticing the movement.

"Then I guess I will have to call the servants," Aragorn sighed dramatically and straightened up. "Or was there any of the bread left you seem to despise so dearly?"

He got off the bed and walked back to the large table that he didn't waste any glance on as he entered the room. And in fact there was still the bread from his hasty breakfast. Hard but still eatable. He broke off a little piece and started chewing on it while he searched for something to drink. But the only beverage that was left in his room was some wine he hadn't drunk earlier.

So despite the fact that he had almost given up drinking alcohol, this was the only thing to drink around. He took the bottle with him and sat down on a chair, in the full knowledge that Legolas would despise him for that. But he had to drink something.

Slowly he poured something into a goblet and took a small sip, making a face at the almost unfamiliar taste. But he drank the liquid nevertheless.

To be continued...
______________________________________________________ _________________

You know the deal, right? I want a few more reviews for this one than the last... else we may start something like we did two weeks ago... O.o;