Fan Fiction ❯ Tên Mûel ❯ Getting to know ( Chapter 27 )

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. ^^;;;;
________________________________________________________________ _

"Legolas, this is Greaw, Commander of Security here. You did his job the other night," he said and patted his shoulder. Smiling at the taller man in front of them he introduced them the other way round. "Greaw, this is Legolas from Mirkwood. He's a little... shy towards Humans."

The blond man froze completely when he was suddenly pushed forward and found himself between the two Humans. This was definitely the last place where he wanted to be. He wanted to be far away from any Human and preferably in Aragorn's chambers under the bed, which was one of the best places to hide.

So now he just stood there, unmoving and simply stared down at the ground, his fists tightly clenched as they were pressed against his sides. Why was Aragorn doing this to him? Didn't he see that he feared his kind? Or was this his way of making his "slave" used to the other Humans?

Legolas squeezed his eyes shut at the bitter thought and tried to get it out of his head. Whatever Aragorn's intention was, it had nothing to do with what he had experienced before he came here. That much was for sure, he just mustn't forget it. But that thought still didn't cease his fear.

'Well, that's obvious,' the other man thought with a highly raised eyebrow as the beautiful Elf didn't dare to look up at him or even move. He looked at his King with a frown who looked at him pleadingly and tilted his head forward a bit, telling him to go on. Greaw thought hard about something he could do to show that he meant not to harm that beautiful creature between him and the King, but the only thing that came to his mind was how he usually showed his dignity.

Slowly he dropped down to his knees and bowed his head, looking down to the floor. He wasn't really used to these movements anymore as Elessar usually didn't pay much mind whether he did it or not, but here it was more than just appropriate.

"It is my pleasure meeting you, Legolas, charming Elf of Mirkwood," he said, trying to keep his smile at bay. He was absolutely not able to keep those words from his tongue, but he was doing his best not to let it show on his face.

Legolas would have stumbled at least one step back when the bulky man suddenly kneeled down in front of him in an absolutely respectful and admiring manner, if it hadn't been for Aragorn's hands that still lay on his shoulders and kept him where he was. But still his eyes widened considerably at the Human's behavior and the Elf could feel how his cheeks heated up and how he blushed a deep crimson red.

And if possible he blushed even deeper when the words reached his ears, making them twitch slightly. Also Legolas was almost sure that "Elf" could actually be replaced with Prince, judging from the way it was said. This made him swallow and even though he had been used to people bowing before him in the past, it made him feel uncomfortable now.

Still hesitating he extended his hand and touched the surprisingly soft hair of the kneeling man. "Please..." he whispered in the common language of Gondor, hoping it didn't sound too wrong. "Stand up..." There really was no need why he had to show this much respect towards him, as he was just a slave. But then he understood the meaning behind the gesture and a little smile made his lips curl up.

It seemed that this one didn't think of Elves as lower beings, that he actually liked them. And despite his rather rough and dangerous looks he actually seemed to be very nice and kind.

The red haired man looked up slowly, daring to meet the Elf's fair face which was stained with a deep shade of red, and he nodded as he scrambled back to his feet, now towering over the blond and the King once more. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, ruffling his own hair where Legolas had touched him. Chancing a little insecure look at Elessar, he saw how the older man smiled openly at the two.

Legolas waited until the man stood in front of him again and shyly looked up then to meet Greaw's eyes as he was at least 3 inch taller than the Elf. When he saw his sheepish expression the blond's smile widened a little bit and he slowly extended his hand again, offering it to the other man to grab it. A gesture he had seen the Humans do a lot of times and he figured that it was how they said hello.

"And it's my pleasure to meet you, Greaw," the words stumbled from Legolas' lips and made him blush even deeper. It was strange to use this language he didn't really know yet and hadn't got a chance to practice.

Aragorn watched contentedly how the commander, who was sporting a little blush as well, took the Elf's hand and shook it. He didn't use his full force, but only wrapped his hand lightly around it, although it was still a very good hold. Greaw beamed brightly at the smaller man, while the King thought it was safe to slowly back away from Legolas as he saw that they were getting along better than they had started off.

He put a hand on the younger man's shoulder and the other on Legolas'. "I am glad to see you that you... like each other," he said before he turned to talk to Greaw. "Proceed with those men as you would with any criminal. They deserve no mercy for what they have done."

Nodding the other man answered, "Of course milord. I will see that they won't even get water and bread for a while."

"Thank you," Aragorn nodded back and than patted Greaw's shoulder. "Is that all?"

"Yes milord."

"Very well, you may go now."

Bowing a bit from the waist towards the King and his company, Greaw smiled one last time at Legolas before he turned away to return to his duties. Aragorn followed him for a while with his gaze before he turned back to Legolas, who was still sporting a nice red shade.

"Well... what do you think?"

Of course he was aware that this had been a crucial encounter between Legolas and the race of men, but it went almost better than he had expected. Greaw may look menacing, but he had a soft heart when it came to beauty and protection.

The Elf flexed his fingers as he stared after the other man. He could easily tell that he only used a small amount of his actual strengths, but still it left the blond with a certain amount of respect. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Elessar's voice next to him and blushed even deeper.

"I... I think... I need to learn your language better..." he stuttered, now switching back to Elvish again. "I am not sure if I... understood everything... correctly..." Legolas continued, even though he was pretty sure that he had.

Aragorn chuckled softly. "Well, you certainly look like he just proposed to you or something," he admitted as he offered his arm for Legolas to hold again, turning to move on. "But what did you think of him?" he prodded further, wanted Legolas to talk about so that he knew exactly whether he could dare to pull a stunt like that again.

Only blushing even deeper at those words, Legolas took Aragorn's arm again and continued their way at his side, head lowered to hide the embarrassment on his features. But then he tried to focus again and took a few calming deep breaths.

"First... I was scared..." he admitted. "He looks pretty... mean," he said out of a lack of better words. "But he's nice... and gentle... a little like you..." Legolas said then, as he really found that both men had this special kindness in common.

"Well thank you," the man said as he crossed a corner. "Are you tempted to accept his... "offer"?" he asked with only the very slightest hint of jealousy in his tone.

Legolas blinked and looked at Aragorn with confusion written over his features. "What offer?"

"His proposal," the king answered with a grin that was so mischievously that it could rival the ones from his brothers.

The blond man blushed again, now actually rivaling the color of a tomato. Despite the fact that he would have preferred to hide his embarrassment somehow he kept looking straight at Aragorn, trying to read his face. "You're making fun of me, aren't you?" he asked then, unnecessarily.

The man grinned a little broader. "What makes you think that?" But he only managed to hold this look up for a moment. "Forgive me. I'm being cruel to you; that's not fair." He squeezed the Elf's hand slightly before he finally came to the gates of the stables.

"No, it's not," Legolas said and only gave a pout in return. "I really didn't expect anything like that. And it unsettled me... and that's solely your fault," the Elf exclaimed with a nod and slightly poked Aragon in the ribs with his elbow, the pout still firmly in place.

The corners of the man's mouth moved down as if he forced himself not to snicker any more. "Forgive me. I thought it was part of your... therapy. You froze rather extremely, if I may say so. Imagine something like that would have happened to you after you had regained your strength, would you have been able to defend yourself?" Aragorn asked worriedly.

Legolas looked up again, a little startled by the question and even stopped walking as he looked at the Human with slightly widened eyes and a raised eyebrow. "Against him?" he asked incredulously, as if he wanted to ask if the other man was really serious about that question. "Hardly." He paused for a moment, giving himself a few seconds of consideration.

"Well... Maybe... If I'm lucky..... I don't know," he admitted then. It had been so long that he was in possession of his full strength that the Elf wasn't really sure what he was capable of.

"Oh, come on," Aragorn said, now stopping as well. He looked into Legolas' face with a serious expression. "Your hands are strong, you're just not that well in shape as usual. Greaw may be strong, but I've seen Elves that look weaker than you who have won against him in arm wrestling faster than you could look." He patted the lither frame. "We work on your... our shape together and then I'll ask Greaw to wrestle with you. Does that sound okay?"

Again the Elf sent a rather doubtful look to the Human. "I don't think that would be such a good idea. Aren't you overrating me a little bit?"

Aragorn's eyebrows twitched as they wanted to move down into a frown, but weren't allowed to do so. "Don't doubt yourself. I sense you have the capability of being a lot stronger than you are just now, so.... we will see," he concluded and stood right in the middle of the stables considering for a moment what to show Legolas first. But then he took a turn to the left, towards the box of a cream-colored horse.

Legolas blinked when he suddenly found himself in the stables as he hadn't even noticed when they had entered it. He had been too busy arguing with Aragorn about how strong he was, or would be. How childish.

A sheepish smile made it to the blond's features as he stepped closer to the stable the Human was leading him to. His heart seemed to warm when his eyes fell upon the graceful animal that stood there, snorting contentedly as its nose dug around in the hay on the ground.

When it sensed the two figures approaching though it lifted its head, inspecting the strangers for a moment and was just about to turn away again when it spotted Aragorn and snorted happily. Legolas smiled at the obvious affection between those two and slowly extended his right hand, touching the soft nose of the animal.

The man walked right into the box and ruffled the mane of the horse. Melui had been another present from Arwen and she was already rather old, but Aragorn loved her just too much. He caressed her neck, patted it affectionately before he cooed something into her ear, making her snort again. Smiling he turned back to Legolas who was just trying to make friends with the mare.

"Melui... this is Legolas. Legolas, this is Melui, the oldest horse here," he introduced the two.

The Elf greeted the horse in his very own way, using the language of nature instead of words which was a lot more effective. He could see the mare's ears twitch, and also how she stepped from one foot to the other, obviously nervous because there was somebody who spoke in her matter, instead of the Human or Elven language she was used to.

But then she realized that this creature in front of her belonged to the nature, just like she did and that the tall man wouldn't case her any harm, would not misuse his knowledge and the power that came with it, and relaxed again. Melui even leaned into the caress of Legolas' hand and the Elf's smile widened.

"She's proud, and in her heart she is still wild," Legolas murmured. "And free. Free to love whomever she chooses." He looked back to Aragorn. "Like you. She'll be loyal to you for all her life... but maybe not to anybody else," the Elf said with a little smirk.

The man's eyes had widened while he watched Legolas talk to the mare. She had tensed, just as she usually tensed when somebody else than he himself approached her, but then, to his minor surprise, she had relaxed. What had him more aghast though was the fact that Legolas seemed to know everything about her from just one touch.

"Well, she's a nice little girl around me, but as soon as the master of the stables or anybody else tries to ride her, she pulls the funniest stunts," he explained, still caressing the horse's strong neck lovingly. "One of Greaw's men wanted to tame her and she was being nice to him as long as they were in the stables, just like the meekest lamb, but as soon as they were outside she would buck and dance and throw him off until he finally landed in a little stream, while she was standing there, grazing as if she had been doing so all day. You should have seen it!"

Aragorn laughed merrily as he remembered the sight of a dripping wet soldier while Melui snorted disapprovingly next to him and threw her head back as if she wanted to protest against being made fun of. But on the other hand he wasn't sure whether she laughed as well, remembering that funny prank she did on that idiot.

Legolas' smile widened as he watched Aragorn laugh at the memory that seemed to amuse him still and the horse at his side that had mischief shimmer in its eyes at those words, obviously still having that little encounter in good memory as well.

"I think I can imagine what it was like," he said while he softly scratched Melui's nose, but suddenly something else caught his attention. Or rather a scent that was carried over to him by a little breeze and a low sound that followed. The Elf was sure that he knew that scent somehow, but he didn't make out what it was and where or when he had smelled it before.

Then he felt somebody approaching from the side and turned around to see who it was since he sensed it wasn't Human. He found himself confronted with a beautiful face, slightly tanned skin yet almost as pale as his, framed with a mass of wild black hair. Silver eyes locked with his violet blue ones and Legolas felt how he held his breath.

Rhÿn on the other hand blinked in confusion when he suddenly found himself face to face with a beautiful blond Elf. The groom was still busy cleaning the stables and had just been away for a moment to get clean water and when he returned he didn't only find Aragorn but also another Elf that he didn't know. He straightened up again, wiping a sheen of sweat from his forehead with the back of his right hand and then fixed his eyes on the stranger.

Aragorn blinked as the groom suddenly approached the box they stood in. He didn't expect him as he thought that he was busy with taking care of horses at the other side of the stables, but as he listened really carefully, he only heard maybe one or two other horses. Sporting a frown he took in how Legolas and Rhÿn seemed to measure each other. Even Melui next to him was quiet, but the air was almost sizzling around them.

Carefully Aragorn cleared his throat to make himself noticed.

Rhÿn's look wandered from the flawless Elven face to the more tanned one with the familiar stubble. Of course, this was Arwen's present for her husband, the enslaved Woodelf. But this realization didn't keep the boy's gaze from becoming icy when he met Aragorn's, an almost automatic reaction towards the man.

Legolas also pried his gaze away from the beautiful face. So there were Elves living with Humans, but this one was only a half-breed, so maybe it was easier for him. Little did he know how wrong this thought was.

A glance to Melui told him that there must have been a lot of tension between them since her ears were almost flatly pressed against her head and she looked not happy at all.

The blond Elf placed his hand back on her nose and whispered something soothing while his gaze wandered to Aragorn and he waited for him to say whatever he wanted to say to the black-haired boy. Said one's hold around the handle of the bucket tightened as he looked straight into Aragorn's steel blue eyes.

There he was. The man that he probably held the strongest disliking for and most likely his only chance to end the misery of his friends and his own worry over their well-being. Rhÿn swallowed hard and just waited, unmoving.

Transfixed by a silver stare, Aragorn's own expression hardened a bit although he didn't really know why and he suddenly straightened up a bit. Helplessly he searched his brain for the name of this young groom.

"Good day.... Rhÿn." He thanked whatever deity provided him with the name. "I have noticed that there are still a few horses inside here, shouldn't they be outside?" he asked, scratching Melui's ears.

"Yes they should," the boy replied and finally continued his way towards the mare's stable. If Aragorn asked him this, then maybe he didn't know that there had been a wolf hunt in the early morning hours and that this was the reason why the horses were still inside. "They need to dry off first, they're still sweaty from the hunt..." Rhÿn stopped himself as he noticed that his tone has become bitter to the end of the sentence.

"What hunt?" Aragorn asked, not remembering he allowed any hunting on this day. But maybe this had been one of the tasks that Jamiriel hadn't considered as being important enough to bother him with.

Rhÿn gathered all his composure and took a deep breath, making sure that his voice was stable enough to say it out aloud.

"The Wolf hunt, in the Grey Woods." The boy looked up to meet Aragorn's eyes once more. "You didn't know about it?" he asked then somehow hoping that the answer would be no. He felt that his left hand started to shake and so the black haired boy clenched his fist praying that his thoughts and fears didn't show on his face.

Aragorn thought for a moment, but than he shook his head. "No. I don't remember any wolf hunt recently. Do you know who led... initiated it?"

Now it was the groom's turn to shake his head. "No. Ask your guards... or your servants. They know surprisingly much of what is going on around here," he suggested, hoping that it was his disliking of the hunt that had made the King ask. 'If I knew who's responsible for it, I'd slay him right away... or rather... feed him to the Wolves he loves to kill so much,' he added in his thoughts, his face hardening even more.

Without looking up again Rhÿn stepped in Melui's box, patted her back to urge her a little to the side and then set the bucket to the ground. He took the herbs he had brought out of his pocket and put it in the water while he pulled a bandage out of the other pocket.

Aragorn frowned at the comment with the servants, although he knew that this kind of people probably knew better than he what was going on in his kingdom, but a hunt? Why should they be interested in a hunt? He shook his head to get himself away from pondering too much about that.

"I will ask my assistant about it. She should know about these things," he said finally, making a note that he still had to meet Jamiriel anyways that day.

"Very well," the black-haired boy murmured, not really paying attention to the two men anymore as he was much too busy making a bandage with the cooling herbs for Melui's ankle. He urged her to the side a bit more and then kneeled down next to her righter back leg, caressing the swollen flesh for a moment, before he fished the green-yellowish plants out of the cold water and put them around the mare's injury.

Rhÿn focused on his work, in order not to hurt the horse even more and also to be able to forget about the hunt for at least a few minutes since it had been on his mind all the time. And he surely did hope that Aragorn would be able to put an end to all of this. He was in fact so much into his work as he wrapped the soft cloth around her leg, that he didn't even understand the question he was asked.

Freezing in his movements he looked up and blinked slightly confused, where he met the steel blue eyes of the Human.

"Where did she get this wound?" Aragorn repeated his question, while he was still petting the horse's neck. Obviously the groom had been so occupied with this task that he could hardly listen when you asked him a question, or his mind had been on other things. Taking in count that he sensed that Legolas wanted to tell him something and the cold tone Rhÿn had used when he had talked to him about the hunt, it was more than obvious that there was indeed something he didn't know yet.

The half-breed's ears twitched slightly and his eyes wandered from the King's face back to his work. Carefully he finished putting the bandage around her leg while he answered. "She has been as thickheaded as ever and one of the other grooms lost his patience with her. He yelled at her and scared her with that. She shied and made a clumsy step to the side where she hit her leg at the post next to her," he explained and fixed the cloth before he stood up again.

"It's nothing serious and will be healed by tomorrow.... Though the boy's black eye won't," he added much lower as he left Melui's stable after he softly patted her back again.

Despite the fact that Aragorn had gotten worried about Melui's condition while the groom talked, he had to grin at his conclusion. "I take it the black eye's her work?" he asked, knowing that her fiery temper wouldn't allow her to be scared too long. If somebody crossed the line, she would start to hit back.

Rhÿn turned back to the Human as he spoke up again and replied to the grin with a smirk. "Mostly."

With that he digressed with the full intention to return to his duty to clean the stables; that was if Aragorn didn't want anything else from him.

The man nodded, but moved to grab the upper arm of the groom, so that he wasn't able to walk off without passing him by. He didn't really want to appear threatening, but there a few little things he wanted to correct about this boy's behavior.

"Listen, I love horses just as much as you do, but show a little more respect to me, boy," he said almost threateningly.

Said one hissed when strong fingers closed around his arm and squeezed almost invisible bruises. He turned back to face the man that kept him from resuming his work and his eyes narrowed when he heard the words.

"I don't give my respect to somebody who doesn't deserve it," Rhÿn spoke coldly. "You don't even know what's going on around you, in your own castle and in your own kingdom. If you want my respect, then earn it."

Loosening his grip around the boy's arm who just practically spat at him, Aragorn's eyes narrowed, betraying the fact that he knew that the groom was probably right. But that didn't cease to darken his mood.

"Look, I haven't chosen to take this path and a lot of things are out of my responsibility although I wish they were not. I am not able to know about everything, now are you?" he asked, his voice just as cold as that of the half-breed.

"No," Rhÿn replied calmly, in extreme contrary to the rage boiling up inside him that made him feel utterly helpless. "But at least I know what is going on around me. But how could that compare? I am just a dirty little groom and you're the king, oh mighty, and I know nothing of life."

Meanwhile the boy had a hard time keeping his voice as calm and stable as he wanted it as the helplessness was steadily taking a hold of him. "But if you keep begging me like this, I can show you what a living hell is.... And now let go of my arm," he added with clenched teeth since the man's grip had gotten only tighter and now actually hurt quite badly.

Legolas on the other hand was torn between interfering and just keeping quiet, although he would have preferred the first. He swallowed when he heard the boy's words and was slightly afraid that Aragorn would do something thoughtless in his anger, so he finally made a step forward and placed his hand gently on the Human's shoulder.

Aragorn didn't need the hand on his shoulder to loosen his grip on Rhÿn's arm. He took a deep breath before he said, "I'm not asking you to show me what a living hell is, because I went through it myself with only my will to keep me alive," he spat back. "I'm just asking you to show a little respect. I don't need much, just a little acknowledgement that I am nothing more than a mere mouse... although I bet it would receive more respect from you than I do."

Finally he started to feel Legolas' hand on his shoulder and closed his eyes to calm down a bit. "Now, you are allowed to go back to your work." With that he finally let go of the young man's arm and pushed him forward. "I'll talk to you later."

Rhÿn glared at the man in front of him, close to yelling at him that he didn't have the right to treat him like he was something better just because he was born the King, that he didn't have the right to treat him like he was something better just because he was a Dunedain and the boy just a dirty little half-breed. He was so close to yell all his pain right into his face, but he didn't. What held him back though was not a sudden breeze of respect for the other man, but the lump in his throat.

"Just don't rush yourself too much," he muttered instead as he turned away, desperate not to let the pain that Aragorn's grip had caused show on his features. 'And since when does a king need a groom's respect to be reassured that he isn't just a little mouse...no... dirt under my shoes,' he corrected himself angrily in his thoughts as he crossed a corner were he rammed his tightly clenched fist into the wall to get partly rid of his frustration.

"Oh, sooner than you think," Aragorn muttered back, as he was trying to get his own rage under control. But constant practice with unnerving brothers and consultants had somehow gotten him used to this process, although it didn't work all the time. He took a handful of deep breaths before he could turn to Legolas.

"I'm sorry, you had to witness that. Rhÿn... He's actually very good at what he's doing, but... well, he has respect for nothing," he said apologetically.

Legolas shook his head as his hand moved higher to caress the other's cheek. "It's alright." His gaze then wandered to the direction where the boy had disappeared behind the wall and his expression became a bit more seriously. "But I believe there is more behind it all than you might think..." he added, not sure how much he should tell Aragorn of what he had felt, since it was the half-breed's life and he had no right to interfere with it.

The man nodded. "I know. I just don't know what, but he should tell somebody about it..."

"He probably doesn't have anyone... he seems rather lonely to me... lost even, in some ways..." When the Elf noticed what he was doing he stopped himself and smiled rather sheepishly. "But that's none of my business... and you know him longer than just a few minutes..."

The blond man chose his words pretty carefully since he had almost said something he didn't want to say, or rather something he didn't have the right to say. That was the fact that this half-breed, Rhÿn, had actually tried to tell Aragorn about it, but there was something that held him back.

"Hmhm," made Aragorn, very intelligently, too concerned with other things than that he could care about the relationships of a groom - even if it was a very good one. "It isn't much of my business either; he made that fact rather clear to me. But now let's see where the other horses are."

Eyes gleaming with a certain amount of happiness and anticipation the Elf nodded, lips stretching into a smile as he took Aragorn's arm once more as he led him outside.

To be continued...
______________________________________________________ ___________

I am SOOO sorry it took so long to update... I hope you're not angry with us? *makes puppy eyes*