Fan Fiction ❯ Tên Mûel ❯ Making plans ( Chapter 14 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

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://adultfan.nexcess.net/aff/authors.php?no=258 8 Legolas In Chains Archive
ALSlash Archive
Library of Moria, too
Update-List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/seekinbetween/
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. ^^;;;;
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Elladan and his brother were waiting in the dining room for the others to join them. The younger twin had draped himself lazily over a chair, his arms and legs dangling down while his head was hanging down as well giving him a nice upside-down view of the room and his twin.

"What do you say? Let's try again tomorrow?"

Elrohir had been staring at the yet empty table, his forehead in a deep frown as he was lost deep in thought about their sister and brother-in-law. But his mind kept supplying him with images of this blond slave... Legolas underneath their fingers... writhing, biting his lip and simply looking beautiful.

"Of course. Estel has no right to keep his toys from us."

"Slave," his brother threw in. "Not toy."

It wasn't that Elladan held much of modesty, morals and stuff like that, but he could understand that Legolas didn't approve of being called a toy, and he respected it. "Let's find another name for him... like um...candy?"

The green-eyed Elf remembered the taste of the blond man very well on his tongue, and it was very delicious and sweet, so candy served him just well.

"Candy..." Elrohir was about to announce his answer to that, when he heard footsteps approaching the dining room. "I guess the others decided that they are hungry as well..."

And indeed he saw Boromir of Gondor, Jamiriel of Ithilien, another important person in the matters of Gondor's intercultural relations, accompanying the Queen of Gondor, their little sister, towards this very room. Just Estel was nowhere in sight.

"It seems as if the King is being late..." murmured Elrohir as he stood up from his chair and put his most festive smile on his face.

"Ellani! Elloni! It's SO good to see you again!"

Arwen seemed to be the happiest Elf in Middle-Earth and at least one thousand years younger as she practically bounced towards her brothers, hugging them close.

"Tinu! We have missed you!" said Elrohir just as cheery, embracing his sister and planting a little kiss on her cheek.

Elladan had stood up when his brother announced somebody was approaching and now he was returning the hug of his sister happily. After Elrohir let go of her, he even lifted her up and whirled her around, laughing softly at her childish squeal.

"Oh how we missed you, Tinu." He set her down again and kissed her other cheek.

Boromir watched the scene with a warm smile on his features and waited until they finished their welcome and turned towards him. Elladan slightly bowed his head towards the Human.

"Sir Boromir. It's our pleasure to meet you again."

"The pleasure is all mine, .......?" Boromir wasn't quite sure with which of the twins he was talking to right now.

Elladan grinned. "Elladan."

The Human grinned sheepishly. "Elladan... I'm sorry, I happen to fail this test every time."

Elrohir grinned as well. "We could show you a way to recognize us. The same way Elessar learned it."

He received a rather painful nudge into his rips from the Queen of Gondor. Arwen may be happy to see her brothers, but nobody had to suffer from them but Estel. And she was quite sure that Boromir didn't want to know how Estel was able to tell the twins apart.

"When did you arrive here? And why haven't you talked to me when you did?" she demanded, tugging at Elladan's arm, which she was clutching closely. A tiny pout had made its way onto her face.

"No, thank you," Boromir replied to the offer. The way Arwen reacted made it pretty clear to him that he wouldn't like the way Aragorn had learned to tell them apart. "I'll learn... eventually."

The younger twin grimaced slightly and made a little step back when he saw the sulking expression of his sister, but he couldn't escape her since she was still hugging him. But Arwen was most dangerous when she pouted and both brothers knew that. So Elladan just swallowed before he put a wry grin on his face.

"We arrived today shortly before noon, Tinu, and we've been... busy. Plus we didn't want to disturb you, so we decided to wait."

Arwen glared at him like only a little sister could. In her opinion they could have at least given her an announcement that they were there.

"It's my pleasure to meet you, too," she was interrupted by Jamiriel's alto. The middle-aged woman extended her hand towards the twins. "Elrohir... Elladan... sons of Elrond of Rivendell," she added formally. "My name is Jamiriel, daughter of Murimel of Ithilien. Welcome to Gondor."

Elrohir raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected this woman to be so straight forward as she looked rather like a little grey mouse who preferred to do bookwork than attending a dinner with the King and his family. Nevertheless he took her hand and shook it.

"Jamiriel. Nice to meet you."

The formal greeting between his brother and the Human woman was disturbed by a pretty loud grumbling sound coming from Elladan's stomach. He grinned sheepishly and shrugged elegantly as he heard Boromir's chuckle.

"Well... I didn't get anything to eat since...." he thought for a moment before he grinned rather dirtily, "shortly before noon, that is. And waiting here for Estel doesn't help the least." He said that with slightly raised voice, making sure that Aragorn who was just about to enter the room could clearly hear him.

"Oh, that sounded differently some time ago," the King said, chuckling at the teasing tone in his brother's voice. "I know I let you wait, but there was something I had to... fix before getting here."

Elrohir couldn't help but snicker. "I hope we didn't... break... your toy."

Aragorn's eyebrows shot up, feigning ignorance. "Which toy?"

"The one you keep in your chambers, chained to the wall..."

"Oh, you mean Legolas. No, he's is fine. But I still would appreciate it if you didn't come near to him again."

Arwen had watched the conversation between the two been and almost forgot to pout. "You saw Estel's slave? He's great, isn't he? It was my present for him," she added with pride in her voice, as if she congratulated herself for such a good choice. To her the slave was not much different than a piece of clothing. Her expression faltered though as she saw five pairs of eyes looking at her with doubt and almost shock. Especially Jamiriel looked at her quite funnily, as if she had seen a ghost or something.

Elladan swallowed and decided to speak his mind later. This was neither the right place nor the right time to talk about slavery and that he didn't approve of what his sister had done or that he was really starting to worry about her and Estel's relationship. Instead he just glanced at Elrohir, seeking his support and found it in his eyes.

"Um... let's sit down and eat, shall we?" he asked as the servants fortunately entered the room in this moment.

Boromir nodded and pulled out a chair for Jamiriel to sit down before he took a seat himself. This whole Elf-slave-thing wasn't his business. He was pretty sure his King was doing the right thing and that he would be able to handle it on his own. That he didn't like the idea himself as well was another story, but he had other problems. Eowyn to name one. Or rather her uncle who was making the whole marriage-affair rather complicated.

The woman with the fading red hair smiled at the younger man and sat down in her chair, just as Elessar led his wife to the chair next to him, stoically helping her to sit down, while the Elven twins took their seats on the other side of the two Humans.

They had barely sat down when plates with soups were placed in front of them.

Arwen was a little confused, but tried not to show it. Why was everybody reacting so strangely towards her when she mentioned that it was her who gave Estel his slave? She had acted with the best intentions and she knew she had done nothing wrong, now did she? But since the others didn't like to talk about it she accepted it.

They ate in silence most of the time, except when the twins teased the King with several things. Aragorn fought hard to stand his ground but was defeated quite often as he couldn't compete with the experience of a few thousand years. But he still had more experience than Boromir, who didn't even understand sometimes what the twins wanted from him.

Even Jamiriel wasn't safe from the innuendos of Elladan and Elrohir, but she was able to say something in return that had one or both of them gaping at her with stunned expressions. After the third time they asked her where she got her thick skin and she answered laughing that she had 3 sons and 2 daughters and that they had been like that as well when they were younger. So she knew about everything they could come up with.

Elrohir laughed merrily at this explanation and told the woman that they could come up with things that she never heard of and that they hadn't been teasing them in earnest, out of respect for the King. That made Aragorn laugh out merrily, asking when they started to have respect towards him.

"Never, dear brother," Elrohir grinned, "but we know how to behave in the presence of the one who unified the forces of Elves, Dwarves and Men. That man has earned our respect. Not the little boy who used to hide behind Adar's robes whenever he could."

"That was pure self-defense, else you two would have never let me out," Aragorn grinned back. "I would have starved, you know."

"Oh, but you got something to eat," added Elladan with a real mischievous grin.

The man snorted. "Yes, but I did not like what you gave me as much as you seem to."

That conversation was interrupted by a rather embarrassed clearing of a throat, coming from the red-haired woman.

"Gentlemen, could you please stop acting like children? I guess there are more important things to discuss, aren't there?" asked Jamiriel, and was stunned to see all three men looking at her rather sheepishly. But they soon found their grins again.

"Indeed, dear Jamiriel, there are. My brothers have asked me earlier if I couldn't find somebody who was helping me with my duties as a King. The piles on my desk seem to get higher and higher every day with requests from other countries who ask for Gondor's assistance. So I wanted to ask you and Boromir if you couldn't help me with this," Aragorn asked the woman, whose eyes widened at the request.

"My King, 'tis a lot you request from us," she said, lowering her eyes from the handsome face. "We too have a lot to do..."

Elrohir chose this moment to step in. "This is understandable, but you look as if you see the sun more often than our dear foster brother. I am curious to know how many hours you spend with this work that is keeping you busy each day."

Jamiriel squirmed a little in her seat. It wasn't much indeed, but she knew what kind of work Elessar had to do and she was reluctant to give up her free time to fill it with the tiring work. "'Tis not much..." she admitted, "a handful of hours each day."

Elrohir practically beamed. "That's great! If you three worked together for another handful of hours, the work would be done a lot earlier and your dear King would have more time to spend with his lovely wife."

Arwen looked at her brother with wide eyes. How did he know that she always mourned over the fact that Estel spent more times with his papers than with her. Yes, she had invited the twins to initiate some changes, but this was almost a revolution in her eyes. But what would Rhÿn say if she didn't come down to the stables anymore, to meet him and keep him company?

Elladan of course noticed the change in Arwen's behavior and drew his attention back to his sister.

"You don't seem too pleased with that, Tinu. Do you fear you won't have enough time left for your lover anymore when Estel is back in place?" he teased softly his eyes gleaming with mischief.

Arwen felt her cheeks heat up, but luckily it didn't stop her from finding words to say. She knew she had to choose her words wisely as Estel's gaze was lying heavily on hers.

"What are you saying, Ellani? Estel is my lover, and I will be happy if he has more time for me."

Elrohir grinned, taking the ball from his twin. "But Tinu, don't tell me you stayed in your room day in, day out and bored yourself. Such an attractive..."

"Please... don't embarrass her more than she already is."

The quiet request out of the King's mouth managed to shock Elrohir, making Arwen wonder if Estel knew about her affair with Rhÿn. Ban had told her more than once that he was too busy to notice anything, but you could never know what was on the man's mind.

Looking up at her husband with wide surprised eyes Arwen was flattered to see a reassuring smile on his face, and that surprised her even more. If he knew about it, why should he be smiling at her like that?

Elladan was shocked as well, but only for a short time. He soon found his voice back.

"Why do you always have to spoil all the fun, Estel?" he asked even though his eyes still rested on his sister. "Do you-" He was cut short though by a fresh breeze blowing through the half-open window, making the candles flicker for a moment.

The green-eyed Elf looked out of the window and gasped as he was staring right into the bright full moon. "Daw o oltha..." he whispered as the Elves called the night of the full moon the "night of dreams". Elladan's ears twitched slightly and without paying attention to the other attendees he stood up, walked over to the window and pushed it open.

Arwen was puzzled by the half-question, and although she feared in that she was directed towards her, she wasn't sure of that fact. So she was a little surprised to see Elladan standing up and walking to the window all of a sudden.

Jamiriel followed the Elf as he was practically floating over the ground and was not surprised to see his brother following afterwards. Of the Elves only the Queen stayed seated, staring after the twins though.

"The Moon is beautiful," whispered Elrohir as he put his hand on his brother's waist, kissing him right over his ear. As he moved away though he had to frown as he saw that ear twitch. And then he heard it himself.

It was shy at first but after a little time the singing voice grew a little stronger. It was melodic and pleasant, not too deep and not too high, just perfect. An Elven voice. The tone rose and fell with the melody of the song.

Elladan leaned into his brother's warm embrace. "Yes... beautiful..." He wasn't really sure himself so, whether he was talking about the moon or the song.

Boromir also rose from his seat, walking slowly closer to the window where he stood still, mesmerized by the beautiful song. "What kind of magic is this?" he asked lowly.

Aragorn stayed seated as well, sitting next to Arwen and sipped on his wine. He was savoring the bittersweet taste of the red liquid, as if he hadn't drunk it for ages. In fact it were only a few days during he didn't dare to drink wine in front of Legolas and thus he didn't drink much of it anymore. Also it was getting to his head, something that had not happened so often before.

So in his slightly dazed condition the song that wept through the night felt as if it wanted to embrace him... or at least he thought so.

"'Tis no magic, Boromir... 'tis a song..." he said, his voice sounding exhausted.

"About the love of home," whispered Elrohir as his hand found a strand of the waist-long hair from his brother and twirled it idly around his finger. He didn't understand everything, just a few clear words managed to get to his ear.

"I wonder who this beautiful voice belongs to..." murmured Jamiriel, who just heard the melody and admired the melodic voice.

Arwen blinked. It was as if everybody was falling into a trance by the music coming from outside. It was Elvish, yes and since there were only two other Elves on the grounds of Minas Tirith... It had to be Rhÿn! She never knew that he could sing! And she would have never thought that he knew such a beautiful song!

She closed her eyes and sighed dreamily, which made her husband look at her in surprise, before he released the goblet of the last drop of wine. And all of a sudden he knew who was singing.

This realization made him happy and sad all at once. Sad that Legolas was feeling lonely and happy that he had met Legolas, even though he didn't like the circumstances. It made him wish to see the Elf in his usual surroundings, outside, in the forest and singing with the birds, running with the deer and beaming with the sun as if it was a competition. It was this picture though that made him smile, a little wavering of the edges of his lips.

Elladan snuggled closer to his brother, enjoying the feeling of his hair being played with and purred lowly while listening to the beautiful song. It was a sad song, full of longing.

"It's a song full of magic," Boromir finally whispered, not really able to do much more as he kept standing there and just listened.

Upstairs in the King's chambers Legolas sat on the floor in front of the window, looking at the full moon. His chest rose and sank with his voice and the sad expression on his face would probably have been enough to break Aragorn's heart in thousands of pieces. But he wasn't there.

The Elf looked paler than usual in the dim light of the moon and somehow fragile like a doll, like he would break if you touched him. He sung about his home, his family and his feelings when he thought about them. Legolas wanted to be home, more than anything else, but he knew he couldn't be there for a long time. Deep in his heart he doubted that he would ever see them again and it slowly killed his hope.

He sung about his brothers and sisters and suddenly he choked and his voice faded out. He swallowed to get rid of the lump in his throat, but he didn't quite manage. A crystal tear rolled down his cheek, leaving a wet trail behind which shimmered in the silver light.

Slowly he turned away from the window and retreated into the dark shadows of the room. The Elf crawled onto the bed and curled up into a tight ball, before he cried himself to sleep.

Meanwhile Elladan's head rested on Elrohir's shoulder and he purred lowly at his brother's ministration towards his hair and his scalp. He blinked when the song suddenly faded out since it seemed not to be finished too soon.

Elrohir frowned when the magic suddenly ended. He had wanted to listen more to it as it was so entrancing and beautiful. With his frown he stopped the play of his fingers with Elladan's hair.

"Who was that?" he murmured, but didn't really expect an answer. It was just to voice his thoughts.

Both the King and the Queen murmured "I know," but they both seemed not to hear it. Only Jamiriel, who sat with them at the table, heard the whisper and frowned. But she didn't say anything. She wasn't even able to as a deep yawn fell from her lips that she covered quickly with her hand. Then she looked sheepishly at the royal pair.

"I am sorry for this disturbance, but it seems as if it would be better for me if I returned to my chambers and found some sleep." With the sound of wood scratching on stone she pushed her chair back. "It has been a nice gathering, milord. I hope we can repeat this soon again."

Aragorn smiled at her. "Indeed, Jamiriel. I can take it you will be present tomorrow morning in my study?"

She nodded. "Of course, milord. I bid thee a goodnight."

"To thee too," Aragorn said as he stood up to shake hands with her.

As he stretched his limbs though, he felt that fatigue had taken a hold of him as well and that he craved for sleep. But it would be impolite if he got out of the room so soon. Thus it was his only hope that Boromir was tired as well and wanted to retreat to his chambers, too.

Boromir was also slightly taken aback when the song suddenly ended and reality hit him. He shook his head a few times and found he was awfully tired himself. His gaze followed Jamiriel as she left the room and found it was time for him to do the same. As for that he could see Aragorn was quite tired and... drunk himself and that he needed sleep most likely more than him.

"I'll excuse myself as well, milord. A long journey to Edoras and tiring debates with Théoden await me on the morrow."

In this moment Aragorn forgot all the trouble and stress Boromir had brought him. He walked over and patted the other man on the shoulder.

"Send Théoden my greetings. I hope your negotiations will be satisfying... for both sides," he added with a slight grin. "May your journey hold no troubles for you."

"Thank you, milord," Boromir said with a nod before he turned to Arwen. "Milady... I hope to see you both well when I return."

Then he noticed Elladan and Elrohir looking at him expectantly. "Erm... you too of course," Boromir added with a slight sheepish grin.

"I hope you have a nice journey as well, to the Lady Eowyn I suppose...?" The younger twin grinned as he saw Boromir blush in return.

Elrohir nudged his brother playfully. "Estel said we should stop teasing him... oh, wait, that was Tinu who he meant then." He noticed the dazed glare from their foster brother and chose to stop any more teasing, but couldn't stop the grin. "I hope you have nice dreams, Boromir."

"Good night," was all that Arwen said, putting a hand over her mouth in a polite gesture to stifle the small yawn.

"Thanks," Boromir all but muttered before he rushed out of the room, still blushing.

Elladan chuckled. "He will have them, darlin'. For sure." Then he eyed Estel and decided that it was time for him to hit the mattress as well. He softly nudged his brother.

"What do you say, darlin'? Let's get some sleep as well?"

Elrohir faked a yawn. "I think that would be better... the journey was long and tiring... and there's so much to do here... A little rest would be good. We surely need our energy tomorrow, right, Estel?"

Aragorn's glare intensified and he would have hissed that they should leave their filthy fingers from Legolas, but if he did that he would admit that he felt more for the enslaved Elf than he would like to. But he was interrupted by a deep yawn.

"Indeed Elrohir. And I shall retire now as well. I wish you three a good night."

And with that he kissed his wife's forehead, squeezed his brothers' shoulders and moved out of the room.

"Ellani... Elloni..." Arwen started and stood up to hug her brothers. "I'm glad you're here."

"We're glad to be here too, Tinu," Elladan said and returned the hug tenderly. He suppressed a yawn himself and just squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. Contrary to his brother, he didn't have to fake a yawn for he was very tired.

The dark-haired woman smiled. "But you are tired, muindori. Please... return to your chambers, for I will return to mine as well. It should be the usual ones."

"I'm sure we will find them, Tinu," Elrohir answered and added in Elvish, "May your dreams be as pleasant as the first rays of light in the morning."

"Thank you. Yours too," Arwen smiled back. "Good night."

"Good night, lovely," Elladan murmured, already having quite some trouble keeping his eyes open. He watched his sister leaving the room before he turned to Elrohir.

"Oh dear... this is going to be some hard work here... Their relationship is like ice..."

His brother simply nodded and slowly pulled him forward as they walked to their usual chambers.

Meanwhile Aragorn had reached his rooms and found Legolas fast asleep on the bed, curled up in a little ball. He kneeled down before the sleeping figure to be able to look into his face and trace a line over his cheekbone up to his ear. Frowning he noticed a wet trail on the pale skin. As he tasted the remnants of it on his thumb, he was confirmed by a salty flavor.

"Tears..."

Legolas stirred when he felt a light touch on his face and slowly opened his eyes. He blinked when he saw Aragorn's face before his and slightly moved backwards while he pushed himself up into an almost sitting position, resting on his left arm.

He noticed the frown on the Human's face and then the lifted hand between their bodies.

"...master...?"

Aragorn was a little hurt that Legolas scrambled away from him again, but said nothing. Instead he looked into those deep blue eyes that were slightly reddened. He took a deep breath and smiled warily at the Elf.

"Your song... it was beautiful," was the only thing he could say although he wanted to say so much more, about how sad it was, how it touched his heart and how he simply wanted to see Legolas free... but then he would have to say that he didn't want to let him go as well.

"You... heard it?" the Elf croaked out, his throat still dry and the lump wasn't fully gone yet. It surprised him that the Human had heard him sing, but then again he didn't know where he had spent the time while he was away. Neither did he know anything about the castle and its rooms.

Legolas once more tried to clear his throat like he didn't manage earlier. "Thank you..." he murmured silently.

A tiny smile crept on Aragorn's face, his features softening underneath it. "Not only I heard it... it was carried to our ears with the wind..."

He looked into the Elf's eyes a little longer and then stood up with a sigh, breaking the eye-contact. "Please go back to sleep. I know this night is special for the Elves and the dreams they present them... I hope you get a chance to see your home."

Turning away he loosened the knots of his shirt, this time managing to do so on his own and shrugged the shirt off along with his pants. He yawned heartily and then climbed into the bed on the other side of Legolas, too tired to really do or say anything more.

Legolas nodded and lay back down snuggling into the pillow and the blanket. He too hoped that he could see his home and family, but until now his sleep had been dreamless. And the Elf knew what the cause of it was. He didn't like to be alone, or rather he hated it and also over the past weeks he got used to the presence of the Human next to him while he slept, and it seemed like his sleep wasn't as peaceful when he wasn't there.

Not only did he hate loneliness, but he especially hated being separated from this Human. But Legolas knew that Aragorn couldn't spend much time with him and he had put up with it. Or so he had told himself. Whatever he wanted though wasn't important for he was just a slave and his master had better things to do than spending time with him. He was the King after all.

"Sleep well, master," he murmured before sleep claimed him again. This time though he was more relaxed and he soon drifted off to the realm of dreams. His expression softened and a small smile graced his lips as he finally found his family on those endless grounds.

A whispered "Adar" fell from his lips and he sighed silently.

Aragorn just lay down to sleep, throwing the covers over his almost nude form, as he heard the whisper and his face contorted with a frown. How long did he have to keep the Elf in his chambers, even if it was for his own good?

Or so he told himself. He knew Legolas had grown stronger within the past weeks, strong enough to maybe take care of his own, but the man didn't want to let him go. When his feelings had changed for the Elf like that though, he didn't know and probably didn't even want to know.

He sighed once again and rolled onto the side, with his back to Legolas. It wasn't long before sleep claimed him as well, and he drifted off to a land where Elves weren't slaves and he wasn't having so many problems being King.

The next morning he woke up, just to find Legolas in his arms once again. It seemed to happen quite often recently, so often indeed that he wasn't even surprised anymore.

Legolas had woken up when the King rolled over and wrapped his arms around his body, thus drawing him closer. The Elf lay completely still in his master embrace, quite used to it by now himself and he didn't mind either. Contrary to when it happened the fist time he was relaxed now and enjoyed the feeling of the warmth radiating from the body before him.

He simply looked at the Human's peaceful features and wondered idly what his dreams might be about as he noticed the faint smile on his lips. Legolas blinked rather irritated at the thought how these lips would taste on his and he frowned. Where did this thought come from? Not that he didn't mind. Actually the thought left him rather curious.

Without even knowing, the Elven slave slowly moved closer towards his master, his eyes never leaving the slightly parted lips. But then he could feel the Human stir and knew he was just about to wake up. Legolas retreated and chided himself for what he had almost done. His master surely wouldn't approve.

So he just lay there, waiting for Aragorn to finally wake up and looked at him with big puppy eyes, trying to hide his thoughts behind the innocent expression.

The man stirred and was confronted with a minor headache that wanted him to stay in bed for at least another day, but he knew he had an appointment with Jamiriel and if he survived through that, he would have more time for himself, for his training that he neglected shamelessly during the past years, for Legolas and Arwen...

He frowned slightly at this thought but dismissed it and opened his eyes, just to clench them close right then again. Legolas' puppy look was just not bearable at this time of day.

Slightly taken aback as his master looked at him for mere seconds before he squeezed his eyes shut again, Legolas tore his gaze away as well, staring at the man's bare chest instead. Which was very well built by the way. But the Elf resisted the urge to touch it and just lay there, slightly tensing in the gentle hold.

"I hope I didn't disturb your sleep, master," he finally whispered with a small sigh. He knew he would be left in the chambers once more and had to face another handful of boring hours alone. And he just wished it was different.

"No, you didn't disturb it. On the contrary, it is always a pleasure waking up and holding you in my arms," Aragorn said and squeezed the almost bare shoulders lightly before he let go of the lithe body and rolled onto his back, rubbing his temples.

Legolas was stunned. He blinked a few times and finally slowly sat up, once more staring at his master as he lay there on his back. He couldn't really believe his ears. The Human liked to wake up with him in his arms? The Elf shook his head and chased stupid thoughts away. Of course his master enjoyed his proximity since he couldn't get it from his wife.

One of his tasks as a slave was to make his master feel good, and obviously he did. But still being just there as a replacement hurt him. Aragorn didn't like to have him close, but anybody to fill this gap. Maybe this was why he was given to the Human. Still Legolas was sure that his master preferred the presence of his wife over his. How could it be any different?

But the Woodelf said nothing and just looked at the Human for a few more moments in silence before he gently touched his shoulder.

"Sit up, master. I'll help you with your headache..."

Aragorn turned his head and smiled wryly. "It's okay, I need this pain to remind me never to drink so much wine anymore," he said and his smile turned into a grin. "I'd better keep it for the day to remind me of your words."

He sat up nevertheless and carefully swung his legs over the edge of the bed. There he paused for a moment, trying to figure out if he was able to move.

Legolas blinked a little irritated. Why would the Human want to keep the pain in his head? He frowned slightly and looked at the bare back of the Human.

"... Master? ... Are you sure?" he asked, the confusion clearly audible in his voice.

Starting to rub his temples, Aragorn simply growled something that sounded suspiciously like an affirmation before he moved to a stand, stretching his limps. He yawned and then padded over to put on some clothes.

The Elf couldn't help but stare at the Human's strange behavior, before he slightly shook his head. He also got up from the bed and walked over to help Aragorn dress.

"Stubborn little child," he murmured while he grabbed the shirt and held it open for his master after he had put on his trousers.

Aragorn's eyebrows shot up at the murmured comment but he said nothing as he slipped into the shirt and just watched how Legolas did his knots for him... once again. And he was wondering right then and there if he wasn't a spoiled child really, not even able to dress properly on his own.

When the Elf was finished he couldn't help but pluck at the shirt, a gesture of embarrassment.

"Thank you."

Legolas looked up from the knots into his master's eyes and as he saw the faint shade of red on his cheeks a warm smile graced his lips.

"You're welcome," he said softly and once again his eyes trailed to Aragorn's mouth, but he quickly tore his gaze away. The Elf took a few steps away until his eyes landed on the books by the wall. He had read all of them by now and the days were going to be more boring if he didn't get new ones.

So Legolas turned back to the Human and called him lowly, in case not to make his headache even worse.

"Um... could I get some more books, please?"

The smile that warmed Legolas' features also managed to warm the King's heart and his mouth moved into a smile as well, just as the Woodelf looked down on his face. If he could make the blond one smile by his foolishness, he would be glad to display it more often, especially in situations like this one.

Aragorn was quite used to the fact that Legolas didn't look that often right into his face, but this time he tore his gaze away a little too fast and this made the man frown. Which wasn't good with his already aching head and he only noticed how Legolas was asking for new books.

He nodded. "I will get you some new ones as soon as I return from my duties. And maybe I will be able to keep you company more often soon..."

He trailed off as he considered if he should eat something but decided against it. His stomach didn't feel like it could hold much food for long, so he moved towards the door of his chambers, planning on leaving without breakfast.

One impulse though tempted him to just put his arm around Legolas' shoulders and kiss him goodbye on the cheek, and he really stood there for a moment, not moving at all, as he seriously considered doing that. But in the end he simply turned away to hide his reddening cheeks.

"I'll see you later."

Legolas lifted his arm and waved a small farewell as his master finally left the chambers. The chance of spending more time with the Human and having to endure less loneliness made him smile once more even though it was unseen. The Woodelf then walked over to the table and sat down, eating his breakfast in silence. Once more he let his hunger take the upper hand and he almost ate everything on his own.

He spared the bread though as usually and left some fruits for later. He took the bowl and placed it next to the bed on the nightstand so the servants wouldn't take it with them when they came to tidy the room. After that Legolas eyed the books once more and after a few seconds of consideration he decided to read the story of Sauron again - the stories of the Lord of the Rings.

A few hours later he was about halfway through the story and this time he already understood it much better than he first time he read it. Every once in a while a little bird had come to talk to him and the last visitor just flew off when Legolas could hear the door of the King's chambers being opened.

And it wasn't Aragorn who walked in.

To be continued...
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We had to think of a few nicknames for Elrond's children... anyone who wonders why Elladan is Ellani and Elrohir is Elloni... that comes from the Japanese way of writing those two names. ^^; And since little Arwen wasn't able to pronounce an 'r' when she was little, she says their names as an 'l' ^^;; And Tinu is a word for star... which we thought fit her name. ^^;;;