~ The quest is on! The Elvenking is not very happy with his choice of horse. ~

3. Choosing Horses

The remaining elves joined the party by the horses and introduced themselves. Galion was a sword fighter with a huge, double-handed sword, hence he looked a lot stronger than the other elves with bulging biceps under his brown tunic. Unlike Wynne he had no freckles, as one would expect with that red mane of hair, but his skin did have the pale, almost translucent hue that Wynne had noticed on ginger humans.

The final two, Nodir and Bronedir, were bowmen like Legolas, with long daggers in their belts as a backup. They were brothers, and their mother came from a settlement far in the south which explained their brown skin. Not that Wynne would have known; she had no idea what elves usually looked like.

After the short presentation the elves began to take down their tents and pack their belongings in a speedy, efficient way. When they were done it was almost impossible to see where the camp had been, so carefully did they restore everything.

Their respect for nature made Wynne slightly less apprehensive of them. A creature who cared for the living things in their surroundings couldn't be altogether bad.

They didn't carry much and their luggage fit well into the saddlebags Wynne had brought. The horses not chosen for riding would carry their packs, including her own bags. If need be, they could ride the pack horses; they were all equally suited for riding and alternating horses was a good way to spare their strength.

Wynne let the elves pick mounts among all the horses, except her own Vatna, watching them carefully as they did so. She was curious which ones they would choose.

The king went first, daring the others to precede him with a stern look. Wynne had to hide a smile when he was done; the stallion he chose was the most headstrong of them all. He would have a handful with that one.

Galion was next up. He seemed to have singled out a huge gelding beforehand and Wynne nodded appreciatively. It was a good choice. Hlaupari was strong and fast and wouldn't tire even with such a muscular warrior on his back.

The elf brothers seemed to care less what rides they got and soon picked two similar looking bays, both mares. One was a lot more active than the other, Wynne knew, but they would notice that themselves before long.

Legolas took his time before he made his decision. He walked slowly among the horses, stroking their heads, looking them in the eyes and blowing softly on their noses. Finally he picked a slender, young mare in a pretty chestnut color. She had answered his exhale with a puff of air of her own, and then commenced to nuzzle his shoulder in a friendly way. It was clear they had both taken a liking to each other.

Legolas was the only elf wishing to know what the name of his horse meant, which raised him even further in Wynne's eyes.

"Her name is Stelpa. It means 'girl' in Old Rohanese," she translated.

"Stelpa. Very fitting. I like it." He stroked the chestnut's forehead and traced her white star with his finger.

It was time to get going and the elves mounted their horses in a varying range of difficulty, used to saddles and stirrups as some of them obviously were. Legolas was an exception; with an elegant jump he straddled his mare and she didn't even flinch. Already he and Stelpa seemed connected.

"How do we make them go the way we want?" King Thranduil managed to sound lofty and unconcerned despite his stallion's wild capering and tossing head. "And before you make silly assumptions, I do know how to ride, but it appears you taught your horses unconventional commands."

Cheeks heating, Wynne wanted to yell at him that all mearas listened to these commands and if he didn't know them it was because he was an ignorant elf. But of course she could say no such thing or Mother's plans would be ruined.

Instead she patiently instructed the group the basic verbal and non-verbal commands to make their steeds walk faster, slower, turn around or walk backwards. She doubted they would remember half of it but with Vatna in the lead the other horses would follow; she had a high status in the herd.

The company followed the Anduin south, heading in the direction of the Brown Lands where Thranduil said many orcs were still hiding. "Most of Sauron's minions were defeated after the war but some managed to flee and scatter across Arda. Now they hide in uninhabited areas, waylaying and killing unexpecting journeymen."

Wynne could only barely remember the dark times of the war, young as she had been, and she had never seen an orc.

But to Thranduil it seemed that hardly any time had passed. "Since the war ended I have assigned patrols all over Greenwood, or Mirkwood as it was formerly named. There is less evil there now but still not a year goes by without us finding another spider's nest or orc den."

"Are you not needed at home then, sire?" she asked.

If something happened and they were killed, the people of Greenwood wouldn't have anyone to put on the throne.

"We must all do our part in this, king or not, and I have a friend helping me out. Besides, my people are not so dependent on me as I perhaps would have wished. They will probably manage even better without my meddling."

Was there a hint of a smile hiding in the corner of his mouth? Wynne was surprised; she had believed Thranduil to lack humor entirely.

oOo

They spent the better part of that day on horseback, making only a short stop for lunch. The elves managed the horses well, even the king despite his steed's repeated mischief. More than once the stallion stopped mid-canter to graze a few mouthfuls of yellow grass but Thranduil miraculously managed to keep his balance and stay seated each time.

"You are a good horseman," Wynne complimented.

He only grunted in reply, annoyance showing plainly in his beautiful face. He couldn't complain about the horse's behavior as he had chosen it himself, for complaining would mean admitting he had made an uninformed decision, and it was evident he would rather have the horse throw him off before that happened.

Thranduil appeared to be one of those persons who would never admit to being wrong; a bit like her mother, actually.

Nodir and Bronedir soon discovered the different speed of their bays, one being happy to join the front of the company and the other having a tendency to lag behind. Since the brothers preferred to ride in each other's company, Bronedir at last had to change to a horse Wynne told him was the mother of Nodir's. After that the journey went a lot smoother for the pair.

They camped by the Anduin late in the afternoon. The others put up the tents and started a campfire while Wynne tended to the horses. She checked each of them carefully with her hands, searching for warm or swollen limbs and pebbles stuck in their hooves.

Before she rejoined the elves she gave Vatna a long hug. "Oh my sweet girl, what am I to do?"

The mare nuzzled her shoulder and huffed softly.

Wynne blinked away the tears that had suddenly appeared. How could Mother believe she had even the slightest chance to make an elf king fall for her? Especially not a stuck up, self-important fellow such as this one.

She saw him standing barefoot with the other elves in the shallow part of the river, cleaning arms and face thoroughly in its chilly water.

She realized this was her cue, her opportunity to show some skin as well. With slow, reluctant steps she proceeded toward the five elves, starting to unbutton her tunic as she went.

A/N:

About elves of color... This was written before the Rings of Power show, but now I headcanon Nodir and Bronedir to be relatives of Arondir. :)

About Old Rohanese: Tolkien based the Rohan culture on the Anglo-Saxons and used Old English words in their language, but sadly I haven't been able to find an Old English vocabulary so I use Icelandic in Wynne's family name and the names of the horses and call it 'Old Rohanese' to explain the difference. :)

Oh, and talking of languages, English isn't my first one (I'm Swedish) so I apologize for any mistakes. I know I still make them though I have improved a lot since I first wrote this story.

Image Credits:

Fascinating Animals, https://facinatingamazinganimals.wordpress.com/2012/03/15/horses-in-the-lord-of-the-rings/