Legolas POV

    I sit at the head of the long table of elves in the dining hall of Lothlorien, distantly hearing what Lord Celeborn is saying to me. I nod and smile and fake a laugh at all of the right points in the conversation. Normally, I would listen intently to his humorous stories and my laughter and my smiles would be completely genuine, but my brain is too befuddled with thoughts of Eilonwy to care what he has to say.

    I watch the tall double doors of the dining hall intently, becoming more and more agitated when an elf enters that is not her. I begin to tap my fingers on the wooden table in impatience. Is she even going to come? She acted as if she was trying her hardest to flee from my very presence when she was in the library! Maybe I imagined the look of recognition in her eyes when she looked upon me. Her blush may have been from the heat of the day. The mere idea of her reciprocating my feelings is but a beautiful dream.

    Someone clears their throat, snapping me from my thoughts. I look up to see Lady Galadriel staring at me with a knowing smirk. I glance at Lord Celeborn, hoping that he has not noticed my lack of attention, but he is now happily speaking and laughing with Haldir who is seated to my right.

    It is rude not to listen to someone when they are speaking to you, Lady Galadriel’s mirthful voice resounds throughout my mind.

    My gaze meets her’s once again, a guilty smile on my face. It is not my fault that my thoughts are a bit preoccupied at this moment in time, I reply, almost sarcastically.

    She places her hand over her mouth, attempting to stifle a laugh. Lord Celeborn stops speaking for a moment and turns to look at her after seeing her quick movements from the corner of his eye. He gives her a curious look as if wondering what joke he has been left out of. In response, she takes her hand away from her lips, placing it in her lap along with her other hand and intertwining her fingers. She tilts her head and raises her eyebrow slightly at her husband as if saying “What?”, and he stares at her suspiciously for a moment before resuming his conversation with Haldir.

    Her gaze falls back on mine for a moment before flitting towards the massive double doors of the dining hall. I follow her stare, wondering what has suddenly caught her attention.

    Time seems to slow down as I watch Eilonwy step determinedly into the dining hall. She now wears a long flowing dress, the purple color of the material causing her porcelain skin to shine as if the light of a thousand stars has been imbedded in it. Her emerald eyes stay trained on the floor as she walks towards the head of the table, only leaving the marble floor every once in a while to make sure she is walking in the right direction. Her hair is braided on top, leaving the rest to fall down to her waist in fiery curls. My heart begins to race in my chest as I realize the seat in front of me, the one beside Galadriel, is empty.

    Eilonwy reaches the table and sits down in the seat across from me quietly, as if she is trying to go unnoticed, but her wish is not granted.

    “Eilonwy, I am glad you have joined us. For a moment, I was afraid you would go without eating,” Lord Celeborn says to her with a fatherly smile.

    She shifts in her seat to face him and smiles beautifully, causing my breath to catch in my throat. “I am sorry that I took so long to arrive. I was desperately in need of a bath after today’s practice,” she says enthusiastically with a light laugh escaping her lips at the end of her statement.

    Lord Celeborn and his wife laugh heartily at her comment, and Haldir grins at her. Confusion sweeps over my mind like nighttime sweeps over the sky.

“Practice?” I question her.

    Her eyes flit to mine. She looks at me without saying anything for a moment, as if she is surprised that I am speaking to her. “Yes, Haldir has been kind enough to try and teach me to wield a sword,” she replies and looks at Haldir for a moment in amusement, a grin on her face, “Though, his attempts have been futile. I am quite poor at swordfighting.”

    Haldir chuckles and turns to look at me. “Do not believe a word of what she is saying. She has done better than most of the young ellon I teach, and she has only taken two lessons!” he says with fondness.

    The way he speaks of her so tenderly leaves a sick feeling in my stomach. His eyes swim with warmth and affection as he looks upon her, and anger squeezes my heart painfully. It is obvious that he is fond of her. Haldir almost never smiles, yet a grin of happiness hasn’t left his face once since Eilonwy sat down at the table. It is unbelievable! Haldir is actually capable of loving someone! But why of all the ellith in Middle Earth did he have to take a liking to Eilonwy?

    I force a smile, hoping that my feelings do not show on my face. “That is wonderful to hear. Mirkwood could use more members on the guard,” I say, only slightly teasing. Galadriel looks at me intently, knowing all of my thoughts and feelings. Her gaze pierces into me like a knife, but I do not look at her. I am ashamed of my jealousy.

    Haldir looks at me with a smile on his face, but his eyes are as hard as steel. “Lothlorien has a smaller guard than Mirkwood does. We could use all of the help we can get,” he rebukes. To anyone that doesn’t know him, he would seem to be merely making polite conversation, but I have known him for many long years and see plainly the anger in his eyes.

    My eyes narrow slightly as stare at him. I cannot believe that he is trying to win her over! We do not say anything, and silence descends upon us.

    Lady Galadriel claps her hands together lightly. “Eilonwy, you still have not put any food on your plate. Please allow me to help you,” she says in order to break up the silent feud between Haldir and I.

    I turn away from him and watch Eilonwy. She smiles and nods gratefully at Galadriel as she fills her plate with an assortment of different foods. Once Galadriel finishes, she places the plate in front of Eilonwy.

    “Thank you, my lady,” she says as she picks up a strawberry and pops it in her mouth.

    Lady Galadriel laughs lightly. “It was no trouble at all,” she replies with a smile.

    Lord Celeborn looks to all of us after a few minutes of silence. “I have already discussed this with Galadriel, but King Elessar has invited us to Gondor for the celebration of the birth of his fourth child.”

    I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. “When was the child born? Lord Elrond and his family were on their way to Gondor in order to be there when it was born. They were passing through Mirkwood when I left to journey here,” I inform them.

    “The baby was born early this morning, and Elrond and his family arrived late last night,” Lady Galadriel said.

    Eilonwy looks at her in confusion. “How do you know that? Surely information does not travel that quickly!” she exclaims.

    We all laugh loudly as Lady Galadriel points at her head in a childish way, indicating that she used her powers.

    Eilonwy opens her mouth in an ‘O’ shape before she laughs along with us.

    After our laughter dies down somewhat, Lady Galadriel continues. “Anyway, King Elessar requests the presence of the fellowship members,” she says, looking at me, then she turns to Eilonwy with an excited smile, “And he also requests your presence, Eilonwy. He and his wife are most anxious to meet you.”

    Eilonwy’s eyes widen in astonishment. “Me? why?” she asks.

    Lady Galadriel’s smile grows wider. “Your parents were good friends with Arathorn and Gilraen, Aragorn’s parents, and they were also very close to Aragorn, himself.”

    Eilonwy nods, her eyebrows scrunching together in deep thought. “Well, I would love to go,” she says with a true smile.

    Galadriel nods, an approving and proud smile on her face. “I was hoping you would agree,” she says.

    “Legolas, you will attend, yes?” Lord Celeborn questions me.

    “Of course. It will be wonderful to see Aragorn and the others again,” I say, thinking back on my memories of the fellowship. It was a solemn, dangerous journey, yes, but we managed to have many laughs and smiles along the way. As members of the Fellowship of the Ring, we will all forever have a strong bond to tie us together as great friends.

    I would have agreed to see Aragorn and the others even if Eilonwy was not coming, but now that she is, I have an even greater desire to go. I am quite positive that Aragorn and Arwen will adore her, and knowing that they approve of her will make me very happy.

    My eyes widen in alarm as I suddenly remember that my family is royal and obviously will be invited to the celebration. “Will my family be there?”

    Lady Galadriel turns to me with a slight smirk pulling at the corners of her lips. “Yes,” she says, her eyes gleaming with mischief.

    I will away the urge to roll my eyes, and I nod my head silently as I take another bite of my food.

    “So, when exactly are we leaving?” Eilonwy asks, turning to look at Lady Galadriel.

    “Well, the celebration takes place in a fortnight, but we will be leaving in one week so that we will arrive early,” she replies.

    Eilonwy smiles elatedly, “I will look forward to it!”

    ---

    After everyone is finished eating, Lord Celeborn wishes everyone a good night, and all of the elves stand from their seats to leave. Almost everyone stays in the dining hall for a while to speak to each other before leaving since many do not get the chance to do so during the day because they are working.

Lady Galadriel and her husband are quickly whisked into a conversation with an elven family, and Haldir makes his way through the crowd to meet with some of the ellyn of Lothlorien’s guard, leaving me and Eilonwy alone to speak with one another.

I study her as she fidgets nervously, looking at the crowd around us. I feel pity for her since she seems sort of lost here in Lothlorien, and this feeling of pity, along with the love I have for her, is what gives me the confidence to speak with her.

“Lady Eilonwy, would you take a walk with me?” I ask her softly, trying not to scare her away since I know she is very shy.

She looks up at me with her shining green eyes, and the beautiful sensation of love swirls in my heart. “Yes,” she answers to my surprise. I am quite sure that my surprise shows on my face because she laughs quietly. “I would be honored,” she continues.

I take her hand in mine, placing it on my arm as I begin to lead her through the crowd of elves. “As will I,” I replied honestly.

She was barely touching me, only her hand was placed on my arm, yet that simple touch was enough to heighten my senses and quicken the beating of my heart. With my senses so sharp, I was overly aware of how several elves would stop speaking and turn to stare at us in wonder as we passed. Eilonwy was tense, and I knew without looking at her that she was worried about their stares. Honestly, I am exultant that she allowed me over Haldir or any other ellon to escort her on a walk through Lothlorien. She is not used to elven culture yet, so I am sure she does not quite understand the meaning behind her agreeing to take a walk with me, but that detail does not stop the overwhelming feeling of elation from pulsing through my veins. When an ellon asks an elleth to take a walk with him, it signifies his preference for the lady-- his romantic preference. Usually, taking walks is one of the first things elves do when they are courting or the ellon is soon to ask the elleth to court him. Eilonwy must not know this, though, or else she would not have agreed. After all, she barely knows me, but maybe this walk will be the start to changing that.

When we reach the double doors of the dining hall, I glance at Eilonwy. I felt her eyes on the side of my face like a touch as we weaved between all of the elves but only now did I have the courage to meet her gaze. Her eyes were shining in the light of the dining hall, her gaze intense as she looked into my eyes. My heart fluttered in my chest as I realized that she was smiling. How radiant she is…

I smile back at her, a true, warm smile that speaks louder than any words I could utter in this moment, and I push open the door. With the beautiful Eilonwy on my arm, and the feeling of hundreds of eyes piercing into my back, I lead her out into the cool night air.

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A/N: So, this is just a filler chapter :3 I look forward to writing the next chapter! So, next time, we will be checking in on Eilonwy and Legolas. Maybe there will be deep conversations? Or fluff? Who knows!? ;)

Remember to R&R! So comment and share this story with your friends!

With love,

Josie