Unexpectedly turned into a cat, Kat falls into Middle-earth with the mission to prevent a death. In a feline form she can only communicate with the elf Legolas - and that he is such an attractive specimen is certainly not helpful...
A humorous (but...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"We need to borrow your boat," said Vimes. "Bugger off!" "I'm choosing to believe that was a salty nautical expression meaning 'Why, certainly.'"
— Terry Pratchett, Jingo
17. Row, Row, Row Your Boat
When she woke up, Kat felt Legolas' arms around her; in his sleep, he had pulled her tight against his chest. She turned her head so she could admire his relaxed features, with his dark lashes framing his closed eyes*. How could a person be this beautiful? Even compared to other elves, he was something special, and the kindness he had shown her lately only added to his attractiveness. She would never get tired of looking at him.
It was at least an hour before sunrise, and the others still slept soundly, but Legolas was making little moves showing he was about to wake up. Just like Kat, he always woke early – probably a cat-elf thing. Though, even as a human, Kat had been a morning person.
His lashes fluttered and he opened his eyes. Upon seeing her face, his cheeks colored and he looked away.
Anything wrong? she asked.
Nay.
You look embarrassed.
I do? He yawned artificially, obviously trying hard to act non-embarrassed.
Yes. You can tell me why; your secrets are safe with me. That's another benefit with cats. They can't gossip.
He blushed brighter, and Kat's curiosity increased manifold. Please, I'm dying here. You know how curious cats – and women – are. She tried to catch his gaze, but without success.
If you must know, I dreamed something, he finally admitted. And nay, I shall not tell you what it was, he added, and stoically remained mute as a clam.
Kat kept prying until the others woke up, after which she reluctantly had to leave him alone. Darn elf!
When they had breakfasted, a group of Lórien elves came with gifts of food and clothes to the travellers. Gimli picked up a thin, biscuit-like cake and nibbled it curiously. His eyes popped open at the taste, and he quickly munched the rest of it.
Seeing what he had done, the elves laughed merrily and cried: "No more, no more!" They explained this was lembas, a special elvish waybread, and only a small bite was enough to last an entire day. Gimli did not seem to mind their laughter, and kindly complimented them, saying lembas was better than the best kind of honey-cake.
Kat tried a miniscule crumb too, and her mouth filled with a sweet taste, resembling buttered toast with apricot marmalade – her favorite weekend breakfast.
Next, the elves unwrapped clothes – elvish cloaks made according to the size of each Fellowship member, which were fastened with green, leaf-shaped brooches.The fabric was thin and light but very warm, and almost magically assumed the color and texture of its surroundings. The elves said the cloaks had been woven by Galadriel and her maids, and that this was the first time such had been given to anyone other than their own people. It was a great honor.
