Wanderlust (Legolas LOTR)

In Every Way Possible

Two days since they had arrived in Mirkwood, and Legolas had only seen Thaliniel for a handful of moments.

They had ridden in through the main gates to the palace together across the great bridge, and Legolas had thoroughly enjoyed seeing Thaliniel's reaction to his father's great halls. After all, she had mentioned that visiting the halls of the Elvenking had been on her secretive list. Legolas would very much like to know what other items made the list; he had an idea of a few of them, but some of the others Thaliniel had been surprisingly tight-lipped about.

Since their arrival and a very fine feast in the main hall, Legolas had been hard-pressed to find time to spend with Thaliniel; part of his father's scheming, he reckoned. He had been kept busy on numerous errands that demanded his attention-everything from getting fitted by the royal armory for his new position in the guard, not that he minded that so much, to other much more dull tasks like overseeing the council's meeting over purchase recommendations for the fall season.

Finally Legolas had excused himself and slipped away from the dreary conversation back to his chambers where he worked quickly to smooth his hair and don a fresh tunic, one of his favorites cut from a soft blue cloth. He checked himself in the mirror and hesitated as he debated leaving off his prince's circlet. His father always emphasized that he liked to see his son wear it as recognition of his station. Legolas stared at himself for a second in the glass and frowned. Then he pulled off the thin crown and dumped it on the dresser. He did not look back.

He walked at a brisk pace down the hall, pausing at the intersections to make sure there was no one about who might stop him or worse, redirect him to some other miserable task. He knew exactly where Thaliniel and her sister were staying, and the prince was fairly certain that his father had purposefully arranged their lodging to be on the far side of the palace from the royal family's suite of rooms.

Legolas glided to a stop as he caught the rise of voices down the next hall. He heard Galadhor's even, cheerful tone, and the prince pressed himself into a nearby alcove. Now normally, Galadhor would never be a cause of concern, for he was his father's chief-of-staff in the palace, and Legolas frankly adored him. He could always count on Galadhor for a sympathetic ear or a witty story, depending on the occasion; oftentimes, Legolas would go to him for advice before his own father. Galadhor never judged, only listened-and occasionally ran interference for the young prince with Thranduil.

Legolas waited for the light sound of his steps to pass, and then stepped back into the cool light of the hall. He smirked to himself. Galadhor had been talking, no, more like defending himself against a very persistent Narylfiel, who had been for all intents and purposes interrogating him about the history of the palace.

The prince sighed in relief. He was not going to let anything stand in the way of him seeing Thaliniel. He rapped smartly on the door that he knew to be hers, silently thankful for the fact that he knew Narylfiel to be gainfully occupied at the moment. Thaliniel opened the door, and Legolas loved the fact that her face lit up when she saw him outside her door.

"Legolas!" she exclaimed, and the prince glanced nervously down the hallway. Thankfully, Galadhor was out of earshot.

"Will you not come in?" Thaliniel beckoned him inside her room, but Legolas politely shook his head no.

He gave her a small smile. "Such a gesture might be deemed inappropriate by some," he excused himself politely.

"By who?" Thaliniel looked dubious.

"Everyone," Legolas said flatly, including his father, Galadhor, and any of the gossiping courtiers who would be quick to jump to the worst sort of conclusions. Honestly, Legolas would not mind giving them some major gossip; the idea of spending the afternoon in Thaliniel's bedroom sounded pretty wonderful, and he had definitely spent the last three nights imagining her in his arms. Ever since he had succumbed to temptation and kissed her in Dale at his father's impromptu townhome, Legolas could not get the taste or feel of her out of his mind. And he had an extremely vivid imagination.