The Princess of Imladris [Legolas]

The long walk

The company trod the path in silence as the sun continued to rise above the horizon.

My parents and I had come to the decision that those who did not know what my heritage was are not to be told. As far as the majority of the fellowship were aware, I was an Elf. This way if something happened, I would not be used as leverage by the enemy.
The only ones who knew were Mithrandir and Prince Legolas of the Woodland realm.

"It's too quiet! Why do we walk in silence?" The man known as Boromir grumbled.
"Do you not sense the fear among us? We are walking towards a danger most of us have never encountered before. We do not know each other enough to be vulnerable with our fears and feelings. Give it time." I spoke after a few moments of awkward glances.

"You sound exactly like your mothers grandmother, my dear" Gandalf chuckled.
"Thank you for your kind compliment Mithrandir" I replied, grateful to be compared to such an incredible Elf.

"Tell us fair lady, I mean Elf, oh I don't know - I'll stick with Lady. Please tell me, who is your mothers grandmother?" Pippin, the excitable hobbit asked me stumbling over his words.
Most of the company was quietly laughing at his antics and word stumbling.
"The correct term is Lady, Pippin. Elf is her race, Elleth is her gender and Lady is her title." Ada kindly told Pippin.

"Little Master, my mothers grandmother will be revealed in time. When it is the right time to know" I said to Pippin with a bright smile on my face.
He accepted the answer and went back to bothering Merry.

———

The evening came quicker than we expected. Dark clouds gathered to west of us, exactly where we were heading. Samwise was tending to the hearty stew that was bubbling away on the fire.
"Stews up!" Samwise called to us.
I was stripping herbs of their leaves for making poultices and salves for the trip.
Abandoning my task, I graciously accepted an aromatic bowl of goodness.
"Master Samwise, I believe you need to cook food for me forever." I said. Flavours filled my mouth, nose and lungs. I never knew a stew could taste so damn good. Samwise stuttered a thanks at the many compliments he received.

The fire crackled into the night. Most of the fellowship had given into their tiredness and now slept soundly on their bedrolls. Gimli snored loudly into the dark night.
Being elves, Prince Legolas and I did not require sleep often.

Soft footfalls entered my hearing.
"My lady, May I join you?" Prince Legolas asked me.
His long, straight, blond hair almost glowed in the moonlight.
I made room for him on the log I had been sitting on. He took that as an invitation and sat beside me.
"Your father must miss you Prince Legolas. I'm sure this is not what he envisioned when you were sent to Imladris". I mentioned softly, as not to wake the slumbering men, hobbits, wizard, and dwarf.

The prince hummed thinking before answering my question.
"It is more of a reprieve for me at this current time. I'm sure you would understand what protective fathers are like. Please call me Legolas. No need for titles, I sense we will be friends." He said while looking in the distance, eyes scanning for hostility. The stars glittered above us in the sky as if warding off the dark clouds of Mordor.

I turned my head and looked at Strider, who was doing a bad job of sleeping. Laying on his back, Ada was staring at the sky, deep in thought.
"I most definitely understand. He seems to forget what I am capable of, but I think he forgets deliberately." My grumbling caused Legolas to let out a small laugh. This sent a few small butterflies cascading through my stomach.
He was a very handsome Elf and I was very aware he was sitting next to me, almost touching.
Brushing those unwelcome thoughts from my mind, I quietly conversed with the Elven Prince as the night passed by us. We became more friendly and less formal.