Through Fire and Water (A Legolas Love Story)

Awkwardness 2

I am woken by a strange sound, the sound of hinges creaking as the door swings open. I realise with a start that I am lying on top of the covers, still wearing the clothes I had on yesterday and wrapped in Legolas’ arms. There is a moment of immense confusion as I desperately try to recall the events which led to me being in this rather compromising position but then everything comes rushing back to me and I smile as I remember kissing in the dark before curling up and drifting off to sleep. The moment of happiness is soon replaced by terror as I remember what woke me and I start to pray that the door swung open on its own. I get the strange feeling that I am being watched so I slowly open one eye and then the other to find father standing next to the bed and looking down at me with his arms crossed. Oh god! Oh my God! Not him! I have to be dreaming! Please let this not be real! My cheeks start to burn and my heart beats faster as I silently beg to wake up and this be a dream.

“Good morning” He says stiffly.

“Good morning” I reply, wishing that the ground would swallow me up. Beside me Legolas murmurs and in my head I scream at him to stay asleep so that I can deal with this first but he ignores my psychic begging and his eyes flicker open. His fingers play with a strand of my hair “Good morning Ana… and… err…. Aragorn” he says as he takes in me and then my father. He bolts upright, looking extremely awkward and getting his finger caught in my hair. I shriek as he tugs to free himself and after a tense moment I take firm hold of his hand to stop his fumbling and then I untangle myself from him “I should….go…..” he says, tripping over his own feet as he hurriedly scrambles from the bed.

“I think that would be best” father says with forced civility, still looking at me. I watch Legolas as he gets his feet caught in the bed covers and nearly falls over. He eventually manages to untangle himself and stumble towards the door which is swinging open. “Ummmmm… bye!” he calls as he finally reaches the door without hurting himself and darts from the room.

“Bye” father says in a sarcastically sweet voice, raising his hand and wiggling his fingers in a wave. Legolas shuts the door behind him, leaving me alone to my fate. I sit up and swing my legs off the bed with exaggerated care so that I am sitting on the edge of the mattress, staring at my feet. My face is burning as he looks at me.

“Just before you say anything” I say without lifting my gaze from the floor “Nothing actually happened”

“Apart from you falling asleep in each other’s arms on your rather messed up bed”

“Yes, apart from that. We just fell asleep”

“I see. And what exactly led to you two falling asleep in that position?”

I can’t find a completely innocent answer to that so I just stay quiet. Father looks me up and down for a moment while I pray for an orc attack on the city or something to distract him.

“I can understand, I mean, he is a good looking guy with a perfectly nice personality” he says, his eyes hard with sarcasm. I can tell he is trying his best to stay calm and that, deep down, he is finding this awkward too.

“Dad…” I say but he cuts across me.

“For goodness sake Ana! He is at least twice your age”

“I’m an elf, since when did age matter? I am grown up, it is about that point that years stop meaning anything. Besides, how old is Arwen?”

Father’s cheeks flush with anger. “Don’t you try to turn this on me Ariana. You know that’s different”

“But is it though?”

“Yeas and you know it is”

“Why?”