Wanderlust (Legolas LOTR)

Under His Protection

The elves rode out early before dawn as the stars still gleamed like tiny white nephredil in the night sky. The pair traveled side by side, but occasionally Legolas would permit his horse to fall back ever so slightly so that he might have the opportunity to look upon his companion unawares. During one of these times, Legolas hid a secret grin as he recalled what had happened earlier this morning when he had woken up next to Thaliniel, her head resting on his shoulder. Her hair had pressed silkily and fragrant against his cheek, and even though he knew he should have woken her at once, a small, selfish part of him stayed his hand from rousing her from where she rested, soft and warm with sleep, curled up next to his side.

Of course, he eventually did wake her, and as much as he delighted in the feel of her next to him, the sight of her scrambling up from the rug red-faced was equally pleasing. Fire circles, indeed! If an early morning snuggle had her face brighter than a beet, then she had no business seeking out fire circles.

"What are you smirking about then?" Thaliniel asked, finally noticing the smug grin on the prince's face. Even in the early darkness before dawn, she could spot those self-satisfied dimples from several feet away.

"I am thinking that once your father hears about you sleeping with the Prince of Mirkwood, he will have to cancel your engagement to Barathion," Legolas teased.

"Oh, but I was overcome by the prince's powerful way with...turkey legs," Thaliniel said and laughed. "I still cannot believe you ate that entire platter full of them."

"I seem to recall that you contributed greatly to their demise as well," Legolas insisted, "and I practically had to fight you for the last one."

Thaliniel narrowed her eyes at him. "And for the last time, I am not engaged to Barathion!" she reminded him. "He would have a fit if he knew I was out on the open road like this, having an adventure-with the prince, no less! His idea of peril is getting caught out in the open rain."

"Or very large owls," snickered the prince.

Neither Thaliniel nor Legolas had any notion, of course, that Barathion had actually heard of their little escapade, and from a source that neither expected.

Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm, waited impatiently atop his charger while Beriadan, the Captain of the Royal Guard, had spoken with the overseer of Faendol. Part of Thranduil very much wanted to charge over there right now and take matters into his own hands, but he also knew the value in letting Beriadan handle the questioning. For some reason, people seemed to become intimidated in Thranduil's presence, probably because he was the king and undoubtedly because he had carefully cultivated a fierce reputation for himself. Oh, Thranduil knew he outright scared most folks and that usually came in quite handy, but right now all he felt was annoyance. He drummed his fingers on his leg and then looked sharply at his guard flanking his right side who had begun to whistle. The guard caught his eye and abruptly stopped mid-whistle.

Beriadan returned, eyes gleaming. "Your majesty, if you would walk with me toward the house, I have some very interesting information to share."

Thranduil nodded and dismounted, moving away from the rest of the guards so that he and Beriadan could speak privately. "Tell me, Captain, what you have learned."

"The master of this vineyard, Belchuil, left several days ago for a trading venture during the market days at Estodell. He has two young daughters, and his sister helps with the management of the household. Now, as far as I can understand, a messenger from the palace visited the vineyard arrived two days after Belchuil left."

Thranduil frowned. "A messenger? But the only one who might have visited would be Legolas-oh." Sudden understanding dawned on his face, and he glanced down toward the house where the overseer still waited on the front steps, watching their exchange curiously.