The Price of Pride

Elvish translations

A – and
Gwanur – brother
Hannon lle – thank you
Lle creoso – you’re welcome
Mae govannen – well met
Meldir – friend
Mellyn – friends
N’uma – no
Uma – yes


Chapter 26


Arien’s light woke the twins. They were surprised to see me still standing watch. “Why did you not wake us, meldir?” Elrohir asked.

“I was not sleepy,” I replied, “and I saw no reason to disturb your rest when I could not have slept anyway. Now that you are awake, I will go and bathe.”

I rose and gathered my change of clothes, heading for the nearby stream. The water was bracing in the chill morning, but that did not bother me as I washed away the battle from the previous day and the tensions of the night. I was partially dressed when Aragorn came out of the woods and began to remove his clothes in preparation for his own morning ablutions.

“Mae govannen, Estel,” I greeted him, wanting to alert him to my presence. I was not going to complain if he wanted to strip naked in front of me, but I did not want him to do it not knowing I was there.

“Mae govannen, Legolas, a hannon lle,” he replied. The tunic came off anndednded on the ground at his feet.

“Lle creoso.” I had no idea why he was thanking me and my confusion must have shown on my face. At least my desire was not showing.

“For loaning me your blanket,” he clarified.

“It was nothing, Estel. I have two and used neither last night. You are welcome to use the extra one as long as it remains chill.”

“Thank you again.” He reached for the lacings on his leggings. I would have stayed just for the pleasure of seeing the rest of his body, but Elrohir called my name from the campsite.

I gathered my belongings and returned to camp. “What is it, ‘Ro?” I asked.

“What troubles your mind, meldir, that you did not sleep? Do we need to detour to Lórien?”

“That will not be necessary. I visited Arwen last spring. I have not sunk so low that I cannot go a year without seeing her. I just had some thinking to do.”

“There is no need to keep secrets from us, Legolas,” Elladan interjected. “We know all your secrets anyway.”

That was no longer completely true. I had a new secret, one that they did not know, and I was not sure how they would react to it when they found out. And they would find out. They were not going to leave their brother with me for no reason so they would see anything I did to attract Aragorn’s interest, and then there would be a reckoning.

When I did not reply, Elrohir looked at his brother. “I think that he as a new secret, gwanur, one that he is not so eager to reveal.”

I glanced back toward the stream to make sure Aragorn was not yet coming back to camp. “I will tell you, but I do not think you will be pleased.”

“Estel,” Elladan guessed before I could speak again.

“Uma. He is…” I paused, searching for the right word.

“Young,” Elrohir suggested.

“Mortal,” Elladan said at the same time.

“He is both those things, and your foster-brother, I know. He is also fascinating. You both know I cannot bind with Arwen, however much I might want to. I will always love her. Nothing can change that. But for the first time since I fell in love with her, someone else also stirs my interest. I have only ever managed to share a few stolen weeks, months at the most, with Arwen, always with years between our meetings. I am lonely, mellyn, but I have never met anyone else I wanted to be with. Now maybe I have. I do not want to let this chance pass just because there are obstacles. Maybe nothing will come of my efforts, but maybe, just maybe something will and for a few years, I will be happy.”

The twins stared at me in silence. I knew that silence. It meant they were speaking to each other in their minds. It used to bother me when they did that, but I had grown used to it. They would share their thoughts with me when they were ready.

“You deserve to be happy, Legolas,” Elladan said finally.

“Hannon lle, mellyn.”

At that moment, Aragorn reappeared. We ate quickly and gathered our packs to continue. I had hunted with the twins before, both for food and for vengeance. This hunt was different. Perhaps time had dulled their pain and thus their blind desire for killing Orcs. Or perhaps they were less willing to expose their foster-brother to danger. Either way, while we tracked down the Orcs whose sign we saw, that day, and every day, we did not seek them as we had when I fought with the twins after their mother’s capture. We hunted more for food than for Orcs, wanting to conserve our lembas as long as possible. We were in no hurry to return to civilization.

That night, as we sat around the campfire talking and cooking, I pulled out one of my knives. I had used it that afternoon to bleed out the deer Elrohir brought down, and was not satisfied with the edge. I retrieved my whetstone and oil from my pack and began to sharpen the fine steel. As I did, I watched Aragorn surreptitiously from under my eyelashes. The twins claimed he was the best cook of the three, and we all knew that I was no master, though I could usuallyage age not to burn a meal beyond all recognition, so Aragorn had been put in charge of the deer. As I watched, I pondered my course of action. Never before had I been the pursuer in a relationship. The lovers I had known before Arwen had all pursued me, and even with Arwen, there had been no courtship, no gentle wooing to tempt her into my arms. The agreement to participate in her Cuivië had determined the nature of our relationship. I realized, as I sat there, that I had no real idea how to catch the attention of the current object of my desire, especially since he was a warrior. Did one court a warrior as one courted a maid? I was hopelessly out of my depth and I was not going to ask the two sitting across from me for assistance. First, I was not sure they would give it, for all that they had not objected to my plans. Second, and more importantly, I was not going to give them that kind of ammunition to hold over me later. They knew far too well how to mention incriminating information at inopportune times. I wanted Aragorn to find out how I felt, but I did not want him to find out from them. I had to figure this out on my own.

I know better than to handle a knife while distracted, and I knew it then, but I could not seem to keep my mind or my eyes on what I was doing. My hand slipped and my knife slashedoss oss my palm.

My curse was low but audible as I dropped the knife, cradling my bleeding hand in the other one. The three brothers looked up at the sound. “What have you done, Legolas?” Elladan asked.

“Nothing,” I answered. “ It is just a scratch.”

“No scratch I have ever seen bled like that,” Aragorn said, coming to my side and examining my hand.

Elrohir joined him. “That does not look good,” Elrohir agreed. “We will camp for a few days, to give you time to heal.”

“A few days?” Aragorn asked, obviously surprised.

“Legolas heals slowly,” Elladan said. I shot him a look over Aragorn’s head, begging him not to reveal the cause. He looked disapproving but said nothing.

“At least let me bind it,” Aragorn said. I must have hesitated because Elrohir encouraged, “It is all right, Legolas. Ada trained him well.”

I submitted, allowing Aragorn to clean and bind my hand. “How long does it usually take you to heal?” he asked.

“Three, maybe four days,” I answered, considering the depth of the wound. I had paid attention to my healing time since my conversation with Elrond, millennia ago, so I would know if I needed to visit Arwen.

“We are in no hurry. This is as good a place to rest as any,” Elladan observed, looking around. “We can shelter under that overhang. It should block the wind and any rain.”

The twins moved our packs under the overhang while Aragorn returned to the meat over the fire. We ate when he deemed it ready. It was a simple meal, venison flavored by smoke and hunger, but it was delicious.

After dinner, we lay out our bedrolls, getting ready for sleep. Aragorn and I were covered in blood from the deer. We could hear a stream running over rocks at the base of the valley so we decided to explore, hoping to wash away some of the gore before we slept. The twins declined to come with us, saying they were too tired. Elladan winked at me, though, as we were leaving, making me wonder at their real reasons. I was not about to complain, however, at the opportunity to be alone with Aragorn. We found the stream easily. Much to our delight, the stream was deep enough in places that we could wade in up to our waists, thus enabling us to take a real bath, even if the water was cold. I removed only my boots before entering the water, letting the current wash the blood from my tunic and leggings. When they were clean, I stepped back onto the bank to remove the garments. I noticed that Aragorn was already in the water, washing out his own clothes. The opportunity presented itself so I took aent ent to appreciate what I could see of his body. Of course, looking was not enough.

“Shall I wash your back for you, Estel?” I called. He turned to face me as I strode, naked, into the stream.

“N..no, thank you,” Aragorn stuttered, flushing as he looked away. Oh, his face was priceless. It appeared that my young friend was shy.

“Suit yourself,” I replied, hiding my smirk as best I could. I washed my hair and what I could reach of my body. Then I decided to try again. “Estel, I cannot reach my back. Would you mind?” I turned so that my back was facing him, hoping that would be less intimidating than my front.

Aragorn approached slowly, obviously ill at ease, but not wanting to refuse. I looked back over my shoulder, smiling encouragingly. I wish I could have read his mind, for his face was a carefully blank mask. I handed him the soap without turning, pulling my hair forward to give him unfettered access, and an unfettered view of my back. His hands were oh, so tentative when they finally touched me, brushing too lightly over my skin. I forced myself to stillness, quelling a shiver that coursed through me at the teasing touch. I knew it was a lack of confidence that made him touch me that way, but it felt like the touch of a lover.

“Hannon lle, meldir. That feels wonderful,” I said with a sigh. “Are you sure you would not like me to return the favor?” I heard a muffled squeak behind me that might have been a no as he quickly finished and backed away. I sank into the water, letting the soap wash away. That proved too much for Aragorn’s composure. He fled the stream, grabbing his damp clothes as he retreated to the campsite. I could not help it. I started laughing as I watched him run up the hill, naked as the day he was born. It certainly appeared that I had found a way to catch his attention.