Seascapes

SEASCAPES

Chapter 3

Merenin could not contain his joy as he rode up to the city with his wife. Turning his face to the early morning sun and feeling the fresh salt breeze cool his skin, he laughed aloud for the sheer pleasure of it.

Lelneth, beside him, said, “The morning is passing fair, Merenin.”

He turned to watch her shake her , th, the wild mass of rich brown curls glinting red where the light caught them, as they settled down her back. Their eyes met, and a sweet smile of complicity, laced with the promise of delights to come, passed between them.

The day was indeed beautiful, all the more so to Merenin’s mind for the knowledge that he would spend it in the land he loved so much. They had sailed through the night, and disembarked at first light, to satisfy his impatience to reach his home. Not that the past fortnight had been a hardship; he knew that the dullest of diplomatic visits would be as a holiday now, so long as Lelneth travelled with him.

“It is not just the morning, my beloved,” he said. “Four years ago I could never have dreamed of knowing such happiness.”

“And your happiness is my joy,” his wife replied simply, as they reined their horses to a halt at the great gates.

Belgan met them at the castle doors and informed Merenin that his father was still at breakfast.

“He entertains a guest,” added the old man, in his studiedly neutral tones.

There was something about his posture, some wariness, or perhaps even disapproval, that caught Merenin’s attention immediately. Before he could ask for clarification, however, the steward had thrown wide the doors of the Great Hall, and the young man stepped inside.

His father sat at the centre of the long table, deep in conversation with the blond, white clad figure at his side.

‘He entertains a woman?’ thought Merenin, incredulously, but then the figure turned towards him, and he felt his eyebrows shoot up in amazement. He forced himself to suppress a chuckle as he recalled his sister’s letter. So this was the friend she had aimed to send here? He had to admit that he was greatly impressed.

Lelneth coughed lightly behind him, and Merenin remembered his manners. He strode up to the table and bowed.

“Father. Prince Legolas, you do us great honour. It is a pleasure to see you here.”

The elf stood and returned his bow with a fluid, graceful movement.

“The pleasure is all mine.” His voice rang out like sweet music across the hall. When he straightened, Merenin looked him in the eye and was intrigued to see his neutral expression allowing the merest hint of amused appraisal to show through.

As Merenin presented his wife, he could have sworn that he saw Legolas grin for the briefest of instants, but dismissed the notion as foolish. His father’s guest was an elf, after all; and surely elves did not grin.

Lelneth, of course, was all but humming with excitement at this new turn of events. She wasted no time in gently steering her husband towards his father and seating herself on the other side of Legolas. As the two men fell into discussion of the details of his journey, Merenin remained half aware of his wife’s clever questions and the elf’s willing response. He smiled inwardly, knowing only too well how fearsomely irresistible she could be. No doubt she would know the story of the elf’s life - and those of all his family - before the end of the meal.

Legolas had not aged, of course, in the years since Elessar’s coronation. How strange to think that he would look this way for another ten centuries or more; the man suppressed a shiver at the thought. Yet there was something very different about the elf. Merenin had observed all the fair folk at the ceremony with a good deal of fascinated interest. He remembered noticing something about the Mirkwood prince, a tension, a fragility, which had contrasted starkly with the placid grace of his kin. Whatever had caused it then, there was no sign of it now. Legolas appeared relaxed, serene, almost radiant, as he laughed delightedly with Lelneth, and peeled an orange with quick, deft fingers.

On the other hand, Merenin reflected, his father looked terrible. His face had the unmistakeably grey look of one who has not slept well, and although he smiled as he talked with his son, it was clear that he was anxious about something. Merenin resolved to speak with him later, in private, to find out what had disturbed him so. It was hard to believe that Legolas could have brought bad news; there was certainly nothing in the elf’s demeanour to suggest it.

Once they reached the privacy of their chambers, Lelneth turned to her husband, eyes shining.

“Well! The renowned Prince of Mirkwood, here in Dol Amroth. It promises to be an interesting summer,” she announced.

“He intends to stay how long?” He had no doubt that such a trivial piece of information would have been extracted from the elf at the start of the interview.

“He is not sure. He only arrived yesterday, and has yet to make any definite plans.” She kept her eyes on him as she crossed to the dressing table. “Is he not astonishing?”

“In many respects, no doubt,” said Merenin dryly. “To what, in particular, do you refer?”

“Oh, come on, Merenin. Are you quite blind? The songs tell of his courage and skill, but I have to say that the ones I have heard missed out his most important attributes.” she picked up a large brush and started to attack her mane of curls. “He is nothing short of magnificent. Any woman would kill to have skin like that, and his voice….”

“I do believe you are enamoured of our guest!” Merenin attempted a stern tone, but could not suppress a smile, remembering his own reaction when first he had set eyes on Galadriel and Arwen.

“Husband! You know there is room in my heart only for you…. but he is remarkable, is he not?”

“Quite remarkable,” he conceded, with a sigh. He went to sit on the large plush couch, and watched his wife with adoring eyes as she smoothed a white cream onto her face.

“What is the matter with your father?” Lelneth asked, suddenly serious.

“I do not know, for I had no chance to ask him. But you marked how he looks?”

“Aye, like a man who has not slept for nights.” She swivelled on the small stool to face him. “I wonder . . . no . . .”

Merenin narrowed his eyes, but the expression his wife had assumed was innocent. It was clear that she was not going to elaborate on her thoughts.

“Did you know that your father counted Legolas as a friend?” she asked, after a brief pause.

“’Tis strange, but he has never mentioned it. He has spoken of him as a comrade, of course, but along with many others. Yet my sister’s letter mentioned an old friend who was planning to visit; I feel sure she meant the elf.”

“Yes, he told me he had seen her, and that she was well.”

Lelneth stood, and stretched her arms above her head before moving across to the couch to join her husband.

“I have a plan,” she told him.

“Mercy! Should I tremble, or be glad?” He ducked to avoid her playful blow.

“Knave!” she laughed. “Hear me first, then mock if you must.”

“Legolas has come here to be shown the sea, not merely to look at it. He told me as much, and I deem him wise for it. How much more will he see, if he travels the coast with one who knows all its secret treasures?”

She paused, waiting for Merenin’s nod of agreement, which he duly gave.

“Now ask yourself, to whom shall this task be allotted? Who will show Legolas the sea? You, my love? I would not have you so far from me, and if I journey with you, then we would have the entourage, and I do not believe that is what he wants.

“No. Legolas came here for your father to show him the sea, and your father is anxious to give his guest what he wants, but cannot bring himself to shirk his duties. He is always so bent on meeting his responsibilities; he has forgotten how to take care of himself. So you must solve the problem for him.”

“I should go to him, and make the suggestion myself . . .” said Merenin, smiling at his beautiful, perceptive wife.

“Aye, and he will say no, and his counsellors will not like the idea at all. I should not be surprised if old Ancened has a fit at the thought he phe prince riding out alone with the strange elf. But you must persuade him to do it, none the less. He has been unhappy for far too long, and here, ma is is a chance for him to smile again. Lothiriel obviously thought so . . .”

The mention of his beloved sister’s name was enough to decide Merenin, as his wife had no doubt intended. He kissed her softly, then rose from the couch.

“You are quite right, my love, as always. I will go to him and persuade him that I am more than capable of dealing with matters of state for a week or two, while he sets out adventuring . . . Gods, I can already hear what the court will say. ‘Has he lost his mind? Has this unnatural creature cast some elvish spell on him?’”

Merenin accompanied this last with an uncanny imitation of one of his father’s less popular advisors. Lelneth laughed, but stood up beside her husband.

“No matter what they say, he is the prince, and the decision is his. Even he should be allowed a holiday. I would wager that he has longed for such freedom for many a year.”

His father had never said as much directly, but Merenin knew she was right. He had no great urge to step into the prince’s shoes, and indeed acting as regent would probably be most irksome, especially in these glorious days of early summer when the sea was at its most beautiful. However, he would accept the task gladly if it might offer his father some respite from the sadness which had dogged him for the last three years. At least the elf had arrived at an opportune moment, with Celaeren away and nothing but quiet peace in Dol Amroth and the surrounding lands.

Merenin kissed his wife again, this time with passion.

“You are as wise and kind as you are lovely,” he said fondly. “and I am the luckiest man alive. I shall go at once to my father and put your plan into action.”

He turned to leave the room, but came to an abrupt halt as Lelneth’s arms were flung around him from behind, and one hand brazenly slid down over his belly and dipped beneath his tunic’s hem.

“Not so fast, husband,” she purred in his ear. “There are other matters you must attend to first.”

Laughing, he twisted in armsarms to face her, then lifted her bodily and carried her to the bed.