Sleeping Beauty

Author’s Note: I’m sorry for the long wait. Here’s an extra long chapter for you! Please note that I have taken the liberty to assume a connection between Tolkien’s Atalantë and Plato’s Atlantis, something which the professor had denied. Also, in the following chapters, I am going to use Plato’s account of Atlantis, as described in his Dialogues. You can easily find information on these things in Wikipedia. Once more, thank you very much for your wonderful reviews!! A huge thank you to Gwynnyd as well, who helped me tremendously with this chapter!

Oh and one more thing. A reader mentioned something about Alice being in France in the previous chapter. She never went to France! She just met the French grandmother of Louise, who had immigrated in the US, as she herself said in her story. Her house, however, is not in New York; that's why Alice's drive home was a long one.


Disclaimer: See prologue.

italics: thoughts

[translations]

Chapter 6 – Breakdowns, apologies and discoveries

Jean tied her robe around her and walked down the stairs in a fast pace, her husband Dylan hot after her heels. A doorbell ringing at 3:30 in the morning was never good. She reached the door and opened the hatch to see who it was.

“Alice!” she gasped and unlocked the door, pulling the shaking woman inside. “Oh my God, what happened to you??”

She ran her hands over the crying red-head to see if she was hurt in some manner, cupping her flushed cheeks to look into her teary eyes.

“Alice are you okay? Should I call Logan?” Dylan asked as he softly caressed her shoulder in concern.

“No, no… I’m fine…” she mumbled and let Jean take her wet jacket and hang it on the coat tree. She absent-mindedly followed Jean to the couch and sat down.

“Sweetie, you shouldn’t have driven all the way here with this rain, you could just call, I would…-“

“Mommy, who is it?” a small voice sounded from the top of the stairs and Jean turned to see her son looking at the three adults confused.

“It’s no one George, go back to your room,” his father told him and turned to look at the two women. “I will be upstairs with the children,” he said and walked upstairs, leaving the two friends alone.

“Would you like a cup of tea, or some coffee, or a soda…?” Jean offered and got up to walk around the kitchen’s counter.

“Oh, coffee please! Lots of coffee to keep me awake!” she exclaimed and buried her face in her hands.

Jean looked at her under lowered brows in confusion, but decided not to ask any questions yet. Instead, she set herself to make some coffee for her and her best friend, throwing a few concerned glances to the curled up woman on the couch. She took the mugs of coffee and walked to the couch, offering one of them to Alice.

“I added sugar and milk,” Jean informed her and sat down beside her.

Alice just nodded and took a sip from her coffee. Jean looked at her perplexed. Her best friend was never one to have such outbursts and show up crying at her door in the middle of the night. She was always too strong, too reasonable, too… impassive for such emotional break-downs. Truly, in all those years she had known her, it would be the first time she was in such a state. Her eyes were red from crying and she was shaking like a leaf… And she was sure it wasn’t because of the sudden storm in the middle of summer.

“Um… did you have a fight with Logan?” It seemed the most reasonable thing to have happened.

Alice shook her head.

“I don’t suppose you have problems at work…”

“Not exactly…” Alice mumbled and her eyes became wet again.

“For God’s sake Alice, you’re scaring me! Do you have a serious health problem or something??”

“Yes! With my mind!” she exclaimed and let her tears fall freely, breaking into sobs.

Jean froze. She didn’t know what to make out of her answer. She scooped Alice closer and pulled her into her arms.

“Honey, will you tell me what’s wrong? I don’t understand,” she told her caressing her back soothingly. Alice pulled away to look at her. She wiped her tears and took a deep breath.

“I… I can’t sleep, Jean! I have those terrible dreams with this guy telling me he’ my husband and… and…”

“Oh dear, this is all my fault!” Jean said in a guilty tone and ran her hand through her blond hair. “I’m pressing you too much about getting married and you’re having nightmares!”

“No, no Jean! You don’t understand! Remember that myth I’m working on?”

Jean looked at her genuinely confused. What did the myth have to do with all this? But she nodded, nonetheless.

“It’s the guy from the myth! He says I’m his wife and that I have to find him so that we can finally be together! And tonight I dreamt of him again and he got so angry when I told him about Logan, that for a moment I though he would strike me!!”

Dear God, she has gone crazy.

Jean could only gape at Alice who was crying once more, her hands trembling so much, that she could hardly hold her mug. Her friend had totally lost it! Did she actually believe in the existence of a fairy-tale character? Were they dreams or were they hallucinations?

“Um… honey… maybe…” she stammered. What could she even say to that? “Alice, maybe you have taken this myth too seriously… I mean… you need a vacation! Yes, that’s it! You’re too stressed about your work and it has started affecting you…-“

“I knew no one would believe me,” Alice groaned and turned away from her friend.

“No, Alice, listen… Yes, it IS a little far-fetched but when you’re stressed, all kinds of things like that can happen…”

“Jean, it was SO real! I can tell you exactly what the place smelt like, I could feel the breeze on my face, and… and when he kissed me…”

Jean’s eyebrow rose at that, seeing the flush on Alice’s face. There was DEFINITELY something wrong with her friend: Alice never blushed for matters like that.

“Uh… sweetie… is there some other… person… in your life that…-“

“Jean!” came the protest. Alice glared at her friend, and seemed more than annoyed for the direction her thoughts had turned to.

“Ok, sorry.” Jean put her hands up and sighed. “Look, Alice… I really don’t know what to tell you… maybe the problem rests in your relationship with Logan and because you’re working on that myth, it somehow came up in that dream of yours…”

“I had a dream about this guy three times Alice, it’s past the point of coincidence!” she protested again and took another sip of her coffee.

“Have you thought… I mean… Dylan has this friend at the hospital… he’s a psychologist…”

Alice rolled her eyes at that and groaned. Great. Now she had officially announced her friend as crazy.

“No, Alice, wait! I’m not implying there’s something wrong with you… it’s just… well, maybe he could help, that’s all I’m saying,” Jean explained, pinching the bridge of her nose. That was so smooth, Jean, well done! she chided herself mentally. You just called your best friend a loony to her face again!

Alice considered her friend’s contrite expression and sighed once more. She didn’t expect her to understand. She didn’t understand it herself, anyway. But there was no way she was going to any doctor! That would mean she was indeed crazy!

And what makes you so sure that you’re not? the annoying voice in her head snorted.

“Can I stay here tonight?” Alice finally said and Jean smiled.

“Sure, girl. Let me get your room ready,” Jean answered and kissed the top of her head, as she got up and disappeared in the guest room.

Alice looked down at the mug in her hand. “Hello, new friend,” she mumbled as she gulped down the remaining coffee and got up to help Jean.

*****************************************************************************

“Coffee again?”

Mr. Friser’s voice came from the door but she didn’t look up from her screen.

“My new best friend,” she answered and raised her mug, irony evident in her voice.

“Haven’t I told you to stay away from bad influences?” he said half serious and half joking and sighed. “Look at you, you’re staying up late already!”

Alice laughed and shook her head, Mr. Friser joining her with his loud laughter. She loved the old man! He just knew how to lighten up the mood and make her laugh, even if she’d never been crankier in her life than that morning.

“I hope it’s not work that keeps you up… Don’t make me order you to have vacations!”

Alice smiled.

“Nah… Some bad dreams, that’s all…”

Mr. Friser huffed.

“And where’s your man to comfort you?”

Alice rolled her eyes.

“He’s in Miami for a business trip. Don’t start!” she warned him shaking her finger.

“What? And is business more important than his gorgeous girlfriend?” He whistled as he slowly made his way out of her office. “I’d quit my job, if my woman wanted me to keep her nightmares away!”

“That’s why your wife adores you, Mr. Friser!” Alice called after his retreating form and could hear his loud laughter coming from half across the building.

She shook her head with mirth and sighed. After staring at the direction Mr. Friser had disappeared to for a few minutes drinking her coffee silently, she brought her gaze back to the disturbing picture on her screen.

“No results available for Legolas. No results available for Rivendell. No results available for Mirkwood.”

She had tried all the possible search engines on the internet and she always ended up with the above three sentences. It had started getting beyond annoying.

She should have been convinced by now that it was all in her head. She could not find anything about the myth, or the places she was supposed to be in her dreams, or even the name of the elf! It was all a creation of her imagination, and yet her heart stubbornly refused to accept it! The professor from Italy had still not answered and Alice was getting impatient. She needed an answer and she needed it quick; before she lost her last scrap of common sense.

She started chewing on her pen thoughtfully. Legolas had really scared her. It was unbelievable how much strength and agility his lithe form hid. He had tossed her on the bed with such ease…

She groaned in frustration. There was the disturbing fire in her body again! Who could ever believe it, she, an unrelenting supporter of female independence, to be so aroused by such displays of male dominance! That was certainly not her! Or… was it? Maybe that was her true self and she had been hiding it all this time?

She let out a sigh of exasperation and returned to chewing on her pen. It was true, the elf made her feel like… a woman… like… Argh! I can’t even find the words to describe it! she thought with annoyance. Legolas was gentle but hard at the same time, so careful, so seductive, so charming, so considerate, so dominating, so… so what she considered distinctively male!

Logan. Focus on Logan.

But that authoritative aura around him… he truly must be a Prince! So elegant in his moves and so strong and…

LOGAN, I repeat!!

That inner voice was starting to get really annoying. She left her pen and took a sip from her now lukewarm coffee. He must truly love her -or whoever he thought she was. Alice tried to put herself in his shoes. It must have been really painful to have been waiting for her all those years and then hear she was with somebody else! He had actually acted quite calmly… She was sure she would have killed an unfaithful spouse!

Would he visit her dreams again after that? How she hated that little spark of hope that sparkled inside her! Wasn’t she supposed to be afraid of those dreams…? And of him…? Hadn’t she ended up at her best friend’s house a crying mess in the middle of the night because of them?

Her heart fell into her stomach at the realization: she wasn’t upset because of the dream itself, but because she had had a fight with him!!

“God, Logan, where are you…?” she moaned and collapsed on her desk in desperation. He really needed to come back before the situation got out of hand. She was actually falling in love with that imaginary being! I mean, how pathetic IS that? came the reprimand inside her head.

Maybe she would need that doctor after all. That voice in her head had started talking TOO much.

*****************************************************************************

Unbelievable. She had drunk 5 coffees, two Red Bulls, rented 3 movies to pass the night, and yet had managed to fall asleep. All that peeing every half an hour for nothing! she thought irritated. She lay on something hard this time; however, she felt oddly comfortable. She opened her eyes slowly and saw she was lying on a stone bench, in some garden. Her eyes looked around in search of him and found the elf leaning over a rosebush, gently caressing the blood-red flowers and whispering in a musical language. He then bowed his head and cut off a rose carefully. He turned around and walked with slow -were they also timid?- steps to her, his fingers running over the soft petals of the flower. The light blue tunic he wore complimented his figure, the silken material straining as it moved against the muscles underneath it.

She pulled herself up and attempted to distance herself, but relented when she saw the hurt look in the eyes of the elf at her movement. He kneeled in front of her gracefully and offered her the rose.

“The rosebush allowed me to offer you her most beautiful rose,” he said in a soft voice and Alice swore that for a moment he looked as a young and innocent as a 19-year-old boy. At which point, she had to wonder: just how old was he? 25? 26? He couldn’t be 30! “I apologize for my outburst yesterday. It was uncalled for. I hope you will forgive me,” he continued as he took and kissed the back of her hand gently.

A man apologizing… I never thought I would live to see that day! She looked at him wide-eyed, not believing her own ears. She felt the ice of fear slowly melt inside her and for a moment feared she would melt herself as well. Where were such men hiding in New York? Were there, actually, any? She managed a smile and took the flower from his hand, brining it to her nose. Its fragrance enveloped her and she looked at it with amazement: it was the most beautiful rose ever given to her.

“Thank you,” she said her cheeks flushing once more. “Apology accepted.”

Legolas had not expected her to forgive him so easily after his behavior the previous night. In the darkness of his solitude, the scene played again and again in his mind and he could not help but feel regret at the harsh way he had reacted. How unlike him! An elf should never lose his patience! Yet the jealousy surging through his veins had turned him into a wild beast, biting and roaring to protect its possession. Jealousy… what an unfamiliar feeling for him! The kind of envy he felt at seeing the love of Aragorn and Arwen knowing he would never experience such a gift, was of a different kind. It held a bitter taste to it and it only accentuated his desperate loneliness and grief. But knowing that another man held the heart of his own wife… That he dared to touch what was only his to cherish and be the one to comfort her… it caused a tidal wave inside him, which covered all his senses and blinded his reason! It was painful, stinging, sizzling hot and unbearable!

But he had had time to calm himself and think more clearly. His jealousy had only succeeded in scaring her and pushing her away. All he could do, was try to win her back from that man. Surely, her heart should realize her mistake; their souls were bound and she would never feel truly happy and complete unless by his side. He intended to silently wage a war on that man and he had never lost a war, though he had fought a pretty number of battles.

He slowly rose and offered his arm for her.

“Would you join me for a walk?”

Alice looked at his newly confident smile and tried to feel reluctance to accompany him, but failed miserably. Who in their right mind would refuse that gorgeous being? She rose from the bench and took his arm a little hesitantly.

“With pleasure,” she answered, a little excited to play the role of a lady in old times.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, Alice growing more aware of his presence next to her with each passing moment. She didn’t pay any attention to her surroundings, but turned her head quite a few times to look at the strong profile of the person next to her, her eyes taking in the straight nose, high cheekbones and leaf-shaped ears. There was a nagging feeling of familiarity inside her, but she pushed it away as something unimportant. This elf was everything that Logan wasn’t; but Legolas lacked the most important thing that Logan had: he was real and Legolas wasn’t. Even though his arm felt quite solid and hard under her hand and his warmth beside her caused too many butterflies to be fake, it was still no more than a dream. And she even felt a little guilty for Logan; he had never treated her in a bad way. Maybe they were a bit different and maybe he did not bother to care for some of her thoughts and feelings, but he had never hurt her in any way. It was such a betrayal to be enjoying herself with another man, even if it was only in her dreams. Heck, she was FANTASIZING about someone else! She surely wouldn’t have liked it if Logan fantasized about some other woman!

Legolas suddenly stopped and brought her out of her thoughts. They had reached a kind of a court with a white tree, placed in a prominent place. She turned to look behind her and her jaw dropped as her gaze encountered the majestic white building, that looked as if it was carved out of the mountain. It was imposing and held the same kind of air as the Coliseum and the Parthenon, the stones speaking of a long history. She slowly turned in a circle to look around her and noticed that the courtyard narrowed to form a sort of a point. She turned to smile at Legolas and ran to it, holding her dress in her hands to keep her feet from tripping over the material.

Legolas tilted his head to the side, watching the excited young woman run across the court. The red waves of her hair flapped against the wind like a living fire, the forest green dress bringing out their colour even more sharply. Valar, how he loved her! For a moment he thought he saw her running along the fields of Esgaroth again, her plain brown dress dancing wildly around her. How happy had he been, back then! So carefree, so light and joyful! He would sneak away when his patrols brought him close to Lake Town and he would seek her out to spend some hours with her by the lake… but, alas! They were never enough for him and he always missed her more each time!

Alice stopped when she reached the edge, looking down at the view breathless. A whole city lay at her feet, spreading downwards in levels, until it reached the high walls protecting it, from endless fields stretching away. She suddenly realised how high she was above the ground and took a few steps back, colliding with something solid. Startled, she turned around and found herself in Legolas’ arms, an amused smile on his face.

“Do not stand too close to the edge,” he warned her in a soft voice and let her go to stand beside her, much to the disappointment of both.

“What is this place?” she asked him, trying hard to hide her excitement. The look on the elf’s face told her she had failed miserably.

“Minas Tirith, the city of Gondor. We stand on the King’s palace grounds,” he informed her with a proud voice.

“Are you giving me a tour or something?” She chuckled. “We’re in a difference place every time!”

“You have always wanted to travel Alysse, why do you complain?”

That gorgeous, amused smile on his face disoriented her every time!

“I’m not complaining, it’s just…- Wait, how do you know I like traveling?” she asked confused and crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

“You are my wife, of course I know,” he answered and smiled at her smugly.

“What..-? Oh come on, Legolas, seriously!” She threw her hands up in exasperation and moved to stand in front of him.

“I told you, you are my wife and ‘tis only one of the many things I know about you,” he replied, his gaze falling on her loose hair. “Like how you tremble every time I touch the sensitive skin at the back of your neck…” He captured a red strand and felt its texture with his fingers. “…or how you part your lips so eagerly for me every time I kiss you… or how easily your skin bruises from my kisses… and how you moan my name when I am buried deep inside you…”

The last part was whispered in her ear and almost undid her. The heat between her legs announced too profoundly the effect his words had on her and she swallowed, taking a deep breath and opening her eyes that had closed of their own accord at his velvety voice. The desire shining in his eyes nearly overwhelmed her. It took all of her will to move away and stand with her back to him looking at the city below her. She tried to focus on the white marble houses, but the silence allowed her thoughts to run down a dangerous path.

“I didn’t find those places you have taken me anywhere on Earth,” she finally said, her voice sounding a little shaky to her dismay.

“Have you tried to look in Middle Earth?”

“Middle Earth?” she asked in confusion, as she turned to look at him. “Was that another name for Europe?”

“’Twas the continent that slowly transformed in Evropee”, Legolas answered softly, his eyes traveling nostalgically over the Pelennor Fields.

“Ev-.. Ev-ropee…” Alice fiddled with the foreign sounds, wondering why they sounded so familiar.

“’Tis what you Angelfolc call Europe,” the elf replied, finding himself once more wondering how quickly mannish languages changed.

Alysse sighed. She seemed confused.

“And who calls it Evro-… anyway, that name you said before?”

Legolas smiled amused at Alice’s struggle with the word.

“The Greeks.”

“Greeks?” Her voice held a tone of surprise. “Of course, that’s why it sounded so familiar!”

She didn’t speak for a while, looking lost in her thoughts, but Legolas was waiting for her next flood of questions; his Alysse was never one to run out of curiosity.

“I really don’t understand, how do you know Greek?”

“I stayed in Athens for some time,” the elf replied, smiling at the memories produced at the mention of the ancient Greek city.

“Athens?” Alice looked at him wide eyed. “Ancient Athens??”

The elf’s lips turned into a secretive smile that held a hue of self-achievement.

“Who do you think told Aristocles about the destruction of Atalantë?”

Alice gave the elf a blank look. He seemed to know things she ignored, even though she had a good knowledge of the world’s history. Perhaps he really was who he claimed to be… But what did Aristocles have to do with-… Her body went rigid at the sudden realisation. Aristocles was the real name of Plato…

“You mean Atlantis? Plato’s Atlantis??” Her voice fell into a whisper, afraid anyone would hear the secret she had just discovered. “It was real??”

Her jaw almost hit the ground. She clutched her heart and tried to breathe, covering her mouth with her hands in shock, then turning around in circles and then trying to breathe again! Legolas watched her chuckling and shaking his head. She truly was a sight for sore eyes!

“This would be a hell of a story for the station!!” she exclaimed laughing merrily but cleared her throat when she saw the puzzled look on Legolas’ face for her words. “Sorry,” she muttered blushing and seemed to calm down for a second. But before that second had passed, she started jumping up and down again and clapping her hands excitedly. She grabbed Legolas’ hands and pulled him towards the stairs at the entrance of the palace.

“Come on, you have to tell me everything!!”

Legolas almost lost his balance from the unexpected gesture, but his elven reflexes made sure he stayed on his feet. He laughed at her excitement and held her back to slow down.

“Wait, wait! What will I gain?” he asked pulling her close to him.

“Whatever you want! I promise!” Alice replied, unaware what that meant in her excitement to learn about the mythical Atlantis.

“Whatever I want?” Legolas repeated with a devilish grin and pretended to be thinking. “A kiss then?”

Alice’s face lost its colour and her smile fell.

“I cannot do this,” she said with in a low tone and Legolas’ icy glare froze the warm atmosphere immediately.

“Because of that… man?”

The disdain in his voice was evident, but Legolas could not hold it back.

“I love that man Legolas. I have already told you that.”

“What does he have that I lack?”

The bitterness behind the question took Alice by surprise. She blinked. The hurt emanating from Legolas next to her was suffocating. Did he truly love her so much?

“He’s real. You are a dream,” she said in a serious voice and looked away.

Legolas shook his head and chuckled mirthlessly. His tongue darted out to wet his bottom lip and he sighed looking at the distance.

“Then how could a kiss hurt you, if I am only a dream?” he asked with a tinge of irony in his voice, as he turned to look at her once more.

Alice looked down at that, unable to answer. He was right. She clung with such ferocity to the excuse that Logan was real and that she couldn’t love a dream, that his question sounded very reasonable from every aspect. If it was only a dream, what hurt would it do to Logan? Why was she so guilt ridden about a dream, when Logan would never find out about it? And he most likely wouldn’t care, she added in her mind with bitterness. It was just a kiss. An innocent kiss.

“Fine,” she answered sighing. “But you must hold to your word and tell me everything!” she added shaking a finger at him, seeing the smile of satisfaction on his lips.

“Do you question the word of a Prince?” he asked in mock surprise and watched Alice’s eyes sparkle in curiosity.

“Are you really a Prince?” she asked with a wonder-filled voice.

“I am,” he answered smiling and pulled her close. Alice felt her heartbeat quicken as he wrapped his arms around her and she was held in his strong embrace. He brought one of his hands to her face and looked into her eyes with an unreadable look for some moments. Had Alice looked into his heart, she would have seen the love, passion and longing that begged to be bestowed upon her lips. But she had already closed her eyes, as he leaned his face towards her and captured her lips in a gentle kiss. Unaware of the fact, Alice yielded under his ministrations and her lips parted to welcome his tongue. Their lips locked in a feverish tango. She let herself get lost in his taste and relaxed against his body. Legolas pulled away, looked at her for a second, then tilted her head the other way, to attack her lips once more. Alice could only clutch at the front of his tunic, as he did a slow exploration of her mouth, at times demanding, at times soft and innocent. They both lost track of time. Neither had that in their mind when they had agreed on a kiss, but the attraction and desire that pulled them to each other was too strong to deny. When Legolas finally pulled away, nibbling playfully on her lips, Alice opened her eyes and took a much needed breath. She was surprised to see that Legolas was as unsettled as she was and hesitated to let her go. He finally looked down, and moved away.

It took the elf all of his will to pull away from the woman, but his rational mind prevailed: he wanted to win her back and the kiss they had shared was more than enough for the time being. It was very important to keep his emotions in control, although he hardly managed to do so.

He gave her a smile and entwined his arm with hers, as he started to walk back towards the palace. The dazed woman followed him mechanically, trying to recover from what he had called a kiss; she would more accurately describe it as a nuclear bomb.

“Middle Earth,” he said with a sigh. “Where to begin?”

Alice’s curiosity and excitement was enough to make her come back to reality immediately and she turned to smile at him, earning one of his dazzling smiles in return.

True to his word, Legolas told her everything she needed to know. He had [atiently and with obvious amusement answered to her numerous questions, until the reporter inside her was satisfied. And somewhere in an imposing hall, she found herself laying with her head on his lap, listening to his melodic voice and feeling his hands combing through her hair in a soothing manner. It wasn’t long before she felt her eyelids become heavy and she fought sleep valiantly. She didn’t want to leave him just yet.

“Sleep, meleth nín,” he whispered as he titled his head to the side. “Tomorrow I will be here again. Until then, I am watching over you.” [my love]

Her eyes finally closed and a contented smile appeared on her face. That night, he knew she would sleep peacefully.


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