The Price of Pride

Elvish translations

Mernon lle – I want you
Sii’ – now
Sell nín – my daughter
Muinthel – sister
Rwalaer – lusty one


Chapter 8


I awoke the next morning with Arwen still asleep on my chest. I was still buried inside her and her nearness was quickly affecting me. I needed to move her and withdraw. I had already made love to her twice. I could not, in all conscience, take her again, though I certainly desired her. I had promised Celebrian that I would take good care of Arwen. Leaving her too sore to walk did not seem the right way to fulfill that promise.

I shifted beneath her, planning to roll her to her side so I coulck ack away. “N’uma,” she murmured, half asleep, arms wrapping around me to hold me still. “Stay.”

“Arwen, we need to get up. Arien rises.”

“N’uma,” she said again, burrowing against me. My body was reacting predictably to her movements. She must have felt my arousal growing for her burrowing quickly became more purposeful.

“We should not do this again. I do not want to hurt you.”

“I am in no pain. Mernon lle. Sii’.” Her lips descended on mine, demanding entrance. I would have protested one more time, just for form, if I could have caught my breath, but she was relentless. I succumbed to her desires, but I had a few of my own. When I had first seen her, I had imagined her hair unbound on the pillow. I reached up and loosened her braids, removing the ribbons. I ran my fingers through the silky tresses. When her hair flowed freely through my fingers, I rolled her beneath me, still intimately joined. Despite her words, I was not convinced that this would not hurt her. I softened the kiss, gentling her. I would give her what she wanted – how could I not? – but I would do so on my terms. When we had made love during the night, I had been careful to support most of my weight on my arms, leaving Arwen free to move as she pleased. Now, I settled fully on top of her, restricting her movements, making it impossible for her to set the pace of our lovemaking. I rocked against her, deep inside, languorous motions, nothing that could possibly abrade the sensitive tissue of her passage. My tongue invaded her mouth with the same languid rhythm. At first, she fought against me, trying to speed up the rhythm or elongate the thrusts, but I held to my plan. Soon, though, she realized the beauty and the power of tenderness, succumbing again to passion, but of a very different flavor. I continued as I was, never quickening the pace, until we found completion, not in a great rush, as we had the night before, but in slow, powerful waves that seemed to go on and on.

As soon as I could bear to be parted from her, I rose from the bed. “Tolo,” I told her, “we should bathe.”

She followed me into the bathroom, no thought to modesty, even now that passion wasn’t blurring our senses, much to my delight. If she was that comfortable with me, perhaps our relationship as lovers would outlast the night. We bathed slowly, cherishing the remaining time we had together before we had to face the rest of Imladris. They would be expecting us at breakfast. After we had bathed, we returned to the bedroom to dress. I slipped back on the leggings and shirt I had worn beneath my robes. I needed to return to my own rooms to change before we ate, but the shirt and leggings would get me to my room. I reached for the comb by Arwen’s mirror and began to work out the tangles in my hair. Arwen’s hand swatted mine away, taking the comb from me and picking up the task of fixing my hair. I looked at her, surprised.

“You said I could braid your hair this morning. You are not going back on that promise, are you?”

“Of course not,” I protested, “I would never break a promise to you.”

A contented smile spread across her lips as she began to braid my hair. Lover’s braids, I noticed. As she was working, she caught sight of the small bruise she had left on my throat the night before. “Did I do this?” she asked, brushing her fingers across my skin.

“You did,” I replied with a smile.

“I am sorry. I did not mean to mark you.”

“I am not sorry,” I assured her. “I am proud to wear your mark. All of Imladris will know that you loved me well.”

“Then you must give me one as well.”

“Arwen,” I laughed. “That is not how it works. I can not just…”

“Why not?”

“They are given in a moment of passion, not in one of cold calculation.”

“But I do not want anyone to think badly of you.”

“They will think that I was too much of a gentleman to mark you where it could be seen and wonder at what marks can not be seen,” I assured her, running one finger along the underside of her breast. “Enough talk. Let me braid your hair so I can go and change. We do not want to be late for breakfast.”

“Lover’s braids,” she insisted.

I consented, tying the elegant braids as quickly as I could. “Will you wait to go to the dining hall with me?” I asked when I had finished. She nodded.

I went to my rooms as quickly as I could, changing into my normal tunic and leggings. I glanced in the mirror before I left to return to Arwen’s room, making absolutely sure the bruise on my neck was visible. I wanted all of Rivendell, and particularly the obnoxious Galadhrim brothers, to know without a doubt who it was who spent the night in Arwen’s bed. Although I hoped this night would be the first of many wonderful nights, I knew that nothing was promised, especially since, if Elrond’s predictions were to be believed, she would one day meet an Elf who would claim her heart, taking her away from me. I understood that possibility. I had since that fateful day in Elrond’s library, but I tried not to dwell on it. However unwise it was, I loved Arwen with every fiber of my being. I could not change that – I would not change that – so I cherished every moment we had together.

We arrived in the dining hall ahead of some, after others. Everyone looked up when we came in, but no one spoke. I followed Arwen to the table where Elrond and Celebrian were seated.

“You are well, sell nín?” Celebrian asked.

“Very well,” Arwen replied with a slight blush.

“That is good,” Celebrian answered, with a smile for me before returning to her meal. Arwen led me to the end of the table where there were empty seats. The twins came in a few minutes after we were seated, speaking to their parents before joining us.

“I see you survived the night, Legolas,” Elrohir commented.

“We were worried about you. Our sister can be fierce, but I see you discovered that for yourself,” Elladan added eyeing the bruise on my neck. I smiled and refused to be taunted. While their comments were completely expected, they knew of my feelings for Arwen and I did not want them to reveal too much.

“Well, muinthel, where is your mark?” Elrohir asked impudently

“Legolas would never leave a mark where others could see,” Arwen answered regally. She was good. She told no lies and yet her brothers clearly believed that I had left marks aplenty beneath the veil of her clothes.

“Next time, rwalaer,” I whispered to her.

“Next time,” she promised.

We spent an idyllic week together, making love every chance we got, riding the valley, finding secluded areas in the woods and along the banks of the Bruinen to be together. Then a messenger arrived from Mirkwood. My father was recalling me home. Spiders had again invaded our woods and I was needed to help with the patrols. Arwen and I spoke no promises as we said our goodbyes, making love tenderly one last time before I left. She would not ask anything of me, and I could not ask for the one thing I wanted. All of Imladris came to see me off, it seemed. Arwen and I had said our good-byes in private, but I wished for one last moment to savor her presence before I left. I did not know when we would see each other again. Our eyes met across the courtyard as my escort prepared to leave. When we reached the top of the hill, I paused to look back at the Last Homely House. So much had changed since we arrived, scant weeks earlier, that I barely recognized myself as the Elf who had come to negotiate trade agreements with Lord Elrond. The courtyard had emptied as we rode, leaving only Arwen still standing there, watching us leave. Amin mela lle, my mind shouted to her as I raised my hand in a final salute turned to ride for home.