Talk with Legolas

I sat alone, a little way from our camp, with a sad, pensive look on my face, though I was not feeling in the least sad or pensive. It was for Anarion’s benefit, I knew I looked very much like I wanted to be alone, and if Rosriel and Ella had any success with Legolas, I did not want him to find me with Anarion after promising to avoid him. I was feeling rather anxious, in reality; though both Ella and Rosriel had seemed confident in their ability to talk Legolas into believing me, I was not very much reassured. Legolas can be quite stubborn!
I was more impatient than anything else by the time Rosriel and Ella came.
“We’ve succeeded!” Rosriel exclaiming, smiling happily at me.
“Well, not quite, you still have to convince him of your honesty yourself, but he’s willing to listen!” Ella corrected.
I jumped up and flung my arms around both of them.
“Thank you so much! I will be indebted to you both for life!” I said, barely able to keep my voice down to a normal level.
“It was no trouble,” Ella assured me, and Rosriel added, “We would do the same for any friend.”
I smiled a little tearfully at them. “I’m so fortunate to have friends like you! I promise I’ll keep Vila from playing any pranks on you!”
“Er, thanks,” they said, looking a little amused.
Then Ella looked back towards the camp. “Legolas is looking for you so he can talk to you; we’d better go tell him where you are,” she said.
Rosriel nodded. “I wish you good luck with your talk,” she said.
“I won’t ruin your hard work,” I replied cheerfully, and they left to find Legolas.
I sat back down, feeling suddenly more than a little nervous. Now for the last test, and Anarion would be mine—well, if he wanted to be. But I would worry about that later.
Legolas came into sight, and sat down next to me. “Ella and Rosriel told me you were over here,” he began a little awkwardly. I decided not to make it too hard for him.
“They told me you wanted to talk to me?” I said, keeping my voice carefully subdued, though I felt like singing for joy.
He nodded. “They said that you were not behaving as irresponsibly towards that ranger as I had been afraid you had,” he began carefully, and I waited for him to go on.
He was watching me out of the corner or his eye. “Rosriel said that your behavior has been much more restrained than it has been in the past, and Ella told me you seemed to genuinely like talking with him, instead of merely flirting with him because you were bored, which I have frequently seen you do.”
He paused a moment, then said, “Lira, if you do actually like him instead of merely using him to alleviate your boredom, then I apologize for my words earlier. I did not mean to be harsh, but I must admit I was thinking of how you have acted in the past without allowing room for change. Tell me, Lira, how do you feel towards Anarion?”
I answered him, finally. “I like him,” I said slowly, looking at the ground. “He’s a good man, and he rescued me from that nasty dwarf, as I’m sure you heard.” Legolas’s lips twitched as he held back a smile. “Yes, I heard. You and Raewyn throwing a temper tantrum, and all.” I laughed, and he joined in. “Well, it did work,” I said, still laughing.
We talked a bit longer, with Legolas actually listening to what I said, and believing me, and then, finally, he told me, “I have no objection with your friendship with Anarion. Please make sure you do not lead him on, or give him false hopes. After all, you are an elf, and he is a man.”
“But he’s a ranger,” I protested.
“A ranger is still a man,” he said.
“Yes, I know that, but King Ellessar was a ranger, too, you remember.”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “Well, be careful, that was all I said.”

~Lirasvelindo
50 miles