In Defense of Lira

Legolas looked first at me, then back at Ella, and sat down with a sigh.
"Knowing the both of you as well as I do," he said wryly. "This will take a while, so excuse me if I sit down." He gestured. "Come, sit as well, then we can all talk comfortably."

Ella and I sat down in silence. We glanced at each other.
"Legolas," I started. "I talked to Lira, and she says that you have joined the Fellowship with the intention to watch her and keep her from flirting. Now wait!" I stopped Legolas from speaking, "I know Elena invited you, I heard her."

"But," Ella continued. "You did say that you intended to keep a watch and supervise her, as well as Vila, very closely."

"You cannot deny that they do not need it!" Legolas broke in. "Have you any idea how many hearts that girls has broken by her careless flirting?"

"Yes I do," I said. "In fact, I have watched her do it. And that is how I know, that this time it is different."

"Oh really?" Legolas raised an eyebrow.

"Yes really. You must account for the fact that women can see things in other women that men, no matter how observant, will never notice," Ella said seriously.

"How can you tell?"

"One way," I answered. "Is that her manner of flirting is more subdude. Yes she is still flirting, but not the way she used to. Lira is not nearly as outspoken, coy or careless as the other times."

"Also," Ella added. "She has talked to me several times about Anarion, before you joined us. She seemed to genuinly like him, as well as admire him. I have also seen her flirt once or twice before, and you could tell she did not care a bit for the poor mens hearts."

"I truely belive," I said, "that she is really serious this time."

Legolas was silent. He looked up, "Are you sure?"

"Look," Ella said. "Why don't you talk to Lira about it. As a friend. No protective fatherly type behavior. Realize that she has grown up."

He thought for a while. "I will do it," he sighed.

"Good." I smiled. "Ella, would you mind walking back to camp with me? We'll tell Lira that her dear friend Legolas wishes to have a heart to heart talk with her." She accepted, and we began walking, arm and arm towards the rest, talking about various things and getting to know eachother more.

I glanced at her. "Ella," I said, "I wish we had met sooner. I have missed out on a beautiful friend."

Lady Rosriel - 42.5 miles

Early Morning Meeting

As is my habit (for reasons I am choosing to keep secret), I was up before the rest today. I began my daily routine, hiding myself within the woods, but paused when I sensed an onlooker. To my relief, it was only Legolas. He had known my secret almost as long as Elrond had, so I didn't care that he was reminded of it today.

"You still do that, I see."

"Of course," I said, continuing my preparations.


"Ella, people will love and accept you the way you are!"

"They didn't."

"I did."

"I know, but...nobody else did."

"We were young then. The young always pick on those who are different."

"Speaking of picking on others..." I started.

"Why do I get the feeling you're going to turn this conversation off of you and onto me?"

"Um...because you know me well?" I offered. "But listen, Legolas...about Lira...and a certain ranger..."

"Yes, I would like to speak to you about that as well," Lady Rosriel said, stepping up to us. I was glad I had finished getting ready before she arrived.

~Ella Ellessanderil, 40.5 miles

Trouble

I smell trouble. And not from an enemy or that dwarf...but rather from the numerous romances bubbling up around the camp. Most of the girls are either being secretive (like Ella and Raewyn), coming to me for advice (like Rosriel and Elanor) or glaring at me (like Lira, for some unknown reason).

Needing a break from all this, I followed my cousin Aldarion out of the hollow to do some hunting on the moor. I love talking to the other maidens, but every now and then I find myself needed to mix with the level-headed males in our party. (I think perhaps my head for leadership and organization has something to do with this tendancy)

After hunting down three rabbits in relative silence and beginning to skin them, Aldarion turned to me and asked, "Rosriel is your cousin on your mother's side, correct?"

I looked at him in surprise. "Yes. She is the child of my mother's half-sister."

Aldarion was the son of my father's brother.

He nodded slowly. "You've known her all your life?"

"Yes, we have been firm and fast friends for as long as we've known each other."

"Would you say that she's...as worthy as she seems?"

"More so," I assured him.

He went back to his work. I watched him, curious. Rosriel, of course, had confided her own growing interest in the ranger to me, but I had not seen any sign that the interest was returned. Until now, of course. His expression remained closed to my interpretation, but I knew that the fact that he questioned me at all spoke volumes. In all my years of being his cousin I had never known him to express interest in any maiden.

Suddenly there was a shout from behind us. I turned and saw Elladan speeding over the heather with a furious expression on his face.

I stood up quickly. "What is it? Has something-"

He cut me off with a scowl. "What in the name of Mandos are you doing?!?"

Aldarion held up his half skinned rabbit. "Hunting."

"Without a word to any of us?"

"Elladan!" I said sharply. "I am the leader of the party. He only needed to report to me- which he did."

The Elf spun around on me. "It is you we've been worried about! You vanished without a word!"

"We?" I raised an eyebrow. "I remember quite clearly speaking to both Rosriel and Vila before leaving camp."

He paused. "Lady Elena- for your own safety-"

"For my own safety I was with Aldarion!"

"An untested ranger!"

"Untested!" Aldarion rose, his own anger rising. "Pray, explain yourself!"

Elladan crossed his arms. "What wars have you fought in- what orcs have you killed- what dragons have you tracked down in the hills?"

"Experiance is not everything!"

I broke in. "There are no wars, orcs or dragons on this moor, Elladan! Now help us with these rabbits or leave us to our task!"

He hesitated for a long moment, then whipped out his long hunting knife and set to work on the third rabbit. But the looks he shot Aldarion would have killed- if looks could do such.

Will You?

Would you imagine that! Legolas has joined our Fellowship! I can't say that I've ever been more pleased. He's been telling us stories about the first fellowship, and about my grandad's and Elanor's grandad Merry. And of Frodo. I wish now more then ever that I'd been able to meet him. Legolas says that I look very much like my gradfather Pippin, though I sound like grandpa Sam.

I sure do miss them both. Elanor, whom Legolas says reminds him very much of Merry, is still worried that her grandpa won't be alive when we get to Gondor. I've been trying to cheer her up by bringing her flowers now and then and doing small things for her. I really do enjoy her company, very much so.

We are spending the night in what Legolas says is the very same hollow the first Fellowship stayed in. Whilst Elanor and I were making dinner, we had a chance to talk together, somewhat by ourselves.

"What do you think of this place?" Elanor asked, looking around. "Imagine, the first fellowship stayed here!"

"Yep, though they weren't allowed a hot supper like we are," I added.

She laughed. "It is a very nice place, so pretty. I should like to stay here."

"All by your self?" I asked, dropping slices of potatoe in the stew.

She shook her head, "Of course not! I'd want friends to stay with me. But then," she added thought fully, peeling a carrot. "While I love seeing the world, I think that the only place I'd ever truly be happy is in the Shire."

I nodded silently, and for a while we chopped and peeled in silence. Then I asked, "So, since you want to live there, how do you think you'd like to spend your life, once we finish this and get back to the Shire?"


She looked up "Well," she said. "I guess I'd like to spend it raising a family, and living with the people I love, and who love me." She smiled. "And what about you Samdo? How do you want to spend the rest of your life?"

I took a breath, glancing up at her face. I set my knife down on a rock and shyly took her hand. "Well," I said. "I don't know much about the details of it, but" I paused, then went on. "I'd like to spend it with you."

She looked down, blushing, but before she could answer, Vila and the rest of the girls ran up and asked her to come pick flowers that were blooming nearby. She went with, but before she left, Elanor gave me a smile that made me happier then I'd been in a long time.



-- Master Samdo, 36 miles

Oh, no....

Legolas took me aside that evening, with a rather stern expression on his face that did not bode well. I watched him out of the corner of my eye, apprehensively, hoping he was not going to act fatherly and ruin my fun again. My father, who had been a good friend of Legolas, had died during the War of the Ring, which, for some reason, had made Legolas feel responsible for me. Which, in itself, wouldn’t have been so bad, since I liked Legolas, but when it came to messing up our—Vila, myself, and sometimes some our friends—plans, that was just too much!
And it seemed he was going to again.
“Lira, I noticed that you were flirting with that young ranger earlier,” he began, frowning at me, and my heart sank. So that was it. Well, no matter what he might say, I wasn’t going to stop this time. I liked Anarion.
“So?” I said, my voice sounding a bit more defiant than I had intended it to be.
Legolas’s frown deepened. “I knew letting you and your sister join this fellowship without proper supervision would cause trouble,” he said with a sigh, more to himself than me. “But your mother seemed to think that being maids of Queen Arwen had settled both of you down a bit, and given you a chance to mature. It seems she was mistaken, however.” He waited for me to say something, and I cast around hastily in my mind for something to distract him, but he went on before I could think of anything.
“It’s a good thing I’m here to keep an eye on you now.”
Oh, no.
“Will you be staying with us?” I asked, carefully making my voice sound bright and cheerful, as though I was happy to have him with us. He looked rather suspicious at my tone, though, as well he might. I was fuming inside.
“Elenatintil had kindly invited me to join her fellowship, and I gladly accepted her offer.”
Oh, no.
My feelings towards Elena at that moment were anything but glad or kind, but I tried to look pleased. He was not fooled, though, and returned to the original subject.
“I hope you will stay away from Anarion, Lira, or I shall have to have a talk with him,” he said, the stern look back on his face. "He is a good man, and I won't have you breaking his heart for fun."
I considered denying his accusation indignately, but decided it would have the opposite effect.
So instead, I agreed meekly, while contemplating my revenge.

If you give an elf a cookie - I mean hug

This morning, I woke up to the sound of voices. Sleepily, I glanced around, but it appeared that all of my companions were asleep. Bemused, I sat up and looked around. Sounds from behind alerted me and I turned to see Ella along with another, very tall, blond haired elf, who looked very familiar...

"Legolas!" I shrieked happily, waking the rest of the camp. I bounded over my sleepy friends and strangled my cousin in a delighted hug.

"Rosriel!" He laughed and returned my hug. "I hardly expected such a greeting, even from you. It has only been a month since I last saw you!"

I hugged him happily, laughing as well. "You should know by now, my dear cousin, that I am always happy to see you... especially when you are unexpected."



He made fake choking sounds. "Well, you will not have the pleasure of my company much longer if you continue your strangulation of my neck!"

Giggling, I released him. I happened to look over at Ella, and saw that she looked slightly jealous. What could she be jealous of? I wondered. I turned back to the fellowship, who was now awake and staring. I was puzzled to notice that Raewyn and Lira also look a bit upset and envious. What is wrong with them? I am only greeting a cousin who I happen to be very close to.

"Legolas!" Elladan stepped forward, breaking the silence. "It is a pleasure to meet you again."

"And you," returned my cousin, who had apparently not noticed the envious looks I was getting. Feeling a bit self conscious, I let go of his arm.

Elena stepped forward, smiling. "Glad to see you again! What brings you here?" Well, I thought At least someone is not unhappy.

By turn, each member of our Fellowship greeted Legolas. Raewyn and Lira offered a slightly cold greeting, I noticed. Samdo and Elanor - the only two who had not met Legolas before - seemed slightly in awe of him.
"You were with the first Fellowship, weren't you," Elanor said.
"What was it like?" Samdo asked at the same time.

Legolas smiled. "Yes I was, and if you would like to hear about it, I would be happy to tell you sometime."

As long as he was occupied, I was determined to get to the bottom of the jealousy I was noticing among my friends. "Come here," I whispered to the three, dragging them off a ways.

"What is this for?" Raewyn almost snapped.

"What are you jealous about?" I retorted. "Do not try to deny it, it is very obvious that you are."

"Well then," Ella spoke up, her face red, but I could see she was almost crying. "Why do you get a greeting like that?"

"Yes!" shot in Lira. "And why do you get to give him such a friendly greeting? I thought you liked Aldarion."

My face flamed. "For your information, Legolas is my cousin. He was around while I was a child and growing up, and we are very close. I am an only child, in case you did not know, and he has always been like an older brother to me. Why should I not greet him with a hug? What is wrong with that? How could you be angry with me for showing affection towards a family member?" By now, I was practically in tears, and turned to walk away. I felt myself whirled around and wrapped in a hug.

"I'm so sorry," sobbed Raewyn. "I didn't mean to get upset with you. I understand, oh, please forgive me for hurting your feelins, I didn't mean it..."

I hugged her back. "Oh course I forgive you!"
Lira and Ella, both crying as well, also gave me a hug, "Will you forgive us as also?"
"Of course!" I laughed through my tears. "You are my friends, are you not?"

Hugging and smiling, we walked back to camp.

~Lady Rosriel - 36 miles

Some Added Excitement

Lady Rosriel's news yesterday, mixed with my excitement, has kept my spirits high this day. Last night was incredibly eventful for me (and this morning was for the others). The past few evenings, when others were asleep, I have kept on alert, searching for the elusive eyes. I knew I hadn't imagined them, and something told me whoever it was was still with us, so I continued my search. At last (though it had only been a few nights, my spirit was already waning), my search was rewarded.

I held my sword at the ready. Samdo rolled over in his sleep and I froze. I didn’t want to worry the others—or arouse their suspicions—with my sneaking around. Looking up into the trees, I thought I saw some movement come from one of them. I inched closer. Bad idea.

Whatever it was had now been alerted to my presence. The movement stopped and I knew they had leapt to another tree. If I could just find which one…

“Stop following me,” a voice said. It was firm, but not malicious.

“Who are you?” I asked.

“You know who I am. Is this a friendly group, or are you being held against your will?”

The voice did sound familiar. Very familiar. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought it was… “Show yourself,” I said.

They complied.

“Legolas?!?”

Apparently, while I had been on my way to Mirkwood, he had been on his way to Rivendell, and both of us had been sidetracked. Even with his excellent vision, he couldn’t tell if I had been elf-napped or if I joined on my own, and was waiting for a chance to free me in case it had been the former.

I introduced him to the others this morning (those he had not already met), and he will be joining us for the rest of our journey.

~Ella Ellessanderil, 29 miles

News of Legolas...

I left Samdo with.. that dwarf... and stormed off in a huff. The nerve of him! I fumed. Accusing me of capturing the dwarves and mistreating them! He is so patronizing, sarcastic.... My thoughts were interrupted by overhearing Ella asking Raewyn about Legolas.

"I heard you were distantly related to Legolas," she said. "Have you seen him lately?"

"No, sorry," Raewyn replied. "It's been a terribly long time since we saw each other."

At that moment I joined them. "Excuse me, Ella," I said. "I happened to overhear you asking about Legolas."

She turned to me, eyes bright. "Yes, I was. Do you know him? Have you seen him? How is he?"

"Yes, I know him very well. " I smiled. "He is my cousin. We are both from the Greenwood. I saw him just before I left for Rivendell, and he was doing very well."

She smiled broadly, "That is good news. I am glad to hear it." She paused, "Now that you mention you're from Greenwood, I believe I have seen you before, though we were never introduced."

I thought for a moment. "I believe you are right," I said slowly. "Yes, I now that I think of it, I do remember seeing you briefly before." I looked at her. "Yes, you must be the elf maid Legolas has mentioned on occasion. He never mentioned your name, but you fit his description of you."

Ella blushed slightly, "Um...if you wouldn't mind saying...What has Legolas said about me?"

"Well, he described you as tall, elegant and very pretty." I couldn't help but smile as she blushed an even deeper red. So... I thought.

"Did he really say that?" She asked.

"Yes, he did. He also told me that he thought you were a very sweet girl and," I paused, "Well, I do not know if he told you, so I do not know if I should say this but..." I glanced at her. "He said, he was trying to help you find your family?"

Ella had been looking down at the ground, as if afraid and eager to hear what I might say, but glanced up when I finished. "Is he?" Her face glowed.

"Yes, that is what he said." I paused. "I hope it wasn't supposed to be a surprise."

"Well," she smiled happily. "If it was, I will be sure to act very surprised when he tells me." She skipped off happily. "Thank you!" She called over her shoulder. Smiling, I shook my head. Love is in the air...

~Lady Rosriel - 37 miles

Making Friends

I was so pleased the fellowship didn’t kick me out. As much as I would enjoy seeing Legolas again, I now have my heart set on continuing with this group on their journey…our journey. I had often wondered what things might have been like had I been allowed to accompany Frodo and the others, and now I shall get a taste of that.

I have never felt so…wanted…before. Though Elrond and others in Rivendell were always friendly, I always knew that to them I was an outsider. I didn’t belong there, but there was no place that I did belong. I’m beginning to feel that here, in this company, is where I am meant to be. It’s a good feeling.

There hasn’t been much chance for me to think about the eyes I saw, nor did I mention them to the others. I have not seen them since. I was spooked, but I believe it was more out of surprise than out of feeling threatened. There is something about the eyes that makes me think they do not belong to someone who means to harm us. Perhaps it is just another onlooker, as I was not long ago.

Tonight as the others are resting, I will try to find the creature. I am glad I brought my weapons along. If it is an unwelcome intruder, I will be rid of it, and if it is someone who would be welcomed, I will introduce him or her to the others.

I noticed one of my companions was only a couple steps’ distance from me, so I caught up to her.

“Miss Raewyn?” I said.

“Oh, Miss Ella, call me Wyn.”

“All right, Wyn. And you can call me Ella. I thought I overheard that you are a relation of Legolas…is that right? He is a good friend of mine, which is why I ask.”

~Ella Ellessanderil, 26 miles

Small Conversations

Well, it has been a few days since someone last wrote, so I’ll just mention briefly what happened after Miss Ella fell out of the tree.

Needless to say, we were all rather startled when she came crashing down on us un-expected. She jumped up right away, flushed, and apologizing for ‘dropping in’.

“Please forgive me for dropping in on you like this, I am so sorry, I was not spying upon you, well, I was, but not for any bad reasons I was just looking, to see what kind of people you were and then I fell.” Her eyes darted around a bit fearfully.

Elrohir stepped forward, and the elf maid’s eyes darted to him. “Ella? What are you doing here?” he asked. “I thought you were safe back in Rivendell.”

“Elrohir! Please do not be angry with me!” she begged. “Can I please come with you? Where are you going?”

Elrohir laughed. “Yes, you may come with, if it means you will stop climbing trees and falling out of them!”

So that is how we acquired our latest companion on this journey we’re all making. So, as I reckon it, there are now eight of us officially in the Fellowship: Lady Elena, Lady Rosriel, Miss Lira, Miss Vila, Elanor, Miss Ella, Miss Raewyn, and myself. Then we have five companions, Aldarion, Anarion, Elladan, Elrohir, and the dwarf Dior. Speaking of him…

As we walked along today, I recalled the soup pot and stew that had gone missing a ways back in the road. Meaning to ask our dwarf companion about it, I excused myself from Elanor’s company and strode as fast as my hobbit legs would carry me to catch up with him. He was up ahead, conversing with Lady Rosriel. When I got closer, I overheard their conversation.

“Ah! From Mirkwood are you?” I heard Dior say. “Yes, you would be one of the folk that held Thorin and company captive on their journey to the Lonely Mountain.”

She gasped. “What do you mean, ‘held them captive’?”

He laughed, sounding slightly sarcastic. “After they ‘molested’ your folk in the forest, you locked them up in a dungeon, little food and water.”

“I will have you know, dwarf,” Rosriel retorted, “that we treat our captives very civilly.”

“Ah! So you admit to captives!”

“I said captives in general! Not the dwarfs!”

“But they were captive.”

By this time, I had caught up and was walking even with them. I could see that Rosriel was getting a bit red in the face, which if you know her well enough is a sure sign she’s mad. Dior look mad as well, but when I looked closely, I could see a hint of a smile and a gleam in his eyes that told me sure enough that he was teasing her and trying to make her mad. Shaking my head, I continued listening.

“I was only 53 years old then! Hardly involved!” She exclaimed.

"53? Oh how young!" Dior said, somewhat mockingly. "I notice you say hardly. Not 'completely uninvolved."

Rosriel bristled visibly, and was on the point of replying, when I thought it was best to break in. "And so begins another friendship between an elf and a dwarf, one to rival even that of Legolas and Gimli." I commented. "Lady Rosriel, if you wouldn't mind, I had a question to ask your friend here. Why don't you walk with Aldarion? He looks lonely." She seemed only too happy to leave and did so immediately. I shook my head wearily at Dior. "You were aggravating her a purpose weren't you? I thought I heard somewheres that you came to offer friendship to the elves."

Ignoring the question, Dior laughed. "Playing the matchmaker are we? " I must have had a blank look on my face, so he asked, "There was something you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Yes I did." I replied, laying the former matter aside. "You see, there was a pot of stew I made a while back that went missing..."

--- Master Samdo, 27 miles