Chapter 2

The noon meal at Edoras was a simple affair. Bread, cheese and cold meats on large wooden platters were placed in the middle of the long tables in the King's Hall, together with mead and ale. The King, Éomer and Éowyn shared a table with their guests. Éowyn sat opposite from Legolas.

The elf had only taken a small amount of cheese and bread. He did not feel the need for food, elves often only ate two meals a day and breakfast did not seem so long ago. Éowyn looked up from her own food.

"I have seen you shoot – I have never seen anyone shoot with such a skill. I can shoot an arrow well enough, but I have wondered if you could teach me some of your skill"

Éomer who was sitting next to Éowyn, frowned at his sister. "You do not need to improve your skills with weapons. Our uncle indulged you by allowing a women to train with the sword and bow, you do not need to ask our guests for their time."

Legolas looked at Éomer. "Do your people forbid women the use of weapons?" Éomer looked surprised at the question. "Our women do not go to war. Some can defend themselves with a sword but it is not encouraged. Do the elves let their women fight?

"For my people, gender is less important than skill when it comes to be trained. Some females will train for archery, and rarely, a female will be chosen for sword training. But males and females are selected for their skills, not their gender. Some of our people who died defending your people were females, did you not know that?"

"Some of the elven warriors were female?" Éomer was so surprised that he almost dropped his fork.

"Yes, of course, did you not see that?"

"Legolas, Éomer has not seen many elves before," Aragorn said. "In full battle gear, male and female elves do not look very different for those who have not seen many elves before."

Éomer shook his head in disbelief. "I cannot believe we were defended by females…" After a pause, he looked at Aragorn. "I have heard that elves choose lovers of both genders, is that true?"

"It is true. For elves, the qualities of a person are more important that their gender. It is not difficult to give pleasure to someone you care for, regardless of their gender."

At this point, Éowyn looked at Legolas. "Master Elf, what is your preference – males or females?" but there was a smile in her voice as she asked.

"Éowyn!" Éomer looked in shock at his sister.

"This, my Lady Éowyn, is for me to share when I wish, which is not today," Legolas responded with a smile of his own.

Aragorn came to his rescue. "How about some archery practice?"

Éowyn's face lit up but her brother sighed. Why did his sister always need to be different from other women?

Gimli interrupted. "Before you all go off and waste arrows, Legolas, you wanted me to see to that dagger of yours. I will return to the smithy as I have not finished. I expect Merry will come with me."

Legolas nodded. "I'll get my dagger." He got up to leave but Aragorn caught his wrist. "Get my bow, it will be easier for Éowyn to use than yours and you have used it a hundred times." The elf simply nodded, and for a brief moment, his and the man's eyes locked. "I will be back in a moment."

Éowyn looked at Aragorn. "You know him well, don't you?" There was an unasked question in her eyes.

Aragorn sighed. This moment had been inevitable, but he had no intention to reveal more about his relationship with Legolas than he had to.

"I have mentioned this before, I grew up in Rivendell and I met Legolas when we were both very young. We have spent a lot of time together over the years."

"He trusts you." Éowyn's blue eyes sought those of the ranger. "As do I," she added very quietly.

"Éowyn…" Aragorn was prevented from saying anything further because at this moment King Théoden officially finished the meal and send everyone off to their afternoon errands.

The hall emptied. Gimli, Merry and Aragorn followed Legolas to their shared room, but not before having promised Éowyn to meet her shortly at the archery range.

-o-o-o-

Legolas was glad to escape the meal. He felt uncomfortable around Éowyn, he was well aware of her attraction to Aragorn – it could hardly be missed. Although he scolded himself for the irrationality of it, he felt threatened by Éowyn's attraction to Aragorn. The girl was beautiful and of royal decent, for many a potential match between her and the future King of Gondor would appear like a match made by the Valar.

For a moment he sat down on his bed, breathing in deeply and closing his eyes. At that moment, the door opened and Aragorn, Gimli and Merry entered the room. Aragorn immediately knew that something was not right, and came up to Legolas and sat beside him on the bed.

"Legolas, show me your dagger and Merry and I will leave you to in peace. " Gimli, too, had sensed quickly that something bothered the elf. Legolas nodded, grateful for the perceptiveness of the dwarf. He got up and retrieved the damaged dagger from its sheath.

"Here you can see how it is chipped. But that is not the worst of it. This dagger has lost its song."

Gimli looked at the elf in surprise. Every piece of metal, and that included all weapons, have a song of their own. He had not known that elves could hear this song. He took the damaged weapon.

"I can repair the chip. But the metal has been strained. It needs reforging and this is not an easy job for a weapon of this quality."

"Can you try?" Legolas looked at the dwarf.

"If you trust me with your weapon, I would be honoured to reforge this and to give it a new song."

Even though his eyes remained troubled, Legolas smiled at the dwarf's response. "Thank you, Gimli". The dwarf and Merry left for the smithy.

-o-o-o-

Aragorn sat next to Legolas on the bed. "What is it, Legolas?"

"It is nothing, I am just a bit weary."

"Legolas, don't lie to me. I know very well that something is not right." Aragorn gently took the elf's hands.

Legolas sighed." I have no right to feel this way, but Éowyn … she likes you. She is not unattractive and of a royal line…."

"And you fear I would choose her over you?" There was hurt in Aragorn's voice. "Do you know me so little?"

Legolas looked at his knees and their interlocked hands. He shook his head. "No, I do not fear that you would choose her over me, but I fear that you may be put into a position where you have no choice."

Aragorn moved closer to the elf and gently pulled him against his shoulder. "Legolas, I do not know what the future will bring but I do know Éowyn's and my fate are not linked. Also, should I one day become king, you know what the arrangements will be. We have talked about this many times."

"Come, it is time to go to the archery range." Aragorn stood up and pulled Legolas up with him. The elf sighed, but took Aragorn's bow. His own bow, given to him by Lady Galadriel, would be too large to be used by Éowyn.

-o-o-o-

Sometime later King Théoden had finished his most pressing duties and went to see how Éowyn's archery practice went. He did not truly like the idea of Éowyn becoming even more skilled as a warrior, it was time for her to remember that she was a women, with a role as a future wife and mother. Éowyn was already 23 years old, it was high time for her to find a fitting mate and have children. The King stopped at the edge of the archery range and took in the picture.

Aragorn was sitting at the side of the range, idly whittling away on a small piece of wood whilst he watched the archery lesson in front of him.

Éowyn was standing at the end of the range with her back to the sun. Legolas was standing close behind her, overlaying her arms with his and thus guiding her to stretch the bow and pull back the arrow at the right angle.

The girl had changed out of her dress into leather breeches and a tunic, similar to the clothes of the men, and had tied her long her together in a plait. Théoden shook his head. Éowyn had lost her mother too early, there had not been a close female to look up to for her, so she had looked up to her older brother. When she found she was strong enough to yield a sword, she learned how to use it, to impress her brother – but Éomer wanted a girl, not a shield maiden, as a sister.

Théoden focused again on Éowyn. She had fired her shot, and the arrow had found the target, but not in the middle. Legolas spoke to her, she nodded, and repeated the shot, this time without guidance. The result was similar to the first shot. She tried again.

After he had watched several more shots, Théoden approached Aragorn. The ranger stood up as the Kind approached.

"Your niece is skilled with the bow. It is not easy to shoot at this distance with another's bow."

Théoden sighed. "She has skill, yes, but her skill with weapon still needs to be tempered with more womanly skills." Then he smiled. "They make a nice couple, don't they?" Aragorn looked at the King, and for a fleeting moment, there was an odd expression that Théoden could not quite read.

"I can promise you that Legolas has no intentions towards Éowyn," Aragorn smiled as well as he spoke.

"How can you be sure? Just look at them, it would not be a bad match. I heard that Legolas is a King's son, it would be fitting. There have been unions of elves and men before."

"There have been. And they do make a beautiful couple." Aragorn looked across the field. "But Legolas … is committed," the ranger said, suddenly more serious.

"Have you known Legolas for long?"

"I met him when I was fifteen years old and I visited Lasgalen with my foster father and brothers. I still remember that first visit very clearly." Aragorn smiled at the memory. He did not mention that it was during that first visit that Legolas and he had fallen head over heels in love with each other, a love that had never waned in over sixty years.

"We have seen each other regularly since them, sometimes for long periods or short. We have saved each other's' lives more times than I care to remember."

Théoden looked at Aragorn. A thought had begun to form in his mind, he remembered the casual way Aragorn had pushed Legolas hair away earlier and the way he had held Legolas' wrist, although the elf clearly avoided close contact with others if possible. "You are very close to him, aren't you?"

Relationships between males were not unknown amongst the Rohirrim, in fact, they were often regarded as a part of growing up, but there was an expectation that such relationships did not survive into adulthood, and made way to marriage and fatherhood.

Aragorn sighed and glanced down for a moment, but then looked up and met the King's eyes. "Yes, we are very close, and have been for a long time. As you said, unions between elves and men are not unheard of, but ours can never be formal." Théoden was struck both by the frank admission and the note of despair behind it.

"You love him?"

"Yes, with all my heart. But first and foremost he is my best friend, the one person I can always rely on, in any situation."

Théoden stood silent for a while, surprised at not feeling more shocked. Part of him had known this, even if this knowledge had not yet reached conscious thoughts. There was an unspoken emotional bond between the ranger and the elf that was hard to miss.

"He cares for you also, I have seen that," Théoden said evenly. "How many people know this?"

"Our families and friends, and the Fellowship. I know that many would scorn me for loving a male but," the rangers' eyes never leaving the King, "this love is part of me."

Théoden was quiet for a moment and looked pensively at Aragorn. The ranger bore the scrutiny without flinching.

"It changes nothing. You are still someone I want to draw swords together, and I very much would like to see Legolas at my side in any fight."

-o-o-o-

At this moment, Éowyn and Legolas decided to finish their practice and join the other two.

"Éowyn, you have done well." Legolas smiled at the girl. He had feared that this afternoon would be arduous, but it had turned out to be much better than he had hoped. Éowyn was an easy pupil to teach, quick of mind and hand, and strong and supple as a young willow. He had feared a barrage of questions about Aragorn throughout the afternoon, but there had been none. Éowyn had been totally focused on improving her archery skills.

"I enjoyed this. It is better than waiting, waiting all the time…"Éowyn impatiently pushed aside a few strands of blonde hair that had escaped the braid in the nape of her neck.

The sun was beginning to set in the West. "It is time to go back."

As they neared the Hall, they met Gimli and Merry coming up from the smithy. The both looked hot and sweaty, but satisfied.

"It looks as if you had a successful afternoon, Master Dwarf" Éowyn said, a smile lighting up her blue eyes.

"We have, my lady. I have now a second blade, and Legolas' dagger sings its song again. The dwarf unwrapped a bundle that he had carried.

Legolas dark eyes lit up to a surprising blue. His dagger was as good as new, there was no sign of the damage left. He tentatively took the weapon out of the cloths it had been wrapped in and ran his hands over the blade. With a lightning-quick movement, the elf tested the dagger. The metal sung again, Gimli had indeed restored the weapon.

"How can I thank you for this, Gimli?" Legolas was truly grateful. Gimli had shown remarkable skill with metalwork.

Gimli looked up at the elf. "By accepting these." He pulled a small bag out of the bundle of cloth. "Hold out your hands."

Slightly bemused, Legolas held out his hands, forming them into a cup. The dwarf tipped the bag, and Legolas' hands filled with black, shiny, sharp objects. "Arrowheads?!"

Everyone gasped with surprise. Arrowheads were laborious to make, usually shaped from stone. But these were metal, each one almost identical to the others.

"Gimli, this must have taken many hours." Legolas was almost speechless. The dwarf had taunted him so often, and now this. Something had indeed changed.

"It was not so bad. I have nothing else to do at the moment."

"Gimli…"

The dwarf shook his head. "Don't. One day you will pay me back in kind. Come now, it is time for some food."

-o-o-o-

The evening meal had come and gone, now there was still some drinking and merry making going on in the hall. Gimli and Merry happily joined in, but after a while Aragorn and Legolas quietly slipped away to their room.

"I am quite tired, Legolas." The ranger sat on his bed, resting his head on his elbows.

"That is not a surprise. You are still recovering. Come, let me rebandage that wound on your shoulder and see to your bruises, then you can sleep."

Reluctantly Aragorn got up and took off his tunic. Almost the entire left side of his body was purple, but the bruises were beginning to fade to yellow at the edges.

"Is the pain getting less. Estel? This time Legolas used Aragorn's childhood name, the name they saved for intimate times.

"Not really … but it will."

"I am still amazed you made it through the battle. No one would have known you were injured." Whilst he was talking, the elf had found a small pot with ointment from Aragorn's pack.

"I'll do your shoulder. Sit down." Legolas gently pressed Aragorn down on the bed and began to remove the bandages around Aragorn's shoulder. Aragorn gave an involuntary hiss.

"I am sorry, Estel. But I need to get these off." Legolas tried to be as careful as he could. After a few moments, the bandages were off, and the elf began gently to apply an herbal paste to the wound. He then carefully rebandaged the shoulder.

"This is better. How do you feel?"

"Sore and tired." It was rare that Aragorn was honest to this extent.

"I am really tired of always having to hide or explain or to justify that I love you. Why can't other people simply see and accept how much you mean to me?" Resentment clouded the usual clear grey eyes of the ranger.

Legolas tied off the last of the bandages. "Does Théoden know?"

Aragorn nodded. "He guessed, and asked. I will not lie about us."

"I would not expect you to." Legolas leaned forward and softly kissed Aragorn. The ranger sighed. "I wish we were not in a shared room."

"So do I, but Merry and Gimli can come back any moment, so this is not the time or the place…" Legolas got up. "Do you want the pain numbing ointment for the bruises?

"Yes, I would like to get some rest tonight."

Legolas got up and found another pot with ointment. He disliked this particular ointment, it had a strong, medicinal smell that he found unpleasant and that did not wash off his hands easily. But Aragorn's comfort was more important, so the elf very carefully spread the strong smelling lotion across Aragorn's body. When he was finished, he helped Aragorn to carefully slip into his sleep tunic.

"It is time for you to sleep. I will go and find the others, and spend a bit of time with them. Sleep well, Estel." Legolas gently pushed Aragorn back onto the bed.

"I hope I will. Thank you, Legolas. For everything." Man and elf smiled at each other. There was no need to say more.

-o-o-o-

The following morning, the beacons of Gondor were lit, and the ride to war began.

The End

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