Chapter Fifteen: A Silken Web

Jumping spritely over a decaying log, the wood elves flew through the dense trees, clean, damp air filling their lungs. Ahead of them were the sounds of muffled footsteps and swishing skirts, and the hunters knew that soon they would catch their prey.

After their playful companions had turned, hand in hand, and run off into the woods, the visitors from Greenwood had stood for a moment, sharing amused expressions, before setting off into the greenery. Wanting to draw out their fun, the two began at a casual jog, allowing the ellyth to increase the span between them, before a mirthful look from Herendil had them breaking into an excited run.

Beside him Legolas could hear his friend laugh gleefully, and could not help but join in himself. Crimson and jade fabric was now visible in the distance, brunette hair streaming out in waves. Excitement rose in the Prince's chest, as he anticipated tackling his ebony-haired friend to the ground. A thrilled grin spread across his face.

X

Arwen panted as she tried to keep up with the long strides of her more athletic partner, whose chestnut waves spilled out behind her. The length of their run had begun to take its toll on her breathing, so unused was she to long-distance sprinting. Behind her she noted the ever-closer tread of the warriors of Greenwood, whom she knew would suffer from no such difficulties. She smiled to herself as she pushed onwards.

Oloriel's hand, still grasped in her own, tightly squeezed her fingers and guided her to the left, dodging a silken web which spanned between knotted trunks. Grateful, Arwen squeezed her friend's hand back in thanks.

Wisps of wild blue Morning Glory hung from a low-hanging branch, whipping the darker-haired elleth in the face. She cried out softly, brushing the strands away with her free hand. Oloriel spared a quick glimpse backwards at her friend, and then her eyes widened in alarm. "Hurry!" she yelled.

Too full of nervous dread, Arwen renewed her efforts without a single glance behind her. She hitched her skirts up further and bounded across the woodland floor alongside her determined companion. The relentless footsteps of their pursuers filled her ears, and to Arwen the woodlands appeared to be arching over and inwards trying to catch her, as though the hunters had conspired with nature itself to lay a tangled trap. Fear began to build inside her as she anticipated her impending capture, and she looked around for an escape. Distracted, Arwen tripped on an empty burrow, sprawling onto the loamy earth with a scream.

Gasping she pulled herself up as Oloriel pulled on her hand. The vegetation behind her rippled as the ellyn darted through it, and Arwen's heart pounded with panic. She released Oloriel's hand. "Run!"

The healer took off to the right, and Arwen, now terrifyingly alone, could sense that behind her the ellyn too had split up. One ellon chased her now, and she knew – heart thumping and blood rushing in her ears – that this ellon would win. A thrill ran through her body as she considered what the hunter would do with his prey once he had caught it. Desperately she sprinted through the trees, the ache in her lungs growing sharper.

Arwen gasped in fright as a firm hand gripped her around her waist.

X

The ellyth had run admirably, whole-heartedly throwing their bodies into their vain attempt to flee. The elves of Greenwood saw Arwen tumble to the ground, briefly slowing their pace to watch Oloriel drag the daughter of Elrond to her feet before returning to their original speed.

"Run!"

Crimson and jade suddenly flung apart in separate directions, causing Herendil to grin at his comrade before breaking away after his energetic new flame. Legolas nodded and continued after the crimson-clad figure shooting through the growth like a panicked deer. He could hear the sharp intake of her breath growing enticingly laboured, and his chest beat with anticipation. Lush dark hair flew around the shoulders of the racing form in front of him, so close that he could almost touch it. A shallow pant from the elleth spurred him forwards. Placing a hand on the maiden's waist, Legolas heard her gasp.

Tightening his grip, the Prince lightly pushed Arwen forwards onto the earth, watching her fling her arms out to break her fall. He knelt over her body, one knee on either side of her thighs, and covered her hands with his. The elleth struggled with breathless, desperate pants, twisting her body, trying to buck her captor off. Legolas pressed down upon her warm figure, hips constrained against her ample behind. As he fought to contain her writhing, he felt his interest begin to build against her curves, each movement sending heated jolts through his spine. Quickly, he readjusted his position.

Eventually, the struggling ceased. Legolas leant over her panting frame and paused to see if his prize would continue to fight back; she did not. Instead, Arwen lay still, head settled on the cool earth in defeat. Feeling satisfied, he turned the elleth's body over so that she was resting on her back. Fearful blue eyes stared up at him as though he were a spider, and she the fly caught in his web.

Legolas could not help but take a moment to gaze into his friend's anxious face, nor catch sight of her heaving bosom. Excitement stirred once again in the depths of his body as he lustily took in the maiden's vulnerable state. Arwen continued to stare at him with wide eyes, and the hunter wondered whether she realised that her helplessness merely made her look that much more appetising. Legolas shifted his thighs so that each lightly rested astride her hips. Arwen's breath hitched as her captor slowly ran his hands up the curves of her body. Her figure felt soft and yielding under his fingers, and sent another eager thrill through him. This beautiful creature was his prize, and he could do whatever he wanted with his prey.

Carefully, the wood-elf appreciatively traced the delicate collarbone of his victim's body. A shoulder peaked out from the low neckline of the crimson dress, and calloused fingers soon drifted over to slide the fabric further down her arm. Eager lips pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder. Wanting to elicit a response from the maiden under him, Legolas dipped down and kissed the crook of her neck. Arwen inhaled a sharp breath, and jerked her hips up underneath him. He smiled against her skin.

The warrior gently trailed his fingers up the elleth's neck to caress her jaw with his thumb, watching as her neck craned back to provide him greater access. Softly, he kissed her neck again. Watching hungrily as his prey's eyes fluttered close, Legolas nipped at her pale skin, drawing a small moan from the maiden's rosy mouth. The sound of it made him throb with suffocating want.

Arwen's plump lips were parted, taking shallow breaths, and seemed to beckon Legolas to them. As his fingers brushed over their softness, he stared at her face intently. He wanted to taste those lips, to claim them. The elf leant down over her, so close that their faces almost touched. Arwen looked up at him lustily through heavily-lidded eyes. "Please," she whispered.

Legolas lowered himself to her, their noses grazing, until their lips touched and –

Rustling sounded amongst the trees.

Disrupted, Legolas sat back on his haunches, looking around him. Close to their position came a feminine giggle, and then male laughter. The tread of footsteps. The swish of skirts.

Legolas let out a long breath, briefly closing his eyes in frustration; Herendil and Oloriel were coming their way. He looked down at Arwen, who had raised herself to rest on her elbows, and was watching him with skittish eyes. With a sense of loss he rose to his feet, and then extended a hand to his friend. Timidly, Arwen grasped the hand and was pulled to her feet, but did not meet his eyes. Legolas gazed at her flushed face, and watched her adjust the shoulder of her dress with longing regret. He inwardly cursed his companions, their arrival crushing prior hopes that they too would be similarly occupied. He took another deep breath, willing his desire away. Arwen was still looking down, smoothing the fabric of her dress to brush away stray debris, when their company joined them.

"There you are!" Oloriel declared. "We wondered where you two would be – not far from where we parted it seems."

Arwen's eyes quickly met Legolas' gaze, then returned her attention to her friend. "Indeed not – my body could not endure any more."

Herendil grinned. "You gave us a valiant chase, my lady."

"Too valiant, it seems," interjected Oloriel, turning to observe her own companion. "You exerted yourself too much today." Looking over at Legolas with a frown she elaborated, "His wounds bleed. I will attend to them immediately upon our return." The healer turned back to Herendil. "I really should know better."

The ellon smirked. "You really should."

The small group began the walk back to the Homely House, the healer and her patient leading both the journey and the conversation. Legolas walked quietly at the back, observing the soft sway of a crimson dress, and committing to memory the sight of a vulnerable Arwen writhing on the ground.

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Plot? What plot? Oh right, that thing...next update perhaps! Thank you to my lovely reviewers. Drop me a line and let me know what you think of the story thus far. xx LC