I don't bow to crowns LOTR/Legolas love story #Wattys2015

Care to dance?...

A few days had past since Pippin and Gandalf rode into the distance, away from Edoras. Nymerial had been busying herself with anything, she didn't want to think about it, nor did she want to remind it to Merry. She knew the little man was upset, even if he tried to hide it, she saw something sad in his eyes and understood what it was.

Nymerial stood up from her spot, she was in a dining area but not a single person was there. She stepped out of the silence and into the sunny outside. Some guards at the door greeted her with a slight nod as she passed them. She had an idea then: since Théoden wasn't going to battle then and there, she had time left over so she could practice. Nymerial saw some men walking in front of her with their swords in hands and talking. She didn't care much about the local gossip but heard something mentioned about a training area so she decided to follow them.

After a few minutes of walking, Nymerial finally made it to the place with the help of the two men. There weren't many people in the field, just some blokes practicing sword-fight, and a few near the targets with bows in hands. She moved to the benches and placed her sword, knives and daggers on it carefully. She could feel a few stares aimed directly at her but ignored them, she thought they were surprised to see a woman there, it wasn't a usual thing.

As Nymerial looked at her now well-organized blades glittering in the sunlight that shone between the stray clouds in the sky, she heard some men talking about her behind her back in a quiet whisper. She didn't make out the whole conversation but enough to know that she wasn't exactly welcome there. It seemed that they believed her to be there just to mingle with the men in the field.

She smirked a bit as she picked up her two daggers, her favourite choice of weapons, and spun them in her hands, enjoying the light reflecting off from them, throwing beams of sun around her. Nymerial heard someone behind her muttering

"Look, girlie knows a few tricks."

 She turned around, with the blades pressed against her wrists, and faced the man with slightly wet dark hair. He cocked his head a bit to the side as he smirked

"Listen, I am asking you nicely: could you please leave? We are trying to train for the upcoming battle and you are distracting my lads. Just go back to your little group of ladies and talk, alright."

Nymerial felt the anger bubble inside her and her eyes change slightly. The warmth of her rage was running through her veins into her heart and head. She felt her heartbeat fastening as she readied herself to lunge at the poor bastard who was now only realizing that he should probably flee from the sight. But it was too late: Nymerial lunged at him.

As she was only mere inches from him, she felt someone grabbing her arm, stopping her by jerking her back. Nymerial then turned around to see the one who had distracted her but was only greeted by a pair of lips on hers. She felt herself relax and closed her eyes as she inhaled Legolas' scent.

When they pulled apart, her eyes had changed to her usual minty colour and they stared into the starry ones for a second. The Elf let her go and shook his head a bit as he opened his mouth

"Nymerial, have you learnt nothing? You told me you never wanted to turn like that again, I thought you would try to avoid situations like this. Instead, you just let it run amock."

"I have tried, I just, I cannot control it. It has happened more lately. Legolas?"

She looked up to him as she whispered a question

"What is happening to me?"

He stayed silent as an answer. He did not know the answer and as much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn't lie to Nymerial. He would have wanted to tell her that everything was going to be alright fine and it was nothing, but instead he whispered back the most honest answer

"I am afraid I do not know, Nymerial."

She nodded and Legolas then noticed that everyone on the training place were looking at the pair. He turned up Nymerial's chin that had sunken towards the ground and smirked so only she would see it

"I know something that will cheer you up."

As the girl looked at him puzzled, the Elf took a step back and took out his twin swords. With a blade in each hand, Legolas bowed before Nymerial and lifted his head to look at her with a smile on his face

"Care to dance, my lady? It would be my honour to fight with the leader of the Dragonkind."

Nymerial felt the handles of her daggers pleasantly warm in her palms as she shook lightly from silent laughter. She nodded in the silence that had formed around them as the men were all shocked. Legolas stood up and moved his long sword, compared to Nymerial's short blades, towards a small fighting range. She followed his lead and they both stepped through a small gate inside.

The men quickly gathered behind the fence surrounding the range as Nymerial made her way to the other side of the small field. She moved her arms a bit in her armour, testing it to make sure that it wasn't tight in any place. As always, it was perfect.

As she looked up, her eyes met with Legolas' who was across from her. They both nodded at the same time as a starting whistle. He took a step forwards, she followed his lead. He took another, then another, Nymerial always mocking his exact moves. Soon, they were face to face with each other, only the length of a sword separating them.

Legolas was the first to make the beginning move. His Elven blade moved with lightning speed but it was stopped gracefully by the steel of another. Nymerial pushed her sword away with a wide circle and tried to strike her opponent by spinning around and turning the dagger in her hand so she hit him between his shoulder blades with the back of her dagger. But as she was ready to strike the blow, she felt herself being lifted by a strong pair of arms. Legolas had linked the insides of their elbows and Nymerial was now being flown over the Elf's back where she landed on her feet and had to do a back handspring to avoid the silver edge. Once on the ground again, their eyes locked and they both took a step forwards, both spinning their blades in their hands.

Once close enough, Legolas lifted his right sword only to be met with Nymerial's left one in the air. He tried again, this time with the left one coming from underneath. That one as well was stopped by the girl's dagger. As they pulled their weapons apart, they spun around once and stopped right in front of each other's faces. Nymerial smiled a small smile that was mirrored back at her.

Both let their blades fall to the side, still in their palms in case the other was going to attack. Legolas could see a small twinkle in her eyes from the sun shining through the clouds and from something inside her. He closed the small space between them and brushed his lips against hers, ending the small battle.

As the butterfly kiss stopped, Nymerial could still feel it lingering inside her. His forest-like scent surrounded her in a faint cloud as the Elf smiled, his eyes soft and tender. He whispered

"That was the best dance I have been granted in my entire life."

Nymerial turned her head away and Legolas followed her gaze. Behind the awestruck men, the sun was just high enough to still light up the whole place but it was late enough to colour the surroundings in a faint shade of gold. The Elf put away his swords and placed his arm around Nymerial's shoulders, embracing her lightly. It seemed as if the world had stopped everything around them: the war, the journey, the deaths. At that moment, everything seemed at peace.

But they were dragged out of their daydreams as they saw another source of light in the distance. Nymerial had only heard stories of it, never in her life she would have thought she would live to see it. The beacons, they were lit.