I Ernil a i Hest - The Prince and the Captain

Nan fuin a i onnad nan meleth

Of darkness and the birth of love

[TA 2942]

The wind was cold and wet that night and all the Eldar of Greenwood had long sensed that something powerful and dark was creeping between the trees of the woods, making their shadows long and dark.

Giant spiders, descendants of Ungoliant, were no longer monsters of horror stories, but an almost daily recurrence that unleashed terror and concern in the hearts of the Wood Elves.

The Aran (King) had opened the doors of his great Halls, who needed it could find refuge there, without having to give anything in return. And many did so, gradually emptying the forest.

Inside the King's Halls one could almost forget the horror outside, had it not been for the constant noise of the gates being opened to send patrols outside and the growing worried look on Aran (King) Thranduil's face.

He felt a great deal of responsibility towards his people and suffered from their worried faces. To improve the atmosphere, feasts open to everyone were often organized, during which everyone brought a dish to share and the Aran (King) provided the wine and music.

At those parties Ernil (Prince) Legolas felt closer to the people than he ever had. Even though it wasn't his duty, he went out with the Royal Guard almost every day, and almost every day they encountered large creatures, daughters of Ungoliant or even orc packs. He could only imagine the constant terror of the families who had lived out there and understood the concern of his adar (father).

That evening he had arrived at the Halls tired after the patrol, but after a quick refreshment he still wanted to join the people in the great Hall of Feasts to calm his mind and heart.

He did not want to eat, but he took a cup of wine that a servant offered on a tray. He noted that many drank at will, the wine was free and beyond that clouded the mind and made one forget fears and worries. Legolas had always been cautious enough with liquors, but that cold and wet evening he felt just like everyone else: he wanted for a few hours not to have to think about anything but the sweet taste of the wine and the music.

His Adar (father) also drank cup after cup of wine, but he had always drunk a lot after the death of his Rîs (Queen) and was infinitely better at disguising drunkenness, as well as his tolerance was definitely higher than that of Legolas.

The room began to spin slightly and the Ernil (Prince) saw a lock of long red hair towards one of the exits. He thus decided it was time to retire, before he could no longer maintain a decent and appropriate behavior for a prince.

He moved towards the exit where he had seen the red lock disappear. He felt like he was walking on clouds, it was definitely time to leave the hall.

Tauriel was going down the stairs when he called her and she turned a little too fast for the amount of wine she had consumed. She made a false step and lost her balance, Legolas ran towards her to catch her as fast as the alcohol let him. He only managed to grab her waist badly and so they both nearly fell. Eventually they found themselves half slumped on top of each other in the middle of the stairs, at least the goblet of wine that Tauriel held in her hand hadn't been spilled. They chuckled softly.

"You are particularly graceful tonight, mellon nin (my friend).", she laughed. He pushed her playfully: "Is this how the damsel in distress I just heroically tried to save thanks me?" The red-haired elleth (she-elf) let out a false offended gasp: "Oh, shut up you! You're way too drunk to talk.", she giggled.