Of Futures Past (Legolas)

37

As they returned to Edoras and the city began preparations for the festivities, Alana returned to her room and found herself very glad to take a bath, with water she heated herself to be the perfect temperature. The dirt of the caves left her body and hair as she scrubbed voraciously until she felt clean. 

Grabbing a pot of cream from a shelf, she applied it all over her raw skin and pressed it in until her skin felt smooth and no longer dry. As she dried her hair, she began pulling out dresses from the closet. Since the first night she'd stayed there before the battle, the dresses had been altered to fit her height, and she found that, though they did not match Elvish fashion in elegance, they had their own beauty that she quite liked. Choosing a fairly simple green dress, she put it on, only to realize the corset laced at the back.

Only half-dressed Alana hurried through the joint bathroom and knocked on the door to Eowyn's room.

"Yes?"

"It's Alana. Could you tie my corset for me?"

The door opened immediately and Eowyn had the corset tied within the minute. 

"Eowyn. Thank you for comforting me in the caves." Alana said as she turned around to face the girl once more.

"There is no need to thank me." Eowyn chuckled awkwardly, deflecting the elf's appreciation.

"Yes there is. You are a great girl."

Eowyn just nodded this time, before closing her door and getting herself ready for the party. Alana took the time to finish drying her hair and tied it half up to keep it out of her face.

When both women had finished getting ready, Eowyn led Alana through Meduseld to the dining hall, which was already packed full of soldiers and their families.

Eowyn went to the front, holding a goblet of wine to her uncle, who drank and announced, "Tonight we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country." He held up the goblet. "Hail the victorious dead!"

"Hail!" The crowd replied, and Alana cheered along with them, praying that Haldir's soul had found peace.

As the party officially began, Alana began to weave her way through the crowd, spotting Legolas and Gimli and approaching them.

"So it's a drinking game." Legolas said just as Alana arrived.

"Would the lady like to join as well?" Eomer suggested with a grin.

Legolas chuckled. "That may not be a good idea."

Alana turned to him, with an eyebrow raised and arms crossed over her chest, which amplified the effects of the corset she wore, and Legolas's gaze left her eyes for a moment before he smiled sheepishly, eartips pink. "But the lady can make her own decisions."

Alana laughed a little under her breath, grinning mischievously. "I'm quite alright just watching, thank you."

"The lady can't hold her liquor!" Gimli exclaimed, laughing, and Legolas hit his shoulder warningly, but Alana only laughed, agreeing. "Last one standing wins heh heh heh!"

"Let's drink to victory! To victory!" Was the general cheer from the men, and so the competition began.

While Gimli drank his first tankard in one go, Legolas sniffed at it hesitantly before taking a sip. Alana did her best to control her laughter, but her amusement was clear to anyone nearby.

By the time both contestants put down their tenth tankard, Alana had stopped laughing and was instead watching in shock. How long would they go for?

"Willing to place a bet, my lady?" A soldier asked her, grinning as his eyes looked her up and down.

Alana laughed politely as the other soldiers encouraged it. "Now, I'm afraid that would be quite undignified for a lady like myself."

"And quite a lady you are!" Another soldier said, his eyes, unbeknownst to Alana, wandering further than they should.

The woman in question blushed awkwardly at the sudden praise as other soldiers joined in, and Legolas watched the scene intensely as he downed mug after mug of ale.

"But, Lady Alana, if you were to place a bet, who would you bet on?" Eomer asked mischievously.

"Legolas, of course." Alana stated, smiling as she made eye contact with the elf in question, who was smirking at her answer. 

It was at this moment that Gimli began looking worse for wear. "Here, here." He took another tankard. "Raaar it's the dwarves that go swimming with little, hairy women haha"

Alana choked out a laugh, glad she wasn't drinking else she would've choked. 

"I feel something." Legolas began, looking at his fingertips. Eomer raised an eyebrow, and Alana continued laughing at the scene. "A slight tingle in my fingertips."

"What did I say? He can't hold his liquor." Gimli slurred, before promptly falling  backwards, unconscious.

"Game over!" Legolas said proudly, putting his last tankard onto the counter. Alana smiled, why did she find that so cute?

"It seems you were right, m'lady." Eomer commented.

Alana looked over at him, grinning. "Elves have very high alcohol tolerances, you know?"

"Including yourself? We should organize another match then."

Alana laughed, and Legolas watched the interaction distastefully, especially as he saw the eyes of nearby soldiers moving downwards. Moving forward and placing an arm around her shoulders as he glared at the men with wandering eyes, Legolas corrected Eomer. "Alana actually has quite a low alcohol tolerance in fact, even by men's standards."

Alana huffed, crossing her arms defiantly. Noticing the effects on the surrounding men, Legolas quickly pulled Alana's hands back to her sides while Eomer laughed at the interaction.

"Why did you do that?" Alana asked confusedly.

As Legolas hesitated to answer, Eomer stepped in amusedly. "Forgive me, my lady, but I believe he is trying to protect you from unwanted eyes."

Alana's eyebrows furrowed as she contemplated the statement. "Unwanted eyes..." As the realization hit her, her eyes widened and she glanced down at her own cleavage, noticing for the first time how tightly the corset had pushed them together. As corsets and low necklines were quite rare in Elvish fashion, she had not even noticed it when she chose the dress, thinking only of how much she liked the colour. "Thank you, Legolas." Alana mumbled with bright red cheeks as her gaze darted around to make sure no one was looking at her.

When she looked back up at Legolas, his eyes quickly darted back to her own and her mouth dropped, cheeks flushing even brighter. "You! You... absolute hypocrite! And to think I thought you were a gentleman!"

Legolas widened his eyes innocently as his own cheeks flushed. "Hypocrite?"

Alana nodded indignantly, her heart beating wildly in her chest. "Yes. A hypocrite."