Behold, The Sun

Passing Time

"Do you know how long we'll be here?" Idalia asked Legolas, who was reading in the library. He looked up from his book.

"I'm not sure," he said. "We haven't been here for very long yet."

"No, certainly not. What are you reading?"

"A history account, from an age ago. Would you like to read it?"

Flustered and embarrassed at her inability to read, she shook her head quickly.

"Oh, I forgot you do not speak Sindarin. Just a moment..."

He got up from his spot and grabbed another book from the shelf and handed it to her. She smiled shyly, opening it.

"Lothlorien does not have much of a wide selection in the common tongue, but there is this."

"I um... thank you."

She blushed hard. She never felt stupid before, but it was clearly assumed everyone had the ability to read. She wasn't even sure how a book worked, truly. Nothing seemed to slip past Legolas, as he looked at her with a peculiar face.

"I can't read. In any language."

A look of understanding crossed his face. She was still blushing.

"Books and water tend not to mix," he said.

"Yes, exactly," she laughed.

He paused for a moment. The tension was suspended in the air. "Can... can I teach you?"

"Yes."

He sat close to her, so their sides were flush.

"This is probably not the best book to start with, we should really be starting with the alphabet."

He found a piece of paper and a quill, and began to write the alphabet. His handwriting was beautiful. He underlined several letters and called them vowels. The rest were consonants.

Idalia was an extremely quick learner. It only took about an hour or so for her to begin reading the book he had given, which surprised Legolas. He never doubted her intelligence, but it seemed as though she'd learned so fast she couldn't have been telling the truth. And yet, her mispronunciation of several simple words told him she was honest.

"You learn rather quickly," he said.

"Yes, since we Singers have no written language, everything is learned orally. We have excellent memories."

"Fascinating..."

She smiled at him. "Next, you'll have to teach me Sindarin."

He laughed as she continued. "And then Quenya and every other language you know! And then you'll have to teach me to play every instrument you can think of, and then how to write and paint and-"

"And fight!" Gimli said, coming into the library and interrupting.

Gimli laughed as the two separated themselves, not even aware of how close to each other they had gravitated.

"You'll teach me to fight?" She asked.

"We all will," Gimli responded. "In fact, Aragorn and Boromir are practicing with the hobbits now, it's a great opportunity."

Idalia jumped up in excitement, following Gimli and nearly dragging Legolas. When they reached the practice field, she dropped his hand, suddenly realizing she was still holding it.

"What shall we begin with?" Aragorn asked.

"Swords!" Idalia said.

He smiled and handed her one. It was too heavy.