NEW LEAF (Legolas FF) | ✔️

Chapter 15: Strange

Elrohir's PoV

She was rather strange.

I think of this as I watch the golden haired maiden who goes by the name of 'Laralen' walk quietly beside Lyraesel. She kept her hood up, casting a dark shadow over her face and rarely glanced up except when she is addressed or we are about to stop. She was quite different the night before, when we had eaten but not any less quiet.

Although she was kind of timid and shy, she was not one to back out of a fight and would rarely be in a petty little argument with Elladan or one of the other elves we have in our company. I rarely talked to her for the only chances I get to talk to her was when I was tending to her wounds. Which was actually already healed, to my surprise. Still, something lingers about her. Something that seems to wrap itself like a second skin.

I was rather wary of her when first I saw her. Crawling in the woods. It was an odd find, to say the least. Something I had not expected to be in the woods in the dead of night. Then my suspicions grew to curiousities as Lyraesel explained to me of what she had seen. The girl had countless of scars on her back, from the blades of her shoulders down the curve of her spine to the small of her back. I had asked Lyraesel to describe them to me and she insisted that I just see it for myself but I could not. It was highly improper and Elladan would never let me hear the end of it. What would father even think? Of course, he would not think it unwise for that is what most healers do. Me and my brother rode our horses, side by side, at the rear end of our group. Some of the men were with us, also on their horses. Elladan had tried to offer his horse to the two ladies accompanying us but it seems that Laralen was quite unskilled in horse riding, although she seemed to have a way with animals like most elves do. With that, Lyraesel declined the offer as well and preferred to walk with the golden haired maiden.

"If you are going to continue staring at her like that she is surely bound to notice you," Elladan speaks beside me with a tinge of playful sarcasm and I turn to him, way too quickly, to find an amused smirk on his face but his eyes were trained on the group marching before us.

"Everyone seems to have noticed you and your peculiar behavior." He lets out a chuckle, shaking his head slightly. "Has my little brother finally taken a fancy of someone?" He teases and my face becomes rigid as I glare at him but found no words to contradict his observation. Even I myself, have questioned what I have felt upon seeing her.

There was a loud horn and Laralen jumped as she held fast on to Lyraesel. Her eyes darting about.

"She seems quite easily frightened," Elladan adds as he reigns his horse to go forward. I watch as Lyraesel gives Laralen a reassuring pat on the arm before Elladan joins them, getting off his horse. A stone arch was before us, with a pathway that lead inside. Elladan seems to have explained it to Laralen as his hands gesture towards the path and I notice how Laralen nodded her head and her shoulders relaxed but not before glancing behind her and giving me a small smile, in which I returned instinctively. Elladan notices the exchange and could not stop the grin from his face to broaden as he motioned for the women to go inside the path first.

When everyone was through, but my brother and me, he mounted his horse. The grin was still there as we rode through the narrow path.

"Do not even start to speak," I warn him and laughter was all I heard when at last we came to a clearing, and there stood the house of Elrond. Bathed with light, that seemed to make the whole house glitter in gold. The echoing sounds of the waterfalls filled my heart with much comfort.

We were finally home.

---

We unmounted our horses in front of the stairs that lead to the great open arches of the house that I have grown up in. A young elf, clad in a purple robe with a small silver circlet on his head steps out to greet us. Descending the stairs with a blank stoic expression. His eyes fall on Laralen and his facade wavers a little before he turns to me and my brother.