Stars (A Legolas Love Story and Lord of the Rings Fanfiction)

Who She Really Is

Legolas' Point of View

Katherine takes my breath away.

There was no other way to say it. How else could I explain the feeling whenever she looks at me?
It's like my breath catches and my heart stops, but in a good way.
A magical way.

As Katherine talked to Merry and Pippin by the balcony above Minas Tirith, I was mesmerized by her natural beauty and unique personality.
Her blue-green eyes sparkled as she laughed at a joke, her eyes squeezing shut and forming crinkles in the corners of her eyes.
Her white teeth were perfectly straight and even, shining out whenever she smiled.
Her lips were pink and healthy, and I knew that they tasted of mint, though I never knew why.

Two lines always formed between her eyebrows whenever she was angry, confused, or deep in thought.
Her jawline was well-defined, but not too sharp. It stuck out just enough to catch the eye as if to imply the words, "Look at me, I have something to say."

When she walked, she moved lazily as she swayed from side to side, like she was hunting for something. It was intimidating to others even though it was an easy and natural movement to her. She moved like a cat would if it was getting ready to pounce on a mouse. Hence the nickname I had given her: Kat, but with a 'k' instead of a 'c'.

Katherine's soft, golden hair was parted to the side, making it drape naturally across her face so that, if she wished, she could cover up part of her scar.
And her scar....it added so much character to her.
The way she defended it was beautiful to see. She was never ashamed of it.
In fact, she took pride in such an obvious battle wound.
Most women would be humiliated by something that had ruined their image, but Katherine never wanted to be that person.
It made me want to hug and kiss her each time she showed that she wasn't afraid of being different.
And despite being deaf in her right ear, she was still as spirited as ever, always ready for any challenge.

I didn't understand how she did it, juggling revenge with love.
Yes, I knew about her want of revenge on the troll that had killed her husband.

Yet, she somehow found it in herself to love others and even to love me.

There she was, an innocent-looking angel. But take away her outside shell, and she was a relentless and unstoppable machine.
However, if you took away that second shell, she's the most passionate and sweetest person I know.

She's heartless, but she has the biggest heart.
She's angry, but she's happy.

I didn't know why, but it all made sense to me.

It was the perfect balance of danger and safety, bad and good, light and darkness.

Nonetheless, it wouldn't always be that way. It couldn't. Nothing was natural about the way Katherine behaved sometimes.
Every now and then, her eyes would turn dark and she'd be angry for no apparent reason.

Even though she loved me, I still hadn't made up my mind if I loved her or not.
All the signs were there: Pulse quickening, utter joy just by being in her presence, wanting to spend every second of the day with her....but I had to think of our future.
She would no doubt die in a few decades and then I'd be alone again. Or maybe her love for me would dwindle into nothing.
And my father would be none too pleased that I had chosen a human to spend my life with.

I guess my mind and mouth won't let me say the words, but my heart knows.
I love Katherine.
And it's a wonderful feeling just to love and be loved in return.
(A/N know where that quote is from? *wink wink*)

"Hey."

I looked up in surprise. I had been staring off into space for so long that I hadn't realized that Katherine had ended her conversation and come to sit next to me.

"Hi. How are the Hobbits doing?" I blinked hard as I tried to snap out of my daze.

"They are alright, I guess. They still miss Sam and Frodo. It's so sweet how they care about their friends so much." She smiled a bit.

I nodded in agreement, not really understanding the concept of close friends.
The only close friends I had were Gimli and Aragorn, and they weren't exactly the type of people I could freely talk to.
Katherine didn't count because....well she was obviously more than a friend.

Katherine stood up.
"I'm bored. Let's do something." She said with a light in her eyes.

"I think you should rest. You've been through a lot." I was worried that something else might be wrong with her.

"Oh come on! My ear turned deaf, my leg didn't fall off or anything!" She joked sarcastically with a huge smile on her face.

There was the spunky girl I loved. But I was still concerned about her.

"Kat." I said in a warning tone, standing and taking a step towards her.

"Try to catch me, Elf!!" She teased, breaking out into a run through the streets of Minas Tirith as agile as a cat.

Despite my earlier thoughts, I found myself giving chase to the human, weaving and dodging through the crowd of people and leaping over debris left over from the battle.

After a minute, I had lost her.
I stopped and looked around.

"Haha!!" I heard her laugh, and then I saw her leap up from behind a barrel and continue running.

I grinned and ran after her.
Within seconds, I had caught her.
I lifted her high in the air as she kicked at me playfully.

I gently set her down and cornered her against a wall, my hands resting on the wall on both sides of her head.
We were both breathless as our foreheads and noses touched.
Both of us couldn't keep the stupid smiles off of our faces as we looked into each other's eyes.

As we both leaned in, a voice interrupted us.
"Katherine."

Gandalf was standing a few feet away, leaning on his white staff.
"May I have a moment with you, please?"

His eyes twinkled at us as she huffed in frustration.
She kissed me on the cheek and ducked under my arm to join Gandalf.

She mouthed the words, "See you later" and then walked off with the wizard.

I leaned against the wall, taking in what I had just witnessed.
Joyous and playful Katherine.

The person she should have been.