An Unexpected Fanfiction: The Hobbit & LOTR One Shots

Test Flight

Hello, my darling readers! I'm so very sorry for my extended absence as of late, but I have not been feeling very inspired in the ways of longer stories such as one-shots. I apologize for my lack of updates here and with other things, and I hope you enjoy this long-overdue one-shot, requested by the wonderful hufflepuffturtle!!

Type: One-shot

Pairing: Legolas x Female (Elf!) Reader

Translations: 'Alcië' = 'Ray of Light' (made a feminine name by -ië)

I hope you like!

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asks Lindir as he shifts nervously on his feet, gazing down at the ground far below, and I chuckle as I lean against the railing of this high terrace. We are in Eryn Galen, at the annual elf inventor's festival, and Lindir is acting as one of my lookouts as I test my newest contraption. My other scout, my sister Arwen, pipes up from behind us, "A word of advice, Lindir- never ask an inventor if her idea is a good one." I nod and turn to smile at her, replying, "Wise words, my clever sister," and she stands a little taller with pride. She is constantly wanting to impress and please me, as I am the oldest of our father's children, and I am always willing to offer words of praise, even if it's not for much. Just seeing her happy is enough to make me feel like I am doing a good job as an older sister.

Glancing back up at the clear sky, I feel a small gust of wind ruffle the hand-crafted, fake wings tied to my arms and back. My first test flight, and so far, everything appears to be going smoothly. About twenty stories below, the large clearing I have selected for my landing zone due to its vastness and soft (hopefully) grass is swarming of fellow tinkerers and other elves, but I don't worry too much about that. Above, there are no clouds in the sky and the wind is soft but strong. Beside me are my two excellent lookouts, ready to give a call to the ground crew if they see anything going wrong from their perch on the highest terrace in this kingdom. A few elves absentmindedly glance up as they go about their duties, used to the chaos of this festival week each year. I can see Lord Elrond, my father, watching from another terrace far across the clearing, a spyglass held to his eyes.

"Alright: moment of truth," I declare and step up carefully onto the railing of the terrace. I wobble a little and Lindir gasps, but Arwen just laughs, seeing how I meant to frighten them. One last salute to them both, which they each return- Arwen, sharply and with an encouraging smile, and Lindir, hesitantly and with a furrowed brow -and then I let myself fall backward. For a long moment, all I can hear and feel is air swishing past my ears as I fall, but then I turn my body and am jolted up. It takes me a few seconds to steady myself, but once I can feel the drag and lift balancing out, my arms trembling with the strain of holding them out so stiff (I'll be sure to fix that on my second prototype), a wide smile grows on my face as I glide slowly over the clearing, looping in large, lazy circles. My invention has seen success on the very first test! What luck!

It's just as I'm about halfway to the ground, Arwen and Lindir cheering from the terrace and a few elves on the ground applauding as well, that I hear a loud ripping sound and look back to see my left 'wing' has torn across the center from the friction of the wind. "Not good, not good, not good-" I cry as my balance is mightily thrown off and I swoop haphazardly above the clearing, dropping at a rate that is a bit too fast for my comfort. Lindir gives a shout as I begin to jolt in shaky bursts down toward the grass of the clearing, the wind suddenly growing in strength and tossing me back and forth as I struggle to land safely. I level my gaze on what appears to be the emptiest spot in the crowd and aim for it- but instead of grounding there, I drastically overshoot and end up tumbling head over heels into someone standing just in the wrong place at the wrong time.