I'm not in love: a Legolas greenleaf story

CHAPTER 13: The Debutant Ball

"You can't even see it," says Ellie.

"Are you sure?" I look in the mirror again.

"Yes! Stop fussing over it or you will make yourself self-conscious all weekend!" she grabs my arm and makes me march of out the bathroom with her.

After my bold attempt to face Aromin yesterday, I bumped into Ellie who was walking into my room as I was walking out. The thing that hit me on the head was the invitations Aromin brought to us personally. The thick envelopes made red line marks on the side of my forehead and I was trying to cover it up with makeup concealer. Ellie tells me he left before I got the courage to greet him. She's excited about getting our invitations and wanted to show me, thus us colliding into each other. I stumbled backwards, while Ellie gracefully caught herself-and, of course, the blonde Elf would. If I'm allowed to awaken only one Elven ability, it would be their graceful stature as I'm a clumsy human by default.

She also tells me Aromin is the one overseeing the charity benefit, sort of the assistant for Thranduil. She confirms he's also an Elf who is very successful in my world. Ellie wrinkles her nose when I ask her if there was something going on between the two of them. She describes him as a childhood friend who is more like an older brother. "Aromin is very sweet but very over-protective when he sees me being courted by men I have no interest in."

"Who is he bringing to the ball?" I try to ask without sounding too curious.

Ellie shrugs. "He usually brings no one. It gets pretty hectic with making sure everything runs smoothly throughout the night, so we probably won't see him very much. But, if we do, I will introduce you to him," she smiles. "He is very handsome."

"I see," I nod and try to act uninterested. I feel bad for lying we have already met. I promise myself I will try to tell her before she attempts to introduce me...if I can.

"Have you been to any kind of ball before?" she asks suddenly. I raise an eyebrow at her. "Right..." she nods. "I forgot it's not something you would really attend very often here. Middle-earth, however, is another story."

"I couldn't imagine getting so dressed up all the time. It was hard enough being in a simple dress everyday while I was Middle-earth," I lightly chuckle.

Ellie also laughs. "Well, if you stay in Middle-earth long enough, you eventually get used to it. Have you thought about going back? I mean...when you're ready?"

"To Mirkwood?" my voice almost sounds as if the question is beyond shocking, which I didn't mean for it to come out in such a way.

"Well, not necessarily. I was thinking more about you visiting Lórien again since Galadriel is there. You haven't been to Rivendell either so I just figured you would like to see where your mother grew up. They lived in the Reunited Kingdom but your mother loved Rivendell so that's where she mostly spent her time."

"I think I have been there...in a dream once," I tell her. "Galadriel showed it to me."

"It is very beautiful there, especially in the fall."

"Maybe one day I'll see it. I'm just not ready to go back or experience anything too far out of the ordinary right now," I reply.

"That's understandable," Ellie smiles warmly. "Maybe when you're ready we can go back together."

"I'd like that," I smile back. "Are you...planning on leaving anytime soon?"

"Back to Middle-earth?" she ponders on the question. "I haven't really thought about it much, to be honest. My parents have already sailed the Sea and, as you know, there is not a lot to do in Mirkwood. I spend most of my existence between Rivendell and the Reunited Kingdom. I only travel to Mirkwood from time to time to visit Legolas, but he's usually busy."