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The sun’s early morning rays peeked through the curtains and warmed your face, easing you out of your slumber. You breathed deeply and inhaled a familiar but unexpected scent. Upon opening your eyes, you saw a large bouquet of peonies that had just fully blossomed with the spring. You hummed. Now he was sure you were awake.
Legolas stirred from behind you and pushed you to lay on your back. “Good morning, meleth nîn.” His arm draped across your stomach and he kissed your neck. “Do you remember what day it is?”
“Tuesday?’
He growled into your skin. His knees settled between your legs and he now hovered over you.
You ran your fingers through his perfect hair and you laughed. “Of course I remember, love.”
How could you ever forget that day two hundred forty-two years ago when you learned your marriage had been arranged?
You sat in the highest branch of the tallest tree, leaning back on your friend, the prince. You had a feeling his eyes were closed because you felt his breathing slow. You knew he loved to listen to the sounds of the forest-the singing flowers, the whistling wind, the chatting leaves. You, however, weren’t so content to just sit and listen.
You had a pile of peonies carefully set in your lap. You had spent hours picking the perfect flowers for your crown and now you were intricately weaving them with leaves and twigs. It was your favorite thing to do and you had a collection of flower crowns that you kept in the gardens in the kingdom.
But your peaceful afternoon was soon interrupted.
“(Y/N)! Where are you?”
You heard your father calling for you from below.
“Up here, Ada!” you yelled. You twisted the last knot in the crown and placed the finished product on Legolas’ head, giggling. “It suits you,” you whispered before gracefully making your decent.
When you landed on the ground, your father was shaking his head at you. His expression wasn’t without a smile, though. “Always in the trees, are you?”
“Not always,” you said.
He hummed and led you back into the kingdom. “I have some news, my dear,” he said when you entered the gates.
“Of what?”
“Of your future.”
You frowned. Your father was always trying to plan your life for you and you were never happy about it. You didn’t want the stress of design, you wanted the freedom of choosing. “Ada, I don’t-”
“I think this news will make you very happy.”
You waited to hear, doubting what he had to say would make you anything but infinitely frustrated.
“As of this morning,” he said, “your marriage has been arranged.”
You stopped. After a few paces of his own, he turned to you with warning eyes. “Do not fight this, iell. I have your best interests at heart.”
“If you had, you wouldn’t have done this without my permission! How can you decide my life for me, knowing I would detest your decision?”
“When you learn of your intended I don’t think you’ll be so upset-”
“I don’t care who it is! I don’t care the wealth or the status I will be marrying into. I won’t go through with it.” You whirled and stormed into the forest, running as fast as your legs would carry you.
“(Y/N), wait!”
Your vision blurred with unshed tears but you would have known your way through the wood blind. You sniffed hard before climbing the tree you had left only an hour before. Legolas was still on the highest branch, leaning his back against the bark. He spoke with his eyes closed. “Back already, mellon? What did your father have to tell you?”
You leaned back against him and looked ahead, forcing your voice to be steady. “Nothing. It doesn’t matter.”
He leaned forward, supporting you with him. “Why are you upset? What did he tell you?”
You quickly wiped a rogue tear from your cheek and sniffed defiantly. “I don’t want to talk about it, Legolas.”
“(Y/N), look at me.”
You didn’t move. You stared down at your hands and felt movement and shuffling. The branch dipped as he moved around you and sat facing you. He took your hands in his. “It’s the arrangement. You’re unhappy.”
Your eyes flew to him. They were full of fire. “You knew?”
“Of course I knew. I thought it would make you- I thought you’d be glad.”
“Well, you thought wrong!” You wrenched your hands away from him. “How could you be a part of this? How could you keep this from me?”
You started to climb down the tree.
“I didn’t mean to keep anything from you. I had to ask permission from half the kingdom- Where are you going?”
“I’m leaving. I thought I could come to you about this, but obviously I can’t. You-you traitor!” You jumped to the ground and rolled your eyes at your choice of words. You were so frustrated and betrayed you could hardly speak.
His feet touched the ground and he caught you around your waist, placing your back against the tree. “(Y/N), wait, please.”
Your hands flailed and then fell to your side in defeat. He was too strong for you to escape. You shrugged. “Well, who is it, then?”
He shook his head. “Who… what?”
“Who is my intended? You’re in on it, so tell me who it is? Who am I stuck with until the end of time?”
“Me.”
All breath left you. “What?”
He sighed and loosened his grip on you. “Your conversation with your father didn’t get that far?”
“No, I-I left after he told me it was arranged. I was angry and I ran away.”
He grinned at you. “Of course you did.”
You shook your head. Your stern countenance broke as you laughed with him. Then you felt his hands on you. You blinked wildly. “I don’t understand.”
His soft eyes took in your features- your perfect hair, your wild eyes, your strong lips. “We are both of age now. I know your father has been harassing you about marriage just as much as mine has. I figured, we are close enough friends, that it wouldn’t be difficult to spend our lives together. You’re practically family already, you are the only elleth in the kingdom my father actually likes.”
You breathed out a laugh and held his arms. “But don’t you want love?”
“I’ve found it,” he said. The back of his knuckles traced your cheek. “Since I first had the thought of marrying you, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. I want to be your husband and spend my life with you. You’re more than my friend, (Y/N). I love you very much.”
Your chest tightened. As if to give you time to think, he kept speaking.
“I had to get my father’s permission, then I had to ask your father and all the elders of the kingdom before I could even think of asking you. I wanted to speak with you about it. I didn’t want you to be told that it’s all done and arranged. It’s not. It’s your decision.”
You grinned. You immediately knew it was right. His touch, his kindness, his friendship, his faith in you. You couldn’t imagine being with anyone else. “You’ve been right here under my nose all along.”
He hummed. His gaze fell to his hands around your waist. “Do you think I can make you happy?”
You pulled him down to you and kissed him. “You already have.”
He reached up to the branch above for the flower crown you had made. He placed it gently over your hair and kissed your forehead. “You’ll have to get used to wearing one of these,” he said.
You giggled and kissed him again.
You grinned, thinking back to that day. “It still makes me laugh.”
“What does, meleth nîn?”
“How it all came out. It was almost a disaster.”
He breathed out a laugh into the skin of your shoulder. “I won you over in the end, didn’t I?”
You made a sound and shrugged. “I guess.”
He growled and bit the shell of your ear. You squealed against him, laughing. When he rose from the crook of your neck, your fingertips trailed down his cheek. “You had my heart even before that day, Legolas. I have always loved you very much.”
“And I you, meleth nîn.”