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Reflections from the Paradise of Elves  by Bodkin

The Paradise of Elves: Part 11:  Taking Advantage

 

‘So how are you, my friend?’ Elrohir asked, looking him over with obvious concern.

‘You must stop landing on your head, Legolas,’ joked Elladan. ‘You will addle your few remaining brain cells, if you are not careful.’

‘Is there a bone in your body you have not broken?  I have attended your sick bed so many times that I have lost track,’ the younger twin remarked.

‘There may be a rib or two,’ Legolas offered wearily, ‘and I do not think I have ever broken my jaw.’

‘I am sure you will remedy that in time.’

‘I hope not.  I have already endured enough hours spent helpless in this bed,’ he sighed.  He accepted the glass offered him by the green-clad elleth and smiled his thanks, his eyes following her hungrily as she moved across the room, enjoying her graceful movements and the coppery tones in her gleaming chestnut hair until she turned her anxious green gaze on him and inspected him seriously.  

‘We will look after him while you rest,’ Elrohir promised her.  ‘Believe me when I say that we have had plenty of practice!’

‘You are supposed to drink that,’ Elladan pointed out as he closed the door behind her.  ‘Your leg will not mend any quicker for your suffering unnecessary pain.’

‘In a minute,’ their friend replied with some irritation.  ‘I am tired of sleeping and I want to remember talking to you.’

The twins came over and sat down by the bed, careful not to jog their friend’s aching body.

‘You have done very well, Legolas,’ Elladan told him admiringly.  ‘You could not have made a cleverer move if you had planned it.’

‘What do you mean?  I do not think anyone, even you,  could describe acquiring a broken leg, cracked ribs, a fractured wrist and concussion as intelligent!’

‘Look at the results, my friend.  Thranduil is here, staying in her parents’ house.  He is grateful to her for caring so devotedly for his beloved son.  They have shared watches over your unconscious body and comforted each other’s distress.  He will observe you both together as you recover.  How better can he see what a good match she is for you?’

‘And her parents,’ Elrohir chimed in. ‘They are smotheringly grateful to the brave elf who fished their reckless little daerelfling out of the water at such enormous risk to himself.  How can they reject you at this point?’  He paused.  ‘You would love to be watching the dance that is going on when they are all together,’ he confided.  ‘They are all being so polite and fulsome to each other it is nauseating.  Ancient grievances have all been swept under the carpet for now, leaving a very uneven surface on which they are balancing carefully.’

‘Seize the moment, Legolas.  Play it shrewdly and you will be wearing silver rings before you leave that bed.  Do not give them time to get on each other’s nerves.  Get in there quickly – as soon as they ask how they can possibly thank you – once their consent is obtained you are home and dry. They are all honourable elves and far too obstinate to go back on their word.  Your time has come!’

The recumbent elf’s face began to glow as his friends’ words penetrated the haze of pain caused by his injuries and the confusion resulting from the drugs.  His tactical skills allowed him to grasp the truth of their words.  If, between them, they could not win their parents over at this time, they would not deserve success.  His eyes narrowed as his mind began to work, before his aching head forced him to abandon the effort.

‘Unfortunately, Elrohir, I doubt whether I will be sufficiently recovered to be at your wedding,’ he admitted, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably.

‘You mend quickly,’ his friend shrugged.  ‘I am sure you will be able to make it.  It is not for another month.’  He grinned. ‘I will make a point of inviting your probable betrothed,’ he added.  ‘Then she will have to come and stay with your family, so they may get to know her better.  I am sure I can leave it to you to make the visit last as long as possible.’

The pale, rather drained elf who had greeted them vanished as Legolas’s eyes recovered their expression of enthusiastic vitality.  ‘You can trust me on that, my friends,’ he said.

 





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