It seemed like only moments after the oath was taken that the group was moving to leave. Aeweth had approached her beautiful horse, already tacked and her things packed upon him. She pulled herself up onto the horse, waiting for the others to ready themselves. Only once they had, the company slowly began heading out. Aeweth remained near Haldir, in the middle. She suspected that Legolas had managed this somehow. The Princess did not complain though. She was more than happy to spend some time with Haldir.
It seemed like ages before they finally came to a stop for the evening. The Princess slid from her horse and then began pulling the tack and her things from the horse. She loved the creature and made sure to take care of him as was needed. As the group was soon settling down, Legolas walked from them with Valaina, something that Aeweth took note of. She wondered what they could possibly need to speak of that they could not do so within the camp.
Only a moment later Calemiron approached her, bowing. "My Princess, I was wondering if you would like to take a walk with me. I was hoping to gather some wood for a fire and your company would please me." The Princess smiled at the Elf. "I would love to." She was glad that her brother was not around. He would not have allowed the two young Elves to go off alone. However, he was preoccupied and so Aeweth made sure to take her chance.
The moment that they were alone Calemiron was quick to strike up conversation with Aeweth. The things they spoke of mattered little. It was simply chatter. Yet, Aeweth was quite happy. Together, the two Elves gathered plenty of wood. However, the male did not seem ready to return. They came to a small clearing and they sat their finds down and then took a seat together on a fallen log. "I must admit something to you, my Princess. I find that I rather enjoy your company."
His words caused Aeweth to turn to him, gazing at him with a smile. "And I you. In Mirkwood I am not allowed to spend time with anyone save my brother. It is nice to be able to spend time with someone other than the King." They continued sitting, Calemiron saying such sweet things to her. Aeweth did not know how to react though the male did not seem to take notice. They spent quite a long time together. So much so that Aeweth feared what would happen when they returned. If Legolas had taken notice of her absence she would never hear the end of it.
She gathered her share of the wood and then they began walking back towards the camp. Calemiron walked close to her and though she did not mind..it was different from Haldir walking so close to her. With Haldir she felt safe..like nothing could touch her. However, with Calemiron there was an air of mystery that intrigued her.
After the oath had been taken the group was quick to begin their journey. Legolas had spent much of the journey near the front with Valaina. The female Elf did nothing but speak of their upcoming wedding. He understood that she loved him and that she looked forward to the day that they would be husband and wife. However, he still had no idea how to handle the binding. It was not a simple thing to break with Sérëdhiel..even if she was willing. And did he even want that? He had no idea though it was something that he needed to figure out soon.
Spending most of the day traveling led them to end up at a clearing. It would serve well for their camp. He doubted that they would find such a nice location again. He slid from his horse and then readied the creature for the evening. Once he was finished he moved about the camp, trying to put some distance between Valaina and himself. He'd spent a short time speaking with Pippin though soon the future Queen was set about speaking with him.
The King allowed himself to be led away from the group. The woman remained near him, linking their arms. They walked for some time before suddenly she stopped, forcing him to do the same. She spoke then, in Elvish. "Legolas, my King..we need to talk. I want..no..I need to bind to you. I do not understand why this is such a problem for you. Do you not love me? I am to be your Queen. What would our people say if they found out that we were not bound? You would never have an heir. Is that what you want?"
Legolas quickly found himself becoming angered by her words. "You have told me this countless times. You would think that you would find something else to nag me about." He paused for a moment, regarding her. He simply could not bind with her. There was no way. The magic that bound Sérëdhiel and him together prevented it. "I do love you, Valaina. However, I cannot bind with you at this time. Do not ask me why for my reasons are my own. We will bind soon enough. I will hear no more of this. I have more important things to worry about."
He turned from her then, making his way back towards the group. He could hear the female yelling behind him. She was angry and he understood.There was just nothing that he could do. The King knew that he would need to speak with Sérëdhiel and soon about severing their bind. Yet..he couldn't bring himself to.
He was tending to his horse, taking his time with the creature. "Aragorn." The voice that spoke was that of Sérëdhiel. He turned his gaze to her, a smile gracing his features. "It has been far too long." He nodded. "That it has my friend. I was surprised to see you here amongst the Elves. He said kindly. There was soon a silence between them though the King allowed it. It had always been easy between them and even now it remained that way.
"Your spirit is weary. Why?" The King sighed heavily. He should have known that she would see this. "Ruling Men is not an easy task. There has been many trials that I've had to face since I took the throne." He suddenly placed one of his hands over hers that she'd placed upon his chest. "How is she? How are you?" Aragorn hesitated only a short moment before replying to the woman. "Arwen is well. She shines within Gondor as a light that my people look to in times of darkness. She is every bit the Queen that I knew she would be. She gave birth last year to our first, a son. As for myself, I have been restless. I do not know why but I believe that this quest is what I needed."
He paused, offering her a smile. He'd missed her. "And you? How've you been? I would very much like to know how you came to be with Legolas. I do not imagine that he would allow just anyone to travel with his sister. He must place great trust in you." He had no idea that the two Elves knew each other. As far as he knew, they'd never met. The King of Gondor was curious as to why Legolas would trust her so. Not that he doubted Sérëdhiel. Aragorn trusted her with his life.
It was moments after his question that the others that had strayed began returning. Aragorn glanced to Legolas briefly before returning his attention back to the female Elf. "I can't say that his future Queen is all that impressive. If all she plans on doing is complaining then she might as well have stayed in Mirkwood."
Pippin noticed the fair male Elf smirking at him. The Hobbit had not ever really spoken to this one though he'd seen him from his travels before. "And who are you?" He asked, taking a short puff of the pipe. He knew that he should probably be saving what amount of Old Toby that he'd brought with him but he just simply couldn't put it off. He might as well smoke a little.
He waited until the Elf had spoken before he continued. "Peregrin Took, at your service! Though, all my friends call me Pippin. So..Lady Aeweth..she's Legolas's sister? I don't think I've ever heard him speak of her. At least not while we were all together last. Of course..we did have quite a bit on our plates at the time. She seems kind. That fellow she took off with..not so sure about him. Seems a bit odd to me. But then, I don't go around meeting too many Elves."
The Hobbit offered the Elf a kind smile. Perhaps he would be able to speak with the Princess. She seemed like the kind of person that he would enjoy being around. He offered Haldir a puff of his pipe though would not force it upon the Elf. He doubted Haldir would take it..he'd never seen any Elves that smoked. "Are you and the Princess a thing? I saw you wandering off after her." Pippin tended not to think before he spoke and this was one of those times. He simply watched the male Elf, waiting for a reply as the others began arriving again.