We are walking in the forest, not making a sound, I look to find good spots to hunt and we settle down, every once and a while nibbling on fruit and bread. We see lots of birds, though at the end of the day we didn't see any animals.. Even if we did, we'd probably not even try to shoot them.
At night we are still in the same spot, just gazing at the stars that were placed in the sky, quizzing each other on the constellations and the stories behind them. I had unstrung my bow long ago. For hours we were there, counting the stars, smelling rain in the air.
I feel something brush my ear lightly, I look over and Elladan has his hand up to my face. I stare at him in disbelief, and grab his hand away from me. He intertwines his fingers with mine. And then words start flooding out of my mouth. "What are you doing? Since when did you feel this way?!" I say too loudly, I am a little mad, and confused. Elladan looks confused, as though he thought that I'd like that or something. He draws his hand out of mine "Oh. Cilivren, I'm sorry. I thought you had the same thoughts too. I'm sorry." He says, he sounds sincere, but now this is out in the open, I pursue the question. "When did you start to feel this way?" I say again, more calmly now.
He sighs, and looks at me deeply, then he answers, "Long ago, though being away has made me more fond of you. I suppose I was wrong in thinking that you had the same sentiments." He sighs again and gets up, I get up with him. I don't know how to respond to that, I don't know how I feel about him.
There is a long silence between us, I don't say anything. "Well, are you going to say anything?" He asks. I don't answer, I just stand there with a confused look on my face. Elladan scoffs, and walks in a circle, his hands on his head, then on his hips. He circles back to me and says, "I have loved you since I saw you, Cilivren, when we were children, I have tried everything, and you have been oblivious to my advances, my gifts, my friendship." He says quietly. "And just when I thought you had noticed them, it turns out that you don't. You have never noticed me." He says. With a dejected look on his face. I look up at him, surprised that he feels this way, son of Elrond, the master of the house, feeling unnoticed. Because of me.
I speak slowly, trying place my words carefully, to not upset him more. "You are right, I have been oblivious to all that, except in friendship. I am sorry if I had ever have lead you to think there was more than that."
He shuffles closer, and says, "But, since my feeling are out now, will you perhaps consider them? I promise I would treat you well, and if you reject me, I will not bother you again." I start to say something, but he comes forward and kisses me lightly on the cheek. "Please consider them." He says again and walks away.
I am left there, dumbfounded again.
I pack up and start toward the palace, the opposite direction the Elladan went. My mind racing, think of how he gave me so very little time to digest this, I only thought of this in the last few minutes, and he already wants to know how I feel about him. He obviously had planed this for awhile, but it went wrong. I reacted the opposite of what he thought.
Perhaps he should of waited more, though it sounds like that he had been dropping hints for a long time now. He probably thought this was the perfect time, if I had been catching the hints.
I go by the kitchen to drop off the basket, Lithiwen sees me, "Was the food good?" She asks me taking the basket from me, I don't respond right away, "It was." I say with a distracted smile. She looks at me, then says, "Elladan asked you then?"
I snap my head up, "You knew?" I scoff, "So everyone knew except me." I chuckle to myself thinking to myself how unobservant and stupid I am.
"How could you not see it? The way Elladan looks at you. I would love to have someone look at me like that." Lithiwen says wistfully, "Somehow I didn't see it, and I don't know how I feel about him." I say glumly, I can confide in Lithiwen, I have known her as long as I have known Elladan. "If I where you, I'd accept him immediately." She says, "How did he say it?" She asks, and I tell her.
"So, he gave you time, take awhile to think on this, if you aren't sure. I am here for you." She says with a smile. I thank her, and leave.
