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You had been running for two days now, and the long journey and the lack of sleep were taking a toll on everyone. You were quiet, the only sounds were the breathing of Aragorn and the occasional grunts from Gimli. You and Legolas ran side by side, sometimes hand in hand, following the tracks of the orcs. It wasn't hard, they had trampled everything in their path.
You were now in Rohan, the land of the horse-lords, and the sun was rising. A red sun. You and Legolas exchanged worried looks but kept running. Legolas spotted riders in the distance, and the four of you hid behind a formation of rocks, and you pulled your hood up. The other three had agreed that it was for the best when you would encounter others, as they might take advantage of the fact that you were a woman. You had agreed, you thought it was stupid, and you knew how to defend yourself, but you had agreed anyway.
You didn't agree with Aragorn's decision to show yourselves to the riding bunch, but you stepped out of the hiding place anyway. You resisted a snarky comment when the men surrounded you with their horses, and the three men turned so their backs were facing each other and Legolas pulled you behind him. The riders lowered their spears, ready to impale the four of you with them. Aragorn lifted his hands in surrender, trying to indicate that you were not a threat when a man rode forward.
" What business does an elf, two men and a dwarf have in the Riddlemark? Speak quickly!" His words were clear, but before Aragorn had a chance to answer, Gimli butted in.
"Give me your name horse master, and I shall give you mine." You resisted the urge to roll your eyes, this was not probably the best time for Gimli's antics, considering you were still being held at spearpoint. The man dismounted, landing heavily, and he stepped in front of Gimli.
"I would cut off your head, dwarf, if it only stood but a little higher from the ground." Legolas drew his bow instantly, pointing it at the man.
"You would die before your stroke fell!" The riders brought their spears forward, and you were almost about to laugh at their behavior. This could have been handled with a little less pointing of weapons. Aragorn pressed his hand on Legolas's, urging him to lower his bow, which he did, although hesitantly. Legolas had taken a slight, in search of a better word, affection, towards the dwarf after he had saved your life from an Uruk.
Aragorn tried to lighten the mood by introducing the three.
"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. This is Gimli, son of Glóin, and Legolas of the Woodland Realm. We are f-" The rider interrupted him.
"And who is this?" He gestured at you, and before the others could come up with a "genius" cover story for you, you answered him.
"Y/N of Lothlórien, daughter of Galadriel." You pulled your hood down, and the men on their horses stiffened, as did Legolas. His hands grabbed his bow so tight that his knuckles turned white, and he took a half step closer to you, pressing his side tightly into yours.
"A woman?" You bit back a sarcastic answer. What had they expected, an orc?
"Who are you, his sister?" One of the riders was keeping a close eye on you, and Legolas hissed out while stepping between you and the man.
"My wife."
Legolas' shoulders were tense and you slid your hand into his much larger one, trying to calm him down.
"Calm down, they won't harm me." You muttered lowly in elvish.
"You don't know that." He muttered as a response, and now, you rolled your eyes.
"Why on Eru whould they? We have done nothing to provoke them to attach." That wasn't entirely true, but Aragorn's words seemed to be doing something as the men around you lowered their spears.
Aragorn had managed to convince the men that you were not enemies, they had given you two horses so you could travel faster to the location where they had slain the orcs and possibly, your friends. Legolas climbed into the saddle of the white horse and he extended a hand to help you up. You pulled yourself into the saddle in front of him, and he grabbed the reins, his arms resting at each side of you. You leaned back gently against his chest and turned your head so you could share a quick kiss as Aragorn hoisted Gimli up to his horse.
"Let's go," Aragorn muttered and urged his horse into a gallop. You gasped and grabbed the saddle tightly as Legolas urged your horse into a quick gallop as well.
"Do not fret, I would never let you fall." He muttered and you relaxed slowly. You had ridden before, but only on elven horses, and they responded to vocal cues. This one didn't.
After many twists and turns, you and your companions made it to Rohan. Gandalf freed the king of Saruman's spell and now, the king had instructed a maid to take you to your rooms so you could get some sleep.
"Here we are, four nice rooms for you." You smiled at her and stopped at the door of the first.
"Thank you. There will be a need for only three, Legolas and I will share." The maid blushed, and you let out a small laugh.
"We have been married for a hundred years now, we know how to be civil." Without another word, you grabbed Legolas' hand and pulled him into the room with you. You closed the door behind you and latched it shut. You and Legolas didn't talk as you bathed yourselves and changed into the clean ones that had been provided for you. You climbed into bed, exhausted after running for days. You fell asleep, your back against his stomach, your hands intertwined.
- - -
"For the last time, I will not stay here!" You and Legolas were disagreeing strongly about whether or not you should stay down in the caves with the other women.
"Gwalar (sunlight), I would be so much happier if you were down here, safe." Legolas tried to appeal to you, even if he knew it was for nothing.
Yes, you ended up standing on the wall of Helm's deep in the pouring rain, next to Legolas. He was not eager to have you on the battlefield, but you had to be there. You couldn't lose him.
"I have to say, my lady, I am quite surprised to see you up here." Haldir, the march warden of your mother, was standing close to you and Legolas, bow tightly in hand.
"You and me both, laddie," Gimli muttered, and you sent him a warning glare. You knew that in dwarven culture women were tightly guarded and kept safe at all costs, but it still annoyed you when Gimli tried to protect you from things you were perfectly capable of defending yourself. He had become more unbearable after he had saved your life.
"I might be a princess but I still can very well how defend myself." You pointed it out, and the others knew to leave it at that. Every time you brought up the princess card they knew it wasn't an argument they were going to win.
- -
The battle was fought and won, but not without loss. Haldir had been killed, and you, who had known him for most of your life, were devastated. You had sent him, and the other elves' bodies to be buried in Lothlorien, and you wrote a letter that you handed out to be given to your mother when they reached the kingdom. That would hopefully ease her mind slightly that you were alive and well, as was Legolas.
You were sitting on your bed, staring at your hands and waiting for Legolas to return from his council with the king. Tears prickled at your eyes, the loss of Haldir still in your mind. If only you had been more observant.
"Gwalar nín (my sunlight), what is bothering you?" You had been so deep in thought that you had missed your husband entering the room.
"Nothing." You muttered and dried your eyes with your hands.
"It isn't nothing if it causes you to cry, darling. Tell me." Tears fell from your eyes again, but you made no move to wipe them away.
"If I had been paying more attention to my surroundings..." You sobbed, and Legolas pulled you tightly against him, allowing you to cry into his chest.
"It wasn't your fault, darling. Haldir was a warrior, he knew the risks of battle. He died protecting you, protecting the princess he had sworn to protect. He died a noble death."
"But if I had-" Legolas cut you off with a gentle voice laced with a stern hint.
"Stop with the 'ifs' darling. If Haldir hadn't come between you and that orc, you would be dead and I don't want to even think what my life would be like without you." His voice shook slightly as he peppered kisses to your forehead and temple, and your sobs slowly calmed down.
"There is a feast being held in honor of the victory, would you like to join?" You pondered for a moment. Stay in your room with Legolas or join the feast and possibly dance a little. Both options were equally appealing, but you decided that staying in the room would just keep making your mood sour, so the feast it was.
"I think a little dancing is exactly what I need to lift my spirits a little." Legolas smiled and helped you up from the bed, offering you his elbow.
The feast was in full swing. Gimli pestered everyone to a drinking game with him, Aragorn was brooding in the corner, and the human soldiers were drunk beyond belief. Legolas held you close and walked into the area that was reserved for dancing. He placed his hand on your waist and gently grasped your other with his as you gently placed yours on his shoulder. You began to sway slowly, eyes tightly at each other. Legolas moved his hand to the small of your back and pulled you tightly to his chest. You rested your forehead on him, and you smiled at each other as you slowly swayed with the music, pressing occasional kisses to each other's lips.
It was clear to everyone around you that you were so in love, and the soldiers, who had contemplated to asking you to dance, knew it was for nothing. Your head rested on Legolas' shoulder, eyes closed, and if anyone approached the two of you, they would be chased away with the cold stare of blue eyes. Legolas held you tight, his fingers tracing small patterns on your back as he wondered how he got so lucky.