The Grotto

Chapter Four

Captured!

 

You have begun to realize that you are becoming overheated, and not just from the vision before you. Sweat is streaming off your face and your whole body is turning quite red. You need to get out of this pool and quickly – but how?!? If you stand, he will see you, and even if you crawl from the pool, how will you ever manage to sneak past him to reach your pack on the level below? You can’t simply climb up as your garments are with your pack. Though the elves are a tolerant lot, you don’t wish to be found wandering the mountain in nothing but your skin! You pull yourself silently to the far side of the basin and climb out as quietly as you can. Your body is a deep red and the warm air, though it feels chill to you, is a welcome relief. Your limbs tremble and you lay still for a long while as your body temperature returns to something closer to normal.

You can hear no sounds from below over the din of the waterfall. You hope he has found the bathing so delightful he is now relaxing peacefully and, if you are very, very quiet, you may succeed in sneaking past while he drowses. It is not only that you don’t wish to disturb his rest and relaxation, but you know you would turn bright red again from embarrassment if he caught in the altogether. Slowly you creep to the edge of the bank and look down. From this vantage, you cannot see the whole pool, and Frodo is not in the part you can see. You hope he has drifted to the opposite bank and is not preparing to come up the way you need to go down! You begin the decent, keeping low and making as little sound as you can. You keep glancing over at the pool, as more and more of it becomes visible, but still there is no sign of Frodo. Where has he gone? Fear grips you and you drop lightly to the terrace beside the waterfall. He could be anywhere. Your heart is in your throat and you cower against the rock, ready to duck behind the falls if you spot any movement. Slowly you back into the shadows under the overhang, keeping your eyes on the pool and surrounds. It is a brief shelter, at best, but you aren’t prepared to dash across the open flat to the level below, not yet at least,… not until you have some idea where Frodo has gotten to.

It is perhaps because your heart is pounding so hard, and the rushing water is so loud in your ears, that you hear nothing behind you. The first time you are aware you are not alone under the fall is when you feel the touch of a warm hand at your waist. The reaction it elicits is probably not what the hand’s owner expected. You scream, loudly, and leap forward straight through the curtain of water. You land with an undignified splat, face first in the pool swallowing a generous mouthful of the warm water into your lungs. As you cough and sputter and try desperately to breathe again, you feel the hands at your sides again, lifting you up, rolling you over so that the dazzling sun is in your eyes. You can only see the dark outline of wet curls framing a face, but you know it is Frodo. All your efforts to evade him, leave him in peace, are ruined. He pulls you up against him and tries to make for the edge of the basin. You still can’t catch your breath, and the water in your lungs burns as each cough tries to expel it. Frodo is having difficulty getting you both to the bank – the stones are slippery, as are both your bodies, from the limestone-laden water. He manages to get you into the shallows and holds you as you ride out the coughing spell.

His strong arms cradle you and you can feel his hand brushing your hair away from your face. He is whispering soothingly in your ear. You look up at him in wonder. Droplets of sun-touched water hang from tendrils of his hair and drip off the tip of his nose. He smiles at you, seeing that you are finally becoming able to control your breathing and though you are moved beyond words by the startling beauty of that smile, you can’t help bursting into tears.

“Oh, I am so sorry,” you sob. “I didn’t want to disturb you! Oh, I’ve gone and made such a mess of your outing!” He looks concerned and vaguely puzzled but his smile never wavers.

“My sweet, you didn’t ruin anything!” he laughs, and the sound is rich and merry. “I didn’t expect to find anyone here, but it is with delight that I greet you, not dismay!”

“But you traveled s..s..so far!” Sobs still punctuate your words and your lip is quivering. “To be alone and bathe in peace! I…I…thought… why else would you come all this way if not for solitude – and,… oh, please, let me go, I’ll leave and trouble you no more!”

Frodo’s kind smile warms you and you are suddenly made very, very aware that you are both naked in this pool and that his arms about you are very firm and strong and that his sweet musk has not succumbed to the waters and it is most tantalizingly stirring this near to him. He cradles your cheek in his right hand. You can feel its familiar trace with the gap where its third finger should have lain. “Did you not travel just as far?” he teased. “It is I who should be begging forgiveness for disturbing your bath, not you mine! You were gone very early this morning, and though I knew not wither you had gone, it seems the pools called both of us today. The joys of Tol Eressea are not mine alone, we are both guests of the Eldar, and if any had rights to the pools today, I would say it was you, for you undoubtedly got here first!”

Your sobs ease as you stare up at him in wonder. There is a bloom to his cheeks, brought on by the excitement and his lips are dark, full and inviting. Your eyes travel wonderingly over his lovely features as if you have seen them for the first time today. “I would be happiest seeing you delight in this place, my lord. Your pleasure is all that I have ever desired.”

Frodo laughed again and shook his hair away from his face. Crystal droplets flew into the sunlit air. “Then by leaving you would miss such a sight, wouldn’t you? I would not have chosen a lass to come with me today, but not because I didn’t desire the company. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to share this lovely place with one whom I love, but how could I show such favor to one? I love you all equally and could never hurt any of you. You are like separate jewels; varied and beautiful in your own rights, and each possessing qualities that make you distinct and lovelier than all the rest. I love you each for yourselves, but to choose one? Ah, my lady, I would sooner pick one star from the heavens!” He laughed again and the sound warmed your heart more than the hot spring ever could. “But,” he continued. “Fate has ever led my feet on paths I might not have chosen otherwise. I believe you were fated to come here today, as was I. Would it not be folly to thwart what that great lady has engineered?” He cocked an eyebrow at you and you felt the blood rush to your face.

“I…I will not deny fate,” you whisper. “But it seems presumptuous to think the great wheels of time have considered me in all their dealings.”

“So I felt once, but I learned it is best to do as she bids. It works out in the end.” His voice has softened and has lowered to a tender whisper to match yours. He leans forward and, almost tremulously, brushes your lips with his.

Oh, HOW can he do this? Your body screams its need in response to him, and keeping tight control on your impulses makes you tremble. You close your eyes and savor every heightened sensation. The water is warm, but he is warmer still and where you touch, your skin is slippery. You glide across his torso as he releases you to float free. With so many minerals dissolved in it, the water is dense and it is easy to drift just at the surface. You feel him move around you, as buoyant as you are in this pool, touching you with brief, accidental caresses as he lies back to float beside you. The sounds of his movements are amplified below the water and you hear them as low, steady swirls amid the roar of the falls. He is with you in a cocoon of warmth, floating, weightless and comforted. You slowly reach out your hand and find his, also searching. Palm meets palm, an anchor in this bright void. You hold onto each other and drift.

TBC

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