Legolas had finally met a young elf-girl named Erunyauve from Lothlorien. Although she did not look it, she was completely different than any other elf maiden he had ever met. She was an all-around practical joker and loved to get on peoples' bad sides. Legolas had only met her when she accidentally played a prank on him. That was forty-eight hours ago.
Now she jumped around and giggled. Legolas tried to make it unobvious he was waiting for her.
"Hello, Legolas! This is a surprise! My Mom was just telling me what a bad girl I was for hurting you. You . . . you still have the bruise."
"Oh, it . . . it doesn't hurt as bad as it did the first time you did it."
"You know I'm sorry, right?"
"Of course."
"That's good. I'm really very happy you're still speaking to me."
"Well, I'm glad you're speaking to me."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Erunyauve leaned against the pillar, staring at the stars through the trees. She pointed upward and Legolas looked up.
"You see that one? That's Aranel. My sister named it."
"That's very pretty."
"See the larger one? That's Caled Veleg. And the other one there is El Eria. And next to that is Aniron. And the brightest and biggest is Undomiel."
"Why Arwen?"
"She is beautiful and kind. The Elves wrote a sing for her. It goes like this:
O mor henion i dhu
Ely siriar, el sila
Ai! Aniron Undomiel
Tiro! El eria e mor
I lir en el luitha uren
Ai! Aniron . . ."
"That's a very beautiful song. You make it sound so wonderful."
"Yes, it's a very lovely song."
Legolas smiled at her as she still stared at the stars. He then looked up. Caled Veleg, he noticed, was the most beautiful. But behind Caled Veleg was a dim star: Mor. His smiled faded as he thought of Mordor. He wondered if that land would ever regain peace.
"Erunyauve, I need to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"If the petals of a flower fell off, would you still love it?"
Erunyauve thought about the question for a moment.
"If the flower was dear to me, then yes. I would still love it."
"Okay, here's another question: If the man would go any length for whom he loved, would you think that that person was insane?"
"No. Very romantic, but not insane."
"What would you to that person if he told he loved you?"
"I would be truthful and reply with: I love you also."
"Then I love you, Erunyauve."
"Y-you love . . . me? Why? I am not like you whatsoever. You're, well, a prince."
"That's simply a title! That's not who I am. I am not just a prince! I'm a person, too. And this person is expressing his utmost love!"
"Oh, Legolas, that's not what I meant. I love you, too, Legolas. I'm just telling you what everyone else will say. I'm just . . . me."
"No, you're more than that. You are Erunyauve. You're very pretty and very smart and you . . . you have so many other good qualities!"
She hugged him around the neck and buried her face in his chest and silently began to cry. Legolas hugged her back and patted her awkwardly on the back. He smiled at her.
"Why are you crying?"
"Because I'm happy," she said, looking up at him.
They smiled at each other for quite some time. While Legolas had more adult features, they both noticed, Erunyauve had the face that of a child. She was so cute to Legolas, even though the age had been quite a ways. They both turned back to the stars. Suddenly, there was a flickering behind Caled Veleg. Erunyauve let out a gasp and turned to Legolas.
"Mor ethuiannen!" she whispered in shock.
He nodded and looked up to the sky. Finally, darkness had gone out.
"A girl? Not a princess? But . . . but why?" his father asked angrily.
"Because there are no princesses which I love."
"You are being ridiculous. Come now, Legolas! I don't know you have to be difficult!"
"You don't have to lecture me any longer, father. I've declared my love, and there is nothing more you can do about it."
"Legolas you will stay until I think more about this girl from Lothlorien!"
"Her name is Erunyauve!" Legolas shouted, standing up so fast his chair flipped over to the ground.
Legolas stormed out of the room. His attention was brought to the sky once more. He saw Caled Veleg shining down. He leaned against the wall and put his hands in his tunic pockets, greeting the stars with his eyes. They were all judging him at once, blinking brightly and calmly. Legolas judged them back.
He thought at that very moment he had heard a song being sung, and he had wished he had. He wanted her to sing the song of Evenstar once again. She sang it so wonderfully. He bit his bottom lip as he thought about it. He couldn't remember how the song went. Slowly, he began to walk.
People past him, and his mind became jumbled with trying to think of the song and seeing the people and hearing the language. But then a stronger though came upon that one. Nothing would separate their love, not even his father. He mentally changed it. Especially not his father. There was something else. He couldn't yet say what, but it was something about her. As though she had grown up around many a fool. But he shook his head, still smiling her outgoing nature, and walked on.
And was Mor going out a sign? A sign that maybe, finally, everyone could live together. He remembered Boromir's death as though it had just happened, and why did it happen? Half was because he was not careful and was seduced by the power of the Ring, and the other half was the fact that war had broken out because of the Ring. Saruman took up the power and said: 'I am Sauron's servant.' That is how the Elves told of such things. But how could they tell of something so terrible.
Another reassuring thought crossed his mind. Aragorn, a life friend, was ruling over Gondor, his home city, taking his heir to the throne after all these years. Legolas remembered Isildur before, but barely after, the Ring was destroyed, and a change had taken over him as though it were not Isildur, but the power of darkness consuming his soul and heart. But no more. No longer would people have to worry about the Ring poisoning peoples' minds. It was finally over, and everyone could live in peace and look up at the stars and say to themselves: 'We are free from an evil fate.'
In the new morning, Legolas awoke with only some difficulty and desperately tried to remember the song. The other memories floated inside his mind as though they were a cloud waiting around for him to open his mind. When time came, his brothers all left back to Mirkwood. They thought leaving too much of a burden on Lady Galadriel would be cruel to such beauty. So their father left with them while Legolas demanded to stay there, and his mother said it would be perfectly all right.
His mother always understood because she was a she-elf. She-elves were very understanding in the sense that they know all. They know love, hate, frustration, and above all loneliness, which could be the death of an elf. He stared gratefully out the window shrouded in vines and green leaves. They stuck onto the sill in their death hold for all eternity. Legolas put his hands on the sill, making the leaves rot and fall to the ground.
He watched them fall, and then, vanish before even hitting the ground. That only happened with the vines. Everything else seemed like you could touch it always and it would never rot, or even turn it brown. But there was such a world not of elves where people lived and when they touched a tree's leaves, they stayed strong and sturdy. And if you touched the vines, they would keep their death grip on the sill, and none of the leaves would discolor and fall off.
When he pulled his hands away, it left the marks that his hands were there, but suddenly, just as they had rotted, they grew back and intertwined again with each other and gracefully replaced themselves on the sill. Legolas stared, fixated since he was a little boy. He was astonished he could remember that long ago.
He turned around and walked out of the room, silently and quickly, the vines still growing back. It was so simple to have things growing around in Lothlorien and Lorien. Not as much as Mirkwood nor Rivendell. Even though they flourished with life, nothing compared to the extremities of Lothlorien. When he reached beyond the doors, Erunyauve greeted him happily. She smiled and skipped along at his pace. They finally stopped and he turned to her, slightly annoyed by her happiness, even though every day she was happy and that was the manor he had fallen in love with.
"Erunyauve, please don't skip."
"All right."
They began to walk again, but then she grabbed his arm and wheeled him around.
"Why not?" she asked curiously.
"Because . . . right at the moment, I'm feeling vexed."
"Terribly?"
"Terribly."
Once again, they stepped the trod of kicking their feet left-right-left-right. She grabbed his hand. She felt much warmer than he did, but it was only because she was happy. Before he could speak, she was seized with a sudden hacking, making her chest heave dramatically and painfully. She clapped her hand to her mouth as the hacking continued. She cleared her throat painfully and patted her chest as the hacking stopped.
"What's wrong?" he asked, slightly alarmed.
"Nothing's wrong. Why? It's simply a cold. I am fine."
"It just seemed for minute like you were going to . . ."
"To what?"
"Never mind. Let's keep going."
They began to walk once more and stopped at a resting place near a small river. Erunyauve looked across the river. It was wide, but not as wide as the Great River. Legolas, too, looked upon the river, and sat down. He touched the water gently with her slender fingers, and slipped away, back where it belonged.
"Sometime I would like to build a boat and sail away," Legolas said, still looking across.
"To where? There's so many places in Middle-Earth, but where would you go? It seems like you've been there and done it, just all the time. I would think a person like you would have already been there."
"Some place that's uninhabited. That way I could be alone. Maybe someday I'll be like Bilbo Baggins and have an adventure of my own."
"That's funny. I'll never have an adventure. I'm just too . . ."
"Too what?"
"I guess I'm too attached to Lothlorien to go anywhere else. Maybe I would go to the Shire or Rivendell, but I couldn't think of anywhere else I'd rather be."
"That's what I thought at first when the prospect of an adventure came about me. I'll stay a crown prince all my life, but there's just so many things you can do out there. Just to see it all."
"An elf has a life span of forever. You have all eternity to make a boat and sail anywhere you wish."
Legolas' smile faded. Elves lived forever. That was true. But . . . that presented a problem. Men were supposedly doomed because you knew they would die. But isn't that better then staying alive while people grow old. Even Legolas' father didn't look old. That was the curse of the elf. They never died unless they had a broken heart or if they were killed in a battle. But just die of old age after you know you accomplished something in your life. Legolas wanted to know what it felt like. Was it frightening? Was it excruciating? Or did you just one die lay down and have your spirit drift away?
He wondered if these thoughts bothered Erunyauve. By the look of her, there was something more to that innocent face of her's than just happiness. He couldn't tell what it was. Pain? Maybe, but why would she be in pain? What if she was dying from the cough she had, and she was in pain? Or what if the cough wasn't painful? He needed to know. His questions needed to be answered. But he didn't ask her because he thought it would be rude for him to ask especially if it were personal.
Erunyauve just stared at the water. There was something about the stare that made Legolas sad, as though she were wishing something. Something that she knew wouldn't come true. She looked over at Legolas, and saw him looking at her.
"Legolas, what if you wanted something so badly, but you knew it was wrong?" Erunyauve asked him.
"Well, I would think about what it was, first, then wonder how it was wrong. How is it wrong?"
"It just seems like it would be wrong, you know?"
"Not really. What is it?"
"It's, uh, a bit personal, it you know what I mean."
"You can tell me. I won't care, you know that right?"
"It's sort of like love, but it's more intimate."
"Like kissing?"
Legolas suddenly felt like a very big child talking about childlike things, as though discovering it for the first time, or coming upon it and trying to explain it to themselves. But in elf eyes, Erunyauve was a child, and he was robbing the cradle, in such terms.
"Sort of like kissing," Erunyauve replied. She sat down very close next to Legolas and cocked her head sideways to look at him from the angle.
"Have you ever kissed anyone before?"
"Yes and no. It was this one guy, but it was only on the cheek."
"Oh, well, there's a big different there."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Legolas stared at her and she smiled playfully. But Legolas didn't want to play around, so he just kissed her right on the lips without even having to try. Obviously she had kissed someone before otherwise she wouldn't know how. And she did know how. Very well. They let each other go, and Erunyauve smiled.
"That was very nice, Legolas."
"Well, you're welcome."
"So are you."
Later on, they both laid, stretched out, on the grass. Erunyauve loved pointing out stars to Legolas and telling him their names. Some of them were bright, others were just like any thing else. Stars were just so big and bright, and Erunyauve wondered if anyone else could see the same stars they could.
Legolas noticed she was looking much more pale than she did at the beginning of the day.
"Are you all right?" he asked her.
"Oh, yes, I'm just so very cold. Aren't you?"
"I think you had better go inside."
He stood up and then he stood her up, and she swayed at little. She grabbed her head with one hand and shook her head out of dizziness. Legolas grabbed her and hugged her.
"I think you're right, Legolas."
They walked to the beautifully crafted homes of Lothlorien, and just as Legolas let Erunyauve go, she cough a few times and swooned over, as still as the earth.
"Well, I can tell you she is not healthy. She is to die. I'm very sorry, but there is no way she will come over this strange illness that has overtaken her. It's as though she has a cold, but twice as worse."
"Why Erunyauve?"
"No one can say why or how. All you can do is wait. And she will be bedridden, unfortunately. Just give her plenty of food and water and wait for her judgement day. Passing will be very difficult for her, especially because she is an elf."
The doctor walked out and left Legolas staring down at his unconscious lover, her chest barely moving, her eyes steadily shivering open and closed. His lower lip shivered with a sudden angst. He sat down on the bed with her and watched her.
Legolas seemed to watch her for days. She was conscious, and still alive and awake and sitting in her bed, talking to Legolas just as though she didn't know she was going to die. As though everything was going to be fine and her and Legolas could have to fairy tale ending everyone wanted, and that he thought he had finally obtained.
He watched on sadly, smiling occasionally as she made a joke, but talking just made her voice crack helplessly. She smiled gratefully every now and then as Legolas stayed there, and even slept while she slept in the same bed and caressed her. She loved him so much, but a power had finally taken her into shadow, and she could no longer turn away from it.
She had had the illness for quite sometime now, and she was so sad that it had to end just as she had met someone wonderful, and she was sure Legolas had felt the same way. She wished they could go together, but she knew it wasn't going to happen that way, because life was absolutely cruel, and now her life was ending, and she didn't want it to be over, not yet. She was scared of what would happen to her, and how and where and when she would die. But the where she would die was already answered. She would die right here in this bed, but Legolas would be with her, so her fear faded slightly and it brought a smile to her lips and strength to her heart to know someone will be there when she dies.
One morning, Legolas kissed her awake, and she coughed rather violently. She could feel herself giving in limply to the death calls of her demise. Legolas stayed with her as her eyes sort of rolled.
"Erunyauve, you can't die yet."
"Legolas, I love you so much, and yet my death is so sudden. I was happy when I met you, that I forgot about how sick I was and how much I-I hated worrying about my death."
Erunyauve began to cry and Legolas wiped her tears away gently.
"Don't cry. I'm here. I'll help you. You'll be okay. Everything will be okay."
"Oh Legolas! I love you so much!"
"I love you, too, Erunyauve."
"Legolas," she whispered suddenly, the tears still streaming down her face, "please stay wonderful."
Erunyauve began to cough again. Legolas' eyes were bloodshot and silently, tears curled down his soft face as he hugged the coughing Erunyauve. Abruptly, her coughing ceased and she echoed a last breath of 'I love you' and her life slipped away and she became limp in his arms. He knew she was dead, even when he was sobbing.
"No! You're not suppose to die! You're an elf! You're an elf! You're not suppose to die! NO!" he sobbed, still holding her body tightly in his arms and his face soaked with tears.
But she was dead, elf or not, something had ceased her beauty and body and threw it away, making her like this. Making her die.
Despite the fact that it had been four years, Legolas was still not over Erunyauve's death. It had come so suddenly, and he only knew for a month. One month. Legolas still stared at the stars and he could hear her say: 'And that one is the most beautiful of them all. Caled Veleg.' The most beautiful, shining star. Legolas smiled as he found it. He pointed to and named it Erunyauve.
"Erunyauve," he said, tears rolling down his face, though still keeping a strong smile, "you were the most beautiful of them all."
Before he knew it, the star flickered out, and slightly shocked, he smiled still. But he was crying again.
"Erunyauve ethuiannen," he whispered softly. "I lir en el luitha uren."
THE END
When the cold of Winter comes
Starless night will cover day
In the veiling of the sun
We will walk in bitter rain
But in dreams
I still hear your name
And in dreams
We will meet again
When the seas and mountains fall
And we come, to end of days
In the dark I hear a call
Calling me there
I will go there
And back again
Translations
Ethuiannen - Has gone out
I lir en el luitha uren - The song of the star enchants my heart
Caled Veleg - A great light
Mor - Darkness (hint: That's why Moria and Mordor all start with Mor.)
El Eria - A star
Aniron - I desire
Undomiel - Evenstar
O mor henion i dhu From darkness I understand the night
Ely siriar, el sila dreams flow, a star shines
Ai! Aniron Undomiel Ah! I desire Evenstar
Tiro! El eria e mor Look! A star rises out of the darkness
I lir en el luitha uren The song of the star enchants my heart
Ai! Aniron . . . Ah! I desire
A/N: R&R please! Okay, how was it? Remember, I don't own anything, and this is also my disclaimer 'cause I was too lazy to have it at the top of the story. Yes, I know I'm lazy. Stop making fun of me just because I'm lazy, gosh, some people. Flames welcome.