Disclaimer: Legolas and Middle-Earth belongs to the wonderful J.R.R. Tolkien. White Pine belongs to Nina.
To Nina and her great horse White-Pine!
The sun stood high on the cloudless blue sky, sending golden rays of light to the green meadow. Bees were humming, enjoying the ocean of red, yellow and purple flowers. It was a peaceful latesummer day, but this peace did not reach the hurting heart of the silver blond elf, wandering lonely through the midst of all this beauty. Legolas Thranduillion no longer felt the comfort of nature. The sweet song of the birds mixed themself with memories of heartbreaking agonised screams and evil laughter. His inner eyes kept showing the prince visions of another, once beautiful, clearing. Bleeding, torn dead bodies destroying the pureness and freedom of nature. The memories felt like a never ending spiral of pain, nearly driving Legolas into insanity. It had almost felt like a relief when the orcs who had captured his patrol, began to "play with him" in the end. After having been forced to watch his fellow elder warriors being tortured to death, the physical agony brought some bizzare relief from the mental one.
The memories of his rescure were foggy, and filled with unbearable pain, in his body and in his heart.
He had survived, but a part of his heart had died along with those other elves.
Today Legolashad told his father that he needed to spend some time alone with pure nature, to seek comfort from the woods not yet affected by the shadows. Ashamed he had not even been able to look into his Ada´s eyes, feeling like a pathetic liar. For the truth was that he was running from his beloved people in the palace and all the comfort offered there. As much as he wanted to he could not embrace the offered love. His heart had closed off. Not even had he been able to take a horse today. The waves of compassion radiating from his steed were hurtfully scratching on the protective walls around his heart.
Walking through the meadow Legolas was able to SEE the beauty of it, but he just wasn´t able to FEEL it. All his life he had felt the greatest moments of joy looking at the marvelous unique patterns of a green leaf. This pureness had been brutally ripped away from him by the curelty of the orcs making him watch his companions being tortured to death.
The soft summerwind had blown a single snowwhite cloud on a slow journey on the sky, blocking the golden sunlight from the meadow.
A painfilled neigh suddently mixed with the agonized voices of memories in the elf´s mind. Startled the young prince asked himself if the sound had been there before and he had been just too deep in thoughts to realise it. Carefully listening Legolas slowed his pace to get an idea from where the heartbreaking sound was comming.
Clenching his hands around his bow the elf run eastern, hearing the neighs becomming more desperate. Legolas´heart was hämmern heavy in his chest and he felt sick. He was not ready for this. All he knew was that somewhere a horse had to be frightend and hurt. It was too soon for him to face another being suffering, he felt. The memories tormented him while he ran, trying to prepare himself for whatever was to come. Running up a small hill at the end of the meadow, Legolas caught sight of a graceful large white pine tree. Äste hanging majestetic over a small gurgelnden bach. What he saw made the prince´s blood run cold. A pack of four large dark-grey wolves were persuing the most beautiful horse Legolas had ever seen. Again and again the hungry predators lunged at the steed, trying to bite their filthy theeth deep into the fair fur.
With admirable bravery and greace the horse fought against its persuers, getting up high in the air, trying to crush the wolves with the strong Hufe. As he came nearer Legolas could see two grey corpses lying near the White Pine, who had obviously underestimated the steed and had come too close.
Again and again the wolves tried to circle the fair horse, but now Legolas was close enought to use his bow. His heart aced for the fear and hurt in the eyes of the horse. With almost legendary presicion he abfeuern his arrows, trying more to scare the hungry animals away than to inflict serious injuries. In the end they were just hungry living beings and the prince had great love and respect for life.
Giving a furious howl the persuers run into the nearby woods, knowing they would not be able to fight the strong elf.
Seeing the last wolf verschwinden in the shadows of a huge pine, Legolas finally dared to lower his bow. A part of him hesitated to turn around as cruel memories tried to flood his mind like a whaterfall. From the painfull schnauben behind him he knew the horse must have been hurt. The prince had a hard time to slow his ragged breathing and prepare himselof for what he would see.
Dark red blood was building a small puddle, colouring the green grass shimmering in a morbid beautiful way. One of the wolves had suceeded and gotten so close to get its filthy claws on the steeds flank, tearing four nasty gashes into the silver-white fur. Fortunatly they were not deep, but they bled profundly.
Heartwrenching fear and pain clowded the hazzle eyes of the horse that now stood shivering from utter exhaustion near the trunk of the white pine tree.
It made Legolas almost dizzy to see the hurt and mistrust in her eyes. Too soon! Legolas´mind screamed. I cannot deal with this pain. Normaly the presence of a wood-elf had calmed and comforted the animal. Yet in her agaitated state the steed clearly felt the prince´s inner turmoil and did not know if to trust him or not.
Murmuring soothing elvish words as much to himself as to the horse, Legolas slowly walked closer to her. As he gently stroke her nostrils, the soft tremore that was shaking the athletic silver-white animal calmed and she stood completely still.
"Hush, beautiful one. You have been hurt but I´m here now. Nothing evil willo befall you, for I promise to protect you with my life. Now let me see to your injury. I am not going to hurt you!" with those words Legolas sliced his tunic into stripes and gently began to clean the wounds, using water from the nearby Bach. All the time he kept murmuring, sensing clearly that the horses mind was still troubled, having not yet overcome the Todesangst it had been in not long ago.
By the time Legolas had finished cleaning the gashes they had already stopped bleeding. To the prince´s great relief the wounds were not as bad as he had first thought. They would be able to travel before night would come. For the wolves may form a greater pack and attack again in the darkness.
A curious red-brown squirrel flitzen out of the nearby woods, nudging Legolas´leg as if to ask how the steed was faring. "Don´t worry little one, she´s going to be alright." the elf reasured the small Nagetier and lowered himself down on the grass to stroke the red-brown fur with two gently fingers.
Taking in a deep breath of the flowerscent-filled summerair, he bent his head back to let the golden sunrays warm his face. Than he turned his head to see the steed drinking from the Bach. Obviously the steed had dealt with her inner turmoil of Todesangst and pain, for Legolas could feel the peace comingback to her heart and freedom filled the clearing again.
Having stilled her thurst the steed slowly walked behind the elf and gently nudged his shoulder.
She had overcome her fear, but she clearly felt that her rescuers heart wass hurt. Not did she know why, but her compassionate soul craved for the pain radiating from the fair begin, having felt it from the moment on he had scared the wolves away. But she also sensed that something was different now with him, as he sat in midst of colourful flowers, stroking the little squirrel.
The steed nudged the elf again, softly but stern, as if to say: "You helped me, now let me return the favour. Allow me to share your pain."
A silent single rear escaped the elf´s blue eyes, leaving a wet, glittering track on his noble cheek. Not one tear had Legolas allowed himself to spare since his rescue, knowing it may lead into an hurricane of emotions he would not be able to stop once allowed to flow.
All the well meant comfort offered in the palace had only driven him further into the prison he had built around himself, the offered help from the people and animals he loved trying to crush him for they were not willing to give him room.
Compassion now came radiating from the steed, but it was soft and zurückhaltend, leaving him the space he needed to slowly accept it, welcome it. It was not like a wave able to crush his defence, it felt more like a soft flow slowly creeping into his hurting soul.
Emotions he had hidden behind thick walls around his heart began to surface, slowly, but nachdrücklich. Sobbing and screaming out his pain loudly, he slung his arms around the white steeds strong neck. His fingers cltuching the silver mane as if he was drawning. Feeling what the elf needed, the horse did not try to sooth him, she was just there letting the prince feel her calm comforting presence.
Time went by and the sun began to sink behind the hill, painting wonderful red and lilac patterns on the sky. Legolas felt utterly drained and tired having finally dealt with emotions he had ran away from for so long. Now he felt as if his heart had learned how to live again, although it would take a lot of time to heal.
"Hannon le, White Pine.", he whispered, his voice hoarse from crying. The questioning neigh from the stteed made Legolas smile. "I found you next to a White Pine. You have the strenght and calmness of a tree. A fitting name for you, if you accept it, Mellon nin." Graciously the steed nickte in approvement.
"We should leave now before it gets dark, White Pine. I´ll take you to the palace, were we´ll be safe."
Carefully the prince checked the horse´s wound, being content that there had already formed a healing Schorf.
"Let´s go, Mellon nin.", the elf began to walk slowly away from the tree, expecting the horse to follow him. White Pine stood where she was, not moving an inch.
"Don´t you want to come? I promise you will be safe, I´ll take care of you. Please let us leave." A disaproving neigh filled the clearing that was painted in the most beautiful light of dusk. "What´s wrong, White Pine?" Legolas grew concerned that maybe the steed was still too shaken from her encounter with the wolves. Yet he saw no fear in her eyes. What he saw was...expectation. It then hit the elf what the horse wanted him to do. "Oh no, fair one, I cannot mount. You are hurt. We will walk side by side, I´ll always be near you." his mind fullfilling the sentence: "...because your calm presence is keeping the memories away from me." Again the elf gently tried to make the steed walk, not knowing that he was dealing with a very pig-headed being. Not the slightes movement came from White Pine.
Giving a deep sigh of defeat Legolas very carefully mounted, ready to stop at once if the steed would show the slightest sign of pain. "Take it easy, Mellon nin. There is no need to hurry. I don´t want you to exasperate yourself."
Taken in surprise Legolas had to clench the silver mane to avoind falling down, when the horse let out a triumphal neigh and began to gallop. Fearing for the steed Legolas at first tried to stop her, but soon he just let him be consumed by the Eindrücke around him. His ears filled with birds song that were mixed with the klopfen of strong hufe. On his face he felt the warth of the last golden rays of sunlight. Strenght, power, speed and calmness were radiating from White Pine as she was flying almost weightless over the meadow. Legolas had not felt such peace in a long time. Thanks to this remarkable unique horse his heart had been able to open to the world again...