Pulling Rank
By Lady Angst
Beta: the wonderful Miss Aconite
Disclaimer: I own nothing; it's all J.R.R. Tolkien and his estate
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Legolas could be a real asshole at times, Aragorn thought to himself. To be fair, the Elf was normally kind and accepting, open and willing to adjust his behavior to make mortals around him more comfortable. He had been especially patient with the Fellowship, though he occasionally lost his temper with Gimli. Even at his worst though, Legolas kept control and never pulled rank or got too personal, but after spending days in a dark cave being chased by orcs and losing Gandalf, it was no wonder Legolas' normally impervious self-control faltered. That didn't make it any easier on the rest of the Fellowship though.
Throughout the years of their friendship, Aragorn had seen Legolas use his princely title as a means to achieve goals only a handful of times, and then only as a last resort. He also only flaunted his age and race to Aragorn when the human was being particularly stubborn and needed a reality check, so when Legolas used all three in one argument, Aragorn knew exactly how frustrated his friend was.
"I refuse to be walk blindfolded through the woods of Lothlorien! I am an Elf and a kinsman!"
"But you are also a member of this Fellowship, Legolas, and we will all have our eyes bound."
"No. I will not. I am a Prince of Greenwood the Great and such a folly could lead to political repercussions beyond your wildest imagination, Strider." Great, Aragorn thought, Now he's playing name games; I'm not Aragorn son of Arathorn, heir of Isildur, or Estel, the Hope of Man, but Strider, mere Ranger of the North. Legolas is more angry than I thought.
"What, you would declare war on Lothlorien because you missed some of the scenery?"
"That is not what I mean and you know it!" Legolas' eyes were flashing dangerously now, and never had Aragorn been so vividly reminded of Legolas' temperamental father, King Thranduil.
"Honestly, why should you even get to decide this? As an Elf, Prince, and the oldest member of this Company of--of children! I think I should have more authority in this decision!"
"Legolas, please don't argue with me on this. The last thing I need is you disobeying my direct order in front of the rest of the Fellowship! We need to be united!"
"Oh, please Aragorn, we're speaking Sindarin. For all they know we could be arguing about anything. Perhaps I am just telling you once again telling you that you smell like an orc, Human, and you're just denying the truth again."
Aragorn took a moment to glare at Haldir, who failed to stifle a snort of laughter before putting the conversation back on track. "Frodo knows Sindarin, Legolas."
"He is familiar with some Sindarin, Aragorn," With that Legolas turned to Frodo and, still in Sindarin, rapidly asked, "Do you know what we're talking about?"
"Um…sorry, I didn't catch that. You're talking a bit too fast for me to-"
"See? No fear about divided loyalty then. Now, back to the argument at hand-"
"Legolas, enough! I am going to remind you that I am the leader of this Company now, so you will do as I order you too." Aragorn didn't realize it, but at that moment he stood tall and proud, and looked every inch the future king he was. Legolas was a sensible, though proud Elf, so he grudgingly realized the wisdom in Aragorn's words. Furthermore, he had learned long ago that it was not wise to defy those of higher authority than himself (his Adar mostly) over trivial matters. All the same, Aragorn was more than a little surprised when Legolas suddenly surrendered the argument.
"Fine, whatever. Just hurry up."
Switching back into Common Speech, Aragorn said, "Oh. All right. Well, Haldir, we've got that settled, so you may bind all of our eyes now."
Aragorn couldn't believe his change in luck; Legolas was finally listening to him for a change! On top of that, they had reached the safety of Lothlorien and the Fellowship could look forward to rest and safety for a time. Aragorn's outlook was bright as he waited for the Fellowship to be blinded. Unfortunately, his peace did not last long. His blindfold had just been tied on when Aragorn felt something was amiss. There was a darkness, a vaguely familiar pain, that seemed to pierce his very soul.
"Legolas, stop glaring at me!"
"Glaring at you?" Frodo spoke up, confused, "How can he be glaring at you? And how can you tell? You're both blindfolded."
"Clearly you've never been on the receiving end of an angry Wood-Elf's glare; I can feel it." The piercing pain of the glare disappeared then, but as they walked through the woods, Aragorn could still feel an aura of annoyance radiating from the Elf. Finally, Haldir received the news that they could walk free, and Legolas, in true bi-polar Elf fashion, immediately approached Aragorn. Without hesitation, Legolas apologized for questioning his authority, and then proceeded to inform Aragorn that he forgave him for "being an asshole."