Disclaimer: I own only Arieal, Shadowbane, the song of the trees, and the message sends to Arieal from Galadriel!! Everything else belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien and Line Cinema!!!
Here is Part Three of the Legolas's Heart Saga!
In Rohan
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I rode Shadowbane swiftly over the plains of Rohan, Legolas riding Hasufel with Gimli clinging to his back as we followed Aragorn and Arod. However, I had to hold Shadowbane back. He was the leader, for he was a Meara, a lord of horses, and he refused to be treated as a average horse.
So I leaned down to his neck, and I whispered softly in his ears, "Hush, my friend. You have done me great service for this, but now you must follow Arod. His rider is leading for the moment. So wait you must."
Legolas looked towards me, and I knew he had heard my words as I relaxed back into my saddle. I kept my eyes forward, for Shadowbane was still in a mood. Sometimes I was fearing his anger, while at other times I was at ease. This was one of the times I was fearing the stallion's anger.
"Arieal," Legolas said gently, and I looked at him.
"Yes?"
"Shadowbane... he runs with a regal stance. Pray, what is he?"
I smiled. "A Meara," I responded, and the horse's black head rose even more.
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Suddenly, Aragorn rode into a circle of rocks. We followed, and only moments after we were inside, men on horses galloped by the opening, riding in pairs.
I rode Shadowbane out once the last of the riders passed, and stood him on the crest of the hill. He reared as I shouted in a loud voice;
"Sons of Rohan! What news from the Mark?"
Aragorn and Legolas rode out as the group turned the steeds and rode to our group of four. Gimli eyed each rider as they circled around as they pointed spears and drawn arrows at my companions. Shadowbane and I sat silent.
A single rider rode forward, and I greeted him as a friend. "Eomer, son of Eomund. What news comes from you?"
"Lady Arieal," he bowed his head respectively. "Long has it been since your last coming to Rohan."
"Indeed it has my old friend. Now quickly, I have heard tidings that all is not well in Rohan," I insisted, and I felt Legolas's eyes on me. "Is everything right in the house of Theoden son of Thengel?"
"Nay, fair Lady," Eomer answered. "None is right in the house of Theoden. But who are your companions who ride the fair mounts that I myself gave you? An Elf I see is one, and a Dwarf on the horse Hasufel behind him, and a man on Arod. Name yourselves!"
"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. The Elf is Legolas of the Woodland Realm of Mirkwood, and the Dwarf is Gimli son of Gloin," Aragon answered, pointing to our companions. "We passed through Lothlorien a week ago."
"You survived the Golden Wood? And met Arieal on your way here I assume-"
"Nay, we met her in Lothlorien," Legolas said, and my heart froze as he continued. "For she is daughter of the Lady of that Wood."
Eomer's eyes fell upon me. "You never told me you were daughter of the Lady of the Golden Wood."
"You had never asked," I responded in an even voice. "Had you asked, I would have answered."
"Few escape her nets, and if you are her daughter, than you and your companions are net-weavers and sorcerers, perhaps."
"Eomer, son of Eomund," my voice rose in a soft anger, and Shadowbane reared and screamed his anger and my own. The horses of the Mark stepped back, against their Riders' orders. "I have known you for a time that I myself have forgotten how long, and now you dare question my loyalties?!" I was angered, and Shadowbane made that known by pawing. "I have fought by you and your King's sides in many battles, and dare you question me?!" Eomer backed his horse in fear of my rage, and Shadowbane snorted at his movement.
"Peace, Arieal," Gimli called, and I held Shadowbane back as he spoke. "Eomer son of Eomund, I would advise you to not use such foolish words against such a fair yet dangerous being, and also warn you against such words of evil towards which something so fair beyond your thought's reach, and only little wit may excuse you!"
Eomer's eyes blazed, and the Men of Rohan began to advance angrily again, but Shadowbane forced them to back off with his screams of anger.
"I would cut off your head, Dwarf, if it stood just a little higher from the ground," Eomer stated.
Legolas and I drew our bows and fit arrows to the string faster than any would have ever done. Together we spoke, "He stands not alone. For you would die before your stroke fell."
Eomer spoke again. "Forgive me, Lady. I do not mean harm to you, my friend. I know I have spoke ill of you, and that I should not question you or your intentions after the time I have known you only because I just learned of your lineage."
I relaxed my aim, and put my hand on Legolas's wrist to urge him to lower his bow. He did so after a gentle press.
"Eomer, my friend, I understand your apprehension towards me now, and I forgive you for what you have said about me and my mother," I replied, and I repeated my question from earlier. "Tell me of Theoden's need. You said none is right in his house."
Eomer sent his Riders away before answering my words.
"Orcs have been plundering our herds the last seven years, stealing the black horses. Shadowbane was lucky to have been given to you, for he would have been taken as well; only a few of his color are left," he answered. "And Saruman has claimed lordship over this land, and there has been war between us for many months. He has taken Orcs into his service, and Wolf-riders, and evil Men, and he has closed the Gap against us, so that we are likely to be beset both east and west.
"It is ill dealing with such a foe, my friend; he is a wizard both cunning and dwimmer-crafty, having many guises. He walks here and there, they say, as an old man hooded and cloaked, very like to Greyhame, as many now recall. His spies slip through every net, and his birds of ill omen are abroad in the sky. I do not know how it will all end, and my heart misgives me; for it seems to me his friends do not all dwell in Isengard. But if you come to the Kings house, you shall see for yourself. Will you not come? Many times before you have come to Rohan's aid, Arieal, but do I hope in vain that you and your companions have been sent to me for a help in doubt and need?"
"I will come, my friend, but you must have patience. My companions and I have pressing business in Fangorn. Two of our companions were carried off by the orcs that you have slain there, but they escaped into the wood. We go to search there."
"Of course, Arieal," Eomer replied.
"Once we have seen that they are safe," I said, "then we will come to Edoras."
"Then I will see you, my friend," Eomer said, and he and I gripped each other forearms. "Til we fight together again."
"Til then," I responded, and he moved to the side, and Shadowbane reared leading the two behind him to the Wood of Fangorn.
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We came to the edge of the forest at dusk, and as Aragorn discovered what had happened the night before, I listened to the trees for confirmation.
'The orcs camped here...' they whispered to me. 'The halflings escaped before, for they tricked an orc into taking them away from the camp. Then once he was killed, they cut their bonds and fled into the safety of our forest. Fangorn found them shortly after they had rested, and now they are at his dwelling. Your ally is waiting at the steps.'
"Merry and Pippin are safe," I stated, drawing my companions' attentions. "And our ally awaits us. For now, let us camp, and rest. And if we must have fire, do not use any off the trees."
Once the fire was made and the horses picketed save for Shadowbane, who followed me to the fire, and laid down where I sat, allowing me to sit upon his back as he laid. The others watched as he stood and I laid upon his bare back, the warmth of his body rising into my own.
Aragorn and Legolas laid down as well, for Gimli was on watch, only they were on the ground while I was on my faithful friend's back.
"Gimli!" Aragorn cried drowsily. "Remember that Arieal said not to cut bough or twig from the trees, but do not stray far for wood. Let the fire die rather! Call me at need."
Then he fell to sleep. Legolas was already resting motionless, his fair hands upon his breast folded, and as the way with our race, his eyes were unclosed.
I did the same, only I began speaking with Shadowbane by thought.
'Milady, I sense another meara like myself, only stronger, a lord of lords of horses. If he calls, I must obey,' he stated softly.
'I understand my friend. But at least warn me before you do so. Then I do not get carried off, for I am the only one who can guide them to our ally in Fangorn. I will be safe, do not worry,' I replied.
'Of that I do not fear, it is whether you are alright in the company of a dwarf.'
'If Legolas trusts him, then I do as well.'
The horse snorted, which drew Gimli's attention. 'My young filly, you have found your stallion have you?'
'Do not take such a tone with me, Shadowbane,' I growled. 'For I am not one of your foals.'
'That may be, Arieal, but I still feel as though you are,' he replied. 'And I approve. If you both survive this war, you will both make a fine pair.'
'Thank you for your words, Shadowbane. You are a true friend.'
He whinnied very softly, which was chuckling in his mind. Gimli once again looked at us.
'Go to sleep, Arieal. I will watch over you. If anything is wrong I shall awake you.'
I exhaled softly, and fell into my dreams as I stared into the stars of the sky.
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I was asleep, and I could feel Shadowbane moving as he grazed around the camp, and I faintly heard Aragorn speaking to someone, then Legolas gave a cry as Shadowbane gently flexed his shoulders under my head, warning me of his soon departure.
"The horses! The horses!"
I launched from my slumber, landing from his back to the earth as he reared and followed Hasufel and Arod. I stood and looked after him.
'Fare thee well, Shadowbane,' I whispered.
'And thee farewell, Arieal of Lothlorien,' he answered.
I turned back to camp and saw the three staring at me as I walked to the fire.
"Well, they are gone," Aragorn said at last. "We cannot find them nor catch them-"
"They will return when their Lord says it is time to return. Even Shadowbane had to obey his call, and so he did. Once we meet the ally we will have our horses again. Do not fret," I said simply, warming my hands.
"That old man you saw," Legolas stated, looking at Gimli.
"If you wish to know what I think," he began, "I think it was Saruman-"
"If it was Saruman, blood would have been shed by me, Gimli, for the trees and Shadowbane would have alerted me."
'It was your ally, Tree-speaker,' the trees whispered to me.
"Tomorrow we will go and discover this ally of ours, and then we shall ride to Edoras," I sighed, walking to my saddle and now withdrawing from under my saddle's side a sword of the finest make upon a belt of jeweled leather. "There we will assist Theoden and Eomer as much as we can." I put the belt on, the sheathed sword laying on my left hip in readiness for a battle.
"Arieal," Aragorn said, causing me to turn. "That sword. May I see it?"
I simply drew the weapon and held it hilt first for him to take. He took it and and examined the blade which was adorned with Elvish runes, saying that the blade was to vanquish evil only, and the hilt had design of leaves and flowers on the guard and pummel. The hilt was made from the finest and strongest ores, while the blade was folded mythril.
"This is a fine sword," he observed as he swung it once or twice to get the feel of the balance and weight. "Where, may I ask, did you get it?"
"Father gave it to me. He had it made in case I ever went into battle," I answered, taking it as he held it to me and replacing it into it's sheath.
"Celeborn has great foresight," Legolas stated as I sat back down before the fire.
The night passed on, and as did the watches. Soon, morning came, and much to Gimli's distaste, my prediction of the horses not returning came to be true as the morning rose.
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The morning arose, and I was awake and asking the trees of any news of Shadowbane, for though I knew he was safe, my heart was worried.
'Lord Shadowbane is fine, and he sends that you be safe until you meet again. He will return for his tack for you, and then meet you. Your ally awaits, the White Rider!' the trees sang, and I frowned at their words.
My companions were debating the horses' disappearance, and Gimli was of course forgetting my words from the night before.
I walked back and grabbed my bow and quiver from my saddle. "We must continue on," I stated, drawing their attention from their discussion of who the old man was. "I shall lead you through Fangorn, to meet our ally."
"How do you know the trees wish not to betray us?" Gimli asked.
"Gimli son of Gloin. I find that an insult, and I will tell you that no tree would betray an Elf," I replied. "Now, I shall continue on, and if you wish to drabble about that old man, so be it. I journey into Fangorn, alone if that be the case!" and I turned and walked into the eaves of Fangorn.
Legolas's breath I heard behind me, followed by Aragorn, then by Gimli. I led them easily through the trees, who guided me to where we wished to go. I heard Gimli and Legolas talking about the air as we walked, and soon we came to the steps that the trees had informed me of. I began to climb as my companions stood at the bottom. I turned halfway up.
"Come, we are to meet our ally here. Come and we shall wait for him."
They followed more slowly, and the trees sang that our ally would soon to be among us, though their words I could not discover the meaning of, for they spoke in riddles that circled ever so much. Once I neared the top I closed my eyes and listen, trying to make sense of the nonsense the trees sang.
Comes now the Grey Pilgrim,
Comes now the White Rider,
Once was the Grey and now the White.
Coming to assist his old Friends,
And lead them right!
He comes now and as he nears,
Tree-Speaker shall hear our heralding song,
He comes now to assist her,
Avenge our kin in the Forests near Isengard,
Comes to assist in the freeing of Rohan!
Heir of Isildur will soon be crowned,
And Mithrandir will guide him,
Guide him to Victory against the Darkness,
And the Fires that Haunt us for all of Time,
And to defend the plains of Rohan and the fields of Gondor!
"Arieal?" Legolas's voice drew me from their song, and I focused on him.
"Yes?" I whispered, the song of the trees still in my mind.
"The trees... what do they say? You've been listening for so long... I fear what they say may be ill tidings."
"No, ill tidings are not what they bring. They are speaking in riddles, and I cannot understand what they are saying. Their words are circling," I answered, my eyes staring at the horizon ahead. "It is strange." I repeated their words to him.
He was silent for a long time. "I agree. Their words do circle, though I may believe that they are speaking of Gandalf."
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As it turns out they were speaking of Gandalf, who no longer wore Grey but White.
We had mistaken him for Saruman, and each of us drew a weapon in defense of ourselves. Then we discovered he was indeed the Grey Wizard, only now in White, and as wise as always. My heart gladdened at the sight of him, for now I was not the one who knew things the company did not.
He told us of how he came to return, and then explained things involving the company before Gandalf had fallen into Shadow. And then what had happened before I had caught up to the company, and the treason of Isengard.
This was what made me angered, and the company could tell as Gandalf continued to speak of the treason of the Saruman. Then he paused.
"Arieal, your anger is flaring, what is it that causes this?" Gandalf asked, looking towards me as I glared at the ground.
"Saruman," I spat, the trees' anger and my own welling inside me. "He has done damage to things that should be left alone, for they do no harm to him, and yet we sit here, simply speaking when we could do something and put an end to his reign of evil!" I stood and looked towards Isengard. "The Trees are angered, and so am I. Saruman must be stopped."
"That they will, my lady," Gandalf assured. "For Treebeard is angry, as two small hobbits brought tidings that made his wrath spill over."
"Fangorn?" I asked, my eyes moving to the Wizard.
"Indeed. That old Ent is growing in anger, and soon Isengard will be overthrown."
My breath escaped me as Legolas became suddenly excited. "Ent? As in the old Onodrim? Now I shall truly feel young if I were to meet an Onodrim in this world! But," he became troubled. "Treebeard; that is only a rendering of Fangorn into the Common Speech, yet you seem to speak of a person."
"Treebeard is Fangorn," I answered. "And Fangorn is the guardian of the forest of Fangorn."
"Now, we must go to Edoras, for it is time for an old friend to assist King Theoden!" Gandalf cried, and he drew his grey cloak over him, and we followed as he walked down the steps. "I bring messages to some of you. To Aragorn I was bidden to say this:
Where now are the Dunedain, Elessar, Elessar?
Why do thy kinfolk wander afar?
Near is the hour when the lost should come forth,
And the Grey Company ride from the North.
But is the path appointed for thee:
The Dead watch the road that leads to the see.
To Legolas she sent this word:
Legolas Greenleaf long under tree
In joy thou has lived. Beware the Sea!
If thou hearest the cry of the gull on the shore,
Thy heart shall then rest in the forest no more."
The words to Legolas frightened me. Will the call of the Sea overturn the love he holds for me? I thought, my eyes glancing at my fellow Elf as he strode beside me.
"And to her Daughter:
In the Winter thou were born,
In the Spring thou rode away on a path unseen by me,
To assist those as precious as the Spring to thee,
And by Mid-Spring others upon thou no longer scorn,
Also in the Late-Spring shall thou defend those precious to thee,
In Spring thou shall follow thy love over the Sea."
"Dark are Mother's words," I whispered, though I was relieved at the tidings of not losing Legolas.
"And little do they mean to those that receive them," Legolas answered my voice, his hand clasping mine.
"That is no comfort," said Gimli.
"What then?" said Legolas, his grip on my hand now firm and tight. "Would you have her speak openly to you of your death?"
"Yes, if she had nought else to say."
"What is that?" Gandalf said, opening his eyes after closing them. "Your pardon, Gimli! I was pondering the other messages once again, but indeed she sent word to you, and neither are they dark nor sad.
"'To Gimli son of Gloin,' she said, 'Give his Lady's greeting. Lock-bearer, wherever thou goest my thought goes with thee. But have a care to lay thine axe to the right tree!'"
The Dwarf then became happy, and wished for a head that was right to cleave.
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We went back to the camp we had been in, and my saddle was gone. But this no one noticed.
"They have not returned," said Legolas. "It will be a weary walk!"
"I shall not walk. Time presses," said Gandalf, and he gave a long whistle that was clear and piercing. A whinny of two horses came to our ears on the winds, and then the sound of hooves, and soon four dots appeared on the edge of my sight.
I stepped forward, and called back with a perfect mimic of the earlier whinny, causing one to break from the group and run towards me at full gallop, and as he neared me, I made out my saddle, and the beautiful black body of Shadowbane.
'Shadowbane... you are safe,' I whispered in my mind.
'Of course, Arieal. I promised you I would be. And I see you are as well,' he nickered as he checked his speed and trotted to my side and circled me, exhaling gently in my face before nuzzling my cheek as a white stallion trotted to Gandalf with Hasufel and Arod behind him.
The great horse nuzzled Gandalf affectionately, and Hasufel and Arod walked to Legolas and Aragorn.
"Shadowfax, Chief of the Mearas, lord of all horses, even of Shadowbane there," Gandalf said, and Shadowbane nodded.
'When Shadowfax called, I could not ignore him. As much as I wanted to stay with you, I had to go with him,' Shadowbane said, still nuzzling my cheek.
"I understand, my friend," I said out loud by mistake, and soon everyone's eyes moved to me, wide in confusion.
"Who are you speaking to?" Aragorn asked, after a pause.
I sighed then answered, "Shadowbane."
"How?"
"Through our minds. He is a Meara after all, but he has lost human verbal speech. However, his mental speech still exists. That is how I was not carried away when the horses ran off in the night. He told me he was leaving," I explained.
They were quiet for a moment, and then Legolas laughed, his mirth bringing a confused smile to my lips.
"Now I understand a part of last night's riddle!" he said as he mounted Hasufel. "The reason you were able to spring from Shadowbane's back was because he had warned you of his leaving, and the horses ran to greet their chieftain, Shadowfax!"
I smiled warmly, then mounted Shadowbane with graceful movements as I answered, "Yes, sweet Legolas, that is right. Shadowbane warned me of his leaving, and then signalled for me to leap from his back when the time came for him to go."
"Enough. To Edoras we must hasten," Gandalf called, and he urged Shadowfax off at a good pace, though slow, for he believed that Arod and Hasufel would not keep up. Once we all passed only did he allow Shadowfax to go at his full speeds, and then we hastened to the Golden Halls of Theoden.
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Part three of Legolas's Heart!
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NOTICE:
If you wish to alert this story, it'd be best to alert me the author, for this is a ONE-shot series. Meaning each section is only 1 chapter long.
The next segment Legolas's Heart 4: Elven Shield-Maiden of Theoden , shall be up shortly.
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Fan-Interaction:
For those of you who had participated in the voting for the sequel of Vampiric Desires, you will now how this works.
For those of you who don't, it's self explanatory.
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Arieal is about to Reveal/Gain a new ability. It's up to you what that ability may be and if she has had it forever or just gained it!
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Will she be able to---
A) call to her aid dragons?
B) change into a white dragon who shall only obey Theoden, Gandalf, and Legolas?
C) summon all manner of fighting creatures to her aid?
D) summon a forest to grow where there were only open plains?
E) change into all manner of creatures to assist her companions?
F) return life to the fallen?
G) A & F
H) B & E
I) C & D
J) B & F
K) A & D
L) C & E
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And has she--
A) Just gained the power
OR
B) Hidden it from her Companions!
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VOTE NOW IN YOUR REVIEW!!!!