Deep As You Go
Disclaimer: I don't own Lord of the Rings or any characters, places, etc. associated with that name. However, I do own the idea for my story and any original characters that may appear within.
Chapter 1
IDon't save mebr
Don't lose mebr
Don't wake me nowbr
If you love me you'll release mebr
Let me drown/Ibr
- Deep As You Go by October Project
I"For the Elves, the world moves, and it moves both very swift and very slow. Swift, because they themselves change little, and all else fleets by: it is a grief to them. Slow, because they do not count the running years for themselves. The passing seasons are but ripples ever repeated in the long long stream. Yet beneath the Sun all things must wear to an end at last."/I
- Legolas, uThe Fellowship of the Ring/u by J.R.R. Tolkien
It was about midnight that the prince of Mirkwood awoke suddenly, fine beads of sweat glistening on his forehead. The dream had come once again.
In it he was very much the king of Mirkwood, a thin circlet of gold upon his brow with a deep green stone settled into the center. He was in a rather large room he had never seen before and milling around him were hundreds of guests, celebrating his ascent to the throne.
Scanning their faces, Legolas could see no one he knew. Even the Elven harp-players who sat strumming in a corner of the room slowly and purposefully were unrecognizable.
Suddenly, the soft harp music was stilled and a path parted the crowd of people. Standing at the end of this path was a dark-haired maiden.
Her back was to him and he saw the shimmering white gown she wore, catching and reflecting all the light cast by the fireplaces and torches by the walls. Her skin was creamy pale and her hair, which fell in ringlets to her shoulder blades, shone softly.
Legolas' breath caught in his throat. He had to know who this mysterious and alluring woman was.
He strode quickly toward her, ignoring the stares he received from those flanking both sides of him. The woman, sensing his presence, turned to look at him. Her lips were full and pale, her nose the perfect shape to grace such an elegant face. But that was not what terrified Legolas.
The beautiful maiden had no eyes to speak of, just great black precipices. Legolas noticed a small, crescent shaped mark burned into her left cheek before his eyes wandered back to her non-existent ones. A chill always ran itself up and down his back at this point, and gooseflesh broke out all over his body.
The cosmos seemed to whirl in those two ebony orbs and try as he might, Legolas always fell into them…causing him to awaken on more than one occasion.
He sat up and his gray, woven blanket fell into his lap, exposing his bare, well-defined chest. Gooseflesh crawled along his arms and shoulders, mimicry of his dream brought about by his fright at the dream and the sudden exposure to the chilly night air.
Legolas wiped the back of his hand across his brow, drawing away the moisture from his sweat. I'What is this? I, Legolas Greenleaf, prince of Mirkwood, terrified of a silly girl in a dream?'/I
The lone hoot of an owl drew his eye to the open window of his summer room and the crescent moon that hung almost eerily in the sky. Another chill passed through him and he knew that he wouldn't be getting back to sleep any time soon.
Legolas got up, then proceeded to quickly and quietly clothe his very naked self, choosing dark green trousers and a long sleeved, lighter green tunic. He grabbed his quiver of arrows and the bow he had received from the Lady of Lothlorien many years ago. He silently slipped on a pair of boots and was ready to go.
He crept out of his room, moving with the stealth that only Elves can, and made his way down the rope step-ladder that was the only way out of his tree home.
Stepping lightly, he swiftly made his way through the familiar forest of his childhood, making his way toward a peaceful spot in the forest where he always went to think.
The ground beneath him seemed to melt away and Legolas felt himself begin to drift off into sleep with his eyes open, as was the way of Elves.
He upped the pace of his run in response, hoping that enough physical excursion would keep him awake and alert, not to fall victim to the disturbing dream once again.
Before he knew it, Legolas had reached his destination. It was only a pond really, with a steep hill facing the eastward portion of the pond away from him. But perhaps it was the fact that the pond was a perfect circle, or maybe that it mirrored everything so precisely that drew him toward it every time that he felt the need to go somewhere to find solace.
He seated himself on a rock near the pond, placed his elbows on his knees and gazed on to the polished surface of the water, wondering what inspiration would hit him when he sat here this time. Time seemed to pass slower here than everywhere else in Middle Earth, so he had perhaps been sitting there for 5 minutes or for an hour when something startled him out of his reverie: the sharp crack of a twig being broken to his left.
Faster than mortal eyes could follow, Legolas had gotten up and notched an arrow into his bow, pointing it into the deep foliage from whence the sound had come. He stood there, stock still, for what seemed like only minutes before he decided to call out.
"Is anyone there?" His musical Elven voice seemed to be swallowed by all the plants that had grown between him and his pursuer. The night air seemed to grow warm all of a sudden, and Legolas suddenly wished that he had just stayed at home that night.
Suddenly, something was thrown at him from the bushes. He leapt quickly out of the way whilst firing an answering shot into the brush. There was the quick scampering of something running away, then silence reigned over this tranquil piece of the forest.
Legolas glanced at the ground to see what had been the assailant's weapon of choice and was surprised at what he saw. Lying on the ground was a necklace made of seashells, some of which had broken from their fall to the ground.
"Ai!" he called into the night, "Harsh shall be your punishment for reminding me of my longing for the sea!" There was no answer, so Legolas gently picked up the shell necklace, not wanting to break any more shells than had been broken already. This in hand, he began to make his way back to his dwelling in the forest, resolving himself to come back early the next morning.