Author's Note: I'm so glad that I am getting positive response about this
story already. Thanks so much for the reviews. And I'm still not claiming
actual ownership of this story, it's all Tolkien's. And oh yeah, in case
the title looks familiar, I did indeed shamelessly steal that from Romeo
and Juliet. So here's the next chapter, hope ya'll enjoy, and of course
please let me know what you think.
Chapter Two
Gimli slowly opened his eyes in the morning. The bright sun was shining down upon him, and he grumbled before closing his eyes again and rolling over.
"Get up to greet the new day," he heard a voice call out cheerfully.
"No doubt you've done enough greeting for the both of us," Gimli muttered without opening his eyes. He was well aware of the elf's zest for rising well before the sun and then watching it make its ascension into the sky.
"I still have trouble believing that you do not appreciate the start of a new day."
Gimli heard the voice closer this time, and he knew that the elf was now standing over him. Slowly, the dwarf rolled onto his back and peered through slit lids.
"I appreciate my sleep more," he said.
Legolas bent down and tore Gimli's blanket off of him in one swift motion. "Get up before I begin to think that dwarves are more fond of their sleep than hobbits."
Gimli still did not move.
Legolas sighed. "What if I were a band of orcs?"
"Then you would have been slaughtered by now by my good friend who never sleeps. And no doubt that friend would then annoy me with his heroic tale first chance he got in the morning." Gimli finally struggled into a sitting position. "But since there are no orcs and you have no tale, I have to say your question is thus unimportant."
Legolas tilted his head. "I slept last night. Just not as much as you."
Gimli got to his feet and grudgingly gathered up his pallet and blanket. "And how will our weather fare today?" he changed the subject.
Legolas lifted his head and glanced to the east. "It should be just like yesterday with nothing but sun. A good day for traveling."
"Then I suppose we will do nothing but," Gimli replied. He was not quite complaining, just still not fully awake.
Their small camp was packed quickly and then the two were off again. Legolas chatted lightly, his enthusiasm supposedly catching. But Gimli had not quite caught it yet. He answered with noncommittal grunts and nods and fought to wake up. Legolas noted the dwarf's mood of course, but it did not bother him. This was how most of their days went. Gimli would start engaging in conversation and be more like himself around mid-day.
And this was how the pair spent the better part of a week. Traveling during the day and camping at night. It was an easy-going adventure, with little to no threat from outside forces, whether it be orcs or other travelers. In fact, Gimli and Legolas had yet to come across anybody else. Which was little wonder, they both assumed that most individuals were home, rebuilding what had been lost or destroyed in the war.
It was not until they were about three days' travel from the outskirts of Mirkwood that Legolas was revisited by uneasy feelings. He knew that they were almost to his home, but that was not the cause for his concern. Nothing would happen to Gimli or him there, he was almost certain.
But what would come after they were done visiting Mirkwood, that was where his thoughts went dark. Despite Gimli's reassurances, he still did not like the anticipation of his own kind of welcome.
The third day came quickly enough, and Legolas' uneasiness had once again gone into remission. He was excited to finally be home, it had been too long since he had last seen his father and people.
"Come Gimli," Legolas prodded the steady dwarf, "we are almost there."
Gimli eyed the line of trees before them. "It will not disappear if we don't hurry," he said, "be mindful of the company you keep. Not all of us have ridiculously long legs."
Legolas raised an eyebrow. "You never complained of my legs before. Is your jealousy finally overcoming you?"
Gimli snorted and peered up at the elf. "That would be the day."
Legolas laughed and sped up anyway. "Come, my lovely woods await us!"
Inwardly, Gimli sighed as he picked up his pace. He had no doubt that the elf would give him another extensive lesson on trees.
Legolas went directly towards the trees. Out of habit, he had lengthened their trip by a few days in order to avoid going through Southern Mirkwood. He had not told Gimli this of course, but he had not wanted to risk going anywhere near Dol Guldur. Even though Sauron's reign was over, the elf felt there might still be some of the dark residents there. He had not wanted to ruin their peaceful journey by risking spiders and orcs.
As it was, they were entering through Northern Mirkwood and would be at his father's dwelling before nightfall.
Legolas reached the trees well before Gimli.
The elf turned expectantly. Gimli was a good ten yards behind. "Come, Gimli," Legolas called out.
The dwarf quickened his speed but refused to run. He could sense the elf's excitement from here, and though he liked to see his friend so happy he was dreading the lecture he knew that would come. No doubt these trees were so unlike those in Fangorn that Legolas would have to tell him exactly why they were different in every way possible.
Gimli finally reached the elf and Legolas gave him a wide grin. "After you of course," Legolas said.
Gimli stepped forward. He knew the elf wanted to see his reaction and make sure that he was aptly awed by the sight, but after a few steps into the woods the dwarf stopped and frowned. It was different than Fangorn and Lorien, that much was clear, but it seemed to be different for the worse. The trees were sparse and there was the faint smell of smoke in the air.
Gimli glanced back uncertainly at Legolas, and then felt his own heart sink.
Legolas stood behind him, his mouth slightly open as he took in their surroundings. He took a few steps past Gimli and then made a small circle as he continued to look as far as he could possibly see.
"Everything is thrown off," Legolas muttered.
"What?" Gimli said. He was not sure he had heard the elf right.
"It was not like this before," Legolas said in a sort of dazed voice. "The voices of the trees are very dim, they have suffered greatly." He stopped and swayed a little on his feet. Then he looked down at Gimli, "Fire has gutted the forest."
Gimli swallowed a bit and tried to think of some sort of condolence for his friend. But what did one say about the loss of trees?
Legolas continued on, his eyes constantly moving from side to side as he silently took in all the damage. When they got further into the woods the smell of smoke was made clear. Charred and ruined stumps littered the ground. They were only in certain patches of the forest, the remains of an effort to try to save most of the trees. But the skeletal trees were a grim reminder of some of the failure.
"Sauron was not content with just the lower part of Mirkwood," Legolas said softly almost to himself. "He had to taint all of it."
Gimli remained quiet. He knew that he would not be able to come up with anything that could cheer Legolas, so he just said nothing. Only beaconed his silent support.
Legolas stopped. His hands found his bow and he had an arrow fit to the string before Gimli stopped beside him. "What is it?" Gimli asked, his own hands finding his axe.
"There is somebody else out there," Legolas whispered. Before he could continue, another voice shouted out to them.
"Drop your weapons!"
Legolas looked up. "Surely I have not been gone so long that you have forgotten who stands before you?"
There was a moment of silence, then the sounds of rushed movement. To Gimli's surprise, four elves dropped out of the trees above them and quickly surrounded them.
"Master Legolas," the forefront one said, "forgive me, I did not recognize you right away."
Legolas nodded. "All is well Culhil." There was a moment of silence between the elves until Legolas finally said, "What has happened?"
Culhil did not pretend to not understand what Legolas meant. "Much has happened since your absence. Sauron's armies invaded all of Mirkwood, there was little we could do to stop them. But then your father set up such a defense that proved to be impenetrable to our actual dwellings. So the orcs burned and ravaged the forest, though they did not even get very far with that as you can see. Eventually King Thranduil overthrew the armies and regained all of Mirkwood. Then the Lady Galadriel came and threw down Dol Guldur, that was a day of great feasting and celebration. What was once Southern Mirkwood and the darkest parts of the forest is now East Lorien and what you see before you was renamed Eryn Lasgalen, the Wood of Greenleaves. Sauron's hold over Mirkwood is no more."
Legolas' frown melted and his features seemed to lighten. "I did not suspect these news at all, it is not at all like I feared."
Culhil nodded. "And though there is still work to be done to restore some of what was destroyed, spirits are high and restorations are swift. We have not seen the trees this light in some time."
Legolas looked around. "And I thought they only shrank in fear. I did not note the feelings of relief and happiness in them."
All of the elves nodded and Gimli could easily pick up on their collective feelings of victory and a sense of freedom. They were definitely proud of what they had accomplished, and Gimli found that he could not blame them.
"Come King Thranduillion," Culhil said, "your father will be most happy to have you back."
Legolas smiled, "Of course, I am more happy now to be back."
The five elves turned to walk away and Gimli followed silently. He had the distinct impression of being forgotten for the moment, but that did not matter. He was glad that Legolas was cheered by the news.
One of the elves suddenly spun around. "You are to come as well?" he asked doubtfully.
Legolas turned immediately. "Yes of course, my apologies, I forgot to introduce my good friend Gimli son of Gloin. He was one of the walkers with me."
Culhil stepped forward. "If he is indeed one of the famed walkers than he is of course most welcome." Then, as an aside to Legolas, "Does your father know of this?"
Legolas drew himself up. "No, but do not think that will be a problem. It matters not who he is for he is a good friend of mine, and that is more than enough to grant him a peaceable stay."
Culhil stepped back and lowered his head. "Of course, I was not suggesting otherwise."
Legolas turned to Gimli again. "Come Gimli, you shall be beside me when we greet my father."
Gimli shouldered past two of the elves and then stood next to Legolas, drawing himself up to his full height, even though he was still at least two full feet shorter than his companions.
Culhil looked warily at Gimli but said nothing.
"Lead the way," Legolas said.
Culhil snapped his eyes back to Legolas and nodded slightly before turning to lead the rest of the way.
Chapter Two
Gimli slowly opened his eyes in the morning. The bright sun was shining down upon him, and he grumbled before closing his eyes again and rolling over.
"Get up to greet the new day," he heard a voice call out cheerfully.
"No doubt you've done enough greeting for the both of us," Gimli muttered without opening his eyes. He was well aware of the elf's zest for rising well before the sun and then watching it make its ascension into the sky.
"I still have trouble believing that you do not appreciate the start of a new day."
Gimli heard the voice closer this time, and he knew that the elf was now standing over him. Slowly, the dwarf rolled onto his back and peered through slit lids.
"I appreciate my sleep more," he said.
Legolas bent down and tore Gimli's blanket off of him in one swift motion. "Get up before I begin to think that dwarves are more fond of their sleep than hobbits."
Gimli still did not move.
Legolas sighed. "What if I were a band of orcs?"
"Then you would have been slaughtered by now by my good friend who never sleeps. And no doubt that friend would then annoy me with his heroic tale first chance he got in the morning." Gimli finally struggled into a sitting position. "But since there are no orcs and you have no tale, I have to say your question is thus unimportant."
Legolas tilted his head. "I slept last night. Just not as much as you."
Gimli got to his feet and grudgingly gathered up his pallet and blanket. "And how will our weather fare today?" he changed the subject.
Legolas lifted his head and glanced to the east. "It should be just like yesterday with nothing but sun. A good day for traveling."
"Then I suppose we will do nothing but," Gimli replied. He was not quite complaining, just still not fully awake.
Their small camp was packed quickly and then the two were off again. Legolas chatted lightly, his enthusiasm supposedly catching. But Gimli had not quite caught it yet. He answered with noncommittal grunts and nods and fought to wake up. Legolas noted the dwarf's mood of course, but it did not bother him. This was how most of their days went. Gimli would start engaging in conversation and be more like himself around mid-day.
And this was how the pair spent the better part of a week. Traveling during the day and camping at night. It was an easy-going adventure, with little to no threat from outside forces, whether it be orcs or other travelers. In fact, Gimli and Legolas had yet to come across anybody else. Which was little wonder, they both assumed that most individuals were home, rebuilding what had been lost or destroyed in the war.
It was not until they were about three days' travel from the outskirts of Mirkwood that Legolas was revisited by uneasy feelings. He knew that they were almost to his home, but that was not the cause for his concern. Nothing would happen to Gimli or him there, he was almost certain.
But what would come after they were done visiting Mirkwood, that was where his thoughts went dark. Despite Gimli's reassurances, he still did not like the anticipation of his own kind of welcome.
The third day came quickly enough, and Legolas' uneasiness had once again gone into remission. He was excited to finally be home, it had been too long since he had last seen his father and people.
"Come Gimli," Legolas prodded the steady dwarf, "we are almost there."
Gimli eyed the line of trees before them. "It will not disappear if we don't hurry," he said, "be mindful of the company you keep. Not all of us have ridiculously long legs."
Legolas raised an eyebrow. "You never complained of my legs before. Is your jealousy finally overcoming you?"
Gimli snorted and peered up at the elf. "That would be the day."
Legolas laughed and sped up anyway. "Come, my lovely woods await us!"
Inwardly, Gimli sighed as he picked up his pace. He had no doubt that the elf would give him another extensive lesson on trees.
Legolas went directly towards the trees. Out of habit, he had lengthened their trip by a few days in order to avoid going through Southern Mirkwood. He had not told Gimli this of course, but he had not wanted to risk going anywhere near Dol Guldur. Even though Sauron's reign was over, the elf felt there might still be some of the dark residents there. He had not wanted to ruin their peaceful journey by risking spiders and orcs.
As it was, they were entering through Northern Mirkwood and would be at his father's dwelling before nightfall.
Legolas reached the trees well before Gimli.
The elf turned expectantly. Gimli was a good ten yards behind. "Come, Gimli," Legolas called out.
The dwarf quickened his speed but refused to run. He could sense the elf's excitement from here, and though he liked to see his friend so happy he was dreading the lecture he knew that would come. No doubt these trees were so unlike those in Fangorn that Legolas would have to tell him exactly why they were different in every way possible.
Gimli finally reached the elf and Legolas gave him a wide grin. "After you of course," Legolas said.
Gimli stepped forward. He knew the elf wanted to see his reaction and make sure that he was aptly awed by the sight, but after a few steps into the woods the dwarf stopped and frowned. It was different than Fangorn and Lorien, that much was clear, but it seemed to be different for the worse. The trees were sparse and there was the faint smell of smoke in the air.
Gimli glanced back uncertainly at Legolas, and then felt his own heart sink.
Legolas stood behind him, his mouth slightly open as he took in their surroundings. He took a few steps past Gimli and then made a small circle as he continued to look as far as he could possibly see.
"Everything is thrown off," Legolas muttered.
"What?" Gimli said. He was not sure he had heard the elf right.
"It was not like this before," Legolas said in a sort of dazed voice. "The voices of the trees are very dim, they have suffered greatly." He stopped and swayed a little on his feet. Then he looked down at Gimli, "Fire has gutted the forest."
Gimli swallowed a bit and tried to think of some sort of condolence for his friend. But what did one say about the loss of trees?
Legolas continued on, his eyes constantly moving from side to side as he silently took in all the damage. When they got further into the woods the smell of smoke was made clear. Charred and ruined stumps littered the ground. They were only in certain patches of the forest, the remains of an effort to try to save most of the trees. But the skeletal trees were a grim reminder of some of the failure.
"Sauron was not content with just the lower part of Mirkwood," Legolas said softly almost to himself. "He had to taint all of it."
Gimli remained quiet. He knew that he would not be able to come up with anything that could cheer Legolas, so he just said nothing. Only beaconed his silent support.
Legolas stopped. His hands found his bow and he had an arrow fit to the string before Gimli stopped beside him. "What is it?" Gimli asked, his own hands finding his axe.
"There is somebody else out there," Legolas whispered. Before he could continue, another voice shouted out to them.
"Drop your weapons!"
Legolas looked up. "Surely I have not been gone so long that you have forgotten who stands before you?"
There was a moment of silence, then the sounds of rushed movement. To Gimli's surprise, four elves dropped out of the trees above them and quickly surrounded them.
"Master Legolas," the forefront one said, "forgive me, I did not recognize you right away."
Legolas nodded. "All is well Culhil." There was a moment of silence between the elves until Legolas finally said, "What has happened?"
Culhil did not pretend to not understand what Legolas meant. "Much has happened since your absence. Sauron's armies invaded all of Mirkwood, there was little we could do to stop them. But then your father set up such a defense that proved to be impenetrable to our actual dwellings. So the orcs burned and ravaged the forest, though they did not even get very far with that as you can see. Eventually King Thranduil overthrew the armies and regained all of Mirkwood. Then the Lady Galadriel came and threw down Dol Guldur, that was a day of great feasting and celebration. What was once Southern Mirkwood and the darkest parts of the forest is now East Lorien and what you see before you was renamed Eryn Lasgalen, the Wood of Greenleaves. Sauron's hold over Mirkwood is no more."
Legolas' frown melted and his features seemed to lighten. "I did not suspect these news at all, it is not at all like I feared."
Culhil nodded. "And though there is still work to be done to restore some of what was destroyed, spirits are high and restorations are swift. We have not seen the trees this light in some time."
Legolas looked around. "And I thought they only shrank in fear. I did not note the feelings of relief and happiness in them."
All of the elves nodded and Gimli could easily pick up on their collective feelings of victory and a sense of freedom. They were definitely proud of what they had accomplished, and Gimli found that he could not blame them.
"Come King Thranduillion," Culhil said, "your father will be most happy to have you back."
Legolas smiled, "Of course, I am more happy now to be back."
The five elves turned to walk away and Gimli followed silently. He had the distinct impression of being forgotten for the moment, but that did not matter. He was glad that Legolas was cheered by the news.
One of the elves suddenly spun around. "You are to come as well?" he asked doubtfully.
Legolas turned immediately. "Yes of course, my apologies, I forgot to introduce my good friend Gimli son of Gloin. He was one of the walkers with me."
Culhil stepped forward. "If he is indeed one of the famed walkers than he is of course most welcome." Then, as an aside to Legolas, "Does your father know of this?"
Legolas drew himself up. "No, but do not think that will be a problem. It matters not who he is for he is a good friend of mine, and that is more than enough to grant him a peaceable stay."
Culhil stepped back and lowered his head. "Of course, I was not suggesting otherwise."
Legolas turned to Gimli again. "Come Gimli, you shall be beside me when we greet my father."
Gimli shouldered past two of the elves and then stood next to Legolas, drawing himself up to his full height, even though he was still at least two full feet shorter than his companions.
Culhil looked warily at Gimli but said nothing.
"Lead the way," Legolas said.
Culhil snapped his eyes back to Legolas and nodded slightly before turning to lead the rest of the way.