CHAPTER TWO
They left at first light, with Thranduil still so furious with his younger son that he had no wish to see him. Legolas's rage, although hidden well, was no less.
"Far better then that the two of you do not meet," said Mithrandir, watching the young Elf gather a new cloak and extra set of boots, stuff extra arrows into his quiver and check the sharpness of the knives for at least the third time in the past five minutes. "We need no more emotional fireworks over this matter, or others."
"I've yielded, haven't I?" Legolas scowled back at the wizard and led the way out of the chambers he'd had since boyhood. "I've promised to join the Lord of Imladris in marriage and signed my eternity away in parchment laid before Thranduil. He's formally handed my 'care and keeping' over to you by return parchment and made you promise to see me safely We all know that my abilities are no match for your magic. If I resist you, there's any number of things you can make me to to come with you. Cast a spell of obedience over me so that I obey you and Elrond without question, or turn me into a toad and tuck me into your knapsack--"
"What an amazing imagination you have."
"You couldn't do this?"
"Of course I could. But what is to say that I would?"
"You promised my father to get me there."
"I need no magic to make you fulfill your commitment."
"Perhaps not, but you never know."
"Legolas, really. You sound as if you want me to consider you unreliable and dangerous. As if you want me to turn you into something unnatural. Would it be easier then to blame someone else for your going to Imladris, rather than your father's idiocy?"
"Yes."
Their horses were standing ready at the gate. For all of his reluctance to be on their way, Legolas lost no time making certain that Mithrandir's saddle was tight and the other tack was in order. Holding the bridle, he saw the wizard safely mounted before swinging up onto his own mount's back.
"My father has wrapped up things as neatly as if I were a maiden Elf." Using only his thigh muscles, Legolas guided his gray gelding toward Mirkwood's fortress gates. "From my brother to my wet nurse to the last guard, everyone said their farewells to me as darkness cloaked them last night. Now, they've all become scarce lest they shed a public tear at my departure and set Thranduil's wrath upon them. No one is allowed to miss me." Sad blue eyes met the wizard's. "I don't blame them, I only wish it weren't so."
He nudged the gray into a canter, with Mithrandir having no choice but to join him as they left Mirkwood behind.
"Thranduil's kingdom will not profit by your leaving," the wizard pronounced, once they'd settled into a sedate walk once more a few minutes later.
"No, it will not." There was no arrogance in the statement, only certainty. Mirkwood needed Legolas, whether Thranduil recognized it or not. And Mithrandir had needed Legolas in Mirkwood, close to Dul Goldur. Where was he to find another spy so able as this one had been?
They rode in silence for a few leagues, with Legolas obviously fuming over the fate the Valar had not seen fit to deliver him from, while the wizard watched the Elf fume.
"Do you know the last thing Thranduil said to me?" Mithrandir finally broke the silence.
"Hmm?"
"'Send me word when the Half-Elven possesses him,'" Mithrandir quoted.
The Elf made a sound that was halfway between laughter and choking. "Did he even bother to look up from his scrolls to tell you that?"
"I'm afraid not. And I'm not certain whether he means that I'm to inform him once we've arrived in Imladris, or when this maniacal marriage has been consummated."
"Tell him when we've arrived," Legolas advised, "because you must know that I'm still looking for a way out of this alliance."
"Why does this not surprise me?"
"Perhaps a council of Elves to unite the three kingdoms?" Legolas suggested. "Wouldn't that be as good as a marriage between our houses?"
"You know Thranduil despises Galadriel and cares nothing about allying Mirkwood with Lothlorian. He would never agree to send an emissary to any such council. Not to mention that you simply aren't an emissary, young one."
"I could learn to be one."
"In Elrond's court?" Mithrandir laughed outright. "You might learn to hone your flirting there, but never your diplomacy. Additionally, after what Thranduil has put you through, I expect that you'd align yourself with Elrond if only to get a little of your own back."
Legolas gave a quick of a smile. "Probably. But serving Lord Elrond in matters political would be less fearful than what I've agreed to do. Word never reached us before that he prefers the company of male Elves to females."
"He does not."
"Then why does he wish to claim me as his... bride?" The word held all the bitterness the Elf felt at his father's betrayal.
Mithrandir hesitated before answering, took the time to settle back in his saddle and adjusted his pointed hat against the glaring sunlight. When he did answer, he chose careful words. "You have heard that Lord Elrond is blessed with the gift of foresight?"
Legolas nodded.
"For years, he foresaw Celebrian's rejection of their marriage bond."
"But such a bond is supposed to be forever," Legolas pointed out.
"Such a bond is meant to be forever, but Celebrian..." The wizard shook his head. "Some suspect she never wanted to be with him, she only wanted to be the Lady of Imladris. And foresight, Elrond long ago decided, is much more of a curse than it is a blessing. For millennia, he has been locked in a sterile, loveless relationship, powerless to do anything but wait for the bond to die.
"Do not misunderstand me, Legolas. I know that you have never met Elrond and you have no idea what you're walking into. He is an Elf-lord of strong loyalties, a very long memory, a command of magical lore to rival even my own, a warrior fierce in battle who has seen many loved ones fall over the years, and...."
"And?"
"You must remember that he was trained by Gil-Galad and Glorfindel, and so fights in the old style which rivals your own. Blood weary while Gil-Galad was still alive, Elrond left his king and built Imladris as a sanctuary. He then watched while Gil-Galad decided that, so central was Imladris's location to the wars, nothing else was acceptable but that every army was to be outfitted from there. And so, Elrond's peaceful sanctuary was invaded, but honor demanded that he obey his king."
"As I must obey mine?"
"Not exactly. Gil-Galad fostered Elrond from the time he was a toddler, so the king was the only father Elrond ever knew. He became Gil-Galad's herald in adulthood and their paternal bond was ten times closer then yours with Thranduil. Gil-Galad put serving Middle-Earth ahead of ruling the Elves. Elrond has done no less, regardless some like Thranduil curse him for it. For Elrond to betray a son or a loved one as Thranduil has done... Such selfishness would simply never happen.
"Then how - why has Elrond agreed to this marriage alliance?"
"I'm certain that his own desires do not enter into it, any more than yours do. Mirkwood and Imladris have ever been at odds, with outright war threatening at certain times. Whether he likes it or not, in power and positioning Elrond is central to the Elven kingdoms. Whatever Sauron sends over the coming years, the kingdoms must unite or fall.
"Thranduil will not accept assistance from Galadriel, and Elrond was allianced with Lothlorien even before he married Celebrian. Therefore, in the short term Thranduil has been unwilling to accept assistance from Elrond. If the two of you actually marry, that solidifies Thranduil's alliance with Imladris. It also sidesteps Thranduil's pride to the point that the matter of Galadriel becomes moot. Celebrian is dead and you would be bonded to Elrond. Mirkwood would be bonded to Elrond as well, through you. As you would be Elrond's mate, the alliance between Mirkwood and Imladris would be stronger than that shared between Lothlorien and Imladris. Come what may to Lothlorien, Elrond would be honor-bound to fight to preserve Mirkwood.
"Since the shadows began creeping out again, Elrond has sought a way to protect Mirkwood from Sauron's growing strength. Unfortunately," Mithrandir concluded, "you were the way shown to him."
"I... see," Legolas murmured. "So Lord Elrond wants me as a lover as much as I want him, and I should not expect to be ravished my first night in Imladris."
"I would expect that you should expect to never be ravished."
Legolas looked puzzled. "But the bond must be consummated if this alliance between kingdoms is to be finalized, so how would Lord Elrond and I--"
"That is something you must discuss with Lord Elrond." Mithrandir felt himself blush. If the Elf's eartips were anything to go by, he too was embarrassed. [It's either that, or Elves have learned how to sunburn.] The wizard cleared his throat. "Let's return to safer subjects, shall we?"
"Safer for you."
"Elrond is called Half-Elven, as Thranduil was determined to emphasize," Mithrandir pontificated, steadily ignoring Legolas's gloomy pronouncement. "Never mind that Elrond's actual lineage is closer to eight-tenth's Elven than only half. And he is Immortal by his own choice, which choice was bestowed by the Valar themselves. Elrond is all too aware of the blood some pure Elves consider tainted. It is one of the reasons why he is Lord of Imladris rather than its king. He serves, he does not rule, and he has honor, Legolas, every bit as fierce as your own. Honor, rather than passion, has guided most of his actions and much of his life.
"Once, I'm certain that he harbored hopes of bonding in a more loving relationship when Celebrian finally set him free, but time has a way of destroying such dreams. Time can also destroy all hope of passion, and Elrond is close to 6,000 years old. His willingness to enter into a second, empty bond with you tells me that the Elven lord must think that in his case all hope is dead. If you are so foolish as to want to lock yourself into a bond with him - as Thranduil has led him to believe - then Elrond apparently isn't prepared to refuse duty or cling to any hope of something better with someone else.
"I'm beginning to understand how he feels," Legolas said quietly. "This marriage is not what I foresaw when I looked forward to joining my life to someone else's forever. I've never been kicked in the teeth by a stallion, but losing one's family and one's chance to love forever must feel about the same."
Reaching out, Mithrandir patted Legolas's knee. "Don't despair just yet, young one, for such things have a way of working out."
"How can this work out, if there is no hope of our being attracted to each other, much less falling in love with each other?"
"I do not know, but what I tell you now is for your ears only. I tell you only because as Elrond's promised mate you have the right to know. Elrond loved Celebrian, make no mistake. But she was a cold creature - far colder than her mother Galadriel could ever be. Marrying the Lord of Imladris was the best alliance Celebrian could hope for. She married out of resignation rather than love, and that resignation turned to bitterness after she was attacked by orcs. The public version of that story is that Elrond could not heal her emotional hurts. Privately, he has confessed to me that she simply could not stand the sight of him any longer. So you see, Elrond has never been loved, regardless he loved his wife. I would not wish the same fate to befall you, Legolas."
"I've heard that Celebrian could not defend herself in battle. I can."
"You deliberately misunderstand the fate I fear may be in store for both you and Lord Elrond if you bond blindly to each other. Celebrian's physical injuries healed under Elrond's care. The wounds she carried Oversea and those she inflicted before her departure burrowed deeper than any orc poison could.
"Listen to me and listen well, Legolas: the mate you are committed to claiming is every bit the proud, injured warrior you are. While you cannot make him happy any more than he can make you happy, you would do well not to humiliate him in public or in private. You would also do well to seek a common ground on which the two of you may become friends, as lovers seem an impossibility."
"And why should I do that, Mithrandir?"
"Because Elrond is out of patience with bonds, dreams and empty hope. There is nothing left for him on this side of the Undying Lands but that he continue his neverending quest to defeat Sauron. If you make of Elrond an enemy, if you refuse to fulfill your promise to bond with him or if you bond and then humiliate or injure him further, do not expect the same patient treatment that Celebrian enjoyed.
"Elrond will not send you to anything so simple as a dungeon if you make him miserable. There are no dungeons in Imladris, and I doubt that he would ever send you into a world of relative freedom Oversea. You would not escape him so easily, nor would your torment be as brief as six weeks. He would keep you here and make you more miserable than you could ever imagine being. For there is a difference between you and Celebrian that I am certain you would never consider."
"And what might that be?" Legolas asked, plainly dreading the answer.
"Lord Elrond loved her. He does not love you."
