Title: Until We Reach Valinor
Chapter 3: Memories
NOTE: This story is sequel to "A Teacher's Duty" and you'll have to read that one first to understand this. Also, this story does not contain slash, and it is not a romance, despite what the first chapter might suggest about the latter.
SPECIAL THANKS to Orlando's Sweetheart for helping me pick the name of the woman, and the title to this story. Help is much appreciated, thanks a lot. Where've you disappeared to, anyway?
That said, on with the chapter.
…
Legolas paused before locking the palace gates, "Are you sure there's nothing we've left behind?" he asked Elano.
"Yes sir, but there might be some one we left behind," came the reply, "I'll do a head count."
"Yes, you do that," He locked the gate, knowing that all the children had been ready to leave at the crack of dawn, so there was very little chance that any of them were left behind. The head count was hardly a necessity- but it was always good to be safe, so he didn't grudge the extra time.
He re-checked the supplies, the condition of the horses, and made sure he had carried enough non-meat items for Elano to eat. Last time, though he had carried a huge amount of waybread, cheese, and dried fruit, he knew the Elf had not been able to eat as much as he would have liked to. He had no intention of making him go hungry again.
"All here, sir," Elano said after a ten minute interval.
"Celin included?" Legolas asked; just to make sure.
"Celin included," Elano smiled.
"Good, then we might as well leave now, before one of them gets lost," He mounted his horse, and then raised his voice to get their attention, "Class! CLASS! Mount your horses, please. We're leaving!"
They gave a loud cheer which resounded through the forest, startling the trees. They all wanted to get away from the school, which had been very oppressive of late, what with all the preparation for the graduation, looming closer and closer every day.
As Arod bore him swiftly away, Legolas could not help marveling at the differences between this trip and last one. He was much more relaxed this time, no longer continually looking over his shoulder to keep tabs on the children. He trusted them now, and he knew they could look after themselves. And even if anything were to go wrong, Elano was there, whose healing hands were all the more powerful now that Aragorn was training him. That's probably why, he thought, amused with his own line of reasoning, it's only because I know there's another adult coming with us. Last time, I thought Elano was a child. The thought amazed him. Elano was so wise, so mature, that it always stunned him that he had ever thought of him as anything but a wise, mature adult.
"Sir!"
A voice broke through his reverie. He looked up, and saw that Elano was now riding abreast with his horse. He smiled, pleased to see that he was now so at home on horses. All the practice he had insisted on giving him had paid off. "What is it, Elano?" he said, realizing that Elano probably wanted to ask him something.
"Are you sure about setting camp at the tree house again, sir? There isn't any chance of another orc attack, is there?"
"Elano, for the thousandth time," Legolas said, slightly irritated by the repetition of the question, "That place is one of the securest in Mirkwood. There are large patrols in that area which will not let a single live orc through, especially if they are as few as they were last time."
"I'm sorry, sir," Elano sighed, catching the exasperation in the older Elf's voice, "In truth, the only reason I keep asking is because I'm afraid that seeing the tree house again will conjure up a number of bad memories, ones I don't particularly want to face."
Legolas sighed. It was something he had thought of as well. "I know, Elano. I don't want to face it either. But we have no choice. There's no better location in the entirety of Mirkwood that I know of."
"Yes, sir. Once again, you are correct. It seems to have become a trend," Elano said, half-jestingly.
"Oh you don't know the half of it," Legolas gave a world-weary sigh, "Truth be told, I'm as nervous about setting foot in that clearing as you are. Terrible things happened there, which I want to remember about as much as you do. But it is a strategic location- close to the stream, the shelter, and even…" He stopped suddenly.
"Even what, sir?" Elano asked.
Legolas hesitated. He did not want to explain that particular "even." It was something that would cause his students a great deal of anxiety, especially Linnor. And he didn't want her or the other children to spend any sleepless nights over it. He would tell them only when the time came. But still, he hoped he was doing the right thing.
"Sir?" Elano asked, breaking through his thoughts again to demand an answer.
"I'm sorry, Elano, what were you saying?" Legolas asked, praying the Elf had forgotten.
"I was saying, even what, sir?"
"It…well, let's just say that it's a surprise," Legolas said, not wanting to lie, "You'll find out soon enough."
"Is it a good surprise?" Elano said, suspiciously concerned.
"It depends on how you look at it," Legolas replied, though he knew exactly how Elano would look at it.
"Sir, could you please-"
"The time will come, Elano. Don't worry. It isn't that bad. It's just a teaching strategy I've been working on."
"I see," Elano was still not convinced, but he decided to let it go. "As you were saying, the location is very strategic, sir."
"Yes."
Elano never was one for small talk, so to Legolas's great relief, he fell silent after this. A few moments later, he slowed his horse slightly and fell behind so that his teacher (for he still considered him as that) would not feel obligated to talk to him.
Legolas could not help heaving a sigh of relief. In the course of the next two days, he and Elano did not converse much. He did catch the younger Elf watching him on a few occasions, but did not pay it any heed. Elano would know what was in his mind soon enough.
In the meantime, he preoccupied himself with the stresses of traveling with so many people, and the day to day responsibilities that kept cropping up because teenagers would be teenagers. In fact, he immersed himself in all this so completely, he almost forgot about his worries. Almost.
…
The party reached the clearing on the afternoon of the third day. They entered it in silence; even the children could not escape the memories. Their eyes traveled around it, images of Legolas injured on the ground, crying beneath a tree, Celin gasping in pain, clutching his ankle, Elano reading out a letter…all flashed through their minds.
But being children, they recovered quickly. A whisper, a reply to it, more whispers, low chattering, louder chattering, a surprised yell as somebody stepped on somebody else's foot; and in the blink of an eye they were back to their normal, vibrant, talkative selves.
It was Legolas and Elano who did not recover so fast. But, knowing that seeming upset would draw a swarm of concerned teenagers to their sides; they pushed their emotions to the back of their minds, and busied themselves with setting up camp. And indeed, getting all the supplies up to the tree house, setting up the tents, replenishing water, and starting up fires took the better part of the day, leaving them with little time to think.
It was dusk when they sat down to dinner, a meal which the youngsters were most proud of, as they had prepared it entirely by themselves. Legolas was not surprised that they had not lost their cooking skills; considering how he had hammered them into their heads last summer it would have perplexed him if they had forgotten. But he and Elano made a big show of praising the slightly burnt stew (for some reason it was always slightly burnt when they made it) and telling them it was wonderful they remembered their lessons. They were quite delighted with themselves, and being extremely excitable, would not sleep half the night.
He knew from experience that it wasn't a good idea to discipline them forcefully, so he told them to decide who would take watch with whom, and when; and went to his own tent to rest. For a moment he thought again about how different things were. Last year, he would have insisted on keeping watch. Or at least, he would have organized their watches. He smiled, remembering how foolish he had been- not sleeping for an entire month, because he refused to trust them and give them second chances when they made mistakes.
But then his mind turned to darker memories- his attempt to kill himself, of his letter (he shuddered at the thought and thanked the Valar that Aragorn had never fully read it), of Ivana, moaning in pain after being stabbed in the stomach. He turned on his side, unable to sleep, unable to control his memories.
Elano slipped in during the small hours of the morning- hours after the chatter of the children had been replaced by sleepy silence. Legolas watched him spreading out his bedroll, trying to decide whether or not to speak to him, until Elano caught him blinking.
"Sir? Did I wake you?" the younger Elf asked, shifting uncomfortably under the other's gaze.
"No, Elano, I wasn't even asleep, so you didn't wake me up," Legolas said, sitting up and lowering his eyes a little to relieve Elano.
The younger Elf looked at him for a moment. "You went to bed hours ago, sir," he said after a pause.
It was not a question, it was a statement. Legolas didn't quite know where this was going, so he responded in kind. "Aye, so I did."
After another moment of silence, "Are they bothering you, sir?"
"What?" Legolas wondered if Elano was talking about the children, who were always bothering him, but were fast asleep at the moment, so couldn't possibly be.
"The memories, sir," Elano clarified, "Are they bothering you?"
He knew his face had answered the question, so he did not try to lie. He just gave a half shrug which could have been taken for a yes or a no. Predictably, Elano took it as a yes.
"They're bothering me, too," Elano said, sitting down cross-legged on his bedroll.
"Is that why you are up so late?"
"I was thinking. Walking around the clearing and just…thinking," Elano answered softly, apparently lost in thought.
"And remembering," Legolas concluded with a sad smile, "It hurts, doesn't it?"
"It does, a little. But sir, there is one thought that comforts me a great deal."
"What's that?"
"Everything that happened here- brought me to where I am today. I don't mean that it built my character, or made me stronger; that's true, but it's also true of any other bad experience. In that tree house, while I struggled to save Ivana's life, I came to terms with the fact that I could never become a warrior. That my path was peace and my vocation was in healing. And look where I am today," he smiled slightly, "Being trained, at your recommendation, by King Elessar himself!"
There was a long silence as Legolas mulled this over in his head. Then, "I suppose you're right," he said in a soft whisper.
"I like to think so," Elano said, jestingly, and then lay down on his cot with his back to Legolas. He sensed the Elf needed some privacy to process what he had said.
Which he did. He thought for a long time about what Elano had said, and then concluded that he was right. All the joy he got out of teaching, and loving, and being loved by his students, had all started here. He wouldn't give that up for anything. He lay down, and this time, contentment washed over him as he smiled, turned on his side, and finally went to sleep.
…
TBC…
I hope you didn't think that was too soppy, but I really thought it was necessary. I wasn't planning to write about it, but then I was re-reading "A Teacher's Duty" and I thought, oh my god, a LOT of stuff happened at the tree house! It was like, the center of the whole story, so I decided to devote these few pages to remind myself (and you) of it. Next chapter will have more happening.
Oh, and, speaking of arranged marriages, guess what! My parents are always talking about when I get married, then the guy will do this, or I will do that, so I just sort of jokingly asked, what'll happen if I DON'T fall in love and remain a spinster all my life? (My parents fell in love and married, so I never had any cause to worry about arranged marriages). But to my great amazement and alarm, my mum was like, if you're not married by 25, we'll find a guy for you! And she was being serious, too (I think). Oh dear, I am so done for…just like Legolas. God help me.
In the meantime, I apologize for not updating in so long. Also, I'm pleased that my review count suddenly shot to 4 last chapter! And another thing- just a note to say that from next chapter onwards, I'll be using the new review reply system to reply to your reviews. This will be the last time I'm typing out review replies, except for anonymous reviewers. Thanks! Please review!
BitterLee: Hello! You always pop up whenever I'm down to one review, don't you? I didn't really think you were reading a Teacher's Duty, I thought you dropped those couple of reviews last time, just for politeness' sake. Well, am I glad to see you! Congratulations on your brother's wedding! Lee, isn't it? Oh, and, I thought you never got time to review my work, being at work and all. How come you reviewed the last chapter?
Kabuki733701: Although this chapter may have seemed quite tame, Legolas's problem's have barely begun. The poor guy won't know what hit him by the time I've finished a quarter of this story! Thanks for reviewing, it is great to see you back!
Isilwen: Wow, a new reader! I didn't expect that, but that makes me even more pleased. Thanks for reviewing. I'm glad you like my including the children, because this story IS going to be about them as well as Alanna. It's sort of well…a fall back. I can switch between the two so the story won't get boring. Oh and there's Aragorn too. Legolas is going to have his work cut out for him. Thanks for the review!
Lindahoyland: Thank you for the review reply, am I supposed to reply to them? Oh and, I know about the replacing chapter thingy, it's just that I pressed delete instead of edit. Go figure, I'm completely trigger happy. I'm glad you liked the teaching bit, it struck me only recently. I mean, Celin is a lot of things, but a teacher? That remains to be seen. Thank you for your review, and please update your story soon.
Many thanks all of you! Bye! Next chapter- Celin!
