Elwin – An Elf's Love
Note: Hello, again! Wow, I'm back so soon! I only posted chapter three yesterday, but I suppose that one was really short… I'm sorry, as I said – school, then summer holiday, then actual holiday… sorry!
And remember, please try and review it!
(Oh, and BTW… yes, I did write The Golden Horse of the Rohirrim by myself, so please don't make fun of it. I'm no songwriter…)
Chapter 4
"Legolas is right," I told them, accepting their wide-eyed and astonished stares grudgingly. "I can't just leave with you to escape my own problems. But as much as I hate to admit it, I still want to come. And even if I was a normal Elf, then I would still love to come. So please. If I can't come with you as a companion..." I knelt down on my knees, bowing to my masters, "…then I'll join you as your servant."
I could feel their eyes boring into my back with such heat that I almost couldn't bear it. I just knelt before them, my body trembling.
"Elwin… you don't need to do this," Aragorn muttered softly, kneeling down in front of me and placing a hand on my hair. I looked up at him, my eyes glittering with emotion and tears.
"I do. If I stay here then I'll die, and if I don't offer my services as your servant then I won't be able to come." I took a deep breath, swallowing my embarrassment and pride – I was going to have to serve Legolas, and the thought of him being one of my masters pained me. "So if these are the consequences of my companionship… then I accept them."
A couple of tears trickled from my eyes, their saltiness stinging my cheek and splattering against my hand. My joints felt stiff for bowing down to them for so long, and my hair was sticking to my wet cheeks. My only comfort was Aragorn's warm hand pressed against my head.
"You're a brave woman, Elwin, and I know that it is not right for the honourable race of Elves to bow down to the lesser of men and Dwarves. It must be hard for you to do this… but, considering the circumstances, this may be our only choice, taking you with us. You don't need to work for us though."
"I do!" I insisted, struggling to keep my voice low. "I do need to work for you! The Queen put me in charge of looking after you, so that's what I must do. Besides… it wouldn't feel right for me to come along without paying you back in some way."
Aragorn, after giving me a hard stare for a good couple of minutes, smiled and stood up. In that instant the warmth of his touch was gone. He held out his hand to me and pulled me up. "Okay," he said and immediately began to grin appreciatively before he had even finished his sentence, "you can come. But on one condition–" he pulled my arm and drew me towards him, whispering pleadingly into my ear, "please, just try to get along with him?" he grinned and winked at me, but I could tell he was serious.
"You have my word, master," I replied, bowing with a hand over my heart.
~xXx~
I clutched onto Aragorn in fear as his horse jolted. "You have obviously never ridden before, then, miss Elwin!" he laughed, but I was too scared to get annoyed at him.
I shook my head, my cheek pressed against his back in fear. "No. I haven't. I don't think I ever want to again." I was fine with looking after horses, and being near them, and such – but when it came to riding them? No. Just no.
He pulled a mock-sympathetic face and patted his horses' cheek. "He's lovely, Elwin. He would never hurt you." His horse gave a sweet whiny to add to Aragorn's words, as if to show he really meant it.
I let my hand drop from his side to stroke the great beast. I suppose he really wasn't that ba-
There was a noise and the horse reared again, making me grab instinctively to Aragorn's cloak and squeeze him around the waist, to stop from falling off. Then he calmed and whinnied an apology.
Aragorn coughed, choking slightly from lack of air. "Um, miss Elwin. I– I can't breathe with you squeezing me like that."
I realised I was still holding him and immediately let go, blushing a bright red. "Sorry. I'll try to keep calm."
Gimli and Legolas laughed and I felt even more embarrassed now. "I wouldn't worry about the horses, Elwin! I'm not a rider myself, but I suppose once you find the right horse then riding becomes quite pleasant." He patted the dark cheek of his stallion and it rubbed its head against his large hand.
I pulled a face. "I suppose so. But I don't think I want to try too many horses, just to find the right one. I think I'll stick to walking, thank you very much."
A light chuckle caught my attention, but one so quiet that only my Elf ears would be able to hear it. I whipped around and saw Legolas smiling to himself, although he was staring ahead and seemed oblivious to my interest at him.
I studied him, listening and watching intently for any slight sound or movement he made.
He was fair in face as well as hair, and his voice was clear as he sang to himself an Elven song, unfamiliar to me but beautiful just the same.
I kept darting glances at him, trying to read how he was feeling. He managed to read everyone around him, but when it came to figuring out him... it was impossible. But I suppose that just added to the list of reasons why I hated him. Everything about him was impossible, even just understanding him.
He was impossible.
I looked back at the town which was once my home and emotion made my body clench.
"Going to miss it?" Legolas had ridden up beside us while in my trance, and I pulled my hand off Aragorn's back, brushing back my hair. He was still staring at the path ahead though, almost as if he didn't particularly want to look at me. That was okay with me though – I didn't want to look at him. Well, not much at least. He may be a jerk, but he certainly wasn't an ugly one. Quite the opposite, in fact.
I snorted laugher and tore away my gaze. "Ha! Not likely," I lied. And with one last lingering look at Firenzei, Aragorn flicked the reins of his horse and we rode off through the thick forest.
It was hard for the horses to travel between the trees and thicket, so after a couple of hours (much to my joy) I asked Aragorn to stop so I could travel on foot, and Legolas got of his horse too. We bounded ahead to scour the route for any signs of danger, and to make sure we were still on the Orc's trail – being Elves it was easy for us to travel through the woods. Even so, I was starting to think we were lost.
In my boredom, I began to sing a song in the common tongue. A song my mother used to sing when we walked together in the forest, as a token of good luck, to make sure we didn't get lost. I felt we could use it now.
A couple of minutes and began to hum the tune to myself. Then I began to add in the words.
"Where darkness falls, where stars are dim,
Where skies are cloudy grey,
When hope is lost, when hearts are grim,
A traveller's lost his way.
His clothes are worn, no paths are found,
Limbs frozen from the cold,
He sees a light, there comes sound,
A horse of shining gold.
The Golden Horse of the Rohirrim,
Lost travellers find new hope in him,
Through forests green and water blue,
Over snow of white he'll carry you,
You'll hear him run; you'll hear him neigh,
But only stays 'till dawn of day.
With main of silk, and kindly eyes,
And coat shimmering yellow,
He'll carry you from dusk 'till dawn,
Over rock, or brine, or meadow
When peering through a shroud of black,
Or at the edge of night,
Look forward to the warming glow,
A horse of golden light.
The Golden Horse of the Rohirrim,
Lost travellers find new hope in him,
Through forests green and water blue,
Over snow of white he'll carry you,
You'll hear him run; you'll hear him neigh,
But only stays 'till dawn of day."
I gently sang the song to a close, my cheeks flushing red. It had only just occurred to me that the muttered chatter going on between my masters had faded slowly while I sang and they had all been listening intently.
"That's a good song," complimented Gimli after a couple of moments of silence. "What's it about?"
I was about to answer but Legolas replied for me, thankfully. I didn't want to have to explain it, but was surprised that he'd actually heard of the old folk song.
"The Rohirrim are famous for their horses, as you know. This song was about a legendary horse, shining gold in colour as the lyrics suggested, that roamed through Middle Earth, mainly near Rohan. It was said to help all travellers that had lost their way, when travelling through the night. It would approach them and take them back home, or nearer to their destination. People sing it when travelling to ward off bad omens and spirits that wish for them to lose their way." He smirked and sent me a glance that caused my heart to flutter within me and that stole the breath straight from my lungs. "Or in other words, Aragorn, I think Elwin is suggesting that you've led us wrong and that we're lost."
He chuckled and the breathless feeling that his look had left me with was gone. Gimli laughed and, even though Legolas irritated me, I couldn't help but giggle a bit at his joke. Aragorn rolled his eyes.
"We are not lost!" he protested, laughing along with us. "This forest may not be the biggest one in Middle Earth, but it still does take a hell of a long time to navigate your way through it!"
Legolas grinned again, and I couldn't help but notice how handsome he looked when he smiled.
After that we all stayed silent.
Another couple of hours passed by and we had still gotten barely anywhere.
"Elwin, Legolas," Aragorn called to us. We made our way through forest back to him and scowled at each other when we stopped side-by-side in front of him.
We had been travelling in Firien Forest for at least a couple of days and were only now even nearing the edge of the forest – there was still a couple more days travel left to go. (Not that it was a large forest, but the trees were so thick and closely packed together, and the ground was so uneven, that it still took just as long.)
"There's been a bit of a problem." I side-glanced to Legolas and saw him raise a thin blonde eyebrow at Aragon. "We don't know what's ahead of us, but we think it would be best to leave the horses behind, here. They're struggling enough as it is."
I looked behind him to where Gimli was silently stroking and calming his poor horse – me and Legolas had given up riding them because we – being Elves – found it easier and faster to make our way through the forest on foot.
I immediately pitied the creatures. "But we can't leave them here! I know I don't like them that much… but that's cruel! They'll never survive!"
Aragorn sighed at me. "Elwin, we must leave them. We can get more at the next town we come across; it would be cruel not to leave them, and make them carry us into danger. Besides, we don't know what terrains we would come across, and they might not make it. They would only slow us down. Gimli and I are going to head back and find a good place to leave them – you two will go on ahead, and will leave a trail for us to follow. Make sure there is no danger ahead, but don't leave the forest. Keep an eye on the Orcs and make sure we don't lose their trail. I hate to leave you two alone, and I know it is dangerous with the Orcs about, but it would be cruel to let these horses go in an area where they will not survive. Besides, I know you two can look after yourselves. Keep her safe, Legolas."
I didn't know if Legolas was going to say it, but I sure was. "Aragorn, you can't leave me with him!"
"Elwin, I hate to make you remember this, but I am one of your masters. So please, do what I say. You are obliged to, as payment for your company. You said so yourself." I was about to complain more but I stopped abruptly. I had never heard Aragorn speak so sternly. I actually felt… scared. "Legolas will look after you while we are gone." His ancient eyes were tired but restless, and he smiled grimly at me. "Stop your fretting, Miss Elwin; we will leave for no more than a couple of days."
I groaned audibly, but Legolas stayed silent. This really annoyed me. Why didn't he speak? "You promise for no longer than a couple of days?" I asked him, holding down my anger and annoyance.
Aragorn smiled at me, pressing a hand against his chest, and I immediately felt calmer. "You have my word, Miss Elwin." He turned and joined Gimli, swinging himself up onto his horse and grabbing the reins of the Legolas's rider-less one. Together they left us.
Aragorn was smart, and I really did respect him, but I honestly didn't think that this was one of his greatest ideas.
Awkward silence choked the air. "So…" I started, pressing my lips together. He started to walk forward and I ran after him. "We don't need to… talk, do we?"
"No. We don't need to talk. Besides, I highly doubt that a hybrid like you would have anything interesting to say in the first place."
Don't kill him. Don't kill him. Whatever you do, Elwin, just don't kill him, no matter how much that bloody, too-good Elf deserves it. Killing is morally wrong.
"And what's that supposed to mean!" I shouted at him, furiously clenching my fists together so hard that my nails dug painfully into the flesh of my palm. Screw morals, that bloody jerk is going to get what's coming to him.
He turned and stared at me, his eyes emotionless and cold. "It means that you don't want to talk to me and I don't want to talk to you. I would have thought that was vaguely obvious."
I frowned at him, baring my teeth. "You're despicable."
~xXx~
"Elwin, come here," Legolas ordered after an hour or two of rest and then a couple more hours of silent travel. He had gone on ahead slightly so I ran to catch up.
"What is it?" I asked and he nodded to the forest floor. I stared at it or a couple of minutes – I couldn't track, so I had no idea what was so important.
"The Orcs… there seems to be signs of a few of them breaking from the group and making their way back through the forest. We'll need to look out for them as we continue. They may know we're here, and have sent a group to look around Firien to find us."
I blinked confusedly. "And… that's bad?"
Legolas rolled his eyes at me and sighed. "Yes, Elwin, that's bad. It means that we might encounter some Orcs as we travel further, and Aragorn and Gimli might be delayed if they meet them. We need to be on guard."
I nodded, heat tingeing my neck. Of course that was bad! Why did I never think before I opened my mouth? Was that some strange side effect to be being half-Elf and half-human?
Maybe Legolas was right? Maybe I was a hybrid? Oh well, I suppose I was going to have to live with it, just as I was going to have to live with him. I'd managed for over 2,000 years, I'm sure I can live with it for the rest of my immortal life.
~xXx~
As the sun gently lowered itself, my eyes began to droop. Every so often I would look over to Legolas, hoping to see the effects of little sleep in his pale Elven face but somehow he remained still and silent… and widely awake, much to my disappointment. Like an ancient statue, carved out of white marble by one of the most talented artists.
I hated it. Why did someone who was horrible and rude and annoying to me get to be so damn… beautiful? I know all Elves were meant to be beautiful, but he… he was just… godly. Breath-taking. There were whole manner of words to describe him, but none of them could capture his elegance completely.
And besides, if I was going to suffer from lack of sleep, I wanted him to too.
I sighed audibly to myself but Legolas didn't even glance at me. Life was hard when you hated the most beautiful man you had ever seen.
I had drifted so far into my thoughts that when Legolas's voice suddenly broke me out of my reverie it almost made me jump. I shivered from the cold, now awake enough to feel the sharp freezing air settling uncomfortably on my skin.
"Do you want to stop?" he asked, the first sign of sincerity in his voice since we had first spoken. He didn't look at all worn out or weary, but I had been starting to feel the strain of long travel since many hours ago. I had been determined not to show any signs of weariness to Legolas, but he seemed to have noticed. It made me wonder how long he had known.
"No," I told him stonily, anxiously thinking that my stubbornness might one day be my downfall. "I'm not tired at all. But... if you are, then we might as well rest. For your sake."
He laughed quietly and I could barely see his expression through the darkness. "Then we'll rest. For my sake," he added, his tone choked with sarcasm. He made me want to bloody choke him.
I felt angry at Aragorn and Gimli. How could they leave me alone with... with him! Legolas was just so infuriating and proud! Yet he acted perfectly normal and quiet around the other two. What was so special about me that made us both want to shoot an arrow through each other's throats?
We slipped off our packs and sat on the ground, each of us rooting through them until we came to the items we needed for a comfortable (enough) night's sleep.
"Nuuta!" I heard him growl angrily, falling into our own tongue. (Nuuta basically meant damn in Elvish.)
I was slightly concerned now. "What? What is it?"
"We only have one blanket. I thought I had two, but I guess Gimli or Aragorn must have taken one. You don't have one, do you?"
I shook my head, certain that my bag was blanket-free. "Sorry, no," I said, unsure whether he could see my gesture though the darkness. "What are we going to do? I suppose one of us must go without..."
I heard him sigh downheartedly. "You take it," he said, throwing the blanket into my lap. I stared at the blanket for a second, and then looked back at Legolas. That was... strangely kind of him.
"Really? Are you sure? Because I don't mind if you want it."
"Yes, really. Take it. You were shivering earlier... so you need it more than me. Besides," he said, flashing me a slightly forced-looking grin through the thick shroud of black, "I'm not cold anyway."
I rolled my eyes, turning away to hide my blushing smile. "Right..."